What should Long'er's coronation ceremony be like?
All the officials in the Ministry of Rites were racking their brains, not to mention that the Minister of Rites had previously been at odds with Huo Xiaolong.
Lord Wei's face was gloomy, and he didn't know what to do. He had been staying at home for more than a month due to illness.
Huo Xiaolong wasn't angry. He would deal with him sooner or later, but since ascending the throne was important, he would let him be for a few days.
Cen Ang and Hua Luan wanted to lend a hand, but this was a big deal and it would be too much trouble to get involved.
Because his daughter said she wanted to combine the coronation ceremony and the empress's coronation ceremony into one day, she had to make her brother Tingche marry her on that day.
If this were said by the Empress, it would be an unparalleled honor, sharing glory with her spouse.
Isn't this a disaster?
The Ministry of Rites would certainly not.
Empress, although the Great Yan Dynasty doesn't have one, the previous dynasty did. Why don't we take a closer look at the history books and go back a few hundred years, right?
At your coronation ceremony, you bestowed the title of Empress upon the former Crown Prince.
Nobody knows what to do?
At this moment, the eldest princess, along with her three little princesses from the harem, came out to turn the tide.
you do not know?
I know.
I've married three men, so I'm very experienced.
Yuwen Helan and Huo Xiaolong sat facing each other. The elegant woman in front of them held a pen in one hand and a small notebook in the other. She asked a question, and Long'er answered it. After answering, he would write it down in the notebook.
Are you starting to grow old?
The two were halfway through discussing their issues when the eldest princess suddenly remembered something.
Huo Xiaolong is turning eighteen soon, probably after the New Year, but we don't know when her birthday is.
Long'er didn't put on any airs of an emperor. The girl held a frozen pear in her hand, slurped it down, thought for a moment, and then replied:
"yes."
"Then you can just have your ascension to the throne and the investiture of your empress done at the same time."
"Is it alright? Are you too busy? Didn't the Ministry of Rites say they were overwhelmed?"
Yuwen Helan sneered, his tone mocking:
"That's because they're not good enough, Your Highness. You should know that as members of the Ministry of Rites, they would be overjoyed to have such an opportunity to hold the coronation and empress-bestowing ceremonies together."
"Look at the Ministry of Rites, people are in a mess right now, that's because they don't have a leader."
Then, the woman moved closer to Huo Xiaolong, her face full of flattery, and continued speaking to her:
"I don't think that old man surnamed Wei is good enough. Why don't you give me the position of Minister of Rites after you become emperor?"
The girl, dressed in casual clothes, spoke with righteous indignation, stretching her small hand in front of her chest and declaring:
"This is a bribe; your honey trap won't work on me!"
"What if I do it better than him?"
"Then you can sit down."
The position of Minister of Rites is different from other positions. It is impossible to do without a leader, and one must also be familiar with all the royal ceremonies, down to the smallest details.
Everything requires a process of change. Long'er cannot immediately transform this imperial autocracy back to the way it was in her previous life. Therefore, at this time, a capable Minister of Rites is very important.
At the very least, don't be like Yuwen Xuanhong when he was in power, who was cowardly even after winning a battle.
This won't work.
Yuwen Helan smiled, then posed a crucial question to Long'er.
Do you know how much silver our national treasury still has?
Huo Xiaolong shook her head. She hadn't thought about that yet, but now that the grasslands had been conquered, military pay should be reduced considerably, enough to hold the ceremony.
"Less than 500,000 taels is enough for the ceremony, but if there is an emergency, the rest will be far from enough."
"Five hundred thousand? We've conquered the grasslands, Huang Ranhu is dead, and Princess Mingzhu was sent back directly by our Great Yan. The gold and silver we got in return must be more than five hundred thousand, right?"
Long'er paused for a moment after saying this, noting that in the past two years, Great Yan had only two expenditure items.
The first issue is military pay. No one would tamper with military pay, since she is the commander-in-chief herself.
The second is the funeral of the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
"The Minister of Rites embezzled?"
Yuwen Helan raised an eyebrow and said:
Why don't you take a look?
Li Jian was making backup plans on the side, preparing a one-to-one replica of the Princess's enthronement ceremony. If Yuwen Helan was not up to par, she would bite off more than she could chew and get the Ministry of Rites off the hook.
Before Long'er could reply, Li Jian put away his pen and said to the girl in the main seat:
"Your Highness need not trouble yourself. Your subordinate is already investigating and will give you an explanation after your ceremony."
In Yuwen Helan's mind, Huo Panlijian was always just a female scholar who was quite knowledgeable.
He usually helps the Prince of Zhenbei with his paperwork, but this action today seems to indicate that he's on the path to becoming a prime minister.
She turned her head and looked at Huo Xiaolong again.
The first time this woman ever felt jealous was because of her.
She now has people in all six ministries of the imperial court.
The Ministry of Works is already overflowing with Mo family members.
The Ministry of Justice is sending Qingman, who was close to Xiao Lanhua, to the Ministry of Justice.
Now, the Imperial Academy has produced two more young girls who are quite gifted in law. One of them is Huo Minzhi, the younger sister of Huo Panlijian.
The other one is Li Yuanyuan, who regards the Prince of Zhenbei as a guiding light in her life.
These two will surely pass the imperial examination and become Jinshi (successful candidates).
The Ministry of Personnel is definitely involved.
As for the Ministry of Revenue, two of the three imperial merchants were close to her: one was the mother of Imperial Physician Hou, and the other was the He family of Pingyang.
Do you really think no one discovered the brothel hidden in the plum blossom ointment bottle?
As for the Ministry of War, needless to say.
Now, only the Ministry of Rites is not subject to her control.
But what's the use?
There will always be some people who will take over Lord Wei's position. He thought that the Ministry of Rites would not be able to function without him, but little did he know that Yuwen Helan had been aiming for this position from the very beginning.
The woman looked at Huo Xiaolong, smiled broadly, and said to him:
"I am not capable of competing with you, but it is merely the Ministry of Rites. Your Highness can rest assured."
After saying that, Yuwen Helan swayed away.
Huo Xiaolong didn't even realize what this old lady was doing, she was working so hard.
"What does she mean?" Long'er asked Lijian.
"The eldest princess intends to use her own abilities to remove Lord Wei from office, so that you will willingly appoint her as Minister of Rites."
Huo Xiaolong slurped up the frozen pear in his hand, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and muttered to himself:
"If you're so capable, then go ahead and do it. Why do you expect me to do it willingly? If someone is willing to work for me, why wouldn't I take it? I'm not an idiot."
"They'll withhold your salary and not pay you for your work."
The swordsman paused, his pen poised to strike, and sighed, saying tactfully:
"Your Highness, the Eldest Princess also has her own fiefdom."
"She's not short of money, is she?"
"right."
"Then I'll send her men, and I'll make sure her household is in chaos!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jian's eyes lit up, and he looked at his master with a look of affirmation and approval.
It's been so tough, my prince has finally made something of himself.
They're finally resorting to some underhanded tactics.
As expected of a teacher,
Hua Luan's intensive classes these past few days have been effective.
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