Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 11 Reading the Will
Zhu Houcong hurriedly helped Wang Yu up, put on his official hat, and comforted him by saying:
"You are not afraid of the powerful and are loyal to the country. I am very happy. However, Gu Dayong is an old friend of the late emperor. I cannot blame him. I hope you will consider the overall situation and not make a fuss about him for his service to the late emperor. Don't abandon me and the people at this time. You have always been popular among the people. Now you are suddenly unwilling to accept humiliation and leave. Those who don't know will think that I have done something immoral."

After Zhu Houcong said this, Wang Yu stopped crying and hurriedly bowed his hands, saying that he dared not.

Wang Yu then stood aside and looked at the ministers who had come with him, including Xu Guangzuo, Liang Chu, Mao Cheng, etc.

Mao Cheng was very happy when he saw this scene.

He now began to be more willing to believe Wang Yu's words, and believed that Zhu Houcong was truly a wise monarch who treated his civil officials with courtesy.

What made him even happier was that Zhu Houcong did not do anything to Gu Dayong for this, but expressed his unwillingness to blame him on the grounds that Gu Dayong was an old associate of Emperor Zhengde.

Although Mao Cheng also looked down on eunuchs, he hoped that Zhu Houcong would treat the old people of the Zhengde Dynasty well and not exercise his power to reprimand Gu Dayong and other old people of the Zhengde Dynasty, showing that he was very power-hungry.

First of all, he can be considered an old man from the Zhengde Dynasty.

Secondly, although he hoped that the new emperor would be benevolent and wise, he hoped even more that the new emperor would be calm and indifferent, and not have a strong desire for power.

After all, only such an emperor would delegate power to these civil servants, and even leave the disposal of powerful eunuchs to them. At the same time, he would be willing to govern the world together with these literati, and be willing to abide by the rules and restrain himself. He would not be like Zhengde, who treated these important ministers with kindness and generosity, but controlled the power firmly in his own hands by making use of eunuchs and military generals, so that these cabinet ministers and chancellors could not force Emperor Zhengde to do as they wished.

Therefore, Mao Cheng was very satisfied with Zhu Houcong's behavior at this moment, and his eyes became red and tears welled up in his eyes. He secretly sighed that the Ming Dynasty had finally met a wise and benevolent ruler who was as gentle as the Empress Xiao!

The revival of the Ming Dynasty is in sight!
Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo and Grand Secretary Liang Chu shook their heads and sighed at this time.

Of course, they would like to see that the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty would be a wise and benevolent ruler who would not attack them, but when they thought that if this happened, the new emperor Zhu Houcong would be manipulated and played with at will by the civil officials in power using etiquette and laws as weapons, they could not help but feel a little pity for Zhu Houcong.

They even worried that Yang Tinghe, Mao Cheng and other upright civil officials might go too far in suppressing the imperial power and ignoring the emperor's personal emotional needs and dignity needs because the new emperor Zhu Houcong was too lenient, forcing Zhu Houcong to no longer be willing to be a lenient monarch, or even to give up completely and make a 180-degree turn, becoming the incompetent tyrant that they all disliked.

Xu Guangzuo and Liang Chu were not worrying too much. They were also veterans who had experienced two or even three dynasties, and they knew that such things would happen many times.

After all, the more honest a person is, the more extreme his rebellious behavior will be when he is pushed into a corner.

same.

The more benevolent and friendly a monarch is, the more willful he will become after he betrays the rites and laws.

Because people are like this. The more you disrespect their personality, the more they want to show their individuality.

You know, even Emperor Xiaozong, in his later years, was even more indulgent than Emperor Xianzong in terms of indulging his foreign relatives and believing in alchemists.

Needless to say, Emperor Zhengde treated Liu Jian and other civil officials with great respect in the early years of his reign. When the civil officials asked him to kill Liu Jin and other people around him, he initially took the initiative to beg Liu Jian and other civil officials. However, as the civil officials refused to give in, he simply changed his attitude and began to trample on traditional etiquette.

Therefore, Xu Guangzuo and Liang Chu now began to worry that such an outcome would occur.

Moreover, Xu Guangzuo was a little angry. He was angry that civil servants such as Yang Tinghe and Mao Cheng had been discussing matters behind the backs of them, the nobles and relatives, and completely ignored them, leaving them with only the name of welcoming the emperor but not the reality of it.

In Xu Guangzuo's view, if these nobles and relatives had the power to welcome the emperor to the throne and even held real power in the court, even if the emperor was weak, they would not let the emperor be easily controlled by the civil servants.

But Xu Guangzuo felt it was a pity that they had no real power now.

Ever since the Battle of Tumu, and even after the fall of Emperor Zhengde, who attempted to train troops and let military heroes regain control of the military power, and now his death, the Empress Dowager compromised with Yang Tinghe and others, so these military heroes have not yet regained their rightful power. Now even the military power of the 3,000 guards responsible for escorting the new emperor Zhu Houzhao to Beijing is in the hands of Yang Tinghe's brother, Yang Tingyi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Precisely because even the military power to escort the new emperor back to the capital was in Yang Tingyi's hands, Xu Guangzuo, although angry, did not dare to say anything.

What's more, he no longer had the courage of his ancestors to risk their lives for wealth and fame.

Gu Dayong was naturally very pleased to see that Zhu Houcong did not blame him for forcing Wang Yu to kneel down to him, but instead excused him by treating him well on the grounds that he was an old associate of Emperor Zhengde. He thought to himself that although the new master respected civil officials, he was also generous to eunuchs like him. In this way, they would be able to live a stable life for the rest of their lives.

For eunuchs like Gu Dayong, since Liu Jin was skinned alive, their spirits have also been greatly reduced, and they no longer dare to hope to completely suppress the civil officials, not to mention that the emperor is about to change. As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers, so now they only hope that they can live a stable life after the new emperor ascends the throne, and no longer ask for anything else. Even if Zhu Houcong treats them worse than the civil officials, they can accept it. Zhu Houcong is still very tolerant in front of civil officials like Mao Cheng and Wang Yu because he is not strong yet.

However, Zhu Houcong was also paying attention to the expressions of Xu Guangzuo, Liang Chu and other ministers who came to welcome the emperor.

In Zhu Houcong's opinion, these people's temperaments were indeed different from the local bureaucrats he had met in Huguang. Although they were all humble and indifferent on the surface, their gazes were deep and sharp, and they did not seem to be too afraid of the new monarch of his local vassal state, even though some of them looked approving of him.

But what Zhu Houcong wanted was not the approval of others, but others' awe and undoubted trust in him.

However, Zhu Houcong knew that it was not appropriate for him to show his edge now, lest he be seen through by these people too early. So when he received the edict from Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo and Grand Secretary Liang Chu, he pretended to be uneasy, and took the edict with a gloomy expression. He went to Chengyun Hall according to the rituals instructed by Gu Dayong, placed the edict in Chengyun Hall, and performed the kneeling ceremony.

Simultaneously.

Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, Grand Secretary Liang Chu, Minister of Rites Mao Cheng and other welcoming ministers, local bureaucrats from Huguang, and officials from the royal palace all came in one after another, knelt down in an orderly manner, and followed suit in performing the grand ceremony.

then.

Zhu Houcong picked up the will, turned to face the ministers and began to read it.

"I am humble and have inherited the great work of my ancestors for seventeen years. Although I have worked hard to govern the country, the transformation and governance have not been smooth. I deeply respect the trust of the late emperor. Now I am suddenly ill and dying. I am afraid I can't get back to work. Life and death are the laws of nature. People in ancient and modern times cannot avoid it. It depends on the right person to succeed the throne. The clan, the society and the people depend on it. Even if I die, I will have no regrets!"

"My father, Emperor Xiaozong, is the younger brother of Emperor Jing. The eldest son of Prince Xingxian, Houcong, is intelligent, benevolent and filial. He has a mature character and should be established in the order of descent. I have followed the ancestral precepts that the elder brother succeeds the younger brother. I have reported this to the ancestral temple and asked the Empress Dowager Cishou and all the civil and military officials to conspire and agree to send officials to bring him to the capital today to succeed the throne."

"All the civil and military officials, both inside and outside the country, should work together to assist me in all matters, and follow the old system of our ancestors to carry out my will."

……

After Zhu Houcong finished reading the will, he looked at the ministers in the hall.

At this time, all the ministers bowed their heads and shouted: "We will obey the command of the Holy Prophet!"

then.

These ministers all kowtowed to Zhu Houcong again and said, "Please return to the court, my Lord!"

Zhu Houcong looked at the ministers kneeling before him, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and then he glanced at the edict in his hand.

heavy.

It seemed as if all of China was in his hands.

Zhu Houcong knew that he could begin to gradually show his talents.

After keeping a low profile for more than ten years, he can finally give the world more surprises and unexpected things.

Because the imperial edict is now in our hands, not only that, it is also being promulgated throughout the Ming Dynasty without stopping.

Therefore, from now on, more and more people in the world will know that he will be the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty recognized by the will. Even if someone does not recognize him, he can still raise an army to conquer them based on the will.

"As you have requested."

Zhu Houcong then spoke in a steady tone with hidden majesty.

(End of this chapter)