Chapter 360 The Throne Ceremony
Du Jishi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the golden dagger on the table and the two men kneeling on the ground. He waved his hands and said, “It has nothing to do with you. Go!”

“Thank you, Master!”

The two Turkic warriors got up and left.

Du Jishi developed an arrogant character since he was young. If he set his eyes on something, he would get it no matter what. But once he got it, he would throw it away after getting tired of it after a few days. This has been the case for more than 20 years.

Today he set his eyes on Princess Nanyang, the daughter of the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. She was not very beautiful, but the strong willpower in her bones suited Du Jishi’s taste and deeply attracted him.

I am the crown prince of the Turkic region, and marrying a princess of the Sui Dynasty, isn’t this a match made in heaven?

At this moment, Du Jishi made up his mind to get the Princess Nanyang at any cost, even if it meant war.

In the blink of an eye, it was August 18th. The Sui Dynasty held a grand coronation ceremony in Chang’an. One hundred thousand soldiers holding spears lined up on both sides of Suzaku Street. Hundreds of thousands of people came to Suzaku Street to witness the emperor’s coronation with their own eyes.

“Woo—woo—”

Amidst the sound of deep trumpets, the emperor’s troops appeared. First, ten thousand cavalrymen of the Wuhou Guard led the way, followed by rows of Qianniu Guards in shining helmets and armor, holding long spears and marching in formation. A total of twenty thousand troops passed by.

A huge dragon chariot appeared, surrounded by three thousand armored warriors, and four hundred strong men carried the chariot and walked slowly and rhythmically.

At each of the four corners of the dragon chariot stood a god-like guard. All four were about two meters tall, wearing golden armor, holding six-meter-long halberds, standing tall and looking extremely majestic.

In the middle was a high platform made of gold. The emperor and the empress sat on thrones on the golden platform, which were inlaid with rubies. Below them stood eight palace maids holding golden plates.

As the emperor’s dragon chariot passed by, the sun shone on the golden-armored warriors and the dragon chariot platform, shining with golden and red light, auspicious and causing waves of amazement from the people around. They couldn’t help but shout enthusiastically, “Long live! Long live the emperor!”

Yang Guang waved to the people around him with great pride. He was very satisfied with the golden platform and the four golden warriors. Yun Dingxing was indeed capable. He had built this golden throne within ten days and found four burly guards. This made his image as a favored child of heaven reach its peak in the eyes of the people and greatly satisfied Yang Guang’s heart of glory.

Of course, the one who deserves more praise is Prime Minister Yang Su, who racked his brains to implement the principle of both grandness and economy. The emperor’s parade through the streets was undoubtedly a good idea. Hundreds of thousands of troops were lined up and hundreds of thousands of people came to watch. It not only cost no money, but also met the requirements of grandness.

Xiao Xia stood on the top of Suzaku City, looking at his father surrounded by glittering golden light and the cheers of hundreds of thousands of people around him. In fact, Xiao Xia could understand that this was the military parade of the Sui Dynasty, using some kind of grand ceremony to demonstrate the supreme imperial power of the emperor, which was beneficial to his rule. It’s just that this scene was so similar to the Maitreya Sect in Luoyang.

The team finally entered the Suzaku Gate. A tall altar had been built in the imperial city. Under the gaze of thousands of civil and military officials, the emperor would hold a ceremony on the altar to worship the emperor and accept the divine right of kings.

Half an hour later, when Emperor Yang Guang held up the imperial seal high on the altar, thousands of officials prostrated themselves on their knees and shouted “Long live the emperor” three times. The entire coronation ceremony reached its climax.

The grand coronation ceremony finally came to an end in the afternoon. The last part was the coronation banquet. Emperor Yang Guang entertained officials of the fifth rank and above on the Chengtian City Tower and ended his coronation ceremony with a satisfying banquet.

At five o’clock the next morning, Xiao Xia was pushed awake by Xiao Qing in his deep sleep, “Young Master, wake up!”

Xiao Xia hugged her slender waist in his arms, turned over, and was about to start fighting again. Xiao Qing waved her hand quickly, “Sir, we have to go to court today!”

Xiao Xia was in high spirits, so how could he stop? The two of them fought for a while before getting up. It was still early and dark outside. Xiao Qing quickly packed up and began to help her husband get up.

At this time, Achu also came, and together with Xiaoqing, helped Xiao Xia wash and comb her hair and prepared breakfast.

They are currently living in the empty house of their eldest brother Yang Zhao, and there are still more than 20 servants. Xiao Xia treats them generously, so no matter where Xiao Xia goes, everyone is willing to follow him.

Today is the grand court session. Xiao Xia is currently the Inspector-General of the Ministry of War and holds the title of Imperial Censor, so he also has to attend the court session.

The carriage had already stopped outside the palace gate. Xiao Xia quickly got on the carriage. Under the protection of dozens of guards, the carriage slowly drove towards the imperial city.

Horse-drawn carriages going to court could be seen everywhere on the street. On each carriage hung an orange lantern with the official’s name and position written on it. The carriages soon gathered into three long dragons, rushing towards Suzaku Gate from East-West Street and Suzaku Street.

There were too many carriages and there was a traffic jam at the palace gate, so they had to move slowly.

At this moment, Xiao Xia suddenly saw that the lantern next to him had the name Guanglu Temple Minister Li written on it. This was Li Min’s carriage. He opened the window and said with a smile, “Brother Li!” The window on the opposite side also opened. Li Min smiled and said, “Your Highness, what a coincidence!”

At this time, the congestion was cleared, and the carriage began to speed up. Xiao Xia waved and said, “See you later!”

The imperial city was very large, with a central axis that was four miles long, and various government offices of the Sui Dynasty distributed on both sides. It was definitely not realistic to walk, so the carriage continued to move along the central avenue and finally stopped at the squares on both sides of Chengtian Gate. After the owner got off the carriage, the carriage turned around and went back.

All the officials walked into Chengtian Gate. Li Min took a few quick steps and caught up with Xiao Xia.

“There was some news yesterday. Did Your Highness know about it?”

“what news?”

“The Turkic envoy proposed marriage to the imperial court. The Turkic prince wants to marry Princess Nanyang.”

“what?”

This news shocked Xiao Xia. The Turkic prince wanted to marry her third sister Yang Feiyan?
“Is this a formal proposal?”

Li Min nodded, “It was a formal proposal. Qimin Khan sent a message via eagle, which was delivered to Chang’an station by station.”

“My third sister is already engaged. The Xiao family has provided the betrothal gifts and financial resources. Didn’t the Minister of the Ministry of Rites tell them?”

“Of course. Guess what the Turkic envoy said?”

“I can’t think of it, you say!”

“The Turkic envoy said that even if the princess is already married, she can divorce her husband and remarry. The Turkic prince does not care whether the princess is married or not.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Xiao Xia was very unhappy and asked again: “Does the emperor know?”

“He should have known, but the emperor did not express his opinion.”

This won’t do. My third sister and Xiao Zhurong love each other and are going to get married in a few months. How can they let something go wrong at this critical juncture?

Besides, who would send their own daughter to the grassland to marry? Xiao Xia must stop this.

The grand court was held in the Taiji Hall. When the cloud board sounded, all officials immediately lined up and walked into the hall. Each official had a fixed position in the hall, and everyone was familiar with it. After entering the hall, they stood in their own seats.

Xiao Xia can be both a civil official and a military general, but he ranks fifth among the military generals. Although he has the highest title and status and is a prince, he still takes care of the old ministers with rich qualifications. The first one is Prince Guan Yang Xiong, the second is Yang Da, the third is Yu Qingze, the fourth is Xue Shixiong, and the fifth is Xiao Xia.

For example, He Ruobi, who was once favored, if he had not surrendered to Yang Liang, he should have been the third, and Xiao Xia would have had to abdicate to sixth. But now He Ruobi has been demoted, from Shangzhuguo to Kaifu Yitong Sansi, and he no longer has the qualifications to attend court meetings, and can only retire at home.

Another person who surrendered to Yang Liang, Yuwen Shu, turned back in time and surrendered to the King of Jin at a critical moment. Now he is not only the deputy prime minister, but also the wealth that was confiscated by Yang Yong has been returned to him. He has been reused.

At this time, the head of the Qianniu Division shouted loudly, “His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!”

Drums and music sounded, and teams of warriors holding spears came in formation. Dozens of palace maids holding long fans surrounded Emperor Yang Guang and walked slowly from the side. Yang Guang sat on the dragon couch, and all the ministers shouted “Long live the emperor” three times.

“Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!”

(End of this chapter)