The first year of the Republic of China, the first year of the Datong Emperor Zhao Han, this is obviously not a good year.

There is a severe drought in many southern provinces, and the price of grain has almost doubled!

As a matter of fact, the drought situation has been much lighter than the previous year, and the drought in the north has completely improved. However, the people in the south have a more intuitive feeling that food prices have risen sharply, and Zhao Han's ascension to the throne is worrying.

Therefore, after the autumn harvest of this year, some officials and folk scholars asked Zhao Han to abide by the rituals and worship the world in Nanjing in the spring of the next year, praying for the blessing of the emperor and the queen of heaven.

"The great worship of heaven and earth is in the southern suburbs", this is the sentence with the highest frequency in the "History of the Ming Dynasty".

Every year in the first month, between New Year's Day and Lantern Festival, the Ming Emperor will choose an auspicious day to worship heaven and earth.

Because there were too many people on the side, Zhao Han had to express his position. He summoned the cabinet and the officials of the ten ministries and said: "Heaven and earth can be sacrificed, but it is not necessary, it is just for auspiciousness." The scale can't be too big, just send a few officials from the Ministry of Rites to sacrifice heaven and earth on my behalf. ”

Except for specific occasions, Zhao Han generally refers to himself as "I", and calling "I" means that his mind has been decided.

Many ministers who were sitting on the agenda stood up at this moment, including Pang Chunlai.

Pang Chunlai admonished: "Your Majesty, the major affairs of the country are in worship and Rong. Although the emperor of the old Ming Dynasty often sent relatives to sacrifice, he only sacrificed to the gods of mountains, rivers and rivers, and the sacrifice of heaven and earth must not be handed over to others! The one who sacrifices heaven and earth and controls the six armies must be the emperor himself! ”

Li Banghua knelt down directly: "The minister knows that His Majesty is the emperor for the people, and he doesn't care about the blessing of heaven and earth. His Majesty will definitely refute, saying that Chongzhen worshiped heaven and earth every year in the previous dynasty, and there was still a great drought and a series of military disasters throughout the country. But Your Majesty must know that this is not a matter of belief or unbelief, but a matter of admissibility and disbelief. To sacrifice heaven and earth, it must be the emperor, and it can only be the emperor. If any minister dares to sacrifice heaven and earth in place of His Majesty, the minister will definitely impeach him for attempting rebellion. If this person is not dismissed, the minister will resign and return to his hometown! ”

"Your Majesty, please think twice!" Many ministers knelt down.

Zhao Han suddenly smiled and said: "Get up, it's because I'm not thoughtful, don't kneel down at every turn." ”

There are some things that an emperor cannot disobey, such as the Confucian etiquette that has been formed for thousands of years.

Etiquette is a general rule, and it is also a system of rules.

This thing is the root of Confucianism, and in comparison, Zhao Han's reform of the imperial examination system is just pediatrics. Etiquette is not only embodied in the people, but also in the court, it is the emperor's right to worship heaven and earth, and it is also the emperor's duty.

Whoever dares to do it for him is a rebellion!

Zhao Han's smile was pretended, and he said, "Cabinet, Rite Cao, Rite Department, go down and discuss the sacrificial etiquette." Just like the flag, retain its verve, but keep it as simple as possible. ”

The national flag has been revised, and the dragon, crane, and unicorn patterns are still there, but they have been simplified to lines that only leave the charm.

Chen Maosheng asked, "To what extent is it simplified?" ”

Zhao Han replied: "No matter how simplified you are, you have to remember one key point for me: don't waste money and people!" ”

"Yes!" Chen Maosheng gave up.

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there has been a very disgusting phenomenon.

Due to the lack of finance in the Ming Dynasty, the monarch and ministers had no money for disaster relief, so in the face of the disaster, they often symbolically allocated funds for relief, and at the same time, the laborers mobilized the people to start sacrificing and praying.

For example, when the Yellow River burst its banks, the imperial court's disaster relief money was not allocated, and the flood could not build the embankment for the time being, so the governor of the river would first sacrifice to the god of the river. Occasionally, he will be impeached by the imperial history, and the content of his impeachment is: The object of sacrifice is wrong!

It is absolutely not to be confused that such and such a river worships this god, and such and such a river sacrifices to that god.

If you sacrifice to the wrong god, you may lose your office.

The Guanzhong earthquake killed 830,000 people, and Emperor Jiajing only allocated tens of thousands of taels for disaster relief, which was less than the amount of silver he allocated to the Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple. Then, Emperor Jiajing made a big sacrifice, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were mobilized, and the focus of the imperial court instantly changed from an earthquake to a sacrifice.

Zhao Han will never allow this phenomenon to happen, in his opinion, the sacrifice can be auspicious, but that's all.

In the face of these ministers, Zhao Han said: "Zhuqing, Mencius has a saying: Heaven will descend on the people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically. This is true for people, and it is also true for nations. I am the same as China, and in the face of natural disasters and visions, we should unite as one. The emperor, the officials, and the people joined hands to respond to the celestial phenomena and tide over the difficulties together. At the beginning of the uprising, before I had the whole territory of Jiangxi, I was hit by a flood that I had not encountered in a century. At that time, officials at all levels fought the flood together with the people. After the flood, although there were losses, the government and the people were united in this matter. Isn't this the true meaning of the great mission from heaven? ”

"Your Majesty is very true!"

The officials shouted.

Zhao Han said: "It is said that the emperor is the Son of Heaven, Chongzhen is the Son of Heaven, and I am also the Son of Heaven. They are all sons of heaven, which one should God love? Then take the disaster as a test, which son of heaven can deal with it, and choose which one is the true son of heaven! It's like when you are a father and give a test, only to know that the son who begs his parents is a waste, and the one who knows how to get through the difficulties by himself is a thousand miles of horses. I agreed to worship heaven and earth, just to express the Son of Heaven's respect for God, and not to ask God to bless the people of the community. The real son of heaven should face the difficulties himself. Haven't you ever read "Yi"? Tianxingjian, a gentleman strives for self-improvement! ”

"Listen to the Holy Teachings!" The officials shouted again.

Zhao Han said to Wang Tiaoding, the head of the Hanlin Academy: "Write down these words, write an article, and compile them into the "Datong Collection" next year. Officials at all levels, in the event of a natural disaster, should not delay in sacrifices, and should lead the people to tide over the difficulties together. Sacrifice must not be for political achievements, only know the sacrifice but do not know the disaster relief, and in the future, you will not need to dismiss the official directly! I have only heard of King Yu controlling the water, but I have not heard of King Yu sacrificing heaven and earth and the flood receded! ”

This is to set the tone for the sacrifice, which is just a ritual and has nothing to do with political achievements, and is only reserved as a form.

Chen Maosheng took the opportunity to say: "Please Your Majesty appoint the sages of Wenwu Temple." ”

After the Qufu Kong clan was punished in large quantities, Kong Zhenyun of the Southern Sect was canonized as the Holy Duke of Yan, but the sacrificial system of the Confucian Temple and the Confucian Temple, as well as the corresponding sacrificial objects, are still undecided.

Even, whether the Confucian temples in various places have restarted the annual sacrifice, Zhao Han has been dragging it out and not replying.

Zhao Han glanced at the ministers: "The sages of the Confucian Temple, Confucius and his disciples, only retain the four sages of Confucianism. The ten philosophers of Confucius, except for the four saints, all the rest are invited out of the Temple of Literature. Whether the Confucian Temple worships the Ten Philosophers or not, this is the Confucian family's own business, but I think the Confucian Temple should be changed. ”

Invite the ten philosophers of Confucius out of the Confucian Temple?

Ninety percent of the ministers are stupid, this and this...... How the hell did you get this born?

It's not all invited out, and Yan Hui is still retained.

Zhao Han ignored the comments of the ministers and continued: "In the future Confucian Temple, the main sacrifice will be to the Holy Confucius, and to worship the Holy Yan Hui, the Sect Sage Zengzi, the Sage Shuzi Si, and the Yasheng Mencius. As for the seventy-two sages, Xunzi, Zuo, Gu Liang, Ram, Han Yu and other sages can be retained, and many of the rest are up for debate. Why didn't Sima Qian, the soloist of the historian, join? Why didn't Fan Zhongyan, who was worried about the world, join? Why didn't Wen Tianxiang, who kept Dan's heart, join? Why don't Zhu Xi and Wang Shouren join? ”

Li Banghua's voice trembled: "Your Majesty, such a big change is afraid that it will be criticized by the world's scholars." Or you can wait until the world is unified, and then agree on which sages to worship in the Temple of Literature. ”

"No need, just now," Zhao Han said, "you go down and give a list." The sages who were selected to worship in the Temple of Literature should have meritorious service, virtue, and words. Sima Qian, Fan Zhongyan, Wen Tianxiang, Zhu Xi, and Wang Shouren must be included in the seventy-two sages of the Confucian Temple! ”

"Yes!"

Li Banghua stubbornly agreed.

Not only Zhao Han was going to be scolded by the world's soldiers, but Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua and others also couldn't escape infamy.

Li Banghua couldn't understand why Zhao Han would do something to offend the scholars if it was undecided and disasters were constantly happening today?

Zhao Han continued: "The Temple of Literature is not allowed to be built on a large scale, nor is it allowed to be sacrificed repeatedly, at most once a year, and it is not allowed to exploit the people by sacrificing the Temple of Literature!" No official, when sacrificing to the Temple of Literature, is not allowed to recruit servants! Also, reset the martial temple. In the future, military academies will be established, and a martial arts temple must be built near each military academy. ”

Pang Chunlai asked: "Your Majesty, if you want to restore the martial temple, where should Jiang Ziya live?" ”

"First place!" Zhao Han replied.

Pang Chunlai asked again: "Jiang Ziya was invited to the Wu Temple, so does the Imperial Temple still have to be enshrined?" ”

"All together." Zhao Han said.

Li Banghua said: "Your Majesty, Yu Li is not in agreement. ”

Zhao Han said: "Jiang Ziya has merit, so what if he is enshrined in the Wu Temple and the Emperor Temple? ”

There was no martial temple in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang built the imperial temple and found that Jiang Ziya was not by King Wu of Zhou, so he asked the officials of the Ministry of Rites: "Where is Jiang Ziya?" ”

The official of the Ministry of Rites replied: "Jiang Ziya is the main god of the Wumiao Temple and was named the King of Wucheng. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry: "Jiang Ziya is a courtier of King Wu of Zhou, how can he be crowned king?" Isn't it the chaos of kings and ministers? When Jiang Ziya's king name is removed, welcome back to the Imperial Temple to worship King Wu of Zhou! ”

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were very embarrassed: "Jiang Ziya is the main god of the Wu Temple, after you go to the Imperial Temple, how will the Wu Temple behave?" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Then don't want a martial temple!" ”

So, in the end of the Ming Dynasty, the martial temples disappeared without a trace.

Li Banghua repeated the question of the monarch and ministers in the early Ming Dynasty: "Your Majesty wants to reset the Wu Temple, will Jiang Ziya restore the title of king?" ”

Zhao Han said with a smile: "Confucius's King Wenxuan is gone, how can Jiang Ziya's King Wucheng be kept?" Since Confucius was named the Holy Ancestor of Dacheng, Jiang Ziya was named the Holy Ancestor of Dachengbing. ”

Although Emperor Jiajing has a lot of, he has also done two interesting things:

First, abolish Confucius's title of king and turn Confucius into a teacher. That is, the abolition of Dacheng Most Holy Wenxuan King was changed to Dacheng Most Holy Master. Qufu Kong was very unhappy, and from then on he enshrined the title given by the Yuan Dynasty, and resolutely refused to worship the title given by the Ming Dynasty.

Second, remove Kublai Khan and his courtiers from the temples of the emperors of previous dynasties, and do not recognize Kublai Khan as the emperor of China.

To be honest, the second thing is very inappropriate.

Because most of Genghis Khan's holy relics (for Mongolia), as well as Kublai Khan's relics, were in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has the legal system of the Yuan Dynasty, theoretically speaking, the entire grassland is the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Jiajing will give up if he does this.

Well, it doesn't matter if you give up or not.

Pang Chunlai asked, "Do you want to invite Yuan Shizu (Kublai Khan) back to the Imperial Temple?" ”

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Of course, please come back and offer Yuan Shizu well." What lands does Yuan Shizu own...... Ahem, I'll talk about it later. ”

As long as Kublai Khan is invited back to the Imperial Temple, China has strong claims to Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang. It seems useless, but it has political significance, and the reason for sending troops is very sufficient.

Zhao Han continued: "When the Wu Temple and the Emperor Temple are rebuilt, two people must be invited in. One is Yue Fei, who should enter the martial arts temple; One is Qin Shi Huang, who should enter the imperial temple! The god of Qin Shi Huang, when the word ancestor dragon is written! ”