Coronation in the First Month (3)
The First Lunar Month, for proclaiming a new order and a new regime.
Amidst lightly swirling sleet, the enthronement ceremony was conducted.
A new dynasty.
A new emperor.
The man, clad in a black Imperial Crown with Pendants and Imperial Dragon Robe, ascended the stone steps holding a brilliantly colored Jade Tablet in both hands. The Civil and Military Officials watched the back of Liu Chong as he took solemn, deliberate steps to announce the ascension of the new emperor.
"Hear me, all you officials!"
He stood before the jade throne.
Liu Chong commanded the Civil and Military Officials with a dignified voice.
The Civil and Military Officials, in their crimson and purple court robes, paid their respects and awaited the imperial decree. Even as the sleet swirled and a biting chill settled over them, not one of them uttered a sound of complaint.
"It is said that Heaven bestows its mandate upon one who has won the people's hearts. That I stand in this glory and brilliance today is thanks to your aid and devotion—how could this be anything but Heaven's will? Fierce though this swirling sleet may be... with the Crown Prince and all of you at my side, I do not tremble in the slightest! With loyal Civil and Military Officials and a hundred thousand soldiers, what in all under heaven could harm Us!"
His face flushed from the biting cold.
His breath misted white.
But his voice was more resolute than ever.
It was undeniably his son Liu Seong-hwi's achievements that had brought about this present glory. Yet Liu Chong himself was a Cadet Imperial Clan Member who had made his name in the vortex of a chaotic era, and he was clearly a man fit to be the founding emperor who would open a new dynasty.
"Today, in answer to Heaven's summons and your entreaties, I ascend the imperial throne! To punish the arch-traitor who slaughtered the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, to bring an end to the chaos ignited by the tyranny of the late emperor and the eunuchs and usher in a reign of peace, and to relieve the poor and starving common people, I will carry out in full the duties and responsibilities of the new Emperor of Han!"
The just cause and the legitimacy are more than sufficient.
The arch-traitor of all time.
A chaotic era intensifying into a struggle among warlords.
The common people across the land, confronted by poverty and famine.
What could this be, if not a summons from all under heaven?
Had there been no tyranny by an inept ruler and the eunuchs, this usurpation—a Cadet Imperial Clan Member at the frontier declaring a new dynasty's mandate—surely could never have succeeded. The chief architects of this usurpation were clearly Emperor Ling, Liu Hong, and the Ten Regular Attendants.
"Today's glory and brilliance exist because of the Crown Prince's magnificent military achievements! I proclaim to all under heaven that I invest Liu Seong-hwi, the Legitimate Eldest Son of the Imperial House and the chief architect of our achievements, as Imperial Crown Prince!"
Imperial Crown Prince.
For obvious reasons, Liu Seong-hwi was invested as the Imperial Crown Prince.
Liu Seong-hwi paid his respects, facing the swirling sleet.
"The imperial grace is overwhelming. I will assist His Majesty the Emperor with all my soul and devotion, now and in the future."
Punish the arch-traitor and restore the reign of peace. Liu Chong's army issued a declaration of war against Dong Zhuo's army to underscore its just cause and legitimacy.
They had been in a state of enmity from the start.
Had Liu Seong-hwi not served as Alliance Leader of the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition?
Issuing a declaration of war did not automatically organize an expeditionary force. Yet for the people of Guanxi and the Central Plains, groaning under the oppression of Dong Zhuo's army, it would come as hope and expectation.
"Long Live His Majesty the Emperor!"
He raised both hands high and shouted.
As if in response, the Civil and Military Officials attending the ceremony raised their hands high.
"Long Live! Long Live!"
"Long Live His Majesty the Emperor!"
The officials' resonant voices rolled into three cheers of Long Live. Even the fierce wind of the sleet could not drown out the three cheers that proclaimed the new emperor's ascension to the world.
The Emperor.
A new emperor had ascended.
It was the moment two emperors came to exist in the vast Central Plains.
The era name was proclaimed as Jianwu.
Huainan Prefecture, where the capital of Shouchun City was located, was elevated to Huainan Metropolitan District.
The news that Liu Chong, who had declared usurpation, had ascended as the new emperor shook the entire realm. Upon receiving the news, the warlords in each region showed their own reactions and decided their policy toward Liu Chong's army.
* * *
Upon ascending as emperor, Liu Chong simultaneously appointed the founding meritorious retainers as heads of the new Imperial Court and the military command.
Sun Jian became General of Agile Cavalry.
Liu Bei and Sun Ce were granted the additional offices of General of the Household for All Purposes and General of the Household of the Tiger Guard.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the fierce generals of Liu Bei's army, became General Who Conquers the West and General Who Conquers the South. The veteran commanders of Sun Jian's army—Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Zu Mao, and Han Dang—were all appointed to the Four Garrison Generals, thereby assuming key posts in the military command.
And then,
"My sincere congratulations, Your Highness the Crown Prince! You are now the undisputed heir to the Imperial House!"
"'Your Highness the Crown Prince,' huh... A title both familiar and unfamiliar."
The formal positions granted at the enthronement ceremony were not limited to the Imperial Crown Prince.
General-in-Chief, commanding the military.
Governor of the Metropolitan District, with jurisdiction over the capital.
Imperial Crown Prince, concurrently General-in-Chief, concurrently Governor of the Metropolitan District.
He was the heir to the new Imperial House and, holding absolute authority over both the military and civil administration, a man second only to one and above all others. The luxurious accumulation of concurrent offices was something only a military usurper who had seized state power through armed force might normally achieve.
"Your Highness. Your Highness! I will keep calling you that until it feels natural!"
"Sure."
Cute and audacious, like a puppy that follows its master with its tail gently wagging.
He strolled through the royal palace with a beautiful young lady whose crimson hair hung down.
"General of the Household of the Tiger Guard... I hardly know what to do with myself, having been entrusted with so excessive an office this time. I will do my utmost to repay the favor of His Highness the King of Chen... no, His Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
"You don't need to be so tense."
"You're wrong! I intend to approach this with a whole new resolve!"
"Hmm."
The General of the Household of the Tiger Guard was the office of the Captain of the Guard, with sole responsibility for the emperor's protection. It was a post famous for being granted only to the power-holders among power-holders, given that Yuan Shu, head of the legitimate line of the Runan Yuan Clan, had held it only after passing through a multitude of other key offices.
Governor of Yang Province.
And General of the Household of the Tiger Guard.
She had gained two key offices known as the glory and honor of the clan.
Sun Ce's shoulders trembled slightly as she radiated an intense euphoria.
"My father has been appointed General of Agile Cavalry, and my uncles have been named to the Four Garrison Generals. How can I ever repay the state's grace bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness the Crown Prince...? I'm honestly at a moment of hesitation."
"Simply show unchanging loyalty at the palace and the valor of a one-man army on the battlefield. I keep telling you, you don't need to be so tense."
He slowly stroked her flushed cheeks.
At that, Sun Ce bowed her head deeply.
A smile full of bashfulness settled on her features.
Though bowing her head in embarrassment, she actively responded to the touch.
"Tomorrow is the day of my Coming-of-Age Ceremony."
"Has it come so soon? Now you're a proper adult."
So this tomboy of a girl is undergoing her Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
A poignant feeling.
Now she would receive a courtesy name to use in place of her given name.
"May I ask... have you given any thought to my courtesy name?"
"Bofu. How about Bofu?"
Bofu.
It was the courtesy name for Sun Ce recorded in the original history.
Don't they say old officials make the best officials?
I didn't want to overconfidently flaunt my clumsy naming skills and pass a nuisance on to a lovely young lady who was finally coming of age.
While walking through the inner courtyard, he drew the characters on the dirt ground.
The moment she saw it, Sun Ce broke into a bright smile and was delighted.
"A fine name! Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Ordinarily the Left General—no, the General of Agile Cavalry would have named you. I hope I haven't needlessly butted in."
"Not at all, Father was also very pleased."
"That's a relief."
Sun Ce hummed a little tune, overjoyed.
She'd been waiting on tenterhooks all this time just to undergo the ceremony.
* * *
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is not simply a ritual celebrating entry into adulthood. It was a rite of passage into a society where one would now bear commensurate responsibilities and duties.
All duties carry responsibility.
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was precisely the rite that acknowledged one as an equal member and taught the importance of that responsibility.
"Congratulations, Ce'er. You are now formally a member of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan household."
"Thank you, Father."
First Capping.
She donned a plain cap and the humble cotton Deep Robe, expressing a modest and upright frame of mind.
Second Capping.
She donned the martial cap and the courtly Deep Robe, demonstrating her readiness to fulfill a social role.
Third Capping.
She donned the ritual cap and the black tunic and red skirt reserved for ancestral rites, proving she had become a full adult.
All the steps of the ceremony were completed.
Sun Jian gazed at his daughter, from whom he had been separated for years and then reunited, his expression full of deep emotion.
That little child who used to totter after him had already grown so much and was performing her Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The officers of Sun Jian's army, who had observed the ceremony, looked on with similarly moved expressions.
"At last the young lady has her ceremony...!"
"Ah, sob! At this rate she'll be holding the wedding right after!"
The members of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan household took pride in their warm intimacy. Liu Seong-hwi, who had attended the ceremony as a guest, watched the family sincerely congratulating Sun Ce with a faint smile.
After the ceremony concluded,
Sun Ce, still wearing the ceremonial cap and clothes that symbolized the ceremony, led Liu Seong-hwi away.
"Ce'er?"
"I'm... an adult now, you know...?"
An ordinary guest room with a bed.
The young lady with crimson hair flowing down smiled seductively as she lay down on the bed.
Hmm.
Something's off.
Where did all the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan members from just moments ago disappear to?
Liu Seong-hwi, having plopped down on the bed, immediately sensed the drastic shift that had occurred the moment the ceremony ended.
"Haah, haah...! Do you know how long I've been holding back?"
"Hm?"
"It means now that I've completed the ceremony and become an adult, I can do as I please."
"..."
All the same, "as I please" is a bit much.
What is this, an all-you-can-eat buffet...?
"Fufuh...!"
Sun Ce climbed on top of Liu Seong-hwi, whispering a seductively moist laugh into his ear.
And she added,
"I'm twenty now, but just a few days ago it was incredibly dangerous, you know, Your Highness♡"
