Dominate the Country

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…

On the 18th day of the first lunar month, the lantern festival at Confucius Temple ended. However, the lingering charm of the New Year, which would quickly dissipate in previous years, not only did not dissipate quickly this year, but became even stronger with the arrival of February.

Because everyone knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to ascend the throne and become the emperor.

The place for worshipping heaven and earth outside Nanjing City had already been built. The Circular Mound was built outside Zhengyang Gate, on the south side of Zhongshan Mountain; the Square Mound was built outside Taiping Gate, on the shady side of Zhongshan Mountain. The Circular Mound Altar had two floors, just like the old example during the reign of Zhu Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. Although Zhu Di set the rules, in terms of scale, the Heaven and Earth Altar built by his people was much larger than the Circular Mound Altar built by his father in Nanjing. But considering the cost issue, Chen Ming chose the Zhu Hongwu version without hesitation.

The Circular Mound, the upper layer is 45 feet wide and 5 feet 2 inches high. Each side of the lower layer is 16 feet 5 inches wide and 4 feet 9 inches high. The diameter of the second floor is 78 feet. From the altar to the inner wall, the four sides are 98 feet and 5 inches. From the inner wall to the outer wall, the south is 139 feet and 4 inches, the north is 11 feet, and the east and west are 117 feet. The square mound, the upper layer is 39 feet and 4 inches wide, and 39 inches high. The lower layer is 15 feet and 5 inches wide on each side, 38 inches high, and the diameter is 74 feet. From the altar to the inner wall, the four sides are 89 feet and 5 inches. From the inner wall to the outer wall, the four sides are 82 feet.

All of them were built according to the specifications of the Ming Dynasty. Although it is the simplest version, the various reasons and rules here can be summarized into a very thick book. Chen Ming's head exploded when he heard it. With a wave of his hand, it was built according to the Ming Dynasty rules.

So in terms of scale, it is much inferior to the Tiandi Temple in BJ.

In addition, there are Huangqiongyu and its side halls, the kitchen, the three warehouses and the slaughter pavilion. The ancillary buildings include the clothing platform, the lantern and so on. Huangqiongyu is the place where the tablets of the Emperor of Heaven and the emperor's eight generations of ancestors are enshrined.

The closer it gets to the second day of the second lunar month, the more people from other places gather in Nanjing. It was on the second day of the second lunar month that Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty held his enthronement ceremony on the Yang of Fanshui in Dingtao - the mound. Chen Ming didn't know what the inextricable connection between this allusion and the legend of the dragon raising its head on the second day of the second lunar month, anyway, the day he ascended the throne and became emperor was set on the second day of the second lunar month, the day when the dragon raised its head.

There are only a few days left. Tens of thousands of people around Nanjing came to watch the excitement, and there were countless candidates from all over the country. When the new emperor ascends the throne, he must hold an imperial examination. This news came out during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year.

The fierce quarrels between the civil and military officials in the court have also subsided, and no one will make big news at this critical juncture. Because that was not showing off his political talent, but showing off his good head.

The important officials from all over the country who could rush back to Nanjing had already arrived in the capital at this time.

The whole city of Nanjing seemed to be submerged in a sea of ​​red, with soldiers with live ammunition everywhere, and red lanterns and bright red flags everywhere. Sharp eyes stared at everyone, and Tanuma Okiji had not gone out since three days ago.

That was no longer enjoying life, but actively seeking trouble.

The negotiations between the Tokugawa Shogunate and Chen Han came to an end, and the two sides reached some consensus. For example, Chen Ming expressed that he would respect the rights of the Tokugawa Shogunate in RB, but the title of the emperor and the name of Kyushu Island must be changed. This was what Chen Han insisted on!

In fact, this time Tanuma Okiji led a delegation to China, which took several months before and after. The only gain was on the last issue, which seemed to really touch Chen Han's taboo, rather than Chen Han picking bones in eggs and looking for some reason to pull it up. During the negotiation, Chen Han even promised to support the Tokugawa Shogunate as the King of RB, and as for the Emperor in Kyoto, he was determined to kill him.

When he first heard these words, Tanuma Okitsugu's face suddenly flushed, and the excitement that rose in his heart made him unable to stand up. He barely suppressed his external expression, and he did not take the initiative to say a word in the subsequent negotiations. His brain was scattered by this news at that time.

China supports the Tokugawa Shogunate as the King of RB! This news is too exciting. Tanuma Okitsugu immediately wanted to fly back to Edo and tell Tokugawa Ieharu about this news. This is not the time of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, when Zhu Ming was fooled into conferring the Ashikaga Shogun as the King of RB. This is a serious attempt to overthrow the Emperor. Tanuma Okitsugu had to be excited.

Tanuma Okitsugu also knew that the Koreans had come, and Enyan Jun Li Qi personally led a delegation to Nanjing not long ago.

Since the death of Yi Jin, the King of Yeonryeong, from poisoning, the entire Joseon Dynasty was in chaos. The Qing army attacked Jeolla Province and turned its forces to attack Gyeongsang Province. Yi Ji could not hold on for long and ran to the island, and then moved to Jeju Island. The Manchus did not continue to attack Jeju Island, but for the entire six months, the Koreans did not launch any counterattacks or contain the Qing army's power on the peninsula. If the Fu Han army had not personally fought two battles, the Korean peninsula would not have been too quiet in the second half of the year. Yi Ji tried his best to clear himself of the matter of Yi Jin's poisoning death, but it was a pity that he was involved too much and too deeply at the time. The countless suspicions and hatreds were like rolling in a chicken feather nest in a sweater, and he could not get rid of them no matter how hard he tried.

Tanuma Okitsugu didn't care what would happen to Korea in the end. He only cared about Yi Ji's methods. First, he killed his younger brother who was not yet an adult, and then he killed Yi Jin who had just come of age. He killed all the royal relatives of the Joseon Dynasty. Now he doesn't even have a son. He forced China to tolerate his "misbehavior". If such methods were used on the emperor..., it would be very wonderful.

When Emperor Go-Momozono was weak, his father Emperor Momozono had only him as a male. When Emperor Momozono died, Go-Momozono was only five years old. During Emperor Momozono's term, the Horeki Incident occurred in Kyoto, which was a "rebellion" that was not planned and strangled by the Tokugawa shogunate in the bud. When he was in Momozono, Go-Momozono did not succeed to the throne immediately, but his aunt Empress Go-Sakuramachi succeeded to the throne. Empress Sakuramachi's father was Emperor Sakuramachi, and her mother was the daughter of Yoshitada, the regent of the Nijo Fujiwara family, that is, Qingqimenyuanshazi, known as the quasi-empress. The great-granddaughter of Higo Kunimori can also ascend to the throne of the emperor, which is a great irony for the so-called pure bloodline of Amaterasu in Japan.

The current situation is that if the seventeen-year-old Emperor Go-Momozono dies of illness, the Japanese royal family that has not yet given birth to an heir will be extinct.

Tanuma Otsugu really didn't want to stay in Nanjing for a quarter of an hour, but he had to wait patiently for the end of Chen Ming's enthronement ceremony.

Time came to February little by little, and on the eve of Chen Ming's enthronement ceremony, all preparations had been arranged. Chen Ming's enthronement ceremony was generally simple. On the second day of February, Chen Ming first performed a ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth at the Circular Mound Altar. After the ceremony, a golden chair was set up in front of the suburban altar, facing south, and a crown and clothing case was placed in front of the golden chair. The important ministers of the cabinet led the civil and military officials to say: "The sacrifice ceremony has ended, please ascend the throne of the emperor."

This is basically the ceremony.

Next, all the officials surrounded Chen Ming and helped him sit on the golden chair, then stepped back and lined up in order of rank. The steward held the crown case and the treasure case, and the cabinet ministers and generals took the imperial robes and put them on Chen Ming, and then put on the crown. Then they lined up, the ministers bowed first, and the music officials were responsible for playing music. Then they performed the three kneeling and nine kowtows ceremony to the emperor.

Back in the palace, the etiquette officer led Chen Cong, the designated cabinet chief minister, to the emperor's throne, knelt down and showed the tablet, and all the officials knelt down. The treasure officer opened the box, took out the emperor's jade seal and handed it to the prime minister. The prime minister held the jade seal and presented the imperial seal. Shang Baoqing took the jade seal and put it in the box. This etiquette was completed again. During this period, anyone who spit, coughed, talked and laughed, or made noises was considered disrespectful and would be severely punished. Then there is a series of cumbersome etiquette, which is basically bowing, worshiping, worshiping, standing up, holding a tablet, bowing, three dances, kneeling on the left knee, three kowtows, shouting long live the emperor, shouting again and again, kneeling on the right knee, and holding a tablet. All civil and military officials must follow this step to complete the ceremony meticulously, and the main etiquette is completed.

Among these, the three dances made Chen Ming the happiest. Imagine the appearance of all officials, regardless of age, regardless of civil or military, "three dances" in front of him, how can Chen Ming not be happy.

After the ceremony, Chen Ming also went to the Taimiao to honor his ancestors. Chen Hui Gao was the emperor and the empress dowager, but the three generations of ancestors from Chen Hui to the upper reaches must be posthumously honored. There are also regulations on this matter. It was not the case during the Han and Tang Dynasties. Only in the Song Dynasty did the ancestors of four generations posthumously honor. Zhu Yuanzhang did the same, and Chen Ming followed suit.

All officials performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows under the guidance. After everything was over, Chen Ming appointed the queen. At this point, the coronation ceremony was completed.

Chen Ming had already gone through this set of etiquette drills.

Ascending the throne to become emperor, his life event, just like the wedding of men and women in this era, is definitely only once in a lifetime. A man's second marriage after his wife died is not a wedding. The difference between the original wife and the second wife can be seen from Mrs. Xing in the Red Mansion. And even if a man can get married again after his wife died, Chen Ming can't ascend the throne for the second time.

Chen Ming didn't want to make any mistakes in the middle. After everything was settled, he asked Qian Daxin, the etiquette officer, to take him around, and then he was a little calm. He was a little nervous. In public, in front of the civil and military officials, it would be embarrassing. And making a fool of himself at the coronation ceremony was also a blow to his image and prestige.

It doesn't mean that after experiencing many things, you can become indifferent to everything and don't care about anything. Chen Ming felt that Dongfanghong was also nervous when he spoke on the Tiananmen Tower on October 1st, but this nervousness was controlled by Taizu. But Chen Ming is not Dongfanghong. His hegemony was much easier than that of the emperor.

As a mortal, although ascending the throne is the best reward for Chen Ming's years of hard work, due to his rejection of red tape as a later soul, Chen Ming really can't guarantee whether he will make a big news in this!

For example, the drums are played, and then the sacrificial officials recite the prayers. Some people dance in the music, and Chen Ming has to raise wine to worship the sky; the priest reads the prayers, and the music stops. After the reading, the music starts, and the emperor kneels three times...

Chen Ming didn't know that he was so bad. Things that he had never thought about suddenly hit him at this critical moment. He was actually nervous!

This is really different from the speech under the national flag when he was in school. Anyway, he was really under pressure, so he ordered people to copy all the details of the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky on a memorial and carry it with him. When I have free time, I take it out and have a look.

…

Quanzhou Governor's Mansion.

Li Shaomin had just arrived when someone came over and shouted, "Master Li, the Governor is waiting in the meeting room."

Li Shaomin nodded calmly and strode into the hall. He knew who was talking about everything inside, without anyone having to tell him. Li Shaomin and Zhang Gou have not been in contact with the Zheng family for more than a day or two. The Fuhan Army has been growing stronger. The current situation has become very obvious. It has long been time to pave the way back.

He, Mr. Li, was not an unlucky guy like Chen Biao, nor was he a ungrateful person like Ling Liang, so he came to Quanzhou quietly a few days ago, hiding his whereabouts, and came to the home of the Zheng family. Because he knew that the Zheng family was now weak.

Their great master, Master Wan Er, has already gone to Nanjing. If this news breaks out, the entire central and southern Fujian will be in an uproar.

The signboard of Quanzhou's Dudu's Mansion will be taken down soon. The meeting hall of the Dudu's Mansion, which was converted from the original magistrate's office, is not large. It is the original lobby, which is the size of an ordinary two or three rooms. There are tables. The chair can accommodate twenty or thirty people for discussion, but now it is half full. The ground is paved with blue bricks, and the person sitting on it is Zheng Ji.

On the left and right are a row of leaders of the Zheng Family Army. There are only ten of them. Everyone sat in silence. On the seats at the head of both sides, Zhang Gou with a serious face was sitting on one chair, and the other was empty, obviously prepared for him.

Zheng Ji still looks very young, and his complexion and appearance are better than when they met at Zhang Gou's place in Longyan last year. He feels confident. He nodded and smiled at Li Shaomin who strode in, "Hurry and take a seat." Sitting in an empty seat on the left, Li Shaomin calmly took his seat without saying a word, and then looked around the hall carefully.

The person sitting under Zhang Gou is Zheng Ji's cousin, Zheng Cheng. The person sitting next to him is Qu Wulong, the number one general of the Zheng Family Army. The other eight leaders of the Zheng Family Army are all recognized old men of the Zheng Family. There are not many of these ten people, but each of them is definitely a powerful figure in the Zheng Family Army.

"Everyone!" Zheng Ji's clear voice contained a subtle sigh. He straightened his back, making his whole body look taller. He cupped his fists with both hands and arched towards Nanjing: "Everyone should know, Er On the second day of the month, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will ascend the throne. I have received the order from His Highness the Crown Prince to serve as the governor of southern Fujian, clean up central and southern Fujian, and put an end to the chaos." This was the first task of the Zheng family after they surrendered. It could also be said to be a pledge of honor, dyeing themselves red with the blood of their former companions. The top of the head.

Zheng Ji, Li Shaomin, Zhang Gou and others all understood, but they had to sigh after understanding. When the uprising swept across Mindi, who could have imagined that we would be here today?

That’s all. Why are you bringing this up now? When they rebelled separately, they had an agreement that they would share blessings and share hardships. As a result, as soon as Zhao Mingde died, Ling Liang unjustly annexed Zhao Mingde's territory.

"Now our army has a total of three brigades in the first division. I am also the division commander of the third division of the FJ Army, Zhang Gou is the deputy division commander and the commander of the second brigade, and Li Shaomin is the chief of staff of the division and the commander of the third brigade."

This is the reward given by the Fuhan Army for the three forces of the Heaven and Earth Society that have contributed, with three brigade-level organizations and a division-level organization.

"Everyone knows the military structure of the new dynasty. This division commander is no weaker than the admirals of the past. But you should also know that the current court is thinking of ways to reorganize the army, and the civil servants and generals are in trouble because of military expenses. Our division, this The three brigades can be obtained today, but they may fly tomorrow. If we haven't solved Ling Liang and Chen Biao by the time the change comes, the position of division commander and brigade commander will not be considered. ”

"You guys have been working hard for several years, and they have been brothers of my Zheng family for decades. There is no shortage of money in your hands. If you are tired of military life, you don't have to fight this war." Anywhere There is no shortage of people who want to be officials. A big battle is about to begin, and promoting a few middle-level leaders to higher positions can actually stimulate the Quanzhou Army's vigor. "I made everything clear today. Whether you want to go or not, you have to think about it and make your own decision."

Li Shaomin was not surprised at all that Zheng Ji said such words. When he returned to Tingzhou, he would also say the same words to his big bosses.

Tiandihui has been in the FJ uprising for several years. Except for the initial period when they were fighting and killing the Qing army, by the time the Fuhan army swept through the Southern Kingdom, Tiandihui would just sit back and enjoy the blessings. In the past two years, not only some bad situations have been discovered in the Quanzhou Army, but the same situation has also happened in the Beiting Army [Li Shaomin] and Longyan Army [Zhang Gou].

First, the fighting spirit of the troops dropped, training was lost, and military discipline was in disarray;

Second, there are no promotion channels and gatherings in the army, and the morale of the army is ruined;

Third, if there is no war for a few years, many people will no longer want to fight anymore. They had robbed money before and distributed land. Whether they were officers or soldiers, many people were no longer willing to fight with their heads high.

Before the war starts, it is very necessary to conduct a general reorganization of the entire army.

The leaders of the Zheng Family Army all went down. Zheng Ji moved to the small flower hall. Only Zhang Gou and Li Shaomin were left. None of the three people spoke. The maidservant brought the tea and went down silently. The steaming tea slowly cooled down a little bit. .

"Everything will change after today. You must make it clear to your brothers when you go back. We people have other people's laws on our heads again. Don't hit the knife. No one can be saved by then. them!"

Zheng Ji said these words for a while, with a different flavor, which made Zhang Gou and Li Shaomin feel sour in their hearts.

Li Shaomin raised his head and looked at Liang Zhu, "Yes, there is a king's method. Everything must be done according to the king's method."

“It’s not up to us…”