Naturally, no one would be surprised about Zhu Yuanzhang coming to court.

Even though Zhu Yuanzhang's attendance at court had become less and less frequent in the past two or three years, he had never missed some important occasions, and some major matters still required his decision.

Occasionally, he would come to Fengtian Hall to preside over the morning court on a whim, which was nothing strange. This was the emperor's power. It must be said that Zhu Yuanzhang set a precedent for the Ming emperors not to attend court.

Of course, this is fundamentally different from the later Zhengde and Jiajing. Zhu Yuanzhang's absence from court was paving the way for Zhu Yunhuan. Those two were not necessarily enjoying themselves or practicing Taoism, but also trying to seize power and check and balance.

The power is still in the hands of the emperor. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang does not come to court, the civil and military officials dare not act presumptuously, after all, the crown prince is in charge of the morning court.

After the court opened, Zhu Yuanzhang had basically no objection to simple reports from various government offices, and most of them were left to Zhu Yunhuan to handle.

When it came time to report to the emperor, Chen Di took the initiative to come out and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial edicts have been posted in various government offices, and the people of the world are aware of it."

Old Zhu was not angry either. He smiled and said, "Well, this good news should be announced to the world earlier. The people of the Ming Dynasty should also know that the Crown Prince is wise and intelligent and can benefit the Ming Dynasty."

The officials were used to it. In the past, the emperor's favorite thing to do was to praise the prince. Now there is no change. He always praises the prince on various occasions to let everyone know that the crown prince is good.

Zhu Yunhuan was accustomed to this. At first, he might have felt a little ashamed and blushed a little, but after hearing it many times, he really didn't think it was a big deal.

Sometimes those in high positions are not really stupid, but they only hear all kinds of praises every day. After a long time, they naturally get used to hearing only pleasant words.

Chen Di plucked up his courage and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that the Ministry of Rites should prepare for the grand ceremony, but without knowing the date, many things are difficult to prepare."

The Emperor's edict of succession had been issued, but no specific date had been set. Everyone had no doubts about the authenticity and determination of Zhu's succession, but without a specific time, many things were uncertain.

Not to mention that Chen Di was very nervous at this time, other civil and military officials also started to get nervous because this topic was really too sensitive.

Old Zhu was straightforward and said directly, "I decided on the succession on my birthday. I have also consulted the Imperial Observatory these days. Seven days after the Crown Prince's birthday is an auspicious day for him to ascend the throne."

Now the answer is completely clear and not particularly surprising. After all, the key time nodes previously speculated included Zhu Yunhuan’s birthday.

It is impossible to postpone it until next year, because then we will naturally have to consider changing the reign title. It is impossible to change the reign title immediately after ascending the throne. Under normal circumstances, the previous reign title should continue until the new year.

Unless it was a case like Zhu Di, who offered sacrifices to heaven and earth on the first day of July, announced the abolition of the Jianwen reign, and changed the current year to the 35th year of Hongwu, and the next year to Yongle.

As for Zhu Yunhuan, he was born on the ninth day of the eleventh lunar month and ascended the throne on the sixteenth day. It seemed that there was some buffer room and the things that could be prepared would not be delayed too much.

Since the emperor said that November 16 was an auspicious day and suitable for ascending the throne, then this was naturally an auspicious day and there was no need to doubt it.

For Chen Di and others, there is now a clear answer, and they naturally know how to better arrange the next series of tasks.

The coronation ceremony is no small matter. There are indeed many things that need to be considered, and it will certainly take a lot of time. Everyone is well aware of this.

Yu Xin hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the crown prince's ascension to the throne is bound to be a great event for the country, otherwise it would be difficult to show the prosperity of the court!"

Many people were nodding their heads. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Yu Xin said. Ascending the throne was an extremely grand event no matter which dynasty it was in. Even in times of chaos, preparations would be made.

The Grassroots King still has to find ways to get a golden chair, not to mention that this is a unified dynasty, and the current Ming Dynasty is extremely powerful. At least there are no enemies around.

In addition, after thirty years of development, the Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be, and naturally has the confidence to hold a grand ceremony.

Old Zhu nodded and said, "My dear minister, you are right. I offered sacrifices to heaven and earth to establish the Ming Dynasty. At that time, there were internal and external troubles. Now, there is peace everywhere and the people live and work in peace. The ceremony cannot be sloppy."

Only Zhu Yuanzhang could say this. When Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, although there were still some separatist factions around him, they were just grasshoppers after the autumn and would not become a serious threat.

But now Zhu Yuanzhang understands that there was separatism but no unification at that time, so he can only accept it.

In fact, everyone can guess that, in the final analysis, what Zhu meant was that the coronation ceremony must be grand, it must not be shabby, and it must not be perfunctory.

Zhu Yunhuan still acted as if nothing had happened at this time, as if these topics had nothing to do with him, and he remained silent.

But no one would say anything. After all, given his status, especially with Old Zhu present, it would be better to just listen and not say anything about such topics, otherwise people would think that he was ignorant of the situation and was getting carried away.

Old Zhu has given everyone more clear signals. We also know the specific time and some preliminary intentions. Naturally, we now know a lot of things and have a better idea of ​​how to handle them.

Yu Xin said boldly, "Your Majesty, I think that when your highness holds the grand ceremony, the amount should be 120,000 taels of silver, so that there will not be any haste in any place."

After hearing this number, many civil and military officials could not remain calm. This was definitely a huge number, and even the largest expenditure on a ceremony by the Ming Dynasty.

There is no currency devaluation yet, so it cannot be compared with the late Ming Dynasty in history. In the middle and late periods, the emperor's wedding budget was increased again and again, and it was good to have hundreds of thousands of taels, and hundreds of thousands of taels were unthinkable.

After hearing this, Old Zhu frowned. He didn't want to let Zhu Yunhuan down, but the number of 120,000 taels was really too much.

Zhu Yunhuan was even more anxious. He could not remain calm. "Your Majesty, the expenses of the court are too high. 120,000 taels is too much. I, your Highness, would like to ask for 60,000 taels of silver as the standard."

Although 60,000 taels of silver was still a huge number, Zhu Yunhuan directly cut it in half, which made many people think that the crown prince was still frugal.

Old Zhu felt even worse. He knew Yu Xin, and he knew that he was capable. Since he had reported 120,000 taels of silver, it meant that if he took out these taels of silver, it would not affect the court's affairs.

He understood this, and he believed that Zhu Yunhuan must have known this as well, but even so he still cut it in half. It could only be said that this child was too sensible and liked to put himself in a difficult position.

Who doesn't like a grand and solemn scene? Who doesn't want to be crowned emperor in a glorious manner? Why do you have to put yourself in a difficult position at this time?
Seeing the old Zhu's expression, Zhu Yunhuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have already spent a lot on my wedding. The court will also have a lot of expenses next year, so it is not a good idea to spend too much at once."

Zhu Yunhuan then looked at Yu Xin and said, "As the Minister of Revenue, you should know that the national treasury does not have much surplus. How can you spend so much!" Yu Xin had no choice. The money had to be spent, and if he spent less, it would certainly be a bit inappropriate, and then the emperor and the crown prince would be unhappy.

What's more, this was the first time for everyone to do such a thing. The emperor passed on the throne directly, which was fundamentally different from the so-called succession in front of the coffin. Naturally, there was no need to rush the ceremony.

Even if he succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin, many people had made some preparations in advance, and everything necessary would be there. The new emperor would not ascend the throne in a shabby manner just because the old emperor passed away.

Zhu Yunhuan was really anxious and continued, "Grandfather, 120,000 taels is too much. If you take out 120,000 taels at once, the court will definitely be in deficit next year!"

This time Zhu Yuanzhang had to take it seriously. He actually knew the current financial situation of the court. He also knew that Zhu Yunhuan might have some plans when he said this.

In the final analysis, Zhu Yunhuan is now basically in charge of regulating the country and handling government affairs. He has a clearer understanding of the financial situation and is really worried that the finances will not be able to make ends meet.

Zhu Yunhuan then continued, "Your Majesty, sixty thousand taels is enough!"

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "The Ministry of Rites will discuss carefully with the various government offices, finalize the regulations, and summon great scholars to follow the ancient Han rituals."

Civil and military officials had no objections. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had been trying to restore some traditional rituals, many of which were based on the systems and etiquette of the Tang and Song dynasties, and then improved.

Some of the emperor's enthronement ceremonies that were previously set have already had some frameworks, and now it is necessary to further improve and revise them, which can be regarded as keeping up with the times.

Old Zhu continued, "The Ministry of Rites should hurry up with these matters and report directly to me when the time comes. The sooner the rules are finalized, the easier it will be to prepare for the next thing."

There is nothing wrong with saying this. We need to set enough rules first before we can do the next things. There should always be a plan so that it can be better executed.

Zhu Yunhuan was speechless. It seemed that his power had been "stripped away". Old Zhu was planning to personally take charge of some matters concerning the coronation ceremony.

After waiting for the court to end, Zhu Yunhuan immediately found Old Zhu and said, "Grandfather, 120,000 taels is too much!"

"That can't be 60,000!" Old Zhu said angrily, "You know Yu Xin. If the treasury was empty, he wouldn't dare to ask for that!"

This is true. Usually, Yu Xin always cries poor and has no money.

Now that 120,000 taels of silver have been proposed, it will definitely be able to operate. Even if a large part of it is included in next year's income, it can still be operated anyway.

"Next year's expenses will not be small. 120,000 taels is too much." Zhu Yunhuan said, "If this is really the first case, when future generations ascend the throne again, won't it cost 200,000 taels? 500,000 taels?"

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang had no way to refute it. Although he wanted to directly determine the specific amount of expenses for ascending the throne, he also knew that this was unrealistic.

The Ming Dynasty might also decline, so how could it possibly come up with a large sum of money at that time? Setting a fixed amount as a "permanent custom" is really just an idea and is very unrealistic.

Lao Zhu asked seriously, "Can't you wait one more year?"

"It's always better to save some money, because there will be a lot of expenses in the future." Zhu Yunhuan said bluntly, "If something urgent really happens, it will be a huge expense."

Old Zhu was very angry, and then he sighed. He understood Zhu Yunhuan's worry, which was nothing more than worrying about "bad debts".

He is in good health now, but no one can tell when he will pass away.

If there is no money next year, the court will have used the fiscal revenue in advance for the emperor's enthronement. What to do then? Naturally, the only way is to include the fiscal revenue of the following year in advance.

Therefore, it is better to keep some spare money, so that you can feel more at ease and secure, as you never know when this money will come in handy.

Old Zhu then said unhappily, "Are you hoping that I will die soon?"

Zhu Yunxun smiled awkwardly and said, "How can you say that? At least wait until Wen Yao grows up a little. Miao Jin and I are not good at raising a child."

Old Zhu smiled and then asked, "Your concubine is pregnant, how is she now?"

"I'm taking care of her. She seems to be doing well." Zhu Yunhuan said in a low voice, "I hope it's a girl. That would be better."

Old Zhu instinctively wanted to say that a boy would be better, but then he thought about Zhu Wenyao and said, "That's true, let's have more boys in a year or two!"

Zhu Yunhuan also said, "There's no need to think too much about this matter. Just look at the expenses this time. One hundred and twenty thousand taels is too much. I'm thinking that I won't be in a hurry to build a mausoleum for me next year, but wait for grandfather to survey the land."

Old Zhu glared and said, "There's no rush to repair your mausoleum, but we've fenced off the land, so you have to get people to start work!"

Zhu Yunxun didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Are you afraid that I will run away?"

"That's hard to say!" Old Zhu said bluntly, "When I die, if you really run away, there's nothing I can do. I have to fence off the land and settle it down, so that you won't be able to escape!"

Zhu Yunhuan could only say, "That's what I meant originally. I'll upgrade my father's mausoleum next year. I'll just start construction and fence off some land. It doesn't matter if we put it aside for now. I'll just send a few people over to do the work."

Old Zhu had no objection to this. There was indeed no need to rush into the construction of Zhu Yunhuan's mausoleum.

"Miao Jin and I have also carefully calculated that 80,000 taels is a lot." Zhu Yunhuan continued, "She also said that she borrowed some money from the treasury because she was worried that the treasury would be insufficient."

Zhu's eyes lit up immediately. "Yes, if the treasury can give money to the court, then there is no shortage of money!"

Zhu Yunhuan, who had shot himself in the foot, quickly said, "That has to be paid back. My treasure notes have not been settled yet. How can I fail at the last moment? Now treasure notes can be used as copper coins and silver, and the court does not have much silver!"

Old Zhu also stopped his efforts. He was the one who dug the hole of Baochao, and Zhu Yunhuan was filling it up! If it weren't for the hole of Baochao, the national treasury wouldn't be so tight now! (End of this chapter)