Chapter 569: Prisoner Surrender Ceremony
There was an uproar in front of the Huangji Palace.

No one expected that the youngest six ministers in the history of the Ming Dynasty would be produced today.

Everything happened too suddenly and so cleverly.

People looked at Yan Shaoting, the youngest Minister of Rites in the empire, and then with horror in their eyes, they slowly raised their eyes to look at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne above the steps.

A subtle atmosphere is created.

Even the most majestic music in the palace seemed full of weirdness.

Too clever.

And at this moment, the emperor's recent actions were completely connected into a line, making everything traceable.

After Lv Fang finished reading the imperial edict, Li Chunfang snorted coldly and said in a low, icy voice: "It seems that the emperor is determined to use the reform to make us old guys step down one by one."

Around him are cabinet ministers, and now there are exactly six people in the cabinet among them.

Gao Gong and Gao Yi also didn't look very good.

Li Chunfang continued, "Now that I think about it, the emperor appointed Yan Shaoting as the crown prince's junior protector a few days ago when the army had not yet returned to the capital. It was actually for today. And this day is really wonderful..."

After finishing speaking, Li Chunfang glanced at Gao Gong, whose face was tense, and then looked up at the emperor with a smile.

On the other side, Yan Shaoting, who was under the watchful eyes of everyone, couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This Shanzhang Emperor really chose the timing perfectly.

The most important event today is the triumphant return of the army and the holding of a ceremony to present prisoners, in order to demonstrate the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty and the glory of the emperor.

So the emperor chose this day and issued an edict in front of everyone to grant himself the position of Minister of Rites.

If it were any other day, countless officials would have already spoken out to object.

But blockade is not possible today.

Because today is a big day for the empire.

No one can damage the emperor's reputation.

Yan Shaoting lowered his head, raised his hands, and loudly shouted "I accept the order and express my gratitude." Then he took the imperial edict that appointed him as the Minister of Rites, but he felt mixed emotions.

What made him happy was that Chief Zhu dared to let him be one of the six ministries now. But what made him worried was that even if no one dared to object today, after today, countless officials in the court would surely submit memorials to the emperor to mention the matter, and some would even come to Yan's house in person to persuade him to resign from the position of Minister of Rites.

He somewhat understood the Emperor Zhu Zaigui's thoughts, but he had to face all this just after returning to Beijing with a great victory.

The emperor had obviously posed a difficult problem for himself.

In the Huangji Palace Square, countless civil and military officials had different reactions.

And on the steps.

Zhu Zaigui enjoyed this moment very much.

He witnessed the happy or sad expressions of the six people in the cabinet, looked down at the countless civil and military officials in the square, and finally had a feeling that he had the whole world in his palms.

Zhu Zaigui glanced sideways at the eunuch Lu Fang from the Imperial Household Department who had returned to his original position after announcing the decree.

"According to the original plan, let's announce the decree and reward the officials who have made contributions this time one by one."

Lu Fang understood and walked to the table where the imperial edicts had already been placed. Then he took the remaining imperial edicts and handed them to Huang Jin.

He does not need to read out all the decrees, the rest can be left to others.

Afterwards, Lu Fang returned to his original position and stayed by the emperor's side, ready to be dispatched at any time.

Zhu Zaigui was in high spirits, with a smile on his face all the time: "In the past few years, I was in the academy, not only studying, but also often strolling around that commercial street and that food district, listening to people chatting."

Lü Fang didn't know what the emperor wanted to say, so he could only speak silently: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, like a white dragon and a fish, wandering among the people and understanding their sentiments. The millions of people in this world will surely understand Your Majesty's kindness."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and shook his head: "I actually wanted to say that at that time I often listened to the people's gossip and heard many stories circulating among the people."

Confusion and curiosity showed on Lu Fang's face, and he glanced sideways at Huang Jin who was announcing the decree.

Zhu Zaigui continued, "The name of our Central Plains Han family originated from the Liu family of the Former Han Dynasty, but in fact it also started from Emperor Wu of Han. Nowadays, the common people are most keen on telling stories about ancient times, and they talk about Huo Qubing, the champion marquis during the time of Emperor Wu of Han. Does Lu Daban know how the people tell stories about this?"

At the front, Huang Jin was announcing rewards to the meritorious officers and soldiers of the entire Northern Expedition Army.

Qi Jiguang was promoted three levels, and in addition to being given the title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the post of Governor of the Central Military Governor's Office, he was also granted the newly created posts of Governor of Hetao and Yinshan. Wang Chonggu was promoted from Governor of Four Towns to Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and was promoted to Governor of Horse Administration of Nine Frontiers, and was transferred to Governor of Hetao and Yinshan.

The remaining generals in the army were also rewarded, and some remained in Hetao Town or Yinshan Town, or had other arrangements made by the court.

It can be said that everyone is happy and everyone benefits.

On the steps, Lu Fang shook his head, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Zhu Zaigui didn't care and just continued, "People say that during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, officials in the court had objections to Emperor Wu's exclusive favor to Marquis Guanjun, and were even more prejudiced against Emperor Wu's use of Huo Qubing to lead the army in the expedition, as they felt that he was too young. But Emperor Wu of Han repeatedly conferred titles on Huo Qubing in the court, and titles such as Piyao Xiaowei and Piyao Dajiangjun were all originated from him. Emperor Han even said to his ministers: Who made my general only 20 years old? None of the ministers said anything."

Lu Fang fell silent.

But he understood what the emperor meant.

Zhu Zaigui glanced at Lu Fang indifferently. This old man in the palace had spent most of his life serving the late emperor, and he was also aware that Lu Fang's relationship with the Yan family was closer than that of ordinary people.

But it doesn't matter.

Although he had not expressed the intention of replacing the people in the inner court, Lu Fang and others had requested to guard the previous emperor's tomb more than once.

The other party is like this.

Naturally, I am willing to see things through to the end.

Zhu Zaigui chuckled, "So, now these people in my Ming Dynasty think that I favor Yan Shaoting alone. He is so young that he seems like Huo Qubing, the champion marquis of Han Wu. Now that I have given him the position of Minister of Rites, they will probably have some objections. They may even write to me tomorrow to ask me to change the imperial edict, or even write to impeach Yan Shaoting."

Lu Fang turned sideways to face the emperor.

Logically speaking, the emperor should give an explanation to himself now.

really.

Zhu Zaigui immediately said, "Tell them that it is not me who favors Yan Shaoting. I have entrusted him with important tasks and granted him authority. No one should tell me that he is too young to take on important tasks. He led the troops to recapture Hetao, and the Ming army left Yinshan. Being young is not a problem. My generals and ministers are just that young. If they really have objections, I can let them choose the troops. There is still a large area of ​​land north of Liaodong, the Hexi Corridor is not yet stable, Jiaozhi has been away for many years, and the Western Regions are still in the hands of the thieves. Let them lead the troops to fight. If there is any victory, I can also reward them from the six ministries and nine ministers!"

Lu Fang bowed her head and said, "I obey your order."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and nodded, "Deng Bao is not bad, but his character is not mature enough. Lü Daban will have to continue to take charge of the Imperial Household Department. Don't ask me to let you guard the late emperor's mausoleum easily. When the most difficult days of the new policy in the past two years are over, I will let Lü Daban retire with honor and live out his days in peace."

When these words were spoken, they were completely unrelated to what the emperor had said before.

But Lu Fang was shocked and quickly bent down: "Your servant... Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zaigui waved his hand and squinted his eyes at the square that had become completely lively after Huang Jin finished reading the decree: "For the past two years, keep a close eye on the outside for me, it's the Yan family..."

Lu Fang almost bent her waist to 90 degrees: "I have received favors from the late emperor and His Majesty, so I can naturally distinguish right from wrong. His Majesty favors the Yan family, but the Yan family is just a minister. I will keep an eye on them and will never let them have any disloyalty."

Zhu Zaigui nodded in satisfaction: "I have been generous in rewarding people when I have been employing them. It is not a bad idea for both father and son to be Shangshu. Now that my Ming Dynasty has the youngest Shangshu, it is possible that in the future, we can have the youngest cabinet minister, or even the chief minister of the cabinet!"

The emperor's words were full of majesty.

Lu Fang's heart was shaken.

The emperor's voice reached his ears again: "You can tell Yan Shaoting these words when you have the chance. I can't tell him directly."

Lu Fang could only nod his head, looking more submissive.

Because it was not until today that he finally saw a hint of the previous emperor in the new emperor.

It is the kind of imperial technique that uses court intrigues to the extreme, sees through people's hearts, and weighs the court and the country.

While he was thinking about how long the emperor in front of him could maintain his current spirit, Zhu Zaigui had already stood up, put his hands on his hips and walked to the edge of the steps.

In the square below, the reward has ended.

Groups of Mongols were brought up.

Now it is time to present the prisoners.

There were many Mongols captured during this northern expedition, but only dozens of them were brought to Beijing. Among them, the leaders of the Altan, Ordos and Tuman tribes had the highest status.

When the Mongols appeared in people's sight.

The one walking in front was Zhu Shitai, the eldest son of Duke Chengguo.

He was also awarded for his merits this time and is now the deputy governor of the Rear Army Governor's Office.

Walking in front of the prisoner-surrendering team, Zhu Shitai looked back from time to time at the highest-ranking Mongolian leaders.

"The general has already spoken and explained it to you clearly."

"During this prisoner surrender ceremony, my emperor will watch you singing and dancing, and will then reward you."

"If they don't obey, the Mongols imprisoned in Hetao will probably become stepping stones for the Great Wall and the Six Towns that our Ming Dynasty will rebuild outside Yinshan Mountain."

Several captured Mongolian leaders looked angry but did not dare to curse verbally.

Zhu Shitai smiled coldly, his face full of contempt.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty had had enough of the bullying by the Mongols. Now it has finally gotten its revenge, both in terms of reputation and status.

He added: "Come on, all of you, be alert and show the same energy you had when riding horses on the grassland. If you dance well today, maybe His Majesty will reward you with a title of king, and you can live in Beijing from now on, enjoying wealth and glory, and no longer have to endure the bitter cold of your grasslands."

No one dared to show anger because of Zhu Shitai's contempt and disdain.

Because anyone who dared to be angry and dissatisfied would have already turned into a handful of dust at the foot of the Yinshan Mountain.

When Zhu Shitai reached his seat, he bowed and saluted the Emperor above him.

Zhu Zaigui laughed a few times, then stood on the high steps, leaning forward slightly.

"I know that the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall are good at riding and shooting, and they like to ride horses and gallop. But I also heard that whenever the tribes gather together, they sing and dance around the fire while drinking and talking happily, and they are very happy."

"In the inner court of our dynasty, there are rules that prohibit the lighting of fires. I wonder if you can dance for my inspection?"

The emperor's laughter was heroic, and with the attitude of a victor, he belittled the Mongolian tribes to the extreme.

The leaders all speak Chinese.

Not only can I understand, I can also speak.

The emperor spoke, and everyone put their hands together and bowed.

Then the music troupe from the Imperial Music Bureau, who were hiding somewhere, started playing music.

To the sound of music, these dozens of Mongols began to raise their arms, sway their bodies, and perform the songs and dances of their various Mongolian tribes to the Ming Dynasty in front of the Emperor, princes, nobles, and civil and military officials.

When singing and dancing together.

Zhu Zaigui's face was full of glory, and he couldn't help but look towards the direction of the Taimiao.

Just based on his own achievements in restoring the throne today, although he is not as good as Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, he is certainly better than all the previous emperors.

Not to mention, he was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty to let the Mongols dance.

The officials in the square also smiled and showed pride in the singing and dancing.

This moment does not involve court struggles.

It is a victory unique to the Ming Dynasty.

No matter who it was, they all felt that they had finally gotten rid of their anger this time, and they felt extremely happy.

As the dance ended.

Lu Fang began to shout, and all the ministers entered the hall.

A banquet has already been set up in the Huangji Palace today.

The first was to celebrate the victory of the Northern Expedition Army, and the second was naturally to allow these Mongolian leaders who danced to express their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty to integrate into the Ming Dynasty.

However, although the Huangji Palace is large enough, it cannot accommodate all the officials.

Only officials of certain rank were qualified to enter the palace, while others could only sit in the palaces on both sides of the Huangji Palace.

In the main hall.

Yan Shaoting's seat was moved forward again, and he sat together with the nine ministers of the six ministries.

Even because he was the newly promoted Minister of Rites, his rank was before Yan Shifan, the Minister of Punishments, and second only to the Minister of Personnel.

The emperor raised his glass first, then his ministers drank together, and finally everyone drank on their own.

While Yan Shaoting was observing the expressions of the people in the hall, Gao Yao, the Minister of Revenue, moved closer with his glass in hand and said, "Shao Bao has accomplished a great feat this time. It is a cause for celebration that you are in charge of the Ministry of Rites. I toast to Shao Bao with this glass of wine."

Gao Yao was Yan Shaoting's former boss.

He immediately picked up the wine glass and drank with him.

One cup down.

Gao Yao moved closer and whispered, "It is reasonable for the Grand Guardian to be in charge of the Ministry of Rites. But now the Grand Guardian's father is also in charge of the Ministry of Justice. It has never happened before in our dynasty that a father and son from the same family each hold a ministry. Although I think it is wrong to discuss this, it is inevitable that my colleagues in the court will have such thoughts. Does the Grand Guardian have any response? We need to be prepared."

Following Gao Yao's reminder, Yan Shaoting looked at Yan Shifan, who was several people away from him.

At this moment, Yan Shifan was drinking and chatting happily with the Minister of Works Lei Li.

He nodded and said, "Thank you, Minister Gao, for reminding me. During today's ceremony, I never thought that the Emperor would use the Ministry of Rites against me. I will write a letter to mention this matter and ask for a change in the Emperor's decree."

As he spoke, his eyes looked elsewhere.

Gao Yaofan nodded repeatedly.

It's not that he couldn't stand the fact that the father and son of the Yan family both served as ministers of six ministries, but he just thought it would be best if the court didn't cause any more turmoil because of this matter.

And the other end.

Several Mongolian leaders who entered the hall after performing a dance have stood up and walked to the center of the hall.

"We have long admired His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"Now the Ming Dynasty is extremely powerful, and all the people in the world are convinced. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is a man of both civil and military strategy. Although we were enemies before, we are also convinced by the Emperor."

"We surrender today and are willing to become Ming subjects and serve the Han Dynasty."

"We ask His Majesty the Emperor to accept the title of Heavenly Khan and accept us as subjects under His Majesty the Emperor's rule."

After they finished speaking, they silently looked at Yan Shaoting who was sitting calmly in his seat.

These words would allow them to have an extra hundred Mongols serving in their mansion in Beijing in the future.

The Ming court officials in the hall were all stunned.

They all looked at the Mongolian leaders who suddenly mentioned the title of Heavenly Khan which had not been seen for hundreds of years.

…………

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