Chapter 455 Ascension to the Throne

In the sixth year of Xuanhe, the Western calendar 1124, the first day of the first lunar month, Yuanshuo.

After a year and a half of renovation, Luoyang City, which had long been desolate and no longer had the style of an imperial capital, has gained a new style after a large amount of manpower and materials were invested. More than two hundred years have passed in a flash. No one knows what the imperial capital was like in the past, but the people of Luoyang unanimously believe that today's Luoyang is no worse than the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The influence is mutual. The upper class can influence the lower class, and the lower class can also influence the upper class, but the strength is different. Generally speaking, the social atmosphere of Zhao Song was not very bold, otherwise there would be no men who put flowers on their heads and thought it was beautiful.

It was different when it came to Wang Yan. Everything inside and outside was magnificent. Although only a year and a half had passed, the social atmosphere in the north had begun to change. This was mainly due to the hundreds of thousands of troops in the north pushing forward all the way, destroying countless small families, and also clearing countless unjust cases, and redistributing countless lands, thus establishing the authority of the Wang Dynasty. It is human nature to admire the strong. Under the protection of such a powerful country, people are proud of it. Naturally, the social atmosphere will change with the atmosphere of the empire.

In fact, life is better and the people are rich. After all, no matter how powerful the empire is, it will be in vain if the people of the empire are so poor that they have to buy and sell their children and eat dirt and tree bark. What's more, Wang Yan has just cleaned up the north, and the south is still separatist.

In the past year and a half, the first half of the rebellion was nothing. It was in the running-in period of the new government. In addition, there was only the territory in the north, and the annual income that year was only 70 million guan. Among them, the commercial tax station was part, the agricultural tax station was relatively weak, and the rest was seized from the house. By this year, although the statistics have not been completed, according to the estimated data given by the Ministry of Households, the annual income has directly reached about 200 million. The chief official of the Ministry of Households guarantees with his head that the difference is less than 5 million guan.

The composition of the annual income this year is complicated, because the homes of many landlords were seized and a lot of land was divided for cultivation. Although most of them are 15% tax, and although the current grain output is not very high, the land in Liaodong and the North China Plain except the Beijing area is basically most of the arable land now, and a lot of grain is harvested.

Although the farmers may not be able to guarantee food and clothing after working hard for a year, they can only ensure that no one will starve to death. But it doesn't matter, after all, the time for farming in the north is so long in a year, and the rest of the time there is work everywhere. The land and water conservancy projects in various places, as well as the repair of the Grand Canal, etc., although they don't provide food, they are paid. If you don't want to work here, you can also work for those merchants. There is a minimum salary. If anyone dares to deduct, as long as it is reported, it will be a fine that will ruin the family. If there is collusion between officials and businessmen, it will be a house raiding and labor.

When people have money in their hands, they will spend it. When they spend it, the merchants will make money, and then the taxes collected by the business are not heavy, but they are not low. Now the whole north is a big construction site. If you have a little brains and a little money at home, you can make money by pulling people to dig mountains, cut trees and burn bricks. The imperial court was not the original imperial court. It always talked with money, and corvée was abolished. With this turn, the social situation was good, and commercial taxes were a large source of income.

The most critical point was that this year, all the unwilling landlords and gentry in the north were basically cleared. Those were the wealth accumulated by people for several generations with great effort. Only in this case, there was still an annual income of more than 200 million.

As for food, it didn't matter if there was not enough food. First, those who farmed were enough to feed many people. Second, he had a sea trade fleet to trade in the South China Sea, purchasing spices, food and other materials. As long as he could sail, the fleet would not stop. Third, raising pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, etc. never stopped. Before he rebelled, Shandong and Hebei were major pig-raising provinces with high production. Fourth, the fight against Xixia was not in vain. There were pastoral areas and land there. He changed the tax on animal husbandry so that people would not be unable to eat meat from raising animals, but rice would be precious. Fifth, through Xixia, he opened a trade route to Mongolia and did cattle and sheep business with the people there.

In general, the north under his rule is now able to survive and have a future. After all, it has only been more than a year, and what he can do now is already the greatest ability. And this is more because Zhao Song's capital has been overdrawn at once. The rest still needs to be accumulated over time and slowly.

Glancing at the old father-in-law standing not far away, swaying and sleepy, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, swinging the bright yellow dragon robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, the big sleeves twitching in the air, with a crisp sound, the imperial crown tassels swayed back and forth with the slight movement of the body, frightening Zhao Ji to wake up with a start, looking up at the smiling eyes of the good son-in-law, smacking his lips in annoyance, and turning his head away and not looking.

The old father-in-law was very comfortable. Even if he came down and had no prince title, he was still the emperor of the previous dynasty, and his daughter was also the head of the family who Wang Yan married in the past. There were countless rare treasures in the family, and no one dared to make trouble with him. In the past year or so, I have not been tossing and turning. I used to practice Taoism, and now I am cultivating my body and mind. On the contrary, I look much more energetic. I have to live at least another 20 to 30 years.

Wang Yan stepped on the stool and got on the luxurious huge dragon sedan pulled by 16 horses, and sat on the dragon throne. The eunuch who was always paying attention on the side looked back at the phoenix sedan pulled by 12 horses, and the princes and princesses behind. The older ones were walking, and the younger ones were standing there in a proper manner. The officials on both sides were also ready, and they flicked their whisks and shouted loudly: "Go!"

As the eunuch's voice spread, it was transmitted by other eunuchs and soon reached the front of the team. Then, the gate of Yingtian Gate was slowly opened by the strong man, and the rising sun of winter fell into the doorway and shone on Wu Song, who was wearing dark gold armor. He held the newly determined national flag, with a long sword hanging from his waist, looking majestic. Behind him, there were thousands of people standing in a strict formation, among whom hundreds of people held various flags, including military flags, auspicious beasts, five elements, and rivers and mountains.

After pacifying Shandong, Wu Song brought his soldiers who had been trained for many years to Beijing. The originally reorganized Beijing Camp Imperial Guards were stationed in Shandong, and his troops were reorganized into Yulin Guards to guard the imperial capital. Wu Song served as the commander of Yulin Guards, and was given the title of Yulin General with the military number.

Although it sounds like a general with a miscellaneous title, including the six guards in Liaodong, there are only ten organized troops now. Even if there were thirty or forty of them later, this title would not be a general of miscellaneous titles, not to mention that the Yulin Guard was the imperial capital's garrison, which was very impressive. In addition, in order to show his appreciation for the meritorious officials who followed the emperor, he was given a Qinghe County Duke, unlike the Yanggu County Man that Zhao Ji had given him before. Wu Song was a legitimate founding duke. It was just that he had no fiefdom, but was just an honorary title, but the value was also full.

"Step in step... go!"

Wu Song shouted, echoing in the doorway, and then stepped out. The team behind him followed closely in an orderly manner. The pace and stride were roughly the same, accompanied by the sound of metal and iron as the armor leaves fluttered, and the long team left the Yingtian Gate and the Suzaku Gate of the outer city of the imperial palace, which had been opened long ago. This was changed later, named after the four gods, corresponding to the four directions of east, west, south, and north.

After leaving the Suzaku Gate, there is the Suzaku Bridge connecting the two sides of the Luo River. Beyond the Zhuque Bridge, on the same axis as the Zhuque Gate, Yingtian Gate, and Wanxiang Temple, is Zhuque Street. It is 95 meters wide and 950 meters long, and is paved with large blocks of thick bluestone. This material is certainly not worthy of the status of this long street, but the production efficiency of the specially made gold bricks is too low, and the buildings in the palace are not supplied yet, so we can only deal with it this way for now and wait until later.

At this moment on Zhuque Street, there is a fully armed Yulin guard every five steps, extending all the way to the end of Zhuque Street. Behind them, it is lively, and it is the people in the city who got up early to watch the excitement. The notice has been issued long ago, and the people can watch at will without bowing their heads.

When Wu Song crossed the Zhuque Bridge and stepped on Zhuque Street, after shouting "marching forward", he threw the national flag in his hands in front of him with both hands, and walked forward with a step-by-step, shocking step.

Such actions are not unfamiliar to the common people. They have seen the palace guards changing shifts, but the number of people is too small. It is the first time to see thousands of people like today, holding flags in front and chopping swords in the back in an orderly manner.

Wang Yan, with a smile on his lips, looked at the stunned people on both sides of the street in the leaky dragon sedan. Now these people in front are all elite soldiers of various armies, killing talents on the front line. Now they are in formation, full of murderous aura. Needless to say, how majestic it is.

At the end of Zhuque Street is the Sheji Altar and Taimiao, which took more than a year to build. The Sheji Altar is in the west and the Taimiao is in the east. The building is of course facing north and south, but there is no wall outside, just shining there. These two places are also surrounded by Yulin Guards, separating the people who watch the emperor ascend the throne from the outside.

In the middle of the two buildings, at the end of Zhuque Street, there is a three-step high platform. Wu Song stopped in front of the platform and stood upright. The soldiers holding flags behind him trotted and lined up on the left and right, standing in awe.

Led by the ministers, Wang Yan brought his wife, children and officials to the center of the Altar of Land and Grain. The ministers held the imperial edict and read the sacrificial text aloud, and then Wang Yan burned it and sent it to the heaven and earth, and then burned incense himself.

After offering sacrifices to heaven and earth at the Altar of Land and Grain, they turned around and walked towards the Imperial Ancestral Temple. There was another long-winded talk, offering sacrifices to distant ancestors and recent ancestors. Distant ancestors were easy to say, they were the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, but recent ancestors were different. Wang Yan looked at the names of his eighteen generations of ancestors on the tablets, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth, and finally became a filial son.

There was no way. Unlike the Ming Dynasty, he was a beggar and couldn't trace back, so he didn't set up a tablet for his recent ancestors. This time it wouldn't work. His Wang family was a wealthy family in Yanggu, and his ancestors had accumulated wealth. He didn't know about other ancestors, but he knew his grandfather's name anyway, and they were all the same, not to mention his parents. Maybe, the one arranged this time may really be his Wang family's ancestor. Of course, it is also possible that the civil servant who traced the origin only checked a few generations, and the official who went up was forced to put it up.

In any case, the old couple lived well in the real world, waiting for him to give birth to a son, but he didn't run away after all, and they put up a sign first.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with putting up a sign. After all, he is always an orphan in the film and television world, but he has his parents' graves, but he doesn't go to the graves. It's just that this time it's a bit big, and it's all in the Taimiao, which is a place that must be worshipped no matter what...

After worshipping the Taimiao, Wang Yan and others came to the platform in the middle. The band is already in place, with drums, flutes, xiao, sheng, and pipa, playing a vast and heavy, but also full of murderous and domineering music. The lyrics are not long, two verses, the upper part is to boast about the glory of China, the words are beautiful, and the lower part is to defend the glory to the death, every word is sonorous.

Accompanied by the singing, Wu Song raised the national flag to the flagpole. Wang Yan, his wife and children, and the officials behind him all lowered their left hands, clenched their right fists, and placed them horizontally in front of their chests, with the backs of their fists facing the sky. When the music sounded, the soldiers drew their long swords from their waists and pointed them diagonally to the sky.

This coronation ceremony that was somewhat inconsistent with the current etiquette was of course created by Wang Yan. The sense of ceremony is the most effective way to increase a sense of belonging and honor.

He is the one who makes the final decision, and the people who do things below are miserable, especially the Ministry of Rites, which is responsible for the five rituals. Although the Kong family has been pacified long ago, most of the children are building roads in Shandong to give back to their neighbors, but now they still have to follow various etiquette when doing things. And etiquette is inherited. Although it has evolved a lot, there are always allusions. On the one hand, it is the orthodoxy of Confucianism, and on the other hand, it also means that the Chinese heritage is endless. So the Ministry of Rites spent their whole lives studying the classics, trying to find the source of the rites and laws. If there is no source, they will create it...

This is the benefit of holding the right to speak, and whatever they say is right...

Wang Yan had nothing to say. After all, the Confucianists are still in charge, and his education has not yet started. As for the century-long plan, he can wait.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the enthronement was over. The remaining thing was to go back and read the imperial edict of the founding appointment. On the way back, he did not ride the dragon sedan, but just put his hands behind his back, smiled and waved to the people on both sides of the road who were cheering for him, and would also say a few words to them at close range to show his closeness to the people.

In this way, amid the cheers of the people, Wang Yan and others walked back to Ziwei Palace.

On the gate tower of Zhuque Gate, someone had already hung a huge national flag, and the other three gates were also synchronized. On the city wall, there were military flags of the existing armies with words on one side and totems on the other side. Overall, it was quite harmonious.

In the Wanxiang Palace, many large tables had already been placed. This place is big enough to accommodate so many people to eat together at the same time. So Wang Yan didn't care about the rules and directly set up a banquet in this hall of supreme power.

After another lengthy reading of various appointments and titles, Wang Yan stood on the high platform and waved his hand: "Gentlemen, drink to victory!"

After speaking, he ate a few bites symbolically, and then returned to the harem to eat with his wife and children. After all, he was here, and a group of people couldn't eat well.

This time, the emperor didn't wait until the unification of the north and the south. It was really because they were not good enough and couldn't stop it at all. Even the people in the south knew it themselves. The situation here, all the people in the south knew it. The autumn wind swept away all the landlords in the north who didn't obey, and didn't even raise a wave. Even if they had hundreds of thousands of troops, they didn't think they could compete.

Now that he has ascended the throne and established a country, the north has been almost swept away, and it's useless even if there are remnants. The next step is to wait for the army to be trained and unify Shenzhou directly.

As for negotiating conditions, those people in the south are not qualified. One by one, they all have to work until they die.

Just thinking about it all the way, I finally returned to the harem.

Before entering the house, he heard his good sons threatening: "I am the King of Wu, how dare you snatch meat from me?"

"I am the Princess of Wei, what can you do if I snatch your meat?"

"Mother..."

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. All the people here are his sons under ten years old, and there are also his daughters. There are only two who are over ten years old, sitting on his dragon chair, accompanying the ministers on behalf of their father.

There are so many titles, but only a few are awesome, so there will always be dissatisfaction. If they are ranked according to age, there will also be dissatisfaction. These sons of his have been practicing martial arts since they were young, and they fight every day with a similar age. It is impossible to say that there is no emotion, but there is always competition. So for equality, he directly draws lots. Whoever draws the best one gets it, and don't complain about this or that in the future, it saves trouble. Everything is done under the witness of the cabinet ministers, absolutely fair and just.

Li Shishi stood up and helped Wang Yan take off his dragon robe: "Why are you back? Aren't you in the front with the ministers?"

"They didn't even dare to speak loudly when I was there, so how could they have a good meal, with the eldest and second oldest accompanying them there."

After taking off his dragon robe, Wang Yan sat at the table, smiling at the child who was fighting with him, and chatting with the four girls while eating. It was nothing, just talking about how it felt to be an emperor. Although people used to call him the emperor, His Majesty, etc., it was not legal.

The four women this time were not crowned as queens, but were all concubines, so no one should cause trouble for anyone. He also explained the matter of the children becoming emperors, and it was still so direct. His good sons really didn't live as long as him, and they wanted to covet his position, which was really a dream. So he still told his sons not to have any small thoughts, and it was important to train the next generation well.

What do these little guys know now? Only the older ones can understand a little, and he mainly said it to the women. Li Shishi has no children, so she doesn't care. But the other three are a little different. Zhao Yupan was instigated by Zhao Ji. The old man still has evil intentions and comforts himself that his grandson is not bad to be the emperor. Hu Sanniang was also instigated by her family. Although Hu Cheng has been honest in recent years, he has become a relative of the emperor now, so he still has some thoughts.

As for Jinlian, she is too careless. I have heard too many stories in picture books, such as the dirty royal family. She has no family, so she relies on her son. She feels that she is the first to enter the family and is still loved. Isn't it also a thought?

The way Emperor Wang dealt with it was very simple, choosing a concubine...

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