Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 17 A new chapter has begun in the Han Dynasty’s court!
Midsummer, May 1st
After more than ten days of waiting, the first day of the first lunar month, the day that all officials had been looking forward to, finally arrived.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the energetic Emperor Xiaowu held court once every five days.

At the beginning of the Later Han Dynasty, as the Shangshutai and other inner court officials consolidated the imperial power, the Three Dukes became mere decorations and could not check the emperor's power, so the grand court meeting was changed to once a month. By the time of Emperor He, even the monthly grand court meeting was cancelled.

After Liu Hong ascended the throne, he restored the system of holding grand court meetings once a month, which were held on the first day of each month.

As the first grand court meeting after Liu Bian was enthroned as the crown prince, Liu Bian also wore the crown prince's robes and showed his face in front of all the officials.

A crown with nine tassels, a robe with nine chapters, a black robe and a purple skirt.

The blue and black is Xuan, the color of the sky.

The yellow and red ones are zinnia, the color of the earth.

Empress He carefully tidied up her son's clothes, not missing a single wrinkle, and then looked at the child she had given birth to carefully, with curved eyebrows and a gentle smile on her already beautiful face.

"My son is handsome. Even if he is not the crown prince, the officials and families seeking marriage will probably line up from the gate of Changqiu Palace to the outside of the palace."

Liu Bian did not inherit much of Liu Hong's genes in terms of appearance, but instead inherited more of Empress He's genes, especially those sharp phoenix eyes.

In contrast, Liu Xie's face is extremely similar to Liu Hong's, and it is no exaggeration to say that they were carved from the same mold.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Liu Hong preferred Liu Xie to him.

But Empress He was very happy that her son looked like her. Otherwise, would he look like this blind dog man?

Empress He glanced at the "dog man" whom she cursed in her heart, yawning repeatedly and looking nonchalant. If it weren't for the different clothes, this temperament and appearance, her son would be more like an emperor than this tyrant.

Liu Hong also noticed Queen He's look of disdain, but he didn't care.

I don't know whether to say he has a good attitude or is heartless.

When he was first placed under house arrest, he was indignant and resentful, calling Empress He a scoundrel, a bastard, and even cursing her with dirty words like "dog" all day long. He also performed the Zhougong ritual with Empress He countless times in his words.

But Liu Bian did not bother with the tyrant and continued to serve him with fine clothes and delicious food.

Anyway, he had seized all of Liu Hong's treasury, Empress Dowager Dong's private treasury, and the treasury of Madam Cheng, the mother of Empress Fu. Why would he be reluctant to use part of them to cover these expenses?
After Liu Hong had completely free time, he completely let himself go. Not to mention sending troops in broad daylight, he often participated in field and naval battles, and almost became the commander-in-chief of the navy, army, and air force.

This led to Liu Bian having to ask his own professional harem cleaning master, Empress He, to deal with those women who might give birth to children.

Now Empress He no longer felt jealous of those women. Although her son was the crown prince, he was no different from the emperor.

She did not have the bad habit of the empress dowagers of the previous and later Han dynasties who loved to seize power. She simply consolidated the status of her own child as the "emperor's only son" and nipped all dangers in the womb.

Her only selfish wish was that Liu Bian could help the He family.

……

At the same time, outside the Jiade Hall, ceremonial officers guided civil and military officials into the hall in order.

Previously, Liu Hong had been living in the North Palace, so the palace where the grand court meetings were held was also the Chongde Hall of the North Palace. However, in order to prevent Liu Hong from doing anything weird, Liu Bian simply moved the location of the grand court meetings to the Jiade Hall of the South Palace.

The ceremonial officers led the civil and military officials into the palace gate according to their rank, and arranged them in shifts along the east and west sides. Amidst the sound of bells and drums, Emperor Liu Hong and Regent Crown Prince Liu Bian arrived at the palace.

Before all the officials made their reports, Liu Hong first admitted his mistake, saying that he should not have appointed the prince so casually, implicitly expressing his mistake of not following the proper procedures, and all the officials also knew the reason.

When He Jin entered the palace that day, after Liu Bian left early due to busy government affairs, Empress He also told He Jin the truth about what had happened some time ago.

He Jin was extremely surprised that his eldest nephew had such a tenacious character and bloody means at such a young age. In fact, he couldn't help but regret his disrespect to Liu Bian that day. He said that he would definitely assist Liu Bian well and make Queen He very happy.

Although Liu Bian reminded Empress He that there were many cases in the history of the Han Dynasty where the emperor's nephews were disrespectful to the emperor, Empress He still believed in the brother-sister relationship and thought that He Jin would not do so.

After leaving the palace, He Jin exchanged all this information with his allies Yuan Wei and other scholars.

Although they were somewhat wary of Liu Bian's character, his age and his behavior and attitude of using Cui Jun to show goodwill to the gentry made them less wary of him.

"It is human nature for a father to love his son. Your Majesty, there is no need to do this."

Yuan Wei, the prime minister, was the first to stand up.

The Minister of Civil Affairs oversees civil affairs. He is responsible for teaching the people to be filial, respectful, obedient, modest, and frugal, and for matters related to maintaining health and attending the dead. He discusses regulations and establishes standards for all civil affairs in the four directions. At the end of the year, he reports to the emperor on the achievements of the emperor and determines rewards and punishments. He oversees the inspection and washing of sacrificial offerings in suburban areas, and is responsible for the enshrinement of coffins in major funerals.

In name, this matter was closely related to Yuan Wei, who was the prime minister. If Liu Bian's status as the crown prince was to be completely legalized, he had to stand up and trivialize the error that did not comply with the procedure.

As Yuan Wei spoke, Yuan's disciples, former officials and a group of scholars also stood up and gave "reasonable" explanations to excuse Liu Hong's mistakes.

Yes, the father loves his son, and it’s not a big deal if he forgets the procedure for a moment.

Liu Bian couldn't help but reveal a hint of sneer on his face. If it was Liu Xie who appointed the crown prince today, would the officials still have this attitude?

They would all make suggestions or even refuse to carry out such an imperial edict. The officials and scholars would never give up until the whole country was turned upside down.

In fact, Liu Bian always understood that no matter what, he was the legitimate heir and the eldest son. No matter how much Liu Hong doted on Liu Xie, it was absolutely impossible for him to bypass him and enthrone Liu Xie as the crown prince in this era.

If he did not take the risk of forcing the emperor to abdicate, the worst outcome would be to wait until Liu Hong died six years later and then rely on the support of He Jin and the officials and scholars to ascend to the throne.

But the result was that he was stripped of his power and had to rely on He Jin and the officials and scholars.

Now, the initiative is in his hands. He can also use his status as the crown prince to set up a government office, recruit talents as his confidants, and build his own team.

Historically, selecting talents for those in power is like drawing cards with no guarantee. You don’t know whether you will draw a garbage soldier or an SSR. But for Liu Bian, it’s like letting him choose cards directly from the deck.

After some hypocritical and pretentious wrangling, all the officials and scholars "generously" "forgave" Liu Hong. Then Liu Hong left with a gloomy face as if he had eaten a fly, using the excuse of being unwell, and let Liu Bian govern the country as the crown prince.

"I will send you off to Your Majesty!"

As Liu Hong stood up, all the officials bowed and saluted to see him off.

Although Liu Hong was still alive, everyone understood one thing: the Han Dynasty's court had begun a new chapter from then on!

(End of this chapter)