The first year of the Lingwu era of the Daxin dynasty, the 22nd day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar.
The Minor Snow solar term.
The fiefdom of Longcheng, the residence of the Prince of Jin.
Chen Huai'an summoned his civil and military officials to the palace for a meeting, and ordered the kitchen to prepare hot pot with mutton and aged Shaoxing wine. The emperor and his ministers drank and made merry.
During the gathering, the topic inevitably came up: the recent uproar in the Daxin Dynasty over the crowning of the two princes, Guangxin and Pingxi, as emperors in their fiefdoms.
Fan Wuji, the commander of the Iron Cavalry of Longcheng, took advantage of the drunkenness and made no attempt to hide his sarcasm during the noisy banquet: "Prince Li Zongmin of Guangxin and Prince Mu Rongfu of Pingxi are simply clowns who are trying to gain attention!"
As he spoke, Fan Wuji gestured and said, "Li Zongmin, the Prince of Guangxin, has only 80,000 troops under his command; Mu Rongfu, the Prince of Pingxi, has only 150,000 rattan armor soldiers under his command."
"These two, thinking they occupy the remote and inaccessible Guangdong and Yunnan-Guizhou regions, dared to commit the absurd act of self-proclaiming themselves emperors. It's utterly laughable!"
At this point, Fan Wuji gulped down several more mouthfuls of aged Shaoxing wine.
Then, his face flushed and his neck stiff, he said, "I, Fan Wuji, am a rough man, without so many tricks up my sleeve. I'm just emboldened by the alcohol to make this request to Your Highness—"
brush!
Upon hearing this, everyone present stopped what they were doing and looked at Fan Wuji with varying expressions.
General Pang Xianchu, a valiant warrior, probably already guessed what Fan Wuji was going to say, but for some inexplicable reason, he didn't step forward to stop him. Instead, his worried eyes held a hint of expectation.
Sure enough, Fan Wuji paused, then raised his voice and said, "Three months ago, Your Highness raised an army in Longcheng to quell the rebellion!"
"Now, the tyrant Zhao Gan has committed suicide; the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui continues to control the government; and the princes of different surnames are being crowned emperors in their respective territories; the Great Xin dynasty is on the verge of collapse!"
"Since Your Highness led the generals of Longcheng on the southern expedition to quell the rebellion, your civil and military achievements have been widely praised. Now, the world is in chaos, with war raging and the people suffering terribly."
"This humble general dares to petition on behalf of all the people and the common folk: His Highness Prince Jin shall be enthroned in his fiefdom of Longcheng and establish his own kingdom!"
"This humble general, Fan Wuji, is willing to join forces with the more than 600,000 soldiers of the Dragon City Pacification Army to fight for Your Highness, unify the Central Plains, and create a new golden age!"
thump!
As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Wuji knelt straight down in front of Chen Huai'an, looking at the young Prince Jin with sincere and ardent eyes.
In an instant, the once noisy banquet became completely silent.
All that remained were the occasional crackling of the burning charcoal fire, the bubbling of the mutton soup churning in the copper pot, and the cautious breathing of the military generals of Longcheng and the civil officials of the fiefdom.
All eyes were drawn involuntarily to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, who sat upright in the center, holding a cup of wine in his hand.
Clearly, Fan Wuji's words not only expressed his own thoughts, but also the sentiments of the vast majority of military officers in Longcheng.
In the Battle of Tumu Fortress, Chen Huai'an led his troops in a surprise attack over a thousand miles, wiping out 20,000 Imperial Guards and 200,000 Japanese pirates in one battle, which directly led to the suicide of the tyrant Zhao Gan.
From that time on, Chen Huai'an's personal prestige among the generals of Longcheng had completely surpassed that of the late King Chen Polu, reaching its peak.
Furthermore, the defection of Guo Dingfang, the general of Anxi, led to the 300,000 Anxi border troops changing their allegiance and becoming part of the Longcheng Jingnan army.
This further boosted the power of Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, who now directly commanded an army of over 600,000.
Currently, the entire territory of the Great Xin Dynasty in Anxi, most of the northwest, three of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and even most of the northern grasslands, are all under the command of Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, and its territory has exceeded two million square kilometers.
For the generals of Longcheng, this meant that His Highness Prince Jin already possessed the strength and conditions to ascend the throne and become emperor.
Therefore, back in Shuobei, Fan Wuji, who had proposed to the valiant General Pang Xianchu to bestow the yellow robe upon the Prince of Jin and support him to become emperor, once again voiced his deep-seated thoughts.
This time, it was still in front of the military generals of Longcheng, the civil officials of the fiefdom, and Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
It's like bringing things that were previously only discussed in private to the forefront.
However, for Chen Huai'an, who was at the center of the storm...
Ascending the throne and becoming emperor was certainly what he desired.
However, in his view, the time is not yet ripe.
It's not that he lacked ability, but rather that he hadn't yet obtained the most important thing for ascending the throne.
That is—the Imperial Seal of the State!
The Imperial Seal, passed down from the First Emperor, was carved from the He Shi Bi jade and bears the inscription "Having received the mandate from Heaven, may its longevity be everlasting."
Throughout history, from ancient times to the present.
The Imperial Seal of the State was a symbol of the legitimate power of the emperor. Without the Imperial Seal of the State, the emperor's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and later historians would not recognize his status as emperor.
For Chen Huai'an, who aspired to become an emperor for all ages, what he cared about was not the empty title of emperor.
To do something like Prince Guangxin Li Zongmin or Prince Pingxi Murongfu, who forged their own seals to ascend the throne and be crowned, would inevitably be ridiculed by the whole world!
Just as Chen Huai'an was considering how to postpone the coronation without dampening the enthusiasm of his generals,
A secret edict sent from the Kunning Palace in the capital city, thousands of miles away, gave Chen Huai'an an opportunity to back down gracefully.
"Report—"
"Your Highness Prince Jin, a secret envoy from Empress Dowager Su of the Great Xin Dynasty requests an audience!"
Um?
When the servants of the Prince's mansion relayed this earth-shattering news to the already somewhat eerie banquet, it immediately piqued the interest of a group of military generals and civil officials from Longcheng, including Chen Huai'an and Fan Wuji.
They all looked curiously outside the hall, secretly wondering about the purpose of Empress Dowager Su sending a secret envoy to the Prince of Jin's residence.
Chen Huai'an waved his hand and said, "Summon them!"
"Summon the Empress Dowager Su's secret envoy to an audience!"
Soon, an old eunuch disguised as a country bumpkin entered the main hall.
As a veteran eunuch who had served three emperors, Cai He, the eunuch, maintained a calm and composed demeanor on his beardless, aged face when facing dozens of pairs of eyes in the hall, showing no sign of fear.
Cai He walked straight up to Chen Huai'an, knelt down and shouted "Your Highness!" before saying in a high-pitched voice, "Your Highness, please allow this old servant to change my clothes!"
oh?
Chen Huai'an looked at Cai He with great interest, and waved his hand again: "Granted!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
As they were talking, Cai He, led by a servant of the Prince's mansion, went to the next room to change his clothes.
Inside the kitchen hall, the civil and military officials looked at each other, all wondering what the old eunuch was up to.
They even forgot that just a short while ago, they were eagerly awaiting His Highness Prince Jin's reply regarding his ascension to the throne and the establishment of a new national title.
Before long, Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial of the Great Xin Dynasty, dressed in a deep red official robe and wearing an eight-beam crown, appeared before Chen Huai'an and the civil and military officials of Longcheng with an imposing presence.
Cough cough!
Cai He coughed twice, then, in front of everyone, tore open the sleeve of his official robe, took out an imperial edict, and said:
"Cai He, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial of the Great Xin Dynasty, has been ordered by the Empress Dowager to travel to Longcheng, the fiefdom of the Prince of Jin, to deliver an imperial edict!"
"Chen Huai'an, Heir Apparent of the Prince of Jin, receive the imperial decree—"
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