Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 212 The Ritual of Receiving Zen
What is "Zen"? It is the selection of the virtuous!
What does "yielding" mean? It means yielding to the virtuous!
In ancient times, the world belonged to all. Emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu abdicated the throne. Among them, Emperors Yao and Shun were included among the Five Emperors and were given the title of "sage rulers".

The abdication of Yao, Shun, and Yu provided later generations with a legitimate way to transfer the throne while the emperor was still alive.

However, during the Han Dynasty, there was a prevailing school of thought in academia that refuted the "abdication theory," believing that the abdication of Yao and Shun was merely a fabrication of history by later generations, especially after Wang Mang's usurpation, and this school of thought originated from the Xun family of Yingchuan.

Hmm, this is Xun Shuang's ancestor, who can't wait for him to ascend the throne tomorrow. He's quite intriguing.

Xunzi was a staunch refutation of the "abdication theory," and so much so that several of his disciples were influenced by him, especially Han Feizi.

In his book, Han Feizi summarized these power transitions as "Shun forced Yao, Yu forced Shun, Tang exiled Jie, and King Wu attacked Zhou. These four kings were all ministers who murdered their rulers," describing them as the result of "ministers murdering their rulers."

Of course, no matter who privately questions the "abdication theory," they would never actually stand up and oppose the crown prince's ascension to the throne.

From a national perspective, the Han Dynasty government absolutely could not label Yao, Shun, and Yu as traitors who "murdered their rulers."

You've labeled two of the Five Emperors, as well as Yu the Great who was credited with controlling the floods, as traitors. So how do you deal with King Wu of Zhou, whom Han Feizi mentioned?

It's important to know that the Han Dynasty did not recognize the Qin Dynasty.

The final version of the Five Elements theory during the Han Dynasty was the "Theory of Mutual Generation of the Five Elements". It took the Zhou Dynasty as the Wood element, which kicked away the Qin Dynasty, a unified dynasty. Wood generates fire, so the Zhou Dynasty claimed to be the Fire element, and thus the Han Dynasty was called the Yan Han.

In other words, the Han dynasty inherited its throne from the Zhou dynasty!
If you condemn King Wu of Zhou as a traitor, how should the Han Dynasty, which inherited the Zhou Dynasty's throne, conduct itself? Do you also consider Emperor Gaozu, who rose up in righteousness to defeat Qin, a traitor?
Moreover, if ancient sage rulers who were not related to the emperor could abdicate, and usurpers like Wang Mang could also receive the abdication and become emperor, then how could the wise Crown Prince not be qualified to receive the abdication from his own father and ascend the throne?
This is not a rebuttal of the "abdication theory," but rather an assertion that His Highness the Crown Prince is not qualified to receive the abdication and ascend the throne. Furthermore, it slanders Emperor Taizu Gao as a traitor!

You are politically incorrect!

Strip him of his official robes and exile him to Jiaozhou!
However, faced with a temptation that no man could resist, Liu Bian hesitated for a moment, his slender fingers tapping the table absently.

After a long silence, he still declined, his expression solemn, and said in a deep voice, "Let's finalize the details of the abdication ceremony first, and then start preparing for related matters."

It wasn't that Liu Bian was being coy; these great Confucian scholars of the ancient literature school would all step in to debate the classics for him. He also wanted to be emperor, and Liu Hong was eager to become the retired emperor. Within this small group of the Crown Prince's faction, what need did he have to be pretentious?

He genuinely felt there was absolutely no need to be in such a hurry.

The project plan consists of a newly created document that defines the project name and category, but nothing else has been changed. Is it appropriate to procure the necessary materials for the project at this point?

The procedures and regulations of abdication, these details, may be due to the antiquity of ancient times, or perhaps they were completely destroyed by the two fires set by the First Emperor and Xiang Yu.

More than two hundred scholars from the Ancient Literature School conducted detailed research at the Dongguan and Lantai, but they found no description of the ritual of abdication by Yao and Shun in ancient books.

Some have cited precedents such as King Wuling of Zhao abdicating to King Huiwen of Zhao and King Kuai of Yan abdicating to Zizhi, the prime minister of Yan, but Zheng Xuan believed that these could not provide any reference value for their design of the abdication ceremony.

The abdication ceremonies of these two were simply too shabby, even hasty, which did not conform to the rites of an emperor, and thus the matter was delayed.

When Liu Bian first heard about this, he was both amused and exasperated.

This situation is as if he were the first powerful minister in history to usurp the throne. Because there was no strategy left by his predecessors, he had to figure out the process of usurping the throne step by step on his own. In the end, he successfully usurped the throne and left a strategy for his peers in later generations.

For example, after a certain prime minister, the four essentials of entering the court without bowing, being praised without being named, wearing a sword and shoes in the palace, and being granted the Nine Bestowments were completely reduced to the four essentials of a powerful minister usurping the throne.

Liu Bian always felt that he might also possess the influence of that prime minister, leaving behind a strategy for future generations of filial sons to rise to power.

"We are ashamed." Liu Bian's words caused the several leading figures of the ancient literature school in the hall to pause, rise from their seats, and bow to the Crown Prince to express their apologies.

This is indeed their dereliction of duty; it's been almost two months and they haven't made any progress.

However, Liu Bian did not reprimand them. Instead, he slowly got up and personally helped Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, Xun Shuang and others up.

This is the first time in history that something has been done, so we can't be impatient, and we shouldn't be impatient either.

This would make him seem too eager to ascend the throne, which is not a respectable thing.

Internally, he can express his true attitude to inspire everyone, but externally, as a virtuous crown prince recognized by the court and the public, he should maintain an attitude of neither taking initiative nor refusing the matter of being abdicated and ascending the throne, so as to show the magnanimity and demeanor of a virtuous crown prince.

"Why are you all more eager than I am?" Liu Bian smiled gently, noticing the disappointment on many faces. He pointed at each of the officials and comforted them, "I know you all want to join the government and become new nobles of the new dynasty, but don't be impatient. What is meant for you will be yours sooner or later. I am not one to forget the past."

"I must be frank with you all," Liu Bian said, "firstly, the ceremony of abdication is still unclear, and secondly, how Father should be addressed after the abdication, where he should reside, and whether a separate official residence should be set up to serve Father's daily needs all require further discussion." Liu Bian held up his second finger, making a "two" gesture, his expression slightly forlorn, and sighed, "The national treasury is poor. The two major wars will consume an unknown amount of money and grain. We cannot sacrifice the country's substance for the sake of the face of accepting the abdication and ascending the throne."

To be honest, after ruling as regent for so long, being the emperor is nothing more than moving to a different palace and changing the prince's carriages and clothing to those of the emperor.

A year has passed, and the Imperial Seal of the State, which was enough to make any man or even woman's heart flutter, has basically lost much of its power.

With power originating from the Crown Prince's residence, his Crown Prince's seal had effectively replaced the Imperial Seal of the State.

Ultimately, the Imperial Seal of the State was a manifestation of the power of its holder, rather than the jade itself possessing any domineering aura that commanded the submission of all barbarians and the tribute of all nations.

Even without this imperial seal, I can still make the Han Dynasty great again!

Upon hearing this, everyone silently lowered their heads, expressing their remorse.

Although everyone knows that the empty treasury is due to the extravagant palace construction, the ministers are responsible for governing the people on behalf of the emperor, and the empty treasury is the ministers' fault.

Only Tian Feng stroked his short beard and smiled as he looked at the Crown Prince. "To pursue empty fame at the expense of the country and its people is not something a wise and virtuous ruler should do."

Should we follow the example of Emperor Xiaowu, who made eight trips to Mount Tai in twenty-one years, wasting the people's resources and manpower?

Tian Feng bowed slightly and said loudly, "Your Highness's ability to prioritize the interests of the nation and restrain personal desires is a blessing for all the people! I am so fortunate to be born into this world and to serve Your Highness!"

Ju Shou glanced at him sideways, thinking to himself, "So, besides giving advice every day, you, Tian Yuanhao, can also say such nice things?"

The crown prince chuckled and declined Tian Feng's praise.

It's not that he doesn't know how to enjoy life; he just does what he can afford.

However, no matter how much Tian Feng praised it, there was one thing that everyone believed was absolutely unshakable.

That is, the regulations for receiving Zen rituals must not be low; if conditions permit, they should be as extravagant as possible.

This is for the political and legal basis of the crown prince's ascension to the throne. Only a magnificent and grand ceremony can further prove that the crown prince's ascension to the throne is legitimate!
(End of this chapter)