I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 762 The Empress Ascends the Throne
In 190 AD, in March, officials and common people gathered in front of the imperial city of Luoyang.

As the solemn bells echoed over the imperial palace, Princess Wannian's coronation ceremony officially began.

Inside the hall, candlelight flickered, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. All officials dressed in court robes lined up neatly in front of the hall, their eyes filled with awe and expectation.

Princess Wannian, wearing a gorgeous phoenix robe and a nine-feathered crown, walked up to the platform step by step, each step looking so solemn and firm. There was a hint of nervousness on her face, but more of it was her vision and determination for the future.

Su Yao stood aside, wearing silver armor and a red robe, his eyes flashing with determination and pride.

He knew that this moment was of great significance to Princess Wannian and was the result of their joint efforts.

With the master of ceremonies' loud shout, the coronation ceremony officially began.

First, there is the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

Princess Wannian, accompanied by General Su Yao, Grand Tutor Lu Zhi and other ministers, slowly walked out of the hall and came to the altar.

She clasped her hands together, knelt down devoutly in worship of heaven and earth, and prayed to God to bless the Han Dynasty with eternal prosperity and for the people to live and work in peace and contentment.

After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, Princess Wannian did not return to the palace, but went straight to the Taimiao to pay homage to her ancestors - the Minggao Temple.

This is an essential ceremony for every Han emperor to ascend the throne, representing the mandate of heaven.

In the past, Huo Guang deposed Liu He, and one of the charges against him was that he had not been appointed by the emperor and did not have the legitimacy to be an emperor.

After meeting the emperor, Princess Wannian hurried back to the palace. In the presence of all the civil and military officials, she took the imperial seal and the imperial jade belt from Su Yao. This was like receiving the emperor's seal and ribbon - completing her ascension to the throne.

"Long live the emperor!" All the officials shouted in unison, the sound was deafening.

Princess Wannian stood in front of the dragon throne and formally accepted the worship of all officials.

She glanced at the crowd, especially when she saw Su Yao standing in the front, she felt an unprecedented excitement in her heart.

She knew that from this moment on, she was no longer just the princess protected in the harem, but the only female emperor of the Han Dynasty in history, and she also needed to work hard to shoulder the responsibility of reviving the Han Dynasty.

After the enthronement ceremony, the princess officially became the empress, but the cumbersome etiquette and procedures were not yet over.

To celebrate the new emperor's accession to the throne, there will be the customary amnesty and change of era name.

Needless to say, there will be a general amnesty. Except for some people who are not pardoned, most prisoners will be released and go home to demonstrate the emperor's grace.

The issue of changing the era name is somewhat controversial.

Originally, in the year before last, when Liu Hong was alive, the reign title was Zhongping. After Liu Bian ascended the throne, he first changed the reign title to Guangxi, then after the Rebellion of the Ten Attendants, it was changed to Zhaoning, and when Liu Xie ascended the throne, it was changed to Yonghan. It can be said that the reign title was changed three times in one year.

Finally, when Liu Xie disappeared again and the throne was vacant, the ministers discussed and decided to abolish the previous era names of Guangxi, Zhaoning and Yonghan and change them back to Zhongping.

The most important thing is that the princess ascends the throne this year, so she needs to give the reign title a resounding name to bring good luck.

For this reason, all the famous scholars and pedants were arguing over it.

Some people, not knowing whether they wanted to curry favor with the new emperor, suggested using the title that existed ten thousand years before the empress ascended the throne as the new era.

Some people also advocate naming it with auspicious words, such as Taiping, Taikang, etc.

Others suggested that they should not be so high-profile right from the start, as the country had experienced great turmoil and still had to face many difficulties, so they should use Chuping as the reign title.

"The reign title Chuping means that the country is just beginning to be established and there is a lot of work to be done. It also represents our beautiful vision for the future."

The person who spoke was the famous scholar Cai Yong. Although he was a close confidant promoted by Dong Zhuo, when Dong Zhuo was overthrown, Su Yao and others not only did not implicate others in the court, but instead promoted those who were truly talented and learned.

Cai Yong was one of the best among them.

This person was proficient in music, well-versed in classics and history, good at writing poetry and had exquisite calligraphy. A long time ago, he compiled the "Dongguan Hanji" with Lu Zhi, Han Shuo and others in the Sutra Library of the East Palace of Nangong, and was praised by people of his time as a rare talent.

Even the world's first official textbook was revised by him.

At that time, it all dates back to the fourth year of Xiping (175 AD). Cai Yong felt that the classics were written so far away from the saints that there were many textual errors, and they were forced by vulgar scholars to mislead students.

So, together with Tang Xidian, the General of the Five Officials, Yang Ci, the Grand Doctor of Rites, Ma Ritian, the Grand Doctor of Remonstrance, Zhang Xun, the Counselor, Han Shuo, and Shan Yang, the Grand Historian, Cai Yong requested to revise the texts of the "Six Classics". After Emperor Lingdi approved it, Cai Yong wrote it himself on the stele with a red pen and had the workers carve it and put it up outside the gate of the Imperial College. This is the first Chinese stone classics, the "Xiping Stone Classics".

Confucian students later took this as the standard scripture. When the stele was newly erected, there were more than a thousand cars coming to view and copy it in one day, and the streets were blocked.

At the same time, it was thanks to the efforts of Cai Yong and others that the imperial examination was not without a unified textbook when Su Yao first came to power.

Therefore, Su Yao would not neglect such a famous scholar, even without considering the need to attack Cai Yan in the future and Lu Zhi's protection.

Therefore, Cai Yong was invited to Su Yao's mansion to serve as the general's chief academic officer, in charge of literary affairs, education, etiquette, etc.

To be honest, this official position was actually too low for Cai Yong.

Because Dong Zhuo gave more.

At that time, Cai Yong was forcibly conscripted into the palace by Dong Zhuo and was selected as a "high-ranking official". He successively served as Imperial Censor, Imperial Censor-in-Chief, and Minister of the Secretariat. He had served in all three offices within three days. His speed of promotion was rare in the world.

The Grand General's Chief Academician was just a member of the staff in the Grand General's Mansion. Although it was an important position in the Grand General's Mansion, it did seem a bit shabby compared to the prominent official position given by Dong Zhuo.

However, Cai Yong gladly accepted the appointment.

This was not only because he learned about Su Yao's character and ambitions from his daughter, but more importantly, Cai Yong knew very well who had the final say in the court.

The chief cultural and educational official who can meet Su Yao at any time in the General's Mansion, and the ministers in the Secretariat who became executive bodies after the future reform, whose importance cannot be represented by the apparent salary.

Cai Yong knew very well that the position he was in now was the key to truly influencing the future of the country.

General Su Yao, this young and promising general, is not only a martial arts expert, but also has extraordinary foresight and wisdom. He is able to see the changes in the situation, seize opportunities, and promote national reform and development.

And it is obviously a more promising option for him to follow General Su Yao.

In particular, when Cai Yong thought that not only himself but also his daughter were entrusted with important tasks by Su Yao, he could almost wake up with laughter at night. The Cai family was really lucky this time.

For this reason, after arriving at Su Yao's house, Cai Yong frequently made suggestions and was even selected by Su Yao as the official in charge of preparing for the first imperial examination.

This time, Cai Yong also spoke boldly on the matter of changing the reign title, and proposed to use the Chuping reign title as the reign title for the new emperor.

"That way, when the general comes to restore the country in the future, we can also change it to a more resounding name to commemorate him."

Cai Yong stroked his beard with great satisfaction and talked eloquently.

Originally, Su Yao didn't care about this matter. It was fine anyway. He would just use whatever was discussed. He didn't care much about these things.

However, when Su Yao heard Cai Yong say that he would change the reign title in the future to commemorate the event, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. It was a memory of being tortured by various reign titles in the classroom in the past:
"Inappropriate, inappropriate!"

"I have a different opinion on this matter of changing the era name."

(End of this chapter)