Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 281 The New Emperor Ascends the Throne
The next day.

Officials and candidates from Luoyang lined up in front of Deyang Hall to participate in the enthronement ceremony.

In fact, the ceremony for an emperor's enthronement is not complicated; it is much simpler than a funeral.

Because all the materials are readily available and no additional preparation is needed, the etiquette and procedures are also readily available.

Liu Xie first went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship his ancestors and declare the legitimacy of his succession.

When the ancestors were worshipped at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Liu Bei accompanied them in the ceremony because he was a member of the imperial clan.

Then, returning to the front hall, in front of all the officials, the regent Liu Bei bestowed upon the emperor the imperial seal and ribbon.

—It's not the "Born of Heaven, His reign is long and prosperous" kind of thing. That's actually a Confucian saying used to prove "divine right of kings." It only exists in classical texts and has no physical form.

Liu Hong did indeed collect jade according to the rumors and made one, with a side length of four inches (9 centimeters). However, this thing had only been around for ten years and was a toy that Liu Hong played with in the West Garden, not something he intended to use.

The First Emperor deliberately called himself "Emperor" to distance himself from the title "Son of Heaven" of the Zhou Dynasty. "Huang" originally meant the framework of heaven and earth, vast and great; "Di" originally meant virtue that covered heaven and earth. Emperor actually meant "equal to heaven and earth" - the First Emperor intended to be on par with heaven and earth, so how could he possibly be mandated by heaven?

The saying "By the mandate of Heaven, one shall live a long and prosperous life" was passed down by Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty in order to solidify the concept of the interaction between Heaven and humanity.

In fact, with just a little more thought, one can understand what the aristocratic families meant by "receiving their mandate from Heaven"—what exactly does this "Heaven" represent?

There were originally three genuine imperial seals.

The official seal used in daily administrative office work was relatively small, with a side length of less than one inch (2 centimeters). It was also a personal seal, serving the purpose of signing for permission, similar to a boss's private seal, and the text was written as 'Emperor's Seal'.

When sending out troops or issuing formal edicts, the imperial seal was used. This was a special seal used for edicts, like a company seal. It was 3.5 centimeters long and the inscription read "Imperial Seal".

The imperial seal was used when enfeoffing princes or when the throne was passed down. It was indeed quite large, with a side length of two and a half inches (5.6 centimeters). The inscription read "Seal of the Emperor"—this was the imperial seal that was passed down through the country. However, it was not used under normal circumstances and was only used for "enfeoffment" and "sacrifice".

In the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu, in order to build goodwill and absorb forces from all sides, reintegrated the system of the Zhou Dynasty.

This led the feudal lords and Confucian scholars, who were already unwilling to have the emperor as the sole ruler, to revert to calling the emperor "Son of Heaven," a title that was equivalent to heaven and earth. This was actually a demotion.

After the emperor was renamed the Son of Heaven again, three new seals were made. The inscription on the three new jade seals changed the emperor's name to Son of Heaven, which is called "Seal of the Son of Heaven".

Thus the emperor acquired six jade seals.

Formal government affairs still used the original "Three Imperial Seals," while the new "Three Imperial Seals" were used exclusively for ceremonial matters, such as bestowing titles upon envoys, offering sacrifices to gods and spirits, and conferring titles upon foreign monarchs.

In reality, the Emperor's Seal was the most powerful jade seal, used for military orders and imperial edicts.

After Liu Bei bestowed the imperial seal upon Emperor Liu Xie, once the ceremony concluded, the imperial seal would once again be handled by an official appointed by Liu Bei, who would serve as a Chamberlain or Gentleman Attendant.

Liu Bei appointed Qian Zhao as the official in charge of the imperial seal. Of course, this was temporary, because Qian Zhao had previously abandoned his official position and was now starting over as a court official again.

After receiving the imperial seal, the new emperor ascended the steps of the palace, received the homage of the officials, and read out the edict of accession.

He then declared a general amnesty and bestowed titles and rewards upon members of the imperial family and meritorious officials.

The whole process is not complicated.

The bestowal of titles was also discussed directly between Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo. The only matter Liu Xie intervened in was posthumously bestowing the title of Junior Tutor upon Yue Yin.

The posthumous conferment of the title of Yue Yin was also the first conferment of honor at the ceremony.

Liu Bei's position as Right General remained unchanged, as he did not intend to be promoted without merit due to his lack of direct military achievements.

However, after being granted the title of Marquis of Liangxiang, his title of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince was changed to Junior Tutor (equivalent to the Three Dukes) after Liu Xie ascended the throne.

In addition, his substantive post was changed from Governor of Qingzhou to Prefect of Qingzhou, and he was appointed to assist in governing the country by imperial decree.

There was no need for a military governor, because the regent was in charge of all national affairs and could mobilize all the troops in the country, with extremely high authority, so there was no need for the power of a military governor.

Dong Zhuo was promoted to Minister of Works and granted the title of Marquis of Mei, with a fief of 5,000 households in Mei County. He received no other promotions, and his position as Governor of Hedong was revoked. Liu Bei, having considered leaving the capital and being the sole regent, naturally cared less about the rank of his official post and more about maintaining a balanced system of rewards and punishments. Promotions could wait until after the campaign against Yuan Shao.

There was a reason why Dong Zhuo rose to the rank of one of the Three Dukes and was granted the title of Marquis of a County—he truly had military merits. The campaigns against He Jin and He Miao were all attributed to Dong Zhuo, and Lü Bu's defeat of the chariot formation left by Yuan Shao was also considered Dong Zhuo's achievement.

One held a high official position, while the other wielded significant power; in reality, a balance was maintained between the two.

As is customary, before Liu Xie assumes full power, the Empress Dowager will oversee the government—but not rule; she will merely supervise, serving as the highest supervisory official. This is the normal procedure.

In addition, Liu Bian was posthumously honored as the Prince Huai.

Liu Biao took office as the Minister of the Imperial Clan.

Dong Min took office as the Governor of Henan.

At the end of his coronation ceremony, Liu Bei announced that the era name would be changed to Chuping.

Liu Xie resided in the Southern Palace, and regular court sessions were held in the Chongde Hall. However, due to Liu Xie's young age, he did not always attend.

Meanwhile, due to the emperor's young age, new eunuchs were not allowed to enter the palace for the time being. The Huangmen Office was temporarily taken over by the palace servants of the Baoshi, who were the people Liu Bei had taken away, including both eunuchs and palace maids.

After the ceremony, Liu Hong's funeral had to be held—this was the real hassle.

Fortunately, Liu Bei did not need to preside over the funeral, since the Empress Dowager was still alive.

Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo were busy selecting officials.

However, the two were selected in different ways.

Dong Zhuo is making progress very quickly; at least twenty of his relatives have already been appointed as clerks in the Ministry of Works or recommended as court officials, and they are currently being sent to Mei County to announce this.

Liu Bei didn't do that, because he didn't have that many relatives...

Moreover, Liu Bei intended to take Liu Xie away from the capital, so there was no need to place officials in Luoyang.

During Liu Hong's funeral, Liu Bei discussed with Dong Zhuo his intention to march out of Guandong to attack Yuan Shao and hoped that Dong Zhuo could resolve the rebellion in Liangzhou.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo could mobilize all the troops in the capital region and the surrounding three provinces.

Both sides were major rebel armies, so it was reasonable for one person to be in charge of one side. Dong Zhuo didn't really want to attack Yuan Shao, after all, Yuan Wei had indeed done him a favor, and now that he was the Minister of Works, he had to have some self-respect.

In modern terms, pacifying Xizhou would be tantamount to letting Dong Zhuo return home in glory, especially since Mei County was facing the threat of rebels.

Dong Zhuo had no choice but to agree, mainly because it would give him control of the military.

Liu Bei then began to issue proclamations widely, ordering all prefectures and counties in the land to join forces against Yuan Shao, with Chenggao (Hulao Pass) as the meeting place.

……

Meanwhile, Chenliu.

Zhang Miao was telling Cao Cao, Zhang Chao, and others another story:
"...During the power struggle between the two palaces, the Empress Dowager and the eunuchs forged an imperial edict, intending to kill Marquis Shi and install Marquis Dong as emperor. At that time, the Grand General ordered Yuan Shao to protect Marquis Shi."

"When Yuan Shao entered the Southern Palace, he killed all the eunuchs. The Protector General fled Luoyang to avoid disaster, but encountered the two traitors Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei, who colluded to disrupt the government in the capital."

"When Yuan Shao raised an army to punish the rebellious and treacherous officials, his entire family was slaughtered!"

"Dong and Liu were powerful and conspired with Empress Dowager Dong to forge an imperial edict to establish Dong Hou as emperor, poisoned Shi Hou, and coerced the officials... Yuan Shao was weak and had no choice but to retreat to Xingyang."

"Mengde, we have gathered here to call upon all those with aspirations to join us in punishing the traitor! To clear Yuan Shikai's name of injustice and restore the bright and clear world to the Han Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)