Yongle Emperor Zhu Di died suddenly on the way to the class, and this sudden change undoubtedly put the Ming court in an unprecedented predicament. As the third generation of the founding emperor, Zhu Di ruled for 22 years and made outstanding contributions to the centralization and expansion of the Ming Dynasty. The death of such a heavyweight is bound to have a huge impact on the operation of the imperial court. Moreover, Zhu Di did not leave a clear will before his death, specifying how to properly arrange his funeral. In the face of this severe test, how should the new emperor Zhu Gaochi weigh the pros and cons, taking into account the traditional etiquette system and practical needs? Will he be able to take this opportunity to consolidate his dominance and open a new chapter in the development of the Ming Dynasty? All these mysteries will be revealed one by one in the next funeral ceremony.
1. The secret deployment of the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs
On July 18, Yongle Emperor Zhu Di died suddenly all the way to Yumuchuan, which undoubtedly brought a huge impact to the Ming court at that time. In the face of the sudden death of the head of state, how the court can deal with it to avoid the situation falling into turmoil is indeed a difficult test.
The Minister of Civil Affairs and Military Affairs beside him immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. They first decided to deal with it in a secret way and not announce the news of Zhu Di's death for the time being. At the same time, the army slowly marched towards the Beijing division as usual, hiding people's eyes and ears. At the same time, the servants sent two important cronies, Yang Rong, a scholar of Wenyuange University and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and Hai Shou, a young eunuch of the Imperial Horse Prison, to Beijing to play the crown prince Zhu Gaochi.
On the second day of the first month of August, Yang Rong and Haishou finally arrived in Beijing and reported the bad news of Zhu Di's death to the crown prince. After Zhu Gaochi learned the news, he immediately "cried a few times". As the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaochi has been secretly arranging and preparing for the future succession. But the sudden death of his grandfather undoubtedly added many variables to his plans.
In order to avoid the shock of the government and the opposition, the ministers quickly began to discuss countermeasures. On the one hand, they decided not to mourn and avoid chaos in the DPRK and China; On the other hand, it was also realized that the matter was very important, and sooner or later the new emperor would have to be officially informed. So they sent two cautious ministers to report to Zhu Gaochi first and wait for the emperor's instructions.
This sudden change is destined to have a profound impact on the government and the opposition, but only by carefully weighing and properly dealing with it can we truly achieve a smooth transition. Zhu Gaochi is in a critical period at the moment, and how he operates will directly determine the future and fate of the Ming Dynasty.
2. The specific arrangements for the imperial court to prepare for the funeral
After the news of Zhu Di's death was secretly reported, Zhu Gaochi, as the new emperor, had the first task of organizing a grand funeral ceremony for the first emperor. All departments of the imperial court immediately began intensive preparatory work.
The first is to determine Zhu Di's nickname and temple number. On the first day of September, the Ministry of Rites officially reported the results of the study to Zhu Gaochi. They believe that Zhu Di "although Yao Shunyu Tang Wenwu is not a Tao", and Queen Xu "although Jiang Shi is not prosperous", the merit is world-over, and the best nickname must be given. In the end, Zhu Di was posthumously named "Emperor of Titian Hongdao, Gaoming, Guangyuan, Shengwu Shengong, Pure Benevolence and Xiaowen", and the temple name was Taizong; Empress Xu was posthumously named "benevolent, filial piety, benevolence, sincerity, Mingzhuang, and the dedication of Empress Tianqi Shengwen".
On the 10th day of the first month of September, Zhu Gaochi, accompanied by the prince and the emperor's grandson, respectfully honored the treasure in front of the throne of the first emperor, and officially posthumously sealed the name and temple number of the first emperor. This is the highest level of tribute from the imperial court to the deceased emperor.
The second is the promulgation of the funeral rite system. The day after Zhu Di's death, the Ministry of Rites proposed a complete set of funeral system plans. The rank of mourning clothes for princes and princesses of the clan, the time limit for the mourning period of officials and the common people, the date of the cessation of musical rituals, and the prohibition period for marriage between men and women were all clearly stipulated. Zhu Gaochi was very satisfied with this, and immediately issued an order to carry it out, and gave all officials a horse of linen cloth to make filial piety clothes.
In addition to arranging the funeral, Zhu Gaochi was also secretly making arrangements for his own storage position. On August 15, he officially ascended the throne as emperor, and then appointed the crown prince Zhu Zhanji as the candidate for the prince. Through this series of actions, Zhu Gaochi consolidated his supreme dominance in the court.
In this way, in the early stage after Zhu Di's death, the imperial court was initially on the right track under the leadership of the new emperor. Although the funeral system followed the old practice, some of Zhu Gaochi's personnel arrangements also revealed his intention to dominate the government. This funeral ceremony is destined not only to be the last tribute to the deceased emperor, but also an important opportunity for Zhu Gaochi to establish his authority and lay the foundation for the new dynasty to set sail.
3. Grievances among the people and differences between the government and the opposition
In addition to the solemn atmosphere of the royal funeral, there are also undercurrents in the capital, and the people's complaints are increasing. Throughout Zhu Di's 22-year reign, although he made remarkable achievements in foreign expansion and centralization, it also put the people in the dilemma of re-empowering the people.
From the powerful in the DPRK and China to the ordinary people, they all complained about Zhu Di's heavy tax collection and harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Especially during Zhu Di's many expeditions to Mongolia, in order to raise military salaries, the imperial court imposed more burdens on the people. At that time, there were many folk songs circulating about the suffering of the people due to the heavy taxes.
On the other hand, new contradictions and differences have arisen among the imperial relatives and relatives. As the eldest son of the first emperor's favorite, Zhu Gaosui was originally a strong candidate for the throne. But as soon as Zhu Gaochi came to power, he deposed him as the king of Zhao, and at the same time set Zhu Zhanji as the crown prince. This naturally aroused strong dissatisfaction among Zhu Gaosui and others at that time.
Zhu Yunwen lost the throne and remembered the experience of the past, and Zhu Gaosui considered launching a mutiny several times to regain power. And the heroes that Zhu Di once relied on the most, such as Wang Sen, Hu Gang and others, also took the opportunity to support troops to expand the power of the lords.
In the court, there were even some eunuch henchmen of Zhu Di before his death who sought personal interests by manipulating the funeral ceremony. They deliberately instructed the body to travel around various places, calling it "grace to the states and counties", but in fact, it was to grab gifts and bribes from the people along the way. There are also people who take the opportunity to try their best to expand their territory and seize hereditary titles.
This kind of grievances and power dumping undoubtedly brought great turmoil to the Ming Dynasty at that time. Zhu Gaochi, who had just ascended the throne, had to spend a lot of effort to resolve internal and external troubles and maintain the stability of the court while preparing for the funeral. And this contradiction and conflict also laid the root cause for the fall of the late Ming Dynasty.
Fourth, the funeral ceremony was solemnly reopened
After months of preparation, Zhu Di's funeral ceremony finally officially kicked off. According to the old system of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's funeral ceremony was divided into two parts: the introduction and the burial.
On September 20, the imperial court took the lead in holding a ceremony in Beijing. Early in the morning of the same day, Zhu Gaochi and hundreds of civil and military officials were ready to go, waiting for the dragon to arrive from Yongxiang. On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the sky over Beijing is full of mourning phoenixes, the palace gate tower is hung with white flags, the ceremonial music stops, and the capital is a bleak scene. With the sound of the bell, the dragon of Zhu Di's body slowly arrived. Zhu Gaochi and others tended to worship, and then accompanied Long Jia to Muling.
The next day, the civil and military officials set up the treasure plate, the dragon driver and the pro-sacrifice two kings in front of the Muling Tai Temple, and held a grand ceremony. Zhu Gaochi personally presided over the ceremony, tied the mourning belt, worshiped and burned incense, and paid the highest respect to the spirit of the first emperor. After the sacrifice was completed, the dragon drove all the way south to the Baiyun Temple. Along the way, the people of Beijing all bowed to the dragon in white clothes and white scarves, so as to bid farewell to the last journey of the emperor.
After the order was released, the dragon was escorted by a civil and military attache above the fourth rank to Changling for burial. Princes and princes have also joined the ranks of companions. On the second day of October, the dragon arrived in Changling, and after three days of temporary construction of the camp, the funeral was officially opened on the sixth day of October. First, Zhu Gaochi and other princes officiated at the ceremony, and the ministers wore court clothes to wait for the dragon to drive out of the city. More than 20 kilometers of the road, along the line set up a crying road, the battlefield, wind and fire, the festival and other festivals held one by one. Later, Fang was escorted by hundreds of civil and military officials to the royal tomb for burial.
This ceremony was solemn and regular, from the Beijing master to Anlu, which lasted for several months, and can be described as the highest standard sacrifice after Zhu Di's death. In the whole process, although the etiquette system followed the legacy system of Taizu in the early Ming Dynasty, the scale was grand, and I am afraid that it exceeded the last wish of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. Through this grand funeral ceremony, Zhu Gaochi not only expressed the highest respect for the first emperor, but also took this opportunity to demonstrate the ruling authority of the imperial family and lay a solid foundation for his reign after his accession to the throne.
5. Local disturbances and the response of the imperial court
Although the funeral ceremony after Zhu Di's death was solemnly arranged by the imperial court, during this period, some local warlords and peasant uprisings gradually broke out in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
The first to bear the brunt was the rebellion of Wang Sen, Hu Gang and other big warlords. Wang Sen was originally Zhu Di's important minister stationed in Yunnan, and Hu Gang was the old minister, and both of them deliberately rebelled because of their high merits. During Zhu Di's funeral, they took tens of thousands of private soldiers to capture important towns in Sichuan. The behavior is brutal, and the people are not able to make a living. The imperial court condemned it sternly, sent a large army to conquer, and after three years it took three years to calm down the chaos.
Another group of Wang Chaoge and others entrenched in the Huguang area also set off a huge peasant uprising during this period. The reason is that the local people are suffering unspeakably due to heavy endowments, so they rise up with Wang Chaoge and Chen Risheng as the leaders. The imperial court sent three armies out in succession, with tens of thousands of casualties, and finally extinguished the "White Lotus Army" that plundered the government and the opposition.
Even in Shaanxi, peasant uprisings broke out on a large scale. After Zhang Xianzhong suppressed the peasants, he went on to order tens of thousands of private soldiers to plunder the territory, and the imperial court had to order Li Pubemju5 to lead troops to conscript.
In the face of such a grim situation, Zhu Gaochi had no choice but to personally sit in the military aircraft department and supervise the battle command. In order to concentrate his troops and quell the turmoil in various places, he temporarily suppressed other government affairs, and decided to postpone the promotion of the Taimiao Temple and the inauguration ceremony of the main mausoleum. This undoubtedly delayed the last journey of the emperor's funeral.
It was not until eighteen years later, in the early years of Wanli, that Zhu Gaochi officially held a major sacrifice to the Taimiao Temple of the First Emperor in Changling. This long-lasting funeral ceremony not only witnessed the turbulent situation in the early days of the new emperor's reign, but also reflected the practical problems of the Ming Dynasty at that time, when the national strength was exhausted and the centralized power was gradually lost. The whole process was bumpy and tortuous, full of dramatic contradictions and conflicts, which became the final portrayal of Zhu Di's dynasty.