Once the awards are confirmed, the heroes will have new identities and uniforms to congratulate the emperor on the Longevity Festival.
The benefits brought to the Ming Dynasty by regaining lost territory have not yet been fully realized, but the scope of rewards based on merit is not limited to military commanders.
Although Zhang Fujing, Xia Yan, and Yang Shen were not promoted to nobility, they all had titles and financial rewards.
The reward money for the officers must come from the treasury, and the additional salary for these titles, honors, and meritorious titles in the future will also come from the treasury, but at this moment, the physical rewards for the famous civil servants and generals are coming from Zhu Houcong himself.
I took out a lot of them that day, but the next day it was time to receive gifts.
It's the emperor's birthday, so these gifts are naturally for the emperor. It's not too much to enter the inner transport warehouse, right?
At dawn, Zhu Houcong still woke up from Kunning Palace.
When he returned to Beijing, Sun Jiao had passed away and was buried. Sun Ming was sad for a long time.
Although she has been a queen for many years, she will never miss other things because of this, but Zhu Houcong also knows that as the princes grow up, she is afraid that the pressure on her will increase.
Whether out of concern for her or for the stability of the harem, Zhu Houcong spent the most time with Sun Ming after returning to the Forbidden City after being separated from his concubines for nearly a year.
After washing up, the palace concubines and concubines came first to congratulate him.
The older children prepared their own gifts.
For the little ones, their mothers naturally help prepare.
Zhu Houcong took one look at it and sighed in his heart.
Perhaps due to the "physical fitness techniques" he advocated in the harem for many years, his more different requirements for raising children, or the temporarily stable order in the harem, very few of his children died in infancy.
Nowadays, only Concubine An has suffered from dystocia, and among the other princes and daughters, there are only one son and two daughters who are relatively weak.
Now, Zhu Houcong has six princes.
Among them, the main palace gave birth to two sons. The eldest son, Zhu Zaicheng, has been canonized as the prince. The second son, Jiajing, was born in the eighth year of Jiajing. He is only four years old now and named Zhu Zaicheng.
The remaining four princes are the eldest son Zhu Zaiyuan, the king of Yue, who was born to the concubine Xian, and the fifth son Zhu Zaiyin, who was born in the ninth year of Jiajing by concubine Jing Zhang Qinghe. The third son Zhu Zaiyin is already seven years old, but his mother is Carol.
Lina, and the youngest sixth child, Zhu Zaiyuan, was born to Tana, who was born in a rich family, at the end of the ninth year of Jiajing. Because of their birth, their mother is currently only Zhaoyi.
In addition to sons, there are nine daughters.
It's a coincidence that after the Annihilation incident, Zhu Houcong actually had a good time. However, among the five children born in the eight years of Jiajing, only Sun Ming gave birth to a prince.
In the past two years, due to the imperial expedition to the north, there has been no good news in the palace. Only Wen Suyun is pregnant again, and she does not know whether her third child will be a boy or a girl.
Now fifteen children were kneeling on the ground to celebrate "birthday". Zhu Houcong couldn't help but complain in his heart: If this was not restrained at all, the scale would probably be two or three times bigger.
The problem with having good health and having many women is that they are indeed very fertile.
Zhu Houcong looked at Agaru who had just been selected into the palace from the Ordos tribe and was to be canonized as Jieyu today, and he thought to himself that it would be nice to have some newcomers.
It's strange to say that after those people stayed in the palace, menstruation was getting closer and closer.
Zhu Houcong had never "drilled" into these before, so how could he have known that this would be the case? If he kept this pace, by the time he was in his fifties or sixties, wouldn't he have dozens or hundreds of children?
While thinking wildly, he happily rewarded the children with some small items and asked about the expenses of each palace. Then he got up and went to say hello to the Empress Dowager Jiang.
Empress Dowager Chiang is already fifty-seven, and her age is gradually showing.
Although she is now the Queen Mother, it does not mean that she will live a long life.
Zhu Houcong remembered that she seemed to be walking in front of Empress Dowager Zhang.
Empress Dowager Zhang is still living in seclusion in Renshou Palace. She was driven to Xiyuan to "recuperate". Later, when it was completely designated as Huangming University, she took her back to Renshou Palace, her former residence. Although she is still the empress dowager Cishou,
But today's Renshou Palace is a completely "forbidden place" in the palace.
The palace is full of joy today. It is the Emperor's Longevity Festival, and the Renshou Palace has received some delicious food.
The old eunuch Li Zhen from North Korea whom Jin Qi was thinking about is now the eunuch in charge of Renshou Palace.
Although he can hand out some letters, they must be reviewed by the Supervisor of Ceremonies, so how can he dare to say anything?
Now Queen Mother Zhang is still sitting in front of the Buddhist hall. Li Zhen asked her several times but got no reply, so she didn't bother to say anything more.
The grass in the courtyard was deep, but they, the eunuchs and maids, were too lazy to take care of it. They all just lazily basked in the sun and chatted.
The noise outside has nothing to do with them.
On the former side, although Fengtian Hall was renamed Guoyi Hall, Fengtian Gate was still called Fengtian Gate.
At this moment, everyone inside and outside Fengtianmen is also making preparations.
Yesterday was the military parade, today it is birthday celebrations.
There is no shortage of ceremonial guards and orchestras. At this moment, civil and military officials and foreign envoys are waiting outside the Meridian Gate.
The newly ennobled princes yesterday were extremely dazzling. Guo Xun, Li Quanli and Zhu Qi were all smiling from ear to ear, while Yan Chunsheng was more modest and cautious.
Those old ministers can be more reckless, but he, the young new prince, dare not be careless.
Now that he has made great achievements, he should just take on more apprentices in the future and, as the emperor said, cultivate higher-quality Jingying soldiers.
Yes, Guo Xun, Li Quanli, and Zhu Qi can already start the pension mode in any of the five governorates.
Yan Chunsheng is not the only one in the special operations camp who has made meritorious service. Now the special operations camp is being recuperated by another general who was awarded the title of count for his meritorious service, while Yan Chunsheng is going to the three major battalions to train.
This round of adjustments is inevitable.
When the time came, first the four newly-confessed princes went to worship the heaven, the earth, the three altars of Sheji and the Ancestral Temple respectively, while the rest lined up outside the Meridian Gate to pay homage to the Hall of Heroes and the forest of steles on both sides - this was a newly added etiquette process.
.
To the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor kept emphasizing the significance of the Hall of Heroes and the Forest of Steles. After this battle, although there were no more people in the Hall of Heroes now, there were four more forest of steles on both sides, which were the battlefields of this battle.
senior general.
For the foreign envoys, they knew that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty had a way of using his reputation after death to win over the loyalty of his ministers. And these heroic deeds that can be listed here also prove how many heroes emerged in the vast Ming Dynasty.
heroic figure.
When we reached the bell tower in the distance, it rang ten times and the Meridian Gate opened.
This is the official start of the meeting with the Emperor of Heaven and congratulations on the Longevity Festival.
Li held a relatively high position among the vassal envoys because the relationship between North Korea and the Ming Dynasty had always been relatively stable and strong.
After walking through the long doorway, he finally saw what the interior of the Emperor's palace looked like.
On both sides of the Neijinshui Bridge, the strict guards are not the focus of everyone's attention. The tall Fengtian Gate is majestic.
At this moment, first of all, the Ming Dynasty Three-Chen Flag held by the imperial guards inside and outside Fengtian Gate was too dazzling.
So many flags are not only the visual embellishment of this special day, but also convey the strength of the country and the dignity of the Son of Heaven.
Zhu Houcong is sitting on the throne in the National Assembly Hall. Today's process will be very long.
The longest among them is naturally the two capitals, sixteen provinces, and six border districts of the Ming Dynasty. There are many relatives of the feudal kings, important ministers of second rank and above, provincial-level Xiangxianyuan, and the feudal clans of the feudal states pay tribute to the great emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Wanshou Sheng.
Individual congratulations and gifts on the holiday.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, the Longevity Festival has not been paid much attention to. This is the only time to make a grand event, and it also has important internal and external purposes.
As the situation inside and outside the Ming Dynasty stabilized, both the courtiers within the Ming Dynasty and the envoys of the vassal states knew that this was an opportunity to establish an impression face to face with the emperor that would affect the next ten years or even longer.
Even if everyone is only given a minute or two to submit a congratulatory form, say a few words, and have the officials from the Ministry of Etiquette sing out the list of congratulatory gifts they have given, the total time required is not short.
Zhu Houcong only said a few words of politeness or encouragement in a friendly manner, and then enjoyed the joy of "hand cramps after receiving gifts".
In the name of a birthday, it is not shabby to receive a gift after spending a lot of money on the war.
After receiving it, inject more capital into the Huangming Assets Bureau and buy more treasury bonds. This is called concentrating financial resources to do big things.
As the ceremony came to an end, Liu Long suddenly hurried up to Zhang Zuo and whispered a few words, and then Zhang Zuo presented the memorial he handed over to the imperial case.
Zhu Houcong glanced at him doubtfully, and while listening to the praises of the Prince of Johor kneeling below, he opened it and took a look.
Upon seeing this, he frowned and then nodded.
So just when everyone thought that the ceremony was over and the banquet could finally begin, they heard the roll call: "Sultan Mansu'er of the Turpan Khanate sent his son Shah Khan to congratulate His Majesty the Ming Emperor on a long life!"
Zhang Fujing, Xia Yan, Tang Shunzhi and others were stunned for a moment. The Turpan Khanate was not on the previous list.
After Mansuer came to the throne in the 17th year of Hongzhi, Turpan first destroyed Hami and then invaded Suzhou repeatedly. The relationship with the Ming Dynasty was very unharmonious.
Although they also said they would surrender to the Ming Dynasty, they did not accept the Ming Dynasty to set up a propaganda embassy.
Although six years after Jiajing, there was no more blatant and large-scale invasion of Suzhou, but even if the news of the Ming Dynasty's return to power spread at the end of last year, Turpan has not conveyed a new attitude in such a long time.
Why did you suddenly send your son to the capital now?
And looking at it, it seemed like it was a temporary arrangement and they came all the way.
Tang Shunzhi and Xia Yan looked at each other: If there were changes in the Western Regions, there would be no urgent report from the border to Beijing.
In fact, as long as they arrive at the Qinggan border, they will first rush to report to the capital, and then guard them all the way to the capital.
Where did they come from now?
Doubts lingered in their minds, but since the emperor had nodded, they did nothing on this occasion.
Outside the main hall, two people actually came in. The person in front was young, and the person in the back was older, but they both looked tired.
"His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Sultan Mansu'er, the Lord of Turpan, congratulates you on your birthday. Your name is known to everyone in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. On the orders of my father Khan, I bring you the treasures and horses of Turpan..."
The words were relayed by the old man at the back, so they also brought a fluent interpreter in advance.
After Zhu Houcong waited for the officials of the Ministry of Rites to finish reading the congratulatory gifts they presented, he spoke: "I heard that you were running at starry night, crossing deserts and grasslands, so that you could rush to the capital today. It was a hard journey, and Man Su'er was very determined." He said
I accepted the gift."
The message conveyed in the emperor's words moved Xia Yan and Tang Shunzhi's hearts.
Xingye galloped across deserts and grasslands, but Daming didn't know it beforehand. In order to avoid trouble and rush for time, they went all the way from Turpan around Yinshan Mountain and Dashawobei.
I just arrived in the capital today, probably from the vicinity of Duoyanbu, which is the closest to the capital.
The Xuanning Border Area has just been established, and the truly tight defense line is still the border wall.
It can only be said that the urgent reports from the border were almost at the same speed as theirs. The emperor should have received the specific information, which allowed the people over there to make the decision without authorization.
Not only because the birthday celebration was special, but also because Shah Khan must have brought enough sincerity and important information.
I answer!
For many important officials in the imperial court, this answer came to their mind.
The ceremony proceeds step by step, followed by the banquet.
Those who can stay in the Fengtian Palace are the vassal kings, princes, counselors and envoys of the vassal state.
Zhu Houcong didn't mean to be in a hurry, so Shahan, whose eyes were clearly filled with anxiety, could only sit down for now.
Today, Gunbilik is still dressed up, and An Le Gong's dance is not the only show, but it seems to be a temperament after drunkenness - he proposed it on his own initiative, so in the eyes of people like Shah Khan and Jin Qi, he is the loser.
Extreme fear of the winner, just to survive.
As a reward for his understanding of the situation, the Emperor of Heaven rewarded him with three treasure tickets. A total of one hundred and seventy taels of silver, which was quite a lot, but not neat. Gunbilik bent down and held the three treasure tickets to thank him.
I feel that the busts of the three heroes of the Ming Dynasty are very heavy.
But the emperor's words were very kind: "Since all the tribes in Ordos have surrendered, I hope Anle Gong will tell the people to put aside their past grievances and live in peace and contentment in the Ming Dynasty. I have issued an edict and canonized Agala as Jieyu, and she will be so from now on.
family."
"I would like to express my gratitude to His Majesty the Emperor for the kindness of the great Bogda Chechen Khan. I will definitely inform all the tribes. From me to Jieyu, every subject of the tribes will serve Your Majesty respectfully."
Zhu Houcong smiled and nodded: "You dance very well. I'll give you some wine and have another drink."
Gunbilik sighed inwardly.
What else can I do? I sold a dance and got one hundred and seventy taels of silver. My life will be more comfortable in the following days.
Only when the Ming Emperor was truly reassured could he become a prince of a foreign vassal with a real salary.
But Gunbilik wasn't sure he would survive until that day.
There was a back and forth, before it was just to receive gifts. Now during the banquet, when the envoys of the vassal states got up and went out to celebrate birthdays and toast again, they were more or less rewarded by the emperor.
Envoys with experience expressed their feelings: Today's emperor is too stingy.
In their memories, when they came to pay tribute in the past, or when their ancestors came over, they would always get more rewards in return.
But what now?
It's a small amount of new money from the Ming Dynasty, and some paintings and calligraphy.
The feeling of meaning.
But there was nothing they could do, and they tried their best to stay awake at the same time, because things in the afternoon were more important.
After the banquet, the emperor would receive the envoys of each vassal state one by one and talk to them about the subsequent "bilateral relations" - this was written in the official arrangement document given to them in advance by the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
The first place is North Korea, and the last place is Turpan.
Zhu Houcong moved to the State Palace, and the other envoys saw Jin Qi and Li Xian being led back, but they still stayed in the main hall and waited.
In addition to the Minister of State Zhang Bi and the Minister of Rites and Foreign Affairs Liu Long who were accompanying them here, they clearly saw the envoy from Turpan being invited out of the main hall and heading to the southwest. Also leaving in that direction beforehand was their Prime Minister and Minister of State.
The ministers and general staff of the Military Affairs Council, the Governor of Hetao, and the Governor of Qinggan.
In the State Palace, Zhu Houcong did not play tricks, and his first words made Jin Qi tremble.
"Since we know that the Weihua, Lanzi, and Qiantong islands in the Yalu River are all places of the upper state, why do we still appeal to the people of Liaodong not to live on the islands?"
"His Majesty the Emperor has clearly learned that first in the fourth year of Jiajing's reign, Nan Gun, the leader of the country's political affairs, made a slanderous report to the state, and then it was Zheng Guangbi, the leader of the country's political affairs last year. Both of them were sycophants. Now Zheng Guangbi has been expelled from the imperial court, and the islands in the Yalu River
Since this is the territory of the superior country, how can I dare to speak wildly and argue with the superior country about the territory, and please prohibit the military and civilians of the superior country from living there?"
Li couldn't help but lower his head.
It is because of the interests of the Shilin faction in North Korea that they are worried that "the family will be harmed forever."
Isn’t it true that this matter cannot be petitioned to ask Heaven to show mercy? Isn’t it just a few islands?
But after yesterday's military parade, Jin Qi was asked this question by the Emperor of Heaven, and he immediately expressed his attitude and gave up this hope.
Zhu Houcong nodded lightly: "Since Li Yi understands the truth, I feel relieved."
Jin Qi only had one important thing in mind and asked tentatively: "Since the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, it has always been respectful to the Ming Dynasty. Since I have received the approval of His Majesty Emperor Ruizong, I have often been concerned about the mistakes in the lineage of the great ancestor of my country over the years. Now the four dynasties
Now that the situation is stable and the court is in full swing, I have ordered my foreign ministers to report to Your Majesty. Does the Ming Dynasty have a plan to renovate the ceremony and correct the lineage of Taizu?"
"Re-revise the canon?" Zhu Houcong laughed, "The canon must be rebuilt. I have implemented new laws and major changes in the official system. The current situation is very different from what is stated in the canon. However, the new laws of the Ming Dynasty are often changed and always new. Although some people
I have asked you to rewrite the memorial, but I haven’t decided to settle on it so early.”
How could Jin Qi dare to persuade the emperor to carry out this matter immediately? All he wanted was the attitude of the new emperor.
"Foreign ministers are daring. I wonder if your majesty can grant my country's request and issue an explicit edict to appease my king?"
"The clan line is indeed an important matter, and Li Yi cares about this matter out of filial piety." Zhu Houcong smiled and nodded, but then the topic changed, "I heard that the North Korean propaganda envoy came and Li Yi's harem was restless. Last year
Another big event happened, which led to the death of the eldest son of the concubine. In the past, Li Yi pretended to be the Lord of Yanshan and asked to resign. Now there is a great disaster in the family ethics. Li Yi hopes that I will issue an order to authenticate the clan, but there is something else.
Hidden secret?"
Li's heart was shaken, and Jin Qi broke out in cold sweat: "Return to... Your Majesty, since I know that the Korean lineage recorded in the imperial canon is wrong, I cannot leave false accusations in the imperial canon. The deposed Fucheng Lord is watching the throne, first of all
The crime of burning the rat, and cursing the prince and his son with words, is really unforgivable. The king was so angry that he had no choice but to instruct the canonical punishment in order to bring peace to the inside and outside..."
Zhu Houcong raised the corners of his mouth and refused to comment.
In the silence, the atmosphere was very strange, and Jin Qi's heart was beating fast.
Then, I heard Emperor Tianming speak: "Are you Li Yi's second son?"
"...I am none other than Li, the second son of a concubine. His derogatory name is an insult to the Holy Spirit."
"Li Chenggui is also your ancestor. You also came to petition me to revise the ceremony to correct the fallacy of the Korean clan lineage?"
Li had no choice but to kneel down and say, "I sincerely ask His Majesty the Emperor for permission."
"Your filial piety is commendable. I see that you behave well and speak in an extraordinary manner. I am also quite curious about the customs of North Korea. Can you tell me a little bit about it?"
Jin Qi stared blankly at the Ming Emperor who seemed to be interested in Li, and after asking questions, he seemed to appreciate him more and more.
At the end, Zhu Houcong actually sighed: "Although I don't know what Li Yi's prince is like, but just seeing that he raised a son like you, I think Lord Fucheng is really bringing his own disaster. Anyway, seeing as you go there in person
When the Ming Dynasty comes to ask for this matter, I will issue an explicit edict for the sake of your filial piety. If the "Da Ming Huidian" is scheduled to be re-edited, this time the mistake in your Korean lineage will be corrected."
Li was very frightened, but at this moment he had to kneel down to thank him.
Jin Qi is here!
After a lot of research, was it actually because his performance was appreciated by the Ming Emperor that he completed this mission?
He is the second son of a concubine, and he does not need this kind of appreciation from the Emperor of Heaven. After he goes back, can Mr. Jin An give him good things to eat?
However, Zhu Houcong continued to deepen his fear: "Although you have no chance of being king of Korea, I think you are quite talented. The Ming Dynasty's trade with Korea is quite different from paying tribute in the past. If you are not in a hurry to go back, you can stay here
Let’s spend a few months in the capital to study the regulations of Ming Dynasty’s border markets, and then go back to North Korea to teach them how to handle trade matters better. For the sake of mutual benefit, we cannot continue to do what we did in the past and not understand what goods Ming Dynasty really needs.”
"...The foreign minister takes the order..."
Li was extremely anxious. Do you still dare to go back?
Do you think too highly of me? If you appreciate me so much, the remnants of the Shilin faction will continue to come together. You are trying to kill me!
But no matter what, at least he doesn't have to go back with Jin Qi first.
Li made up his mind to find ways to use these few months to stay in Ming Dynasty.
At this time, Zhu Houcong asked Jin Qi again: "In the past, Japan competed for tribute and harmed the people of the Ming Dynasty. I ordered it to cut off its tribute. In recent years, there have been a lot of Japanese goods sold by you North Korea in the border market. Could it be that now they