Chapter 293 Official Announcement of Condolence

The next morning, Li Chengqian changed into the emperor's crown with the help of the palace maids, and wore the emperor's crown with twelve tassels.

At this time, the palace was already covered in mourning, which was made by the eunuchs and palace maids overnight.

In the early morning, the sky was hazy, but at this time, a heavy bell rang, and everyone in Chang'an City woke up from their sleep.

Listening to the number of times the bell rang, they knew that it was the funeral bell from the palace, which meant that the emperor had passed away and the court had begun to announce the death of the emperor.

The messenger, wearing mourning clothes and a mourning belt around his waist, rode a fast horse out of the quiet Chang'an City and went to various places to announce the death of the emperor.

In ancient times, there was no convenient communication like in later times. A phone call could notify distant relatives to come to the funeral.

In ancient times, the fastest communication could only be transmitted through post stations, which was the fastest communication method in this era.

This is why it takes so long to keep the emperor's body after his death. The main reason is that they have to wait for the distant vassal kings to come back to worship the late emperor. After all, the round trip takes time.

The fastest means of transportation in this era is naturally horses, which cannot compare with airplanes and high-speed trains in later times, which are fast and convenient.

Civil and military officials have changed into plain clothes and stood in the Taiji Hall according to their official ranks. They know in their hearts that today is the day when the new emperor ascends the throne according to the will.

Li Chengqian walked slowly from outside the palace, and under the gaze of all the civil and military officials, he slowly walked to the throne. Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang.

Chu Suiliang immediately stepped out to announce to all the officials the fact that Li Erji had passed away. All of the civil and military officials in the palace burst into tears and were heartbroken.

Li Chengqian looked at the civil and military officials quietly, thinking in his heart: How many of these civil and military officials are crying with real sorrow, and how many are just pretending to be sad?

When everyone had almost finished crying, Zhangsun Wuji stood up and said, "Don't be sad, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day! When the late emperor passed away, he left a will ordering the crown prince to ascend the throne. Now, please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat Chu Suiliang to read the late emperor's will."

Chu Suiliang wiped his tears and said to the civil and military officials in the court, "Crown Prince Chengqian is the eldest son and the most powerful one. He should be trained in poetry and books, taught in rituals and music..."

He first read a long preface, and now began to read the main topic, "...Crown Prince Chengqian is very similar to me, and will surely inherit the throne. He will ascend the throne after me and become the emperor."

"The edict is as on the right. It will be carried out upon receipt... on May 29, the 23rd year of Zhenguan."

It took nearly half an hour to read out Li Er's edict. In addition to the actual content of the edict, there were also signatures of officials from various departments, dates, etc.

"All officials pay homage to the new emperor." Zhangsun Wuji took the lead and performed the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects like Li Chengqian: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Long live the emperor!

Long live the emperor!" "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Long live the emperor!" All civil and military officials immediately kowtowed to the new emperor.

Li Chengqian then sat upright on the throne and accepted the kowtows of all officials.

"My dear ministers, please stand up!" Li Chengqian raised his hand and said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All civil and military officials stood up.

Reading the last edict of the previous emperor and the new monarch accepting the worship of all officials is just to establish the new monarch's status first. If the new monarch wants to truly become the ruler of the empire, he still needs to hold a grand coronation ceremony.

At that time, the new monarch will take over the eight seals, appeal to the heaven and earth, sacrifice to the ancestral temple, and announce to the world that the new monarch has succeeded to the throne. Only in this way can the new monarch be truly an emperor.

Now Li Chengqian is only an emperor in name, but not in reality.

According to the funeral system, the mourning period is three years, but as a new monarch, it is obviously impossible to abandon military and national affairs and mourn for his father for three years.

So there is a compromise. The new monarch only needs to wear mourning clothes for more than 20 days, and then he can take off the mourning clothes, and other funeral ceremonies will remain unchanged.

In addition to these, the new monarch will also ascend the throne and inherit the throne as soon as possible with the support of the ministers.

Li Chengqian's coronation ceremony will be held on the first day of next month, that is, two days later, he will hold a grand coronation ceremony in this Taiji Hall and become the real new emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

With the title confirmed, the new emperor and all the officials moved to the Liangyi Hall to pay tribute to the late emperor.

Seeing the huge coffin parked in the Liangyi Hall, all the officials burst into tears, and Li Chengqian cried even more.

While crying, Li Chengqian was thinking about how he should exercise the power of the emperor after completing the coronation ceremony.

First of all, of course, he had to reward the old officials of the East Palace, such as Di Renjie, Xue Rengui, Xu Jingzong, Qiu Shenji and others. After

all, they have followed him for many years, and they can be regarded as conscientious and dedicated to their duties, and they are also loyal to him, Li Chengqian.

There is no reason not to reward them. If even such loyal ministers as them are not rewarded, it will easily make people feel disheartened.

Who will dare to work diligently for the emperor in the future?

What's more, these old ministers are Li Chengqian's team, and they are the foundation for him to truly control the court and directly grasp the power in the future.

Li Chengqian has not been the crown prince for more than 20 years in vain. Now he can be said to be deeply rooted and fully fledged.

He naturally cannot move the old ministers arranged by the previous emperor casually, but he can appoint and dismiss the generals of the sixteen guards.

At the same time, he can also arrange his confidants to important government offices such as the three provinces and six ministries. If he cannot become the top leader of the three provinces and six ministries, it is still okay to be the second or third leader.

At this point, Li Chengqian's advantage as a crown prince for more than 20 years was revealed. Although he could not immediately fully control the government after he succeeded to the throne, he could control most of the power.

This is not something that the Tang Gaozong in the history books can compare with.

After all, Tang Gaozong had only been the crown prince for a few years and had no time to build his own team. His foundation was still shallow and his wings were not yet fully developed.

How could such a new monarch fight against the old ministers in the court? This also made the old ministers in the court more and more presumptuous, often claiming to be entrusted by the previous emperor, and wanted power to be above the imperial power.

So a power struggle broke out between the monarch and his ministers. If the new monarch was more skilled, he would naturally be able to take back the power and then execute the powerful ministers.

If the new monarch is not strong enough, the powerful ministers may turn the tables and become the master, and the new monarch will be reduced to a puppet or even deposed if the new monarch does not cooperate.

In addition, an obedient new monarch will be established, and when the time is right, the new monarch will abdicate to the powerful ministers, who will then become the new emperor of the empire.

Li Chengqian was thinking about what position should be assigned to Di Renjie and others.

An eunuch came to him in a hurry. Li Chengqian was very puzzled. What else could be more important than the funeral of the late emperor?

"Your Majesty! There are hundreds of people from all over the country who have served in the court and have come to pay tribute. When they heard that the late emperor had passed away, they were all very sad. They cut their hair, cut their faces, and cut their ears with knives. The ground was covered with blood." The eunuch reported to Li Chengqian.