Chapter 310 Seeking a Posthumous Name for Liu Ying
After Liu Ying passed away, Luo Xin summoned all the ministers according to his will.
Although it was somewhat unexpected that the emperor died so soon, fortunately the ministers were mentally prepared.
Especially since Liu Ying has arranged everything, there is no room for maneuver. Now we just need to follow Liu Ying's original arrangements step by step.
Everyone entered the palace with mixed feelings.
When the ministers walked into the palace and looked at Luo Xin standing in front of the late emperor's bed, they all had complicated looks, especially Liu Hou Zhang Buyi, as the identities and status of the two were completely different.
Even if Luo Xin was powerful in the past, he was still a minister.
As long as Liu Ying loses trust in Luo Xin and removes him from his official position, Luo Xin will step down.
It was impossible for the Luo family to rebel directly because of this, so although the ministers were in awe and flattered of Luo Xin, there was still a layer of distance between them.
But soon, Luo Xin became the regent, a fake emperor!
"Fake" means "agent".
From the title of “Acting Emperor”, we can tell that he is not a minister, but a half-king.
This is a gap in status. If you want to launch a political attack on Luo Xin again, you may have to wait until the emperor comes of age.
But even at that time, would anyone really dare?
When the ministers entered the hall, they first cried and wailed, then went to kneel down and pay homage to Liu Ying's spirit. Although ministers did not need to kneel down when seeing the emperor in this era, the dead had to be promoted to a higher level.
Many people cried until they were really heartbroken. No matter what, Liu Ying was still very good to them, his subjects. Now that he is dead, leaving behind a regent who is known for his strictness to lead the world in the future, how can these people not miss Liu Ying?
Wave after wave of ministers, like a tide, took the mourning clothes from the palace maids in the hall and tied them in different positions according to the level of their official positions or the closeness of their blood relationship. Then they followed suit and prostrated themselves before Liu Ying's coffin.
Then they paid their respects to Zhang Yan and Liu Heng with the etiquette of the queen and the crown prince, but Luo Xin did not need to pay their respects. After the ministers finished crying, they quietly retreated to the back.
This went on for two or three hours, and Liu Heng was so tired that he was about to fall asleep.
Luo Xin still stood tall, staring at everyone to see if anyone was being disrespectful.
Seeing that all the ministers had finished paying their respects, Luo Xin did not waste any words and directly took out Liu Ying's will, held it high, and said in a loud voice: "The late emperor has passed away. I will be the regent of state affairs according to the late emperor's will. All the ministers are informed."
Of course, the edict could not be confirmed simply by Liu Ying's words, even if all the officials of the empire were present. It had to be written in black and white and stamped with an imperial seal to be an irrefutable and effective edict.
Naturally, none of the ministers had any objections, so they bowed and said in unison: "Your Majesty, the Regent is here, and we understand."
Luo Xin added: "The sky cannot be without the sun, and the country cannot be without a king. The Crown Prince should be promoted to the emperor and rule over the people of the world. All the ministers should go and pay homage to him."
All the ministers had solemn expressions as they paid their respects to Liu Heng. Liu Heng's eyes rolled around, and he seemed to be somewhat curious about the scene before him.
Luo Xin added: "All the ministers pay their respects to the Empress Dowager again."
These three people are currently the three people with the highest status and position. Once the identities of the three are determined according to the will, the power will be transferred smoothly.
Luo Xin said in a clear voice: "The emperor lives in Changle Palace and the empress dowager lives in Weiyang Palace. This is passed down by Emperor Gao and Empress Gao.
From now on, the Empress Dowager will live in the Weiyang Palace. The Emperor is still young, so he will live with the Empress Dowager in the Weiyang Palace and go to the Changle Palace to study every day until he is old enough to be involved in government affairs, and I will teach him personally.
Do you have any objections, colleagues? "
The arrangement was very appropriate, and everyone knew that this was not an important matter. There were still things to do in the subsequent coronation ceremony and investiture ceremony. The most important thing now was to put an end to Liu Ying's death.
The evaluation of a person contains countless information, especially the evaluation of the monarch, which can even determine the future policy direction.
But no one expected that after Luo Xin finished explaining what had just happened, he did not bring up the matter of giving Liu Ying a posthumous title, but directly said: "There is no time to lose. All departments should determine the date of the late emperor's burial and the coronation ceremony of your majesty as soon as possible. The Zongzheng should worry more about it."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Clan Minister Liu Zheng asked, "Grand Prime Minister, didn't you discuss the late emperor's posthumous title with the ministers?"
Luo Xin frowned slightly and said, "Don't worry, the late emperor was a wise and enlightened ruler. The posthumous title and temple name are of utmost importance and must not be decided so hastily. Let's finish these things first. I will inform all my colleagues. You can think about it carefully during this period."
The ministers were somewhat confused and didn't know what Luo Xin wanted to do. They could only say, "We understand. We will follow the order of the Prime Minister."
…
Changle Palace.
Luo Xin stared at the white silk cloth on the table in silence.
He recalled Liu Ying lying on his sickbed and saying to him, "Father, without you and the Queen Mother, Ying would have been a tyrant.
I really want to be like you, with a natural talent, able to govern the country and bring peace to the people. Unfortunately, Ying really doesn't have that talent. My father and mother are both outstanding people, but they gave birth to a waste like me. Alas, isn't this a joke from heaven?"
Luo Xin comforted him at the time, saying, "Your Majesty, some people in this world are good at painting, some are good at business, some are outstanding in military strategy, and some are famous for their integrity. The monarchs in this world are naturally different as well.
Duke Huan of Qi entrusted state affairs to Guan Zhong, who eventually achieved the reputation of being the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period. Could anyone say that Duke Huan of Qi was incompetent?
You are exactly the kind of monarch that Duke Huan of Qi is."
Now that Liu Ying had left, he suddenly recalled this incident and wanted to write a letter to Luo Ling.
So he pondered for a moment, picked up his pen and wrote: "I hope you are well, elder brother. I bow my head in respect.
After the Emperor passed away, I was fortunate to be trusted by the late Emperor and to serve as regent. This is the fourth time in my family that a person has served as regent since King Su. In the four or five decades since the fall of Bang Zhou and the demise of Luo State, it has been forty or fifty years since a person with a different surname has ascended to the position of regent. This is an unprecedented blessing for my family, and I think I should report this to you.
The late emperor was a benevolent king. Foolish people thought he was cowardly, but the art of war says that those who are good at fighting do not have great achievements.
In the twenty years since the late emperor ascended the throne, there has been no trouble in the palace, Guanzhong has prospered, and the world has been stable. Isn't this what the late emperor achieved by not competing?
The merits made by me and Empress Gao should be shared with the late emperor. This is the most fair evaluation of the late emperor. You are the head of the Luo family and are in charge of the sacrifices to King Su. I ask you to treat the late emperor more fairly in this regard.
I bow my head and kowtow again!
I bow three times!"
The emperor's posthumous title and temple name must be reported to King Bingsu, but King Su would not care about these matters, and he would fall asleep from time to time.
In fact, the power of decision lies with the head of the Luo family. The posthumous title, which is the final word, can be slightly raised or lowered, but it is actually impossible to see.
However, although the ministers had not yet discussed Liu Ying's posthumous title, everyone basically had a rough idea in their minds. After all, there had been kings like Liu Ying in the history of the Zhou Dynasty, such as King Yi of Zhou during the reign of Duke Xuan of Luo.
What Luo Xin most wanted for Liu Ying was a temple name. Of course, he could forget about the top-level temple name like Taizong, but temple names like Renzong or Xiaozong were very suitable for Liu Ying.
Luo Xin could only apply to Luo Ling for this matter. As for the result, that was not something he could know.
After writing the letter, Luo Xin blew it dry gently, then folded it, put it into a bamboo tube and sealed it with beeswax, and said to the brave warrior next to him: "Please send it to Zhaocheng and give it to the master of the family."
The brave soldier responded, took the bamboo tube and left in a hurry.
At this time, footsteps were heard again in the hall. Luo Xin looked up and saw two people, one big and one small, who were none other than the Empress Dowager Zhang Yan and the Emperor Liu Heng, both dressed in mourning. Zhang Yan used to be lavishly dressed, but now not only was she not wearing any jewelry, she also had no makeup on her face.
"I pay my respects to the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."
Although Luo Xin is the regent, he has the greatest power.
But he was a subject after all, so he had to pay his respects first when meeting the empress dowager and the emperor, the two theoretically supreme leaders of the empire.
Zhang Yan walked up to Luo Xin and whispered, "Grand Prime Minister, a few days ago, another minister wrote to the emperor saying that we should establish a posthumous title for the late emperor as soon as possible. I think it is indeed time."
Luo Xin calculated the date and said thoughtfully, "Then let's discuss this matter at the court meeting fifteen days later."
It was called a discussion, but in fact it was just a proposal from the ministers, and then they would see if Luo Xintong agreed. If he disagreed, they would make another change. The reason why it had to be delayed for these days was because he had to wait for news from his elder brother. It would take enough time to go back and forth from Chang'an to Zhaocheng by water and by changing people and horses.
Fifteen days passed quickly, and Luo Xin received the news from Luo Ling, a smile appeared on his face. Liu Ying made Luo Xin the regent, which added a lot of points to Luo Ling, and Liu Ying's achievements were still pretty good.
After all, Liu Ying died young, and sometimes it is not a bad thing for an emperor to die young, because people can only see your achievements and will naturally raise their evaluation of the whole person.
Main hall.
Luo Xin said in a clear voice: "The late emperor has passed away. Please give us a posthumous title!"
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, in the past there was a king in the Great Zhou Dynasty who was posthumously named 'Yi'. Your ancestor, Duke Xuan of Luo, was regent and created a prosperous and rejuvenated era. I think 'Yi' is the most suitable title for the late emperor."
This is indeed a very suitable posthumous title for Liu Ying, but Luo Xin said: "King Zhou Yi is not as talented and wise as the late emperor, so we should choose someone else."
The posthumous title "Yi" is a typical high posthumous title.
Later generations prefer emperors who expanded territory, so it would be a big mistake to think that these emperors were not good.
In the patriarchal era, being close to one's family, loving the people, and being kind were all high praises.
Luo Xin rejected this evaluation because it reminded people too much of King Yi of Zhou. King Yi of Zhou did have a good reputation, but he never truly held power in his entire life.
Liu Ying was not like that. He was a real emperor who held great power for several years.
"Grand Prime Minister, the late emperor is kind, inquisitive and selfless. I think the most appropriate posthumous title is 'Hui'. The Explanation of the Law of Posthumous Titles of the Kings says: 'Hui means being diligent and selfless', 'Hui means loving the people and being studious', 'Hui means being kind, wise and far-sighted', and 'Hui means being benevolent and generous to those below'."
"good!"
Luo Xin clapped his hands and laughed.
This volume is almost over.
(End of this chapter)
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