Episode 194 King Fuming

But before that, there was another canonization ceremony, that is, to give Xiang Xiaoqiang the title of prince. This must be done before the wedding, because the empress must marry a prince, not a marquis.

Regarding the title of Prince Xiang Xiaoqiang, several ministers and experts in royal affairs had a very heated discussion. Most of the kings of the Ming Empire were titled with place names, such as the King of Shu, the King of Chu, the King of Yan, and the King of Ning. But this kind of seal is mainly given to the royal family, and it is the seal of the king with the same surname. There is also a relatively small one, that is, the king with a different surname. The title of the king with a different surname is generally not a place name, but according to the merits of this person, one or two or two or three words are taken as the title, which is similar to the "temple number".

Xiang Xiaoqiang's exploits are naturally a big handful. There are two of the larger ones. One is to make a significant contribution to the Ming Dynasty's acquisition of Sumatra Island, the Strait of Malacca, and the three major military ports in the South Seas; The other made a significant contribution to the elimination of the Northern Qing Dynasty and the unification of China by the Southern Ming Dynasty. Both of these are indeed "national" contributions. Although he may not be crowned king because of these two things, but now that he is crowned king because he married the empress, it is not ambiguous at all to take these two exploits out as a reference for the title.

As a result, some people proposed to be named "King of Jingnan", some people proposed to be titled "King of Sweeping North", and some people proposed to be called "King of Pingnan...... In the end, everyone handed over the proposed titles to Wei Zijin and asked her to send them to Her Majesty's Imperial Review, and Her Majesty the Empress took the idea and picked one of them. After a while, Wei Zijin returned, bringing with him the will of Her Majesty the Empress.

Wei Zijin says:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Your Majesty said that Xiang Qing is a gift from God to Daming, and there are more than one or two major contributions to Daming. If one of the merits alone is used to draw up the title, it is always inevitable to be biased. At the end of 1935, when the Ming Empire was in turmoil, Xiang Qing stood out and helped the Ming Dynasty in danger...... It's better to call it 'King Fuming'. The word 'Fuming' finally covers Xiang Qing's merits to the Ming Dynasty. ”

Several ministers really didn't come up with the title of "King Fuming". The praise of the word "Fuming" is much higher than that of "Jingnan", "Pingnan", "sweeping the north" and the like. In the eyes of several people, this is obviously Her Majesty's preference for Xiang Xiaoqiang, and she lifted him to the sky at once. However, the issue of title sealing is not a matter of principle, since His Majesty likes it, then do it.

So, the title of Prince Xiang Xiaoqiang was set, and he was called "King Fuming".

On April 24, the prince's canonization ceremony was held, and Xiang Xiaoqiang became the prince before marrying Zhu Yourong home. Qiu Yun, Xiuxiu, and Fourteen Gege were also canonized as princesses. Shang Xiaojun, as the adoptive mother of the princess and princess, was also canonized as the lady of Yipin at this opportunity. The "listing ceremony" was also carried out in front of the door of the house, because it was a Western-style building, and the Chinese-style plaque could not be hung, so a bronze plaque was inlaid on the rock at the door, and there were four big characters on it: Fuming Palace.

In the evening of the same day, a large dinner was held in Xiangwangfu, inviting the civil and military generals of the Ming Empire. This is also a tradition from before. After the previous empress was canonized as a prince, a banquet was held in the palace, and the main civil and military ministers of the capital went to congratulate them. Before the dinner, there is also an "audience ceremony", which is listed as ministers and generals, and as courtiers, they also meet His Royal Highness the Prince one by one. This is also a symbolic ritual of role reversal, from the previous relationship of "being a minister in the same hall" to a "lord and minister" relationship.

Before the audience ceremony began, Xiang Xiaoqiang was both nervous and enjoyable. What is very enjoyable is that so many cabinet ministers, generals of the command, and those respected old men will immediately become their own courtiers. Isn't that a lot of fun! Nervously, there are many people who they have always respected or feared. These people are much older than themselves and have much older qualifications than themselves, such as Tang Yunsheng and Shen Rongxuan. Now that he is a young man, as a prince, he accepts their courtiers, and he has a feeling of "being roasted on the fire".

Wei Zijin almost became Xiang Xiaoqiang's secretary at this time, holding a large folder and constantly teaching Xiang Xiaoqiang various precautions. Seeing that her husband had become the prince, Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu couldn't close their happy mouths next to them.

"Lord Wang, remember," Wei Zijin said, "in a formal setting, you can't say 'I', you have to say 'Lonely'...... In addition, you should also pay attention to the difference between 'lonely' and 'widow', and how these two words are used in different occasions and contexts...... In the most formal setting, you must call yourself 'Lonely'. On second-class occasions, such as receiving courtiers, and in informal conversations with courtiers or commoners, you can humbly call you a 'widow'......"

"Alas......" Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled, took a cigarette and smoked, shook his head and smiled, "I'm really not used to this thing...... Where are you used to going! ”

"You are the prince now," Wei Zijin looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang, his face expressionless, but there was a taste of doubt between his eyebrows, "These are the most basic etiquette." Follow these most basic etiquette, which not only represents your identity, but also your responsibility. For example, it is an informal occasion now, but because the slave and maid are present, you must at least call yourself a 'widow', not 'me'. If the slave is not present, only the lady, you can call yourself 'I'. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"When the widow saw His Majesty talking to you, he also said 'me' one by one, why didn't you correct it?"

Xiuxiu smiled beside her, gently tugged at the corner of Xiang Xiaoqiang's clothes, and said with a smile:

"Lord Wang...... Sister Wei, this is also for your sake...... You have just become a prince, can you compare with Your Majesty? Your Majesty has been an emperor for a few years, and he has long been familiar with what occasions he uses what he calls himself, at least he can ensure that there are no mistakes in formal occasions, and occasionally casual in private will not hinder elegance...... You haven't cultivated these etiquette habits yet, and if you were to follow your Majesty's example now, would you be able to guarantee that you would not make mistakes in formal occasions? Hehe...... So, you'd better practice first......"

Wei Zijin had already been asked by Xiang Xiaoqiang and was speechless, his face was red, and he was speechless, but now he was relieved by Xiuxiu's laughter, and he coughed lightly, nodded and said:

"Well, what the princess said is very true, and this is exactly what the slave maid intended."

Finally, the audience ceremony began. Xiang Xiaoqiang sat in the hall in a precarious position, waiting for Wenchen to meet first.

Shen Rongxuan led all the cabinet ministers in.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the ministers standing at the bottom of the steps, especially at Shen Rongxuan, who was in the lead, and was full of emotion in his heart. I think that when I first came to Daming, on the night of the East Factory meeting, I was a poor and destitute little shrimp at the bottom, and I tried every possible way to tie up with Shen Rongxuan, the supervisor of the East Factory. And just over two years later, he has become the prince of the Ming Empire and the prince, and although Shen Rongxuan has also risen to prominence and become the first minister, after all, he wants to call him "lonely", and he wants to call himself "minister".

This kind of feeling is enjoyable, but it always makes Xiang Xiaoqiang faintly uneasy.

Shen Rongxuan looked up at Xiang Xiaoqiang, looking at each other. Shen Rongxuan looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang like this, presumably with a lot of emotion at this moment. Shen Rongxuan stared at him for a moment, then took off his hat, put it on his chest, bent down and bowed, and said in a deep voice:

"Minister-Shen Rongxuan, meet His Royal Highness King Fuming. His Royal Highness Chitose Chitose Chitose! ”

Immediately afterwards, a large group of ministers behind him also took off their hats, put them on their chests, bent down and bowed to Xiaoqiang, and said in unison:

"Minister-so-and-so, meet His Royal Highness King Fuming. His Royal Highness Chitose Chitose Chitose! ”