Rise From the Humble

Zhu Ping'an left the Meridian Gate and rushed to the general affairs envoy Si Yamen, and found that something was wrong here.

Why are there so many people at the gate of General Affairs Office? ! There was an exaggerated queue! About seven or eight officials lined up at the door, waiting for the reception officials of the General Affairs Office to register and register.

This is very unusual. I have never encountered this kind of situation when I usually come to the General Affairs Office.

What happened?

The big thing that happened recently was the impeachment case of Senior Brother Yang. Could it be that these officials at the front were like me, not afraid of Emperor Jiajing's verbal threats and came to intercede for Senior Brother Yang?

Zhu Pingan, who was at the end of the queue, couldn't help but feel excited when he thought of this possibility.

There is strength in numbers, and with so many officials interceding for Senior Brother Yang, the chances of saving Senior Brother Yang are even greater.

In happiness, Zhu Pingan chatted with the officials queuing in front, and then the curvature of the corner of Zhu Pingan's mouth withered.

no!

They came to the General Affairs Office to submit a memorial, not to plead for Senior Brother Yang, but because of the solar eclipse!

It turned out that there was a solar eclipse outside at about 1:15 this morning, and they all came to visit Emperor Jiajing and advocated performing rescue rituals.

At this time, Zhu Ping'an realized belatedly. No wonder when he was working in Prince Yu's Mansion in the morning, he felt that there was a commotion outside and wondered what was wrong. It turned out that there was a solar eclipse.

"When a solar eclipse occurs, we should perform the ritual of rescue. As ministers, we should give advice and fulfill our duties."

After the topic arose, the official in front had a good chat with Zhu Pingan. This official had talked with the officials in line in front of him and knew that they all came here to give advice and perform rescue rituals. Therefore, he naturally classified Zhu Pingan as a similar person, thinking that Zhu Pingan also came here for the solar eclipse. Sparse. Little did he know that there was a "traitor" among the people waiting in line.

"Ahem, Ran Ye, Ran Ye."

Zhu Pingan coughed, nodded, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

""Historical Records of Tianguan Shu" says: The sun changes to cultivate virtue, the moon changes to save punishment, and the stars change to make peace. In all celestial changes, excessive ones are fortune-telling... The supreme cultivation of virtue is followed by the cultivation of politics, the next is the cultivation of salvation, and the third is the cultivation of war. There is nothing in the sky. The sun is the yang essence, and it is the image of the king. If the king moves slowly or urgently, the sun will be slow and fast. If it is slightly more than the normal speed, it will be covered by the moon, that is, the yin is soaked in the yang. It is also like the human king walking or If you miss, you should feel it. Your Majesty should follow the example and perform the gift of rescue."

The official in front of me didn’t know if he was a talker, so he started chatting with Zhu Ping’an while quoting classics while queuing up.

Zhu Ping'an simply responded with "Yes, yes, yes", but his mind started to think like a brainstorm.

eclipse!

In Zhu Pingan's view, this is a normal natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with people's subjective or objective behavior. However, Zhu Pingan also knows that for the ancients, this solar eclipse was a big deal.

In ancient times, we relied on the sky for food, and farming was inseparable from the sun.

A solar eclipse is when part of the sun disappears.

The sun has disappeared! ! ! ! ! What to do with the crops in the fields? ! For the ancients who relied on heaven for their livelihood, this was nothing less than an earth-shattering top priority. Ancient folk believed that solar and lunar eclipses occurred because a monster called the Tengu ate the sun and the moon. Therefore, when solar and lunar eclipses occurred, ordinary people would beat gongs, drums and set off firecrackers to celebrate the occasion. This comes to scare away the Tengu and save the sun and moon.

So why does Tengu eclipse the sun and the moon?

The ancients who believed in "respecting heaven and protecting the people" did extensive research. The ancients believed that the sun represented the emperor, the Son of Heaven, and the sun symbolized the emperor. The most typical one is the ancients' theory of the unity of nature and man.

A solar eclipse symbolizes the emperor. When a solar eclipse occurs, it means disaster for the emperor. The occurrence of solar eclipses, lunar eclipses and other "excessive" celestial phenomena are all caused by the emperor's lack of morality and lack of governance. Therefore, whenever the sun, moon and celestial phenomena are abnormal in the past dynasties, it is customary for the emperor and the ministers in power to practice virtue. , Xiu Zheng, routine rescue ceremony.

The ritual of rescue is a kind of "ritual" in ancient times. After the development of past dynasties, it has formed a set of complete, strict and standardized procedures. The Qin Tianjian predicted the timing of solar and lunar eclipses in the capital and other places, and notified all localities in the first five months. Whenever you see a solar or lunar eclipse that lasts for a certain period of time, you must perform a rescue ceremony. During a solar eclipse, all civil and military officials in the capital would go to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites to perform a rescue ceremony, and during a lunar eclipse, they would go to the Yamen of Taichang Temple to perform a rescue ceremony. The rescue ceremony requires the participation of all civil and military officials, Shuntian Prefecture, the Ministry of Rites, Luan Yiwei, Qintian Supervisor, etc. During the period, the government office must be cleaned, the incense table must be displayed, the auspicious clothes must be changed, golden drums may be played, music must be played, incense may be offered, and the three kneeling steps must be performed. A series of procedures such as knocking for rescue ceremony.

In short, the ritual of rescue is a common practice. As long as the solar eclipse reaches a certain level, the ritual of rescue must be performed according to the custom.

Therefore, after the solar eclipse yesterday, these officials will come to give advice, words and deeds of rescue.

Doing so can not only show that they are responsible, but also serve as their performance, and it can also brush their faces in front of Emperor Jiajing (of course, except for officials who are extremely upright and responsible). Historically, many officials did this when solar eclipses occurred, and the results were ideal.

Zhu Pingan understood their thoughts.

However, Zhu Pingan didn't think so. Zhu Pingan felt that they were too wishful thinking, and the result would be completely contrary to their expectations, and the result would make them cry very rhythmically.

Zhu Ping'an knew Emperor Jiajing very well, and could be said to be one of the people who knew Emperor Jiajing best in the Ming Dynasty. In modern times, Zhu Ping'an read too many records about Emperor Jiajing in official history, unofficial history, etc.

There is a deeper hidden word behind the solar eclipse and the salute of rescue.

When performing a rescue ritual during a solar eclipse, the implicit words are that the king is in trouble, the king has lost his virtue, the king is not good at governing, the king violates the will of heaven, etc. In short, it can almost be equated with the king having faults. After the solar eclipse, part of the rescue ceremony was the emperor's moral cultivation activities to avoid disasters. The key to the moral ceremony was "blame", that is, the emperor reviewed his own behavior, which fell into the category of "sin".

Sinner? !

Will the proud Emperor Jiajing do it? ! are you willing?

No need to think about it, Zhu Pingan knew the answer. Emperor Jiajing couldn't even accept Senior Brother Yang's memorial. How could he "sin himself"? !

etc……

Zhu Pingan thought of this sudden pause, and an electric current flashed in Zhu Pingan's mind. Then Zhu Pingan could no longer stand, and regardless of the fact that he was about to be queued up, he turned around and walked back, leaving directly. General administration envoy Si Yamen. As he walked, he crumpled the poem he had prepared in his sleeve into a ball.

"Hey, little brother, why are you leaving? Will you be here soon?"

The officials lining up in front noticed that Zhu Pingan had left and couldn't help shouting at Zhu Pingan's back.

"Suddenly I remembered an urgent matter." Zhu Pingan replied as he walked.

"Haha, you didn't forget to bring the memorial, did you? I think back then, when I went to class for the first time, I also forgot to bring the memorial."

The official in front smiled and showed understanding.

"My lord, you have good eyesight."

Zhu Pingan turned around, smiled, and strode away.