The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 404: Enthronement Ceremony, Recruitment

Just as Shui Rong ordered the attack on Xiaogan, the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince came to an end.

The sky was clear and the front of the Fengtian Hall was filled with a queue of officials who were attending the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince. All the royal family members and nobles were there, and even the third-rank officials were standing outside the hall.

The sound of solemn music came from the hall.

The emperor's grandson, wearing a ceremonial dress, stepped over the threshold and walked into the Fengtian Hall.

On the imperial stage, Emperor Yongchang, dressed in imperial robes, sat on the dragon throne in the center, looking at his grandson who walked in with a smile.

The crown prince standing to one side unfolded the imperial edict in his hand and began to read, "Since ancient times, emperors have offered sacrifices to heaven to establish the highest standard. The legitimate grandson is becoming more and more outstanding and gifted. I hereby strictly abide by the emperor's benevolent order, follow the ceremonials, and follow the public opinion. I hereby inform the ancestral temple, heaven, and earth, and grant the imperial grandson the imperial seal and make him the crown prince, so as to strengthen the rule for thousands of years and win the hearts of the people."

The emperor's grandson walked step by step through the aisle in the middle of the Fengtian Hall. When the prince finished speaking, he walked to the front of the imperial platform and knelt down.

At this time, Dai Quan personally came over holding the lacquered tray with the imperial seal and the golden book on it, and carefully handed it to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was young, so Dai Quan just held it for a while, then took it and looked at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince understood, stood up, and walked towards the imperial platform step by step under a pair of gazes with different expressions. Then he slowly stepped onto the platform and knelt before Emperor Yongchang.

At this time, the eunuch on duty walked lightly to the side of the Crown Prince holding a golden crown representing the Crown Prince's status, knelt down, and raised the tray high above his head.

Emperor Yongchang stood up, walked slowly to the Crown Prince, looked at him with a smile, then picked up the small golden crown with both hands and put it on him personally.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the golden crown.

The third prince's eyes turned red, and he stared intently, his eyes full of unwillingness.

As the golden crown was placed on the Crown Prince's head, the Prince couldn't help but cough softly a few times, his eyes filled with excitement and joy.

Emperor Yongchang straightened the formal attire of the Crown Prince, then turned around and walked back to sit on the dragon throne.

The Crown Prince said in a crisp voice: "I accept your command and thank you!" Then he kowtowed respectfully.

Emperor Yongchang sat on the dragon throne, looking at him with a kind smile on his face.

The ritual music stopped.

The Crown Prince stood up, stepped aside to the side of the imperial platform, and exchanged glances with the Prince who was sitting diagonally opposite him.

The royal family, nobles, and civil and military officials below the imperial platform all knelt down and shouted in unison: "The foundation of the country has been established. Congratulations, Your Majesty! May God bless you and your great succession last for thousands of years!"

Except for Emperor Yongchang, the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince, everyone inside and outside the hall knelt down.

It was quiet, surprisingly quiet. The kneeling royal family members, nobles, civil and military officials were all surprised. Why was there no call to "stand up"?

The Crown Prince and the Crown Prince were also surprised and looked at Emperor Yongchang cautiously.

Emperor Yongchang was still sitting on the dragon throne, his eyes fixed on the central palace gate and outside the palace gate.

There was no sound inside or outside the hall.

Just then, a crisp sound of footsteps came from far away.

Hearing the footsteps, the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince looked over and saw the chief eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate hurriedly walking towards the Fengtian Hall holding a memorial.

Emperor Yongchang's eyes lit up. It's finally here!

Walking into the hall, the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the congratulatory gift from the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has arrived."

Everyone was stunned at first, then raised their heads. Li Hu’s gift?

It was obviously arranged. Dai Quan and others were still kneeling there, motionless.

Under the astonished gazes of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince and the officials, Emperor Yongchang stood up, walked slowly down, took the memorial, tore open the seal and read it, with a smile on his face.

Li Hu won another battle? Everyone looked at each other and then at the memorial.

Emperor Yongchang coughed, raised the memorial, and said loudly: "The rebellion launched by the White Lotus Rebellion swept across the five provinces of Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, and Hubei, plunging the Central Plains into chaos, displacing the people, and even turning most of Henan into a living hell. In the battle of Xuzhou Prefecture, the court wiped out several large and small White Lotus Rebellion bandits.

Since then, there are only two big bandits left in the Central Plains, one is the traitor Shui Rong who forgot his roots and betrayed his loyalty, and the other is the rebel Bai Hongzhi who almost sneaked into the court." At this point, his eyes slowly swept across the hall and paused on the face of the third prince, "Today, we finally wiped out a big bandit!" Before everyone could react, Emperor Yongchang continued, "The rebel Bai Hongzhi has been escorted to Beijing and is now outside the Meridian Gate."

The silence lasted only a moment, and then there was a loud bang, and the hall immediately became noisy.

Emperor Yongchang did not stop them, but watched quietly, observing everyone's expressions.

Only Emperor Yongchang knew about Bai Hongzhi's affairs. The escort team arrived at Luhe Posthouse yesterday. The reason they entered the city today, in addition to wanting to add icing on the cake, was that Bai Hongzhi had some secrets that Emperor Yongchang wanted to know, including his dealings with the third prince.

Thinking about the emperor's eyes just now, the third prince seemed to understand something. His face suddenly turned pale, his eyes were dull, and he knelt there in a daze.

Emperor Yongchang's eyes immediately flashed with contempt and disappointment, and then a hint of doubt passed through his eyes. Could it be that there was something wrong with the runner-up and third place winners?

The hall gradually became quiet again.

Emperor Yongchang: "Bai Hongzhi is truly an unforgivable criminal. There is no need to hand him over to the Ministry for trial. He should be taken to Caishikou and executed by slow slicing! His head will be displayed throughout the country, so that those who harbor evil intentions can see that this is the fate of rebellion!" At this point, he suddenly looked at the third prince: "Third brother!"

The third prince, who was kneeling there in despair, shuddered all over and quickly fell to the ground: "Son, son, I am here"

Emperor Yongchang: "You go and supervise the execution."

When the Third Prince heard this, his heart sank to the bottom.

Emperor Yongchang ignored him and turned his attention to the second and third place winners: "You two will be the deputy executioners!"

The second and third place winners both changed their expressions and answered in unison: "As you wish!"

Emperor Yongchang: "I have another piece of good news for you. Li Hu has defeated the rebel Shui Rong again and is now chasing after his remnants. This rebellion will be completely quelled soon!"

This time, there was an immediate and enthusiastic response in the hall!
An official who was a Jinshi from the Imperial Examination said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise and enlightened, and your achievements in civil and military affairs are a blessing to all people in the world!"

All the upright civil servants shouted in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince's grandson, the royal family, nobles, and court officials: "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Praises were also heard outside the palace.

Emperor Yongchang walked out with a smile.

On the other side, Sun Shaozu walked out of the big tent refreshed, and the scene in front of him startled him slightly.

There were more than a dozen large mahogany boxes placed on the open space outside the tent.

Sun Shaozu was stunned for a moment, then walked forward and opened a box. Ingots of gold sparkled in the sunlight! Greed flashed in his eyes, and then he opened the lid of another box. The box full of jewels was even more colorful under the sunlight, which was eye-catching!

He swallowed and opened the remaining dozen boxes.
Suddenly, Sun Shaozu felt someone behind him and turned around quickly.

At some point, Yang Qilong was already standing behind him!

Yang Qilong smiled and said, "As long as you nod, these things will all be yours."

Without waiting for Sun Shaozu to speak, he continued, "The court must have thought you died in the battle. As long as the news doesn't leak out, your family won't be implicated. The government troops who know you were captured will also be dealt with."

Sun Shaozu hesitated.

Yang Qilong: "A real man should pursue wealth and honor while living in this world. Even if he dies, he should die with a bang!"

Sun Shaozu looked up at the sky for a long time before he said, "Do you really want to recruit me?"

Yang Qilong nodded.

Sun Shaozu pointed at the White Lotus leader not far away and said, "I hold grudges. He led people to capture me and slapped me in the face. I want his head."

Yang Qilong looked embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.

Sun Shaozu: "That's my only condition. Kill him and I will work for your young master."

Yang Qilong gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!"

Sun Shaozu burst into laughter
(End of this chapter)