Chapter 305 Canonization
"The tribes in Hehuang have been afraid that the Western Xia and the Song Dynasty would take advantage of their situation, so they have not dared to start a war. This time is a godsend opportunity for them, and they will definitely not give up," said Wang Shao.
Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said, "Just go ahead and do this. I will let Sheng Wei follow your instructions."
"Yes!"
When Wang Shao saw that Zhao Xing agreed to his suggestion and handed the matter over to him, he was so excited that his voice trembled.
Wang Shao is only in his twenties now, and has never been given important positions before.
All people pursue in life is fame and fortune.
Now Zhao Xing asked him to take charge of the Hehuang affairs. As long as he could annex Hehuang, it would not be difficult for him to rise to prominence, and even leave his name in history. He could be said to gain both fame and fortune.
After chatting with Wang Shao for a while and learning some information about the situation in the Northwest Army, Zhao Xing let him go back.
When the fighting breaks out in Hehuang, the Song Dynasty will definitely send troops at the critical moment.
However, Zhao Xing did not intend to let Wang Shao lead the troops. His candidate for commander-in-chief was Gu Tingye.
Some people say that heroes create the times, but Zhao Xing believes that it is the times that create heroes.
Whenever there is chaos in the world, the number of talented people that emerge is far greater than usual.
Because chaos in the world can provide space for growth and a platform for displaying one's abilities.
Talent is important, but without a platform for growth, one may end up being nothing more than armchair strategist like Zhao Kuo.
Is Zhao Kuo really that incompetent?
Zhao Xing didn't think so, it was just that as soon as he appeared on the stage he faced Bai Qi, the most outstanding general at that time.
With Bai Qi's ability, Lian Po could only take a defensive stance, and the result would not be much better if someone else took over.
If Zhao Kuo had been allowed to start from the grassroots level, he might have grown into a famous general.
Historically, when Liu Bang conquered the world, most of his confidants were made in Xiaopei.
Most of Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants were from Huaixi.
Most of these people were not very capable at the beginning, but most of them were honed through constant battles.
Gu Tingye has good abilities, but like Zhao Kuo, he lacks sufficient experience.
The Hehuang area is the place where Zhao Xing gave Gu Tingye training.
…………
After the enthronement banquet, the concubines who stayed in the East Palace also entered the palace through the side door by carriage.
Sitting in the last carriage were Rulan and Minglan.
Rulan was of the lowest rank among all of Zhao Xing's concubines, so naturally she had to ride in the last carriage.
"I don't know whether His Highness will appoint me as one of the Nine Concubines." Rulan said with some anticipation.
"Fifth sister, it's time to address him as Your Majesty," Minglan reminded.
"I'm used to it, and I can't change it." Rulan muttered, and said, "Minglan, do you think I can become the ninth concubine?"
"It's hard to say. After all, apart from the Four Concubines, the most honorable ones are the Nine Concubines." Minglan said.
The most respected concubine in the harem is the Empress, followed by the four concubines named Gui, Shu, De and Xian.
Nominally, the four concubines had no rank distinction and none of them were of the first rank.
Below them are the second-rank Taiyi, Guiyi, Shuyi, Shurong, Shunyi, Shunrong, Wanyi, Wanrong and Zhaoyi, collectively known as the Nine Concubines.
There are thirteen positions for the four concubines and nine imperial concubines. Including Zhang Guifen, Zhao Xing's concubines are less than ten, which is enough.
However, given Zhao Xing's level, it was impossible for him to confer titles to most of the four concubines and nine imperial concubines.
In fact, Minglan felt that Rulan had little chance, after all, her rank was the lowest among all the concubines.
"What's the difference between saying it and not saying it?" Rulan said dissatisfiedly.
"Fifth sister, actually you will know once you enter the palace and take a look at the palaces divided into different areas," Minglan said.
The palaces where the four concubines and nine imperial concubines lived were corresponding.
"Yes." Rulan became full of anticipation when she heard that.
Not only Rulan, but other concubines are also eyeing the position of the Nine Concubines.
Of course, there are also people who are thinking about the positions of the Four Concubines.
After the convoy entered the palace through the side door, it stopped.
The people in the carriage were notified and got off.
Liu Sanshi, who had been waiting outside with a group of eunuchs, came forward to greet them.
When Zhao Xing ascended the throne, his position also rose to that of Internal Attendant, in charge of the eunuchs in the harem.
"I have met several distinguished persons."
Liu Sanshi stepped forward and bowed with a smile, saying, "The palaces where the nobles live have been cleaned. These eunuchs will lead the way for the nobles. If the nobles need anything, you can send someone to inform me. I will do my best to help you."
After Liu Sanshi finished speaking, he saw that the women didn't say anything, so he arranged for someone to lead the way for them.
"My grandfather is my husband, and I should be one of the four concubines." Li Liangdi said to herself.
The other girls, except Li Yunchu, were all looking forward to it.
But as they walked, they realized something was wrong. The eunuch who was leading the way took them all in one direction.
Concubines of different ranks live in different areas. It is impossible for all of them to be named the Nine Concubines.
After walking for a while, we finally parted ways.
However, we didn't walk far before we arrived at our destination.
After entering the courtyard, Li Liangdi found that this courtyard was not as good as the one where she lived in the East Palace.
"What rank of concubines live here?" Li Liangdi could no longer bear it and asked the eunuch who was leading the way.
"Sir, this is the area where you live." said the eunuch who led the way.
Li Liangdi's face turned pale when she heard this. The "noble lady" before the eunuch was a name for her, and the "noble lady" after it referred to a rank of concubines in the harem.
A noble lady is a sixth-rank official, the lowest rank among the emperor's concubines. So, Zhao Xing conferred the title of noble lady on her?
and many more!
Li Liangdi suddenly reacted and said, "Are the others also placed here?"
"My lord, because the enthronement has not yet come down, we can only arrange for a few of you to stay here temporarily. We will move to the corresponding palace according to the enthronement after it comes down." The eunuch replied.
Li Liangdi heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, as long as she was not canonized as a noble lady.
The same scene was played out in several other courtyards.
After all, Rulan, who had the lowest rank among them, had lived in a better place than the current courtyard.
Now she has been promoted from the Crown Prince's concubine to the Emperor's concubine, but the place she lives in is even worse than before. No one can accept this.
Zhao Xing didn't know all this. At the time, he was having a headache about the issue of enthroning concubines.
They were all his concubines, and he could not confer titles upon them entirely according to his preferences.
But he also had to leave some room for advancement, so he didn't plan to enthrone the other four concubines except Li Yunchu.
Li Yunchu is the eldest princess of Western Xia. There is room for her to make use of this identity in the future. It is certain that she will be canonized as one of the four concubines.
After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Xing finally decided on the respective ranks of enthronement.
Li Yunchu was the virtuous concubine.
Li Liangdi was the ninth concubine Shunyi, Jiang Liangdi was Shunrong, Yu Yanran was Guiyi, and Shulan was Shuyi.
Li Liangdi and Yu Yanran are both granddaughters of the prime minister, while Jiang Liangdi was born in a marquis's mansion.
Shulan gave birth to Zhao Xing's eldest daughter.
The rest were all beauties of the fourth rank.
After finishing all this, the next step is to enthrone my daughter.
Zhao Xing thought about it, then with a stroke of his brush, he wrote the four big words "Princess Yongle".
Generally, the title of a princess is accompanied by the name of the place where she was granted fiefdom, but the princesses of the Great Song Dynasty did not receive fiefdoms directly, so the title did not necessarily have to use a place name.
Zhao Xing gave his daughter the title Yongle without any other meaning, he just hoped that his daughter would be happy forever.
Originally, he wanted to use Changle as the title, but when he thought about Li Shimin's eldest daughter who was canonized as Princess Changle and died young, he gave up the idea.
Zhao Xing thought about it carefully and seeing that there was no problem, he handed the draft enthronement decree to Zhang Qingzhi and asked him to submit it to the Ministry of Rites according to the draft decree.
Once the Ministry of Rites completes the record and announces the decree, the enthronement will be completed.
In the evening, after Zhao Xing finished his work, he went to Renming Palace.
He used to come here often and lived here for many years when he was a child.
As we entered the hall, Zhang Guifen and her group came to greet us.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Zhang Guifen said with a salute.
Zhao Xing glanced at Zhang Guifen. At this time, she had also changed out of her queen's dress and put on casual clothes.
Although it is casual wear, it looks elegant and luxurious.
"You didn't touch the layout here?"
Zhao Xing pulled Zhang Guifen to the couch and sat down. He looked at the layout of the hall, which had not changed much from when Empress Dowager Cao lived there.
"I thought the original layout was pretty good, so I didn't let anyone touch it," said Zhang Guifen.
"I don't think it's good, let's change it." Zhao Xing said.
Given Empress Dowager Cao’s age, the original layout seemed a bit old-fashioned.
And he always felt it was weird to keep it the same.
"Then I will have someone rearrange it tomorrow." Zhang Guifen said.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Are you used to it?"
"It's okay, but the Renming Palace is too big and seems a bit deserted," said Zhang Guifen.
"It's okay. Yanran and the others have moved in too. You can ask them to come over and talk to you or play cards to relieve your boredom." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"Yeah." Zhang Guifen nodded.
The couple chatted for a while and then had their meal served.
After dinner, Zhao Xing took Zhang Guifen out for a walk.
"Don't even mention you. Even I am a little uncomfortable with it."
Walking in the corridor, Zhao Xing looked around and said.
The palace, especially the harem, is too quiet at night.
The basic skill of palace maids and eunuchs is to walk without making any sound.
If there weren't a group of palace maids and eunuchs following me when I travel, it would feel too empty.
Zhang Guifen smiled but said nothing. She didn't know how to comfort her in this matter.
"Let's go to the observatory and take a look." Zhao Xing said.
The Observatory is a four-story attic, from the fourth floor you can see the entire Bianjing.
When they arrived at the terrace on the fourth floor, the accompanying palace maids served tea and snacks and were then sent away by Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing stood on the terrace with his hands behind his back, looking at the brightly lit streets in Bianjing city from afar.
"I have known since I was a child that I would be the only one to inherit the throne. When my father said he would abdicate to me, I felt no emotion at all. But before I ascended the throne, I was still filled with excitement and excitement."
"But after I ascended the throne, I was not that happy."
"Your Majesty is now the emperor of all the people in the world. Ascending the throne not only represents power, but also responsibility. But I believe that Your Majesty can do a good job." Zhang Guifen comforted.
Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "That's not why I'm here."
(End of this chapter)