I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 109: First Minister, Then Wife, Little Wanli's Standards for Selecting a Queen
October 15th.

Lü Diaoyang, the Junior Guardian, the Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince, and the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace, completed his three-year examination.

The young Wanli rewarded him with a sheep, ten bottles of wine, and two thousand strings of banknotes, and appointed him as the Prince's Tutor, gave him the imperial edict he deserved, and appointed one of his sons as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

It can be said that he is greatly rewarded.

That afternoon.

Lu Diaoyang submitted a memorial to decline the offer, stating that he "lacked talent and virtue, and was mediocre and useless," and refused to accept the honorary title of Prince Taifu.

This was not a true rejection, but a court custom of "three refusals and three declines".

Officials had to decline at least twice before they could accept the offer under the circumstances where "the emperor's will was difficult to disobey" and submit a letter of gratitude.

If he accepts the title directly, he will be impeached by the censors.

at the same time.

On October 16, Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall and the Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, completed his ninth year of examination.

Young Wanli was even more generous in his rewards.

First, he was promoted to the position of Zuo Zhuguo and Taifu, and all his concurrent posts remained the same. He was given a banquet at the Ministry of Rites and one of his sons was appointed as the Shangbao Sicheng.

Then, the young Wanli gave him another two hundred taels of silver, a python seat, a python robe, four pieces of ramie silk, five tables of tea and food, three sheep, thirty bottles of wine, five thousand strings of banknotes, and one hundred dan of rice as an allowance.

Zhang Juzheng immediately submitted a memorial to decline the title, refusing to accept it.

When the officials heard that the young Wanli had conferred the title of "Taifu" on Zhang Juzheng, they were all very surprised.

This was an additional title that violated the usual practice of the Ming Dynasty.

Taifu is a first-rank title and is the second highest among the Three Dukes (Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao).

His status is second only to that of the Grand Tutor.

The Three Dukes were mostly posthumously awarded to high-ranking officials after their retirement. Being one of the Three Dukes while in office was the highest honor for a scholar-official.

Put it before the Hundred Schools of Thought.

There will inevitably be officials who will report that the emperor has been too gracious to Zhang Juzheng.

But after experiencing the young Wanli protecting Zhang Juzheng, even if the young Wanli directly promoted Zhang Juzheng to the rank of Grand Tutor and bestowed upon him the title of Pillar of the State, I am afraid no official would dare to raise any objection.

……

The next few days.

The tug-of-war scene of "the emperor repeatedly appoints and his ministers frantically refuses" that often occurred in the Ming Dynasty was being played out between the young Wanli and the two cabinet ministers.

This matter made things difficult for Shen Nian, who was on duty to record the daily records.

Because this matter is closely related to the emperor, and can demonstrate the Confucian virtue of "a gentleman does not take credit for his own achievements" and the official etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Shen Nian's daily notes for the past few days have become noticeably longer. (The picture shows Lü Diaoyang's refusal memorial in the daily notes)
……

On October 25th, the weather was sunny and cold.

Wenhua Hall, daily lectures.

Young Wanli was sitting at the table reviewing memorials, while Shen Nian was standing beside him as the daily record officer.

At this time, little Wanli frowned slightly and looked at Shen Nian.

"Editor Shen, Elder Lu has submitted a letter of thanks, agreeing to serve as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor. Prime Minister...why is Prime Minister declining again? This is already his third letter of refusal!"

After that, the young Wanli handed the memorial to Shen Nian. (As shown in the diary of Zhang Juzheng declining the memorial)
Shen Nian took a closer look, thought for a moment, and then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhang has made it very clear!"

"This title is too great, and the additional grace and reward are beyond measure. It will be easily abused in the future, and cannot be accepted now. I suggest that Your Majesty agree to what Lord Zhang has requested."

"I am also doing this to better implement the new policy. The Prime Minister understands my intentions, right?"

Shen Nian shook his head slightly.

"Your Majesty, the reason why the Lord did not accept it is also for the sake of the new policy."

"Some officials aren't actually opposing the new policies, but the cabinet minister. Your Majesty has already expressed his attitude towards the cabinet minister's control of the country on the political platform. If you show him more favor now, it will cause some people to transfer their dissatisfaction with the cabinet minister to the new policies. Perhaps it would be better to grant the cabinet minister the honorary title of the Three Dukes after the new policies are fully implemented!"

Shen Nian understood Zhang Juzheng's thoughts.

If he says it twice, it may be a false statement, but if he says it three times, it must be a true statement.

Little Wanli thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, since Yuanfu is determined not to accept it, then I will agree to his resignation."

Say it.

In his memorial, the young Wanli wrote: "I have specially permitted the Yuanfu to resign the posts of Grand Tutor and Bolu, to fulfill your loyalty and establish your position as a minister. You should diligently follow all other common rules, to demonstrate the mutual respect between ruler and minister, and be careful not to resign again..."

After a while.

Little Wanli looked at the eunuch Zhang Ting on duty and said, "Go and pour me a cup of tea."

"Yes!" Zhang Ting quickly retreated.

On the imperial desk, in the cups and bowls, the tea was still full and not cold.

When the young Wanli asked Zhang Ting to pour tea, the implicit meaning was: let him leave for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The latter understood. At this time, the young Wanli took out a document from the memorial and handed it to Shen Nian.

"Editor Shen, please read this first, and then come up with an idea for me!"

"I obey your command!" Shen Nian took the document.

Shen Nian originally thought that it was a political matter that was difficult for the young Wanli to resolve, but when he opened it, he found that the document was actually an unstamped imperial edict from the two Empress Dowagers.

The edict was about selecting a queen for the young Wanli.

"When the Emperor reaches the age of marriage and the wedding date is approaching, a virtuous woman should be chosen as his match. The Ministry of Rites is hereby ordered to issue a notice to all officials and common people in the capital, including Shuntian and the other eight prefectures, as well as Nanjing, Huai'an, and Xuzhou... and to select the kind-hearted families... whose parents are well-behaved and have strict family rules, and who are fourteen or fifteen years old, with dignified appearance and pure virtue... The officials are to order their parents to escort them to the capital with proper etiquette..."

After reading it, Shen Nian couldn't help but look puzzled.

"Choosing a queen for Your Majesty is a matter for the harem. I wonder what advice Your Majesty would like me to give?"

Little Wanli looked at Shen Nian.

"When the two queen mothers choose a queen, they will definitely choose the one they like. I probably won't like the one they like. I want to make the decision myself. Does Editor Shen have any good ideas?"

Shen Nian looked helpless, as if the young Wanli had already treated him as Zhang Zifang by his side.

Whenever he was undecided, he would ask Shen Ziheng.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, what kind of queen are you looking for?"

"I have heard of the loving story of Emperor Taizu and Empress Xiaocigao (Empress Ma), who rose from humble beginnings to a life of luxury. I have also heard of the story of Emperor Chengzu and Empress Renxiao (Empress Xu), who were childhood sweethearts and fell in love. I... I want to find an empress who loves reading, is intelligent and lovely, and with whom I can chat, and most importantly, who will not restrict or discipline me in every way."

Only after hearing the last sentence did Shen Nian understand.

Young Wanli thought that when Empress Dowager Li chose a queen, she would definitely choose a "Little Empress Dowager Li".

This was something that little Wanli, who had just lived alone for a short time, absolutely could not accept.

In addition, he had read a lot of idle books, and he was at the age when his heart was aching and he longed for love, so he came up with the idea of ​​choosing the queen himself.

The ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty: All emperors, princes’ descendants, concubines and palace maids must carefully select women from good families.

Developed to the present day.

When the emperor chose his empress, he usually selected one from the families of lower-level officials or common people to avoid the situation where relatives by marriage would monopolize power.

Empress Dowager Li, Zhang Juzheng and all the civil and military officials in the court did not care at all whether the young Wanli liked the future queen.

It is even more likely that young Wanli did not like the queen.

Because if the young Wanli became obsessed with the harem and beauties, he would be following the same path as his predecessor.

In their eyes.

The greatest significance of young Wanli marrying a queen is that after establishing a queen, he can appoint multiple concubines and add more offspring to the royal family.

As for love.

They are all experienced people, and they believe in gods and ghosts but not this kind of stuff.

Shen Nian thought about it.

He did not intend to come up with a strategy for the young Wanli to "let him choose the queen himself."

I can’t think of it either.

The current rules for marriage between men and women are: parents’ orders and matchmaker’s words.

The royal family is even worse.

Whoever Empress Dowager Li decides on is the winner, and even Zhang Juzheng cannot refute it. How could she allow the young Wanli to choose and decide personally!
and.

Shen Nian vaguely remembered that Empress Dowager Li chose a very virtuous queen for the young Wanli.

Then, Shen Nian spoke.

"Your Majesty, I do not think it is appropriate for you to choose your empress yourself, and I cannot think of a plan to make you do so."

"First, it is the Queen Mother's responsibility to select a empress for Your Majesty. Your Majesty and the officials in the front court should not overstep their bounds. Secondly, even if Your Majesty chooses a empress himself, the Queen Mother will probably shape her into whatever she desires."

"Your Majesty, you are the monarch of the Ming Dynasty. This time, you are selecting a queen for the country."

"You must understand that the Queen is first your subject, and then your wife. She must have the ability to rule the harem, not be fond of reading and unable to restrain and discipline you..."

"If the harem is not peaceful, the front court will be in chaos. I believe that the two empress dowagers have better vision in selecting empresses..."

"Also, I suggest that Your Majesty read less idle books about talented men and beautiful women!"

In Shen Nian's heart, there is beautiful love in the world, such as him and Gu Yue'er.

But the emperor does not deserve love, and cannot even have love.

They have love.

It may cause great harm to the world, such as: Li Longji and Yang Guifei.

"I...I really am not free in anything!" Little Wanli curled his lips slightly and murmured, "Let me think about it carefully!"

(End of this chapter)