The prince is more stable

Chapter 843 Ascending the Throne and Becoming Emperor (Part 2)

Throughout history, no emperor has ever deliberately caused trouble during his coronation ceremony.

Zhao Xiaoqian set a precedent.

The ceremony was completely disrupted. The Minister of Rites stood by, at a loss, and dared not offer any advice. The assembled officials were shocked and in uproar, some happy and some dissatisfied.

Nothing else mattered; only two words were clearly written in Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes: "Pay back the money!"

Grand ceremonies and the like are not important; Zhao Xiaoqian has never valued them. He prefers to do practical things, such as dealing with real money.

For today's enthronement ceremony, thousands of court officials from Bianjing City have come. Those of high rank stand inside the Daqing Hall, while those of lower rank stand in the square outside the hall.

In fact, the court officials outside were unaware of what was happening inside the palace. They simply stood quietly, obeying Zhang Yi's orders to bow or kneel as he commanded.

The courtiers outside the palace had been waiting for a long time, but no instructions had been given. This was clearly against the rules of the grand ceremony, so the courtiers began to discuss it among themselves.

Inside the Daqing Hall, the murmurs of the court officials grew even louder.

It was quite surprising that Zhao Xiaoqian openly demanded repayment of debts during his enthronement ceremony, and the expressions of the courtiers were all very complicated.

Only some military officers were laughing happily, such as Zhong Jianzhong, Zong Ze, and Zhe Keshi. They had spent the most time with Zhao Xiaoqian and naturally understood his temperament.

Back then, when they followed His Highness to fight against Liao and Xia, they did many things that made them proud. They never expected that His Highness would not change his temper after ascending the throne and becoming emperor.

"Following His Highness is so satisfying! That's right, our Great Song should take back the annual tribute we sent out, not a single coin less. If they won't give it to us, I'll lead my troops to collect it!" Zhe Keshi said viciously after laughing.

The crown on his head was slapped hard, and Zhong Jianzhong gave him a warning look.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! From today onwards, he is Your Majesty. Why are you still calling him ‘Your Highness’? Aren’t you afraid of being impeached?” Zhong Jianzhong said through gritted teeth.

Zhe Keshi suddenly realized: "Ah, right, Your Majesty! That's right, Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

I silently repeated it to myself, trying to solidify my memory, afraid that I might say something wrong again.

As the ministers discussed the matter, Zong Ze stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty's words are quite right. The so-called 'peaceful coexistence' cannot be just lip service. The Liao and Xia countries should settle their old scores first."

Zong Ze spoke up, and many court officials whispered among themselves, asking each other who this person was.

After all, generals like Zhong Jianzhong and Zong Ze had followed Zhao Xiaoqian in defending the border for many years, and few of the court officials in Bianjing knew them.

It wasn't until an insider revealed Zong Ze's identity and that he had followed the emperor in battles for many years, that the officials at the enthronement ceremony today might be appointed as the new Military Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit, that the officials realized what was going on.

It turns out he was once a trusted and valiant general under the emperor.

Moreover, as the soon-to-be-appointed Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit and Commander of the Yan-Yun Border, his words carried a hint of threat, since he could order a northern expedition against the Liao Kingdom at any time, igniting a new war between the Song and Liao.

Zhao Xiaoqian was quite satisfied with Zong Ze's performance. Indeed, it was his own people who were trustworthy to rely on. They would stand up for him without hesitation at any time or in any situation.

The envoys from Liao and Xia were now in an awkward position, exchanging unpleasant glances.

After a long silence, the Liao envoy bowed and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, I am merely an envoy of the Liao Dynasty and have no authority to decide on this important matter. Please allow me to send Your Majesty's request to the capital of the Great Liao Dynasty by fast horse so that Your Majesty may discuss and decide on it."

The Western Xia envoy hurriedly replied, "I feel the same way."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. Of course, he didn't expect to make a decision today; the envoys of the two countries didn't have that much power.

He simply wanted to convey an attitude to his ministers and envoys from various countries, to tell them in this way that the Song Dynasty was no longer what it used to be, and that the newly enthroned emperor was even more powerful. He also wanted to tell the neighboring countries and vassal states around the Song Dynasty to keep their distance and not cause trouble on the border.

Of course, the annual tributes that were sent out were a windfall for the national treasury, though not a huge sum.

Previously, the annual tribute sent to the Liao Kingdom, equivalent to silver ingots, copper coins, and various items such as silk and porcelain, amounted to approximately 500,000 taels each year.

And so the Song Dynasty persisted every year, rain or shine, for decades.

Now that they are required to return every single penny, how can the national treasury refuse to release the funds?

As for criticisms such as poor table manners and breaking the rules, Zhao Xiaoqian said he didn't care.

It's difficult to have everything in life; "making money" and "saving face" are hard to reconcile. Perhaps it's better to follow Mencius's advice: give up fish for bear's paw, give up life for righteousness, and give up face for money...

"Then so be it. I'll await the reply from the two kings. Don't keep me waiting too long," Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

After speaking, Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze swept over the other envoys, including those from Dali, various Tibetan tribes, the Uyghurs, and Jiaozhi.

The shape of a begonia from my previous life in China gradually appeared in my mind, and a surge of ambition gradually arose from the bottom of my heart.

These neighboring vassal states will all be incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty in the future; otherwise, how can it be called "the unification of China"?
As Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze swept over them, his eyes clearly held a smile, yet the envoys from various countries felt their hair stand on end and a chill run down their spines.

That smile, tinged with an extremely aggressive gaze, was something they had never seen before.

The Song Dynasty was no longer the weak and feeble dynasty it once was. The envoys secretly made a decision: after today's enthronement ceremony, they would immediately send an urgent letter to their own king, informing him of everything that had happened in Bianjing, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and advising him to be even more respectful to the Song Dynasty in the future, otherwise the country might be in danger of extinction.

Without a doubt, before today's coronation ceremony, envoys from various countries had thoroughly studied Zhao Xiaoqian's life and deeds.

They knew very well that this young man was unique among the emperors of the Song Dynasty, especially since he had experience in fighting against the Liao Dynasty, leading his army to defeat the world's strongest Liao Dynasty many times, forcing them to hand over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

He didn't even take the strongest Liao Kingdom seriously, let alone these little Karami.

As the ceremony progressed, no one cared about the procedures anymore; everyone was focused on the amount of information presented at today's enthronement ceremony. This seemingly gentle and refined new emperor of the Song Dynasty had already revealed his extremely assertive side to the world even before the enthronement ceremony was over.

The oppressive atmosphere was so intense that even the court officials of the Song Dynasty felt a tightness in their chests. It was hard to imagine how suffocated the envoys from other countries must have felt when facing the oppression of this new emperor.

Having finished discussing official business, Zhao Xiaoqian stopped arguing with the envoys from various countries and turned to look at Zhang Yi, the Minister of Rites.

"Minister Zhang, is the ceremony over?"

Zhang Yi had given up in despair and was completely resigned to his fate. He was tired of it all...

"Your Majesty, the next steps are to confer titles upon the Empress and meritorious officials, and to grant a general amnesty..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand and said, "Hurry up, I have something to do."

Zhang Yi: "…………"

I don't know how important this matter is, even more important than the coronation ceremony. In this life, he has risen to the position of Minister of Rites, but his vision was still shallow.

The subsequent investiture of the empress and concubines could not be carried out in person because Di Ying and the other women were still in Japan.

So they skipped that and proceeded to bestow titles upon the meritorious officials.

Yesterday, Zhang Dun revised the list, and Zhao Xiaoqian praised it.

The list was already fairly fair, and Zhang Dun even went so far as to include several former party officials, a strong signal that would likely shock the court officials once again.

Those who made meritorious contributions to the founding of the dynasty were mostly military generals, including Zhong Jianzhong, Zong Ze, Zhe Keshi, Di Zi, Zhang Rong, and Guo Cheng.

Zhong Jianzhong was appointed as the Commander of the Palace Guard and granted the title of "Marquis of Ningshuo County".

Zong Ze was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit and granted the title of "Marquis of Changze County".

Zhe Keshi was appointed as the Deputy Military Commissioner and Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit, and was granted the title of "Earl of Ji County".

Di Zi was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guards and granted the title of "Earl of Xihe".

Generals such as Zhang Rong and Guo Cheng were all granted additional titles.

At the same time, Zhang Jie, the commander of the Northwest Frontier, was also granted the title of "Marquis of Nanping County," with his official rank remaining unchanged.

By this time, the new generation of military leaders of the Song Dynasty had largely taken shape, becoming Zhao Xiaoqian's most solid military foundation and source of confidence.

As for the list of civil officials sent by Zhang Dun, Zhao Xiaoqian readily approved them all and bestowed titles upon each of them.

Finally, Xing Shu, the Minister of Justice, presented a memorial to the emperor. Zhao Xiaoqian picked up his vermilion brush and wrote "Approved" on it.

The new emperor ascended the throne, and a general amnesty was declared.

Amid Zhang Yi's chanting and shouts, the assembled officials bowed their heads in obeisance and cried out "Long live the Emperor!"

The coronation ceremony has officially concluded.

While the officials were still standing in the court, Zhao Xiaoqian stood up impatiently and said, "Summon the officials of the Council of State Affairs, the Privy Council, and others to the Funing Hall for a meeting."

Zhang Yi stood at the head of the hall and let out a long sigh.

Today's coronation ceremony was the most disastrous of all the grand ceremonies he had ever presided over. He was filled with shame and had no face to meet the emperors of the Song Dynasty in the afterlife. He didn't know if an imperial censor would impeach him tomorrow, since the ceremony had been a complete mess.

However, for Zhao Xiaoqian, the ceremony was already perfect.

It's just a ceremony, why make it so fancy? The Song Dynasty has so many problems that urgently need to be solved, yet it's still so proud of holding imperial power.

If we don't take action now, how long can we hold onto imperial power?
The inner palace, Funing Palace.

Zhao Xiaoqian designated it as his sleeping quarters, even though the Empress Dowager and Zheng Chunhe had both subtly advised him to change to another one, since the late Emperor Zhao Xu had died in this very hall, which was somewhat inappropriate.

Zhao Xiaoqian, however, was very insistent. He didn't have many taboos. When Zhao Ji was about to ascend the throne, he designated the Yanhe Hall in the inner palace as his sleeping quarters. The hall had already been renovated, but Zhao Xiaoqian hadn't considered it at all.

He disliked the sleeping quarters that Zhao Ji had chosen even more, and preferred to live in the sleeping quarters that Zhao Xu had once lived in.

With a clear conscience, what is there to fear from ghosts and gods?
Inside the Funing Palace, despite Zhao Xiaoqian's insistence, Zheng Chunhe replaced all the furnishings with new ones.

The items included beds, tables, incense burners, calligraphy and paintings, and porcelain, but there was virtually no trace left of Zhao Xu's former life there.

Back at the Funing Palace, Zheng Chunhe helped him change out of his formal imperial robes and crown, and dressed him in comfortable, loose-fitting casual yellow robes. Soon after, important officials such as Zhang Dun arrived.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and invited everyone to take their seats.

Upon meeting, Zhao Xiaoqian began by praising the ceremony: "Today's enthronement ceremony was excellent. Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Rites put in a lot of effort; I think it was perfect."

Zhang Dun sighed and said, "Your Majesty, I have two matters to report."

"Firstly, with the enthronement ceremony over, Your Majesty is now the ruler of all under Heaven and should refer to yourself as '朕' (Zhen, the imperial 'I') now. Secondly, just now, I encountered Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Rites outside the Daqing Hall, and he said... he wanted to die."

(End of this chapter)