Chapter 183

The eighteenth day of the eleventh month.

Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat Zhang Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, Lu Lu Diaoyang, Wang Wang Chonggu, and others memorialized that the position of the two rituals, the Qian and Kun, is the origin of all transformations, from family to state; the Emperor listens to external governance, while the Empress proclaims internal teachings, which is the great righteousness of heaven and earth, and requested the establishment of the Zhonggong.

The Emperor kept the memorial and did not issue it.

Two days later.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites and others presented their words, urging that the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Rensheng and the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Cisheng specially decreed the relevant departments to seek a virtuous lady to match the Holy Person, and now that the water had fallen and the stones were revealed, they humbly requested the Holy Emperor to establish the Zhonggong early.

The Emperor kept the memorial and did not issue it.

Three days later.

The hall officials and main officials of the various ministries, temples, courts, and offices cited the precedents of the ancestors and the former Han Hui and Han Wu Emperors, and humbly requested again and again.

The next day, the Emperor ascended the Huangji Palace.

He said, recently, the group of officials urged, and the two Empresses Dowager gave their compassionate orders; I, because of my young age and shallow virtue, still hesitated again and again. I respectfully accept the mandate of heaven, inherit the ancestral foundation, and am cautious day and night, wishing to preserve this succession and pass it on for generations. The ceremony of the great wedding is the foundation of prosperity and transformation, and the way of man is heavy, so I dare not refuse.

Therefore, I confer the title of Empress upon the Liu clan of Hangzhou Prefecture, and Imperial Noble Consort upon the Li clan of Yangzhou Prefecture.

I confer the title of Consort Yi upon the Han clan of Zhangde Prefecture, and Consort Shun upon the Zhang clan of Eastern Depot Prefecture.

I appoint the Wu clan of Xi'an Prefecture as Lady of Excellence, to serve the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Rensheng. I appoint the Wang clan of Kaifeng Prefecture as Noble Lady, to serve the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Cisheng. The rest shall all serve as female officials, to care for the two Holy Mothers.

I order the Ministry of Rites to prepare all the ceremonies and choose a day to report.

……

The Emperor's great wedding is the weight of the way of man.

Besides the weight of being a model for human relations, there is something even heavier—the great wedding means the Emperor's personal governance.

This is also why the group of officials would be so unwilling to fall behind and memorialize one after another.

It's like when officials bow during court deliberations; perhaps it's not worth the Emperor's glance, but if someone keeps their back straight, then the view from the throne is unobstructed.

Incomplete loyalty is easily seen as complete disloyalty.

Because of this, for the Emperor's great wedding, every ministry and office put in all their strength, providing money if they had money, and effort if they had effort.

Even the usually leisurely Hanlin Academy began working overtime.

As dusk approached, Wang Wang Xilie, who should have returned to his residence by this time, was still busy in his office, occasionally flipping through classics and occasionally writing furiously.

Most of the affairs of the great wedding were in the Ministry of Rites and the inner court, but since the Hanlin Academy's old trade of writing *qingci* (blue-paper prayers) was involved, they naturally had to contribute.

For example, the edicts for the Empress and Imperial Noble Consort could only be handled personally by Wang Wang Xilie, who was in charge of the Hanlin Academy.

Wang Wang Xilie put aside the draft of the Imperial Noble Consort's edict and began to rack his brains to conceive the edict for the Empress.

After writing a routine opening of "The governance of the state is based on the regulation of the family," he paused slightly.

As for what followed, well, the allusions of the three generations were certainly indispensable.

Thinking of this, Wang Wang Xilie continued to write—"... The Gui River concubine of Yu, brilliantly opened the fortune of Chonghua; the Tushan wing of Yu, gave birth to the foundation of Wenming."

After writing this sentence, he had to check the materials.

Wang Wang Xilie brought the background of the Empress sent by the Directorate of Ceremonial closer and looked at it carefully.

After half a day, he finally had an idea.

He put pen to paper and wrote—"Consulting you, Liu clan, the star pavilion descends with beauty, the great divination signals auspiciousness, you embody virtue and are like heaven, you embody peace and respond to the earth."

Once this sentence was formed, Wang Wang Xilie paused with a feeling.

He read it to himself and shook his head.

After pondering for a moment, he picked up his pen and crossed out the middle eight characters, changing them to "The Big Dipper descends with beauty, the bright sage signals auspiciousness."

After writing it, he savored it for a while and finally nodded with satisfaction—this retained the original meaning while pointing out that the Liu girl was born at night in the spring, her ancestral home was in Hangzhou, and her family was near West Lake, which was more appropriate than the previous sentence.

Wang Wang Xilie pondered in his mind how to write the subsequent text.

Suddenly, he saw a figure appear in his peripheral vision.

He subconsciously shook his whole body, and the pen in his hand was not held steady and fell onto the table.

Wang Wang Xilie was startled while concentrating, and his first reaction upon coming to his senses was to scold, as someone in the Hanlin Academy dared to enter his office without notice!

However, after seeing who it was, he immediately had a second reaction.

Wang Wang Xilie put the pen on the inkstone, gave an apologetic smile to the uninvited guest, and bowed: "When did the Senior Zhang Gelao arrive? I was lost in thought just now, and I've kept you waiting for a long time."

It was indeed the Senior Zhang Gelao of the Grand Secretariat, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, sitting on the side, calm and composed.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng didn't put on airs and stood up to return the bow: "After the office closed, I was waiting for you outside the academy, but Zhou the Washer said you were still busy with paperwork, so I sought you out."

He then explained: "I wanted to call out just now, but seeing you were lost in thought over the text, I really couldn't bear to interrupt."

While listening, Wang Wang Xilie bent down to search for tea leaves under the table.

He exchanged pleasantries: "It wasn't being lost in thought over the text, it was clearly scratching my head over the edict. My shallow talent, please don't make fun of me, Senior Zhang Gelao."

After speaking, he took out the tea leaves and tea set, walked to Zhang Zhang Juzheng, and gestured for him to sit.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng sat down and comforted him: "The Emperor's wedding date is a bit urgent, you've worked hard."

After Wang Wang Xilie brewed the tea, he sat down: "As a subject, being able to write an edict for the monarch is a blessing I've hoped for; how can it be called hard work?"

"However, the wedding date… it is indeed a bit urgent."

According to his thoughts, like Emperor Wu Sect, getting married at fifteen was in line with the Doctrine of the Mean.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng didn't elaborate on the wedding date, but just explained with a slight sigh: "Time waits for no one. Since everyone is submissive, it's time for personal governance; it's better than going fishing whenever there's free time."

Wang Wang Xilie personally poured tea for Zhang Zhang Juzheng and explained: "Personal governance is a good thing, but the Emperor is young after all. I'm just afraid the Emperor doesn't know restraint and will harm his foundation."

He still had to make his position clear.

Lest people think he, Wang Wang Xilie, didn't support the Emperor's personal governance.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng took the teacup and shook his head: "I have already mentioned this to the two Empresses Dowager; I will grasp the measure."

If the Emperor wants to favor the Empress, he also has to go through the process.

Not to mention other empty rituals like welcoming before the palace and musicians playing, the most critical thing was that after the Emperor had an idea, he had to seek the consent of the two Empresses Dowager, and only after they issued a decree could he favor her.

With the precedent of Emperor Muzong, the two Empresses Dowager would certainly restrain the Emperor well.

Taking a step back, Zhang Zhang Juzheng heard that when the Emperor was selecting the Empress some time ago, he painfully gave up the most beautiful Wu girl and only conferred her the title of Lady of Excellence, placing her by Empress Dowager Chen's side.

With such an eye-catching performance, it seemed there was no reason to worry too much about the Emperor indulging in sensuality.

Wang Wang Xilie nodded, accepting this explanation.

He poured himself a cup of tea: "Senior Zhang Gelao, you sought me out today, I wonder what the important matter is?"

Although a Zhang Gelao of the Grand Secretariat is strictly speaking also a Zhang Gelao of the Hanlin Academy, they generally wouldn't come to the Hanlin Academy in person to negotiate official business like this.

It was mostly something urgent and relevant.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng didn't get straight to the point, but began to strike from the side: "The advanced studies of this year's top graduates and bachelors in the Hanlin Academy are coming to an end, and the Ministry of Personnel will assign them positions at the end of the month and send them to the localities."

He paused and asked: "Are there any complaints?"

The bachelors selected at the end of the fourth month had been studying for exactly half a year from the fifth month to the end of the eleventh month.

Wang Wang Xilie was accustomed to the twists and turns of the officialdom, and following Zhang Zhang Juzheng's topic, he revealed a wry smile: "How could there not be complaints? Although relying on discretionary preferential treatment and the top graduates voluntarily requesting to be sent out, these bachelors were willing for once."

"But it's hard to complain openly, so they inevitably talk behind our backs. Now everyone is saying that we, the predecessors, enjoyed the benefits and turned around to block the path for others for the sake of private gain."

This kind of accusation was particularly lethal among the literati.

The previous bachelors enjoyed the benefits and ascended to high positions, and then turned around and sent the newcomers to the localities; the selfishness involved was enough to make people indignant.

It was especially easy to dissolve the legitimacy of the new policies.

And Wang Wang Xilie, who was in charge of the Hanlin Academy and caught in the middle, could only use a wry smile to indicate his pressure to the Senior Zhang Gelao.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The Grand Secretariat has also heard of it, so…"

"My meaning and Zixiang's is to give them a slight explanation to get through this wave of complaints from the literati."

"Once there is a precedent for this subject, it will be easy to handle in the future."

Hearing this, Wang Wang Xilie's eyes flashed.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip to cover it.

After a moment, Wang Wang Xilie cast an inquiring look at Zhang Zhang Juzheng: "Senior Zhang Gelao, please speak directly."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng held the teacup in his hand to warm it and met Wang Wang Xilie's gaze: "I want to send you out."

Wang Wang Xilie didn't answer for a moment.

He pondered for a moment, frowned, and was puzzled: "Does the Emperor have a prejudice against me?"

As a dignified Zhang Gelao of the Heir Apparent's Household and in charge of the Hanlin Academy, any official position sent out would be a demotion.

However, it was just criticism from the literati, and it was originally a matter led by the Emperor and the Grand Secretariat. Now, how could it be demoted to him, Wang Wang Xilie?

What kind of logic was this?

Especially since he was a direct descendant of the new party, and given Zhang Zhang Juzheng's gentle attitude, he couldn't help but think of the Emperor.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng shook his head: "Don't overthink it; it's my meaning and Gao Zixiang's and Lu He Qing's."

Wang Wang Xilie realized something and slowly calmed down.

He lowered his gaze and hesitated: "Senior Zhang Gelao, do you have other arrangements for me?"

Apart from this, there was no other reason.

Sure enough, hearing this, Zhang Zhang Juzheng nodded frankly: "The land measurement must be prepared early."

Wang Wang Xilie was stunned and finally realized what Zhang Zhang Juzheng meant by this demotion.

Only then did Zhang Zhang Juzheng explain: "You and I both know that the concealment of land in the world is worst in Southern Zhili, Shandong, Sichuan, and Huguang. When the time comes for land measurement, it must be done with the force of thunder and the wind sweeping away the clouds. These provinces are the main event."

"Last June, I took advantage of the major case to transfer Liang Liang Menglong to Huguang. The imperial clan there was plowed through, and there were almost no obstacles. His going there is just right."

"This March, the Emperor ordered Hai Rui to be the Provincial Governor of Sichuan. He is just right for this kind of thing; his temper is stubborn and he doesn't lack means."

"Now, the layout is in Shandong, and only you are the most suitable to go."

Speaking of this, he sighed: "The Emperor previously insisted on enabling Yin Yin Shidan, but in my view, this person is entangled with the gentry and powerful families in Shandong. Without your qualifications, an ordinary person going there would inevitably be constrained by him."

Land measurement is different from reforms like the Single Whip Law.

The latter can be carried out step by step and optimized repeatedly, but the former cannot. After all, you can't measure the land every year, right?

Things that even the Taizu Emperor couldn't do are naturally even more impossible now.

Therefore, taking advantage of the remaining strength to pave the way and prepare is the prudent move—what is the situation in the local departments and counties? What is the situation of the people? Who are the big households? Which court officials and social parties are involved? How to do it in a way that best suits the local customs? These all require time to understand.

In addition, local native officials form their own factions and are impenetrable; central regular officials are mainly focused on polishing their qualifications and mostly have the mentality of not offending either side.

If you don't go to the localities in advance to sort out the factions and gather power, then even if you insist on measuring the land, it will inevitably be full of hidden dangers, and you might even be fooled by the local officials doing superficial work.

Of course, this is the principle, but you can't abruptly replace all the local Provincial Governors at once, otherwise, the central and local governments will be shocked.

Even for the central confidants to be sent out, there must be reasonable reasons for it to go smoothly.

Therefore, this is why Liang Liang Menglong was transferred to Huguang during the major case, and Hai Rui was made Provincial Governor of Sichuan after the case exposed by Chang Chang Chunqiao, the County Magistrate of Jiangyou, Sichuan, during the year-end.

And the situation in Shandong is more complex than these two provinces. Yin Yin Shidan will help the Emperor in salt administration, but when it comes to land measurement, which touches his own interests, he might not necessarily not engage in small actions.

Since the Emperor wants to give Yin Yin Shidan face, Zhang Zhang Juzheng has to check for omissions—taking advantage of the literati's criticism of the Hanlin Academy, he will send Wang Wang Xilie, who has the qualifications to suppress Yin Yin Shidan, to Shandong.

Wang Wang Xilie listened quietly to Zhang Zhang Juzheng's explanation.

After a moment, he asked slowly: "How many years until land measurement?"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment, then said ambiguously: "Wait for the capital camp to be drilled a bit more, it's coming soon."

He didn't say exactly when.

Wang Wang Xilie nodded and tacitly stopped asking.

The two sat quietly for a while.

The sky was completely dark.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng stood up slowly and bowed to Wang Wang Xilie.

Wang Wang Xilie sat still and accepted it frankly.

After Zhang Zhang Juzheng turned and left, he looked up and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

……

The Emperor's wedding ceremony, although scheduled for the third month, from the moment the Emperor selected the Empress, every day thereafter was within the etiquette of the Emperor's wedding.

Since the twelfth month.

The Needlework Bureau was busy tailoring the clothing and crowns for the Emperor and Empress for the day of the grand ceremony.

Shuntian Prefecture worked overnight to select a temporary residence for the Empress's family who were temporarily staying in the capital.

The Ministry of Rites taught the Empress's parents the etiquette for the day of the grand ceremony day and night.

The Directorate of Ceremonial ran around, decorating the Qianqing Palace and the Empress's residence.

The Imperial Kitchen began selecting suitable wine, golden goblets, and fruits early on.

The Jinwu Guard and Embroidered Uniform Guard trained the honor guard.

The Hanlin Academy wrote the edicts.

The Ministry of Rites oversaw the grand ceremony.

The nobles were invited to act as elders.

Plus the time spanning the New Year and the Lantern Festival, the entire Beijing city could be described as raging like a fire.

As the protagonist, the Emperor naturally couldn't avoid being sent around by the two Empresses Dowager, the inner court, and the outer court.

Trying on clothes, rehearsing, explaining etiquette, teaching about the wedding night, etc., kept the Emperor busy from morning till night.

It was precisely because of this that the Emperor's year-end meeting with the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries this year was also postponed to the second month.

"Zhang Qing, your sorting out of the criminal prisons with the Court of Judicial Review is not only your great merit, but also your great virtue, which I, the court officials, and the people have all witnessed." Perhaps because he was in a hurry, Zhu Zhu Yijun spoke a bit fast, responding to the Ministry of Justice's achievements this year, "But last year I asked you to explore the cause and effect of the legal theory, not because I was blaming the national laws for being incomplete, and asking you to randomly establish laws and decrees—this is chaotic governance!"

Zhu Zhu Yijun's tone was very heavy; he wanted the Ministry of Justice to engage in legal theory, but this guy actually went to engage in movement-style legislation.

He wanted to explain what legal theory, legal interest, and the origin of law were.

But on second thought, the soil wasn't mature, and he didn't understand it very well himself.

He had no choice but to leave behind some words like "combine laws and decrees with the currently popular epistemology, practice theory, and other doctrines to explore the foundation of law," and then waved his hand, letting Zhang Han and the Ministry of Justice figure it out themselves.

Zhang Han wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sat back down as if granted amnesty.

The hall officials of the other five ministries who had already spoken looked at Zhang Han, the only one who had been scolded, and couldn't help but cast sympathetic glances.

After scolding Zhang Han, Zhu Zhu Yijun looked around at everyone: "There is one more thing. I have to go practice the court-meeting etiquette later, so I'll keep it short."

He paused and continued: "I have approved the memorial of the Minister of Personnel Lu Lu Shusheng to retire. Now that the position of Heavenly Official is vacant, does anyone have a recommendation?"

Everyone looked at Shen Shen Shixing.

This was the duty of the Ministry of Personnel, and it should be the Ministry of Personnel recommending people, but perhaps to avoid suspicion, Shen Shen Shixing, who was expected to take this position, was looking at his nose and heart, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Everyone looked at the Grand Secretariat again.

If the Ministry of Personnel didn't speak, only the Grand Secretariat had this qualification.

However, the four Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat remained silent.

After a good while, no one responded.

At this moment, the Emperor made a move.

Seeing the Emperor wave his hand, he decided arbitrarily: "Then let the Senior Zhang Gelao take charge of the Ministry of Personnel! When there is a suitable candidate, discuss and report it."

Everyone was shocked.

The Emperor had a matter-of-fact look.

The people in the Grand Secretariat were expressionless.

Obviously, there was a tacit understanding early on.

But, with the precedent of Gao Gong, the Senior Zhang Gelao in charge of the Ministry of Personnel was not a good thing.

Chen Chen Wude, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, opened his mouth to speak.

Zhu Zhu Yijun interrupted directly: "You are all my confidants and pillars, so I will speak bluntly."

"Everything was good last year. The Ministry of War commanded well in the north, the Ministry of Rites corrected the Confucian orthodoxy well, the Ministry of Works governed the water system well, the Ministry of Revenue collected taxes well, the Ministry of Justice cleared up prison cases well, and the Ministry of Personnel's Single Whip Law was even better."

"The only thing that wasn't good was me."

"The Grand Secretariat, as my participants in governance, had unclear power and responsibility for a time, which led to the emergence of disputes between the Grand Secretariat and the ministries last year."

"The Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War impeached Zhang Gelao Wang every month for overstepping the Ministry of War's authority; the Ministry of Rites competed with Zhang Gelao Lu over the selection of bachelors; the various main officials and directors of the Ministry of Personnel made small moves frequently because they were dissatisfied with the Single Whip Law, opposing the Grand Secretariat."

"This is all my dereliction of duty."

At the end, the hall officials of the Six Ministries hurriedly apologized in fear: "The minister is guilty…"

Zhu Zhu Yijun ignored them and said to himself: "The Grand Secretariat is one of the foundations of the great system. I have no clue for a moment and dare not move rashly, so I have to take advantage of Minister Lu's departure to lend the power of the Heavenly Official to the Grand Secretariat, so that the Grand Secretariat can manage the court situation for me, lest even the new policies be constrained."

"This is an expedient measure. After the resistance to my new policies is smaller, I will naturally set about dealing with it."

He looked at Chen Chen Wude and asked earnestly: "Supervising Secretary Chen, is my consideration reasonable?"

Chen Chen Wude hesitated for a moment, finally sighed, and bowed: "Your Majesty's thinking is reasonable, but the Senior Zhang Gelao in charge of the Ministry of Personnel will inevitably have hidden disasters, so I hope Your Majesty will be cautious."

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded gently: "Your loyalty and old-fashioned words, I will keep in mind. There is no need to discuss the Ministry of Personnel again."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng sat at the head of the class and didn't answer.

Until there was a conclusion at this moment, he stood up and bowed: "I obey the decree."

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded.

He stood up and looked around at the group of officials again: "Then let it be so."

As he spoke, Zhu Zhu Yijun was about to turn and leave to attend the rehearsal of the court-meeting etiquette—this annual meeting had been held for an extra hour, and the Empress must have been waiting for an extra hour.

But just at this moment, Gao Yi suddenly stood up: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing, allow me to report."

Zhu Zhu Yijun stopped his footsteps.

He still had to give Gao Yi face.

He suppressed the anxiety of not being able to be on time and smiled reluctantly: "Please speak, sir."

Several Grand Secretaries, hall officials, and Supervising Secretaries looked at each other.

Gao Yi subconsciously slowed down his voice: "Your Majesty's great wedding is a celebration for the whole world, I request to celebrate it with Aoshan fireworks."

Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned.

Aoshan fireworks were his father and grandfather's favorite program.

The main feature was one thing: liveliness—piling up lanterns into Ao Mountains to open markets. How could such a joyous thing not be lively?

At the same time, it was quite wasteful, and with the rewards, one or two hundred thousand taels were spent in the blink of an eye.

Since he ascended the throne, since the sixth year of Emperor Longqing, it had been abolished because the remonstrating officials memorialized that it was wasteful.

Now, how could the court officials have changed their temperament so much?

Seeing the Emperor looking over, Gao Yi couldn't help but unfold his wrinkles: "When we memorialized to stop the Aoshan fireworks that day, we said that in the future, when the governance is peaceful for a long time, we might be able to hold one occasionally to show the grand event."

"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne in the sixth year of Emperor Longqing, until the third year of Emperor Wanli, although the overall situation of the world has not changed, there are signs of striving."

"The grand event of Your Majesty's great wedding is just the right time."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng, who was standing on the side, also revealed a smile on his face, but it flashed away.

He restrained his expression and bowed: "Should celebrate Your Majesty's great wedding, and celebrate Your Majesty's personal governance."

Lu Lu Diaoyang and Wang Guoguang saw that the Emperor was silent, so they looked at each other and spoke together to comfort him: "Your Majesty, the money doesn't need to come from the inner treasury. Although a lot was spent last year, there was still a surplus of 370,000 taels."

"Your Majesty, as Zhang Gelao Lu said, the Great Storehouse was going to exchange some cloth, leather, silk, and satin that were about to rot in these two months, and now it is just right to use it for the lantern festival."

Zhu Zhu Yijun saw everyone rushing to celebrate his wedding, and his heart couldn't help but feel a bit complicated, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

"Your Majesty took out gold and silver flowers last year, giving rewards to the border soldiers and opening the sea to repair ports, spending money like dirt. Now that you have this foundation, you really don't need to be too harsh on yourself."

Not only Wang Wang Chonggu and Zhu Heng, but even Zhang Han nodded in support.

Zhu Zhu Yijun finally understood that it was the intention of the ministers of the Grand Secretariat and the ministries together.

His gaze swept across the faces of the Senior Zhang Gelao, Junior Zhang Gelao, Group Grand Secretaries, Ministers of the Six Ministries, Censorate, and the Supervising Secretaries of the Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Revenue one by one.

Everyone returned the salute: "Celebrate Your Majesty's great wedding, celebrate Your Majesty's personal governance."

Zhu Zhu Yijun walked in front of everyone and helped them up one by one.

Zhu Zhu Yijun walked up to the crowd and helped them up one by one.

Zhu Zhu Yijun returned the salute to everyone: "After personal governance, I still want to raise the case to the eyebrows with you and cross the river in the same boat."

(Volume Three, End)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 184 =====

(End of this chapter)