Chapter 374 "Having Fun with the People" Aoshan Lantern Festival
When Su Ze saw the recruitment list sent by the Fifth Brigade, he quickly saw the names Yi Sunchen and Kinoshita Tokichiro in the list of foreigners.
These two people also came to Nanjing?
Looking at the copied entry records, one is an ordinary North Korean official, and the other is an envoy from a Japanese daimyo. They all match up.
They actually want to join the army together? Is this a joke?
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, Kinoshita Tokichiro replaced the Oda family after the death of Oda Nobunaga, changed his name to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and became the regent of Japan, Guan Bai.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea and wanted to use North Korea as a stepping stone to invade the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Wanli launched the War to Resist Japan and Aid Korea.
Yi Sun-shin was a famous anti-Japanese general in North Korea at that time. He led the North Korean navy to fight against Japanese pirates and finally died in the Noryang Sea Battle.
These two people came to Nanjing and signed up to join the army together?
Su Ze felt as if fate had played a big joke, but with a smile on his face, he signed his name on the two's military enlistment applications.
It was almost the New Year. Su Ze opened the window, and the whole city of Nanjing was filled with the spirit of the New Year.
The same is true in the north. A good year is also a year, and a bad year is also a year. Anyway, the new year has to pass.
The lives of the people in the capital have been ups and downs this year.
The emperor hunted in the west, and then the rebels from the southeast entered the city.
The southeastern army entered the city, but allotted fields to the people.
Then the Southeast New Army withdrew, and the Ming Emperor returned.
The fields assigned to the people were taken back, and life returned to the way it was before.
The people in the capital even miss the days when the Southeast New Army was in the capital.
For Ming court officials, this year has also been a year of ups and downs.
The emperor ran away, the prince ran away, the prince came back and became the emperor, and the emperor became the emperor.
Although Yang Bo and Gao Gong tried their best to maintain political stability, such huge changes still caused violent political turmoil.
The "New Service Movement" proposed by Gao Gong has become a game stage for all parties to compete for dominance.
Even as the New Year is approaching, the various yamen of the imperial court have no intention of stopping. Various documents are issued from the six yamen. Emperor Longqing, who has just ascended the throne, is confidently looking forward to reversing the decline of the southeastern bandits and becoming the master of the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty.
However, in addition to the southeastern thieves, the imperial court in the capital also had a major problem, and that was King Jing who announced in Huguang that he had accepted the imperial edict.
The imperial court in the capital issued multiple edicts in succession, requiring King Jing to return to the palace immediately and follow the ancestral system and not interfere in the military and political affairs of Huguang.
However, King Jing completely ignored these orders.
King Jing pretended to only abide by the emperor's edict. Although he did not openly resist the imperial court, after taking control of Wuchang, he immediately began to use the emperor's edict to conquer other state capitals in Huguang.
Emperor Longqing was naturally well aware of King Jing's attitude.
When he was in the capital, King Jing had the intention to seize the direct descendant. Now, through his father's will, King Jing's intention to separate Huguang was clearly revealed.
The cabinet and important ministers all agreed that the troubles of King Jing should be quelled first and then the southeastern thieves should be eliminated.
Years ago, the emperor's secret order was sent to Xuzhou.
Zhang Juzheng, the Minister of War stationed in Xuzhou, waited until the New Year and immediately led his troops to Huguang to put an end to King Jing's rebellion.
However, in order to confuse King Jing, the capital court sent an envoy, Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites, to Huguang a year ago, pretending to negotiate with King Jing on behalf of the court.
When King Jing followed the imperial edict, he was obeying the emperor's edict. For this careless father, Long Qing could no longer trust the emperor in Guanzhong.
Emperor Longqing sent a secret envoy to write to Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi, who was guarding Jiajing, asking him to "persuad" the emperor to return to the capital immediately as a filial piety.
But just after Longqing dealt with the two troubles, the emergency report from Datong border was sent to the capital.
Huang Taiji, the eldest son of Anda Khan, requested to pay a pilgrimage to the Ming Emperor.
Judging from the border emergency report, this time Huang Taiji led 300 elite cavalry without any goods. The Datong Gongshi envoy judged that Huang Taiji did not come to seek an audience at all, but that he came with bad intentions.
The Datong Gong City Envoy immediately sent someone to inquire about the news, and then he realized that Huang Taiji had come to investigate this time!
After inquiring about the merchants trading on the grassland, Mingting finally learned the information about the Battle of Wuyuan.
It's just that the news on the grassland is too confusing, and no one can tell clearly the origin of the Wuyuan City Lord.
Some people say that the Lord of Wuyuan City is not a Han at all, but a Mongolian tribal leader who dissatisfied with An Dahan.
Some people say that the Lord of Wuyuan City is a fugitive who escaped from the Ming Dynasty and wants to gather soldiers to counterattack the Ming Dynasty.
Others say that the lord of Wuyuan City is a descendant of the Guiyi Army of the Tang Dynasty, and the troops in Wuyuan City are the Guiyi Army who are returning to their homeland.
Although there are different opinions on the origin of Wuyuan City Lord, it can be confirmed that Wuyuan City Lord defeated the cavalry sent by Andahan and used advanced firearms.
After receiving the news, the Ming Emperor was troubled and quickly summoned his ministers for a meeting.
Chief Assistant Yang Bo first said: "Your Majesty, the nine sides are empty now, and there must be no chaos in the north!"
Emperor Longqing on the throne nodded. The Ming Dynasty is already chaotic enough. Mongolia has only settled down through the tribute market. There must be no more wars. .
Gao Gong came out and said: "Your Majesty, what the chief minister said is good, but Ida Khan is afraid of power but not moral. If the court shows weakness, the Mongols will make further progress, and the border will be unrest from now on.
" Li Chunfang, who returned to the capital next to Jiajing, had already entered the cabinet during the Jiajing Dynasty.
However, as the emperor traveled westward and Li Chunfang followed Jiajing out of the capital, there was naturally no place for Li Chunfang in the new cabinet after Longqing ascended the throne.
However, Emperor Longqing saw that there was a shortage of people in the Six Ministries, so he still asked Li Chunfang to be the Minister of Rites.
Having once reached the pinnacle of power, Li Chunfang left Jiajing and returned to the capital. Naturally, she was unwilling to be the Minister of Rites without real power.
Facing Gao Gong, Li Chunfang immediately objected and said:
"What Mr. Gao Ge said is wrong!"
"I also participated in the negotiations for the emperor's tribute back then. An Dahan had no ambitions and was greedy. He was in Wuyuan. The reason why the city suffered a defeat must be to extort money. If the court satisfies Anda Khan's greed, the war will definitely be eliminated." "If he acts tough,
Anda Khan will definitely send troops south to plunder in order to explain to his tribe! "
Gao Gong said angrily: "Li Shilang wants to pay annual coins to Mongolia?"
Li Chunfang said: "Old Gaoge, this is not what I mean. Who doesn't know the Ming Dynasty's ancestral law of 'no tribute, no marriage'? It's just that things have priorities, and the border situation needs to be stabilized first. If war breaks out between the north and the south, who will bear this responsibility?"
Gao Gong was about to continue to refute Li Chunfang, when he heard the emperor say:
"What Li Aiqing said makes sense. Since the war started last time, Li Aiqing has participated in the Gong negotiations, so how about leaving the reception of Huang Taiji to you this time?"
Gao Gong opened his mouth, but couldn't express his objection. Li Chunfang's position is Minister of Rites, and receiving foreign envoys is also part of his job scope.
Now the capital officials have impeached Gao Gong many times, saying that he is arbitrary and domineering.
The emperor had already spoken, and Gao Gong could not express any decent objections.
It's just a reception, the negotiations still have to go through the cabinet.
Gao Gong could only comfort himself in this way.
In this way, Li Chunfang left the capital a year ago to meet Huang Taiji, who came to the capital to investigate and investigate.
After deciding on this matter, and after all the six ministers had left, Emperor Longqing said to Yang Bo and Gao Gong:
"This year the capital is in turmoil and the people are uneasy. I want to reopen the Aoshan Lantern Festival on the Lantern Festival after the new year. You two What do you think, Aiqing?"
Aoshan Lantern Festival is a giant lantern and fireworks display set up by the Ming Dynasty royal family in the palace every year during the Lantern Festival.
Because its shape resembles an Ao, it is called "Aoshan Lantern Festival".
Starting from the Lantern Festival in the seventh year of Yongle, this grand lantern festival has been opened with a high profile - "Listen to the subjects going to the Meridian Gate to view Aoshan Mountain for three days", which can be regarded as a traditional Spring Festival celebration of the Ming Dynasty.
As a celebration where the royal family and the people enjoy themselves together, the scale of the Aoshan Lantern Festival is naturally unprecedented.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the cost of each lantern festival was tens of thousands of taels. However, as the scale of Aoshan became larger and larger, during the Jiajing period, the cost of a lantern festival skyrocketed to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
Naturally, it is impossible to prepare for such a grand event just before the Lantern Festival. Preparations usually start in December of the previous year.
Pyrotechnics craftsmen stack up various uniquely designed "wonderful flowers" and "artillery" in layers.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, colorful lanterns of various shapes flashed on the huge "Aoshan Mountain", gorgeous fireworks continued to set off, and the maids danced gracefully to the beautiful music of the Bell and Drum Division.
However, Emperor Longqing had only seen it during such a prosperous period when he was a child.
Jiajing practiced Taoism in his later years and liked purity, so the Aoshan Lantern Festival has not been held for more than ten years.
Now that Emperor Longqing proposed to hold the Aoshan Lantern Festival, the first assistant Yang Bo and the second assistant Gao Gong both looked embarrassed.
Nowadays, the imperial court's finances can be said to be quite tight.
It takes money to prepare new affairs, money to train a new army, and soldiers from Jiubian and Beijing camps need rewards and appeasement.
At the beginning of spring, Zhang Juzheng will be sent to Huguang to deal with King Jing. The most important thing is to deal with the southeastern bandits, a serious problem.
Money is spent everywhere, and the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver at the Aoshan Lantern Festival is not a small amount.
Emperor Longqing saw that both of them were silent, so he said: "I have just ascended the throne this year and returned to the capital. I also want to enjoy it with the people and let the people of the capital see the atmosphere of the court. If I do it this year, I will definitely not do it again in the future. "
The emperor has said so, what can happen to Yang Bo and Gao Gong?
After all, the cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty were still "auxiliary" ministers. They did not have the same rights as the prime ministers of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and could confront the emperor in person.
Gao Gong could only say: "The Ministry of Revenue still has one hundred thousand taels of silver. It was originally planned to repair the official residence of the capital's Yamen. It can be used to prepare for the Aoshan Lantern Festival." Emperor Longqing was like a child who was about to get a toy, and he couldn't help but said with great
joy "How about I allocate some more money from the inner treasury to make the Aoshan Lantern Festival more lively?"
Gao Gong frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the court still needs money. The Mongols are coming this time with great momentum, and they may need more money." To spend money to prepare for war, if your majesty has money in the internal treasury, it is better to provide supplementary wages."
Emperor Longqing still respected Gao Gong very much. Since Gao Gong also gave in, he said:
"Then I will contribute 20,000 taels myself, and the rest will be given to me. How about the household department makes up for it?"
Gao Gong softened his heart and said: "The household department still has one hundred thousand taels."
Emperor Longqing asked again: "Qingyuan Bo Li Wei, Shangbao Temple Prime Minister Li Changfeng, Gongzhong Tiguo, can prepare it. This is the Aoshan Lantern Festival."
Gao Gong frowned. In the past, the Aoshan Lantern Festival was organized by the Ministry of Industry, and the emperor contracted the project to his father-in-law, but the cabinet seemed to have no reason to object.
Anyway, there is so much money, no matter who you give it to.
Yang Bo said: "Then let's publicize to the people in the capital that the Aoshan Lantern Festival will be held after the New Year, and your majesty will have fun with the people." After deciding on
this matter, the emperor returned to the inner court happily, and then called for Li Wei and Li Changfeng. , announced that the Aoshan Lantern Festival would be handed over to them.
The father and son were excited at first, and then looked embarrassed.
Li Wei said: "Your Majesty, I have heard before that at the time of the Emperor, it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to host an Aoshan Lantern Festival. Now it only costs 120,000 taels of silver. I am afraid that I cannot satisfy your Majesty." Emperor Longqing frowned and said
: "Nowadays, the national situation is difficult, and there are many places that need money. It is already very rare for the Ministry of Household Affairs to provide one hundred thousand taels of silver." Li Changfeng's mind was quick, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty, since the
Aoshan
Lantern Festival is for the enjoyment of the people, then You can't just His Majesty and the imperial court contribute the money."
"I think we should let the wealthy merchants of the capital also contribute some money, so that the Aoshan Lantern Festival can be a lively event and the people of the capital can feel the new atmosphere of the new dynasty." Emperor Longqing said with great joy: "That's exactly what happened
. This is true! But it may not be easy to persuade the cabinet to let the wealthy merchants of the capital pledge donations."
Li Wei said: "This is easy to handle. I have some respect among the wealthy merchants of the capital. In order to celebrate His Majesty's accession to the throne, let them volunteer It's easy to donate some money!"
Emperor Longqing couldn't help but hold Li Wei's hand and said: "The emperor has a way. If this matter is done well, there will be huge rewards!"
Li Wei added: "It's just us, father and son. , we are weak and need manpower with so much money. Can your Majesty send some manpower to us?"
Emperor Longqing immediately said: "I will allocate a team of royal guards to you, and also allocate some eunuchs from the palace who can write and calculate. How about ?"
The father and son immediately thanked him.
Li Wei, Li Changfeng and his son took over the errand and started taking action immediately.
Under the guise that the emperor was hosting the Aoshan Lantern Festival and asking wealthy merchants to "have fun with the people", they sent Jin Yiwei and eunuchs to start searching.
These wealthy merchants were miserable, and many simply gave up their property and fled.
Li Wei put these family properties up for auction and soon raised a large sum of money.
All the gunpowder craftsmen near the capital were taken away by Su Ze. Li Wei had no choice but to ask Jin Yiwei to search for craftsmen who knew how to make gunpowder nearby and capture them to make fireworks in the capital.
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Huang Taiji, the son of Mongolian Ada Khan, entered the capital with 300 Mongolian cavalry.
Li Chunfang waited carefully along the way, and carefully reported to the court that the Mongols had no intention of raising troops, but that they were "wronged" and wanted to appeal to the Ming court.
Emperor Longqing also announced that Mongolia was a "loyal and vassal state" of the Ming Dynasty. This time it came to pay tribute to the capital, and the Mongols were allowed to gallop in from the main gate of the capital.
(End of chapter)