Tibet.

Chapter 1314 The new emperor ascends the throne
At three o'clock in the morning, two thousand internal guards surrounded a three-acre independent mansion in the west of Yunyang County. A general came forward to report to Liu Wutong: "There is a group of Japanese warriors living inside. They are like wild dogs. When we shout, they shout and throw knives at us."

"Are you sure it's a Japanese samurai?"

"already confirmed!"

Liu Wutong nodded and ordered coldly: "Light the fire and burn them!"

"Follow the order!"

Lang Jiang ran back, and in just a moment, countless torches and gunpowder arrows were thrown into the courtyard, and hundreds of inner guards threw thin-skinned pottery jars filled with kerosene into the courtyard.

Thick smoke billowed in the compound, flames rose into the sky, and the raging fire soon engulfed the entire compound.

Two thousand internal guards surrounded the compound, ready to attack with crossbows drawn, but to the end, not a single person escaped.

The fire lasted until noon of the next day. The three-acre courtyard was burned to the ground, leaving only some ruins. The internal security soldiers conducted an intensive search and soon found the charred bodies one by one, laying them out in several rows on the ground.

They searched the place three times, even the cellar, but found no new bodies, so they ended the search.

"General, we found a total of 25 bodies, all burnt to charcoal, and it's hard to tell their identities!"

Liu Wutong nodded, and his confession was completely consistent with Su Qi's. There were only 25 Japanese assassins in the compound. They had no contact with the outside world, and someone came to bring them meals every afternoon. It was only two days, so there would probably not be any changes.

"Notify the county government to clean up the mess and the army to retreat!"

After leaving a mess to the county government, two thousand internal guards mounted their horses and galloped towards Chang'an.

The county magistrate came running with a large group of yamen runners. Looking at the charred corpses and broken walls all over the ground, the county magistrate was overwhelmed. Fortunately, they were all Japanese assassins, so there was no need to distinguish the bodies. He ordered the bodies to be sent outside the city for burial.

The house fire was registered as an accident.

When the time came to the last day of the year, Empress Dowager Zhang issued an abdication edict, officially announcing that the young emperor was unable to govern the Tang Dynasty due to health reasons, and announced his abdication to the world.

At the same time, Empress Dowager Zhang issued a second edict of ascension, stating that Regent Li Ye was brave and wise, had good governance, and was a legitimate descendant of the Tang Dynasty's royal family, Li family, and could succeed to the throne of the Tang Dynasty.

Soon after, the Council of State Affairs and the Military and Political Council also issued an official statement, unanimously endorsing Regent Li Ye to succeed the throne of the Tang Dynasty.

On the first day of the first lunar month, just after dawn, the Jingyang Bell on the Hanyuan Hall rang. The clear and loud sound of the bell spread throughout the city, announcing the official start of the emperor's enthronement ceremony.

The people of the whole city cheered, and hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Danfeng Gate from all directions to witness the emperor's enthronement ceremony.

From Danfeng Gate to Zichen Gate, both sides are hung with thousands of huge colorful curtains. The curtains sway in the morning breeze, which is very majestic and spectacular.

Under each colorful curtain stood a ceremonial soldier holding a long weapon.

"Boom-thump-thump-"

As the low drum beats sounded, the chime music above the Dragon Tail Road in the Hanyuan Hall began to play, slowly opening the curtain of the coronation ceremony.

On the long imperial bridge leading from Danfeng Gate to Hanyuan Palace Square, the new Tang emperor Li Ye arrived at Hanyuan Palace Square under the escort of two thousand armored cavalrymen. Thousands of ministers were already standing in line on the square.

Li Ye wore a nine-chapter dragon robe, a flat crown on his head, red shoes on his feet, a ribbon and a jade sceptre on his head. He slowly walked up to the throne platform, and all the officials bowed to the ground.

Li Ye first worshipped heaven and earth, burned incense and prayed, and thousands of ministers followed suit and knelt down to worship heaven and earth.

Then Li Lin, a clan elder, read out the empress dowager's edict and the officials' statement, explaining clearly the reason for the emperor's abdication. When the emperor grew up, it was discovered that he had intellectual disabilities and was unable to govern the world, so a new emperor had to be appointed.

Regent Li Ye was wise and brave. He saved the Tang Dynasty from collapse and rebuilt it. His achievements were unparalleled and he should be made emperor.

Li Ye accepted the Queen Mother's edict and the eight treasures of the emperor.

Li Ye then raised the eight seals of the emperor one by one. Every time he raised a seal, all the officials knelt and shouted, "Long live the emperor!"

When Li Ye raised the last imperial seal, all officials bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long, long live His Majesty!"

Receiving the Eight Treasures of the Son of Heaven at the enthronement altar meant that Li Ye officially became the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ye walked into the Hanyuan Hall, sat high on the dragon couch, and accepted congratulations from all officials.

The enthronement ceremony is divided into three steps. The most important step is the first step, which is to worship heaven and earth on the enthronement altar and accept the imperial seal. If it is a cession, the old emperor needs to go to the altar and hand over the seal. But Li Ye is not changing the dynasty, nor is it a cession, but succession. This is the same as the old emperor abdicating and ascending the throne. Therefore, succession does not require so many cumbersome ceremonies to prove the legitimacy of his throne.

The ceremony when the late Emperor Li Heng ascended the throne in Lingwu was much simpler. He barely skipped the first step of ascending the throne and offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, and went straight to the second step of accepting worship from more than a hundred officials in a temporary palace, and then sent people to announce it to the world.

This is also the reason why Li Heng has always been brooding over it. After he collected the eight treasures, he wanted to hold a coronation ceremony. All preparations were almost complete, but in the end it was not held because he fell ill. All the preparations saved Li Ye money.

The second step was to accept the kowtow and congratulations of all officials, and the third step was to accept the congratulations of the people of Chang'an.

In fact, the ceremony was not long, only about a quarter of an hour, a total of three quarters of an hour, but it took several months to prepare.

Accompanied by high-ranking officials above the third rank, Li Ye climbed up the Danfeng Gate. The square outside the Danfeng Gate was already crowded with people, and hundreds of thousands of people filled the square and several surrounding streets.

When Li Ye appeared on the top of the city wall, hundreds of thousands of people were excited, cheering like a tsunami, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"

Li Ye waved to the people. At this moment, Li Ye's eyes were a little moist. When he was thirty years old, he finally ascended the throne of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

The coronation ceremony is over, and next is the traditional New Year's Banquet, where the emperor entertains all court officials. This year coincides with the emperor's enthronement, and the New Year's Banquet is more lively and larger in scale. Many low-ranking officials who were not eligible to attend the banquet in previous years also get the opportunity to attend the New Year's Banquet, toast their superiors, and increase their chances of appearing in public.

This was actually also a form of official social interaction. The court held a New Year's banquet on the one hand to thank all officials for their hard work last year, and on the other hand to encourage them for the new year.

But the unspoken unspoken rule is also to hope to resolve old grudges in the officialdom, unite sincerely in the new year, and contribute to the revival of the Tang Dynasty.

In the afternoon, hundreds of cavalrymen rushed to various states across the country with the imperial edict printed by the court, announcing to local officials the ascension of the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty and announcing that the new year would be named the first year of Jiaxing.

The coronation ceremony was over, but the celebrations in Chang'an were still going on. All the artist groups in Chang'an took to the streets for a parade and performances. The people of Chang'an had just attended the coronation ceremony of the new emperor in the morning, and in the afternoon they went out with their wives and children to watch the parade and performances.

In the city, there were sounds of beating drums and gongs, and laughter was deafening. It was extremely lively and the celebration of the new emperor's enthronement finally reached its climax in the evening.

Citizens all over the city ran to watch the fireworks display. This was the first time in history. In fact, it was just large gunpowder arrows. Of course, they would not hurt anyone. They were shot into the sky with heavy crossbows from the top of the city and exploded in the sky. The gunpowder was mixed with iron powder and white sugar, just like blooming peonies, especially bright and gorgeous in the night sky.

The fireworks in the Tang Dynasty were relatively simple, but they were numerous and constantly rose into the sky. They were gorgeous and colorful, and lasted for a quarter of an hour. Millions of Chang'an residents were mesmerized and kept exclaiming and applauding.

Li Ye's ascension to the throne was only a change in status, but there was no change in the court system and operation. If there must be a change, it was that the title changed. He could no longer be called Your Highness, but had to be called Your Majesty.

The first thing Li Ye did after ascending the throne was to confer titles on people.

First, the abdicated little emperor was renamed Prince of Jiyin. Because he was mentally retarded, he continued to be raised in the palace, and his living arrangements were taken care of by the Zongzheng Temple. The empress dowager also formally abdicated and was renamed Lady of Luoguo, temporarily living in the palace to take care of her son.

Li Ye then conferred the title of Emperor Wenzong on his grandfather Li Linfu, the title of Supreme Emperor on his father Li Dai, the title of Empress Dowager on his mother Pei, and the title of Grand Consort Dowager on his grandmother Mu.

Then it was the turn of the concubines. Dugu was canonized as empress, Liangdi Yang was canonized as Huifei, Liangdi Liu was canonized as Defei, Liangdi Xiao Dugu was canonized as Shufei, and Liangyuan Xiao Shen and Shen Xiao were all canonized as Zhaoyi.

The eldest son Li Tan was named Crown Prince, the other sons were all princes, and the daughters were named princesses.

In the room, Li Ye and his wife Dugu Xinyue sat opposite each other and drank. Dugu Xinyue smiled and said, "I'm glad that Your Majesty listened to my advice and did not make Yuhuan a noble concubine."

Li Ye smiled and waved his hand, "When we are alone, you should still call me husband. I think this is what husband and wife should be like, not monarch and subject."

Dugu Xinyue nodded, "I also think it's easier to call you husband."

Li Ye laughed and said, "You can hide it for a while, but not forever. If it is revealed one day, and you still think it is normal to make her a concubine, you will be laughed at by future generations if you are two concubines in a row."

"That's the truth."

Li Ye put his arm around his wife's waist and let her sit in his arms. Dugu Xinyue stretched out her finger and gently tapped her husband's nose and said with a smile: "You are already the emperor, but you are still so frivolous!"

Li Ye said with a smile: "It is easy to change the country, but it is difficult to change one's nature!"

Dugu Xinyue was just talking, her husband still liked her so much, her heart was filled with sweetness, she simply hugged her husband's neck and said coquettishly: "I still want a daughter, you have to work hard tonight!"

Li Ye picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Let's drink another glass, and then we can go to bed and give birth to a little princess!"

Dugu Xinyue picked up the wine glass. Even though they were an old couple, she still felt embarrassed and gently raised her glass to clink with her husband's.

(End of this chapter)