Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 252: Era Name and Posthumous Title

Yi stood in front of the coffin of Emperor Xianfeng for a long time, and finally his mood, which had been suppressed for a long time, became completely relaxed.

Yi has always cared about the fact that Daoguang chose Xianfeng to succeed the throne instead of himself.

Now, he finally ascended the throne as he wished and became the final winner. How could he not be excited?
If Daoguang had not been buried many years ago, Yi would even want to go to Daoguang's spirit to show off.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Yi turned and left the Qianqing Palace.

Afterwards, a group of concubines and eunuchs filed into the Qianqing Palace to continue keeping vigil for Emperor Xianfeng.

Yi looked back and his gaze lingered on Empress Xianfeng, Niohuru.

He suddenly discovered that Niu Hulu's figure was unexpectedly good.

She looked particularly pretty in her white mourning dress.

The wildfire called desire in Yi's heart spread quietly and gradually burned.

But Yi knew that the most important thing for him at the moment was to succeed to the throne and stabilize the government, rather than focusing his limited energy on women.

Once the overall situation in the court and the country is stabilized and he has firmly established himself on the throne, it would be a piece of cake for him to get Niu Hulu.

……

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Yi came to the Yangxin Palace and began to discuss the aftermath of Xianfeng's death and his ascension to the throne with a group of military ministers.

Yi sat on the imperial couch which only Emperor Xianfeng could sit on in the past, and An Dehai, who had just expressed his loyalty to him, was pouring tea and serving him.

Sushun, Shengbao, Qi Junzao, He Ruolin, Ruilin and other important officials of the Qing court gathered together and sat down to discuss matters.

Yi picked up the strong tea, took a sip, and then spoke.

"In my opinion, the most important thing for my Qing Dynasty right now is to block the news of the late emperor's death and prepare for my coronation ceremony."

"Except for these two major matters, everything else should be postponed for later discussion."

In fact, it was just about discussing the coronation ceremony.

As for blocking the news, Sushun had already done it and there was no need to discuss it deliberately.

Everyone understands what Yi means.

This shows that he can’t wait to officially ascend the throne!
The old fox Qi Junzao asked.

"May I ask your Majesty, what are the rules for this coronation ceremony?"

Yi pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"Do it as soon as possible, and do it on a large scale as soon as possible!"

"The previous emperor was assassinated and passed away. People in the court and the country are in a state of panic. This is the time when a grand coronation ceremony is needed to boost people's morale."

"The scale of this coronation ceremony cannot be small!"

When Xianfeng was still alive, Yi behaved like a good boy, a loyal, filial son and a good brother.

He lives a simple life, loves reading, and is courteous to others. He is a typical image of a wise prince.

However, now that Xianfeng had just died and Yi had just ascended the throne, he could not help but reveal his true colors.

He must hold his coronation ceremony in a grand manner, otherwise it would be a shame for all his forbearance over the years.

Upon hearing this, Qi Junzao opened his mouth and wanted to say that the Qing treasury was empty and there was no money even for military training, so it would be best to keep the coronation ceremony simple.

However, before he could finish his words, Shengbao at the side began to flatter him.

"Your Majesty is right. A grand ceremony will indeed help boost the morale of the army and the people of the Qing Dynasty."

Seeing this, Qi Junzao didn't know what to say and could only nod in agreement.

Seeing this, Yi nodded slightly.

"Not bad!"

He Ruolin asked.

"What about the reign title? Has the emperor decided on a title yet?"

Yi pondered for a moment, then asked.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

He Ruolin heard this and spoke.

"In reply to Your Majesty, I have ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft several reign titles. Your Majesty can choose one."

As he spoke, He Ruolin handed a memorial to Yi.

Yi took the memorial and started reading it.

The content of the memorial was very simple, just a few reign titles to be selected, nothing else.

[Qixiang, Tongzhi, Guangxu, Baoqing, Xuantong]

Looking at the several candidate reign titles on the memorial, Yi pondered for a while and then made a decision.

"Let's choose Qixiang as the reign title!"

When everyone heard this, they bowed and responded.

Actually, this era name originally belonged to Tongzhi in history.

When Tongzhi first ascended the throne, the reign title was Qixiang.

It was not until Cixi and Yi launched the Xinyou Coup to seize power that Qixiang was renamed Tongzhi.

But now this era name has been used by Yi.

I have to say that this is also a kind of fateful reincarnation.

After discussing these, everyone started talking about Xianfeng's posthumous title.

The posthumous title is the final judgment on an emperor, so it cannot be taken lightly.

After thinking for a while, Yi spoke.

"During the reign of the previous emperor, although bandits rose up in large numbers and the country was in chaos, the Tang bandits were spreading across the southeast, the Taiping rebels were wreaking havoc in Guanzhong, the Nian bandits were rampant in the Central Plains, and the country was in ruins..."

"But in terms of moral character, the late emperor did not fail in anything. If we are to propose a posthumous title, we should choose a beautiful one."

Although Xianfeng was assassinated by Yi, Yi inherited the throne from Xianfeng by order of succession, not through a coup.

Therefore, in order to make his succession legitimate, it was only natural to give Xianfeng a beautiful posthumous title.

Qi Junzao asked.

"Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"

Yi nodded and said.

"To be known to the world is called xian, to be blessed by heaven is called xian, to be admired by the world is called xian, to be virtuous is called xian..." "Let's make the late emperor's posthumous title xian!"

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed down.

"My Holy Emperor!"

Yi continued nodding and speaking.

After saying this, everyone gathered together to discuss other matters.

Yi looked at Sushun again and asked in a cold voice.

"Sushun, you failed to protect the emperor, which led to his assassination and death. Do you admit your guilt?"

Sushun was Xianfeng's confidant, a true confidant. Not only was he a member of the Grand Council, he also controlled the palace guards.

If Yi wants to secure his position after ascending the throne, he must get rid of him first.

It just so happened that Xianfeng was assassinated under the protection of Sushun, which gave Yi an excuse to launch the attack.

How could Yi let him go easily?

When Sushun heard this, his face turned pale and he just knelt down.

"I failed in my duty and deserve death!"

"Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Sushun knew that it was useless to argue at this moment.

It was known throughout the capital that Xianfeng was assassinated under his own guard.

Yi used this as an excuse to launch an attack, saying that unless Xianfeng were resurrected and personally expressed his willingness to pardon him, no one could save Sushun.

Therefore, Sushun could only kneel down and apologize.

I really hope Yi can be magnanimous and spare his life!
Yi heard this and snorted coldly.

"From now on, Su Shun will be dismissed from his posts as Minister of the Imperial Guards and Minister of Military Affairs, and will be thrown into prison and handed over to the Three Judicial Departments for questioning."

"In addition, the guard work in the capital will be handed over to Kang Tailai."

"The matter of investigating the assassination of the previous emperor will be handed over to Wang Mian."

Yi knew very well that if he failed to kill the snake, he would suffer from it.

Therefore, even though Sushun pleaded guilty, he had no intention of forgiving him. He directly dismissed him from his official position and prepared to take steps to kill him.

Although boiling a frog in warm water is also a method, it is a gentle method that can only be used when you have a great advantage.

Given the current situation between the government and the opposition, what Yi needs to do is to make an example of someone and then stabilize the government.

If you want to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, you have to use thunder and lightning instead of softness.

Also, the person named to replace Sushun was Yi's own confidant.

Kangtai is the chief guard of Prince Gong's Mansion, and Wang Mian is Yi's trusted advisor.

Well, the assassination of Emperor Xianfeng was specifically carried out by Wang Mian.

It is obvious that Yi asked Wang Mian to investigate the assassination of Emperor Xianfeng, which was a typical case of "who in the court has sued me?"

Prepare to completely erase the follow-up of the assassination and take the development of events into his own hands.

In other words, the blame is completely put on the Tang Dynasty!

Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison.

Afterwards, Yi waved his hand to dismiss the ministers of the Grand Council and prepared to rest.

……

When Yi woke up from his sleep, it was already the next morning.

He got up, changed his clothes, washed up, had breakfast, and then went to the Qianqing Palace.

Well, before the coronation ceremony officially takes place, Yi will have to pretend to be a good brother for a while.

It is our duty to keep vigil for Emperor Xianfeng!
When Yi was halfway there, he suddenly saw An Dehai jogging towards him from a distance with a panicked look on his face.

Yi stood still, waiting for An Dehai to come over and talk.

Soon An Dehai trotted over, and Yi asked curiously.

"Why is Xiao Anzi so anxious? What's the important matter?"

An Dehai stood in front of Yi and said while breathing heavily.

"Reply, reply to the emperor's words, urgent news from Jiangnan!"

"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning is lost again!"

Upon hearing this, Yi's pupils contracted and his expression instantly became solemn.

"what is going on?"

"Isn't the main force of the Qing Dynasty in Jiangning now? How could Jiangning be lost?!"

While panting, An Dehai handed a memorial in his arms to Yi for Yi to look at.

Yi took the memorial, opened it and began to read.

As he flipped through the pages, the expression on his face kept changing, with emotions such as solemnity, dullness, and disbelief constantly surging up in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Yi closed the memorial and then spoke.

"Yiliang, Senggelinqin, Qishan and others were captured, Hechun was killed, Zhang Guoliang surrendered to the enemy, and the main force of our Qing Dynasty was completely wiped out."

"Even the foreigners were all killed or captured."

"It's over. The situation in Jiangnan is completely over now!"

Yi could judge that the situation in Jiangnan was irreversible.

But the most important thing is not that the situation in Jiangnan is irreversible.

Instead, the main force of the Qing Dynasty was wiped out in Jiangning!

If the Tang bandits continue their northern expedition, it will be difficult for the Qing Dynasty to gather the troops to resist.

In addition, the Taiping rebels in Guanzhong are making a lot of trouble right now, and Tongguan has been in danger several times.

Next, it is no exaggeration to say that the situation faced by the Qing Dynasty was extremely precarious.

He had to face such a severe test just after ascending the throne.

No wonder Yi showed such a solemn expression!

(End of this chapter)