I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 70 Ascending the Throne
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Speaking of Zhao Ya, he said to the Queen Mother: "Prince Shen is kind and filial by nature, talented and virtuous, wise and brave. The late emperor and Your Majesty have both said that Prince Shen has the appearance of a blessed and long life, and can be the ruler of the world."

Song Shenzong and Zhao Xu are already dead, so of course the Empress Dowager can say whatever she wants now. If you don't believe it, can you still go and verify it with Song Shenzong and Zhao Xu?
Zhang Dun took the lead in echoing: "The Empress Dowager is wise."

Empress Dowager Xiang, representing the royal family, and Zhang Dun, representing the ministers, have reached an agreement.

What else is there to say? Immediately draft an edict and invite Zhao Ya to be the new emperor.

Because Cai Jing had the best handwriting among all the people, everyone recommended Cai Jing to draft the edict for Zhao Ya's succession to the throne.

Due to time constraints, when Cai Jing was drafting the edict, the prime ministers were all waiting by his side. Zhang Dun provided the pen, Zeng Bu held the inkstone, and Cai Bian ground the ink.

Seeing the New Party welcome Zhao Ya's succession so much, Han Zhongyan felt nervous. He thought: "Will the new emperor turn to the New Party and liquidate my Yuanyou Party members?"

But at this time, everyone was busy welcoming Zhao Ya to the throne. Who could care about what Han Zhongyan was thinking?
Cai Jing's writing was powerful and his words were full of solemnity and majesty. Soon, the edict was drafted.

Cai Jing gently blew the ink dry and handed it to Empress Dowager Xiang for review.

Empress Dowager Xiang took it, read it carefully, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Prince Zhao Ya of Shen, you have received the mandate of Heaven and will carry on the legacy of the past and forge ahead into the future. From this day forward, you will ascend the throne as Emperor. May our Great Song Dynasty enjoy peace and prosperity for all its people."

Empress Dowager Xiang's words echoed in the hall, and every word seemed to strike the hearts of the ministers, causing ripples.

Soon, Zhao Ya came to pay a visit to Empress Dowager Xiang, weeping bitterly and refusing to obey orders.

Zhang Dun and Han Zhongyan hurried forward and put the imperial robe on Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya resolutely refused to accept the dragon robe, saying that he was not qualified to be the emperor. He then hid in the inner room and sat upright on the chair in the middle.

A group of ministers and royal family members chased in and knelt on the ground.

Zhang Dun fell to the ground and wept bitterly, leading the crowd in homage, saying:

"The late emperor has passed away, leaving the world without a ruler and the people in a state of panic. If Your Majesty does not act soon, you will regret it later. I implore Your Majesty to consider the ancestral temples and the country, and quickly succeed to the throne. First, establish your throne and stabilize the country. All living beings are eagerly awaiting your approval. I hope Your Majesty will listen and accede to the wishes of the people. Your servant, Zhang Dun, leads these officials in making this statement, and we bow down and kowtow."

After hearing this, Zhao Ya left his seat and walked out of the hall. At the same time, he covered his face and shed tears, indicating that he could not accept everyone's request.

Zhao Ya came outside the palace,

The civil and military officials who had already gathered outside the palace knelt down when they saw Zhao Ya come out, shouting "Long live the emperor!" Their voices were so loud that they shook the earth.

Zhao Ya was very opinionated and refused to proclaim himself emperor again. He then returned to the palace and sent someone out to tell everyone to go back.

Not long after, Empress Dowager Xiang came in person to ask Zhao Ya to succeed to the throne.

Zhao Ya declined the offer.

He said to the Queen Mother: "If you don't accept it, you will be unfilial."

After the play was over, Zhao Ya "reluctantly" agreed to inherit the throne.

Upon learning that Zhao Ya agreed to ascend the throne and become emperor, all civil and military officials cheered.

He ordered the Empress Dowager to support Zhao Ya in ascending the throne in Funing Palace and to choose a day for the coronation ceremony.

After Zhao Ya ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty according to custom:

"Our Great Song Dynasty was founded and maintained, inheriting a fortune of two hundred years; our homeland is vast, establishing a territory of thirty thousand miles. Your humble self has inherited the sacred artifacts. I always remember the heavy responsibility of inheriting the throne, fearing the harsh spring ice; I yearn for the difficulties of governing, worrying deeply about the decaying chains. Moreover, now that the borders are not yet settled and the army is just beginning to rise, I will extend my generosity to appease the hopes of those near and far, and grant amnesty to the world..."

This amnesty was also drafted by Cai Jing. After it was released, it caused a great deal of social reaction. Because the amnesty did not specify that Zhao Yu ascended the throne by Zhao Xu, there was a lot of criticism from all sides.

But it was a fact that Zhao Xu had no children and died of a sudden illness, so it was understandable that he passed the throne to his younger brother.

But then again, it is also a fact that Zhao Ya did not have Zhao Xu's edict of succession, and it is understandable that people at that time kept holding on to this point.

In short, all sectors of society are closely following the current situation and every new change, wanting to see whether Zhao Ya can sit firmly on the throne.

Zhao Ya responded to this very calmly.

As soon as he ascended the throne, Zhao Yama led all the civil and military officials to ask the Empress Dowager to rule the country from behind the curtain to demonstrate his legitimacy.

What is orthodoxy?
To put it simply, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident and killed his two brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. So why didn't he kill Li Yuan at the same time? Wouldn't it have been more convenient?
The reason why he was not killed was not because Li Shimin was soft-hearted, but because Li Shimin wanted to be emperor and he needed legitimacy.

And only Li Yuan could give Li Shimin this legitimacy.

So, Li Shimin forced Li Yuan to write an abdication edict and hand over the throne to him.

In this way, Li Shimin's legitimacy was established.

I didn't seize the throne, my father gave it to me.

There are many such things in history.

Cao Pi, Wang Mang, Zhao Kuangyin, and Zhu Di all did such things.

It can be said that the establishment of any feudal dynasty, or the ascension of an emperor to the throne, requires legitimacy, even if it is just a superficial act.

There must be some explanation for what is destiny and what is popular, and some packaging that can stand the test of time.

However, due to Zhao Xu's resolute refusal to cooperate, Zhao Ya was ultimately unable to obtain the imperial edict of succession from the previous emperor.

This made Zhao Ya's legitimacy flawed.

This matter is not big, but it is not small either.

In order to solve this problem, Zhao Ya fully listened to the opinions of Zhang Dun and other prime ministers, and praised Zhao Xu's contributions to the Zhao Song Dynasty. He emphasized that Zhao Xu's death was too sudden, and stated that he was the heir to his brother's throne. He then asked the Empress Dowager Xiang, his biological mother and the current most legitimate and highest-ranking empress of Song Shenzong, to rule the country from behind the curtain to strengthen his legitimacy.

Empress Dowager Xiang readily agreed to rule the country from behind the scenes.

However, what no one expected was that after only three days of ruling the country from behind the scenes, Empress Dowager Xiang took the initiative to return power to Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya tried to persuade him to stay, but Empress Dowager Xiang was determined to leave the Song Dynasty in Zhao Ya's hands and she was willing to step back behind the scenes.

Seeing this, Zhao Ya was forced to become the real emperor of the Zhao Song Dynasty and start his own imperial career.

What made all the civil and military officials in the court breathe a sigh of relief was that after Zhao Ya became emperor, he hardly touched the people left by Zhao Xu. He only promoted Cai Jing to the rank of Zhong Daifu and Menxia Shilang, and made Cai Jing one of the prime ministers. He promoted his future father-in-law, the famous Northern Song Dynasty general Guo Cheng, to the rank of Taiwei and the commander-in-chief of the palace, promoted Huang Jingchen to the chief steward of the palace, and sent Tong Guan and Wang Bing to the commander-in-chief of the palace. He transferred Zong Ze to the court and inserted him into the commander-in-chief of the cavalry of the imperial guards, transferred Zhang Shuye to the court and inserted him into the commander-in-chief of the infantry of the imperial guards, and let Li Yan take over the Imperial City Administration.

In short, Zhao Ya did not take any major actions at the beginning of his reign.

It is worth mentioning that some ministers suggested that in order to maintain the legitimacy and orthodoxy of Zhao Ya's rule, Zhao Ya should strictly abide by the mourning system.

One of the rules is that no grand wedding should be held within 27 months...

……

(End of this chapter)