Chapter 1061: The Emperor of Great Song

Deliberation Hall.

The officials were divided into civil and military ranks, standing solemnly to the north and south.

When Liang Cheng stepped forward to unfold the Imperial Edict, everyone bowed slightly and lowered their heads.

At this moment, Liang Cheng read: "The primordial Qi first opened, and a ruler was established; the mandate is not constant, and one is supported only by virtue. In the heart of Heaven and the affairs of men, the wise and capable are chosen; the four seas rejoice in their promotion, for it is not the possession of one man alone."

"I have been on the throne for thirty-six years; great chaos has brought darkness, and the multitude of villains have acted with rebellion, turning the world upside down. I have relied on the divine martial prowess of Yan Wang to rescue us from this disaster in all directions, so as to protect and soothe our ancestral temple."

"Now, Yan Wang reverently inherits the previous legacy, shining with his virtue, and has established an unprecedented great undertaking. The imperial spirits have sent down auspicious signs, and both men and gods have given their testimony. He is truly brilliant and capable, and Heaven has bestowed upon me this mandate. I respectfully abdicate the throne to Yan Wang, that he may hold fast to the middle path, entertain these ten thousand nations, and solemnly inherit the great lineage. Respect this!"

Liang Cheng's aged voice echoed through the great hall.

Once the Imperial Edict was read, the officials all said in unison, "Long live the Emperor!"

At this time, Zhao Heng stood up and personally carried the jade seal and national seal to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu made a gesture of refusal, after which Zhao Heng once again presented the jade seal and national seal to Zhao Xu.

This was repeated three times before Zhao Xu accepted the jade seal and national seal.

This was the ritual of three pushes and three yieldings during an abdication, which had been arranged by the Ministry of Rites.

Although Zhao Xu felt it was very troublesome, his ascension to the throne was, after all, a matter of concern to the entire Great Song and his enemies, so being solemn and cumbersome was of no consequence.

After Zhao Xu formally accepted the jade seal and national seal, Zhao Heng, supported by Liang Cheng, slowly walked down the steps and headed toward the outside of the hall.

"Respectfully send off the Retired Emperor!" At this moment, the officials gave another loud shout, which served as the final farewell to this former monarch of Great Song.

After Zhao Heng's figure disappeared, Zhao Xu came before the Dragon Throne and slowly sat down.

Instantly, the civil and military officials shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live, long, long live!"

As the voices of the officials spread out, the three thousand Imperial Guard soldiers outside the great hall also shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor, long live, long, long live."

The voices of the Imperial Guard soldiers were exceptionally loud, carrying from the Imperial Palace all the way to the streets outside.

The common people knew that this was Yan Wang formally taking his seat on the Dragon Throne, becoming the Emperor of their Great Song.

Consequently, they either danced with joy or embraced and wept with happiness, the sound of "Long live" shaking the heavens.

And in the Deliberation Hall of Wuji Palace, after the officials shouted "Long live," they could no longer maintain the solemn expressions on their faces, each and every one of them beaming with joy.

Zhao Xu looked toward the assembled officials, a faint smile hanging on his face as well.

It was not that he did not want to be Emperor; that was naturally impossible.

He did not want to be before because the time had not yet come.

Now that Great Song was flourishing and its foreign wars were no longer passive but active, it was time for him to sit on the throne of the Emperor.

From now on, he would compete for world hegemony as the Emperor of Great Song against the monarchs of all nations.

However, although Zhao Heng's abdication procedure had passed, with the ascension of a new Emperor, there were still the new Emperor's own ritual procedures to follow.

Thus, he gave Xiao Guizi a look.

This young man had already replaced Liang Cheng as the Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace.

Xiao Guizi nodded, the joy in his eyes impossible to hide.

Holding the Imperial Edict personally written by Zhao Xu, he read aloud at court: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I believe that virtue must be in harmony with the yellow robes, and the transformation of the people must originate from the inner palace. Fragrance flows through the red history, and the motherly model is used as a pattern for the family and state. Holding the excellent model to inherit blessings, bestowing great names to establish positions, I consult you, Consort Yang, daughter of the Great General of the Black Tortoise Army, Yang Zhen. Auspiciousness gathers in the noble family; you have pledged diligence and frugality in the orchid chambers, and displayed sincerity and filial piety in the pepper chambers."

"Now, reverently following the compassionate decree, I order the bestowal of the book and seal to establish you as Empress. Respect this!"

After the edict conferring the title upon Yang Susu was read, Xiao Guizi then read the edicts conferring titles upon Luan'er and Feng'er one by one.

Next, under the arrangements of the Ministry of Rites, Zhao Xu went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to his ancestors, and he was busy until noon before the entire ritual procedure was completed.

On the way back to the Imperial Palace from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Chen Shou and Wang Chong suddenly stepped out of the ranks, both smiling as they said, "Congratulations to the Emperor on your glorious ascension to the throne. We have prepared a great gift for Your Highness to express the sentiments of us officials."

The two of them did not claim credit; whether it was the airship or the Ironclad Warship, both were the crystallization of everyone's hard work, not the work of any one person alone.

"Then I shall wait and see." Zhao Xu smiled.

He knew very well that the two of them had prepared for this for quite some time.

Wang Chong and Chen Shou looked at each other and led Zhao Xu toward the canal port outside the Nanmen of Yancheng.

The kings of the vassal states also followed along.

Upon arriving at the location, the Imperial Guard separated Zhao Xu's entourage from the common people; in the inner circle were Zhao Xu, the officials, and the kings of the vassal states, while outside were the common people, packed so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Wang Chong and Chen Shou accompanied Zhao Xu as they waited at the port, mysterious smiles on their faces.

Before long, exclamations suddenly came from the crowd, and everyone looked up at the sky, pointing upward.

Originally, a huge airship was coming from the west to the east, slowly moving toward the port.

The airship was very long, fully fifty meters, with a rectangular enclosed gondola hanging underneath.

The gondola had windows, and one could vaguely see figures moving inside.

On both sides of the gondola were two propellers, which were constantly rotating.

"Emperor, this is the subject's gift, the airship," Wang Chong said.

Zhao Xu nodded, a smile appearing on his face, "Not bad, I am very satisfied. This thing comes at just the right time. You must order more to be built; they will be able to be put to use immediately."

"Yes, Emperor," Wang Chong said happily.

At this time, unlike the calm of Zhao Xu, many officials and common people who had never seen an airship were dumbfounded.

As the airship drew closer and flew over their heads, they were even more shocked.

The kings of the vassal states also had their mouths wide open, unable to close them for a long time.

If they had not known in advance that this was something manufactured by Great Song,

they would have thought it was some kind of giant bird of prey.

"What is that!" Just as the officials and common people had not yet recovered from the shock brought by the airship, another sharp-eyed commoner shouted.

It turned out that while everyone's attention was drawn by the airship, a silver-gray warship was sailing from the east to the west on the canal.

In addition to the traditional masts of a Sailing Warship, this warship also had four exhaust pipes emitting smoke.

And the biggest difference, naturally, was the heavy iron armor covering the hull of the warship.

This was precisely the first Ironclad Warship of the Great Song.

"Your Majesty, please cover your ears," Chen Shou reminded him.

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "I can withstand it."

"Then we shall begin," Chen Shou chuckled, and signaled the flag-language operator to issue an order to the Warship.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Immediately, the Fort on the Ironclad Warship rotated, emitting a tremendous roaring sound, and massive Flame and thick smoke erupted from the cannon muzzles.

This sudden bombardment gave the commoners quite a fright, and many of them instantly felt their legs go weak.

However, seeing that there were no Cannonball explosions after the cannons fired, they set their minds at ease.

"Your Majesty, this is my gift, the Ironclad Warship," Chen Shou said solemnly.

Zhao Xu nodded slowly, the smile on his face deepening, "Just like Wang Chong's gift, I like this very much, and I am looking forward to the subsequent Ironclad Warships being launched one after another."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, they will be delivered to the Navy on schedule," Chen Shou bowed his head.