I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 345 Ascending the Throne and Becoming Emperor (Part 2)

With Yi Ji presenting Champa rice and pushing it in the Qianyang Hall by his ministers, the date for his formal ascension to the throne and the sacrifice to Heaven were officially set.

Gengchen day.

Seven li south of Jinling City, a circular altar with eight steps was set up, with a second altar in the middle. The heavens and earth were placed on top of it, all facing south and west.

The outer altar is occupied by the Five Emperors. The Green Emperor is located at Jia-Yin, the Red Emperor at Bing-Si, the Yellow Emperor at Ding-Wei, the White Emperor at Geng-Shen, and the Black Emperor at Ren-Hai.

The central guardian deities are the five planets, the five official deities of the central constellation, and the five sacred mountains. The outer guardian deities are the outer official stars of the twenty-eight constellations, including the Thunder God, the God of Agriculture, the Wind God, the Rain Master, the Four Seas, the Four Rivers, famous mountains, and great rivers.

Because Liu Miao changed his claim of legitimacy from "given by Heaven" to "received by the people," the altar he used was not similar to the altars used by Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu when they offered sacrifices to Heaven.

In addition to worshipping Heaven, Earth, Sun, Moon, Five Sacred Mountains, and Constellations, eight patterns were carved in sequence on the eight steps of the inner altar, representing scholars, farmers, craftsmen, merchants, soldiers, doctors, Taoists, and diviners.

When the time comes for the sacrifice, the emperor will pour wine on the ground for fifty-eight times. In other words, this is the first time in history that the emperor will not only sacrifice to heaven and earth and gods, but also to the people during his enthronement ceremony.

On the central altar, Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Guangwu of Han were also required to eat together.

In addition, there were to be performances of "Qingyang", "Zhuming", "Xihao", "Xuanming", as well as the "Yunqiao" and "Yuming" dances... Add to that all the other messy rituals, and Liu Miao was driven to the brink of collapse!

"I suddenly don't want to be emperor anymore..."

"Your Majesty, try saying that again?"

"..."

Liu Miao glanced at Zhang Zhao, who was in charge of formulating the entire process, with considerable fear, and then wisely shut his mouth.

Since it was the first time anyone had ever been to a new throne, Liu Miao had to ask Zhang Zhao, Wang Lang, and other great scholars from Jingzhou, such as Song Zhong, Sima Hui, and Pang Degong, to help him discuss etiquette.

The changes in the legal system following Liu Miao's ascension to the throne caused these great Confucian scholars considerable distress. They could not simply copy the rituals of the Han Dynasty over the past four hundred years, but instead had to consult ancient books such as "Kang Hao," "Zhao Gao," "Zi Cai," and "Jun Shi" to perfect these rituals.

Everyone is already exhausted! If Liu Miao dares to cause any more trouble, then don't blame Zhang Zhao for losing his temper!

At this time, Liu Miao was wearing the Grand Fur Crown, the highest of the six crowns worn by the emperor.

The Great Fur Crown consists of a crown, a middle garment, a large fur coat, a black robe, and a crimson skirt. The robe is decorated with six floral patterns: sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragon, and pheasant. The skirt is embroidered with six floral patterns: algae, fire, rice grains, sacrificial vessels, axe, and axe, for a total of twelve patterns.

Among them, the sun, moon, and stars represent the heavens; mountains symbolize stability; dragons represent the monarch; pheasants represent literary talent; ancestral vessels represent loyalty and filial piety; algae represent purity; fire represents light; rice represents nourishment; embroidered fu (a type of axe) represents decisiveness; and fu (another type of axe) represents discernment.

The biggest difference between the Daqiumian and the Gunmian is that the Daqiumian is a crown without tassels.

When Liu Miao saw that his hat was without the tassels, he was filled with malice.

"Is it possible that these tassels were present before, but because one of the Zhou emperors was too weak, the tassels swayed back and forth during the sacrifices, which was unsightly, so the officials in charge of rites removed them?"

"Um???"

Seeing that Zhang Zhao was about to explode in anger again, Liu Miao immediately reassured him: "Lord Zhang, please go and attend to your business! I... no! I promise you, you'll practice well! If all else fails, Consort Zhao is here!"

It's embarrassing to admit.

Even with so many great scholars gathered together, they still had some doubts about the details of etiquette, frankly admitting that they had not actually read many of the books.

"If only Cai Bojie were still alive!"

In terms of profound knowledge of both ancient and modern times, Cai Yong was the best of his time!

After Cai Yong's death, even the renowned scholar of Confucian classics, Zheng Xuan, lamented, "Who will rectify the affairs of the Han dynasty?"

As an encyclopedia of the Han Dynasty, Cai Yong's death was truly a great regret of his time!
He does not mean that.

Cai Yong is gone, but there is still a younger version of Cai Yong!
It was only after Liu Miao invited Cai Yan that the group was able to complete the entire process of Liu Miao's enthronement ceremony, which earned Cai Yan high praise from the Confucian scholars!
So when Liu Miao said he wanted to study under Cai Yan, Zhang Zhao, who was quite angry, decisively handed the disobedient Liu Miao over to Cai Yan.

"I entrust all matters of etiquette to you, Madam!"

To get Cai Yan to take it to heart, Zhang Zhao deliberately shouted, "If anything goes wrong on the day of the coronation, it will be a disgrace to the ancestors of the Han Dynasty!"

"Oh~~ I heard you!"

But as soon as Zhang Zhao left, Liu Miao immediately pulled his crown off his head and took off his fur coat, putting it aside!
"His Majesty."

Cai Yan moved to Liu Miao's side, intending to advise him with a stern look, but Liu Miao immediately stood up, hugged Cai Yan's face, and gave her a big kiss!
"I love how serious Madam is! It would be even better if she were carrying a ruler!"

Moreover, despite his words, Liu Miao's hands were not still, and began to slowly wander from top to bottom.

Now that Liu Miao was dressed in the emperor's imperial robes and was in the emperor's palace, for some reason, Cai Yan's face showed a girlish shyness that had not appeared for a long time in the face of such an overbearing Liu Miao.

"Yes, yes, that's it! That's exactly how it looks! That's a young woman who looks like a girl!"

Seeing that Liu Miao was about to do something strange while wearing this precious and solemn imperial fur coat, Cai Yan used her last bit of reason to push Liu Miao away: "Your Majesty, you cannot do this."

"Zhang Gong is right. The enthronement ceremony is a matter of great national importance. Now that the day is approaching, we should start practicing as soon as possible..."

"cut!"

Liu Miao shook his finger: "What needed to be done has already been done."

"Moreover, what difference does my claim to be the Son of Heaven make from that of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu?"

Such a big problem would have made any other woman pale with fright.

But Cai Yan pondered for a moment before attempting to answer: "Is it because Yuan Shao is acting against the will of Heaven, while Your Majesty is acting in accordance with the will of Heaven?"

"Madam is so clever! Here! Let me reward you!"

Liu Miao, with ulterior motives, caressed Cai Yan's warm lips and tongue, causing her body to go limp and collapse into his arms.

"Yuan Shao and his ilk declared themselves emperors because they wanted to be emperors."

"But I declared myself emperor because the people needed a great Han dynasty, and they needed a great Han emperor!"

"So, does that mean if this coronation ceremony wasn't done very well, then I'm a fake emperor?"

Moreover, Liu Miao shook his clothes a couple of times, slightly dissatisfied: "Actually, compared to this imperial fur coat, I still prefer plain clothes..."

Liu Miao was not joking.

Because this set of imperial robes and crowns was actually restored according to the Zhou Dynasty rites.

This means that it doesn't cover the lower half of the body... So wearing this dress is like wearing a long skirt without an inner layer, and you can't sit down.

As for the consequences of sitting down, Cai Yan, who is currently lying in Liu Miao's arms, is undoubtedly the most qualified to speak on that matter...

"Your Majesty, I report this!"

Just as something was about to happen, a waiter suddenly entered.

"Your Majesty, Lu Su, the Chamberlain, requests an audience."

"..."

Liu Miao rolled his eyes, while Cai Yan, as if she had escaped a disaster, quickly got up to make room for Lu Su.

"Zijing, Zijing, if anything goes wrong with the continuation of the Han Dynasty, you will be held primarily responsible!"

Lu Su: ? ? ?
Seeing the clear-eyed foolishness on Lu Su's face, Liu Miao cursed him once and then stopped making things difficult for him.

"What's wrong? Tell me!"

Lu Su quickly said solemnly, "Now, the feudal lords such as Lü Bu, Ma Teng, and Shi Xie have all sent their attendants to express their willingness to serve Your Majesty as the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty!"

"However, these warlords each have their own demands. After previous negotiations, His Majesty has already agreed to appoint Lü Bu as Grand General and Marquis of Qi; Ma Teng and Han Sui as Governors of Yong Province and Liang Province, respectively; and Shi Xie as General of Chariots and Cavalry..."

These are indeed things that have already been discussed and agreed upon.

They were independent vassal states in themselves. Now that the Han Dynasty is gone, they no longer have the ruling power derived from the Han system.

Like Liu Miao, they were also seeking legitimacy for their regime, so they all sought refuge under Liu Miao's protection.

However, Liu Miao also wanted to offer him an official position in the new court in order to win him over.

Since they were all nominal positions anyway, Liu Miao didn't care if he gave them to him, so he didn't understand Lu Su's purpose in coming here.

"What? Has one of them gone back on their word and is going to pledge allegiance to Yuan Shao?"

"it's not true."

Both the Lü Bu and Ma Teng families now have enmity with Yuan Shao.

Shi Xie was too close to Jiangdong and too far from Hebei, so it was obviously impossible for him to suddenly be foolish enough to defect to Yuan Shao.

"It is Liu Zhang of Yizhou."

Lu Su said with a sigh, "Liu Zhang had already declared himself king in Chengdu. Although his envoy also supports Your Majesty, he is demanding that Your Majesty recognize Liu Zhang's title of king!"

"Humph."

Liu Miao let out an undisguised sneer.

"To become king? Ha."

Liu Miao asked Lu Su, "Is Liu Zhang's envoy still alive?"

"Zhang Song is right outside the door."

"Let him in."

When Zhang Song entered Qianyang Palace, Lu Su's expression changed simply from his address.

"Zhang Song, envoy of the King of Shu, greets General of the Flying Cavalry!"

"..."

They still refer to Liu Miao as General of the Flying Cavalry!
Lu Su glanced sideways at Zhang Song. If looks could kill, Zhang Song would already be riddled with arrows!

Liu Miao smiled and asked Zhang Song to get up.

As soon as Zhang Song looked up and saw Liu Miao, his heart skipped a beat!
Liu Miao is now wearing the crown of the emperor.

Zhang Song had initially thought that Liu Miao was nothing more than a monkey in a crown... but when he saw Liu Miao with his own eyes, for some reason, something in his chest suddenly began to pound wildly!
"Zhang Song, do you know that I knew Yuan Shao wanted to declare himself emperor a long time ago? Why did I wait so long before starting to prepare for the coronation ceremony?"

Zhang Song was sweating profusely, and even his form of address changed: "Your subject, Your subject does not know..."

"Because I want to clean the house before inviting guests."

Liu Miao's voice was very gentle, but to Zhang Song, it sounded like a knife being sharpened next to his ear.

"Therefore, if you truly want to save the common people from their suffering and truly want to restore the Han Dynasty, I welcome you wholeheartedly."

"But if anyone tries to annoy me under the guise of restoring the Han dynasty, they'd better get lost."

Liu Miao stepped onto the jade steps.

"I know you can't make the decision."

"But it's alright, I'm not in a hurry. You stay and watch my coronation ceremony, then go back and discuss it with Liu Zhang in detail."

"Back then, his father Liu Yan abolished the provinces and established governors, causing the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Now he wants to use the same trick on my Han Dynasty?"

Liu Miao shook his head helplessly.

"It's just the Shu region."

"At worst, I'll take it myself!"

The last sentence struck Zhang Song like a thunderbolt!

Only then did he remember.

The Liu Miao before us is not like the warlords Yuan Shao and Liu Yan.

Every inch of territory under his rule was thoroughly plowed by Liu Miao with his sword!

Trying to outsmart these kinds of people... what were the officials in Sichuan thinking?

(End of this chapter)