In the Ming Dynasty, the daily court session was divided into morning court session and noon court session. Because it was often held at several important palace gates, it was also called "hearing court sessions at the imperial gate."
According to the History of Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the early Ming Dynasty held morning court at the Fengtian Gate of the Imperial Palace. In the seventh year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu toured Beijing and from then on, morning court was mostly held in the side hall inside the Youshun Gate of the Imperial Palace. The afternoon court was mostly held at the Zuoshun Gate of the Imperial Palace.
The three main halls now have been destroyed and not repaired, so there is no Fengtian Gate, and only the Qianqing Gate, Zuoshun Gate and Youshun Gate remain.
The grand court is usually held on New Year's Day, the Winter Solstice and the Emperor's Birthday, and is a ceremonial court meeting.
Regular court sessions are divided into new moon and full moon sessions and daily court sessions. New moon and full moon sessions are usually held on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar and are also ceremonial court sessions; daily court sessions are where the emperor actually handles government affairs.
Since the emperor changed the time and place of daily court sessions and established the rule of six court sessions in seven days, he has followed it very well and has never missed a court session.
Today is May 15th, which should have been a ceremonial day of the lunar calendar, but it is overshadowed by the incident involving Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen.
The emperor not only set the daily court session at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, but also set the time to the same hour that had not been changed before. This setting may have shown the emperor's anger and his determination to harass officials and nobles.
Therefore, the officials who were used to getting up late and attending court at night had to get up at midnight, pack up and go to the Meridian Gate to gather. At about three o'clock in the morning, the officials arrived outside the Meridian Gate and waited.
Although the weather has become warmer, we still have to get up earlier than the chickens, gather, queue, and wait. It is really tiring to go through so much trouble for several hours.
It was still dawn, and it was a little difficult to see people's faces without the help of lanterns and candles.
I don't know if it was the lighting or if his face was really dark, but Duke Yingguo Zhang Weixian looked sullen and unhappy, and when his ministers greeted him, he only gave perfunctory and absent-minded responses.
Not only him, but few of the nobles and relatives were happy either. Most of them had worried expressions, spoke little, and were in a depressed state.
Anyone with an eye can guess the reason. Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen was imprisoned and his mansion was sealed, which was a huge psychological blow to the nobles and relatives in the capital.
"If Zhu Chunchen is making groundless accusations and we are being wrongly accused, we hope the Duke will speak up for us." Linhuai Marquis Li Hongji approached Zhang Weixian, bowed, and spoke in a low voice.
Zhang Weixian gave a wry smile and said, "If he were to frame me, I wouldn't be able to protect myself, so how could I possibly speak up for justice?"
Li Hongji's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Could it be that he was also involved with the Duke, trying to incite and incite others?"
Zhang Weixian snorted and said unhappily, "Lord Li, be careful with your words. He just came to our mansion for a normal visit. How can he be considered an instigator?"
Oh, Li Hongji realized that he had said something wrong, sighed helplessly and dejectedly, shook his head and walked away.
Obviously, these nobles were afraid. Zhu Chunchen did contact many people, but he was just trying to resist the emperor's move to separate officials from businessmen, and most people had not yet agreed.
But would the emperor care about that? Zhu Chunchen was imprisoned. What kind of place is that? What kind of confession would he not get?
Although these nobles were dissatisfied with the emperor's reforms, none of them dared to rebel. They were all wealthy people, so how could they have the audacity to execute their entire family and exterminate their entire clan?
Everyone knew that the emperor relied heavily on the Imperial Guards, who were powerful spies and had a certain legacy left over from Taizu. Well, now we can vaguely see the fate of Hu Weiyong, Li Shanchang, Lan Yu, and others.
If you were accused of treason, it was treason. As long as the emperor set the tone, people below would find a lot of evidence. For example, abnormal astrological signs, etc.
The third drum sounded, and the two gates were opened first, allowing the officers and soldiers with flags to enter and form their ranks. The generals on duty and the guards, holding staffs and flags, filed in, their helmets and armor shining, and their ranks neatly arranged.
Looking at this normally normal ceremonial procession, the nobles couldn't help but feel a chill. If the emperor was determined to punish the nobles, this court meeting might be his last.
Zhu Chunchen was such a bastard. He valued his wealth over his life, but why did he drag us down with him? Many nobles secretly gnashed their teeth, regretting that they had sent someone to beat Zhu Chunchen out with sticks when he came to visit.
Compared to the nobles' wild thoughts and anxiety, the civil officials were quite calm. They were used to waiting at the Meridian Gate; this was called "waiting for the leak."
The officials talked and discussed in groups of three or four, and they were not too serious or wooden.
The emperor relaxed the etiquette of court meetings and, as a preferential treatment for his close ministers, set up a special room inside the Duanmen Gate for the Grand Secretary and the six ministries and nine officials to wait for court.
Zhu Youxiao became increasingly adept at using both kindness and severity, or the carrot and stick.
Becoming the "Emperor Party" has a bright future! With this skill alone, the vested interest groups can be crushed to death.
The Donglin Party, the Chu Party, and the Zhejiang Party—besides their leaders, they had no precise definitions or boundaries. Most officials simply followed the crowd, siding with whichever faction gained power.
Zhu Youxiao didn't care whether the officials were of firm character or not. As long as you listened to the emperor and implemented the policies issued by the emperor or the court, everything would be OK!
This was also the purpose of his establishing new schools and training new officials. You weren't required to be erudite or eloquent; as long as you could read and write, and as long as you could execute effectively, you were a good official.
But Zhu Youxiao was also very clear that no matter how much he expanded the paths to officialdom, he could never abolish the imperial examination system. This was a major issue concerning social stability. Who could have allowed so many people to wait so long for their names to be on the list?
Not to mention the officials and nobles who were "waiting for the leak" at the Meridian Gate, the protagonist of today's court meeting - Emperor Zhu Youxiao had just got up and changed his clothes and washed up with the attentive service of Li Chengcheng.
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