Daming prepares the emperor

At night, under the eaves of various temples and beside the pillars on both sides of the road, there are busy figures of court ladies and eunuchs everywhere. The red light of the lanterns corresponds to the starry sky that has not yet disappeared. The beast with horns shows exquisite details in the light, and its head is raised straight up, as if it is also expecting something.

From time to time on the main road, groups of eunuchs ran past holding huge trays, which were full of unlit candles and flints.

It was almost summer, and the dawn was very early, but this was obviously not enough for the upcoming canonization ceremony. In order to ensure that the ceremony was held normally, the courtiers could enter and exit smoothly, and to show the status of the royal family, to celebrate the newly built Forbidden City. The center of the world, these preparations are necessary.

The moon hangs high in the sky, illuminating the snow-white steps in front of Fengtian Temple, and on the other side of the sky, the morning sun gradually rises from behind the Zijin Mountain with multicolored rays.

The sun shines directly on the flat and wide square, which is magnificent and magnificent. The river under the white marble bridge is gurgling and clear. into the temple.

Many people have spent their entire lives just to be able to stand here and be summoned by the supreme emperor.

Hundreds of officials lined up according to their status, and they stood and waited outside the Fengtian Gate with lowered eyebrows. On the left and right, there were two rows of eunuchs with statues hanging their heads, holding lanterns in their hands. This was under the shadow of the huge city wall. , their only light source.

Li Shanchang was the first civil servant, and Xu Da was the front military attache. All the faces that were not seen in the past are here today.

Li Shanchang didn't fall asleep last night. He thought that no matter how old and prudent he was, he couldn't control his excitement on such a night.After eating and drinking in the middle of the night, his wife combed his hair, put on a net towel, put on a beam crown, put on socks and shoes, put on Taoist robes, middle singles, lower skirts and other dresses one by one, and finally put on big belts and leather belts. The decorations made of gold, silver and jade, such as pendants, ribbons, etc., stood in front of the mirror and looked at them several times before daring to go out.

The clothes set off his extraordinary bearing, like an upright prime minister who came out of a storybook, red, gold, and black were perfectly blended under the skillful hands of the embroiderer, every design of the hem, regardless of the beauty and conformity to the world, is all It is to let the courtiers uphold the etiquette and walk slowly in front of the king.

Li Shanchang is an old fritter in the officialdom. He is very good at giving himself money. He has been with Zhu Yuanzhang for many years. He also knows the temper of the emperor he serves very well. He knows how to express himself without making Zhu Yuanzhang feel disgusted.

At this important and extraordinary ceremony, he was determined not to make a single mistake, not to be in the limelight, and not to hide when the sky fell.

In fact, the news of conferring dukes and marquises has already spread. Everyone knows that His Majesty will confer six dukes, but no one knows who it is.Many people speculated that the prince and the queen must know the news, and the queen had no way to get close, so they all went to get close to Song Lian.

Song Lian found that there were a lot of people looking for his poems and essays recently, and some of them were badly written, so he dared to show them to him. He never imagined that with his position in the literary world, he would still see such inferior essays. .It's a pity that the old man has always guarded the calf and knows how to measure, and he is unwilling to bother Zhu Biao because of money and generous gifts.

There was a deathly silence in front of the door. Everyone was thinking about the future and the future in their hearts. Some people thought about official positions, some people thought about factions, some people wanted party struggles, some people thought about the common people, some people wanted Corruption, some want to be clean, some are willing to flatter and meet, and some want to be famous for being straight.

No matter what kind of thoughts are in their minds, the only one who can decide their fate at this moment and bear their ambitions is the Ninth Five-Year Lord sitting in Fengtian Temple.

Time passed by one minute and one second, and the earliest officials had stood there for two hours, and those who arrived a little later were a little more than an hour and a half. The courtier, trying to see a way out for himself in the treacherous court situation.

Li Shanchang's physical fitness is quite satisfactory, he didn't move, he stood upright and thought about things, he guessed that he had a position among the six people, but he was not completely sure, so he was reviewing various past achievements.There was a mess in his heart, his expression was both respectful and majestic, the civil servants and military generals who looked at him from the corner of their eyes couldn't see anything, so they all cursed the old fox secretly.

With the sound of light footsteps, a young eunuch quickly stepped out from the Fengtian Gate, instantly attracting countless eyes.

Without changing his face, he whispered a few words to the side of the general stationed in the pro-military captain's mansion, and then he walked to the courtiers and nodded to Li Shanchang and Xu Da.

Li Shanchang raised his hand and carefully tidied up his beam crown.

This action seemed to turn on some switch, and the ministers moved one after another, as if the robot that had just been powered on began to adapt to the body it had never met, stamped its feet and twisted its arms, patted its sleeves, and packed its hat.

The door opened.

Li Shanchang and Xu Da looked at each other and walked forward together.The ministers quickly passed through the doorway, and when the eyes were bright, they saw the magnificent Fengtian Hall and the rising sun.

Li Shanchang breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and was about to tell everyone a few taboos and common rules, and to play the prime minister's leading role, when suddenly he was taken aback.

Under the sun, Liu Ji's black temples are like melting snowflakes, fading away at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning gray. His young face, which was originally incompatible with others, is also aging rapidly, with more wrinkles, and he looks ten years old in the blink of an eye. , the demeanor of innocence is still there, but most of the freedom and ease of the cultivators are gone.

Li Shanchang opened his mouth, wanted to say something, but held back abruptly.

Liu Ji smiled, and bowed his hands to Li Shanchang.

"...Everyone, let's go into the palace."

Liu Bowen, Liu Bowen, is it worth it?

He was aware of Liu Ji's determination and also of Zhu Yuanzhang's arrangement, sighing secretly, regretting, and full of fighting spirit, he walked towards Fengtian Temple with a complicated state of mind.

Watching the ministers moving forward one by one in the distance, Zhu Di felt unspeakable excitement in his heart. Even if he is not the protagonist today, and he is not even related to the supporting role, such a scene naturally arouses the pride in his chest.

When money and status are at your fingertips, the only new thing these princes can pursue is power.

Zhu Xi lay beside him and murmured: "That's great, I want to be a general too."

"Pull it down, second brother, what merits do you have to be a general?"

Zhu Yan was so bored, he held a branch and stretched out the vermilion side wall, while waving it back and forth, he yelled at his own brother: "You peed the farthest in the competition?"

"Bei Yuan hasn't finished fighting yet! Emperor Yuan isn't dead yet." Zhu Xi rolled his eyes, "I'm already in my teens, can't I still go to the battlefield? Isn't General Zhu Ying going to the battlefield at the age of 12? He can make great achievements. Why can't I?"

"Your thighs are not as thick as Brother Zhu Ying's fingers." Zhu Yan curled his lips and said, "It's so far from Beiyuan, brother, I didn't hit you, you will burn incense if you can survive on the road."

"I want to fight too." Zhu Di said.

"Look, the fourth brother said the same thing." Zhu Xi immediately said, "Only you are not self-motivated."

"I'm not self-motivated?" Zhu Yan was a little annoyed, and he tugged at Zhu's sleeve and asked, "Then tell me, how can we get Emperor Father to agree to us going to Saibei?"

"Brother please." Zhu Di answered his question, "Father will definitely take off his shoes when he hears our thoughts, so we must ask brother for help, or we will be ruined."

When Zhu Biao was mentioned, the two brothers froze, looked at each other, and neither of them spoke.

Zhu Di asked curiously, "What's the matter? Second brother, third brother, don't you feel ashamed?"

"That's not true, elder brother has never seen anything." Zhu Xi shook his head, "It's just that he is the prince now, so I'm a little afraid to look for him."

The biggest advantage of Zhu Yu is his honesty. Compared with him, Zhu Yu has a lot more thoughtfulness, but in front of him is his brother who has played since he was a child. He has nothing to hide, and echoed: "I have a little bit too."

Then he added another sentence like stealing the bell: "The main reason is that the eldest brother is too busy, I am not a coward."

Taking advantage of his age and height, Zhu Xi grabbed his branch and put it in his belt, jumped back to avoid the fist and said, "To be honest, we won't laugh at you."

Looking at the brothers who started to fight carelessly again, Zhu Di looked at Fengtian Temple again, imagining what kind of scene it would be inside.

"kneel!"

The courtiers lifted up their clothes and knelt down respectfully.

Huang Xi took a volume of imperial edict and unfolded it carefully, carefully reading out the words on it.

The voices of the eunuchs are actually rare and harsh, and very few of them may be a little softer, but it is not easy for people to hear it. Even if they want to keep the favor of their masters, they will exercise their voices full of vitality.

At this time, Huang Xi's long reading sound echoed in the hall, and every time he went to a place, he would arouse expressions of sadness or joy.

The candidate for Duke Feng was exactly as Li Shanchang had guessed.Except for him, they are all military generals, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, none of them are heroic and loyal. In this way, this Korean Duke is really a great honor.

Li Shanchang's face couldn't help showing joy, his investment and hard work finally had the greatest return, what a wonderful story, and he still has a lot of time for himself to play, whether it is power or wealth, As the prime minister, he will leave a glorious history in this brand new empire!

The imperial decree continued to read, and when he heard Liu Ji's award, Li Shanchang was stunned for a while before returning to normal. He always paid attention to Liu Ji as an enemy, so he had some expectations for such a situation, except for the glaring and obvious changes before. , and the rest, he thought he had already figured it out.

After the main princes and earls finished reading, Huang Xi rewound the imperial decree and walked to the imperial case in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang was dressed in a red dragon robe, sitting on the dragon chair, with deep eyes, looking at the situation below indifferently, not knowing what mood he was in, when he saw Huang Xi coming, he nodded slightly at him, Huang Xi quickly picked up another bright yellow reel.

"Read it." Zhu Yuanzhang and Huang Xi were talking, but they looked at Zhu Biao on the steps.

His eldest son, like everyone else, stood there respectfully.

The ministers below are all guessing who is sealed this time and what is read.

"I don't set up bureaucrats in the East Palace, but with Qing and others as the leaders, the army has not stopped. If I have something to do outside, the prince will supervise the country. If there are government bureaucrats, the ministers are inside, and the matter should be heard, the prince. Or if you don’t know what to hear, if you don’t agree with Qing and others, Qing and others must say that the government bureaucrats guide them, and suspicions will easily arise.” ①

"And that's why the special guests and other officials who want to assist the prince's virtue, and choose the name of Confucianism, are the reason for this. In the past, the Duke of Zhou taught King Cheng to conquer the soldiers, and called the Duke to teach the sixth division of King Kang and Zhang Huang. This house is safe. Dangerous, do not forget about military equipment. Gai is a king who succeeds in life, grows up rich and powerful, loves ease, does not know the military, and does not know what to do when he has priorities. He knows the words of the two lords." ②

As soon as the words came out, except for a few smart people who had expected it, the rest of the ministers were quite shocked. After all, they were officials who were qualified to enter the Fengtian Temple. This level.

Huang Xi continued to read aloud: "Order Li Shanchang, the prime minister of the left, and the young master of the prince, Xu Da, the prime minister of the right, and the Shaofu of the prince, Chang Yuchun, the important military affairs recorded in Zhongshu Pingzhang, and the Shaobao of the prince, and Feng Zongyi, the governor of the right, and the minister of the right Zhan. Zhongshu Pingzhang’s political affairs Hu Tingduan, Liao Yongzhong, Li Bosheng and Tong Zhi Zhan’s court affairs, Zhongshu’s left and right prime ministers Zhao Yong, Wang Pu and deputy Zhan’s affairs.”③

A long list of people's names came down, but I haven't finished reading them yet.

Huang Xi paused for a moment, then read on: "Zhongshu participates in politics Yang Xian and Zhan Shicheng, Fu Yu and Zhan Shi, Tongzhi Dadu Kang Maocai, Zhang Xingzu and the left and right leaders of the government, the deputy governors of the Metropolitan Government Gu Shi and Sun Xingzu led the left and right government officials For the matter, Wu Zhen, Geng Bingwen and the deputy envoys of the Governor's Office of the Metropolitan Metropolitan Government, Deng Yu and Tang He, the imperial censors, and Yude, Liu Ji, Zhang Yi and Zanshan, the imperial censors, and Wen Yuanji and Fan Xianzu, the imperial censors Also a guest of the prince." ④

Zhu Biao looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang, and the two looked at each other.

"My son leads the decree to thank you."

Amidst the mountains and tsunami-like praises, the crown prince led all the ministers to kneel down on the ground together.

--------------------

The author has something to say:

The contents of ①②③④ in this article are excerpted from "History of Ming Dynasty":

Left Prime Minister Li Shanchang and Prince Shaoshi, Right Prime Minister Xu Da and Prince Shaofu, Zhongshu Pingzhang recorded important military affairs Chang Yuchun and Prince Shaobao, right governor Feng Zongyi and right Zhanshi, Zhongshu Pingzhang political affairs Hu Tingduan and Liao Yongzhong , Li Bosheng and Tongzhi Zhan Shiyuan, Zhongshu Zuo and You Cheng Zhao Yong, Wang Pu and Deputy Zhan Shi, Zhongshu participated in politics Yang Xian and Zhan Shicheng, Fu Yu and Zhan Shi, Tongzhi Dadu Kang Maocai, Zhang Xingzu and left and right led the government. Gu Shi and Sun Xingzu, deputy envoys of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, led the affairs of the left and right officials, Wu Zhen and Geng Bingwen, the ministers of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, also led the deputy envoys of the left and right officials, Deng Yu, Tang He and Yude, the censors, Liu Ji, the imperial censors, Zhang Yi is also a doctor of Zanshan, and he is also a guest of Prince Wen Yuanji and Fan Xianzu.

I don't set up government bureaucrats in the East Palace, but with Qing and other leaders, the army has not stopped. If I have something to do outside, the prince will supervise the country.If there are government bureaucrats, including Qing and others, the matter should be heard, and the prince may not be able to hear clearly, and disagree with Qing and others.And that's why special officials such as guests and virtues are appointed to assist the prince's virtue, and he is named Confucianism, which is why he is appointed.In the past, the Duke of Zhou taught Cheng Wang Kejie the army, and called the Duke of Kang to teach the Sixth Division of Zhanghuang Zhang. This place is safe and secure, and does not forget to prepare for arms.Gai's successor is a king who grows up rich and powerful, enjoys ease and comfort, does not know the military, and is at a loss when he has priorities.The words of the two lords are known together.

It probably means that I am very busy and Beiyuan has not yet won, I have to go out often, and when I am not around, you all have to listen to the prince.If the prince has other officials, and you disagree with you at that time, you will say that they were induced by those people, so the prince will simply use you.For the sake of the prince, I have also recruited some new officials and appointed famous Confucian scholars to cultivate the prince's virtues.Chin's done.