There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 383 Ascension to the Throne
May 23rd is an auspicious day.

It is appropriate to ascend to the throne.

Under the scorching May sun, Nie Yu donned a complete twelve-chapter imperial robe for the first time, with a twelve-chapter crown atop his head.

The ceremonial robes and crowns were designed by the Ministry of Rites according to the orthodox Han dynasty crown system, with the Ministry of Revenue of the State Treasury responsible for funding and the Ministry of Works responsible for making the robes.

Despite the sweltering summer heat, Nie Yu, dressed in this dragon robe and crown, felt no heat whatsoever; instead, he felt a strange and unique sense of mission.

A dragon robe!
It was a genuine dragon robe, not a fake one that could be bought and worn casually in later generations. Wearing it meant bearing the weight of eight of the most significant characters in Chinese history.

Those who receive orders from heaven will live long and prosperous lives.

Nie Yu did not ride a horse. He arrived at the gate of the temporary palace (formerly the Han Prince's Mansion) and boarded the magnificent dragon carriage.

The palanquin was not carried by sedan chair bearers, but by soldiers who had undergone temporary training; each of them was a skilled soldier.

When the imperial carriage travels, the front row is a professional honor guard, followed by newly appointed female officials of the inner court. On both sides, Han soldiers clear the way and the emperor's guards protect the emperor. Behind them are civil and military officials who participated in the ceremony.

These accompanying officials were not randomly selected, but rather specifically chosen according to their rank and position.

Furthermore, participants must undergo a month-long etiquette training beforehand to ensure they do not make any embarrassing mistakes during the ceremony.

The ceremonial guard left the Han King's palace, carrying various ceremonial objects, while a ceremonial band played specific tunes.

The city of Nanjing was deserted as everyone flocked to witness the grand ceremony marking the ascension of the new emperor.

After all, it had been more than a hundred years since the last emperor to ascend the throne in Nanjing. The last emperor to do so was the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

"Crackling and popping~ Crackling and popping~!"

Along the streets, shrewd shop owners took the opportunity to take out firecrackers, hang them in front of them, and set them off.

Not long after the firecrackers were set off, an official rushed over, frowning, and asked, "What's going on? Didn't the yamen already say that there would be a lot of people gathering today? Don't set off firecrackers indiscriminately, what if a fire breaks out?"

The shop owner chuckled and said, "Haha, officer, please don't be angry. Our shop just set off a few firecrackers today because it's such a joyous occasion, to share in the new emperor's good fortune. This half tael of silver is just a small token for you to have some tea and calm your temper."

"Hmph, hurry up and put them away after you're done setting them off. Clean up the mess yourself, or you'll be in big trouble."

The official did not accept the silver because the Han army had cleaned up the government offices after entering the city, and he had barely managed to keep his job. He dared not embezzle as he had before.

Moreover, the new emperor also raised the wages of all these servants, and those who had no salary before now received one.

Although today is Nie Yu's enthronement ceremony, he does not want to disturb the people too much, so he issued a special decree forbidding the government from making special arrangements for setting off firecrackers and hanging colorful ribbons.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, the government followed suit and issued an order forbidding the indiscriminate setting off of firecrackers, stating that anyone who caused trouble would be fined and arrested.

Of course, this couldn't stop the spontaneous behavior of the people, and the officials, seeing it, turned a blind eye.

Anyway, as long as nothing goes wrong, we can all have a good time and have some fun.

Shops throughout Nanjing were spontaneously setting off firecrackers to celebrate the grand occasion of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, while the common people all followed behind the imperial procession.

The imperial procession for the Han Dynasty's enthronement ceremony had been prepared for a long time, so it was impossible for it to be too rough or hasty.

The grand and magnificent ceremonial procession and music need no further explanation. The Han soldiers responsible for guarding and accompanying the guards were also dressed in the new Han military uniforms.

These new military uniforms were among the first batch, with design sketches referencing later military uniform styles while incorporating elements from the current era.

Overall, it gives people a sense of simplicity and elegance without sacrificing aesthetics.

The female officials in the inner court wore standard jackets and skirts from the Ming Dynasty, with some specific modifications to reflect feminine gentleness while also conveying a sense of official authority.

The officials' ceremonial robes remained largely unchanged, still in the style of the Ming Dynasty's official robes, except that some inconvenient and superfluous designs were removed, and the color of the robes was standardized to red.

Red represents the virtue of the Han Dynasty – the virtue of fire.

This is actually somewhat unreasonable, because the Qing dynasty, the predecessor of the Han dynasty, represented the virtue of water. If the five elements have mutual generation and restraint, the Han dynasty should have revered the virtue of wood.

Water produces wood, and wood overcomes water.

Even if the Han dynasty did not recognize the pseudo-Qing dynasty, if they still respected the former Ming dynasty, they should have used the principle of fire generating earth to honor the virtues of scholars.

The Ministry of Rites was the first to submit a memorial to the throne, suggesting that the Han Dynasty should be based on the virtue of Earth, thus negating the legitimacy of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty.

The preceding dynasty of the Han Dynasty was the Ming Dynasty, and we could uphold the Ming Dynasty's virtuous legacy to negate the pseudo-Qing Dynasty's virtuous legacy. However, Nie Yu refused.

In his view, the Five Elements and Virtue were pure nonsense. Not only did he think it was nonsense, but even the old dog Qianlong, who had been dead for more than a year, thought the Five Elements and Virtue were nonsense.

It's really hard to admit that the Han dynasty would revive the things that the Qing dynasty despised.

However, unable to resist the insistence of the Ministry of Rites and the officials, Nie Yu simply decided on the Fire element.

In any case, starting from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the Five Elements and Virtue system, which has been passed down for thousands of years, has been disrupted and disintegrated beyond recognition.

First, the Ming Dynasty did not follow the rules. Zhu Yuanzhang disregarded the five elements' mutual generation and restraint and forcibly established the Ming Dynasty as a fire-element dynasty.

Then, the pseudo-Qing followed suit and acted haphazardly, ignoring the mutual generation of the five elements and only grasping the half-baked concept of water overcoming fire, thus creating a wave of "Great Qing Water Virtue".

Now, if it's Nie Yu's turn, he doesn't intend to follow the rules either; if he's going to choose, he'll choose the Fire element.

In this way, fire generates water, and water generates fire, completely disrupting the balance of the five elements.

The Five Elements and their corresponding virtues were in disarray. The Ministry of Rites wanted to correct this, but unfortunately, the Prince of Han ruled unilaterally, and they were unable to rectify it.

The common people didn't understand; they just felt that everything in the new dynasty was so new, completely different from the blue-green official robes of the pseudo-Qing period. Everyone wore red clothes. There were also new styles of official and military uniforms, and even the palace maids wore different clothes.

"Truly, a new dynasty brings a new look!"

As a surrendered official of the Qing dynasty, Yuan Shu was already very old, so he was unable to participate in the enthronement ceremony.

This made him very envious. By now, he has basically come to terms with it. Even his hometown has been occupied by the Han army, so what is there to be upset about?

When the Han dynasty ascended the throne and established its system, it occupied most of the most valuable land in the south, and the first thing it did after taking Nanjing was to stabilize prices.

Killing Manchus is not considered doing anything; stabilizing prices is a truly meritorious act, and it also reveals the true capacity of the new dynasty.

"The imperial court... it seems that the pseudo-Qing dynasty is truly doomed, and the Han dynasty's ascension to the throne is just around the corner."

Yuan Shu watched from the sidelines, feeling little regret but rather a sense of melancholy.

Such a grand event of dynastic change is rare, perhaps only happening once every few centuries. I was fortunate enough to be among the lucky ones, but I am already in my seventies or eighties, nearing the end of my life. I have neither the opportunity nor the means to participate and realize my ambitions.

After watching for a while, Yuan Shu turned and left the crowd, intending to return home to drink alone.

Because he surrendered voluntarily, had contributed to the Han Dynasty's governance and stability, and had no history of corruption or misconduct, and because his brother was Yuan Mei, his residence was not confiscated by the Han Dynasty, and he still had a place to go in Nanjing.

Not long after Yuan Shu left, Nie Yu's ascension procession, followed by the common people, had all left the inner city.

We returned to Zijin Mountain, where we had offered sacrifices just a few months prior.

This time, the Han people did not go to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum to offer sacrifices, but instead went to the Temple of Heaven and Earth on Zijin Mountain to offer sacrifices.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang chose to merge the Temple of Heaven and Earth in order to avoid spending too much money, but it was later separated during the Jiajing Emperor's Great Rites Controversy.

Today, during Nie Yu's sacrificial ceremony, a special request was made to reunite the altars of Heaven and Earth for the ceremony, so as not to cause too much trouble for the people and waste too much money.

After the sacrifices at the Altar of Heaven and Earth, the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Han Dynasty was posthumously established.

These are all established procedures, and the Ministry of Rites has already made arrangements for Ai Dang in advance.

Grand Secretary Liu Jun personally read out the enthronement edict: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the false Qing Dynasty has usurped the Central Plains for more than a hundred years, and now its mandate has also come to an end... Now the Great Han has driven out the Tartars, restored China, saved the people, and ascended the throne... This is hereby proclaimed to the world, so that all may know."

The overall intent of the edict was very clear: to regard the Ming dynasty as the legitimate dynasty, to affirm the Ming dynasty's contributions to China, and to state that the pseudo-Qing dynasty had seized the Central Plains and that the Han dynasty would one day launch a northern expedition to expel the Yue barbarians and restore China.

There's nothing unreasonable about this. Zhu Yuanzhang offered sacrifices to Heaven and declared himself emperor, which also meant he recognized the Mongol emperors, but he also wanted to expel the Tartars.

The two are not in conflict.

We can't expect the Han Chinese to acknowledge the achievements of the puppet Qing dynasty, can we?

What merit could the puppet regime have achieved by abolishing Yongzheng's land tax reform and the requirement that officials and gentry pay taxes together?
Even Yongzheng's two achievements were essentially for the purpose of maintaining his rule, and he was immediately suppressed by his eldest son, Qianlong.

The imperial edict was quickly read aloud, and the Duke of Yansheng of the Great Han Dynasty, Kong Guangbiao, dressed in official robes and holding a jade tablet, slowly stepped forward.

He had not yet returned to Quzhou Prefecture; he had only sent a letter instructing the Kong clan of southern Quzhou to cooperate with the Han army in dismantling the statue of Confucius.

Kong Guangbiao himself remained in Nanjing to serve as the master of ceremonies for the upcoming enthronement ceremony, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty among Confucian scholars.

Nie Yu doesn't care about the Kong family, but if he can utilize their value, why not?

Kong Guangbiao shouted: "Kneel!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials bowed down in unison, followed by female officials, soldiers, and the onlookers who had come with them.

The Han dynasty did not practice kneeling as a custom, but this did not include sons kneeling to their parents, kneeling to their grandmothers during festivals, or kneeling to heaven and earth during special sacrificial ceremonies like today.

Kong Guangbiao shouted, "Hush!"

All the officials shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor!"

Kong Guangbiao shouted again, "Hush!"

The officials bowed again: "Long live the Emperor!"

Kong Guangbiao shouted again, "Come on, shout again!"

All the officials shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor!"

Kong Guangbiao shouted one last time, "Let's shout again!"

The officials shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"The ceremony is over!"

"rise!"

The officials finally rose, and the grand ceremony came to a successful conclusion.

Nie Yu, dressed in formal imperial robes, gazed down at the officials who slowly rose to their feet.

He heard not only the officials shouting "Long live the Emperor!" but also the crowds of onlookers, who joined in the shouts. The scene was so loud that even the birds in the forest were startled and took flight.

For a moment, Nie Yu was in a daze, feeling as if he really was an emperor who held power over the world and had the power of life and death.

(End of this chapter)