Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 827 Yongming
Zhu Shenzhu frowned slightly, and felt like cursing. After preparing for so long, the cabinet came up with such a bunch of junk to fool him? Why couldn't they come up with some more domineering and majestic reign titles like "Hongwu" and "Yongle"?
If all else fails, you can come up with "Yongli". Although Zhu Shenzhui would never use this reign title as it is somewhat unlucky, it is still better than this pile of junk, right?
Zhu Shenzui didn't say anything, but his slightly frowned brows made everyone feel uneasy, especially Wen Tiren, who was feeling very nervous. He understood that Zhu Shenzui definitely didn't like these reign titles. If he thought they were good, he wouldn't be like this.

"What should we do? Should we think of a few more? There are only a few days left before the enthronement. The reign title is no trivial matter. And it is not that simple to come up with a reign title. There are necessary reasons for it. It is not something that can be thought of casually. The reign titles that were chosen today were determined after a long period of discussion in the cabinet!" Wen Tiren suddenly felt a little hot in the hall, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

He had felt a great crisis since Qian Qianyi came to Beijing. If Zhu Shenzhu really took a fancy to Qian Qianyi, once this bastard entered the cabinet, he might have to give up his position soon. Without the position of Prime Minister, Wen Tihen felt worse than death. Being the highest official in the government was what Wen Tihen had always longed for. He had finally climbed to this position today, and he would never give it up.

Besides, Wen Tiren never formed a clique, and he had offended many people in the struggle for power over the years. He would be fine as long as he was the Prime Minister, but once he stepped down from the position, those people he had offended would surely pounce on him like mad dogs and tear him to pieces.

Wen Tiren did not want such a miserable ending. To keep his position, he had to let Zhu Shenzhu still trust him. Once he lost his trust, everything would be over. But today, as the chief minister of the cabinet, he was not able to show his face in front of Zhu Shenzhu. Compared with Qian Qianyi, he lost a lot of points.

The more Wen Tiren thought about it, the more anxious he became. He wanted to come up with a reign title that would satisfy Zhu Shenzhui and be appropriate, but the more anxious he became, the more confused his head became. Especially when he saw Qian Qianyi looking thoughtful as if he was thinking about something, Wen Tiren became even more anxious.

"Your Majesty, I do have an era name that may be suitable for Your Majesty." Suddenly, a voice was heard. Everyone looked and found that the person who spoke was Zhang Ruitu, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.

Among the people present today, no one can compare with Zhang Ruitu in terms of qualifications. Zhang Ruitu was the third place in the imperial examination in the 35th year of Wanli, and was later appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy. Later, he served as the Junior Chancellor of the Chancellery. In the Tianqi period, he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites, and later became the Minister of Rites. He was also promoted to the Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace and the Junior Tutor.

Afterwards, Zhang Ruitu entered the cabinet with Gu Bingqian and became the cabinet elders at that time. However, because Zhang Ruitu and Gu Bingqian and others were good friends, and Gu Bingqian was Wei Zhongxian's man, Zhang Ruitu's cabinet was also called the "Wei Party Cabinet". After the death of Emperor Tianqi, the Donglin Party counterattacked and fooled the newly enthroned Emperor Chongzhen to attack Wei Zhongxian, and labeled his followers as eunuchs. Although Zhang Ruitu was implicated by them and was not defined as a member of the eunuch party, not long after, because many candidates in the joint examination in the first year of Chongzhen were relatives of eunuchs and nobles, the furious Emperor Chongzhen directly dismissed Zhang Ruitu from his official position and then drove him out of the capital.

To be honest, Zhang Ruitu was indeed not a member of the eunuch party, but his political inclination leaned towards the eunuch party, and there was no such term as the eunuch party back then. Wei Zhongxian represented the will of the emperor, so the so-called eunuch party was actually the imperial party controlled by Emperor Tianqi.

Unfortunately, a new emperor appoints new ministers. With the rise of Emperor Chongzhen and the Donglin Party, the original eunuch party collapsed all of a sudden. Zhang Ruitu was already disliked by Emperor Chongzhen because of his involvement, and then the imperial examination issue made Emperor Chongzhen vent his anger on him, and he was dismissed from office.

Zhang Ruitu had a long history in the court and many friends. His status in the literary world was no less than that of Qian Qianyi. He was later known as one of the four great calligraphers of the Ming Dynasty and had a very high reputation. Moreover, Zhang Ruitu had always been a loyal supporter of the imperial party and was always dissatisfied with the Donglin Party and other parties fighting for power. It was for this reason that Zhu Shenzhui reinstated Zhang Ruitu and specially recalled him to the capital, giving him the positions of Right Censor of the Censorate and Grand Secretary of the Dongge.

Zhang Ruitu suddenly spoke, which naturally attracted everyone's attention. When everyone looked at Zhang Ruitu, they saw Zhang Ruitu stroking his long beard and saying, "I think the reign title 'Yongming' is quite appropriate for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty thinks it is appropriate, you can use it."

"Yongming"?
When Zhang Ruitu said this era name, many people were stunned. Except for a few nobles and Zhu Shenzhui, everyone else was well-read and had done some research on classics and history. Since Qin Shihuang unified China, there have been so many dynasties. These dynasties, plus the dynasties in war, have used countless era names. In total, there are more than 600.

It is impossible to remember all the reign titles, but it is no problem to remember some important ones. The reign title of Yongming has been used before. And the person who used this reign title was not an ordinary person. It was the reign title of Emperor Wu of Qi, Xiao Zhao, in the Southern Dynasties. And this reign title is very famous because the ten years during the reign of Emperor Wu of Qi were the most powerful and prosperous period of the Southern Dynasties, and it is also known in history as the "Yongming Reign."

"Isn't this the name of the Southern Dynasty? The Southern Dynasty was isolated in a corner, and this name seems a bit inappropriate." Someone immediately expressed his objection. The Southern Dynasty was not a unified dynasty, and it did not exist for a long time in history. Although there was the Yongming Reign, it did not take long for the Southern Dynasty to decline after the death of Emperor Wu of Qi, and was eventually destroyed.

It seems inappropriate to use this reign title as the reign title of the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, although this reign title is indeed very appropriate. Yongming has two meanings. One is that it will be prosperous forever, and the other is that it is in line with the Ming Dynasty forever. In comparison, it is indeed much better than the reign titles that the cabinet has come up with. In the face of some people's objections, Zhang Ruitu said that this is not a problem at all. Emperor Wu of Qi was a famous wise and virtuous ruler in the Southern Dynasty. When he was in power, the Southern Dynasty was thriving, the people lived and worked in peace, and the country was becoming stronger. It was a rare peaceful and prosperous era at that time.

If Emperor Wu of Qi had not died too early, the Yongming Reign would have lasted only ten years. If Emperor Wu of Qi had been given more time, with his ability, he might have been able to unify the world and rebuild China.

What's wrong with using the reign title of Ming Jun as the reign title of the Great Ming Dynasty? Besides, we are all scholars, so we should understand how the history books evaluate Emperor Wu of Qi.
Besides, more than 1,700 years have passed since the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, and many dynasties and emperors have gone through it. There have been more than 600 reign titles, and some of these reign titles are repeated. Even the reign titles drafted by the cabinet today have reign titles similar to those of previous dynasties, such as "Yanyuan", which is "Yuanyan" in reverse, and "Yuanyan" is the reign title of Emperor Cheng of Han. Another example is "Yongyuan" is the reign title of Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Jiaxiang" is similar to "Jiayou" in the Song Dynasty, and "Xingping" is the reign title used by Emperor Xian Liu Xie, and later Tang Yu of the Southern Dynasty also used this reign title, not to mention the others.

In terms of political achievements and historical evaluation, which of these emperors can be compared with Emperor Wu of Qi? Since other era names can be used, why can't Emperor Wu of Qi use Yongming? Moreover, the Southern Dynasty is the Southern Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty. It is more appropriate to use the era name Yongming for the Ming Dynasty. Why can't it be used?
Zhang Ruitu's words left everyone speechless, but Zhu Shenzhui's eyes lit up.

Zhu Shenzhui also learned about these allusions for the first time today, but he never thought there were so many truths in them. Moreover, the reign title "Yongming" proposed by Zhang Ruitu made Zhu Shenzhui feel bright after hearing it. He recited the reign title in his heart, and the more he recited it, the more he thought it was a good reign title.

Yongming Yongming, the eternal Ming Dynasty, this is a good omen! It is a hundred times better than Juntong and Xuantong, and it is even more catchy.

"Good! Well said!" Zhu Shenzhui laughed and clapped his hands. "What Minister Zhang said is very true. Emperor Wu of Qi was a wise ruler, and I should be a wise ruler as well. Moreover, my Ming Dynasty far surpassed the Southern Dynasties, and I should also surpass Emperor Wu of Qi. Using Yongming as the reign title is indeed appropriate. I agree with it. That's it. The reign title will be Yongming."

Zhang Ruitu stood up and saluted Zhu Shenzhui with a smile, saying that he was just doing what he should do. The selection of the reign title was decided by His Majesty, and he just made a suggestion.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded happily in approval and immediately decided on his own reign title. After he ascended the throne, the next year would be the first year of Yongming, and he would be the Yongming Emperor.

With the reign title determined, the next step basically falls on the Ministry of Rites.

By the way, another major event was the change of titles. As early as half a year ago, Zhu Shenzhu was ready to revise the title system of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the titles of the royal family, the titles of the Ming Dynasty were divided into three levels, namely, Earl, Marquis, and Duke. The original five titles of the Zhou Dynasty were abolished, and the three levels of state, county, and county in the previous dynasty were abolished and merged.

That is to say, when Zhu Yuanzhang set up the titles, he only retained the basic three levels of titles, thus eliminating those cumbersome subdivisions. This seems much simpler, but the problem is that although there are advantages and disadvantages, the three levels of titles were not a problem in the founding of the country and the early days of the dynasty, but as the dynasty continued, the overly fixed titles were not conducive to the conferring of titles and the division of meritorious service. Although the royal relatives were usually conferred titles of temporary nobility, the boundary between temporary nobility and hereditary nobility was very vague. In addition, there were too few titles, and it was also very troublesome to confer titles. Once a title was conferred, it started as an earl, which was not conducive to the court's rewards and grade division of meritorious officials.

In history, after the Manchus entered the Central Plains, although they continued the Ming system, they restored the Zhou system's five-level nobility system in terms of titles, and set up three levels of first, second, and third for each title. This setting was equivalent to the previous distinction between country, prefecture, and county. In this way, there were a total of fifteen levels of nobility, with three levels for each title, which was more conducive to promotion and reward according to military merit, thus avoiding the embarrassment of having too much merit and no rewards to be given.

(End of this chapter)