Before dawn, hundreds of civil and military officials in Beijing, noble ministers, nobles, family members, local court officials, and representatives of various diplomatic missions had already begun to queue up at the palace gate wearing grand ceremonial formal attires.
Zhu Yihai got up at Zizheng.
The watch clock in Yangxin Hall reminded the emperor on time. It was exactly midnight and the emperor got up.
Concubine Chen Huang personally brought a pinguo as a tribute from Yantai, Shandong.
"I wish your Majesty a safe and sound life!" Concubine Chen's belly was swollen and she was pregnant with her fourth child. She got up earlier than the emperor, and she was also dressed up today.
Zhu Yihai smiled and ate the apple that the imperial concubine had specially warmed with warm water. It was sweet, crisp and delicious.
"Eat it too, and have a safe and prosperous new year."
The emperor spoke, so the chamberlain gave each concubine who came to pay their respects an apple. The apple also had a little gold and platinum powder on the outside, just like a golden apple, which was both beautiful and festive.
Zhu Yihai watched everyone take the apples and thank him, which reminded him of the past life of giving apples to his girlfriend during Foreigners' Day in his previous life.
But at that time, in addition to giving away apples for eating, I also gave away apples for making phone calls.
Now my memory of my former girlfriend is almost blurred.
His harem was already very spectacular. At a glance, there were more than a hundred people. Many of them were sent by the Khans and leaders of various Mongolian tribes for marriage, and some were daughters sent by the princes of the Mongolian tribes in southern Mongolia. There were also some from North Korea.
Princess, Princess Annan, Princess Liuqiu, etc.
The daughters of these kings, khans, and princes make up the majority. However, among the six concubines of the Ming Dynasty, although there are few Han women, they still occupy the dominant position. Most of them are the meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Women also occupy an absolute position of honor in the palace.
In recent years, Zhu Yihai has reversed the old system of the Ming Dynasty and implemented the marriage system. At first, he only admitted the daughters of the tribal leaders of the surrounding Khanate into the palace to strengthen marriage alliances, but now he has married each other. The emperor adopted many maids who volunteered to marry.
The adopted daughters were given the title of princess and married to the kings and princes of the Khans as wives.
Some court ladies were also given the title of county lord, princess, etc., and were married to the princes and nobles of the lower-level foreign vassals.
Zhu Yihai not only accepted the daughters of foreign vassal leaders into the palace, but also asked the clan and ministers to accept these women from Mongolia, Korea, Annan and other countries as concubines.
Even the prince, who was about to get married, wanted to marry the princess into the East Palace and marry six concubines at the same time. He also accepted nine women from other vassals sent by each vassal to enter the palace.
This large-scale marriage was also one of Zhu Yihai's ways of governing the vassal.
Prince Hongjia and the Han brothers, together with a group of younger brothers and sisters, also paid homage to the emperor.
Zhu Yihai has many people in his harem and has many children now. He already has thirty-one sons. Adding the two that he didn't have before, the number of brothers has reached thirty-three, and he has twenty-six daughters.
Including the three little princesses he has adopted in the past few years, the princess ranking has reached twenty-nine.
Looking at this large group, the oldest ones are fourteen or fifteen years old, most are four or five years old, there are many one or two years old, and many are less than one year old, and the concubines hold them in their arms to greet them.
Zhu Yihai actually felt a sense of accomplishment. The scene of a house full of women was very spectacular. He even planned to have more children, especially sons. In the future, he would explore the outer Northeast, even Siberia, Indochina, and the Western Regions. He would not send his own sons to guard the borders.
Exploring the frontier?
The eighteen provinces of Han were under the direct jurisdiction of the empire, and the eldest son passed them down in one line. In other border areas, other sons were sent to guard them, and their branches guarded the main clans.
There is no need to raise them in the capital, let alone in the Central Plains.
Just let them go to the frontiers to develop, with appropriate authorization and restrictions, such as the outer Northeast or Western Regions, or Indo-China Peninsula. There is no need to worry about them separatist feudal kings and rebellions. In the future, they can still extend favors and enfeoffment. The more divided they are, the smaller they will be.
, it not only screened the center of the domain, but also guarded the local area and prevented pigs from being raised.
It is estimated that it will take two to three hundred years for those border areas to develop to the point where they can threaten the central government. If they are better controlled, they may never be able to do so.
If there is a strong vassal that can threaten the central government in two or three hundred years, Zhu Yihai actually thinks that it is not entirely a bad thing. After all, the central government has ruled for so long and may be decayed. There will be no place to strengthen the vassal, and there will be peasant uprisings or foreign invasions and overthrows. If it can
It is a good thing that the border vassals took over the central government, and maybe a second dynasty could be established.
For Zhu Yihai, in fact, if he wants to formulate policies, it is already very good if he can manage them for a hundred years. Thinking of three to five hundred years later, it is actually a bit too far.
very good mood.
Looking at this group of concubines, princes and princesses, Zhu Yihai felt that he had more motivation to fight.
After paying her respects, Concubine Chen took her concubines to the Jiaotai Hall. After a while, the mother of the minister of honor and his wife wanted to enter the palace to see her. Since the middle palace was vacant, Concubine Chen and Concubine Ruan had to receive her on their behalf.
Zhu Yihai went to the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall to perform rituals and pay homage to the ancestral tablets.
After completing these rituals, Zhu Yihai returned to his palace and waited for the congratulations from all the officials.
"Your Majesty, the Fajialu Book has been displayed in front of Fengtian Hall and Fengtian Gate, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites have also installed a grade mountain for officials to stand in the square in front of Huangji Gate." Liu Chao reported.
Zhu Yihai nodded and started busying himself. It was still midnight.
This is tantamount to staying up late on New Year's Eve.
Zhu Yihai handed Liu Chao a red envelope, "Here, I'll give you a new year's red envelope."
Liu Chao, who had gray hair, was stunned for a moment, "This is my tradition, accept it."
Every year, Zhu Yihai would give out red envelopes to those around him, as well as New Year rewards to all the soldiers and officials. This was a pretty big expense, but it was all funded from the emperor's internal funds, without using a penny from the treasury.
The annual reward is not only a reward, but also a little benefit to the officials and soldiers. Although there are always officials and gentry who think that the salary of the officers and soldiers is generous now, Zhu Yihai ignores their request for salary reduction.
In building the Ming Dynasty, the officers and soldiers made great contributions and worked hard, which must not be ignored.
Moreover, Zhu Yihai is trying his best to build a martial arts group. His basic base is these soldiers. Of course, he cannot ignore his core strength.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The usual salary cannot be reduced, and you have to get another reward during the holidays.
Although this may lead to the Song Dynasty's old path of redundant troops and waste, Zhu Yihai's current imperial camp number is limited to three to four hundred thousand, which is not too much, and prices are relatively expensive now. After the abolition of the Liang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, there will be a certain amount of inflation, and the silver dollar
It's not as valuable as it used to be.
Improving and ensuring the food and salary benefits of soldiers and reducing the burden on farmers has always been Zhu Yihai's basic national policy. He will not change his mind just because someone writes a letter against it. In this regard, Zhu Yihai is becoming more and more authoritarian.
But he doesn't care.
You oppose yours, I will promote mine.
Throughout history, among the great emperors, which one is not one with superior knowledge and foresight? Which one is led by his ministers? All of them must have forward-looking vision and be able to lead hundreds of officials and people.
Liu Chao received a red envelope, which contained New Year's money specially made by the Royal Mint. It can also be circulated directly, but because it is special and has little circulation, this kind of money still has collection value.
There were one gold coin, six silver coins and eight copper coins in the red envelope. In Zhu Yihai's opinion, this meant He Lufa, but Liu Chaoming didn't understand it so he didn't know.
The other low-ranking chamberlains in the palace received red envelopes containing one silver dollar, six small silver corners, and eight copper dollars.
The emperor's internal treasury is full, so he will naturally be generous in giving rewards.
This move naturally made everyone very happy.
After working in the palace for a long time, it was getting brighter and Zhu Yihai also had some breakfast.
Liu Chao reported that the princes and officials had gathered outside the Meridian Gate, and officials from the Ministry of Rites led them to the Fengtian Hall to take their seats and wait.
Fengtian Hall was rebuilt after being burned down in the mid-Ming Dynasty, and was later renamed Huangji Hall. However, after Zhu Yihai returned to Beijing, its old name was restored to Fengtian Hall, and even the palace gate in front was restored to Fengtianmen.
The self-ringing bell rings.
The officials of Qin Tianjian also reported the time, and Zhang Dai, the Minister of Rites, personally came to Qianqing Gate.
"Your Majesty, all the officials are in place. Please invite His Majesty the Emperor to go to Fengtian Palace!"
At this time, the bells and drums were ringing at the Meridian Gate, and the sound was loud and heard throughout the city.
The sky is dim.
It's a nice sunny day today.
Zhu Yihai wore a formal dress and rode on a chariot out of the palace. He first went to the Huagai Hall to ascend his throne, accepted the kneeling worship of the imperial officials, and then went to the Fengtian Hall to ascend his throne amid the sound of music.
The long palace music is grand and grand.
This year, the music used by the King of Qin is to break the formation.
The music stops.
Three clear whips sounded under the three platforms outside Fengtian Hall.
The minister of Honglu Temple shouted the order of formation, and the princes and officials all took their places.
The proclaimer held the memorial in his hand. Wen Anzhi, the first auxiliary scholar, and Wang Zhiren, the second auxiliary scholar, came to the center of His Highness Fengtian, knelt down facing north, and read out the emperor's confession to heaven and the people of the country.
"Keep playing!"
What was played was the newly composed palace music Ten Thousand Kingdoms Coming to the Court.
The ministers, led by the great scholar, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.
The ministers paid their respects.
Zhu Yihai raised his hand and said, "Let the ministers sit down and drink tea."
However, although the Fengtian Hall is large, not all ministers can enter. Only princes and nobles can enter the hall to sit and drink, and the rest of the officials can only sit in their original positions outside the hall.
After drinking a cup of hot tea, the ministers and officials felt much warmer.
Fortunately, although the weather is cold, the ministers who came to congratulate you today have basically received the emperor's gift of mink in advance. Of course, according to traditional practice, this gift of mink is the same as the gift of clothes, and it does not really mean that you will be directly rewarded with official clothes.
Clothes only give you the qualification to wear them.
With this decree, you can go to the royal shop to order clothes of corresponding grade.
For example, mink skins are used according to grade. The emperor's gift of mink is equivalent to giving a mink ticket.
As the saying goes, the first-grade black fox is the second-grade mink, and the third-grade and fourth-grade piercing Japanese sword.
Black fox is also called silver fox. Because of its small number, difficult to obtain fur, good thermal insulation properties, etc., only ministers of the first rank and above can take it, while only the second rank can wear mink.
The third-grade and fourth-grade Japanese sword is not a Japanese sword, but another name for a blue fox, and its fur is also very precious.
As for ordinary mink skin, it cannot be worn by ordinary people. As for sea otter skin, also commonly known as sea dragon skin, it is even more precious. Otter skin is commonly known as sea tiger, and stingray is called fur seal. They are both relatively valuable.
You must have a corresponding grade or be granted a will.
In other words, marmot, woodchuck, squirrel, etc. skins are relatively cheaper. When everyone pays attention to quality, wearing fur is not something you can afford if you have money. You have to have the corresponding grade.
The emperor gave minks to ministers, and officials could use them beyond their senior levels, but they only gave them qualifications, and they had to spend their own money to buy them.
In fact, the same is true for the official uniforms that officials usually wear. They all need to be customized by themselves. The court does not issue official uniforms for free. Only military uniforms are distributed for free, which can only be enjoyed by soldiers. In the past, the armies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ate the blood of soldiers.
Soldiers even had to pay for their own armor and uniforms, and even repairs to their armor had to be paid out of their own pockets.
After getting the decree to give mink, you can order it yourself, and you will be rich and thrifty.
For the same mink, the price of different parts of the skin is also very different. For the same type of mink, the integrity of the skin is different, and even the season of capture is different, so the price of the skin is also different.
Of course, even if you order mink fur or even a fur coat made of marmot fur, it will still have an excellent thermal insulation effect when standing in the square on the morning of the first day of the new year.
Even if some officials cannot afford the best leather, a circle of high-quality mink around the collar and mouth of the coat will still have an excellent thermal insulation effect, and inferior fur can be used for other parts.
Bang bang bang.
There were three more whips.
Originally, the emperor was about to return to the palace, and all the officials had to retire one by one, and the congratulatory ceremony was over.
But Zhu Yihai did not leave, but stood up.
"Today is New Year's Day. It's a festive day. We shouldn't have talked about killing and fighting."
"However, the traitors of Tsarist Russia are so ambitious that they have invaded our Chinese vassal territory, stolen and plundered the furs and grains of our vassal people, and even robbed our Ming vassal people as slaves. They have wantonly established strongholds in our Chinese territory, and savagely and forcibly collected taxes from my people.
, in an attempt to permanently occupy our Chinese territory,
Is it tolerable or not?
Today, I, the tenth grandson of Taizu Emperor Gao, the seventeenth emperor of the Ming Empire, Zhu Yihai, the emperor of Shaotian, officially declare to the world, declare war on the barbaric Tsarist Russia until the Tsarist Russia is driven back to the west of the Ural Mountains!"
The emperor suddenly declared war on Tsarist Russia on this festive occasion, which caught many people off guard. Even among those who congratulated him, there happened to be an envoy from Tsarist Russia.
This envoy from Tsarist Russia was sent by the Tsar from Moscow because the Yakutsk warlord had previously reported that the fertile land in the Heilongjiang River Basin had excellent ports, etc., and the indigenous residents there paid tribute to the Central Plains. In the west, the Volga River
The Turghuts, the Kazakhs in the south of the Siberian Plain, and the Oirat Mongols are said to have united against Russia at the call of the Ming Emperor.
The Tsar was naturally very angry and extremely dissatisfied with this. He sent an envoy to exert force on the Ming Emperor so that the Ming Dynasty could restrain itself. The envoy even proposed to sign an agreement with the Ming Dynasty to transfer the entire Heilongjiang River Basin to Tsarist Russia, and at the same time not allow the Ming Dynasty to interfere with Turkey.
Hut, Kazakh, Mongolian and other affairs.
Unfortunately, there was no response at all to the credentials he submitted.
He thought that the Ming Emperor and the court were afraid, but who knew that he was called to attend the New Year's Day meeting early this morning, and finally heard such a result.
When the translator told him that the emperor had officially declared war on Tsarist Russia, he could hardly believe it.
"Did you translate it wrong?" he asked his translator suspiciously.
"Yes, it's absolutely true. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty declared that all the land east of the Ural Mountains is Ming Dynasty territory!"