The emperor's wedding was an even more grand ceremony, and only the emperor who had not married before ascending the throne could enjoy this treatment.
Before the Tianqi Emperor, it seems that only Yingzong and Shenzong had held grand weddings. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites consulted the classics and designed the grand wedding ceremony based on the procedures and standards of the Shenzong era.
Zhu Youxiao took the memorial, flipped through it and took a look. While he exclaimed "very particular" in his heart, he also complained that marrying a wife was too troublesome.
For an emperor, his wedding is an extremely grand ceremony, and the procedures are naturally tedious and complicated.
Zhu Youxiao decided not to worry about it, so he looked up at Ye Xianggao and asked casually, "How much did the wedding ceremony cost?"
Ye Xianggao bowed and replied, "According to the Ministry of Revenue's calculations, the amount required is 2.76 million taels of silver."
The young emperor's brows immediately furrowed. So much? He flipped open the memorial again, wondering if the emperor also wanted to pay a betrothal gift?
In his previous life, Zhu Youxiao knew that it was not easy to marry a wife. In many places, the bride price was shockingly high, with some costing a riot of colour and some three jin and three liang. Getting married was like peeling off a layer of skin.
But I am the emperor, and I can choose whoever I want as my wife. Why is it so expensive?
Ye Xianggao took a peek and felt a little uneasy.
The wedding cost more than two million taels, which Zhu Youxiao thought was a lot; but compared with the time of Emperor Shenzong, it was still less.
You should know that the wedding of Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun to Queen Wang Xijie cost more than 90,000 taels of silver in weaving costs alone.
Zhu Youxiao patiently began to read the memorial, wanting to see where the expenses of his marriage as an emperor came from.
Reward: It is a custom to give wedding money in folk weddings for the purpose of celebrating. If this is the case among the common people, it must be practiced even more in the palace.
From the proposal to the wedding, a large number of palace maids, eunuchs and some officials were mobilized at every step. Although they were on duty and it was part of their job, the wedding money was absolutely indispensable.
Dowry: Ordinary people also accept betrothal gifts, and the royal family pays more attention to face when marrying a daughter-in-law. Gold, silver, jewelry, silks and satins are displayed in boxes. If you don’t give enough, wouldn’t you be laughed at?
Banquet: The royal family holds a banquet, so it cannot be sloppy. Ordinary people spend 3,000 yuan per table, so the royal family must spend at least tens of thousands! Just eating and drinking is not enough, the Jiaofangsi must have some singing and dancing, and there must be several singing and dancing troupes, taking turns to perform, right?
Clothing: Ordinary people would make new clothes when they got married, let alone the emperor and the empress?
The crown has nine chapters, nine tassels, nine jade tassels, a gold hairpin guide, a red tassel, and two jade ornaments... The materials include various gold and silver threads, jewels and jade, and it is very expensive.
The key point is that there is more than one set of such clothes. When welcoming the bride, she wore a crown dress, and the next morning when she met the concubine, she changed into a formal dress. After several changes, the cost was not small.
Zhu Youxiao reviewed the Ministry of Revenue's calculations, closed the memorial, and after a long pause, he spoke: "The country is in a time of great turmoil. The Eastern Tartars are rampant, She An is in rebellion, and money is needed everywhere. For my wedding, I will be frugal. Well, I will reduce the budget by one million taels to prepare for the war between the east and the west."
Now it's not just Liaodong that's at war. There's also the She'an Rebellion in the southwest. That was a war that took nine years of direct fighting and a total of sixteen years to completely quell.
Ye Xianggao was stunned for a moment, then felt very pleased that the young emperor could say this. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty is concerned about state affairs and is extremely wise."
Is he wise? Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips in self-mockery. The calculation showed that the amount was over two million taels. How much of it actually went into the pockets of corrupt officials?
"Your Majesty, the cabinet has approved the decree to transfer Sun Degong, the guerrilla commander of the Liaodong Central Army, and Hong Fujiao, the military advisor." After laying the groundwork, Ye Xianggao finally got to the main topic of his visit today.
Zhu Youxiao showed no sign of surprise. He nodded gently and said, "Immediately send someone to Liaodong to announce the decree, traveling 800 miles with all haste. Order Sun Degong and Hong Fujiao to come to the capital immediately without delay."
So urgent? Ye Xianggao was a little surprised, but still bowed in response.
What do you know? Hong Fujiao is just a smokescreen. I don’t even know whether he is fat or thin. What I want is Sun Degong.
This guy is Huang Shi's father-in-law, a traitor who betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Jin Dynasty. If you haven't seen "Stealing the Ming Dynasty", you probably don't know about this story. And Miss Sun, baby...
Hmm! If it weren't for Sun Degong's rebellion, the defeat at Guangning might not have been so disastrous, and there might have been room for recovery.
Zhu Youxiao breathed a sigh of relief, and with a glance, the palace maid next to him served him tea.
After considering his words again, Ye Xianggao bowed and continued, "Your Majesty, I have served the Grandfather for eight years, and all memorials must be drafted by me. Even when the Grandfather wishes to act, he sends envoys to convey his orders. When something is not allowed, I will argue vigorously, but the Grandfather often listens and does not want to interfere. Your Majesty is humble and respectful, and trusts your ministers, but sometimes there are rumors that raise doubts. You should be cautious with your decrees and let me draft everything."
Zhu Youxiao blinked his eyes and finally understood what Prime Minister Ye meant.
When facing the young emperor, Ye Xianggao's words were not obscure or complicated.
The general meaning was: "I served your Majesty's grandfather for eight years, and I was the one who drafted all the memorials. Even if your Majesty wanted to implement something, he would send an envoy to announce it to me. If there was anything he disagreed with, I would do my utmost to fight for it, and your grandfather would usually obey and would not force any decree on him."
"Your Majesty is modest and courteous, and you trust your ministers. However, rumors will inevitably lead to difficult disputes. You must treat the imperial edict with caution, and order us to draft and report all matters."
To put it bluntly, Ye Xianggao was advising the emperor. For example, when Sun Degong and the other two were transferred to the capital, he should have been informed in advance. He would certainly have pushed for it in the court, and there was no need to rush to issue an imperial decree to the cabinet.
Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips slightly, and asked with a hint of sarcasm, "If I first order Prime Minister Ye to draft a proposal to remove Wang Huazhen, the Liaodong Governor, will this proposal be passed by the court?"
Ye Xianggao lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "If Wang Huazhen has failed in his duties, Your Majesty should remove him or punish him, and the ministers in the court will have no objection."
"Wang Huazhen doesn't know how to fight," Zhu Youjiao bluntly explained. "Yuan Yingtai also doesn't know how to fight, which led to the defeats at Shenyang and Liaoyang. Do we have to wait until we lose a battle before punishing him? But by then it's too late, so what's the point?"
Ye Xianggao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Yuan Yingtai defended the frontier to the death, and his integrity and righteousness are evident. The court has posthumously conferred the title of Minister of War on Yuan Yingtai, and has given him a grand funeral, and has appointed his son to an official position."
Yuan Yingtai was praised and posthumously honored for dying with the city and sacrificing his life for the country. The mistakes he made were also minimized and no longer pursued.
But what Zhu Youxiao wanted was not ministers who could die for their loyalty, but officials who could defend the city and win the battle. If one does not learn lessons and correct mistakes, what is the point of one death covering up a hundred mistakes?
The reason why Yuan Yingtai was defeated was because he did not understand military affairs, changed the previous arrangements made by Xiong Tingbi, and easily took in the Mongols.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com