Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 194 Please dismiss Ju Zheng and draw your sword in front of the emperor!
Zhu Houcong sat on the throne, looking down at the hall, and said loudly, "Take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The kings, ministers, and court officials cheered again.

Prince Yu Zhu Zaihou stood up first. The tables and chairs on the left and right sides of the hall all faced east and west, except for two sets of tables and chairs facing south.

One is His Majesty's.

Another one is this Prince Yu.

Following etiquette, Prince Yu stood up first, sat facing south and looked at the princes, ministers and court officials who were still kneeling, his eyes sparkling.

In order to compete for the world's number one yellow cloth with carved dragons that was still behind him, he had been scheming, working hard and worrying over the past twenty years.

The ridicule he received from his younger brother, Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen, when he left the country made him more determined than ever to seize the throne.

His father had so many sons, but only he and King Jing grew up. Now, King Jing was exiled to his country. In his opinion, it was God who entrusted him with this important task.

The "throne" is behind him, but deep down, he has already felt this supreme honor, the majesty that can decide people's honor, disgrace, life and death with a single word, and the authority of the nine provinces awarded with a single imperial edict. This really makes people itchy.

He believed that he was the most talented and benevolent of his father's sons. When he became emperor, all the land under heaven would belong to him, and all the people in the world would be his subjects. He would surely act with vigor and determination to revive the Ming Dynasty, which had been in decline for 200 years. He would listen to good advice, be wise and brave, and become a sage monarch like Emperor Wen of Han, the envy of future rulers.

At this moment, in the music of heaven, he accepted the great courtesy from the princes, ministers, civil and military officials. Even though he knew that this was a great courtesy to his father, he also felt the taste of being an emperor.

Past fatigue, sleepiness, excitement and depression all melted away in the sound of the striking bells and drums.

"The fun stops!"

Lü Fang's voice awakened Prince Yu's endless reverie. The kings, ministers, and court officials all stood beside the desks where they were supposed to be. Lü Fang chanted loudly, "Perform five bows and three kowtows to the emperor!"

"Long live!"

All the ministers and officials in the palace bowed their heads to the ground again, and as they bowed, they chanted rhythmically, "Long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"

During major festivals, banquets, and court meetings, the complicated etiquette was a test for the elderly officials.

But the situation was better during the Jiajing reign. The emperor had not attended court for a long time, and he practiced fasting and meditation on major festivals. Grand banquets were rare, and there had not been a grand court meeting for more than 20 years.

The last time court officials performed the ceremony of five bows and three kowtows was when Crown Prince Zhuangjing, who died the next day, was crowned and given a title outside Fengtian Gate.

When the ministers and court officials saluted, there was actually a sense of awkwardness, and the kings were even worse. When they were in their fiefdoms, it was always others who saluted them, but they never saluted others.

Some unlearned princes imitated the movements of those around them and learned how to salute, which made Prince Yu frown when he saw it.

The court's rituals and music had been in disarray for too long. After he ascended the throne, he could no longer tolerate this and reaffirmed the ritual system among the princes, ministers, civil and military officials.

Zhu Houcong raised his hands and gestured for courtesy, saying, "Everyone, please take a seat!"

The kings, ministers, and court officials stood up with the help of their chairs, sat down in their seats, raised their heads slightly, and glanced at the dragon robe under the emperor's chin.

I dare not look up at you.

"My Lords and Ministers."

Zhu Houcong looked at the ministers inside and outside the hall, his voice sonorous and powerful, reaching everyone's ears clearly, and said: "It is the beginning of the twelfth month, not long before New Year's Day. I summoned the kings to Beijing and asked all officials to come, not only for a banquet, but also to discuss several important state affairs with the ministers. It is now the 40th year of Jiajing. From next year, the Jiajing New Deal will be implemented throughout the country, the administration of officials will be refreshed, taxes will be equalized, and the achievements of Taizu Gaohuangdi in civil and military governance will be carried forward to glorify the saintly virtues of our ancestors of the Ming Dynasty and create a prosperous era."

The holy sound is echoing.

It caused the bell in the hall to ring.

The kings felt mixed emotions.

If Emperor Zhengde had not died without an heir, Your Majesty, who was far away in Anlu, Huguang, would probably have spent his last years in Prince Xing's Palace.

Unfortunately, fate plays tricks on people, and God arranges such a person to ascend the throne and become the only one with no power!

Thinking of the execution of all nine clans and the expulsion of the Yi Wang Mansion from the clan, the Liao Wang, Chu Wang and other princes felt as if their hearts were pricked by needles. They felt a pain and looked up at Zhu Houcong with eyes flashing with fire.

The kings were well aware of the evil deeds they had done in their fiefdoms. They were at the mercy of others. Although they were the "protagonists" of the banquet, when the emperor did not mention the problems of the princes' mansions or attack them, the kings chose to remain silent.

The new policy of paying taxes and serving as officials together was based on the ancestral teachings of Emperor Taizu Gao, which stipulated that their descendants could not do any work except inheriting the throne. Paying taxes and serving as officials were most likely not related to the royal family.

The new policy of government-run industries would indeed affect the direct income of the royal palaces. The princes would certainly not let go of lucrative industries such as horse breeding, tea, and salt.

However, there was no conclusion yet on the smuggling issue in the southeast by the princes’ palaces, so the princes did not dare to raise their horses at this time.

Compared with his own life, it is not a pity to throw away a little wealth, after all, the salary from the court has not been cut off.

The kings and cabinet ministers did not move, but the people with ulterior motives who had already agreed on everything were about to move.

Outside the palace, someone in the Ministry of Justice suddenly shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

All the princes, ministers, civil and military officials were horrified when they heard the sound and could not help but stretch their necks to look in the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the hall became tense.

Zhu Houcong looked at the Minister of Justice Pan En in the hall and asked, "Who wants to report something?"

As the dragon's eyes watched, Pan En wanted to kill someone. He knelt down on the chair and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, it is Zhao Zhigao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice."

"Zhao Zhigao?"

Zhu Houcong looked outside the palace, his voice expressing no emotion, and said, "Come into the palace and play!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhao Zhigao entered the hall, passed in front of the princes and ministers, and came to the throne. Amid the dumbfounded crowd, Zhao Zhigao did not kneel, but bowed and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, officials and gentry do not serve, do not pay taxes, and the court does not compete with the people for profits. This is the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu Gao.

The new policy that His Majesty wanted to implement throughout the country was not a feasible strategy at all. Upon hearing the news, officials wanted to resign and scholars wanted to go to Beijing to submit petitions, which caused great wrath and resentment among the people.

The elders in the cabinet only know how to curry favor with the emperor. Not only do they have no integrity of scholars, they also make scholars all over the world lose face and seriously damage the vitality of the dynasty.

Your Majesty, it has been a tradition for thousands of years for officials and gentry not to perform their duties and not to pay taxes. Please abide by the ancestral rules!
"Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Exemplary Officials" says: "Those who receive salary should not compete with the common people for profit, and those who receive great benefits should not take small benefits."

Competing with the people for profit is actually the source of disaster for the country. People’s lives are suffering and the people are in dire straits. If we compete with them for profit again, then our Ming Dynasty will be in danger!
Therefore, I ask His Majesty to dismiss Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Lu Bing and other corrupt officials, and abolish the corrupt policies of government-run enterprises and the government-run enterprises, so that the world can be peaceful! "

(End of this chapter)