Chinese New Year

Chapter 634 Ceremony
It rained last night, and the dewdrops on the flowers rolled around, looking crystal clear and lovely.

"Plop!" A strong wind came, and the dewdrops instantly rolled to the ground and dissipated into the dust.

Pairs of military boots quickly stepped past, rushing to every corner of the palace.

Soon, soldiers were stationed outside the Taiji Hall, Zhaoyang Hall, Jianshi Hall, Jiafu Hall, Jiulong Hall, Chonghua Hall and other buildings.

The Nangong Taiji Hall, where the ceremony was held, was of utmost importance. Soldiers entered to search it three times before they gave up.

Afterwards, the soldiers of the Silver Spear Left Camp stood guard inside and outside the palaces in groups of buildings, checking everyone coming in and out.

Emperor Sima Chi stood by the canal in front of the Nine Dragons Hall, glaring angrily. But those who knew him well knew that the underlying color of his anger was fear, and the emperor was very afraid of encountering an accident today.

After all, the prince is dead!

When Du Bo Zhao Huai saw the emperor, he saluted from a distance, then ignored him and waved his hand. The soldiers, as ferocious as wolves and tigers, immediately occupied the two small bridges on the canal and isolated the palaces on the north side of the canal.

They were still considerate and at least did not send anyone to disturb the Eight Wards to the north of the palaces. They only set up barriers at the intersections and sent soldiers to guard them - the Eight Wards were where the talented people lived.

Sima Chi stared at Zhao Huai who was assigning sentries, but his expression remained unchanged. He just did what he was supposed to do and shouted commands quickly and urgently. It was obvious that he was a crazy and mad man, a rebellious person who had been kept by the thief Shao for many years.

In the end, he gave up and returned to the Nine Dragon Palace with a gloomy look.

Perhaps, there is still a glimmer of hope in my heart.

It is impossible for the thief Shao to stay in Luoyang for long, just as it is impossible for Cao Mengde to stay in Xuchang for long.

After Shao Ze left, he still had a chance - but he didn't really want to stay in Luoyang anymore.

Sima Chi subconsciously looked towards the north. Why was there no movement? The chaos he wanted to see never appeared.

Not long after the emperor entered the palace, Shao Fan, the traitor in the General's office, came over.

The law enforcement officers on the left and right each led a hundred soldiers and entered the palace from the Yunlong Gate for a second inspection.

After touring the various palaces in the North Palace, Hualin Garden, Tianyuan Pond, Jiuhua Terrace and other places, he went south through Lingyun Terrace and Lingzhi Garden, and carefully inspected the South Palace complex with Taiji and Zhaoyang Palaces as the main components.

In the square in front of the palace, he saw Wang Que'er, the commander-in-chief of the Silver Spear Left Camp, and Zheng Shida, a redundant servant.

The two were talking.

Wang Que'er didn't say much, but Zheng Shida followed behind her, chattering incessantly with a flattering look on his face.

When Shao Fan saw this scene, he had a more comprehensive impression of Zheng Shida. He secretly said that he would add a few notes to Zheng Shida's file when he returned: he was eager for fame and fortune, and was good at flattery.

Shao Fan looked at the Changhe Gate again.

This building was ordered to be built by Emperor Ming of Wei during his lifetime.

In the early years of Emperor Ming, he mostly held court meetings in Jianshi Hall, Jiafu Hall, Jiulong Hall, etc. In his later years, Cao Wei's national strength gradually increased, so he started to build a large number of buildings, calling the old palace complex "Northern Palace" and starting to build Taiji Hall, Zhaoyang Hall, Changhe Gate, Yunlong Gate, etc., which were called "Southern Palace".

Although the Southern Palace only had two main halls, the construction work was much more extensive than that of the Northern Palace. Unfortunately, Emperor Ming died before the Southern Palace was completed, as he died in the Jiafu Hall of the Northern Palace.

The Changhe Gate is the southern gate of the entire Luoyang Palace City, facing Tongtuo Street.

Tomorrow (June 15th) is the day of the full moon, and there will be a grand court meeting. At that time, the Changhe Gate will be opened, and civil and military officials will enter through this gate.

Before nightfall today, Taichang will bring in four boxes of musical instruments. They will be arranged in the second half of the night. By then, there will be a lot of people coming and going, so we must be careful.

Shao Fan took the trouble to walk around the front hall of Taiji.

Standing inside the Duanmen Gate was Ji Shou, the leader of the Silver Spear Army, who was arranging the sentry positions for six hundred armored soldiers.

According to the rules, there should be a General of the Huben Guards and a Supervisor of the Yulin Guards leading the troops on duty here, and one Imperial Censor and one Usher to supervise.

At this time, the Attendant Censor and the Ushers did come, but the commanding officer had been replaced by Ji Shou.

There were also court officials supervising the Changhe Gate, namely the Chief Justice and the Chief Justice, and the gatekeepers consisted of two groups of 1,200 soldiers.

Yunlong Gate was closed and only soldiers were on duty.

After walking around, Shao Fan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Such a big fuss is made just to ensure safety.

******
On June 15th, I hope to see the meeting in Japan.

Shao Xun got up when it was still dark outside.

The morning court is really anti-human. Getting up too early is like the breakfast vendors in later generations. You have to get up in the second half of the night.

Some officials were so sleepy that they didn't even have time to eat breakfast. They bought a Hu pancake on the road and ate it while walking.

Fortunately, there were not many court meetings in this era. Even in the Tang Dynasty, there were only court meetings every three days. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang sometimes felt that the frequency was too high and it was better to sleep in - from then on, the emperor no longer held court early in the morning!

I really don’t know how people get through the day.

"My dear husband, I will wait for you at home." Yu Wenjun personally put on the yellow court dress for the summer season for Shao Xun and said softly.

Shao Xun nodded and said, "It's just a formality."

The personal guards have come to the outer room.

Shao Xun hugged his wife and said, "In a few days, gather the wives and relatives of officials and ministers to have fun together."

Yu Wenjun hummed.

In fact, she didn't like these things very much, but her husband encouraged her to do so, so she had no choice but to do it.

Besides, since the men are fighting outside, she should really share some of the pressure.

"Mingsir." Yang Qin urged softly.

Shao Xun looked at the sky and said, "Let's go."

The carriage stopped at the door and Shao Xun got on.

Hundreds of imperial guards escorted them westwards, then northwards, and soon they arrived at the Changhe Gate.

"Mr. Chen." The officials who saw him saluted one after another.

Shao Xun returned the greetings one by one. After that, there was no more conversation, and everyone remained silent until the palace gate opened.

Shao Xun looked at the dark palace gate, which looked like a giant beast with its bloody mouth open, making it hard to figure out what was going on.

He did not hesitate, but held his head high and walked forward.

Sima Chi arrived at the side hall early and sat there with an expressionless face, like a puppet.

Today is the Grand Court Assembly for the Wangri Festival, but it is not just a simple court assembly because there is an enthronement ceremony.

The ministers of state are the second-in-command of the emperor. On the day of enthronement, the emperor sits in the hall, and all the officials are present.

Moreover, dukes, marquises and ministers are highly valued by the monarch, so they stand up from the emperor’s seat and are below him in the carriage, and are addressed as uncles.

Of course, that was the pre-Qin period. At that time, dukes and ministers were very valuable, and the monarch had to show them considerable respect.

At this time, there were only a few ceremonies that required the emperor to be present:

1. To send envoys to foreign countries;

Second, pay respects to the Three Dukes and officials of the same rank, including the general;

3. The emperor’s wedding, the crowning ceremony, and the enthronement of the empress;
4. The crowning ceremony of the crown prince;
5. Confer titles on vassal kings.

Two ceremonies were held today: "Appointment of the General" and "Promotion of the Title of Duke of Liang".

The general is not just a simple military position. "He is in charge of national affairs at home and leads military campaigns abroad. His power far exceeds that of the prime minister." This is a position above the prime minister and the three highest officials.

Back then, Cao Cao was the general and Yuan Shao was the grand marshal. He was very unhappy and started to curse. As a result, Cao was so frightened that he gave up his throne to Shao.

The general of the country is not a permanent position, but every time he appears, he corresponds to a regent.

The more Sima Chi thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, and his expression was somewhat sad.

The elegant music of bronze and stone soon began to play, extending from the Qianghe Gate to the Taiji Front Hall.

The attendant Liu Wang looked at the clepsydra and said, "Your Majesty, the time has come."

Sima Chi nodded heavily.

Liu Wang came to the main hall and said loudly: "Ascend the throne."

The emperor's close ministers, including the Shizhong, Sanqi Changshi, Huangmen Shilang, etc., entered the palace one after another.

After a while, Emperor Sima Chi, wearing royal robes and crown, walked out from a side hall, sat behind the dragon desk, and stared outside - it was dimly lit, and he could see that all the officials below the rank of Shangshu Ling were waiting outside the palace gate.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Liu Wang kept staring at the clepsydra, and when the time came, he turned around and said, "Your Majesty, please go to the outside office."

Sima Chi stood up expressionlessly, and surrounded by his close ministers, he walked out of the palace and stood under the eaves.

An usher came forward, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Grand Herald Yang Mao said that all the officials are in their seats."

The attendant Liu Wang looked at the emperor and said, "Yes."

The usher withdrew.

After a while, Grand Herald Yang Mao came trotting over.

Sima Chi looked at him with disgust: former governor of Yanzhou and assistant of Sima Yue.

Sima Yue and Shao Xun were the people he hated the most.

After Sima Yue died, many people defected to Shao Xun, and he became the "new Sima Yue", even more hateful!

"Your Majesty, please proceed." Grand Herald Yang Mao said.

This time, the attendant Liu Wang did not look at the emperor and said directly, "Yes."

Yang Mao immediately turned around, raised his hand and said, "It's OK."

The sound of elegant music was heard everywhere.

Led by the usher, Shao Xun came before the emperor with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, facing the first ray of sunshine in the east.

The music stopped, Shao Xun bowed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I, Shao Xun, greet you."

All the civil and military officials, as well as the princes of the royal family, who were standing in front of the hall, cast their eyes on him.

Their eyes are complicated.

Emotions such as envy, fawning, hatred, jealousy, disdain, and relief are intertwined and entangled, adding a different color to this ceremony.

The imperial attendant Liu Wang unfolded an imperial edict and read aloud: "Since I ascended the throne, I have worked diligently for ten years, hoping to bring happiness to all living beings and peace to the world. However, jackals and wolves have emerged, and a group of ugly people have stood together. The wounds are all over the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, and the farming and weaving are in vain in the Yellow River and Luo River..."

"When I think of the suffering of the people, tears fall on my clothes; when I see the ruins of the city, I am filled with anger. The fault lies with me, and the pain is tormenting..."

"Xun has the strategy of Huang Gong, and has long been planning on the river. He has deployed all the garrisons in Gua and has been stationed in Yan and Zhao for a long time. He has received frequent reports of victory and has made remarkable achievements. He should be appointed as the general and the secretary, and be given authority to focus on the expedition."

"It is difficult to save the country from chaos, and you have always been loyal and righteous; you save the world and bring peace to the people, and you have fulfilled your heroic ambition. Now, I will observe the will of heaven and the wishes of the people, and I will promote you to the Duke of Liang, and make the ten counties of Chen, Liang, Wei, etc. the State of Liang. I hope you will always remember the heroic deeds of Huan and Wen."

"I bow to thank God for his grace." Shao Xun bowed again.

"The ceremony is over." After the attendant Liu Wang shouted this, he immediately stepped forward, smiled and helped Shao Xun up.

Shao Xun greeted him with a smile, then his eyes fell on the emperor.

Sima Chi looked at this strong and majestic man, and for a moment he didn't dare to look him in the eye and avoided his sight.

The ministers secretly looked at the two of them and sighed secretly.

The general, the Duke of Liang and the governor of Yanzhou are all combined in one person, and the aura of the King of Jin is already divided.

At this time, the sky gradually brightened, and the golden sunlight fell on Shao Xun, making people dare not look directly at him.

(End of this chapter)