Chapter 1 2 Dragons Do Not Meet
Chapter 1 The Two Dragons Do Not Meet
In the 28th year of Jiajing's reign, the prince was growing older and it was time for him to go out to study.
Therefore, all the ministers submitted a petition to Jiajing, requesting that the Crown Prince leave the palace to study, stabilize the country's foundation, and consolidate the ancestral foundation.
However, Emperor Jiajing, who had been practicing Taoism for decades, had a lofty ambition that was unfathomable.
Although Emperor Jiajing cared about the prince, he was also hesitant.
Tao Zhongwen, a Taoist priest, once advised Jiajing: "The emperor is a real dragon. The crown prince is a latent dragon. When the two dragons meet, one of them will be injured."
This is the so-called "two dragons never meet" prophecy.
Tao Zhongwen was a friend of Shao Yuanjie. When he was young, he was a county official and was fond of magic. In the middle of Jiajing, he was promoted from Huangmei County official to Liaodong Treasury Ambassador. After his term of office was completed, he went to the capital and lived in Shao Yuanjie's residence. He was recommended by Shao Yuanjie to enter the court.
In the 18th year of Jiajing, the emperor went on a southern tour. Shao Yuanjie was ill, so Tao Zhongwen took his place. When he arrived at Weihui, a whirlwind surrounded the emperor. The emperor asked, "What is this omen?"
Tao Zhongwen replied: "It controls fire."
That night, there was indeed a fire in the palace, and many palace servants died.
The emperor was even more impressed and granted him the title of "Shenxiao Baoguo Baolie Xuanjiao Gaoshi" and soon named him "Shenxiao Baoguo Honglie Xuanjiao Zhenfa Tongzhen Zhongxiao Bingyi Zhenren".
At this point, Tao Zhongwen was deeply favored by Emperor Jiajing, who later granted him additional favor by appointing his son Tao Shitong as Taichang Cheng, and his son-in-law Wu Jun and great-grandson Tao Liangfu as Taichang Doctors.
The next year, in the 19th year of Jiajing, the emperor fell ill and later recovered.
Tao Zhongwen prayed for Jiajing's illness and was successful. The emperor was very pleased and appointed him as Shao Bao and Minister of Rites, with a first-rank salary. His wife was also granted the title of First-rank Lady, and later he was promoted to Shao Fu, while still serving as Shao Bao.
At this point, Tao Zhongwen, as a Taoist priest, rose to a high position in the imperial court. All the ministers vied to flatter him and gain his favor, and the gods and immortals prayed to him more frequently.
However, Emperor Jiajing did not take it seriously, because he also believed in it and called himself "Lingxiao Shangqing Tonglei Yuanyang Miaoyifeixuan Zhenjun"!
Therefore, Emperor Jiajing believed in Tao Zhongwen's words without a doubt.
This time, the crown prince resigned at the request of his ministers, but in fact, for Emperor Jiajing, who was a firm believer in Taoism, it was still a knot in his heart that was difficult to erase.
Emperor Jiajing was afraid that some unforeseen accidents might occur, so he issued an edict to perform the ceremony of capping for the crown prince in order to fulfill the importance of his status.
Upon receiving Jiajing's edict, the ministers immediately prepared for the crown prince's coming-of-age ceremony.
March 15th, good luck.
Crown Prince Zhu Zaigang performed the coming-of-age ceremony.
Cui Yuan held the imperial seal and the crown, Yan Song praised the crown, and Xu Jie announced the imperial edict.
On the 16th, as the Crown Prince was crowned, all officials performed the ceremony of five bows and three kowtows outside the Fengtian Gate.
This is why the position of the Crown Prince is honored.
When Emperor Jiajing saw that the crowning ceremony of the Crown Prince was completed, he felt relieved and finally let go of the heavy stone in his heart.
In the eyes of Emperor Jiajing, the crown prince, who had completed the ceremony of coming of age, had finally reached adulthood. He should not worry about the prophecy of "two dragons never meeting each other".
But just when Emperor Jiajing thought that everything was fine and he could let the Crown Prince go out to study and govern the country without any worries, he could practice Taoism and reach the realm of heaven.
On the morning of the 17th, an official urgently reported: The Crown Prince is ill!
Jiajing immediately sent the imperial physician to examine him, but he could not be cured. Crown Prince Zhu Zaizhen suddenly turned to the north and bowed, saying, "My son is gone." He died while sitting down, at the age of fourteen.
When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he was so grief-stricken that he could not control himself. He regretted that he could not follow Tao Zhongwen's advice, which led to the sudden death of the crown prince!
This was the second prince of Emperor Jiajing who died. Therefore, after Zhu Zaigang's sudden death, Emperor Jiajing became more cautious and indifferent. He ignored all his own children in order to save his own life and that of his children.
In the Wenyuan Pavilion, all the cabinet ministers were in a panic at this moment. No one had expected that the Crown Prince would die suddenly just after his coming-of-age ceremony.
Such tragic news is like a dream, leaving no sense of reality.
The day before yesterday, the chief minister of the cabinet Yan Song, the second minister Xu Jie, and the husband of Princess Yongkang, daughter of Emperor Xianzong, Cui Yuan, held the imperial seal, praised the crown, and issued an imperial decree to crown the crown for the crown prince. The next day, Yan Song led all the officials to the outside of Fengtian Gate to perform the ceremony of five bows and three kowtows to honor the importance of the crown prince.
But today, just as he sat down in the cabinet and had not yet started the busy work of drafting today's court affairs, he suddenly heard that the crown prince was seriously ill, and then he heard the news that the crown prince had suddenly passed away.
Such a shock is hard for anyone to accept.
Especially the cabinet ministers who served as regents were even more panicked and didn't know what to do.
When the crown prince went out to study, they were the ones who took the lead in petitioning the emperor to ask for permission.
Now the Crown Prince has just completed the coming-of-age ceremony and has not yet officially left the house to study, yet he has died suddenly of an illness. If the Emperor gets angry and blames them for the Crown Prince's sudden death, it would be a disaster as severe as the collapse of the heaven and the earth!
Yan Song sat at the head of the cabinet, looking old and frail, like a kind and harmless old man. But his cloudy eyes hid a glimmer that was difficult for ordinary people to understand.
"Dad, have some tea first."
Young cabinet minister Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song with concern and handed him a cup of tea.
Yan Song's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he rebuked Yan Shifan: "Your father is not here! This is the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, and I am the chief minister of the cabinet!"
Yan Song's scolding not only frightened Yan Shifan, but also scared Xu Jie and other ministers in the cabinet.
How could the Prime Minister, who is usually calm and collected, explode with such anger today?
Xu Jie looked at the frustrated Yan Shifan, and immediately showed concern on his face. Xu Jie bowed slightly to Yan Song and said, "Sir, Donglou also means well and is concerned about your health. Please don't blame Donglou."
Xu Jie's attitude as a good guy immediately won Yan Shifan a bit of favor. Originally, Yan Shifan looked down on Xu Jie, a pedantic old scholar, but Xu Jie knew how to behave and was very respectful to the Yan family. He even married his granddaughter to his son as a concubine.
Therefore, although Yan Shifan looked down on Xu Jie, he still gave him some face.
What's more, Xu Jie now stood up to speak for him, which made Yan Shifan feel that Xu Jie was a good person.
But Yan Song saw things clearly. Although he was already very old and his energy was not as good as before, when it came to seeing people and things, Yan Song was still much more insightful than his son who was a little clever and arrogant.
Yan Song said in a hoarse voice: "The Crown Prince has passed away, how can I have the heart to drink tea? I wonder how sad the emperor is at this moment? As his subjects, we should also worry about our king and father, how can we only care about ourselves?"
Yan Song's words made all the ministers present lower their heads in embarrassment, not daring to show any other expression.
Seeing this situation, Yan Song also sighed. What Yan Song was really worried about now was the attitude of Emperor Jiajing.
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(End of this chapter)