Wanli Emperor Chapter 30 Part 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 30 Part 1: At the Beginning of the Accession, a Clamorous Uproar

Representatives of the military and the people, along with civil and military officials, knelt outside the Meridian Gate when they suddenly heard the beat of a drum—the time drum, arranged by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

At the drum's sound, the morning sun began to rise, its light illuminating the Meridian Gate.

The crowd raised their heads in unison to gaze up at the gate tower.

They watched as the Ceremonial Announcer, the Master of Rites, the Palace Guard Commander, and various imperial bodyguards and attendants emerged in single file, clearing a path on the gate tower to welcome the new sovereign.

Cloud-patterned canopies and ceremonial trays followed close behind.

A figure dressed in coronation robes and crown slowly appeared, surrounded by his retinue.

"An edict!" someone announced.

The military, commoners, and officials immediately bowed their heads. "We respectfully await the sagely decree!"

Zhu Yijun looked down at the sea of black-clad figures kneeling below the gate tower, a crowd stretching as far as the eye could see. His chest heaved several times.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and finally managed to calm himself.

Only then did he face the crowd below and, enunciating each word clearly, declare in a resonant voice: "Our nation has initiated a grand plan to be passed down for generations; for over two hundred years, our sagely ancestors have founded and defended it with one heart."

Simultaneously, the eunuchs positioned to his left and right repeated his words, their voices carrying down to the crowd below, where other eunuchs stationed at intervals took up the refrain, shouting them backward in succession.

The overlapping voices rolled forth like a tidal wave of sound.

"My Imperial Father, the late emperor, was a model of wisdom and governed with great diligence... He has suddenly ascended to join the celestial guests, leaving me with his final command, entrusting me with the divine vessel of the state."

"Therefore, looking up to his final edict and bowing to the will of the people, on the tenth day of the sixth month, I have respectfully reported to Heaven and Earth, the Ancestral Temple, and the Altars of Soil and Grain."

Zhu Yijun paused, closed his eyes, and with a voice full of vigor, uttered the words: "I now ascend the imperial throne."

At that moment, the Zhonghe Shaoyue music, arranged by the Court of Imperial Entertainments, began to play. Bells and chimes rang out in unison, while drums and instruments sounded together.

The guards on both sides shook their armor, creating a rustling, clattering din.

Below, the military, commoners, and officials—whatever their private thoughts—all raised their clasped hands to their foreheads and bowed once, twice, thrice, and a fourth time.

In unison, they shouted: "Ten Thousand Years!" 【TN: Wansui, the traditional cheer for the emperor, equivalent to "Long live the Emperor!"】

"Ten Thousand Years!"

"Ten Thousand Years!"

The sound of thousands shouting "Ten Thousand Years" shot straight to the heavens.

The shouts, the cheers, the music, the clatter of armor, the ringing of bells and drums—all surged together like a great tide, a resonance between heaven and earth that echoed throughout the entire Forbidden City!

...

The sounds gradually subsided.

"Let the coming year be the first year of the Wanli era, a new beginning for the people..."

The voice reading the edict continued to ring out, and the representatives of the military and commoners remained kneeling to listen.

The hundred officials, however, had already risen and were entering through the Meridian Gate in succession.

Zhu Yijun also turned and descended from the gate tower.

Shortly, he would preside over the Hall of Central Extremity to receive the congratulatory memorials from the hundred officials, but at this moment, his grand enthronement ceremony was already complete.

The core of the ceremony was the proclamation. When the crowd had hailed him with cries of "Ten Thousand Years," the ceremony had, in effect, already concluded.

From this moment forward, he was the emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, revered by millions.

But... this was far from the end. Rather, this was only the beginning of his journey of a thousand miles.

He was not the only one who had been waiting for this moment.

Gao Gong was also waiting. He was waiting for a ten-year-old child to sit on the throne, so he could use the child emperor's authority to abolish the Directorate of Ceremonial and turn the emperor into a rubber stamp.

Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were also waiting. They needed Lady Li to be enthroned as Empress Dowager and act as regent, so they could drive out Gao Gong and seize power for themselves.

The contest between Zhu Yijun, Feng Bao, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng would officially begin at this very moment.

...

Unlike a regular court session, the enthronement court was a ceremony for the hundred officials to pay homage to the new sovereign.

The number of attendees was dozens of times greater than at a typical court conference, and Wenhua Hall was simply inadequate.

To display the majesty of the imperial house, Emperor Taizu had decreed that all enthronement courts be held in the Hall of Heavenly Mandate, situated on the central axis of the Forbidden City.

However, the Ministry of Rites had petitioned the Two Palaces, and the location had been changed to the Hall of Central Extremity.

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Seals and his attendants had already set up the imperial throne in the hall. Zhu Yijun calmly took his seat.

He paid no attention to the ceremonial procedures of ascending the hall, simply waiting quietly for the hundred officials to present their congratulatory memorials.

After a round of whip cracks and ceremonial music, the hundred officials entered in single file.

The four nobles who had been ordered to offer sacrifices were the first to step forward. "We, your subjects, have fortunately not failed our mission and have reported to Heaven, Earth, and the Ancestral Temple."

"Upon hearing of Your Majesty's ascension, Heaven, Earth, and the Ancestral Temple sent down auspicious colors. It must be a sign of their great joy." [1]

"We, your subjects, boldly present our congratulatory memorials to Your Majesty."

After speaking, Zhu Xizhong cast a subtle glance at the emperor on the throne, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind.

Zhu Yijun's view was obscured by the strings of jade beads hanging from his crown. He simply nodded. "I am aware of your sincere loyalty."

He then looked toward Feng Bao. "Feng ‘Qing’, Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, presents the memorials to me."

【TN: Qing, formal imperial address to an official or attendant, roughly equivalent to "Minister", “Lord”, or "Sir" but with no direct English equivalent, showing respect while maintaining sovereign authority.】

Feng Bao bowed. "This inner courtier obeys the decree."

He then descended from the imperial dais and collected the memorials from the four nobles.

The four nobles returned to their ranks.

Next, the cabinet ministers stepped forward. "We, your subjects, congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension and also have memorials to present."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

Subsequently, the hundred officials—from the auxiliary ministers of the Grand Secretariat and the heads of the Six Ministries down to the minor officials of the seventh rank—presented their congratulatory memorials in order.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Until...

"His Majesty ordered the Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial to collect the memorials. Who are you, you scoundrel!?" Zhang Xiao, Censor of the Guangxi Circuit, frowned as he looked at Feng Bao.

The hall instantly fell silent.

Zhu Xizhong seemed to feel unwell and tightly closed his eyes.

Gao Gong stared straight ahead, as if he had heard nothing at all.

Zhang Juzheng's lips parted slightly in a perfectly timed expression of surprise.

Gao Yi held his ceremonial tablet, a look of expectation on his face.

Only the uninformed officials looked around, exchanging glances with their colleagues, their eyes filled with confusion and panic.

Feng Bao, faced with this challenge, displayed remarkable composure. His eyelids did not even twitch.

He simply clasped his hands toward the imperial dais and said slowly: "I am the Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

Zhang Xiao flicked his sleeve, pointed at Feng Bao, and looked around, seeking confirmation from the hundred officials. "This is the Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial!?"

The officials were all shrewd men. How could they not know that trouble was brewing?

Never mind whether he recognized him or not—even if he harbored doubts, was this the time to be shouting in the Hall of Central Extremity?

All the officials, both high and low, who met Zhang Xiao's gaze quickly turned their heads away, unwilling to be drawn into this vortex.

The Ritual Correction Officer below the imperial dais immediately shouted a reprimand: "Zhang Xiao! The Son of Heaven has ascended the throne. Mind your decorum!"

Zhang Xiao seized the opportunity to bow and confess his fault to the emperor. "Your Majesty, this subject has just returned from an inspection tour of Guangxi and was not yet aware that the late emperor had issued a final edict to replace the Seal-holding Director. This subject is at fault!"

Since Feng Bao was the Seal-holding Director, it must have been by the late emperor's final edict, right?

A retreat to advance!

Although Zhang Xiao's words were a confession of guilt, they were, in fact, a way of bringing the irregularity of Feng Bao's appointment as Seal-holding Director to the forefront.

How could Feng Bao not recognize what play this was? Even though he was prepared, he couldn't help but cast a hateful glance at Gao Gong.

Zhu Yijun also knew exactly what was happening. This was merely a pawn.

Seeing this, he decided to play ignorant. "Censor Zhang, please rise. There is no crime in being uninformed."

"You may not know, but Grand Eunuch Feng was appointed by my mother, the Empress. It was not by the late emperor's final edict."

—---

[1] 【TN: The three primary entities in Chinese imperial cosmology to whom the emperor must report major state events; Heaven represents divine mandate, Earth represents the realm, and the Ancestral Temple represents dynastic legitimacy】

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