Thief Emperor

Chapter 886: The Old Emperor Meets the New Emperor

A few days later, a big event finally happened in Luoyang City.

That is, the King of Wu, who would convene the last court meeting before the establishment of the new dynasty in the Taiji Palace in the imperial city.

At the same time, he had to accept the surrender of prisoners from General Zhao Cheng at the court meeting.

This is undoubtedly a big deal.

First of all, this court meeting is likely to set many regulations for the new dynasty, that is to say, it may set rules for the next two or three hundred years.

It will also shape the image of the new dynasty.

What's more important is that the King of Wu will accept the surrender of the Emperor of Zhou at the court meeting!
Although it was not a formal abdication ceremony, the surrender basically meant that he had taken over the legitimate legal status from the previous dynasty.

It also means that the new dynasty will soon be officially launched.

This court meeting was personally planned by the two prime ministers of the Secretariat. All officials in Luoyang, as long as they held important positions, had to go to the Taiji Palace to participate in this court meeting.

At the same time, this is the first time that the Tai Chi Palace has been used after renovation.

Of course, this palace was not originally called Taiji Palace, it was named by Li Yun himself.

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, at daybreak, a group of officials in Luoyang City had already set out from their homes and rushed to the imperial city. From the imperial city, they entered the imperial palace and, under the guidance of several palace servants, rushed to the Taiji Palace.

At this time, the palace had not yet been officially opened to the public, and many of these officials had never been inside. After entering the palace, they couldn't help but look left and right, feeling very new.

General Su Shengsu, who was taking a temporary rest in Luoyang, also entered the palace. He looked left and right for a long time before he arrived at the gate of Taiji Palace. At this time, Taiji Palace was not open yet, and a group of officials were waiting at the gate, greeting each other.

Su Sheng greeted a few acquaintances and glanced to see Zhao Cheng, the greatest contributor to the southwest expedition, standing silently in a corner with no one around.

Several people came up to him to greet him, but he closed his eyes and ignored them.

Su Sheng looked at it for a while, and then he felt a little curious, so he walked up to Zhao Cheng, patted Zhao Cheng on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Brother, why are you here alone?"

Zhao Cheng had his eyes closed at the moment. He was about to get angry after someone tapped his shoulder. But when he heard Su Sheng's voice, his brows immediately relaxed. After opening his eyes, he saluted Su Sheng with his fists and said with a wry smile, "Brother."

Su Sheng has been resting in Luoyang for a month or two.

Several days have passed since Zhao Cheng returned to Luoyang.

Originally, their two families could be considered old friends, and now he is an important general in the Jiangdong army. They should get together and have a few drinks in the next few days.

But the two of them tacitly agreed not to meet.

Su Sheng did not go to see Zhao Cheng, and Zhao Cheng did not go to see Su Sheng.

The reason is simple, the two of them... have too much power.

At this time, the military force in Hebei Road was still controlled by Su Sheng, while the military force in the southwest Jiannan Road was still nominally led by Zhao Cheng.

The two of them controlled nearly 70% of the Jiangdong Army’s strength!
Of course, it is difficult for them to meet in private.

Even though they both knew that the one who truly controlled the Jiangdong Army was actually the superior in Luoyang, they could not mobilize troops from various places without Li Yun's permission.

Moreover, even if they drank in private, Li Yun would not ask about it, let alone take it seriously.

But now that the business has been expanded and has become a court, there might be villains making complaints behind the scenes, so it is a particularly sensitive matter.

They all chose to avoid it tacitly.

Su Sheng looked at Zhao Cheng and asked with a smile, "Why are you standing here alone, looking like you don't want anyone to come near you?"

Zhao Cheng looked at Su Sheng, sighed silently, and whispered: "Brother, there is something I want to entrust to you."

Su Sheng was a little surprised and said seriously: "You tell me."

Zhao Cheng looked up at Su Sheng and whispered, "Brother, if I am not in the army anymore, I have two people. Please help take care of them."

Su Sheng frowned, but still nodded and said, "Which two people?"

"The first one is my nephew Zhao Chengqi."

Zhao Cheng said slowly: "He is my personal soldier, and he doesn't have a position yet. Let him follow my brother from now on."

"This is easy."

Su Sheng nodded, looked at Zhao Cheng, and said, "I heard that the Privy Council will be established soon. Then he can go to the Privy Council. He won't have to go to the battlefield and he can have a future."

Zhao Cheng shook his head: "The Privy Council is not a future."

"In the next five years, the king will slowly unify the country. The future of military service lies only on the battlefield."

Su Sheng nodded silently and said, "Okay, I'll remember that. What about the second person?"

"Gongsun He, the son of General Gongsun."

Speaking of this, Zhao Cheng looked a little gloomy.

"His father...his father is a very good general. This time, he was seriously injured because of me. I feel sorry for them. Gongsun He is already a captain and has made great contributions at Jiameng Pass. There is no need for you to promote him too much. If there is a time to help him in the future, please help him."

"Just give him a hand."

"Just think of it as I owe you a favor." Su Sheng frowned and said, "I've read the military reports from the southwest. Although there are some problems, the result is good after all. The superiors won't lose their temper. Are you scaring yourself?"

Zhao Cheng shook his head slightly and said nothing, but looked up at the Tai Chi Palace in front of him.

Just at this moment, the first ray of morning sun shone down, and the gate of Taiji Palace slowly opened. As the palace people sang along, a group of officials began to enter Taiji Palace.

Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng also walked towards Taiji Palace. Su Sheng walked on both sides of Zhao Cheng. Seeing that Zhao Cheng didn't say anything, he sighed slightly and said, "I'll take care of your nephew's matter."

"As for Gongsun He."

Su Sheng said, "The superior will take care of him."

Zhao Cheng nodded to express his gratitude. The two wanted to talk more, but they had already entered the Taiji Palace. When they were about to find their seats, they saw Du Qian with a smile on his face. He stepped forward and saluted the two, then pulled them to the first row on the right and said with a smile: "Two generals, you stand here, stand here."

Su Sheng looked at Du Qian and said in surprise: "Mr. Du, this..."

"No need to refuse."

Du Qian smiled and said, "We, the Secretariat, have been preparing for today's court meeting for several days. We have rehearsed it several times. Yao Xianggong and I have already decided who will stand where."

You just stand here.

The two generals looked at each other, then stood still in silence.

Du Qian went to arrange the seats for other people, and after a long while, everyone finally stood still.

It was not until this time that Li Yun, dressed in a royal robe, walked into the hall. He first glanced at the officials standing below, then looked at the empty throne, with a strange look on his face.

This scene is really weird.

Because it's too formal.

When he was in Jinling, there were actually small-scale court meetings, but everyone was very casual at the time. Li Yun even often wore cloth clothes to preside over the court meetings.

And this time, on this occasion, there was already some signs of the emperor's presence.

Even for Li Yun, it was the first time for a young lady to get into a sedan chair, so he was inevitably a little nervous. He took a deep breath, strode up the imperial steps, and then sat on the throne.

Du Qian immediately led a group of officials to bow down, kowtow to Li Yun and call him "Your Majesty".

At this moment, Li looked at the officials kneeling below and once again felt the beauty of power. He paused for a breath or two, then coughed and said, "Stand up."

After everyone stood up, Li Yun looked at Zhao Cheng who was standing in the first row and said with a smile: "General Zhao, we agreed to present the prisoners here today. Where are the prisoners you brought back?"

Zhao Cheng came out of the class and bowed, "Your Majesty, people are waiting outside the palace."

"It is now in the care of His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu."

"Ah."

Li Yun nodded and was about to speak, but suddenly he felt that his question just now was a bit "pretentious". He even found it a little funny, so he coughed a few times before calming down.

"Bring it up here."

A moment later, King Wu Yuanyou of Chu, and Emperor Wu Yuancheng, who had changed into "new clothes", came to the Taiji Palace together.

At this time, the emperor had taken off his imperial robes and put on the clothes of a vassal king. The clothes were a bit big, most likely they were the clothes of the King of Chu.

After entering the hall, the King of Chu bowed to Li Yun and called him "Your Majesty", but he did not kneel down.

This was allowed by Li Yun and was also a privilege for guests, so the officials did not say much.

His Majesty the Emperor looked up at Li Yun who was sitting on the throne.

Li Yun was also looking at him at this time.

The two looked at each other, and His Majesty the Emperor soon became a little nervous and looked away.

The main reason was that Li Yun was too powerful at this time.

He was dressed in a royal robe, had a tall stature, and sat upright on the imperial throne. He truly gave off the air of a true dragon emperor, even making the emperor feel inviolable.

"I've heard about it for a long time."

Li Yun on the throne smiled and said, "Now we finally meet."

His Majesty the Emperor raised his head, looked directly at Li Yun, and took a deep breath: "I have also heard about the King of Wu for a long time."

Li Yun looked at him in admiration and said with a smile, "You are so brave."

"Give him a seat."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Li Yun and replied.

"The King of Wu has come all the way to this day..."

"That's pretty courageous."

(End of this chapter)