Chapter 309: Establishing the System (VIII)

The Harbor Affairs Building stands on the site of the former Dutch Trading Post, which was demolished. Since no commercial cargo ships are received here, the building is modest in size and designed in an elegant style: a three-story red-brick structure with large expanses of glass, combining the functions of harbor administration, a scenic restaurant, and a fort.

By the time the motorcade arrived at the building entrance, a crowd had already gathered. Most of the Transmigrators were already waiting inside, and in addition, a team of young soldiers in white naval dress uniforms stood in formation at the Pier District.

The next moment, the Rolls-Royce door opened, and out stepped Xia Xianze along with the driver, the former armed police captain and current "Minister of Defence," Lü Sheng.

The ceremony officially began from this point: Cao Chuan could not, of course, simply "pop out" from behind the Dragon Throne to ascend; there was a symbolic step of "leading the officials into the Imperial Palace," so at five o'clock this morning, Cao Chuan had already been waiting on the third floor of the Harbor Affairs Building.

The moment Xia Xianze stepped out of the car, the loudspeakers mounted on the corner of the building promptly began playing the "March of the Separate Columns" and the "March of Unity and Friendship." The previously silent scene instantly livened up, and an absurd "wedding procession" feeling permeated the air.

Grand Secretary Xia, also dressed in a purple windbreaker with a sash across his chest, walked through the crowd and up to the third floor amid the murmurs of the surrounding onlookers.

At that moment, Cao Chuan wore an even more splendidly styled windbreaker, though its color was the socially expected Ming yellow. He sat alone on a chair, surrounded by the Transmigrators like stars circling the moon. When they saw Xia appear, everyone stopped their chatting.

Xia Xianze immediately walked up before him and gave a slight bow. "Ahem... Your Majesty, it is time to depart."

"Then let us depart." Cao Chuan laughed heartily at these words, then rose to his feet. He looked left and right at the excited faces of the Transmigrators around him, nodded, and then took a historic step forward.

After stepping outside, Cao Chuan did not pause and quickly got into the car. Lü Sheng slowly turned the car around and drove back along the original route, following behind several fine horses heading toward the Imperial City.

At the same time, the large group of Transmigrators formed a column and followed behind the car.

Behind the purple column were the ranks of soldiers in green and white.

The procession-like column thus surged grandly toward the Imperial City. Along the way, people chatted happily, utterly lacking the solemnity and gravity befitting a grand ceremony.

The moment a red sun leaped above the horizon, the 251 Transmigrators had already gathered in Jianyuan Hall atop the Imperial City. Simultaneously, the fort at the corner of the Imperial City echoed with the sound of a gun salute — 108 rounds.

At that moment, a profound silence filled Jianyuan Hall. Over two hundred people stood neatly to the left and right. The Cao Emperor was already seated on the Dragon Throne, the Mianliu Crown Crown Crown resting on the table before him — everyone was waiting for Grand Secretary Xia on the platform to read the "Abdication Petition."

Had they used the classical-style Abdication Petition provided by the Imperial Han, Xia Xianze would have been humiliated today: he could neither read it fluently nor understand it.

Moreover, the losers below the platform, including Cao Chuan himself, would not have understood it either.

So what Xia Xianze ultimately read into the microphone was a concise and straightforward gangster-boss ascension speech: With the unanimous consent of all Transmigrators... constitutional monarchy... jointly electing Cao Chuan as Emperor... enthroned today... Anyone in favor? Anyone opposed?

Seeing a uniform chorus of "Aye" rise from below the platform, Xia Xianze turned around and bowed to Cao Chuan on the Dragon Throne: "Please, Emperor, accept the coronation." After Cao Chuan nodded, Speaker Luo, who had been waiting to the side, stepped onto the platform.

Speaker Luo was Professor Luo, whose full name was Luo Lixian. According to the rule that "the Speaker must be an Independent," he was the one ultimately chosen by the people to serve as Speaker.

And now, he was also the one responsible for crowning Cao Chuan.

After quickly stepping onto the platform, Professor Luo first gave a slight bow to the audience below, then turned and came before Cao Chuan. He took the Mianliu Crown Crown Crown handed to him by Xia Xianze, deftly raised it with both hands, and gently placed it atop Cao Chuan's head.

Cao Chuan could only accept this with a blank expression — he was a bit helpless. Given his personality, slapping on a Golden-Winged Hat to muddle through would have sufficed; the Mianliu Crown Crown Crown was far too pretentious.

On this matter, however, he had failed: people wanted the procedure to match their imagination, to be used later in the coronation ceremonies of future emperors.

The next moment, the ceremony was complete, and the "assembled officials" began paying homage to the new monarch.

There were no Three Kneelings and Nine Kowtows, but there were three bows and one kneel — over two hundred novices, imitating the two men on the platform, first gave three chaotic bows, then everyone unevenly dropped to one knee in a perfunctory gesture, accompanied by utterly insincere cries of "Long live our Emperor!" The scene was chaotic and farcical, like a third-rate film crew in Hengdian.

Slowly rising to his feet, Cao Chuan remained composed: expecting these socialist old-timers clutching smartphones to play at feudal superstition was clearly unreliable; he was fully mentally prepared for this kind of situation.

Yet, however slapdash it was, from the moment Cao Chuan rose wearing the Mianliu Crown Crown Crown, he had legally become the Emperor of the nation — that much was absolutely real.

After standing, Cao Chuan first said softly: "I declare the Empire begins today."... As these words were broadcast by the microphone on the table, the "Gold Dragon Empire" established by the Transmigrators officially opened for business.

After the simple ascension procedure came the part everyone loved best: the granting of offices and promises.

First came the promise. The Cao Emperor then publicly declared: I shall rule together with all of you.

This was a crucial promise: the Transmigrators' governance of the nation and the hereditary nobility, including the legal basis for dividing the spoils in the future, all stemmed from this. Thus, accompanying Cao Chuan's words, the hall instantly erupted with whistles, applause, and wild shouts of "Long live President Cao!"

After this promise, Cao Chuan, in his capacity as founding monarch, also provided an endorsement: when everyone grew old in the days to come, he would preside over the distribution of the fruits of their hard work — the mountains and rivers would belong to the state, the enterprises to the Transmigrators.

As for the Imperial House... the Imperial House needed none of these. Over the long passage of time, the once-dominant Transmigrator families would inevitably fall into decline and vanish, while the Imperial House was the only family present that could endure as long as the nation itself. Therefore, the Imperial House wanted nothing, only the prosperity of the nation's fortunes.

After the promises came the granting of offices.

Xia Xianze was the first to be summoned forward.

Watching this old brother, his face glowing with health and sporting a square jaw and large ears, walk up before him, Cao Chuan could not help but recall their first exchange in the garbage alley: "Don't come any closer, if you need to piss, just do it right there..."

The unpredictability of life could not be more starkly illustrated.

After steadying himself, Cao Chuan smiled and reached across the table to pat Xia on the shoulder. He then stacked a copy of the Constitution atop a creamy white Yangzhi Jade Seal, added a short Golden Sceptre, and handed them all to Xia Xianze: "I now appoint you Prime Minister of the Empire, and permanently delegate to you executive power, the power to appoint and dismiss officials, the power to pardon criminals, and diplomatic authority."

Xia Xianze received the Prime Minister's seal, symbolizing governmental authority, with both hands, then bowed his head and stooped: "Your servant shall spare no effort in the performance of his duty until his heart ceases to beat!"

Next, Cao Chuan picked up a bright red Chicken-blood Stone Seal from the table: "I now appoint you Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, with overall command of the Empire's military power."

Xia Xianze bowed and received the seal.

After the Prime Minister's inauguration, Cao Chuan next appointed Luo Lixian as Speaker of Parliament, presenting him with the constitutional text, a Golden Hammer, and a Black Obsidian Seal symbolizing parliamentary authority.

It should be noted that within the current imperial structure, since there was an Emperor immune to all laws, there was no position of "Chief Justice": the Minister of Justice, who concurrently served as President of the High Court, was the highest judicial post — this position was a member of the Cabinet, subordinate to the Prime Minister.

At this point, the matters of the executive system were considered settled: subsequent second-tier officials would be nominated by Xia Xianze and decided by Parliament.

Next came the moment for the enfeoffment.

The 250 Transmigrators came forward one by one, receiving from the Emperor's hands the patent of nobility conferring upon them the title of Viscount and a blank Tianhuang Jade Pendant: afterward, they could carve their family crest onto this pendant.

The drawn-out enfeoffment ceremony consumed far too much time: after receiving their patents, everyone performed one bow and one single-knee kneel to signify submission.

After the entire ceremony concluded, the table before Cao Chuan, once piled high with objects, was finally empty, leaving only his own belongings: several imperial seals, treasures, and stamps for the Emperor's use.

The most important and largest of these seals was the Imperial Jade Seal — prior to this, the Fuzhou Station had already dispatched troops to seal off the "Shoushan Township" north of Fuzhou City and had engaged in extensive mining near Shoushan Stream, transporting all collected Tianhuang stone back to the Imperial City.

The jade seal now resting on Cao Chuan's table was carved from a piece of top-grade Tianhuang jade the size of a child's head.

By the time all the ceremonies were completed, it was already noon.

The Transmigrators, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, ordered the fort to fire a second round of gun salutes and laid out a grand banquet in Jianyuan Hall... it was time for a "Great Feast for All Officials."

After the banquet, in the afternoon, the monarch and his officials, invigorated by a few gulps of beer, began receiving the native elites under their command... in fact, from this day forward, these native elites would have a formal designation: "Citizens."

The first citizen fortunate enough to enter Jianyuan Hall was, naturally, Fort Master Zhou Tong, the first person in history to have dealings with the Cao Emperor.

Zhou Tong came before Cao Chuan together with his second brother, Chen Huoding, and his third brother, Chu Jianli.

When the two sides met, they were filled with emotion: the memory of their first encounter in the mountains, the expressions of mutual shock on everyone's faces, remained vivid. But now, things had changed and people were different; the three leaders of Pingfeng Stronghold had become elites of the nation, heroes serving the Empire.

Amidst his feelings, Cao Chuan first bestowed wine upon the three men, then granted them gold and silver.

The gold and silver here were not ingots, but "Cao Big Head" Silver Dollars with a face value of One Yuan and the Imperial Banknotes soon to be officially issued.

These specimen coins were all brought by Cao Chuan from later generations; the molds were already prepared and they could be distributed internally very soon.

After bestowing wine, food, and coin, Cao Chuan further conferred the title of "National Scholar" upon the three men, and by special decree promoted Chen Huoding to the rank of Ensign for the merit of "slaying Zheng Zhihu in formation."

The first group of native elites withdrew after receiving their rewards. Next to have an audience with the Emperor was the representative of the "literati stratum": Jiang Sang.

This former starving wretch, a beggar saved by the Transmigrators, had now grown into a youth of refined and scholarly bearing.

When Jiang Shang came before the Emperor and gracefully recited an ancient-style "congratulatory address," Cao Chuan, looking upon this child he had once "bestowed a name upon," could not contain his great delight. He immediately granted him the title of "National Scholar" and awarded him coin and a Marlboro Gold Pen.

After Jiang Shang came Comrade Nan Wang, representing the stratum of surrendered literati — a former destitute scholar, now an agent of the Intelligence Bureau, codenamed "Chemist."

Though Cao Chuan was not well acquainted with Nan Wang, his impression of the capable and astute xiucai before him was quite favorable. What followed was the established procedure: bestowing wine and food, and, for Nan Wang's merit in "single-handedly exterminating a bandit gang," conferring upon him the nobility rank of "National Scholar" on the spot.

The fourth group to receive enfeoffment was considerably larger: the Army and Navy each selected twenty elite soldiers to come to Jianyuan Hall.

Here, Cao Chuan first granted the banner designations of "Royal Navy" and "Royal Army" to Liu Zhe and Han Bo respectively.

Next, he granted the banner designation of "First Guards Battalion" to Wei Yuan.

Only after this did it come to the individuals — representing the Army and Navy soldiers to step forward and pledge their loyalty were two elite young officers, Yang Er and Mao Wu.

Seeing these two young men, Cao Chuan could not help but laugh. Truly, one cannot judge by appearances: one was short, the other had a birthmark on his face, yet these two had repeatedly distinguished themselves in battle and become the youth representatives of their respective service branches.

The Emperor was naturally not stingy at such a moment. After the wine, meat, coin, and National Scholar treatment, he further bestowed upon Yang Er the imperially granted name "Yang Weili" for his merit in "single-handedly capturing the bandit chief Lin Shiwan."

Mao Wu was handled in the same manner: Cao Chuan imperially granted him the flashy name "Mao Wujian."

The conferment of honors upon national elites from all trades and professions continued until the time the lamps were lit. And as the decorated lanterns began to glow, the Emperor's enthronement — the act of "universal celebration" — naturally could not be omitted: fireworks transported from later generations were set off above the Imperial City.

This act instantly stirred the people of the entire Dayuan Island and the Chikan region — when had the natives ever seen such beautiful, large-scale fireworks?

And so, Chikan Avenue, facing the Taijiang, was instantly packed with crowds who had come out to watch the fireworks. People called out to friends and companions, shouting, clapping, laughing heartily; male laborers clasped the hands of female laborers, and everyone stared unblinkingly at the sky above the distant Imperial City, which seemed like an Immortal Palace, watching cluster after cluster of fireworks burst open, their mouths ceaselessly emitting exclamations of wonder, their eyes filled with praise and yearning for a beautiful life.

What the populace did not know, however, was that while they were cheering and watching the fireworks, a certain group of sovereign and ministers standing atop the Imperial City, likewise drinking beer and enjoying the beautiful scene, were bleeding inwardly at that very moment... Yes, every time a firework went up, the hearts of the majority were bleeding.

One must understand that, counting the fine horses, automobiles, gift packs, fireworks, rewards, various documents and tokens of credence, and all the other expenses of the enthronement, the Crossing Faction had used up at least four months' worth of import quotas.

That is to say, the "manoeuvre quota" that the Transmigrators had previously accumulated had vanished like smoke and clouds with the Emperor's enthronement.

Therefore, from now on, for at least three or four months, all "high-precision and advanced" projects of the transmigrator society would need to be completely halted until enough manoeuvre transport quota was saved up.

Thus, every single moment a firework went up, the masters' hearts were bleeding...

At this point, Cao Huangshang's Enthronement Ceremony could be considered thoroughly complete.

And with the completion of this crude, chaotic, and flaw-ridden ceremony, the giant ship of the New Empire formally straightened out its internal relations and began to set sail on its voyage.

As for the specific circumstances of the first half of this Enthronement Ceremony, they would become the Empire's highest state secret in the future: it was simply too slipshod, and the future rulers of the Empire would be too ashamed to disclose the truth.

Of course, the rough procedures were limited solely to this one generation of Transmigrators.

In fact, it did not take many years — a mere 150 years later, the grandeur of Cao Chuan's great-granddaughter's enthronement and coronation was broadcast live globally; 80% of the Empire's populace witnessed the live broadcast. The elaborate rituals and procedures, the magnificent spectacle, the mighty military parade — none of these were things the Transmigrators perfunctorily shouting slogans in the great hall today could have foreseen.

In short, the Emperor was enthroned, and the Empire was established.