Song Yi

Chapter 407 The Enthronement Ceremony
The servants held the posthumous book treasure and the sacred silk used for summoning the soul, and went out from the middle door, and placed it in the palace, and then removed the inscription with the posthumous name written on it.

Hundreds of deacons carrying the spirit took their positions in front of the big bars around the Zi Palace of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty.The pole used to carry the emperor’s palace is an extra-large imperial pole, called the Dulong pole, with the dragon’s head installed in the front and the dragon’s tail in the rear, requiring 120 eight people to walk on the pole.The empress dowager's is a big bar of 96 people.These internal attendants who carry the spirit have all undergone strict training. During daily training, they must put a bowl full of water on the coffin, and when hundreds of people march together, including going up and down the stairs, the water on the coffin must not overflow!

The servants who carried the spirit carefully and slowly lifted the Zi Palace of the emperor and the empress dowager, the emperor came out first, and the empress dowager followed, one after the other, they left the Palace of Funing smoothly.

The inner deacons held the paddles on both sides to protect the Zigong (the coffins of the emperor and the empress dowager), followed them out, and lowered the Zigong down to the main hall along the steps.

Then, the leading officials knelt in front of the Zi Palace and asked the Zi Palace to be promoted to the dragon.The dragon is a kind of cart carved with dragon patterns, which is specially used to transport the emperor's coffin.The deacons carried the Zigong up to Longkai, and decorated the Zigong with colorful curtains.

The inner deacon held the mat on both sides, held the umbrella fan, and under the guidance of the ceremonial officer loudly, started to start and went out of the palace.Posthumous title Baoyu, Shenboyu, Zhenting and Mingjing followed.Then came the empress dowager, empress, prince, prince, concubine and other relatives of the royal family, crying miserably.

Along the way, the imperial guards were all dressed in filial piety, and the hatchbacks stood like ceremonies. Du Wenhao had already changed into a military uniform, with heavy filial piety in his coat, and he followed the coffin with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Of all the people in the funeral, only Sanya guarded Du Wenhao's waist and crotch swords and guarded them from the side.It was chartered by the Empress Dowager.

The send-off team went out from the gate of the left hall and went straight to the Meridian Gate.A funeral ceremony will be held here.Naturally, he was still led by the heir emperor Zhao Xu. Under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, they bowed four times, offered sacrifices, bowed again, and wept in unison.

The send-off of the spirit is coming to an end here, and it is time to bid farewell to the late emperor. The cries of all the relatives and relatives of the emperor are shaking the palace at this moment, they are beating their chests and feet, crying, their backs are on their backs, their hands are scratching and dancing, and they are rushing to die. There are all kinds of crying faces.The servants were in a mess, crying and persuading.

In the meantime, there was also the crazy Yong Wang Zhao Hao who kowtowed to the sky and screamed for mercy.

Next, there is another very important ceremony to be held here, that is, the ceremony for the new emperor to inherit the throne, that is, the enthronement before the coffin.

Amidst the ceremonial officer's long-drawn salute, Zhao Xu, the successor emperor, beheaded his whole body and respected filial piety. He kneeled three times and kowtowed nine times in front of Song Shenzong's coffin, begging to be ordered to inherit the throne.

Then, the official of ceremonies knelt in front of the Zi Palace and played, inviting the spirit driver to proceed.Afterwards, the leading officials knelt down and asked the new emperor to return to the palace.Then he led the successor emperor Zhao Xu and the mournful empress dowager and other relatives back to the palace, and came to the Daqing Hall where major celebrations were held.Here, Prime Minister Wang Gui has completed all preparations for the succession ceremony.

Outside the Meridian Gate, the ceremonial officials knelt and played, asking Zigong to be promoted to Dashengyu, and to go forward.The princes and princes except the heir emperor cried to see them off. The spirit car left Ruimen and came to the Taimiao, presided over by King Cao Zhao Kai, to say goodbye to the ancestral ceremony.

Song Shenzong's Yongyu Mausoleum has not yet been built, so he has to stop in the Taimiao, wait for the mausoleum to be repaired, and then move it for burial.And the Empress Dowager will be buried with Song Renzong in Yongzhao Mausoleum, so after the act of saying goodbye to the ancestors, the ceremony officials knelt down and asked the spirit to drive forward.

The princes and princes were sent to Deshengmen, kowtowed and bid farewell, watched them off, and then returned to the palace to attend the new emperor's enthronement ceremony.

Leading the Imperial Forest Army to escort the coffin of the Empress Dowager to Yongzhao Mausoleum was General Li Pu, the commander of the Sanya Deputy Capital.Du Wenhao will stay to participate in the new emperor's enthronement ceremony and be responsible for the security of the entire ceremony.

The enthronement ceremony was held in the Daqing Hall, which had already been refurbished, and after the decision of the new emperor, it was carried out at the same time as the funeral, and officials were sent to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, the Taimiao, and the country.

The civil and military officials who had previously participated in the funeral of Song Shenzong and the Empress Dowager followed the emperor to send the coffin to the Meridian Gate.Then he followed Emperor Si to the Daqing Hall, where he changed his clothes and prepared to attend the enthronement ceremony.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites have placed the emperor's jade seal on the dragon case in the palace, the congratulatory form of the officials on the table case, the succession edict on the edict case, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the inkstone case.

On both sides of the main hall, there are already neatly placed books of ceremonies and laws. On both sides of the Daqing Gate, there are jade chariots and golden chariots inlaid with beautiful jade, gold and silver jewels. There are five kinds of emperors riding treasure chariots.There are also Baoxiang and various musical instruments of the royal band Lubo.

Since Zhao Xu's enthronement ceremony was enthroned before the coffin, that is, he succeeded at the same time as the funeral was issued, so various musical instruments for playing Dandian Dale were displayed under the eaves of the Daqing Hall, but there was no musician. If you don't use it, just put it there, which means celebrating.

(In some time-traveling texts, when the enthronement ceremony is written, whether it is held during the funeral or not, all singing, dancing, and drums are played together, which is inconsistent with historical facts and common sense.)
Before this, Du Wenhao had already arranged all the security for the enthronement ceremony, and at the last moment, he brought the Ouchi guards to patrol around the main hall for a week.

The Imperial Palace was already full of soldiers inside and outside the palace, and the security checks at all gates were very strict. It was impossible for enemies from the outside to sneak in. The main purpose was to prevent problems with the people inside. Therefore, before the emperor came out, Du Wenhao took the inside of the Daqing Palace. I checked it carefully, including the maids, eunuchs and servants, as well as civil and military officials, all of them even looked at their faces carefully.

At the same time, after Zhao Xu changed into the emperor's uniform in the back pavilion of the Daqing Palace, he first went to the Wende Palace on the left to accept the eight ministers and the six ministries of the three provinces, the Yushitai, the temple supervisors, the Imperial Academy and other important departments of the imperial court. The person in charge kneels down three times and kowtows nine times.Since the new emperor had already exempted Du Wenhao from giving a big gift, he just hit the ground with one bow.

After the ceremony, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites knelt down and asked the emperor to ascend the throne.Zhao Xu imitated the adult appearance again, pacing out of the hall with three steps, and out of the Drum Tower to the back pavilion of Daqing Hall, dressed up, walked into the Daqing Hall with his little head shaking, and climbed onto the golden throne of the Daqing Hall.

Behind the throne, there is an embroidered curtain.Behind the curtain, sat the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao.

The ministers were seated, and the prime minister, Wang Gui, stood hunched in front of the golden throne, and slowly unfolded the edict of the new emperor Zhao Xu's enthronement.This enthronement edict was drafted and passed overnight by a scholar of Zhongshu Menxia, ​​so the beginning of the edict is "Menxia", and there is no "Fengtian Chengyun Emperor's Edict" and so on in the later Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Wang Gui cleared his throat, shook his head in a slightly hoarse voice, and groaned in cadence:

"Under the door. A king who was born and raised by the people. So the orders of the four directions are issued. The world is passed down to the sons. Therefore, the peace of the world is maintained. The former emperors are extremely holy and gods. Virtue and civil and military. Try to rule the three kings. Store essence seven leaps In between. Jixi's meritorious service. Dong Zheng's method... the notice is far and wide. The salty envoy heard about it."

After reading the succession edict, Wang Gui rolled up the edict, handed it to the bachelor, held it and passed it to the cabinet bachelor, stamped it with the jade seal respectfully, and then handed the edict to the Minister of Rites.

At this time, bells and drums sounded at the Meridian Gate.Under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, the princes and ministers on the Danchi outside the Daqing Hall knelt down together, kneeling three times and knocking nine times.Under Dan Chi, a row of special servants, holding a static whip more than one foot long, blew it in the air.

Then, Wang Gui took another imperial edict respectfully and respectfully, which was the imperial edict of Yuan Dynasty, and chanted:

"I Shao inherited the great rule. The Junjun and the Yan seek. It is the emperor. The eternal life will conquer the filial piety. Weiyu the boy. It is not difficult. Work hard. Suye Qinzhi... It should be changed from the first month of the first month to the ninth year of Yuanfeng. The first year of Yuanyou."

Shaking his head and finishing reading, he still handed over the imperial edict to the cabinet bachelors for stamping.

Then, he held another imperial edict, honoring the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao as the Empress Dowager, and Wang Gui went on to chant:
"The king's presence in the imperial court. Ji Yu in ancient times believed that the world's law. He regarded his relatives as the world's first. Excessiveness adorns the people. Harmony in one virtue. The empress dowager is healthy. The body is the essence of Kun. Mingzhe is the same as Jiang Ren. Respect Thrift is far more than a shady horse. Assist Yingzu. Rumors of internal governance. Support the former dynasty. Mother's ceremonies are ready. Defeat the ignorant. Su He is pitiful. Supporting and following. Educational achievements. In drama. Extremely supported by Kyushu. Hey Do your best to be filial and sincere. Add to the name of all generations. You are a kind and loving model. I respectfully call you the Empress Dowager."

After the imperial edict was handed over to the cabinet scholars for sealing, another imperial edict was issued, which announced that the new empress dowager Gao Taotao would listen to the government behind the curtain.Glancing at the ministers, the cadenced voice was extraordinarily hard:
"Empress Dowager Desheng's mother's ceremony. Daolongkun Zai. Sacred and wise. How deep. Look up to benevolent. Xu Tong listens to it. Responds to military and state affairs. The Empress Dowager has the right to punish."

This time, under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, the officials knelt down and performed three kneeling and nine kowtows.

Then, Wang Gui read out several imperial decrees, respectively canonizing Empress Xiang as empress dowager and concubine Zhu as empress dowager; granting Yong Wang Zhao Hao and Cao Wang Zhao the privilege of not being named when worshiping; Gong Zhaoji is the king of Suining County, and all other princes have entered the ranks.

At the end of the ceremony, the edict was handed over to the official of the Ministry of Rites. Under the guidance of the Huang Luo umbrella, he went out of the Daqing Hall, passed the Daqing Gate, and came to the Xuande Gate to issue the imperial edict to the world.Si Li's whip blew again.

In addition to participating in the worship, Du Wenhao's main duty is to guard the waist and hips with the sword under the golden throne of the emperor in the Daqing Palace.

Finally, after the ceremony was over, the new emperor Zhao Xu retreated to the apse, and the officials dispersed, Du Wenhao breathed a sigh of relief.He also took the Ouchi guards to inspect the various places, inspected the guards at the gates of the palaces, and urged them to strengthen their guard. After everything was over, it was already evening.Fortunately, everything went well and nothing went wrong.

Du Wenhao came to the dormitory of Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, and upon questioning, he was not there, saying that he had moved to Kunning Palace, the dorm of the deceased Empress Dowager Cao.Du Wenhao rushed to Kunning Palace again, and the eunuch on duty hurriedly welcomed him in.Du Wenhao asked: "Where is the Empress Dowager?"

"Reporting to the general, the Empress Dowager is in the flower garden in the back garden."

The back garden is the imperial garden of the harem, and there is a flower garden in it, which was the favorite of the deceased Empress Dowager Cao. Du Wenhao once taught her to make out-of-season flowers bloom by prolonging or shortening the lighting time and controlling the temperature, so here The flowers are blooming like brocades, and Gao Taotao is also very envious. When she moved into Kunning Palace, the first thing she did was to come and see the flower garden.

Du Wenhao, led by the eunuch, came to the arched door of the flower garden, and saw Gao Taotao sitting in the gazebo from a distance, staring blankly at the flowers in the flower garden.

The funeral is over, Gao Taotao has already taken off his severed filial piety, and changed into a black pleated dress with a narrow waist, with a white silk tied around his waist, and there is no cloud knot on his head, leaving his black hair hanging down his back The back was loosely tied with white silk, looking very lazy and a little lonely.

Du Wenhao stepped forward quickly, came under the gazebo, and bowed: "I have seen the empress dowager!"

Gao Taotao's thoughts were brought back by this sound, and he was overjoyed to hear the sound, and turned around to see that it was Du Wenhao, his lover.There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he waved: "No need to be polite, come up!"

Du Wenhao hurriedly went to the gazebo and stood sideways.

Gao Taotao waved the eunuchs and maids to leave the garden, motioning him to sit beside him.

Although it is already evening and the sky is getting dark, but after all, this is a flower garden, it is too open, even if he knows that there is no one else inside, he still feels like someone is peeping, so Du Wenhao still feels a little guilty, and sits beside her in embarrassment. A foot away.

Gao Tao said angrily: "What are you doing driving like that? I'm not a tiger!"

Du Wenhao giggled and said in a low voice: "You are more powerful than a tiger!
Gao Taotao burst out laughing, his face was full of intoxicated joy, and he snuggled into his arms: "If this is really the case, that would be great..."

"Of course I will. God has long eyes, and he will not be willing to let us separate."

"Hmm..." Gao Taotao closed his eyes happily, savoring Du Wenhao's words.

The sky was getting dark, and at this moment, there was a rustling sound in my ears.

"It's raining!" Du Wenhao said happily, "It's been a long time since it rained. Today, it's going to rain as soon as possible. It must be comfortable!"

Gao Taotao opened his eyes and saw the raindrops pattering on the flowers outside the pavilion. His face was full of joy, he sat up straight, got up, took Du Wenhao's hand, and walked to the edge of the pavilion: "I like rain the most. Yes, when it rains, I feel that my heart is quiet, and listening to the sound of the rain hitting the plantains is extraordinarily pleasant.”

"Yeah, 'Who planted the banana tree in front of the window? The courtyard is full of shade. The courtyard is full of shade, and the leaves are heart-warming, and there is more love to relax.'"

Gao Taotao turned his face sideways and looked at him happily: "This word is really good, did you write it?"

"No, no, it was written by a female poet named Li Qingzhao in our Great Song Dynasty."

"Li Qingzhao? Why haven't I heard of it? Where is she?"

Du Wenhao smiled apologetically: "I don't know either."

He only knew that Li Qingzhao lived in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, and after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, he moved to the Southern Song Dynasty, but he didn't know the exact date of his birth, and he didn't know where he was from, whether he was born now, since Gao Taotao didn't know, he probably hadn't Born, even if born, has not yet become famous.

Gao Tao said: "This is the upper column, right? What about the lower column? Read it to me."

"Okay,—'The third watch rain on the sad pillow, a little bit of rain. A little bit of rain, sad for the northerners, I'm not used to listening to it.'"

Gao Taotao was fascinated leisurely: "Good words, really good words. Your words reminded me just now. We built a Ting Yu Pavilion in this flower garden, and planted banana trees around it. When it rains, the two of us will stay in the pavilion , playing the piano, drinking wine, reciting poems and composing Fu. How about it?"

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "The idea is very good! It's just that I don't know how to recite poems, let alone play the piano. Drinking is no problem. Hehe, why don't you play the piano and recite poems? How about a drink, a poem, and I'll have another?"

"No, no, what's the point of me playing the piano and reciting poems alone? Didn't you recite one just now?"

"That's Li Qingzhao's."

"I don't believe it! The words you recited just now are so good, they couldn't have been written by a famous master. You said it was written by someone called Li Qingzhao. I am not lying. I have studied poetry and books since I was a child. I don't know ancient and modern poetry. There are really not many. How come I have never heard such a good word? Humph! You must have filled it out by yourself, but you coaxed me to say that it was Li Qingzhao's, I don't care, you have to accompany me to recite poems!"

(End of this chapter)