Chapter 53 Entering the Capital
Although the matter was extremely urgent, Zhu Yuhuan had already accepted most of the state affairs and handled them with ease. Therefore, the coronation ceremony would not affect Zhu Yuhuan's speed. Of course, the most important thing before that was to use the imperial edict of Emperor Xuanzong Zhang and the decree of Empress Dowager Cihui to establish Zhu Yuhuan as emperor. Zhu Yuhuan announced to the world: I am the son of my royal father, Emperor Xuanzong Zhang, who will inherit the throne. The next year, the reign will be changed to Yuanguang.
When he was the regent, Zhu Yuhuan's decisions still needed time to be processed. Now that he is on the throne, it is much easier for Zhu Yuhuan to issue orders, especially when dealing with matters related to Wang Zhen. He is extremely fast and even did not let go of Wang Zhen's followers who had been keeping a low profile in the court.
Of course, Zhu Yuhuan also knew that many of these people had spoken for him, and now was obviously not a good time to pursue them. There was still a lot of time, so it might not be a bad idea to keep a few people who were irrelevant.
Therefore, when Zhu Yuhuan reviewed the documents, he often did not forget to include a few words of soothing when giving his opinions. He was simply reminding everyone that the Wala issue had not been completely resolved, and that at this time, there should be no "internal strife". Only when everyone is well, will things be truly good.
With his previous experience as regent, Zhu Yuhuan was at least able to roughly classify the officials above the fifth rank in the court, and the speed was so fast that Jin Ying was astonished.
Previously, Empress Dowager Zhang and others had spent a lot of effort to introduce the emperor to officials at all levels. However, the first female emperor of the Ming Dynasty was very familiar with this matter, and her efficiency was no less than that of Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Qizhen, father and son, or even better.
Even Jin Ying couldn't help but sigh, thinking that this person was probably born to do this.
If Zhu Yuhuan knew what he was thinking, he would just find it funny.
When she was in Yunnan, she had to come into contact with countless officials and local officials every day, and even the common people were often seen. If she couldn't even handle the simplest personnel correspondence, how could she successfully complete the task of transforming the local people into commoners?
However, a few days later, the handwritten letter from Prince Xiang Zhu Zhanji finally arrived in the capital. The person who delivered the letter was none other than Zhu Zhanji's eldest son, Zhu Qiyong, the current Prince Xiang. On his way to the capital, he heard about the ministers asking Zhu Yuhuan to ascend the throne. He could not help but secretly admire Zhu Zhanji's foresight. He burned one of the two letters prepared by Zhu Zhanji and only kept the letter expressing his concern for the stability of the capital.
Before Zhu Qiyong left home, Zhu Zhanji had repeatedly warned him to be respectful to his cousin who had ascended the throne. Her heart was quite similar to that of Empress Dowager Zhang, and not everyone could deceive her.
Zhu Qiyong only knew that when this cousin was still a princess, she would often ask people to send some gifts to Xiangyang, and there would be at least one or two festival gifts a year. Even his mother, who had little contact with his cousin in the capital, often praised her, saying that she had never seen such a thoughtful and considerate person, and that it would be a great thing to have a daughter or daughter-in-law like the eldest princess.
Zhu Zhanji occasionally mentioned Zhu Yuhuan, but it was obvious that he had to think more about it. When the father and son communicated privately, Zhu Zhanji always mentioned that with Zhu Yuhuan's ability, he would never be the type to be under someone else's control for long.
She was holding back only because she was also a member of the Zhu family and the timing was not right. Now that the emperor was in trouble, it was the best time. How could Zhu Yuhuan not take action at this time?
Therefore, although Zhu Yuhuan's ascension to the throne was a bit surprising at first glance, it was not completely incomprehensible to Prince Xiang and his son.
The only thing that the father and son had not guessed was that Zhu Yuhuan did not consider any compromise, but chose to sit on the throne despite the heavy shackles of more than 700 years.
Zhu Zhanji was not worried about anything else but one thing: if Zhu Yuhuan acted like this, the princes in various places would probably have some unruly thoughts.
Even though most of the princes had no power to fight back under the continuous weakening of three generations of emperors from Zhu Di to Zhu Zhanji, these people were descendants of the Zhu family after all, and their grandfather Zhu Di had a history of rebellion, so it was inevitable that these people would follow suit.
"I, Prince Qi Yong of Xiangwang, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"Stand up."
Zhu Qiyong stood up, not daring to look directly at the emperor, but just stood with his head bowed respectfully.
"Please take a seat."
Zhu Qiyong declined at first, and then sat down obediently.
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at him and said, "This is the younger brother of my fifth uncle. He really looks a lot like my fifth uncle and fifth aunt. You can tell at first glance that he's one of our own. If my fifth uncle hadn't been in a hurry to go to Changsha to be a vassal, you could have spent some time with us siblings."
Zhu Qiyong heard the subtlety in her words and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. I have often regretted not being able to stay in the capital to witness Your Majesty's former brilliance. After settling in Xiangyang, my father often told me that Your Majesty's perspectives were exactly the same as those of the late Emperor, and both inherited the legacy of Emperor Taizong."
Zhu Yuhuan had already heard the purpose of his words to flatter himself, and asked with a smile: "Do you and your brothers and sisters like the things I sent to Prince Xiang's Mansion earlier?"
Zhu Qiyong was surprised that this person would not accept his flattery at all. He felt a pang in his heart, but he immediately responded, "Your Majesty's gifts were given to me by my brother and sister-in-law. We will only use one or two of them. The rest will be kept by my mother."
No wonder his father told him to be cautious in dealing with His Majesty. Seeing how His Majesty seemed relaxed and casual when they met today, he never followed his topics to chat and always took the initiative. This showed how meticulous and cautious she was.
Zhu Yuhuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "These things were originally meant for you to use. Putting them away would go against my original intention."
Zhu Qiyong immediately responded, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. It is we who are narrow-minded."
He already understood in his heart that what Zhu Yuhuan said was nothing more than to inform Prince Xiang's family that they had been in contact for a long time and had been very harmonious over the years. Prince Xiang was sincerely convinced of the current emperor and would never have any thoughts of "pacifying the rebellion".
Zhu Yuhuan brought dignity and stability to Prince Xiang, and Prince Xiang's family should be "grateful".
Zhu Qiyong took out the letter written by his father and said, "When I left Xiangyang, my father only knew about the Tumu Incident. He didn't know about Your Majesty's ascension to the throne and the robbery of Changling. I hope Your Majesty will be sympathetic..."
The palace maid beside Zhu Yuhuan took the letter handed to him by Zhu Qiyong and handed it to Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Yuhuan read it and saw that the first sentence was Zhu Zhanji's cautious greetings to the two Empress Dowagers, followed by some empty words expressing concern for the safety of the country. Finally, he said that he was not talented enough and could not take charge of the overall situation, and begged the two Empress Dowagers to trust Princess Shunde more and let her take charge of the overall situation.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at the envelope again, stroked the paper, and understood Zhu Zhanji's little trick, and couldn't help laughing.
He most likely considered two possibilities, so he wrote two letters in person and had Zhu Qiyong bring them to the capital. He would judge the situation and decide which letter to submit to the current person in power.
Zhu Zhanji specifically asked the crown prince to come because he took into consideration that Zhu Qiyong was from a very small clan and was the least likely to be supported by everyone to succeed to the throne.
If he had come in person, who knows if those ministers would have implicated the Xiangwang family? He hadn't had enough fun in Xiangyang.
Zhu Qiyong felt a little uneasy when he heard her laughter. His father knew his cousin the emperor very well, so how could his cousin the emperor know nothing about his father?
Everyone knows everything about my father. Who knows if he will offend the emperor by showing off his cleverness like this...
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