Chapter 440: Ascended to the throne and proclaimed emperor, awarded titles based on merit
The moon rises and the moon sets, another day passes, and the time finally arrives on the fourth day of March.
As soon as Mao hour arrived, the crow of cocks started to sound one after another.
Zhang Yangquan suddenly sat up from the bed and stared blankly out of the window, only to see a ray of morning light in the darkness.
"Your Majesty, is it dawn yet?" Shen Qianqian's lazy voice came from the bed.
Zhang Yangquan said "hmm" and said: "It's almost time. Today is the enthronement ceremony. I need to get up early." He sat up and started to get dressed.
Shen Qianqian also got up and helped him get dressed first, and then put on his clothes under the service of two maids.
Zhang Yangquan and her went to the side hall hand in hand. The Qin sisters got up earlier and were already waiting in the side hall.
The four of them had breakfast and came to the palace together.
Although the ceremony is complicated, most of the affairs are handled by the officials, and he only needs to do a few things.
The first thing is to go to the Ancestral Temple to worship.
There has always been a big problem with Zhang Yangquan, which is his identity.
Officials did not dare to ask about these matters casually. Only Liu Bowen asked vaguely once.
Zhang Yangquan also knew that the issue of identity was very important, so he had no choice but to forge a fake genealogy.
Among them, only the names of his parents and grandparents were real. He couldn't remember the other names and could only make them up.
Fortunately, no one dared to investigate the authenticity of the genealogy, so a bunch of false names were enshrined in the Ancestral Temple.
According to regulations, at this ceremony, the parents and grandparents of Zhang Yangquan’s world will also be posthumously named emperors and queens.
Facing the placed memorial tablets of his parents, Zhang Yangquan clasped his hands together and prayed silently: "Parents, please forgive me, my son has no choice but to enshrine you. I wish you and your elders good health there."
After the worship, Zhang Yangquan walked out of the Ancestral Temple and found Chen Ji waiting outside.
"Your Majesty, news has just arrived that eight leaders of the officialdom have claimed to be ill at the same time and are unwilling to attend today's ceremony!" He said solemnly.
Zhang Yangquan frowned: "It's too coincidental to complain about illness together, right?"
Chen Ji said "Hey" and said: "I sent people to investigate. Before these people claimed to be sick, they went to Yang Weizhen's mansion for a gathering. It turned out that they had made an appointment and deliberately claimed to be sick to embarrass you!"
Zhang Yangquan snorted, waved his hand and said: "If they don't want to come, just let them go!"
Chen Jidao: "Your Majesty, these people must be dissatisfied with Lu Liangzuo and the series of cases he was later involved in, and took the opportunity to demonstrate. I thought I could ask Liu Yushi to invite them!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "Uncle Chen, do you mean to show weakness to them?"
Chen Ji said seriously: "Your Majesty, everyone knows that Liu Yushi is upright and selfless. However, being too upright often offends people! Although Liu Yushi doesn't care, we must protect him more!"
Zhang Yangquan's heart moved and he said: "You mean, you asked Mr. Liu to invite Yang Weizhen to protect him?"
"Yes, Liu Yushi is too straightforward. In fact, many people admire him, but they think he is impersonal and dare not get too close to him."
"If he is allowed to show weakness to Yang Weizhen, others will think that he is open-minded and no longer so tough, which is also a good thing for him!"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a moment, nodded and praised: "Uncle Chen is still careful. It's okay, you can talk to Mr. Liu about this."
Chen Ji accepted the order, quickly left the palace, went straight to Zhongshu Province, and told Liu Bowen the reason for the situation.
Liu Bowen understood that Zhang Yangquan and Chen Ji were thinking about themselves, so he agreed, took a carriage to Yang Weizhen's residence, and invited Yang Weizhen to attend the enthronement ceremony.
Yang Weizhen disappeared behind closed doors, and Liu Bowen waited for a full hour before saying goodbye and leaving.
When news of this incident reached Zhongshu Province, all the officials felt that Liu Bowen was open-minded, but Yang Weizhen was a bit petty.
The sun was at the top of the sky and it was approaching noon. All civil and military officials and guests attending the ceremony had already arrived at Chengtian Hall and lined up along the inside of the hall to outside.
In addition to leaders from all walks of life, guests attending the event also included many foreign envoys.
Zhang Yangquan entered the main hall under the attention of everyone, and climbed onto the dragon chair behind the throne. Chen Ning, the Minister of Rites, came out and read out the imperial edict on his accession to the throne.
Zhang Yangquan took the name of the country "Huaxia", called for expelling the barbarians and restoring the rule of the Han Dynasty, founded the Yuan Dynasty and opened the Ming Dynasty, and made Jiangdu Prefecture the capital. He made Qin Lingjun the queen and his son Zhang Siye the prince.
The Imperial Ancestral Temple was established, the ancestors of two generations were named emperors and empresses, and the rites and music of the emperor were enshrined.
Then Taishi ordered Song Lian to come out, holding another edict, standing in front of the right side of the throne, and chanted loudly:
"Heaven cares for the people, and must establish a minister of animal husbandry. The succession of Xia, Shang, and Zhou, and the succession of Qin, Han, Tang, and Song, are far away. From the Yuan Dynasty to the north, Di occupied our middle Xia Dynasty, and the ethics are obscure and salty.
No matter how many days there are, I dare to call it a conspiracy..."
Although Chengtian Hall is spacious, it cannot accommodate all officials.
Some lower-ranking officials could only stand on the steps outside the palace. Fortunately, Song Lian was so energetic that his voice could be heard outside the palace.
Song Lian read for a full quarter of an hour before he stopped and stepped aside.
At this time, some astute officials noticed that Yang Sanqiang came to Guo Niansheng with a gold book and whispered a few words to him.
Everyone's hearts jumped immediately, knowing that it was a golden book of knighthood.
I saw Guo Niansheng coming out of the queue with a gold book and clearing his throat.
"His Majesty decreed that when we founded the Huaxia Dynasty, we received the help of many generals and hundreds of officials. We hereby grant you titles based on merit to commend you for your contribution to the founding of the country!"
"There are eight dukes in total. The first duke, Qin Guogong, is Xu Baisheng. His annual salary is three thousand dan. The duke is given a jade gui, a badge, and a gold book."
Xu Baisheng walked out of the queue silently, with neither surprise nor joy on his face. He took a tray from an attendant and said, "Thank you!"
Guo Niansheng's face turned red and he said loudly: "The second Duke, Zhu San, is a British Duke. He has an annual salary of 2,500 dan. He gives the Duke a jade gui, a badge and a gold book."
He was filled with regret. Qin Lingjun had already explained to him that his position as second duke was originally his, but due to what happened two days ago, his duke was demoted to a marquis.
"The third Duke, Li Er, Duke Lu, has an annual salary of two thousand dan, and gives the Duke a jade gui, a badge and a gold book."
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When Li Er heard the canonization, he took a deep breath.
All the experiences after the fall of Xuzhou city flashed through his mind.
At that time, the city of Xuzhou was destroyed, and he was disheartened and planned to become a monk. He never expected that after joining Longtan Village, he would go all the way to where he is today.
Thinking of this, he turned back and glanced at Fu Youde, who was also staring at him, and the two looked at each other and smiled.
"Thank you!" Li Er strode out of the queue and took the tray.
The fourth Duke is Fang Yuan, who was named Duke of Wei.
Guo Niansheng took the tray himself and walked to him.
Fang Yuan took the tray with his remaining arm and said loudly: "Thank you!" After speaking, he looked at Guo Niansheng with firm eyes.
Guo Niansheng forced a laugh, knowing that Fang Yuan wanted to tell him that there would definitely be a chance to become a duke in the future, so he patted his arm to show that he understood.
When everyone heard that the fifth Duke was Liu Bowen, they were all a little surprised.
Because the previous dukes were all military generals, Liu Bowen was the first among the civil servants to be knighted, surpassing Guo Niansheng and Chen Ji!
Moreover, it was not too early for Liu Bowen to join the Jiangdu Army. Ma Yulin, Wang Meng, He Jue and others were all in front of him, but he overtook him from behind!
Liu Bowen was granted the title of Duke of Zheng. He walked slowly out of the procession, received the gold book, and handed over his hand to thank him.
Among the officials, only Song Lian and Chen Ji were really happy for him. Most of them stared at him with complicated eyes, including Li Shanchang.
The sixth Duke is Geng Si, who was named Yuan Guogong.
The generals who came from Longtan Village suddenly beamed with joy, and they were all happy for him.
Strictly speaking, Xu Baisheng and Li Er in front are not old brothers of Longtan Village, but refugees who joined later.
Fang Yuan is the leader of the fourth village and is separated from everyone else.
Zhu San's personality is too gloomy, and no one likes to associate with him. Only Geng Si is an old villager of Longtan Village with good roots in Hongmiao, and he gets along well with everyone.
Wang Da, Hou Hou, Sun Hu and others were all happy for him. Geng San even had tears in his eyes, feeling proud of his brother.
Geng Si's heart was also filled with excitement, and he even relapsed into his old habit of stuttering.
"My lord, my lord, thank you, thank you!"
The seventh Duke, Fu Youde, was named Duke of Ying.
Compared with Geng Si, his popularity was much worse. Many people looked at him unconvinced. Only Li Er, Zhu Yuanzhang and others felt that he deserved it as a duke.
Fu Youde didn't care, strode out of the queue, smiled and said: "Thank you, sir." He was really high-spirited.
When Guo Niansheng read the last Duke, everyone was filled with nervousness.
Chang Yuchun, Zhao Desheng, Wang Da and other generals stretched their necks forward, showing how much they were expecting.
Just listen to Guo Niansheng slowly say: "The eighth Duke, Liang Guogong, Ma Yulin, has an annual salary of 1,500 dan, and gives the Duke a jade gui, a badge, and a gold book!"
In an instant, the expressions of all the civil and military officials were mixed. Most of them were filled with disappointment. Some people's feet went limp and they almost fell to the ground.