eldest son of Ming dynasty

As the seventh-generation grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Houzhao now enters Yingtian Mansion. The first important thing is not to meet Li Dongyang, but to pay homage to his ancestor at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.

This is the basic requirement of morality and ethics, and it is also Zhu Houzhao's own wish.

Taizu of the Ming Dynasty started his career with a broken bowl. Not only did he establish his personal achievements, but more importantly, he expelled the Mongols and restored the Han Dynasty.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, the Southern Song Dynasty fell in 1297, and the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912. There were a total of 615 years in between.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang's greatest and fundamental contribution was not the creation of a system or victory in battles, but the insertion of a Han dynasty between the Yuan and Qing Dynasties.Without him, or without other Han emperors, future generations of Han people in China would have to go back more than 600 years to find their roots.

It has been more than 600 years, can you still find it?
In this sense, no matter who stood between the Yuan and Qing Dynasties, they deserve to be commemorated.

The Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is located at the southern foot of Zijin Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Yingtian Mansion. It is shaped like a Big Dipper and has three courtyards.The first courtyard is the Gufu Hall and the Royal Kitchen, the second courtyard is the Xiang Palace and the East and West Side Halls, and the third courtyard is the Fangcheng, Minglou, Yougong, etc.

Needless to say, the etiquette and process of sacrificial rituals include the fact that the emperor himself needs to wear a crown, which is usually cyan and embroidered with patterns such as the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, and Chinese insects, implying that the emperor is the master of the world. .

Palace etiquette has strict requirements on these. What is more convenient is that Yingtian Mansion retains a complete administrative team.

Therefore, Taichang Temple is responsible for preparing the sacrifices required for the sacrifice, Guanglu Temple is responsible for preparing the royal meal, wine and food, the Jiaofang Department is responsible for preparing the preparations, the Hanlin Academy is responsible for writing the memorial proclamation, the Ministry of War is responsible for guarding various places, and Guard and lead the army...

Zhu Houzhao left Beijing in April, and it has been a month now. Yingtian has enough time to sort out these matters and prepare.

So as soon as the holy driver arrived, the activity started quickly.

Even the Zhuban was handed over to Zhu Houzhao by officials of Taichang Temple.

The so-called blessing board is a rectangular wooden board with words written on it. The writing on it is also called "blessing text". It usually writes about the ancestor's difficulties in starting a business, etc. It means to first praise his achievements, and then to write about the hard work of his descendants, which is to write about future generations. How to do it, finally write some words of blessing, and hope that the spirits of our ancestors in heaven will bless us.

It's all part of etiquette.

Zhu Houzhao never made changes because civil servants were very good at these.

To get to the actual place of worship, you need to pass through the Shinto of Ming Xiaoling. The Shinto is very long and deeply curved, with various stone carvings on both sides.

In the past 100 years, several emperors of the Ming Dynasty have not visited the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage, so Zhu Houzhao's visit was very special and also expressed a different political connotation.

On the one hand, it is about blood, orthodoxy, and filial piety; on the other hand, it is about Ming inheriting the aspirations of his ancestors.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao himself also attached great importance to it.

The end of the Shinto is the Lingxing Gate. The stone archway under the Lingxing Gate is a three-bay stone archway. The four words "Founding Scale" are engraved on the forehead, which was written by Ming Taizu himself.

Later Zhu Houzhao also visited the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, but what he saw at that time was the four characters Zhilong, Tang and Song Dynasties.

Because Zhilong in the Tang and Song Dynasties was written by Emperor Kangxi, it can be regarded as a tribute to Zhu Yuanzhang's achievements.Going further, you can see the Great Golden Gate, with three gold words "Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum" engraved on the forehead. After passing the Great Golden Gate, you will reach Sifang City. In the city, there is a "Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum Monument of Divine Merits and Virtues", which is about three meters high. The floors are so high.

At the sacrificial platform below, Zhu Houzhao looked solemn and made his first offering in the presence of all the officials.

Then the officials of Taichang Temple burned the blessing tablets, and the emperor bowed three times and kowtowed again!
Next to him, in addition to the people brought from Beijing, there were also the Duke of Wei, the governor of Yingtian, and the six ministers of Yingtian.

The emperor knelt down, and they all knelt down as well. It could be said that they all had to salute Zhu Yuanzhang.

The young emperor was filled with anger in his Dantian, and with a loud voice, he raised his head and said: "The seventh emperor of the filial piety, his minister Zhu Houzhao, today I dare to tell the great ancestor Emperor Gao and the empress Xiaoci Gao: Since ancient times, the emperors and kings, the entrepreneurs and the kings, all are governed by heaven. Xi is wise and brave, overcoming disasters and opening up the king's business. I believe in the destiny, carry out the foundation of the dynasty, and entrust the legacy of the emperor. I work conscientiously and do not dare to neglect. Now I use my body to entrust the people, and I will always think about it. Receiving a generous reward is like walking in deep poverty...

... Coinciding with the rebellion in the northwest, there were many disturbances and rebellious ministers emerged one after another.Today we are ordered to send out troops to clear the desert.I hope that the spirits of the ancestors in heaven and earth will protect the Han people in the world, but the ugly captives will be punished and the arrogant will perish..."

The classical Chinese text seemed to have a special momentum. The more Zhu Houzhao talked, the more energetic he became, as if he had already raised a three-foot green sword to determine the disaster.

However, this memorial does not end here.

As the important ministers listened, they seemed to think that the emperor was reciting Emperor Taizu's petition for Yuan Dynasty again:
"Since ancient times, emperors have ruled the world, and they have always lived in China to control the barbarians, and the barbarians have lived outside to serve China. It has never been heard of the barbarians living in China to control the world. From the Song Dynasty to Zuo, in the Yuan Dynasty, Beidi took over China, and within the four seas, all If you don’t surrender, this is not a manpower, it is actually a gift from heaven. At that time, the emperor was wise and the ministers were good enough to guide the world. However, people with lofty ideals still lamented that their hats and shoes were turned upside down. From then on, the officials of the Yuan Dynasty did not follow the instructions of their ancestors and were abolished. Bad Tsunaucha..."

"My great ancestor, Emperor Gao, came from a commoner family. During the troubled times, I decided to expel the barbarians and restore China. I established an outline and discipline to help the people of Sri Lanka. I made all the people find their homes and avenged China's shame. This is an immortal achievement. Yes! Today, our people in the Central Plains are the Han people of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the ethnic group of China. The land of the Central Plains is the land of the Han people in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the land of China. The people established by the Ming Dynasty must restore the majesty of the Han officials!"

In this passage, the emperor re-emphasized the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty to conquer the world, and at the same time highlighted the words Huaxia and Han.

"For example, Mongolia and Semu, although they are not of the Chinese race, but they are born in the same place between heaven and earth, and those who know etiquette and justice and are willing to be subjects are no different from the people who raised them in Zhongxia. If they are unwilling to be subjects, they are not just Zhu Ming's enemies. They are the enemy of the Han people!"

The first half of this paragraph is still from Yuan Xi's article, but the second half was added by Zhu Houzhao himself.

Overall, this memorial is very special.

After finishing all the recitations, Zhu Houzhao saluted again and then returned to the palace under the guidance of officials from Taichang Temple.

The palace left by Yingtian.

There is also Fengtian Gate and Fengtian Hall here.

Here, Zhu Houzhao summoned all the civil and military officials in Yingtian and made it clear to the world:

"Today, I offer sacrifices to my ancestors to inform all the officials in the court and all the people in the world. The Ming Dynasty is the name of the country created by my ancestors of the Zhu family. It is inherited by Liu Han, Li Tang, Zhao Song, and they are all orthodox to our Han people. .After today, all descendants of the Han family should guard our Han land and protect our Han people. For thousands of years, dynasties have changed, and no one can stop it. One day in the future, our Ming Dynasty will also have traitors and villains in power. The people of the world can strive for this kingly way. The so-called kings, princes and generals have the right to be in harmony with each other. This is the path of the Han people's destiny.

Only those who collude with foreigners and betray their ancestors are unforgivable. Today you and I, our kings and ministers, swear an oath here. If someone makes the Central Plains dirty again, they will not only be the sinners of Zhu Ming, but also the sinners of China.Thousands of heroic souls in the sky and on the earth will curse this person, even if he dies, his soul will never be at peace!For our Chinese people, God will order our Chinese people to keep them in peace. How can the barbarians and the Di rule them? "

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