The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Is it necessary to change the name of the three major halls?"

But at this moment, King Yu really looked at them in confusion, hoping for an answer.

Yin Shizhen thought about it and replied: "Your Highness, the three main halls have been burned by fire from the sky many times since they were built."

After just getting started, he couldn't go on. It was true that Fengtian Temple had suffered too many failures.

If we talked about it on weekdays, he wouldn't feel it, but after reading the note sent by Gao Gong and what Emperor Jiajing said on it, he couldn't help but mutter about it in his heart.

Although the words were not explained clearly, King Yu still understood it, even if he thought about it.

In the 18th year of Yongle, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, had just moved the capital to Beijing. A fire broke out in the second year, burning down the three newly built halls of Fengtian, Huagai and Jinshen.

However, due to the underdeveloped science and technology at that time, most people believed that this was a "divine punishment" and God's retribution for Zhu Di's unauthorized seizure of the throne.

As a result, calls from the government and the public to return the capital to Nanjing began to rise. However, Zhu Di withstood the pressure from all parties and refused to move the capital. Three years later, he died of illness on the way to the Fifth Northern Expedition, ending the legendary lifetime.

During this period, due to the heated discussions between the government and the public, the fear of "divine punishment" and the drain on the national treasury caused by successive campaigns, Zhu Di did not start rebuilding the three halls in the last three years of his life.

After Zhu Di's death, Ming Renzong Hongxi Emperor Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne, and the three main halls were still a pile of ruins.

The question before Zhu Gaochi at this time is very clear: Should the three main halls still be repaired?

On the surface, this issue is a matter of engineering repair, but behind it lies the struggle for the capital. Rebuilding the three major palaces means continuing to make Beijing the capital. On the contrary, it indicates that the emperor will return the capital to Nanjing.

Although he is a novice in becoming emperor, Zhu Gaochi has been supervising the country as the prince, so he has rich political experience.

After consideration, he decided not to rebuild the three main halls but to return to Nanjing. That is to say, he gave up Zhu Di's policy and returned the capital to Nanjing. He first ordered his consort Mu Xin to take charge of the Nanjing rear army governor's palace, and also ordered the eunuchs Wang Gui and Zheng He to lead the army. Guarding Nanjing, he also sent Prince Zhu Zhanji to Nanjing and ordered the Nanjing palace to be repaired.

However, before taking the final step to return the capital, Ming Renzong, who was determined to return to Nanjing, suddenly died.

After Zhu Gaochi died, Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji came to the throne. He wanted to follow his father's last wish and move back to the old capital, but the frequent earthquakes in Nanjing left a deep impression on the new emperor.

According to historical records, from the first year of Xuande to the eighth year of Xuande, there were thirty-five earthquakes in Nanjing and five earthquakes in Beijing.

Therefore, the intensive earthquakes in Nanjing interrupted the Ming Dynasty's work of returning the capital to Nanjing. Until Zhu Zhanji's death, the capital remained in Beijing.

And all this, in the Zhengtong period, Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen officially issued an edict to make Beijing the capital and Nanjing the capital. At this point, the problem of the capital of the Ming Dynasty was finally solved. In the Zhengtong sixth year, the three major palaces of the Yongle Dynasty were finally burned. Rebuilt.

However, in the 14th year of Orthodoxy, the newly built three main halls were struck by lightning and caught fire again. Fortunately, the heavy rain did not cause the main hall to be burned down. The craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry worked overtime to repair it.

Afterwards, similar lightning strikes and fires occurred many times in the three main halls, but they were all controlled in time without much consequence. The government and the public have always criticized this, but they did not dare to discuss it publicly because of the official edict issued during the Zhengtong period.

It was just that in the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing's reign, a fire completely destroyed the three main halls again. At this time, these words said by Emperor Jiajing did not seem to be nonsense.

"Zhengfu feels that father is right."

King Yu asked.

"I dare not ignore Your Majesty, but maybe it would be good to change the name."

Yin Shizhen couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong, but changing the name of the three main halls didn't seem to be a big deal, and he was not one of those pedantic people.

It was just limited to the times. After seeing Emperor Jiajing's reasons, he couldn't think of a reason to refute it.

"Actually, Brother Su Qing has already approved this matter, so we don't need to worry about it."

At this time Wei Guangde said.

"But Su Qing also said that he always felt that His Majesty had a deeper meaning behind this matter."

Yin Shizhen said.

This is actually what King Yu wants to know. Although he seems to have been designated as the heir by Emperor Jiajing, he has not been named the prince after all, and he still feels uneasy.

Therefore, he may want to be ideologically consistent with Emperor Jiajing, so as not to hate the emperor.

King Yu looked at Wei Guangde and then at Zhang Juzheng. These two people were the most valued by his father. This could be seen from the re-recorded edict, so he hoped that they could see something.

Facing King Yu's gaze, Zhang Juzheng shook his head gently, his meaning was very clear, and he did not know the deep meaning of Gao Gong's words.

Wei Guangde just lowered his head at this time and seemed to be still thinking.

"I also feel that this matter is not that simple. It seems familiar, but I can't figure out the reason."

Tang Ruji interrupted at this time.

Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng immediately nodded slightly in approval.

However, Wei Guangde, who had lowered his head before, suddenly raised his head and looked at Tang Ruji, his mouth opening slightly unconsciously.

"What do you think about Shandai?"

Seeing his performance, Tang Ruji asked curiously.

"It seems familiar."

Wei Guangde just repeated one of his previous words, and then his eyes lit up and he said: "I may know what's going on.

Do you still remember what happened when His Majesty first came to Dabao? "

"The dispute over the great ceremony?"

Zhang Juzheng asked first.

"Exactly."

Wei Guangde replied immediately, and then continued under the puzzled looks of King Yu, Yin Shizhen and others: "Taizu was not Taizu before."

"hiss"

Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath, and his thoughts had obviously been opened up by Wei Guangde's words.

In the 22nd year of Yongle, Zhu Di died. He went to the temple with the name of Taizong, and his posthumous title was Tianhongdao, Gaoming, Guangyun, Shengwu, Shengong, Chunren and Xiaowen. However, now the temple name has been changed to Taizu. This change came from the 17th year of Jiajing. At the same time, his posthumous title was changed to Emperor Qitian Hongdao Gaoming Zhaoyun Shengwu Shengong Chunren Zhixiaowen.

With this beginning, Yu Wang and others' minds were opened and they understood.

Emperor Jiajing was the cousin of Emperor Zhengde. He was originally a vassal king who was enfeoffed in Huguang. He had no chance of becoming emperor because Emperor Zhengde died suddenly in his prime and left no heirs. He was welcomed into Beijing because of his closest blood relationship and supported him. For the emperor.

After ascending the throne, Emperor Jiajing had a great ritual dispute with Yang Tinghe, the leader of the government and the opposition at that time, in order to prove the legitimacy of his throne, and subsequently implemented a series of etiquette reforms.

"Shan Loi means that the name change of the three major halls is a continuation of the dispute over the ceremony?"

Yin Shizhen asked.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, but then shook his head and said, "Maybe I'm overthinking it. How can I understand His Majesty's thoughts?"

Figuring out the holy will is a difficult technical job. If you are not careful, your head will fall to the ground. As the saying goes, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger.

Even though he was in Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde didn't dare to take on this role, even though everyone was actually doing it.

In fact, in Wei Guangde's mind, by connecting the things that Emperor Jiajing has done since he came to the throne, it is easy to think that because of his origin, he wanted to start from him and make a break with the previous dynasty, in order to further prove that the Ming Dynasty From him the dynasty began a new era.

It's just that he didn't say this.

Since he felt that changing the name of the three major halls was not a big deal, King Yu lost much interest and said: "In that case, let's do it. Anyway, Master Gao also said that he will not object."

"It's more than that."

However, after the words fell, Wei Guangde said: "Your Highness, you should let the officials support your Majesty. If any of your colleagues have objections, everyone should try to persuade them."

"Would this be too much?"

After hearing Wei Guangde's words, Tang Ruji hesitated.

"Actually, no one thinks that changing the name of the three main halls is a big deal. In order to avoid this matter from causing fierce controversy among the government and the public, I think it is better to clearly support His Majesty's decision from the beginning."

Wei Guangde said straightforwardly.

"There must be people who oppose it. If you can convince some, try to persuade some to avoid fighting in the court. I think it will work."

Zhang Juzheng's attitude was similar to Wei Guangde's. When he heard what he said, he naturally supported it.

Tang Ruji was still a bit of a scholar, and felt that doing so was a bit of a sign of flattery, but seeing that Zhang Juzheng also supported it, he stopped speaking.

King Yu and Yin Shizhen looked at each other. Yin Shizhen had no objection. King Yu thought for a while and then said: "Shandai's opinion is a good one. It should avoid conflicts in the court. Li Fang, please remember this."

What King Yu said was actually the end of today's conversation, asking Li Fang to deliver a message to the officials who had come over to support the name change.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Fang naturally understood and bowed in agreement.

"Tonight the royal palace is holding a banquet to celebrate Shandai, Shu Da and becoming a school official, and to participate in the re-recording ceremony."

Then, King Yu smiled again.

Although the edict has not yet been officially issued, the edict drafted by the cabinet has been sent to the Supervisor of Liturgy and the Sixth Section. It will be officially issued in the near future, and there will be no changes.

It is appropriate to celebrate in the palace.

They discussed it in Prince Yu's Mansion, and among the Ministry of Rites, there was a lot of discussion about changing the names of the three main halls.

Those who held objections were mostly doctors and foreign ministers in the Qing Dynasty's official affairs department. However, senior officials at the level of minister and minister, whether it was for their own career or something else, had very little opposition.

The discussion of the Ministry of Rites naturally quickly spread to all the major yamen in Beijing, and the six departments, five temples and two courtyards also became lively for a while.

Before, people in the Hanlin Academy were still congratulating Qu Jingchun, Ding Shimei, Xu Shixing and others, especially Xu Shixing, who had just received such a good job after becoming the number one scholar.

In the past, there was nothing much to do in the Hanlin Academy. Due to various reasons, the emperor’s records in the past were not taken seriously by the current emperor at all. Even if you work hard to do a good job, you will not get many rewards, so for re-recording Naturally, I was very excited about the ceremony.

Lu Guangxun, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, handed the official document to Lei Li and introduced in detail what he saw on the southwest embankment of Lugou. He said: "Sir, there is a big river southeast of Lugou Bridge from Liyuanzhuang to Zhigu and the sea. The sand and mud have silted up for more than ten miles. A little to the east, there is a forked river from Gu'an to Zhigu and the sea. The terrain is slightly higher. It is better to dredge the river first to return the water to its original channel, and then build a long embankment. The breach is low, the soil is floating, the water is deep and fast, and it is difficult for manpower to repair it. The old embankment on the west bank is about 800 feet long and should be rebuilt according to the ruins."

Lei Li nodded slightly while looking through the official documents in his hand. He also agreed with Lu Guangxun's words.

The most common natural disasters in Beijing's history are floods. First, there are heavy rains in summer and autumn; second, rivers burst their banks and cause flooding.

Historically, most floods occurred in June and July. Among them, the Yongding River from Shijingshan to Marco Polo Bridge overflowed most frequently. The breach here poses a greater threat to Beijing.

In fact, the important reason why Lu Guangxun went to Marco Polo Bridge for inspection this time was that the embankment there burst. Fortunately, the flood was not big and did not reach Beijing.

Although the floods have receded, the Ministry of Industry must deal with it immediately, otherwise the floods will come again next year, and the capital will be flooded with water if it fails.

Lei Li also read the official document written by Lu Guangxun at this time, looked up at him and said: "It is divided into nine district committee cadres and nine bureau officials. I think it is feasible, so I will write a memorial based on this and submit it to the cabinet."

"But Mr. Lei, this embankment repair can only last for a few years. It is still not as stable as rebuilding it directly."

Lu Guangxun said.

"The yamen has no money. If we build it again next year, I'm afraid it won't be in time, so let's do this first."

Of course Lei Li knew that he was actually responsible for repairing the first generation embankment of Marco Polo Bridge a few years ago. He also knew that it would not work in the long run because he had no money.

"By the way, sir, I went back to the Yamen and heard everyone talking about how His Majesty is going to change the names of the three main halls. Is this true?"

After finishing talking about official matters, Lu Guangxun remembered the news he had heard earlier.

"I don't know the specifics, but I have heard this rumor."

Lei Li nodded and replied.

"How is this possible? Emperor Cheng Zuwen built the capital city and the three main halls were also built according to the Forbidden City in Nanjing. The names of the three main halls have not been changed. If they could be named casually, they would have been changed back then."

Lu Guangxun is obviously one of the people who does not support the name change of the three major halls. In fact, there are many such people, but most of them have humble official positions and are not very good at working. If they were good at working, they would have been promoted and held high positions long ago.

Scenes like this happened in various ministries, but most of them were doctors and foreign ministers who complained to their superiors in the yamen. However, no one has understood the true intentions of Emperor Jiajing until now, otherwise they would not dare to continue discussing the matter.

Thinking about the original grand ceremony, it was almost unanimously discussed by the whole court, but he was not the one to overturn it in the end, and those who jumped the most happily ended up with the worst fate, especially Yang Tinghe, the chief minister of the cabinet at the time.

More than two years ago, Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, wanted to return to his roots before his death, but Emperor Jiajing sternly rejected him out of resentment, and eventually died of old age in Yongchangwei, Yunnan.

The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were stubborn and not afraid of death, but when they encountered a more resolute and stubborn emperor, they could only do nothing.

However, after the afternoon, such objections gradually subsided. Xu Jie, Yuan Wei, and Prince Yu's Mansion began to convey news through various channels to appease the officials.

With the intervention of these big guys, the situation was quickly brought under control, especially after seeing the reaction of the Ministry of Rites. Even the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who was known as a mad dog, was firmly restrained in the courtyard by Pan En.