Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Nine: Listen to Uncle Zong
Zhu Qiyu sat on the throne and carefully read the memorial presented by the Ministry of Rites.
Generally speaking, it is similar to what Li Xian said.
Although the Winter Solstice Festival is one of the most important celebrations of the imperial court, because of its importance, various precedents are set. Xiao Guicao can do whatever he wants, and basically nothing will go wrong.
As for the changes, there are two main ones.
One is what Li Xian just said. After offering sacrifices to heaven, the emperor should lead his ministers to congratulate the Supreme Emperor, then worship the ancestors with the Supreme Emperor, and then receive congratulations at the Fengtian Hall.
A simple question of order, the superior and the inferior can be clearly distinguished.
As for the second one, she is the wife of the harem. It is said that the husband is valued and the wife is honored, and the same is true for the heavenly family.
Now that the Supreme Emperor has returned to the court, if the rituals of the outer court have been rested, then the greetings in the harem will naturally also change accordingly.
However, this is another difficulty. Now there is a master in the middle palace, and there is another Queen Duanjing in the south palace.
It would be too cumbersome to ask the concubine to congratulate both sides like the outer court, but it is not appropriate to only congratulate one person.
Therefore, the Ministry of Rites finally decided to order the woman to pay homage to Her Majesty the Holy Queen Mother instead.
Anyway, in terms of title, the Empress Dowager Shangsheng is the direct mother of the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor, and has a respected status. Although in recent times, she has interfered in some court affairs and made the courtiers dissatisfied, after all, at the critical moment, she strongly advocated the succession of the eldest monarch and stabilized the situation.
After the court situation is over, it is most appropriate for the ordered woman to enter the palace and pay her respects to her old man.
Of course, compared to the rest of the outer court, the harem is just a small section.
It should be said that this adjustment by the Ministry of Rites is completely reasonable and courteous.
Although the Supreme Emperor now takes refuge in Nangong, regardless of his status as the Supreme Emperor or the brother of the Emperor, a major festival such as the Winter Solstice should be congratulated by the Emperor and his ministers.
However, this matter is sensitive because a few days ago, King Xiang once wrote a memorial. The content was that he hoped that the emperor could serve the emperor day and night, lead his ministers to pay their respects in the morning and evening, and pay greetings to the emperor.
Originally, once this memorial was handed over, there would be a huge stir.
You must know that although King Xiang is a minister, he is after all the uncle of the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor. From the perspective of the family, although he is not a respected person, he is an elder.
Unfortunately, it was stopped.
Prince Da Zong Zhengmin, who had been ill in bed for a long time, personally came forward to punish King Xiang with two sticks according to the ancestral family law in the ancestral school, and the matter of memorial was ignored.
There was speculation in the court at that time that there was no one other than the emperor who could invite Prince Min to leave the palace.
In other words, it was the emperor's intention to stop King Xiang.
In this situation, this memorial from the Ministry of Rites is quite meant to test the emperor's bottom line.
It is true that during the Winter Solstice Festival, the emperor led his ministers to congratulate the Supreme Emperor, and the concubines in the harem congratulated the Holy Empress Dowager. However, the procedures were a bit more complicated.
Moreover, after all, it was the winter solstice, the only day for the three major court meetings in the imperial court, and it was not like this every day. Compared with the memorial of King Xiang, it was much gentler.
However, the essence has not changed.
The political significance of the emperor leading his ministers to congratulate the emperor is to once again emphasize to the court that the emperor is the most respected and the emperor is the humble. Although it still does not involve issues related to the government affairs of the court, after all, this constantly emphasized hierarchy of superiors and subordinates is
, which made many ministers feel uneasy.
In addition, it has been two months since the Supreme Emperor returned to the court, but he has never summoned, or to be more precise, he has not successfully summoned the courtiers.
The only people who actually went to Nangong to see the emperor, apart from the courtiers Yuan Bin, Ha Ming and others who returned to the court with the Supreme Emperor, were some relatives, such as Jiao Jing and Sun Zhong. The only exception was King Xiang, but he was also a member of the clan, not a member of the royal family.
courtier.
The Supreme Emperor indeed summoned some courtiers, but basically these ministers did not enter the Nangong Palace. They just kowtowed in greeting outside the Nangong Palace and then left.
The Supreme Emperor did not stop it. In fact, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Because, since returning to the dynasty, the Supreme Emperor issued an edict declaring that he would no longer interfere in major affairs.
Then, the only reason he could use to summon the courtiers was to ask for his blessing.
So in fact, if the etiquette notes of the Ministry of Rites are implemented, this will be the first large-scale interview with ministers after the Supreme Emperor returned to the court.
What may be derived from this is that the emperor can summon ministers alone in Nangong.
The elders in the court, especially those in high positions, always take one step at a time and look at the next step. Therefore, they are naturally aware of these hidden risks and possibilities.
It is precisely because of this understanding that I feel even more cowardly about the Ministry of Rites...
I just don’t know how the emperor will respond this time.
Is it still rejected like last time?
or……
"What do you mean, Uncle Zong?"
Without too much delay, the emperor's voice came down and directly called Hu Hui's name.
So Mr. Hu opened his eyes and was confused for a moment, then slowly walked out of the queue and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, this ceremonial note is the result of the ministry's discussion. It is in line with the etiquette and I think it is feasible."
He spoke clearly and concisely, without being sloppy at all.
However, it did not surprise the ministers. After all, it would have been impossible for Li Xian to dare to report such a big matter in the name of the Ministry of Rites without the nod from Hu Hui, the Minister of Rites.
Zhu Qiyu's eyes flashed, looking at Hu Xi who seemed to have just woken up, and sighed in his heart.
Sure enough, he is still an old fox...
The smart thing about Hu Hui is that he can grasp the right balance and protect himself wisely to the maximum extent.
He nodded to this memorial, but it was not handed over by him, and moreover, it was the result of a "ministerial meeting" by the Ministry of Rites.
Therefore, if he has any questions about details or specific operations, Zhu Qiyu should ask Li Xian, the person who reported the report, rather than Hu Hui, the minister.
As for the general direction, Hu Hui's attitude is very clear.
This is also the reason why he has stood firm in the court for many years. He seems to be gentle, but in fact he is decisive and does not hesitate to punish the sinners.
Even if this person is the emperor!
However, he has a very good sense of proportion.
This memorial was presented by Li Xian, which actually left some room for discussion. Although Hu Hu nodded, he did not make any strong claims.
Therefore, if the emperor Zhu Qiyu wants to reject it, he will not refuse given the state Hu Xi is showing now.
Anyway, he did what he had to do, and no one can blame him.
As for whether Zhu Qiyu, the emperor, would be unhappy in his heart, Hu Hui actually knew very well that from the time when the Supreme Emperor returned to the court, he, the Minister of Rites, might not be able to please both sides at many times.
But, he is Hu Hui!
Having been an official for five dynasties, he was the most important minister appointed by the late emperor, and among all the ministers in the dynasty, none of them was superior to him in terms of qualifications alone.
Therefore, he has the capital to not take sides.
Think about how much effort was wasted when the emperor wanted to replace Wang Zhi. It would only be more difficult to replace him with Hu Hu.
He will not be so arrogant that he thinks the emperor can't do anything to him.
However, if this sense of proportion is well grasped, the emperor will not just mobilize troops like this without any trouble.
Because, it's not worth it!
Firstly, he left enough room for the emperor, and secondly, his own qualifications were there.
If he really wanted to change, something big had to happen, or Hu Hui had to take the initiative to ask for it.
Zhu Qiyu also understood this.
That's why he lamented that Hu Hui was an old fox.
He puts all his attitudes on the table. He does not want to fall to any party, nor will he favor any party. It is precisely because of this attitude that both parties have scruples.
Wei Wucha shook his head and Zhu Qiyu said calmly.
"Since Uncle Zong thinks this is appropriate, then the Ministry of Rites will handle it accordingly!"