Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 100 Jiangshan Jiangshan, the Banquet at Hongmen!

Chapter 100 Jiangshan Jiangshan, the Banquet at Hongmen!
Grant a banquet in Wuying Palace!
The Cabinet and the six ministries were familiar with the imperial edicts, but they were unfamiliar with their contents.

Or rather, not very familiar.

Where is Wuying Palace?
In the Forbidden City!

But since the Renyin Palace Coup in the 21st year of Jiajing's reign, the emperor moved out of the Forbidden City and never returned.

As for the banquets granted, they can be traced back even earlier. Since the 18th year of the Jiajing reign, there has been no record of the emperor having banquets with his subjects.

After twenty years, or even more than twenty years, the emperor finally returned to the Forbidden City that was loyal to him.

As they were not familiar with the banquet venue, the officials of the Ministry of Rites had to arrange it according to the ritual book. The progress was so slow that even Chen Yiqin, the cabinet elder and Minister of Rites, could not stand it anymore and personally came down to help.

After all, he came from a family with hundreds of years of history, and every generation had served as ceremonial officials. Once he took action, all the complicated ceremonial affairs suddenly became organized.

After finishing his current government affairs, Minister Li Chunfang went to the Wuying Palace to observe and asked about some matters of etiquette and law, preparing to go back and compile family rules.

With the joint efforts of the two ministers and the Ministry of Rites.

Apart from the emperor's special instructions, no one could find fault with the layout of the Wuying Palace.

The emperor's throne is above.

The first duke of the Ming Dynasty in the true sense, Duke Yingguo, Zhang Rong, sits at the lower left of the dragon throne.

The second place was Duke Dingguo Xu Yande.

The last seat was taken by Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong.

The three dukes in Beijing sat in the same row, including Xu Pengju, Duke of Wei, and Mu Chaobi, Duke of Qian.

Unlike the traditional banquet where everyone sat at separate tables, the five dukes, including the emperor, all sat at the same table.

In accordance with the imperial decree, this banquet will only have one dish, and the ministers will eat together. What an honor it is.

However, looking at this dish with unique shape, undulating grooves and endless lines, Chen Yiqin and Li Chunfang looked so strange.

All ceremonies are completed.

Chen Yiqin, Li Chunfang and officials from the Ministry of Rites left the hall one after another, and Duke Yingguo, Duke Dingguo and Duke Chengguo entered the hall first.

As soon as the Three Dukes in Beijing entered the palace, they smelled a strong odor and couldn't help but frown.

Standing in front of their seats, the exquisite dishes seemed familiar to the dukes.

But before he could figure it out, the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Qian entered the hall under the "escort" of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Even though they had prepared in advance, the two dukes still couldn't hide their fatigue. They were tired after sitting on the boat for so long.

Especially the Duke of Wei, with his white hair and lifeless appearance, he doesn't have the slightest demeanor of a duke.

Wearing the ceremonial court robes is like wearing a layer of gorgeous leather, which fully interprets the true meaning of "a monkey wearing a crown".

Everyone present knew about the undermining of the Ming Dynasty in Jiangnan and the draining of the imperial court's grain, and no one felt any sympathy for the Duke of Wei.

Even Duke Dingguo, who was of the same ancestor but different clan, was shocked by the audacity of the ancestor's direct lineage.

The grain for tax was collected by the court from the people, but Duke Wei's withholding of it was like a tax on the court.

The people pay taxes to the court, and the court pays taxes to the Duke of Wei's mansion?
The emperor is the emperor of the court and the people, so doesn’t that mean the Duke of Wei’s Mansion is the emperor above the emperor?
Emperor?
Not only food, but also things that the southern provinces pay tribute to the emperor have to be picked first by the Duke of Wei's Mansion. Doesn't that mean the emperor will just eat what's left by the Duke of Wei?
The emperor had practiced Taoism for many years and was very restrained in his appetite. He basically did not eat or use the tribute. Most of the time, he gave it to nobles and court officials. In short, the thought of eating the leftovers of the Duke of Wei made the Duke of the Three Kingdoms in Beijing feel sick.

In addition, the State of Wei privately mobilized the Zhenwu Camp and plotted to kill court officials, the emperor's swordsmen, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards. This was simply a rebellion!
This was the case with the Duke of Wei's Mansion in Nanzhili, and the Duke of Qian's Mansion, which had guarded Yunnan and Guizhou for generations, was also somewhat heard of by the Three Dukes in Beijing.

If the Duke of Wei's Mansion still had a little fear of the capital and had to consider reporting to the north when doing things, then the Duke of Qian's Mansion had completely let go.

Regardless of the problems of the contemporary Duke of Qian himself, according to the report submitted by the former Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou to the imperial court, the Duke of Qian's mansion in Yunnan and Guizhou is as majestic as that of the emperor when traveling.

Relying on their power, the Mu family invaded and annexed people's fields and villages in Yunnan and Guizhou, totaling nearly 50,000 hectares over the past hundred years!

It accounts for 30% of the total farmland in Yunnan and Guizhou!
And never paid taxes!
The Duke of Wei was the overlord in Southern Zhili, and the Duke of Qian was the local tyrant in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

While in the Three Kingdoms Mansion in Beijing, he had lamented countless times that his ancestors had conferred titles without any choice, and that it was a big mistake to follow Emperor Chengzu Wen to Beijing.

Not only was the capital city bitterly cold, but it was also under the emperor's nose, so even a small matter like raping a woman had to be covered up.

It’s nothing like the Duke of Wei’s Mansion overlooking the Qinhuai River, or the Duke of Qian’s Mansion overlooking Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. Whichever one you like, you can see it on your bed at night.

When they saw the "thief eating meat", the Duke of Yingguo, the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Chengguo were so envious that their eyes turned purple, but now, when they were about to see the "thief getting beaten", the three dukes in Beijing were filled with gloating.

It is said that the Duke of Wei was "harmed" by his eldest son, and even the Duke of Wei's mansion in Jinling City was seized by the Nanjing Pacification Office in cooperation with the Xiaoling Guards.

Even if the Duke of Wei managed to survive the banquet, he would probably lose his title of Duke, let alone the glory of his ancestors.

Duke Dingguo had made up his mind that from now on he would have nothing to do with the Duke of Wei's Mansion. When he was "eating meat", he did not expect that his poor relatives in the capital would not be able to eat "meat" when they fell into poverty.

The ancestor Xu Da was too far away. If you count carefully, the two duke's mansions are within the five generations. Even if the nine clans of the Duke of Wei's mansion are executed, the Duke of Ding's mansion cannot be punished.

Not adding insult to injury later is all that the Duke Dingguo's Mansion can do.

Huang Jin, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, arrived at the Wuying Palace and shouted, "The Emperor has arrived!"

The Five Dukes knelt down in front of the empty dragon throne in the middle, kowtowed three times and bowed five times, and shouted: "Your Majesty, I wish you long live! Long live! Long, long live!"

The hymn to the Holy Spirit is over.

Zhu Houcong had already walked to the dragon throne, sat down, and said softly: "You are all dukes of my Ming Dynasty, so there are no so many rules. Sit up."

The five dukes did not stand up and continued to kneel on the ground. The Duke of England, as the head of the dukes, said respectfully, "How dare we, the ministers, sit at the same table with the emperor and have a feast."

According to the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu Gao, the dukes and the Ming Dynasty shared weal and woe, and the dukes themselves shared weal and woe.

Now, Duke Wei has committed a serious mistake, and Duke Qian has lost both his public and private morals. How can the dukes hold their heads up in front of the emperor?

"Hey! Today we won't talk about the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. We're just going to talk about past friendship. Stand up, sit down, everyone sit down!" Zhu Houcong said gently.

It was like an ordinary farmer greeting guests, and a sense of warmth filled the hall.

Before coming to the banquet, the five dukes had already prepared themselves for the emperor to take advantage of the situation and expose their honor and disgrace. The emperor's "abnormality" made the dukes even more terrified.

Not daring to disobey the imperial order, the dukes all stood up and sat down with trepidation.

The banquet begins.

Huang Jin did not taste the dish, but directly announced the name of the dish, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, this dish is called... Jiangshan!"

(End of this chapter)

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