Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 298 Ceremony
When leaving Daming Palace, Li Qiang had a smile on her face.

The attitude shown by the Supreme Emperor meant that Da Qian was completely put into his hands.

Perhaps this had something to do with the Emperor's disappointment in the other princes, or perhaps it was because he had faced a death that changed the Emperor's view of the world.

The Supreme Emperor even told Li Qiang about giving up the Daming Palace. Normally, the emperor would live in the Daming Palace, not the East Palace.

Li Qiang refused, at least he would not live in the Daming Palace until he truly became the Emperor of Daqian.

The Ministry of Etiquette acted very quickly and arranged the crown prince ceremony in five days.

This morning, all officials of the sixth rank and above in the capital entered the palace to attend the court meeting.

All the officials knew that today's meeting was specially held for Li Qiang, for the ceremony to establish Li Qiang as the prince.

After it was confirmed that Li Qiang was the crown prince, the officials in Daqian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

There is no emperor in Daqian. The emperor is old and in poor health. He has not chosen a prince before, which makes many officials very uneasy about the stability of Daqian's government.

The canonization process will be completed only when Archbishop Tian returns to the palace.

There was already a group of young eunuchs here, holding dragon robes and crowns in their hands, and stepped forward to put the crown on Li Qiang.

"Crown Prince!" The Supreme Emperor stood up from the dragon chair and said in a deep voice.

If the Supreme Emperor suppressed the former Emperor Jingwen and refused to delegate power, then he completely delegated power to Li Qiang, even indulgently.

Li Qiang stood up, and at this time a group of officials came and knelt down in front of Li Qiang. They were officials from the East Palace.

All the officials inside and outside the hall knelt down to congratulate Crown Prince Daqian.

Li Qiang's sophistication in government affairs pleased many veterans.

The unique echo effect in Jinluan Hall made his voice sound like morning bells and evening drums.

Not only was Li Qiang surprised, but even the ministers in the entire hall were surprised.

To sabotage the coronation would definitely create a deadly feud with Li Qiang, the new crown prince.

"While the Crown Prince changes his clothes, the Queen Mother and I are tired, so we should leave first!" The Supreme Emperor looked at Dai Quan and ordered.

After resigning from the court, a young eunuch found Grand Scholar Tian and Grand Scholar Deng and asked them to go to the East Palace.

Li Qiang is no stranger to handling government affairs. What he learned in the cabinet and the experiences he saw and heard around Emperor Jingwen allowed him to control the court rather than being controlled by the courtiers.

At this time, a eunuch took the treasure of the crown prince and handed it over to Dai Quan.

"Receive the treasure!" Dai Quan preached again.

The most important thing is that on the day when the prince is officially crowned, even if some ministers have objections to this, it is difficult to raise them in person.

"The Supreme Emperor!" Li Qiang took a step forward and bowed in response.

"I have something to say!" Although Li Qiang surprised the ministers by wearing the crown of the emperor as the prince and ruling the world on behalf of the emperor, but when the formal court process began, the ministers began to present the information one by one as if they were attending court normally.

The establishment of a crown prince is an extremely important event for Daqian. If time were not so tight, the ceremony established by the Ministry of Rites would have been even more complicated.

They escorted Li Qiang, who was wearing the prince's robe. Li Qiang walked through the officials, and all the officials he passed knelt on the ground.

On the dragon throne, the Supreme Emperor was wearing a dragon robe and a crown that was only used when attending important events. Next to him was the Queen Mother, who rarely appeared in public, also wearing heavy makeup.

Li Qiang walked into the Jinluan Palace, came to the Supreme Emperor and the Queen Mother, knelt down and saluted.

Today's court meeting did not involve much official business.

Of course, this is just a procedure in the court. The royal family also has rituals to worship ancestors and appeal to heaven and earth.

This order from the Supreme Emperor made Li Qiang no different from the emperor even though he was just a prince.

Besides, there is no emperor now, so there is a precedent in history for a prince to take charge of the country on his behalf.

Li Qiang sat on the dragon chair. He was not as excited as he imagined, but was particularly calm.

Thousands of officials, except for hundreds of officials who are qualified to stand in the Jinluan Hall, the rest of the officials stood in the square outside the Jinluan Hall.

In the event that the Supreme Emperor dies and the Daqian Emperor is not decided, Daqian will fall into chaos.

"If you have something to do, leave the court!" Dai Quan said loudly.

No one among the thousands of officials made a sound, even if they couldn't see clearly what was going on in the Jinluan Palace, they could tell the eunuchs who was sitting on the dragon chair in the palace.

"The crown prince is ordered to wear the emperor's crown and hold the emperor's seal. His political power does not require the emperor's seal. He is in charge of the capital camp and governs the world on behalf of the emperor!" The emperor looked at Li Qiang and announced loudly.

When Li Qiang was led back to the main hall by Dai Quan, the Emperor and the Queen Mother were no longer on the dragon throne.

But starting from this day, the days when the cabinet handled government affairs alone ended, and the daily North Korean meetings reopened.

"Dai Quan, let's start the prayer service!" the Supreme Emperor said in a deep voice.

Dai Quan took the treasure and read it loudly. After reading it, he handed the treasure to Li Qiang.

Later, Academician Tian knelt down to Li Qiang, took the treasure from his hand, and was escorted by the sergeant to read it outside the hall.

At least based on Li Qiang's performance, Li Qiang is a qualified prince. It will take some time to see whether he is a qualified emperor.

Great music played outside the hall, and more than a hundred sergeants wearing heavy armor entered the square from the south with banners in their hands.

Dai Quan smiled and made an invitation gesture to Li Qiang, and Li Qiang followed Dai Quan to the side hall.

"Confirm Li Qiang as the crown prince!" Dai Quan announced in a deep voice.

Jin Dong did not follow Li Qiang at this moment, but was pulled aside by Dai Quan to teach him the experience of going to court.

When Li Qiang goes to court, Dai Quan's position today will be replaced by Jin Dong. Jin Dong has no experience in this field, so Dai Quan naturally wants to give advice.

Dai Quan has no reservations in this regard. He also knows very well that as long as Jin Dong makes no mistakes, Jin Dong will be the most distinguished eunuch in the palace.

The main hall of the East Palace, because Jin Dong had not returned, there were only three eunuchs waiting in the whole main hall, which seemed a bit empty.

However, no one dared to disobey Li Qiang's order, and none of the other eunuchs or maids dared to enter here.

Academicians Tian and Deng entered the main hall and were slightly surprised to see so few eunuchs.

"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince!"

The two cabinet bachelors were about to kneel down, but Li Qiang stepped forward and held them up.

"In the future, we will be exempted from the ceremony of kneeling down in the main hall in the East Palace!" Li Qiang said after helping them up. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a distinguished status, how can an old minister break the rules?" Academician Tian quickly refused.

"I am young and have studied under the two nave masters. Why can't I avoid kneeling down in the east palace?" Li Qiang said with a smile.

He waved his hand, and the little eunuch came forward and brought tea and snacks.

"You two have some snacks in the main hall, and you will have dinner with me in the East Palace later. I also have something to discuss with you two!" Li Qiang continued.

Academicians Tian and Deng looked at each other. They did not insist anymore and sat down under Li Qiang.

"I wonder what's going on with His Royal Highness?" Grand Scholar Deng asked aloud.

He was worried that with Li Qiang's new power, he would do something unexpected.

"I have just taken charge of state affairs, and I will not make any big moves towards the government. I just want to change the treatment of craftsmen and improve their status!" Li Qiang replied with a smile.

Regarding government affairs, he also knows that the cabinet has done a good job.

He has also been in the cabinet for a long time. There are some of the best officials in the cabinet, and he can handle Daqian's government affairs with ease.

Now that he has just taken power, it is simply unrealistic to carry out major reforms.

So he wanted to start from a small aspect, that is, to improve the status and treatment of craftsmen.

It is unfortunate that the craftsmen who can improve the overall strength of Daqian are inferior people in Daqian. One craftsman family makes the craftsmen even lower than the common people.

"The craftsman system is an ancestral system, and it may not be easy for Your Highness to change it!" Bachelor Deng hesitated and said.

"Two nuns, if you have time today, why don't I take you to a place to see the military force in the west of the sea!" Li Qiang knew that she could not impress the two cabinet bachelors with words alone.

When it comes to persuasion, ten Li Qiang combined are not as good as two cabinet bachelors who have been in official circles all their lives.

"Listen to His Majesty the Crown Prince's orders!" The two cabinet bachelors felt the novelty and could not refuse, so they bowed and responded.

The prince's car was parked outside, and Li Qiang invited the two cabinet bachelors to get into the prince's car.

Jin Dong also came back at this time. He followed him into the car and served Li Qiang and the two cabinet bachelors with tea and snacks.

Ten powerful archers and ten powerful guards mounted their horses and protected the prince's chariot as they left the palace and headed out of the city.

The prince's car was fine when driving in the city, but it got a little bumpy after leaving the city.

"The road to Daqian is still a little bad!" Li Qiangwei said with some dissatisfaction.

"The roads here are already very good!" Academician Tian retorted.

"I have a method that can make the road smooth as water and as solid as rock!" Li Qiang said lightly.

"How could such a method exist? If so, it would be a great blessing!" Academician Tian was shocked and said in disbelief.

"Although this method is good, it requires a lot of craftsmen!" Li Qiang explained.

Academician Tian felt that Li Qiang was using this to point out the importance of craftsmen. He stopped talking and wanted to see what Li Qiang wanted to do this time.

The prince drove to a pier. Parked at the pier was a strange large ship, which was Li Qiang's Western-style gunboat.

The dock here has been blocked, and what is blocking the dock is five hundred artillery troops.

"Your Majesty Wu Hou has met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Wu Hou, wearing heavy armor, came to the front of the Crown Prince's car and said loudly with one knee on the ground.

"Get the gunboat ready and find a small boat to serve as a target ship!" Li Qiang got off the Prince's car and ordered to Wu Hou.

Wu Hou accepted the order and retreated. Li Qiang asked Jin Dong and other eunuchs to help the two cabinet bachelors down.

"Your Highness, what kind of ship is this?" University Scholars Tian and Deng saw the Western-style gunboat. Although they were very knowledgeable, they did not recognize its origin at once.

"This is the battleship used by Hai Zhixi!" Li Qiang explained.

"Where are the weapons of this ship?" Since everyone was standing at a high point on the pier, Academician Deng could see the deck of the Western-style gunboat, and he asked curiously.

"Go down with the order and prepare to fight!" Li Qiang gave the order to the first order soldier.

The messenger held two flags in his hands and gestured at the Western-style gunboat. At this time, an unmanned boat appeared in the distance, several miles away.

The hull of the Western-style gunboat moved, and the hull swung sideways on the river, exposing the left side of the hull.

Then the bulkhead on the left side of the hull was lifted up, revealing eight shooting holes.

The medium-sized artillery inside was exposed, and the gunner controlled it and aimed it at the boat.

"Attack!" Li Qiang gave the order in a deep voice.

The herald waved two flags, and the Western-style gunboat received the order.

The eight medium-sized artillery pieces spurted out flames, and eight shells flew out, accurately hitting the boat.

Eight cannonballs exploded when they hit the boat. The boat was destroyed by the explosion and disappeared above the river in an instant while the two cabinet bachelors watched.

"How can one ship have so many cannons?" Academician Tian asked in surprise.

He knew the situation of Daqian's battleship. The standard configuration of a battleship was one or two guns on the front and rear decks.

But look at this Western-style gunboat. There are eight cannons on one side of the hull alone, and there should be eight more cannons on the other side of the hull.

If it were a battle with the Daqian battleship on the water, there would be no need to think too much about the outcome.

Especially the explosive power of the cannonball is completely different from Daqian's cannonball. Daqian's cannonball is solid. Even if it hits the target, it will be penetrated instead of being turned into pieces like the boat in front of you.

In fact, this explosive bomb had not yet been used in the West at this time. It was manufactured by Li Qiang's Artillery Corps Ordnance Department.

Li Qiang chose this more powerful explosive bomb because he wanted to shock the two cabinet bachelors even more.

"Two of you, this ship was taken from the Japanese pirates when I was in the south of the Yangtze River. It is said that it was sold to the Japanese pirates by a certain country in the West. According to my estimation, the firepower of this ship is not top-notch in the West. It is probably not the best in the West. It’s just average!” Li Qiang explained.

His words made the two cabinet bachelors a little uneasy. In the opinion of the two cabinet bachelors, Daqian's navy was extremely powerful and fully capable of protecting the Daqian waters.

But after seeing the power of Western-style gunboats and hearing Li Qiang's introduction, they suddenly became disappointed with the Daqian Navy.

"In the West, craftsmen are valued and their inventions and creativity are stimulated. For example, the powerful weapons of this ship are being manufactured in large quantities. They are already ahead of Daqian in the navy. One day Daqian Navy will compete with this ship. There is a war between these ships!" Li Qiang pointed at the Western-style gunboat and said.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, in order to improve the status of craftsmen, officials are required to make submissions. The veterans of the cabinet will discuss and propose a plan, which will then be submitted to His Highness the Crown Prince!" Academician Tian discussed it with Academician Deng, and they agreed. Li Qiang’s thoughts.

However, it cannot be proposed by Li Qiang. As the prince, if Li Qiang proposes this plan, he will bear the reputation of destroying the ancestral system. It can only be proposed by the ministers. With the approval of the cabinet, the prince will follow the cabinet opinions, which will reduce the prince's face. Trouble.

(End of this chapter)