New Year's Eve is indeed more than just New Year's Eve; it's a time when many things need to be shown.
Little Zhu is performing well; he seems to be a qualified crown prince. Although young, he does have a reputation for being 'mischievous'. However, this crown prince is also quite polite and filial, which is something that gives some people hope for the future.
After the New Year's Eve court ceremonies concluded, it was time for the civil and military officials to rest. At present, the Ming Dynasty not only paid officials very low salaries, barely enough to ensure they had enough to eat, but also didn't expect much else.
At this time, civil and military officials did not have many holidays, and for Xiao Zhu, there were actually not many holidays either.
Although it was the Lunar New Year, Zhu Yunying didn't really shy away from certain things. Having died once before, he was fairly easygoing about many things. After all, these were the circumstances he'd been through, even encountering time travel, so there wasn't much to worry about.
The New Year had just ended, and after the holiday, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works submitted a memorial proposing to build a mausoleum for the emperor.
Zhu Yunying did not object to these practices; it was standard procedure. Construction of the emperor's mausoleum typically began immediately after his ascension to the throne and continued until his final burial. Even for Zhu Yunying, his mausoleum had been under construction for thirty years and was still being built, albeit at a relatively slower pace.
After the court session ended, Zhu Yunying went straight to the Qianqing Palace to discuss these matters.
"Grandfather, your grandson is preparing to build the mausoleum." Zhu Yunying got straight to the point and said to his father, "Grandfather, you know that area well."
Old Zhu's eyes lit up, and he said, "You've just ascended the throne, and there are many complicated matters to attend to. If you trust us, we'll help you choose."
"Grandson has been waiting for you to say that, Your Majesty." Zhu Yunying smiled, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "Grandson has also made up his mind. I want my father's temple name to be Taizong. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Old Zhu stroked his short beard, feeling there was no problem. "I should be the founding emperor."
The temple name of the second generation of emperors was mostly "Taizong," which was considered "standard" and nothing to be surprised about. Old Zhu felt there was no problem with it. Although his crown prince Zhu Biao had not ascended the throne, Zhu Biao was now the real emperor.
Zhu Biao's tomb is no longer that of a crown prince, but an imperial tomb, and construction is currently underway to conform to the regulations for imperial tombs. The ceremonial guards, accompanying offerings, and so on naturally need to be implemented accordingly, which is only to be expected.
Seeing that Old Zhu was satisfied, Zhu Yunying continued, "Grandfather, don't choose a mausoleum for your grandson that is too far away. It should be able to see your grandmother and my parents. It doesn't have to be very big, but it certainly can't be larger than your father's mausoleum."
Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about this. We're good at handling things. We chose your father's tomb, and we picked out our own. We'll give you a good place so we can rest easy. When we pass away, we'll be able to see you and your father, and that will put our minds at ease."
These things need not be taboo, because Zhu Yuanzhang is at this age, and he has lost his two most beloved relatives. In addition, seeing that Zhu Yunying has a good grasp of the court, Zhu Yuanzhang is somewhat at ease. If it weren't for his reluctance to part with his grandson and great-grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang might not have had much 'willpower' left.
"Grandson plans to start preparing for the relocation of the capital immediately after the imperial examination," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "Among the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examination), select a few to be moved to Beiping (Beijing) together."
Old Zhu didn't oppose the decision, but offered a slight reminder: "Don't go too far. Some scholars still have some backbone. You don't know, when we were conquering the world, those people looked down on us. If it weren't for Li Shanchang, we wouldn't have any scholars."
Li Shanchang was one of the earliest scholars to follow Zhu Yuanzhang, and they were even from the same hometown. During the struggle for power, Zhu Yuanzhang suffered many setbacks at the hands of scholars. Despite the presence of scholars like Liu Bowen, many more rejected Zhu Yuanzhang. Furthermore, there were also many scholars who deeply missed the Northern Yuan dynasty.
Zhu Yunying chuckled and said, "Grandson has no intention of directly removing Confucius and Mencius from the Confucian Temple!"
Old Zhu immediately raised his hand, and Zhu Yunying jumped away. Seeing that Zhu Yunying was about to dodge, Old Zhu unceremoniously took off his shoe and threw it at him. Zhu Yunying nimbly dodged it, which was partly due to his consistent training, but mainly because Old Zhu was just going through the motions and not taking it seriously.
A grinning Zhu Yunying ran closer, and just when Old Zhu thought his grandson was going to pick up his shoes, Zhu Yunying kicked him away.
Old Zhu was dumbfounded, while Zhu Yunying stood smiling at the entrance of the main hall. "Grandfather, your grandson doesn't have your courage. I'll learn from you and give them a tough tactic first. It's not about abolishing Confucius and Mencius, just scaring them a little. When those people are crying and wailing, we'll back down. At that time, won't we be the ones in charge?"
"You brat, what kind of story have we told you!" Old Zhu laughed and said to Zhu Yunying, "You have to take responsibility for this. If those scholars start causing trouble, they really aren't afraid of death or punishment. If you want things to go your way, you have to be ruthless!"
Old Zhu was very familiar with this approach. Because he disliked some of Mencius's views, he even removed Mencius from the Confucian Temple at one point. When scholars collectively opposed this, Old Zhu remained in a stalemate for a long time.
The scholars triumphed; their Mencius was once again revered as the Second Sage and reinstated in the Confucian Temple. However, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't entirely lose either; he significantly revised the Mencius, finding the notion that the people were more important than the ruler unrealistic.
It's hard to say who won and who lost; it requires careful study and analysis.
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