Inside the Golden Palace, besides Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, who was terrified by Guo Xiaoru's words, there was another person whose heart was in his throat.
This person was Li Jingyu, the Minister of War who recommended Guo Xiaoru for the position of Vice Minister of Rites.
On the day the Prince of Jin conquered Jinling and proclaimed himself emperor, he entrusted the important task of reorganizing the six ministries of the new dynasty to the surrendered official Li Jingyu.
Therefore, most of the officials in the Six Ministries of the new dynasty were appointed to their positions after being recommended by Li Jingyu.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the officials of these six ministries will be able to remain in their posts after the new emperor's enthronement ceremony.
However, Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, has now embarrassed the Emperor in front of all the civil and military officials at the first court assembly of the new dynasty. This makes Li Jingyu feel that something is very wrong!
Speaking of which, when Li Jingyu was appointed to reorganize the Six Ministries in a time of crisis, he, as a former official who had surrendered to the previous dynasty, strictly adhered to the principle of "recommending the virtuous and avoiding relatives" when recommending officials for the Six Ministries in order to show his loyalty to the new emperor, Chen Huai'an.
Take Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, for example. He was originally a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy of the previous dynasty, mainly responsible for compiling literature and history. He was considered an honest and diligent official in the previous dynasty.
This is why, when the new dynasty was newly established and various departments were in need of personnel, Li Jingyu recommended Guo Xiaoru to serve as the Vice Minister of Rites, assisting the Minister of Rites, Zhang Fu, in handling daily affairs.
Who would have thought that Guo Xiaoru, this old Confucian scholar, would be such a stubborn fellow.
What puzzled Li Jingyu even more was where Guo Xiaoru had heard the news that the emperor wanted to "set a precedent in history by establishing empresses in the East and West Palaces".
They kept talking about rumors circulating in the streets, but how come I, the Minister of War who was acting as prime minister, hadn't heard them?
Or perhaps they live in different neighborhoods?
Now that things have come to this, let's hurry up and think of a way to remedy the situation!
Minister of War Li Jingyu lowered his head, lost in thought.
On the other side, Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, who had been helped by Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, did not stop there. He even asked in return, "Lord Zhang, why are you doing this?"
"Let him speak!"
Just then, the new emperor Chen Huai'an, who was on the dragon throne, suddenly spoke.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for all the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace to hear clearly. His cold, emotionless tone carried an imposing authority, revealing the dignity of the emperor.
Seeing that the Emperor had spoken, Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, whose face was ashen, had no choice but to step down, leaving Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, to speak eloquently and cite classical texts in the court.
Guo Xiaoru said, "Your Majesty, Princess Bilge of the Uyghur Khanate, Yueqiluo, was proposed as a marriage alliance by the Uyghur Khanate to avoid the onslaught of our Celestial Empire's military might and to prevent a catastrophic annihilation like that of the Turkic Khanate."
"In truth, the Emperor's willingness to accept the surrender of the Uyghur Khanate is already an immense act of divine grace for them."
"But the mighty Khan of the Uyghur Khanate was not satisfied. He even dared to dream of recommending his daughter, Princess Yueqiluo of Bilge, as the empress of our new dynasty when the new dynasty was establishing its empress. His wolfish ambition is evident!"
Guo Xiaoru continued, "As far as I know, His Majesty and Princess Shujun of the Prince of Wuning's Mansion were betrothed long before His Majesty personally led the expedition to the Western Regions. It was an arranged marriage, a legitimate and proper union."
"This Prince Wu Ning is a highly respected pillar of our new dynasty. His Majesty's appointment of Princess Shu Jun as Empress is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the will of the people."
With that, Guo Xiaoru knelt down abruptly in the Golden Palace, facing the new emperor Chen Huai'an on the dragon throne, and earnestly advised him:
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you marry Princess Shujun as soon as possible and bestow the title of Empress upon the new dynasty during the coronation ceremony, so as to reassure the nation and the people!"
After saying this, Guo Xiaoru kowtowed to Chen Huai'an without hesitation.
For a moment, the imperial court was completely silent.
All the officials in the court instinctively turned their gazes toward the dragon throne.
A moment later, civil officials in the court knelt and kowtowed, shouting: "Your Majesty, we implore you to marry Princess Shujun as soon as possible, and to appoint her as the new Empress at the coronation ceremony, so as to appease the nation and the people!"
Chen Huai'an glanced around and saw that the second person to stand up and force him to get married and establish an empress was He Kuan, a civil official from the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
"I humbly request Your Majesty to marry Princess Shujun as soon as possible, and to bestow the title of Empress upon the new dynasty during the coronation ceremony, so as to reassure the nation and the people!"
Immediately following, one after another, civil and military officials knelt in the Golden Palace, petitioning the Emperor to hold a grand wedding and establish an Empress.
More than half of them were representatives of the interest group of civil and military officials in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
Even the deputy general Liu Ziyu stepped forward.
However, the expression on the face of Prince Liu Xinwu, who was standing at the very front of the Golden Palace and whose gaze could meet Chen Huai'an on the dragon throne, was particularly gloomy and unpleasant.
However, given the current situation, it seems that Liu Xinwu is not in a position to speak out.
Of course, there are still some clear-headed people in the imperial court.
For example, Pang Xianchu and Zuo Liangcai of the Longcheng Polu Army; Chang Yuchun, Chen Qingzhi, and Wang Jian, generals produced by the [Born to Be an Emperor] system; Tang Ziyi, deputy general of the Tiger Warrior New Army; Su Chen and Jiang Ning, governors of Liangjiang and Lianghu; Lu Jiang, the first person to be ennobled in the new dynasty, etc.
These military officers simply stood quietly inside the Golden Palace, heads bowed in silence.
In particular, the valiant General Pang Xianchu, who knew the whole story, stood there speechless and stunned.
However, Pang Xianchu knew very well that the new emperor Chen Huai'an, who was able to raise an army of eight thousand Longcheng Polu Army to quell the rebellion and eventually overthrow the Zhao family's rule in the Great Xin Dynasty, could not be a puppet controlled by others and manipulated by others.
The matter of choosing an empress is still far from over!
"My beloved subjects, quiet down!"
On the dragon throne, facing the rising and falling calls for the establishment of an empress in the court, the new emperor Chen Huai'an maintained his calm and composed demeanor.
It seemed as if this matter had nothing to do with him.
After the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace quieted down, Chen Huai'an slowly said, "Lord Guo, the rumors you've heard are even more outlandish than the unofficial histories I've read!"
Ha ha!
As he spoke, Chen Huai'an smiled and continued, "Which storyteller did you hear that I am going to make history by establishing an empress for the East and West Palaces?"
"this--"
Below the main hall, Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, was suddenly stumped by the Emperor's question.
In fact, Guo Xiaoru had only heard this news by chance a few days ago on a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River.
By the time Guo Xiaoru wanted to investigate, the people who had been talking loudly on the pleasure boat had already left.
If it weren't for the impulsive remarks during today's court assembly, Guo Xiaoru wouldn't have so abruptly revealed this unsubstantiated rumor in front of the entire court.
Therefore, when faced with the emperor's questioning, Guo Xiaoru was at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Chen Huai'an did not delve into this issue.
Chen Huai'an continued, "My dear ministers, if this is just a rumor circulating in the streets, then it must be nothing but a baseless claim!"
"The appointment of an empress is the first major event since the founding of the new dynasty. The Empress Dowager and I will decide on the selection of the empress; my beloved ministers need not concern themselves with this matter."
"When I hold my coronation ceremony, I will announce the selection of the new empress to the world!"
"My beloved ministers, is there anything else you wish to report?"
Inside the Golden Palace, having just experienced such a scene, even if the court officials had something else to report, they certainly wouldn't choose this time.
For a moment, the assembled officials in the hall fell silent.
Chen Huai'an waved his hand from the dragon throne.
The next moment, Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, standing beside him, shouted in a shrill voice, "Dismiss the court—"
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