On the central axis of the capital, Xiao Ruxun slowly advanced, passing through countless palace gates and crowds, heading towards the center of the empire's power. There, there were even more people waiting for Xiao Ruxun's arrival.
Those who wanted him to become the emperor, those who hated him, and perhaps those who wanted to kill him.
He walked past the officials, bathed in their passionate gazes, and walked up the stairs to the Extreme Emperor Palace. At the entrance of the Extreme Emperor Palace, Zhu Changluo, who was dressed in a prince's robe, and Empress Dowager Li, who was dressed luxuriously, were waiting for him.
Xiao Ruxun did not recognize Zhu Changluo as the emperor, but he did recognize him as the eldest son of the emperor. After Zhu Yijun's "death", the most important part of the ceremony was that the eldest son of the emperor and the empress dowager, as the representatives of the imperial family, would hand over Zhu Changluo's imperial authority.
Wang Xijue was going to read the imperial edict on their behalf. This old official, who had once joined hands with Empress Dowager Li to stop the palace coup, returned to the capital and the center of power in a ridiculous way.
Empress Dowager Li turned a blind eye to this. She didn't seem to care about anything else.
Wang Xijue acted as if he did not see Empress Dowager Li at all.
Wang Xijue was about to read the imperial edict.
This was his responsibility as the new Prime Minister.
It was also a sign that he had officially become a loyal subject.
Wang Xijue's voice was loud and clear, and his posture was as straight as possible. However, there was a trace of unconcealable trembling in his voice.
Perhaps in the depths of his heart, he did not want to experience all of this. No, he definitely did not want to experience all of this.
But no, it was impossible. He had to experience it. He had to face it head on.
Only then would he have a chance to live.
Even if it wasn't for himself, he had to do it for his family.
The aging Wang Xijue decided to abandon his reputation.
Zhu Changluo's face was pale the entire time as he stared at Xiao Ruxun in fear. He leaned against his grandmother with all his might, hoping to find some sense of security.
In order to survive, he was willing to do anything, whether it was to have the eunuchs take off his prince's clothes and crown, or to be changed into other clothes, or to be asked to kneel before Xiao Ruxun in front of countless people, he was willing to do it.
He was willing to kneel on the ground and beg this man for the hope of survival.
He was willing to shout 'Long live the Emperor!'
That was enough, as long as they could do this, it was enough. They were very cooperative and were very good supporting characters.
Xiao Ruxun gave him the hope of survival and made him the Duke of Fengyang, the heir of the Ming Imperial Family. He allowed him to keep the Ming Dynasty's official style and clothing in Fengyang. He allowed him to keep the Ming Dynasty's ancestral temple in Fengyang to worship the ancestors. He did not need to kneel when receiving imperial edicts, nor did he need to address himself as a subject when presenting documents. He enjoyed the highest level of treatment and was rewarded during festivals.
This was how Cao Pi treated Emperor Xian. Although it was a little early, Xiao Ruxun didn't mind drawing a big picture for them to enjoy.
Xiao Ruxun even went forward to help Zhu Changluo and Empress Dowager Li up.
"The affairs of the world are unpredictable. Fate makes fools of us. Now that things have come to this, I have nothing more to say. I hope that you will take care of yourselves. Once the world is settled, I will send you to Fengyang."
Xiao Ruxun promised.
Yes, when the world was at peace, when the imperial family of Zhu Ming was captured and sent to an isolated island, when no one in the world was still thinking about the former Ming Dynasty, their family would be able to spend the rest of their lives in Fengyang.
When he made this decision, Xiao Ruxun couldn't help but look in the direction of the Yuxi Palace.
After a while, he shifted his gaze.
After this segment ended, Zhu Changluo and Empress Dowager Li still couldn't leave because there was still a process that hadn't been completed.
Xiao Ruxun had to enter the Huangji Palace and officially sit on the throne. He had to announce the name of the country and the year, and officially declare himself emperor. Zhu Changluo and Empress Dowager Li had to pay homage to the emperor of the Daqin along with the other civil and military officials to express their allegiance to him. Only then could they leave.
Thus, they watched as Xiao Ruxun walked into the Huangji Palace with the help of his servants. Step by step, he walked towards the supreme position of the world.
Among the civil and military officials, the group of people with the highest status also followed him into the Huangji Palace.
Not everyone had the right to enter. Those who didn't have enough official positions could only stand outside in the cold wind and wait for everything to happen inside the Huangji Palace.
Or rather, they were waiting for Xiao Ruxun to complete this process.
Standing in front of the throne, Xiao Ruxun couldn't sit down for a long time.
A wondrous feeling enveloped him.
As long as he sat down, nothing could be changed. Everything would become a foregone conclusion. Everything would continue and head towards a future that even he didn't know about.
This throne, this position, this position that symbolized absolute power, as long as he sat down, there was a possibility of changing everything.
As for himself, was he finally going to reach this step?
At the last moment, this kind of complicated feeling, the feeling of everything that happened in the past, was so wondrous.
From today onwards, the 26th year of the Wanli era had ended. The Daming Dynasty had also come to an end. Replacing it was a brand new Daqin Dynasty that had never appeared before. What kind of changes would this dynasty bring to the world?
No one knew.
Including Xiao Ruxun, where the new dynasty would go and what kind of changes it would bring to the world, no one knew.
Whether the new dynasty would be strong or weak, whether it would be peaceful for a long time or a flash in the pan, no one knew.
That included Xiao Ruxun.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he lifted the hem of his dragon robe and turned around. Looking at the civil and military officials in the palace, he saw the inexplicable expressions on their faces, looked at their eyes that were filled with desire, felt their desire, and sat down decisively.
Although it was cushioned, it was still hard and uncomfortable to sit on.
A servant stepped forward, and according to etiquette, announced the officials to shout three times to pay their respects to the new Emperor.
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
With three shouts, the officials knelt on the ground. Xiao Ruxun looked up and couldn't see a single one of them looking straight at him. From top to bottom, they all submitted to him. They were all his subjects who had handed over their authority to him. Everything they had was under his control.
This was the Emperor.
With a single word, life and death, the Emperor.
Zhu Changluo also knelt on the ground, and so did Empress Dowager Li. All the officials of the old Ming court and the new Daqin were kneeling on the ground, completely handing over their authority and fate to the Daqin Emperor, Xiao Ruxun.
The capital was set to be the capital, and the country was renamed Qin. The name was changed to Longwu, and the people were pardoned. All the officials in the capital, regardless of their rank, were given 100 catties of rice, 20 catties of meat, 10 bolts of cloth, 20 taels of silver, and 1 catty of each of tea and salt. The rest of the rewards were increased according to their rank. Every household in the capital was given five catties of rice, two catties of meat, and one bolt of cloth.
The new dynasty continued the Ming system, with Wang Xijue as the chief of the cabinet and Li Tingji as the second chief of the cabinet.
Xu Hongji's title of Duke of Wei remained unchanged. He still held the title of Duke of Wei, and his treatment was the same as before. He was made the commander-in-chief of the Central Army Commander-In-Chief of the five armies, and was in charge of the military in the capital.
The Wanli era came to an end, and there would no longer be the 27th year of Wanli or the second year of Taichang. On the first day of the first month of the first year of Longwu, when the sun rose, the Longwu Emperor of the Daqin, Xiao Ruxun, descended upon the world.
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