It was too late, but it was too soon. Faced with a sudden attack, Qin Dewei did not have time to think long. The slightest hesitation might arouse suspicion from the throne.
To modern people, this kind of etiquette is just a frivolous thing, but for people in this era, it is a national matter.
If Qin Dewei said in front of Emperor Jiajing at this time that Emperor Xingxian had never been a real emperor during his lifetime and was just a posthumous title. Why should he enter the Ancestral Temple?
Then Qin Dewei's official career can be ended directly. Whether he will be sent to his hometown or return to his hometown depends on Emperor Jiajing's temporary mood.
Qin Dewei's mind was spinning wildly, and then he said slowly: "I have never heard of the matter of the Emperor Xian proclaiming his clan and entering the temple before, and I have not thought about it in particular. I just heard about it suddenly today.
But I have always had a habit of doing things, which is to think about the difficulties first and put them in front of me.
So I have just been thinking about the difficulty of presenting the emperor and proclaiming his clan to the temple. It seems that there is more than one difficulty."
Most of the people understood. The translation of these two paragraphs by Qin Dewei is:
"I didn't say it couldn't be done, I just said it was very difficult to handle, so I need to think more about what to do... Exactly why it's so difficult to handle, let me delay and think about it."
Very good, very bureaucratic.
Then Qin Dewei continued: "After thinking about it for a while, I really came up with three difficulties.
The first one is the order of offering sacrifices to the emperor and the god, should it be placed above or below the Wuzong?"
I heard this difficulty from my teacher, Zhang Xueshi, and I just put it to use.
"The second difficulty is that with the current temple system, from Taizu to Wuzong, the ancestors and deities of all ancestors happen to be there, but the shrine is already full.
When the emperor’s god is brought into the Ancestral Temple, the ancestor’s god must be brought out. Isn’t this a bit of a big deal?”
The number of pits in the Ancestral Temple is not unlimited, but there is a fixed number. When it is full, the pits are removed. At the same time, Taizu can generally stay away from the pits for eternity.
Traditionally, there are seven temples for the emperor, but the setting of Taizu of this dynasty is nine temples.
But Emperor Jiajing liked to modify the etiquette system, and made the Nine Temples system very complicated. Now it is a system between Nine Temples and Seven Temples.
At present, the eight pits plus one unused empty pit can just accommodate the eight emperors of the Ming Dynasty. But if new people come in, they have to go out.
It's still a bit stressful to drive people away, let alone someone who is driving away an ancestral god.
Especially if he drives people away with such an embarrassing status as the emperor, will the ancestors be angry?
If the first two difficulties are all caused by Qin Dewei to delay things, then the third point is really lethal.
"What if future generations are unfilial and dedicate the emperor's throne to him?"
Emperor Jiajing, who had always remained expressionless, changed his expression a little when he heard this.
Originally, Emperor Jiajing had not thought of this aspect, but Qin Dewei took the initiative to check for leaks and fill in the gaps, and reminded Emperor Jiajing.
This is by no means an alarmist statement. Emperor Jiajing himself knew that offering the emperor to the Ancestral Temple was inherently nondescript.
There is no guarantee that future generations will have descendants with a strong sense of justice. Under the instigation of unscrupulous ministers, Emperor Xian was expelled from the Ancestral Temple.
Then doesn’t Zhu Houcong look like a fool and work in vain?
Qin Dewei ended his speech with a summary: "Time is still short, and I have no time to think deeply. This is what I have thought of at the moment."
Everyone fell into deep thought. Qin Dewei seemed to have said a lot, but seemed to have said nothing useful.
You just listed the difficulties one by one, are you starting to seriously consider how to solve the problem of joining the temple, or are you secretly trying to dissuade me?
Can you, Qin Dewei, take the initiative to take the blame for the treacherous officials and directly express his support for joining the temple?
In this way, everyone can be liberated except you, Qin Dewei!
Then Qin Dewei suddenly said a few more words: "I have little education, I am young and have limited knowledge, so I only think of some difficulties, but I can't think of how to solve them.
But Yan Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites is very knowledgeable and is in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. He should be able to answer questions and resolve these difficulties."
Damn it! Yan Song seemed to be activated, and his slender eyes almost opened into oval shapes.
Qin Dewei, the treacherous official who killed a thousand swords, actually moved the world, created a temporary blame, and then dumped it into his own hands!
Those are all issues related to etiquette. If you, as the Minister of Etiquette, cannot express some professional opinions, you are incompetent!
Moreover, Emperor Jiajing was suspicious in temperament. If he didn't give an answer, who knew how the emperor would become suspicious?
But if all the difficulties in "proclaiming one's clan name and entering the temple" are solved, wouldn't it mean that one supports the one who declares one's clan name and enters the temple, or is he the first person to publicly support it?
Regarding the issue of etiquette, there is actually nothing that cannot be solved by an old scholar like Yan Song.
As long as you are willing to read books, you can always find some basis from the vast sea of classics and history and make up a reason to deceive yourself and others.
But the biggest question is, can it be done?
Faced with the blame thrown back by Qin Dewei, Yan Song hesitated for a few more breaths than Qin Dewei.
But it was the hesitation of these few breaths that caused Emperor Jiajing to frown.
Yan Shangshu did not dare to think any more and immediately said: "I have some thoughts and thought of a way to resolve the difficulties just mentioned."
Everyone immediately abandoned Academician Qin and looked at Yan Song expectantly.
It’s okay for you, Yan Shangshu, to be a treacherous minister! Anyway, you are the Minister of Rites, and this matter is a matter of the Ministry of Rites. It’s natural for you to be a treacherous minister!
Yan Song gritted his teeth and continued: "A new temple can be built next to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to honor the emperor. It will be in the same row as the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the regulations will be the same as those of the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
In this way, those difficulties will be easily solved. First, by building a temple specifically dedicated to the emperor, the deity can remain unchanged for eternity without any worries.
Secondly, there is no need to disturb other ancestral deities, and there is no issue about the order of the Ancestral Temple, which is the best of both worlds."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and it was really hard for Yan Shangshu!
How could he come up with such a trick in such a short period of time, a few breaths!
It would be a pity for anyone to be the treacherous official who was scapegoated.
Even Qin Dewei was surprised. Yan Song's method sounded feasible and very practical.
If this idea is adopted, wouldn't it be all Yan Song's credit?
No, we can't let Yan Song stand out alone! Qin Dewei's mind suddenly changed, he had an idea, and he said again:
"The method suggested by Yan Shangshu is indeed feasible, but the name of Emperor Xian Temple is not solemn enough.
So I just thought of a name, it can be called the Temple of the World, which means it will last forever!"
Qin Dewei secretly analyzed in his heart that the future Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty should like this name.
Emperor Jiajing suddenly stood up from the throne, his face was furious, and he shouted: "Everyone of them is a bastard! How dare you tease me together!"