"Dang——dang——dang——"

In the early morning, as soon as the sky turned gray and bright, the bell and drum towers in the capital began to ring.

The sound of bells and drums made millions of people in the capital know that this was the beginning of national mourning.

For a time, even though all the people did not dare to say anything, they could not stop muttering in their hearts.

Especially those who are engaged in the flower and willow business and the meat business are even more worried.

In the huge capital city, when the bells rang, all the officials went to the imperial city one after another.

During the Ming Dynasty's national mourning, on the day after the emperor's death, officials working in the capital had to uniformly wear plain clothes, black gauze hats, and black horn belts, and rush to the inner palace to listen to the reading of the posthumous edict.

This is not over yet. Officials from various departments also have to fast and sleep in their own official offices, and also go to Jiyan Hall to cry for a period of time in front of the mourning hall where the deceased emperor's tomb is stored.

This process takes three days.

Due to Zhu Youjian's intervention, the palace transfer case did not happen, Li Kangfei had been placed under house arrest in disguise, and the Donglin Party did not become famous because of the palace transfer case.

The power in the court was relatively balanced, and the inner court was relatively stable under the checks and balances of Wei Jinzhong, Wang An, and Hakka.

Early in the morning, Zhu Youjian wore sackcloth and mourning, abandoned his luxurious elephant carriage, and walked to Jiyan Hall on foot.

Since Zhu Changluo only had two sons alive, and Zhu Youxiao was the emperor, it was impossible for him to mourn all day long, so the task of mourning fell on Zhu Youjian.

According to the procedure, Zhu Youxiao, the cabinet and other ministers only need to mourn for half an hour before leaving and going to the Wenhua Hall to handle government affairs.

Zhu Youjian, on the other hand, if nothing unexpected happens, he will need to live in Jiyan Hall unswervingly in the next three days.

After knowing the process, he was really reluctant.

But there was no other way, what had to be done had to be done, so surrounded by several eunuchs and royal guards, he came to the square outside Jiyan Hall.

"Woooooooo..."

"The late emperor..."

"The late emperor..."

Before Zhu Youjian entered the Jiyan Hall, he heard the mournful sound of ghosts crying and wolves howling.

He turned around and looked, but he saw a group of familiar people walking from the palace gate, spreading white paper and crying all the way.

"What is this for?" Zhu Youjian really didn't understand the process after the death of the Ming Dynasty emperor. He was also confused in the days after Wanli's death, but now he is willing to ask others.

Seeing his inquiry, a eunuch in his early twenties quickly explained: "Your Highness, according to etiquette, after the death of the late emperor, the queen and concubines need to take off their jewelry and fine clothes, and mourn from Xihua Gate until they enter the mourning hall of Jiyan Hall.

"

"Since the late emperor only has His Highness and Long Live, and Long Live has to deal with government affairs, Jiyan Hall needs someone to receive the officials, so His Highness and Long Live do not need to participate in this process."

"That's it..." Hearing the explanation from the eunuch next to him, Zhu Youjian glanced at him.

I saw that this eunuch had handsome features and looked very eye-catching, and his name was the famous Cao Huachun in later generations!

Yes, that's Eunuch Cao.

It's just that this is Eunuch Cao in history, not the Eunuch Cao in martial arts novels.

Historically, Cao Huachun came from a humble family and was influenced by the custom of "keeping close to the emperor and raising relatives", so he entered the palace around the age of twelve or thirteen.

Because he was talented and intelligent, diligent and studious, he received a good education in the inner study hall, and was proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting. He was highly appreciated by Wang An, the eunuch who was responsible for the ceremony, and relied on him as a confidant.

Later, he was sent to Xu Qin Palace by Wang An to accompany and serve Zhu Youjian.

In the early years of the Apocalypse, the eunuch Wei Zhongxian gained favor and power and killed Wang An. Cao Huachun was implicated and was expelled from Beijing and sent to the capital of Nanjing to await his punishment.

In 1627, Zhu Youjian succeeded to the throne of the emperor, and the following year he was promoted to Chongzhen. Cao Huachun was immediately recalled and entrusted with important tasks to redress unjust cases.

Because of his ability in doing things, he won the trust and reliance of Emperor Chongzhen.

When the Ming Dynasty fell, Yang Bo of Shuntian Prefecture, Yang Shimao of Wanping Prefecture, and others went to the Shu Council to report to Cao Huachun: "Open the door to welcome the thieves. The thieves entered the city and stood up to serve. Now that the Qing Dynasty has entered the capital, they have returned to serve. Although these traitorous and rebellious ministers have been killed, they will not be able to win the hearts of the people."

."

However, Cao Huachun had already returned to his hometown for six years, and it can be said that he was very unjustly framed.

Because Zhu Youjian had no one under his command, he asked Wang An to give Cao Huachun to him in advance.

I never thought that this guy was similar to what was recorded in history, and that he was really talented and intelligent.

Compared with Wang Chengen's dullness, Cao Huachun was skillful and familiar with all kinds of etiquette, so he was a good helper.

Zhu Youjian was quite satisfied with him, so after explaining, he glanced at the long mourning procession, but did not see Concubine Li Kang and Concubine Zheng in his memory.

"Why didn't Concubine Li Kang and Concubine Zheng attend the funeral?"

Zhu Youjian suddenly asked a question, but Cao Huachun was not flustered. He held a fly whisk and answered respectfully:

"I heard that Wei Jinzhong, the eunuch in charge of the Xixin Department, passed down the long-lived edict that the two of them would not be allowed to attend the state funeral of the late emperor."

"Hmm..." After hearing this, Zhu Youjian didn't bother to think whether it was his brother's idea or Wei Jinzhong's idea. He walked directly into the Jiyan Hall and then walked to the mourning hall.

At this time, two young eunuchs quickly approached Zhu Youjian from the left and right, put two futons on him and lifted up his skirts.

Zhu Youjian didn't think anything was wrong and just knelt on the futon.

He kowtowed several times in succession, all on the small futon in front of him, then got up and walked to the gate of Jiyan Hall.

Cao Huachun asked the young eunuch to bring tables and chairs, as well as pastries and tea. Zhu Youjian sat on the chair, ready to receive the officials.

Time passed little by little, and the first people to appear at the gate of Jiyan Palace were Fang Congzhe and Liu Yixuan from the cabinet, as well as the ministers, ministers, Yuanwailang and other officials from the six departments. They seemed to have made an appointment.

, more than two hundred people came together to pay their respects.

"Your Majesty the Fifth Prince..."

Fang Congzhe took the lead in saluting from a distance, and Zhu Youjian quickly returned the salute. Although the other officials looked down on Zhu Youjian, they had to salute one after another.

Zhu Youjian returned the favor one by one, and then said a lot of nice things, which were nothing more than remarks about the hard work of officials.

As soon as he finished talking about the scene, he kept silent and said nothing else. He allowed all the officials to enter the banquet hall, where they saluted and mourned.

They all wore sackcloth and wore mourning, and after saluting, they exited the Jiyan Hall. Those with lower official positions were chatting outside the door about official matters that needed to be resolved.

Those with higher official positions, such as cabinet ministers, ministers of the six ministries, and ministers of the six departments, waited in the Jiyan Hall, waiting for Zhu Youxiao to come out to mourn, and then went with Zhu Youxiao to the Wenhua Hall to discuss state affairs.

Zhu Youjian did not go into Jiyan Hall, but sat at the entrance of the hall, eating cakes and drinking tribute tea from time to time.

Not to mention, the tribute tea tastes fresh and refreshing, and has a sweet aftertaste at the end. It is much higher quality than the mountain tea that Zhu Youjian drank in his previous life.
Chapter completed!