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After Li Zicheng was defeated at Yipanshi, he retreated to Yanjing and hastily ascended the throne in the Golden Palace in Yanjing because the Golden Palace had special political significance.
The Golden Throne Hall is the main hall of the palace. It faces south and is grand in scale. It is 9 bays wide and 5 bays deep, inspired by the emperor's system of nine-five positions, and is a symbol of supreme power.
Now that all the palaces in Nanjing have been burned down, Qin Mu is unable to enter the city and accept the worship of civil and military officials in the Golden Palace. This is a major political shortcoming.
For this reason, except Huo Sheng who had led his troops to pursue Bolo, Liu Meng, Shi Qing, Huang Lianshan, Yan Gaofei and other talents who participated in the capture of Jinling City knelt down and apologized.
Qin Mu had a blank expression on his face, staring at the charred ruins in the palace city for a long time without saying a word. Liu Meng and others knelt down awaiting punishment and dared not move, especially Huang Lianshan and Yan Gaofei, who were both very nervous and sweating profusely.
Even Sima An and the others who followed behind didn't know whether Qin Mu would be furious. He had spent so much effort in the beginning, just to prevent Jinling from being destroyed by the war, but now not only was it destroyed, but also the most politically symbolic palace was destroyed.
At this time, a young man in his twenties walked out from among the welcoming gentry, claiming that he had something to say. Qin Mu had him brought up. He had sharp eyebrows, a heroic air, and walked steadily.
When this person bowed and reported his origins, we found out that he was not from Jinling, but from Changtai County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, and his surname was Huang and his given name was Zhenlin.
Qin Mu asked calmly, "What do you want to say?"
Huang Zhenlin's long sleeves fluttered, and he bowed and replied, "My Lord, before the Qin Dynasty conquered the six kingdoms and unified the world, the First Emperor ordered the construction of the Nandou and Beidou temples. According to the Shangqing Sutra, the person sitting in the north is Beidou, and the person sitting in the south is Nandou. Nandou is responsible for birth, and Beidou is responsible for death. When a mortal is conceived, they all pass through Nandou and Beidou. All prayers are to Beidou;
In addition, the "Records of the Grand Historian. Book of Celestial Palaces" says that the Dipper is the imperial star, which moves in the center, overlooks the four directions, divides yin and yang, establishes the four seasons, balances the five elements, moves the military governorship, and determines the location of the islands and rivers, all of which are dependent on the Dipper.
Therefore, the Big Dipper should be above all the stars and be guarded by them. In the early Ming Dynasty, Liu Bowen was ordered to build the imperial capital, and he also built it with the idea of the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper together. The thirteen gates of the capital are exactly the sum of the seven stars of the Big Dipper and the six stars of the Southern Dipper.
Among them, the six city gates, Jubao Gate, Sanshan Gate, Shicheng Gate, Qingliang Gate, Dinghuai Gate, and Yifeng Gate, represent the six stars of the Southern Dipper.
The seven city gates, namely Tongji Gate, Zhengyang Gate, Chaoyang Gate, Taiping Gate, Shence Gate, Jinchuan Gate and Zhongfu Gate, represent the Big Dipper.
The Purple Star Emperor should be located at the Yanque Lake, with Longguang Mountain as its pillow. According to the rule that the Emperor Star is located above all other stars, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty ordered to fill up the Yanque Lake to build the palace.
However, the palace of the emperor can only be inhabited by a benevolent monarch. The Prince of Yan used his minister to attack the monarch. He usurped the throne and executed ten clans of loyal ministers and righteous men, which was not benevolent. Therefore, when filling Yanque Lake, although wooden piles were driven in, huge stones were laid on the bottom, and lime and cement were used to tamp the foundation, after the Prince of Yan seized the throne, the foundation of the palace still sank. Every time it rained heavily, the palace was flooded. This imperial palace was actually ruined by the Prince of Yan.
Now that it is burned by fire, isn't it the will of heaven? King Qin. This ruined palace is just like the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty, which is irreversible. King Qin has raised the banner of justice on the ruins of the former Ming Dynasty, gathered talented people, rebuilt the orthodoxy of China, and rebuilt the mountains and rivers. This is truly the will of heaven! "
After hearing what Huang Zhenlin said, Qin Mu finally revealed a faint smile. If the burning of the palace before was a metaphor for his immoral living, then Huang Zhenlin's words immediately reversed the meaning.
According to Huang Zhenlin, the burning of the imperial palace did not mean that Qin Mu was immoral, but rather that the Ming dynasty had been destroyed. It indicated that God wanted Qin Mu to rebuild the imperial residence on the ruins of the Ming dynasty and recast the orthodoxy of China. All this was God's will.
Even though this is just a change of concept, people all over the world buy into it. Back then, when Prince of Yan Zhu Di rebelled, he fought for four years and finally captured Nanjing. He was eager to go straight to the imperial city to receive the worship of civil and military officials.
A man named Jie Jin ran out to block his horse's head and asked, "Your Highness, do you plan to ascend the throne first, or go to pay homage to Taizu Xiaoling first?"
Zhu Di was awakened by this and without saying a word, he rode his horse to his father's Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaoling.
In fact, whether Zhu Di visited the mausoleum first or ascended the throne first, the nature of his usurpation of the throne did not change. Xie Jin just changed the concept of the whole thing here.
After he changed the concept, people's first impression of Zhu Di was no longer "usurpation" but "filial piety".
Huang Zhenlin's words are similar to Jie Jin's concept substitution. According to the general concept, the palace was originally a good thing, but it was ruined when it fell into your hands, which shows that your virtue is not enough to enjoy this palace.
Now this concept was reversed by Huang Zhenlin. It was not that Qin Mu was unvirtuous and enjoyed this palace, but that this palace had long been corrupted by Zhu Di and was not worthy of Qin Mu.
And he was not speaking without purpose, his words were very convincing with quotations from classics. First, Qin Mu declared to the world that he was the successor of the First Emperor. Huang Zhenlin emphasized at the beginning that it was the First Emperor who first created the "Southern Dipper" and "Northern Dipper" as the emperor's residence, implying that Qin Mu's entry into Jinling was God's will.
Then he put the blame for the destruction of the imperial residence on Prince of Yan Zhu Di, and he had good reasons and evidence. It was an indisputable fact that after Prince of Yan usurped the throne, the foundation of the imperial palace began to sink and the feng shui was ruined. This denied the legitimacy of Prince of Yan's accession to the throne, and thus denied the legitimacy of the entire Ming Dynasty after Zhu Di.
By extension, since the Ming dynasty's legal system had been illegitimate since Zhu Di, then wouldn't any of the current descendants of the Zhu family who claim to have inherited Chongzhen's legal system be illegitimate
Huang Zhenlin not only turned the unfavorable side for Qin Mu into an advantageous side, but also trampled Long Wu and others to the ground.
Sima An and other civil and military officials came to their senses after hearing Huang Zhenlin's words, and they all paid homage to him: "Our king has reshaped the orthodoxy of China and rebuilt the foundation for eternity. He has been appointed by heaven, and he will live long and prosper."
The soldiers present and the people watching from afar also bowed and shouted in unison:
"Given the mandate from Heaven, you will live long and prosper forever."
"Given the mandate from Heaven, you will live long and prosper forever."
"Given the mandate from Heaven, you will live long and prosper forever."
Qin Mu stood on the steps of the Meridian Gate, turned around and faced south, spread out his sleeves, and said calmly: "Stand up!"
Qin Mu originally wanted to focus his energy on the war, but after hearing what Huang Zhenlin said, he had to rebuild the imperial palace. This was not out of greed for enjoyment, but out of political necessity.
The imperial palace represents not only the three palaces, six courtyards and seventy-two concubines, it is also a symbol of imperial power. When he was crowned king on the first day of July, he made do with what he had and even the ancestral temple and altar of the Qin Dynasty were not built.
At that time, war was imminent, so it was understandable to make do with what was available. But now that we have captured Nanjing, if we don't build the Golden Palace, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Altar of Grain and Oil, etc., how can we build a country and gather the support of the people
On that day, Qin Mu temporarily stayed in the Zhongshan Palace on the west side of the Confucius Temple. It was Xu Yongshun who took the initiative to suggest that Qin Mu stay there.
The Palace of Prince Zhongshan occupies an area of its own, with magnificent buildings and pavilions. The West Garden draws water to form a lake, with strange peaks and ridges, and an elegant and quiet environment.
When Qin Mu summoned all the ministers to discuss matters, the first thing they mentioned was the construction of the palace. Huang Zhenlin, with Qin Mu's special permission, also participated in the discussion with a group of ministers.
The foundation of the Jinling Imperial Palace sank, making the front higher and the back lower, which is a very unlucky thing from the perspective of feng shui.
Yu Dayou proposed to choose another site to build the imperial palace, but Qin Mu rejected it outright.
Huang Zhenlin also said: "The location of the palace should be in the position of the Purple Star. If it is rebuilt at another location, the outer walls and gates must be rebuilt as well. This will inevitably waste people's money and labor. The King of Qin is a virtuous monarch. Rebuilding on the old site will surely ensure that there will be no worries for generations to come."
Qin Mu knew very well that the sinking of the palace's foundation was mainly because the imperial city was originally built to suppress Yanque Lake, and it had nothing to do with the rebellion of Prince Yan. However, after two or three hundred years of sedimentation, the foundation that should have sunk had become solid, and all he had to do was to fill up the northern part of the palace again.
Huang Zhenlin dared to say that rebuilding on the old site would ensure eternal peace. In fact, he had seen this clearly, but he could not say it directly, so he could only use Qin Mu's "virtue" as an excuse.
Qin Mu asked Sima An to test Huang Zhenlin for more than an hour. He was not only proficient in astronomy, geography, calendar, etc., but also had great attainments in Confucianism and worldly studies. It was said that he had studied under a master in Tiantai Mountain since he was a child, and he also had excellent martial arts skills.
At the age of only 25, he possessed extraordinary knowledge and was a rare talent. Qin Mu decided to temporarily grant him the position of a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works to participate in the planning of the construction of the imperial palace.
This day, they only confirmed the intention to build the palace. To really start the construction, they had to design the blueprints first, and then they could start after they pacified Jiangnan. The design was handed over to Huang Zhenlin.
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.(To be continued..)
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