mtl008 Chapter 552 Liu Bei Agrees to Become Emperor
Chapter 552 Liu Bei Agrees to Become Emperor
With the Jiangnan region newly pacified, there was still much work to be done, and all of this fell on Zhuge Liang's shoulders. Therefore, during his time in Jiangling, Zhuge Liang never stopped working and was as busy as a spinning top.
I finally took advantage of the strike to give myself a few days off, and stayed home to sleep and rest.
He had rested, but Liu Bei couldn't hold on any longer. He personally went to Zhuge Liang's tent, pushed aside the guards, and entered directly. Upon entering, he found Zhuge Liang leisurely enjoying tea and couldn't help but complain, "The strategist has such refined tastes."
I'm so busy I barely have time to breathe, and you have time to drink tea? You're so inconsiderate of an old man.
Zhuge Liang rose and bowed, then poured a cup of tea and handed it to Liu Bei, saying with a smile, "The tea sent by Anguo is truly excellent. Your Majesty, please try it and see if it suits your taste?"
Liu Bei took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Looking at the teacup, he smiled and said, "Everyone in the city is drinking tea lately. Even my third brother has become obsessed with tea. At the current rate of promotion, I believe it won't be long before tea becomes a necessity of life, just like salt."
What does it mean for it to become a necessity of life?
It means money.
Liu Bei is desperately short of money right now, and he's so frugal that he'd stretch every penny to the limit. He'll naturally spare no effort if there's a way to make money.
Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "I am already drafting the relevant regulations for tea, which will be promulgated and implemented after Your Majesty ascends the throne."
When the topic of ascending the throne came up, Liu Bei fell silent for a moment before saying, "I still have some concerns about the matter of ascending the throne, after all, what about the Emperor..."
He had already read the letter from Luoyang and knew that Liu Xie had been enfeoffed as the Duke of Shanyang. Although the former emperor Liu Xie had been demoted to the Duke of Shanyang, he was still alive.
Since the emperor was alive, he, as a subject, should have led an army north to help the emperor regain his throne, instead of overstepping his bounds and usurping the throne.
Zhuge Liang said, “Your Majesty knows what you are worried about. Although the Emperor is alive, the Han Dynasty is already dead. Even if the Emperor is restored to the throne, he will not be able to carry the banner of reviving the Han Dynasty. Your Majesty, can you guarantee that the Northern Expedition will be successful and that the world will be at peace after the Emperor is returned to power? Will your arrogant and fierce generals agree to this? If they do not agree, they will definitely rebel and plunge the world into war again. Can the Han Dynasty, which is already riddled with problems, withstand another war?”
"Your Majesty, after years of war, people yearn for peace and tranquility. They desperately hope to enjoy peace and live a stable life. In this world, only Your Majesty can do this. Since the people respect you as their king, you must be willing to take responsibility at critical moments. Your Majesty cannot abandon the people of the world for the sake of your own reputation."
At this point, Zhuge Liang knelt down with a thud and bowed in a sorrowful tone, saying, "The people of the world have suffered from chaos for too long. I humbly beg Your Majesty to ascend the throne for the sake of the people and restore peace to them."
Liu Bei did not offer a helping hand, but paced back and forth in thought for a good quarter of an hour before finally making up his mind and saying with difficulty, "Enough, enough. For the sake of unifying the world and ensuring the well-being of the people, I will presume to ascend the throne and become emperor."
Zhuge Liang was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "Your subject Zhuge Liang greets Your Majesty."
Liu Bei agreed, and the rest was just a matter of going through the formalities.
The next morning, Liu Bei ordered a grand court assembly. All the officials in the city were present, but because the main hall was not yet completed, the assembly had to be held in the courtyard. The civil and military officials lined up in two rows, and everywhere you looked, there were banners with Guan Xing's name hanging. The feeling was extremely strange.
Soon Liu Bei arrived and stepped onto the makeshift platform. The assembled officials bowed and kowtowed in unison. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhuge Liang gave Huang Chengyan a wink. Huang Chengyan promptly stepped forward, knelt, and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, auspicious omens have recently appeared in various parts of Jiangnan. This is a sign from Heaven urging you to ascend the throne as soon as possible to continue the Han dynasty. If Your Majesty continues to defy Heaven's will, Heaven will surely punish you. I humbly request Your Majesty to prioritize the greater good and ascend the throne as soon as possible to continue the Han dynasty."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Xun stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please look around. These banners are all signed by rank-and-file soldiers. The soldiers all hope that Your Majesty will ascend the throne and lead them to continue their conquest and pacify the world. Your Majesty cannot let these soldiers who have risked their lives for you feel disheartened. Please ascend the throne and become emperor to appease the army and the people."
That's a bit dishonest, because the names on the banner were mostly signed by Wu Jun; Liu Bei's soldiers didn't have that many literate people.
But who cares about that now? All the civil and military officials stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, declare yourself emperor as soon as possible to reassure the army and the people."
This time, everyone knelt down, even Liu Ba, who had previously opposed it. It would be unwise for him to openly oppose something that all the civil and military officials had agreed to, and to go against the grain.
Seeing this, Liu Bei stopped being coy and stood up, saying, "My beloved ministers are right. Since I am honored as king by the people, I should be willing to take responsibility. I have decided to follow the will of the army and the people and choose a day to become emperor. I hope that my beloved ministers will assist me wholeheartedly so that we can sweep across the Central Plains and unify the world as soon as possible, and bring peace to the people."
The officials bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects."
Liu Bei said again, "Liu Ba, you are in full charge of the coronation. Draft the proclamation, choose an auspicious day, and ascend the altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven as soon as possible to announce it to the heavens."
The process of becoming emperor was not something that could be accomplished simply by having them agree in a meeting. It involved a series of procedures, such as sewing on imperial robes and performing the ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven. How could such a momentous event be without a sense of ceremony?
“Uh…” Liu Ba was stunned.
Wasn't he demoted to the position of governor of Jingzhou? Now that he's a local official, why is he still in charge of such important matters?
Liu Ba quickly realized that Liu Bei was deliberately having him, who opposed his ascension to the throne, preside over the coronation ceremony, forcibly binding his opponents to his cause.
That damned big-eared thief, you're too good at playing games.
Liu Ba inwardly complained, but his body betrayed him as he bowed deeply and said, "Yes..."
With the most important matter settled, everything else became irrelevant. Neither the emperor nor his ministers were in the mood to continue the court session. After a few moments of casual conversation, the court was adjourned.
After the court session ended, everyone returned to their posts and actively prepared for Liu Bei's ascension to the throne, making the vast city of Jiangling bustling with activity.
At the same moment Liu Bei held a grand court assembly to decide on his ascension to the throne, a giant log as thick as a water bucket was floating in the sea near the mouth of the Yangtze River. Upon closer inspection, the log resembled a broken mast, and three men were hanging from it.
Facing the boundless sea, all three men felt despair. Some had even collapsed unconscious on the giant tree. But suddenly, the man in the middle glanced ahead and exclaimed in a strange Liaodong dialect, “Look! We’ve arrived in the Han Dynasty! We’ve finally arrived in the Han Dynasty! We can pay homage to the Han Emperor!”
The other two were startled awake. After rubbing their eyes and looking at it several times, they shouted with equal joy, "It really is the coast! Swim quickly, swim quickly, get ashore as soon as possible to go to the capital to pay homage to the Emperor of Han and ask him to send troops to destroy that bitch, Queen Yamatai!"
Yamatai is the current name of Japan. These three people actually came from Japan. Given Japan's current navigation technology, it is truly not easy for them to come here from the Japanese mainland.
Upon seeing the shore, the three of them unleashed astonishing vitality, clinging tightly to the giant tree and kicking their legs frantically in the water. Little did they know that this was the mouth of the Yangtze River, where the Yangtze River flows into the sea, creating a powerful impact on the water. As a result, the more the three of them kicked, the further the giant tree receded, and the harder they tried, the further they got from the shoreline.
Just as they were at a loss, a huge fleet suddenly sailed out from the mouth of the Yangtze River. The flagship at the head of the fleet was more than 20 zhang long and as tall as a three or four-story building. Two large flags with Chinese characters and Zhou characters were flying on the ship.
This was none other than the Han Dynasty naval fleet led by Zhou Xun.