A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 982: Cheng Zhengchao and the people persuaded him to ascend the throne, and Daxia established a new system
The 22nd year of Tianyou in the pre-Tang Dynasty
December 4th

In Chengzheng Hall, Bai Jian convened a rare grand court meeting.

All civil and military officials of the Song State stationed in Bian who were of the fifth rank and above could attend the meeting.

According to the "Regulations on the Convening of Court Meetings in the State of Song":
All officials participating in the court meeting were required to wear court robes of corresponding colors to their ranks, wear court crowns, and hold court tablets. Officials who needed to enter the hall had to take off their shoes outside the hall before entering.

Officials needed to stand at the seats corresponding to their ranks, looking straight ahead and with their heads down, and they were not allowed to speak until Duke Song gave permission.

The court meetings had such strict regulations that they were no different from the emperor’s court sessions.

It can be said that even the former Liang court, the current Shu court, and the Later Tang court were not as formal as the small Song court.

Otherwise, how can the Bai family be formalized if it has been passed down for a long time without any foundation? This is all the wisdom of the predecessors.

Since the pre-Zhou Dynasty, because of the uninterrupted inheritance of the Bai family, there were two different situations: the court with the Bai family and the court without the Bai family.

The first thing to do when a new dynasty is established is to determine rules and regulations, and only the Bai family has the foundation to completely restore the formal dynasty laws, dynasty etiquette, dynasty official system, and even the ancient and modern military system.

"Mr. Song has arrived!!!"

Li Da, Bai Jian's personal eunuch and also a regular attendant in the Palace of Internal Affairs, had a powerful voice that resounded throughout the court, and he didn't sound like a eunuch at all.

At present, there are 58 eunuchs who have been castrated and 137 eunuchs who have not been castrated around Bai Jian, all of whom belong to the Eunuch Court.

Among them, these fifty-eight eunuchs were all captured from the Yanwang Palace, Luoyang Palace and other imperial palaces, royal palaces, temporary palaces and imperial palaces.

In line with the principle of curing illnesses and saving lives, Yuan Ziang, who captured them, sent them to the palace and had them serve the emperor.

I have to say that these eunuchs are indeed more useful than others in many cases.

"Report something!!!"

"I have a report to make." Government Secretary Bai Zhanwen took the lead and led the charge.

"Accurate."

"The King of Jin proclaimed himself emperor and met the Tang Dynasty. He spoke as if he were a descendant of the Tang Dynasty and the original Tang Dynasty."

"Ming Gong still governs with the position of Duke. Although he respects the Tang Dynasty, it is not known to the ignorant."

"I am here for the sake of the State of Song and you, my Excellency. I ask you to proclaim yourself emperor and establish the throne, so that the world will see things in the right light."

After saying that, Bai Zhanwen knelt down on his knees and prostrated himself on the ground, looking as if he would not get up unless you agreed to his request.

Bai Jian did not speak. Seeing this, the military commander Cui Shaojie also stepped out and said loudly, "I have a report."

"allow."

"Your Excellency has inherited the throne from Heaven and enlightened the people. The 68 states of Song State have survived because of you. You have done a great service to Heaven and to the people. If you do not ascend to the throne, you will not be able to win the hearts of the people."

"I dare to ask you to establish a strong foundation to save the army and people of Song and enhance the prestige of Song."

After saying this, Cui Shaojie also knelt on the ground.

Zuo Zongzheng Bai Ling quickly followed up: "I have a memorial."

"allow."

"The head of the family confessed that he had received a letter saying that the rise of the Song Dynasty was the will of heaven and that we should not be bound by the rules of our ancestors. If the matter can be done and is beneficial to the people of the world, he can be crowned emperor."

Afterwards, the Crown Prince of Song State and the governor of Xuanwu Army Bai Xi and the representative of the border town and the governor of Luozhou Yuan Ziang all came out to support Bai Jian's enthronement.

When Yuan Ziang finished speaking, the ministers saw that the big men had finished speaking, as if they had rehearsed it, and they knelt on the ground in unison, bowing and saying, "Your Highness, we ask you to build the Ji."

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost set, Bai Jian suddenly stood up, with the seven-tasseled crown pressing down on his white hair, and the black and red court robes making him look particularly majestic.

"As the old saying goes: 'If you don't take what heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences. If you don't take what heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences.' Today, all the ministers are advising me to establish the throne, and I have received letters from the people. It can be said that the people's hearts are with me."

"In that case, I will follow the advice of all the ministers and advance to the next level!"

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to you. Long live your Majesty." When the ministers heard that Bai Jian finally agreed to their advice, they cheered three times in a row.

Some ministers were even so excited that they burst into tears when they saw this scene.

The 22nd year of Tianyou in the Pre-Tang Dynasty (the first year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty)
December 12
Duke Baijian of Song built an altar in the southern suburbs of Kaifeng, ascended the altar to offer sacrifices to heaven, and declared himself emperor. As a descendant of the Xia Dynasty and the legacy of the Northern Xia Dynasty, he inherited the former Tang Dynasty and founded the country "Daxia", changed the era name to "Chengqian", and made "Kaifeng" the capital.

The former prince of Song State, Bai Xi, was appointed as the crown prince, the former lady of Song State, Li, was appointed as the empress, and Bai Yi was honored as the emperor emeritus, with the title of "Shang Huang Sheng Ming Da Shou Huang Di".

His grandfather Bai Rui was honored as "Emperor Wen", his great-grandfather Bai Mian as "Emperor Yuan", and his great-great-grandfather Bai Hui as "Emperor Xuan". Bianzhou was promoted to Kaifeng Prefecture, named Jingdu, also known as Jingji Prefecture, and the prefect of Kaifeng was appointed with a third-rank title, and Yan Maocai, the former governor of Bianzhou, was appointed.

The eastern capital Luoyang was demoted to Luozhou, and the original Luoyang area was divided into Luozhou, Songzhou, and Yizhou. Yuan Ziang was still the governor of Luozhou, and was in charge of the military affairs of the three states of Luo, Song, and Yi.

Youzhou was promoted to Beiji Prefecture and named Beidu. The prefect of Beiji was a third-rank official and was appointed by Yan Shangping, the former governor of Youzhou.

The Songgong Mansion was renamed the Dasong Palace, and its subsequent expansion as the imperial palace has been put on the agenda.

December 13, the first year of Chengqian in the Great Xia Dynasty
Bai Jian, the holy monarch of Daxia, ascended the Great Song Palace for the first time as emperor and built the Xuanzheng Hall (formerly Chengzheng Hall).

"Long live my emperor."

As the ministers shouted "Long live the emperor", Bai Jian waved his bright yellow dragon robe, which carried the sun, moon and stars on his shoulders, embroidered with mountains, rivers and lakes, and wore twelve crowns on his head, sitting upright on the throne.

"Everyone is safe."

As the ministers stood up, Bai Jian looked at the eunuch Li Da and signaled him to announce the imperial decree.

Li Da bowed respectfully, holding an imperial edict from the side, walked to the ministers, and slowly opened it:

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: I, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, ascend the throne and establish the system..."

The edict used gorgeous words to describe the necessity of founding the Great Xia Dynasty, and expressed Bai Jian's own desire for talents and his determination to make a career.

Thousands of words echoed in the spacious hall as Li Dazhao dictated.

"···This edict shall be announced to the whole world, and all shall know it."

As a founding edict, it is very appropriate to announce the establishment of Daxia.

Then, Li Da took the second edict and announced the system of Daxia:

The three provinces and six ministries are still the main ones, with the three provinces of Zhongshu, Menxia and Shangshu, and the six ministries of Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Xing and Gong.

The "State Affairs Hall" was opened, and the prime minister was appointed as "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi" or "Pingzhangshi" by imperial decree, and the poly-prime minister system was implemented. The prime minister was in charge of civil affairs and was in fact the highest administrative body.

The "Privy Council" or "Privy Council House" was established, and officials such as the Privy Councilor and the Privy Councilor's Deputy Councilor were appointed to be in charge of the power to mobilize troops, implement the separation of civil and military powers, and assist the emperor in military affairs.

Based on the Duzhifu, the Duzhisi, Yantiesi and Zhuanyunsi were set up to form the "Three Departments", each with an envoy in charge, and a "Three Departments Envoy" was appointed to be in charge of the finances.

Accountants were posted in local prefectures and counties to assist the Three Departments in collecting taxes, which were then transported to the local Changping Offices and the Kaifeng Treasury for unified management.

The "Grand Military Governor's Office" was established, and the local Jiedushi was changed to a governor-general, who was in charge of the central imperial guards and local garrison troops.

When the local area is divided into military governorships, only the military affairs of the military governorship are under the jurisdiction of the governor.

The Grand Marshal's Office had a "Grand Marshal" who was in charge of the affairs of the Marshal's Office and nominally in charge of the national military affairs and held the power to command troops.

The local governor's district and the local prefectures and counties are not affiliated with each other. However, the war is not over yet, and the local governor needs to take charge of all local military and political affairs in order to defend against foreign enemies.

Therefore, during wartime, Baijian would grant the "Royal Flag" to the governor of a certain place to show that the governor had great military and political power in the local area and was called "Governor-General."

Once the war stops, it can be taken back at any time.

A Marshal's Office was also set up to accommodate famous generals and veteran generals. The office contained military positions such as Grand Marshal, Field Marshal, and General. They did not hold real power, but had generous salaries to nurture talents.

The emperor personally served as the commander-in-chief of the army.

The Imperial College was also established to oversee the national academic affairs, including provincial schools, county schools, and even the highest institution of learning in Kaifeng, the "Daxia National Academy" or "National Academy" which was adapted from the Bianliang Academy, and the newly established "Taixue".

Its Chinese studies focus on theory, while the Imperial College focuses on literature.

At this point, the four policies of military, civilians, finance, and education established by Bai Jian completely broke the situation in which the prime minister had the sole power since the Later Tang Dynasty.

The military power was divided into three parts: the Ministry of War was in charge of military logistics and recruitment, the Privy Council was in charge of troop deployment, and the Governor-General's Office was in charge of commanding and training troops.

In short, without the emperor's order, a single department of the Central Imperial Guards could not mobilize an army of more than 50 people.

If a war breaks out, the emperor will select a general from the Marshal's Office and give him military power, so that he can quickly support the front line and quell the rebellion.

The separation of finance and people put a shackle on the three provinces and six ministries. Without the emperor's permission, the three provinces and six ministries could not transfer a single cent from the three offices.

Therefore, Daxia will hold an imperial financial budget meeting at the end of each year.

The meeting was chaired by the emperor and attended by the heads of various provinces and ministries, including the Three Departments (Finance), Three Provinces (Civil Affairs), Three Prefectures (Military Affairs), and the Imperial College (Academic Affairs), to discuss the financial end of the current year and the financial budget for the next year.

(End of this chapter)