It must be said that the ceremony for investing the Crown Prince was far more grand than his own coronation.
No matter how reluctant Zhu Yousong was, the Ministry of Rites was still present at that time, the Nanjing Imperial Palace was large enough.
Nowadays in Huaian Prefecture.. setting aside everything else, the prefectural office here isn't even as large as those in Yangzhou and Suzhou.
This also made the enthronement ceremony seem somewhat shabby.
The lack of grandeur wasn't just due to the venue being too small; there were also many civil and military officials present, yet the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries were not yet all accounted for, let alone the other officials. In fact, aside from Fu, the remaining officials didn't even have their official robes.
It made Zhu Ci feel as if he were playing house with a group of people.
He was only slightly better off than those emperors who ascended the throne in a village, but the entire process was extremely rigorous, nothing essential was missing.
It is said that a large part of this was written by Zhu Ci; after all, they do not know much about matters concerning ritual systems.
After Fu defeated Zhu Yousong and entered Nanjing, he did find many classics, but the records in the classics always differed from reality, not to mention that the records here in Nanjing were not very complete.
On the other hand, Zhu Ci had received all sorts of education since childhood, which compensated for much and ensured that the entire enthronement ceremony would not appear as a complete mess.
Zhu Ci walked forward slowly, the twelve tassels swaying slightly, allowing one to vaguely catch a glimpse of the new Emperor's features through those jade beads.
Because he was ascending the throne in front of the memorial tablet, Zhu Ci had to first burn incense before Zhu Yousong's memorial tablet.
He wasn't particularly unwilling; once a person dies, everything fades, his hatred for Zhu Yousong had not reached the point where he would desecrate him even after death.
He had too many things to do and no time to hate Zhu Yousong.
After the rituals to worship the late Emperor were completed, the next step was the formal enthronement ceremony.
It felt not much different from the process of investing a Crown Prince; the only real difference was that the imperial decree first established an era name: Guanglie.
Restore the old territories and uphold the glory of the ancestors.
There was no other intention; it was a clear declaration of a fight to the death against the Tartars.
However, since era changes typically occur in the following year, the era name they are currently using is still the first year of the Hongguang Era.
Zhu Ci sat on the dragon throne and glanced down, finding that there were actually quite many unfamiliar faces; these should all be scholars who had come to seek refuge.
Looking at it this way, his and Fu's judgment was somewhat flawed; he had originally thought that few people would be willing to come, but he hadn't expected that the number of people who arrived would be quite significant.
True, there are plenty of scholars in the world, there are always those who truly care for the common people, disregarding personal gain and possessing great love for all.
However, it must be said that such people are generally young.
Because they had not yet witnessed much darkness, they still maintained their passion for the world and had not had their edges worn down by the officialdom or been corrupted by it.
Young people have their advantages; they are enthusiastic and possess great drive, but they also have disadvantages, namely a lack of sufficient experience. Most of them come from decent family backgrounds, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to receive an education, which results in them being out of touch and not knowing what the lives of ordinary commoners are truly like.
Zhu Ci's mind wandered through a myriad of wild thoughts, only after the imperial decree was finished did he begin today's main event: the first grand court assembly to distribute pork.. oh, I mean, to confer official titles.
First, the first one was neither Fu nor Huang Chunyao, but Zhu Ci.
Zhu Ci was enfeoffed as the Prince of Ning and Minister of Rites.
Ahem, this Ning refers to Ning Prefecture.
There was no helping it; their territory was pitifully small, consisting of only twelve prefectures: Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Huaian, Songjiang, Hangzhou, Ning, Huizhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Jinhua, Taizhou.
It sounded like quite a lot, but in terms of actual area, it was essentially just the territory of one Zhejiang Province plus two cities in the future. Strictly speaking, within this small territory, the only places truly under Zhu Ci's control were Suzhou, Yangzhou, Huaian; the rest had all been conquered by Fu.
Therefore, even if Zhu Ci wanted to, he could not give Zhu Ci a large territory, as for making him a Vice Minister of Rites.. it was simply out of his hands.
He actually wanted to give Zhu Ci a position with real power, but he also had to consider others. He wasn't worried that Zhu Ci would have any rebellious intentions, but other officials might have that thought.
At that time, in order to claim credit for helping a new emperor ascend the throne, the first thing these people might do is find ways to squeeze Zhu Ci out of positions of real power, or even find ways to send him to his death.
After all, as long as Zhu Ci is dead, the world will be at peace; the dead pose no threat.
Zhu Ci did not doubt for a moment how ruthless and unscrupulous these people were. Zhu Ci had already had a difficult time; having finally managed to survive, he could not be allowed to perish at the hands of his own people.
So in the end, Zhu Ci simply placed him in the Ministry of Rites as a figurehead; he wouldn't threaten anyone, he would be safe.
Once the imperial court is stable in the future and everyone feels he is no longer a threat, if Zhu Ci still possesses ambition, he could be put to use then.
Everyone had no objections to Zhu Ci's arrangements; even Zhu Ci himself felt that receiving such preferential treatment was already quite good.
So, everyone's gaze turned toward Fu.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Wearing eyeglasses with official robes is quite cool, I want a pair too! A kitty putting on sunglasses to press paw prints on a memorial. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 101
Even before Fu Chunsheng entered the room, everyone had been stealing glances at him.
Because it was a grand assembly, the officials had moved indoors, so Fu Chunsheng took it off; this was the first time Fu Chunsheng had appeared before everyone in his true form.
Everyone had already seen him in his previous appearance; even then, even with his eyes covered, one could see his exceptionally superior facial features and contours.
The silver-white sideburns beneath his official hat and his fair skin both revealed his extraordinary appearance.
Before the grand ceremony began, Huang Chunyao looked at Zhao Jia holding an umbrella for Fu, knew that this must be by special imperial permission.
However, he knew Zhao Jia, but many others did not, especially those who had recently submitted.
So Huang Chunyao specifically sought out Jiang Quan and asked, "What is the matter with the Marquis of Huating.."
Jiang Quan immediately replied in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "The Marquis has a condition he was born with; he cannot be exposed to direct sunlight for long, which is why His Majesty has specially permitted him to use an umbrella for shade when he is out."
A congenital disease?
Huang Chunyao had not expected this answer and appeared somewhat surprised.
The others naturally heard it as well; they had an answer regarding Fu's abnormality, but they were even more curious about what kind of illness this actually was.
At this moment, after removing his eyeglasses, his beautiful light blue eyes became even more stunning, to the point of looking otherworldly.
It was even more perplexing what kind of illness could make one's appearance so strange; if Jiang Quan hadn't confirmed that he was sick, they would have suspected that some immortal or demon had descended to the mortal realm.
However, no one actually went to ask him, they didn't even dare to take a second look.
Now that the grand assembly had reached this stage, many people knew that Fu was the next one to be appointed, only then did they dare to take a few more glances at him openly.
Jiang Xueyan held the Imperial Decree in her hands and, under everyone's gaze, spoke with great tension, "By Imperial Decree, the Marquis of Huating, Fu, is appointed Grand Secretary, Grand Scholar of the Eastern Pavilion, Minister of Revenue, Grand Tutor."
As soon as this appointment was announced, an immediate uproar broke out.
When she was being read out, many people already had grievances.
Especially regarding the appointments for Grand Secretary and Grand Scholar of the Eastern Pavilion—does no one realize what Fu Chunsheng's background is?
On what grounds did he become a Grand Scholar of the Eastern Pavilion, on what grounds did he become Grand Secretary? He is nothing more than a merchant who has never even sat for the imperial examinations; the Emperor is simply acting recklessly.
The Minister of Revenue is quite different; after all, Fu's ability to make money is evident to all.
But being a Grand Tutor is a bit much.
From the founding of the Great Ming to the present, Zhang Juzheng is the only person who has ever lived to be granted the title of Grand Tutor.
Who was Zhang Juzheng? When he was granted the title of Grand Tutor, it was the ninth year of the Wanli era, a time when Zhang Juzheng's power permeated the entire court and the realm, truly standing above ten thousand people while below only one.
Not to mention that this man is a true imperial tutor in his own right, whose governance over ten years has yielded brilliant results; what does Fu count for in comparison to Zhang Juzheng?
The young Emperor's arrangement was nothing short of reckless.
But.. was this the will of the young Emperor or the will of Fu?
The difference between the two was immense. If it was Fu Chunsheng's doing, it meant the Emperor was merely a puppet, they would have to weigh that very carefully.
Speaking of which, the young Emperor is indeed a bit too young; at most, he is only fifteen years old this year.
But you can't judge this one solely by his age. If you don't mention how he brought Suzhou into his grasp, at the very least, he held Yangzhou and Huaian, even drove the Tartars back.
As for the Marquis of Huating's contributions.. they simply ignored them.
With such achievements, would the young Emperor be content to be a puppet?
Many people stood below, whispering among themselves.
Zhu Ci sat steadily on the dragon throne and let them discuss, for it had not yet been determined who was in the Censorate, many more official positions had yet to be assigned. Consequently, many people did not dare to step forward and could only look toward Huang Chunyao.
Everyone understood the Young Emperor's intentions regarding Huang Chunyao; as the Left Censor of the Censorate, it was his job to do this, so he should hurry up and submit his memorial.
Huang Chunyao..
The problem is that the imperial decree hasn't been issued yet.
Because the current imperial court is such a makeshift operation, everything is kept simple; essentially, once the Emperor stamps it and the Imperial Decree is issued, it takes effect.
The Imperial Decree is currently in the Emperor's hands; what if he angers the Emperor?
Others might not know the temperament of this young Emperor, but how could he not know it himself?
This one truly follows the principle of "those who follow me shall prosper, those who oppose me shall perish"!
However, remembering the serious manner in which the young Emperor had spoken to him about restricting imperial power, Huang Chunyao gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble.
If he didn't dare to step forward at a time like this, wouldn't his position as Left Censor be a mere empty title?
Huang Chunyao gritted his teeth and stepped forward directly. "Your Majesty, absolutely not! How can the Three Excellencies be bestowed so lightly?"
Because of the precedent set by Zhang Juzheng, he could not simply say it could not be given to a living person, so he had no choice but to insist that Fu's merits were insufficient to be granted the rank of the Three Excellencies.
Zhu Ci's expression was unreadable as he nodded and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Immediately following, Hou Dongzeng and Lu Yuanfu also stepped forward to support Huang Chunyao.
In addition to them, another person whom Zhu Ci did not know very well also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you absolutely must not."
Zhu Ci looked closely, recalling that this person seemed to be one of Fu's subordinates.
He looked at Fu, faintly seeing a trace of a smile in the other's eyes.
Then Fu stepped forward personally and said, "Your Majesty, I am trembling with fear; I beg you to rescind your command."
After hearing this, Zhu Ci could only follow along and say, "Then let it be so."
The person who had just offered advice was instantly revitalized, bowing deeply. "Your Majesty is wise."
Huang Chunyao also bowed in greeting, a sudden realization dawning in his heart.