Chapter 405: The Emperor’s Throne (Part )
Liu Bei had no time to pay attention to the calls from behind. At this moment, he was led by the officials of Taichang to worship the four corners of the altar.

At this point, the officials have quietly changed their titles.

“Your Majesty, you should lead all the ministers to bow down to Heaven at this time.”

Then Liu Bei led his ministers, stood in front of the burning fire on the altar, raised their cups and bowed three times to Haotian.

The officials under the Ministry of Rites were muttering something nearby, as if they were introducing the new emperor of the Han Dynasty to the heavens, building up the idea that the king’s power was granted by God.

Then they had to pay homage to Emperor Gaozu, performing the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows to demonstrate their commitment to restoring Emperor Gaozu’s legacy.

“Your Majesty, it’s time to offer wine and pay respects to Emperor Gaozu.” The official from the Ministry of Rites reminded quietly.

Liu Bei took the wine jar handed to him and first placed it respectfully in front of Emperor Gaozu’s spirit tablet. Then he stepped back slightly, lifted his robes and knelt down to worship Emperor Gaozu.

After the ceremony, the three ministers were supposed to present the imperial seal and the edict, but now it was the Shangshu Ling Xun Yu who came forward to present the imperial seal and the prayer, and then the new emperor read out the proclamation to indicate the transfer of the Mandate of Heaven.

The animals and jade placed on the altar have been burned by fire, and the thick smoke rising to the sky symbolizes communication with the God of Heaven.

Liu Bei stood facing north with his back to the south, looking at the numerous statues and the tablet of Emperor Gaozu. He bowed respectfully again, opened the petition, and read aloud: “I hereby declare to the Emperor of Heaven and the Earth that they have favored me and entrusted me with the task of being the father of the people. I do not dare to accept this. All the officials under me agree with this.”

“The Han Dynasty ruled the country for an unbroken history. In the past, Wang Mang usurped the throne, but Emperor Guangwu was furious and executed him, and the country was saved. Now Dong Zhuo has killed the young emperor and stolen the sacred artifacts, causing chaos in the world. The people are suffering, and there are starving people everywhere. The dead are lying side by side. The princes are dividing the country. The Mandate of the Han Dynasty is about to fall to the ground.”

“Bei raised an army in Pingyuan, suppressed the Yellow Turbans, defeated Gongsun Du in Donglai, frightened Liu Dai, subdued Zhang Yang, killed the Xiongnu Yu Fuluo in Henei, defeated Yuan Shao in Hebei, killed Yuan Shu in Huainan, and suppressed millions of people in Heishan, settled Guanzhong, and took back Jing and Yi. He then pacified the world, and the four seas submitted to him. He was respected by the heaven and the earth, and the people below were loyal to him.”

“Now the world is without a ruler. We must respond to the will of heaven and inherit our ancestral legacy. Fortunately, the spirit of our great ancestor has given us the will through the second great wind. The imperial seal and the snake-slaying sword have reappeared. I still refused, but after repeated requests, all my subordinates said: The will of heaven cannot be delayed.”

“I dare not disrespectfully accept this. I will choose the first day of the lunar year to ascend the altar with all the officials, receive the emperor’s seal and ribbon, burn it to the heaven, and pray that the gods will be pleased, bless the Han family, and pacify the four seas forever.”

“I will grant amnesty to the whole nation and change the reign title to Jianxing!”

Just as Liu Bei finished reading the last word, the thick smoke from the burning firewood on the altar was blown up several feet high by the strong wind.

It seemed as if there really was a god in heaven who had agreed to this matter; even the flags erected around were rustling in the wind.

Liu Bei looked up at the sky and saw the azure blue sky, clean and dust-free, with not a single cloud in sight.

Guo Jia, who had the best memory among the officials, looked up and said in shock, “This should be the third time a strong wind has blown. Is it the spirit of Emperor Gaozu who is here, or is it that Haotian has sent down a decree?!”

No wonder your majesty was gifted by heaven. You are the great ancestor, the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth. No wonder you have swept across the world and are invincible.

While many officials were thinking wildly, the Taichang official in charge of the sacrifice quickly reacted and said loudly: “The ceremony is over.”

Then he gave a look to the Minister of the Chancellery Xun Yu, and all the officials, led by Xun Yu, immediately prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted loudly: “Long live the emperor! Long live the Han Dynasty!”

“Long live the emperor! Long live the Han Dynasty!”

Tens of thousands of soldiers immediately followed suit and shouted in unison, the shouts shaking the sky. “Long live the emperor! Long live the Han Dynasty!”

More than 100,000 common people, nobles, children of wealthy families, and scholars and Confucian scholars who had come to watch the ceremony from nearby all knelt and shouted in unison.

The crowd’s voices were loud and clear, echoing throughout Chang’an for dozens of miles.

Liu Bei looked at the kneeling Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Jian Yong and others, his brothers and close friends who had trusted him with life and death since they were humble beginnings.

He also saw Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia and other trusted ministers who worked hard to govern the Han Dynasty, as well as the many Confucian scholars who came from Beihai, including disciples of Kang Chenggong and the patriarchs of the Liu, Guan and Yan families in Pingyuan.

The Xue, Wu, and Wei families from Yanzhou Dongjun and Jiyin, the Cai family from Chenliu, the Mi and Chen families from Xuzhou, the Liu families from Zhuojun, and many other familiar faces.

There are military officers and soldiers, common people, and even comrades who followed him into battle and died on the battlefield. Even after ten years, it seems like yesterday when he thinks of them.

At this moment, Liu Bei not only felt the gazes of the living, but also felt that the gazes of the dead were also staring at him.

He couldn’t help but want to shout: “Look, I have achieved the peace I promised. Not only that, I will do my best to maintain this peace throughout my life.”

“Although you are from Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and even Yuzhou, you followed me to fight and die on the battlefield, your souls returned to heaven and rest in the green mountains at night, but you did not die only for the Liu family.”

“I, Liu Xuande, worked hard so that there would be no more disputes in the world, the people would no longer have to bury themselves in weeds, and women would no longer have to shed tears.”

“Although I cannot express it clearly at this moment, I wish to share this achievement with you all. In the name of the Emperor of Han, I invite your souls to return and bow down at the altar to receive your sacrifice.”

Liu Bei said loudly in his heart.

During the ten years of war, a total of 43,871 military officers, legal officers, combat soldiers, and auxiliary soldiers had died under his command. They died on the road to following him to unify the world. Others have forgotten these people’s names, but he still remembers them, and will always remember them.

A breeze blew across the flags of each camp, gently flapping the flagpoles, as if nodding to the King of Han.

……

The ceremony for the emperor to ascend the altar and be crowned emperor was extremely cumbersome but had to be performed. Even after ascending the throne, he still had to set up altars in the suburbs and choose an auspicious day to offer sacrifices to the Five Gods (Blue Emperor, Red Emperor, Yellow Emperor, White Emperor, and Black Emperor) to complete the emperor’s ritual system.

But there is no need to worry about these things for now, because there are more important things to do. After the emperor ascends the throne, he not only needs to promulgate the administrative program of the new dynasty in the palace and decide what to do in the next few years, but also let all officials know what the emperor wants to do so that the world can work together.

The emperor must not do his own things, and the ministers must not do their own things.

In addition, it is necessary to discuss the issue of enfeoffment of meritorious officials, as well as the handling of the princes of the Former Han Dynasty and Liu Xie, the King of Chenliu, as well as the matters of sorting out the accumulated marquises and governing the four directions, and how the reformed official system should operate.

The most important thing is to finalize the matter of ancestral temple sacrifices. We cannot follow the example of Emperor Guangwu who delayed the matter again and again for a full nineteen years, causing people all over the world to argue about it. Guangwu had no choice but to adopt himself to Emperor Xiaoyuan.

Emperor Guangwu traced back his family tree and found that his father Liu Qin and Emperor Xiaoyuan were of the same generation. Therefore, it was in accordance with etiquette to adopt him to Emperor Xiaoyuan. However, the generation of the emperor at that time made the Taichang officials almost scratch their scalps…

(End of this chapter)