Chapter 442: The Former Kings Are Not Enough to Follow

Wan Xiu was at that moment racing from Right Fufeng to Chang'an in answer to the King of Wei's summons.

At Bianmen Bridge he met Palace Gentleman Yin Xing, who had been waiting there — as Yin Lihua's younger brother, he had been carried off to Chang'an with his sister back then, reduced to a slave, and later rescued by chance. In last year's civil service examination his sister urged him to sit for it, and he was fortunate enough to place on the third-rank list; he should have been sent down to a local post, but the King of Wei kept him in the palace as an errand-running Palace Gentleman.

Yin Xing, bearing the King of Wei's tally, saluted Wan Xiu: "His Majesty ordered this minor official to wait here and say that when General Wan arrives, there is no need to enter the city — go straight into the palace through the White Tiger Watchtower!"

The White Tiger Gate was the watchtower that Wang Mang had opened on the west side of Weiyang Palace; Wan Xiu was spared a long detour, rode into the palace without pause, dismounted when he reached the Public Carriage Office Gate, and entered the Warming Chamber to pay his respects.

He had barely reached the palace gate when he heard a burst of hearty laughter — the only people who would laugh so unrestrainedly inside the palace, apart from the King of Wei, were Ma Wenyuan.

Clearly the two were drinking together and had just reached a merry point in their talk, but when Wan Xiu stepped into the courtyard he discovered that the Queen was actually there too, pouring wine for the two of them — could this be a family feast?

He assumed he had come at an awkward moment and was about to take his leave, but Diwu Lun, hearing that Wan Xiu had arrived, rose and called out to him, inviting him to join the banquet.

"Junyou, come quickly!"

Wan Xiu could only step forward: "I did not know Your Majesty was holding a family feast with the State Commandant. I have come at an awkward time and intruded."

It was Queen Ma who laughed and said, "Even if it were a family feast, General Wan would still be welcome. Father has said that General Wan is as close to him as a brother."

Ma Yuan gave a light cough — more than that, Diwu Lun had nearly become a brother to him too!

After she had the maids set out cups for Wan Xiu, she withdrew, leaving the three men alone.

Diwu Lun then said, "Wenyuan and Junyou — it must be a long time since you last saw each other?"

Wan Xiu looked at Ma Yuan, and Ma Yuan looked back at Wan Xiu, stroking his beard, which now had a strand or two of white, and said, "Two full years."

Wan Xiu sighed as well: "Since early the year before last, when Your Majesty led me and the eight hundred meritorious knights west into the Pass, we have never again sat together like this."

Back in New Qinzhong, Diwu Lun had "executed Heaven's justice on behalf of the Way" with the two of them and raised a force — that was the foundation of their enterprise. Once they reached Wei territory, with Geng Chun handling civil affairs and Ma and Wan commanding the troops, they were able to gain a firm foothold.

"Last year I campaigned north of the River, and the Guanzhong region relied entirely on Junyou, Cen Junran, and Geng Bozhao to hold it. Bozhao resisted the Hu-Han Xiongnu in the north; Cen Peng held Wu Pass and Shangyu, giving the Red Eyebrows no opening; and Junyou held Fufeng for me, fending off the covetous eyes of Long and Shu — your toil was no less than that of any general who fought north of the River."

Wan Xiu replied, "To my shame, Generals Cen and Geng are still with the army, while I have abandoned my camp and run back to Chang'an to feast and drink."

Diwu Lun laughed heartily: "Does Junyou truly not know why I insisted you come back?"

"Because Junyou is not like the others."

Diwu Lun, riding his tipsiness, took Wan Xiu's hand in one of his and Ma Yuan's in the other, clasping them together, fingers intertwined with theirs: "That I have come this far, you two have rendered the greatest service. All I wish is that on the day I proclaim myself Emperor, you two will be at my side to celebrate with me!"

…

"My husband got thoroughly drunk in the palace yesterday — is the King of Wei's wine really that good?"

Wan Xiu had drunk until very late before returning to the elite residence at North Watchtower, but no matter how drunk he was, he could still rise after the cockcrow. Early-summer Chang'an was already very hot, so Wan Xiu stood in the courtyard drawing well water to rinse himself sober, while his first wife prepared his robes for him. Tomorrow was the first day of the fifth month, the auspicious day of the King of Wei's enthronement.

As one of the Nine Ministers and a titled general, Wan Xiu wore a crimson robe patterned with the seven emblems of the pheasant, fully adorned in the five colors, with red shoes and bound laces on his feet, a silver seal with a tricolor blue cord at his waist, and the Weimao cap on his head — this felt somewhat strange to a man accustomed to wearing a helmet.

"Has this robe shrunk?" Wan Xiu let his wife fuss over him, only feeling a bit of tightness at the neck.

"In my view, my husband has spent too long in Right Fufeng and grown stout — just look at this belly."

She reached out to fasten his belt; in the past she could easily wrap her arms around him, but now it took some effort.

Wan Xiu's wife nursed a bit of resentment. Back when Wan Xiu, a fugitive, had fled to New Qinzhong and gone years without word, she had endured every hardship to raise the children on her own — that she could accept. But now that he was one of the Nine Ministers and a general, he still would not bring his wife to Right Fufeng, insisting that they stay in Chang'an while he himself did not return home for half a year at a time, and when he did come back he got dead drunk; husband and wife had barely exchanged a few words all night, and his drunken mutterings were all "Wenyuan" and "Your Majesty" — just thinking about it made her angry.

General Wan felt a touch of shame as well. In his youth his family had been poor and lowly, and he himself had run with knights-errant, so his reputation was not very good. His wife was a fine daughter of a respectable Maoling family; she had not scorned his youthful poverty and had gladly married him — he had truly let her down all these years.

And so his iron heart softened a little, and he smiled and said, "His Majesty says that family members may all attend the ceremony…"

"You needn't have held it in until today to remember — the Queen sent attendants to our door to mention it long ago!" Madam Wan's voice rose a few notches of its own accord, and she added a couple of complaints along with it.

"But what is His Majesty really thinking? I assumed the ceremony would be set in the palace, or at most at the southern suburb — who would have guessed it would be held at Hongmen? In this sweltering heat, so many people rushing over in a great crowd, it takes a whole day just to travel there — doesn't he find it tiring?"

"How can the founding undertaking of a dynasty be done carelessly?" Wan Xiu had finally finished putting on his robes, and they did not seem as tight as he had felt — so long as he sucked in his belly a little when he walked.

"What's more, Hongmen holds extraordinary meaning for His Majesty, and for all of us!"

…

That the ceremony was moved to Hongmen was decreed by Diwu Lun himself; Wang Long, the Minister of Ceremonies in charge of planning the entire ritual, could only carry it out.

Wang Long's ceremonial robes were slightly different from Wan Xiu's — Weimao cap, black jacket and plain white skirt.

In the carriage heading east to Hongmen, Wang Long could not help recalling the process of drafting the rites for the imperial enthronement ceremony.

As a Confucian scholar, Wang Long naturally and instinctively consulted the institutions of previous dynasties — for instance, the Han Emperor's enthronement rites that had been rehearsed countless times in the front hall of Weiyang Palace.

When a Han Emperor ascended the throne, it was generally presided over by the Three Excellencies. The assembled ministers would shed their mourning robes for the deceased emperor and don auspicious robes to attend the ceremony; at that moment the rite shifted from a funerary rite to an auspicious rite. The Grand Commandant would appear, ascend the hall by the eastern steps, face north and bow before the late emperor's coffin placed there, and then read the investiture edict. After reading the edict, the Grand Commandant would face east, kneel, and hand the imperial heirloom seal and cord to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince would become Emperor.

After the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the Grand Commandant was changed to Grand Marshal and Grand General, so the enthronements of Emperor Zhao, the Prince of Changyi, and Emperor Xuan were all presided over by Huo Guang; by the time of Emperors Ai and Ping, it was the Grand Marshal and Grand General Wang Mang who presided.

And now, among the ministers of the State of Wei, the one whose function most closely resembled the Grand General of Han times was the State Commandant and General of the Agile Cavalry, Ma Yuan…

Although Diwu Lun had relied heavily on his father-in-law's line in his early rise and army-building, he had relied even more on his own management; as a dynastic founder, he would certainly not copy such an institution wholesale and leave a legacy of trouble for posterity — and so the Han rites were not adopted.

Then did the enthronement of Wang Mang, Emperor of the Xin Dynasty, offer any reference value?

Wang Long made a point of consulting everyone who had taken part in the Han-Xin abdication ceremony: the Grand Preceptor Zhang Zhan and the Grand Mentor Wang Yuan had both been eyewitnesses at the time.

Zhang Zhan was rather old-fashioned: "I recall it was the first day of the first month of the first year of Shijianguo. The Elder Wang led the dukes, ministers, and officers in presenting the Empress Dowager's seal and ribbon to the Grand Empress Dowager, complying with the mandate omen and casting off the Han title."

Zhang Zhan was rather nostalgic and to this day refused to call Wang Mang by his full name, referring to him only as "the Elder Wang."

"That same day, the Elder Wang carried the child Ying to the front hall…"

So Wang Mang had used the Han dynasty's last Crown Prince as a prop? That was indeed the case. Zhang Zhan still left the "late emperor" a little face, but Wang Long's uncle Wang Yuan, in recounting the past, put it far more bluntly.

"At the time, all I saw was Wang Mang carrying the child Ying up onto the enthronement platform. The assembled ministers, not understanding what was happening, all cried out together for Wang Mang to put the child down and promptly ascend the great throne."

"But Wang Mang kept holding the child Ying and simply would not let go, while the ritual officer read out a very long investiture edict, citing classics and precedents — I don't remember it clearly, but the gist was that the House of Han had lasted twelve generations and held the realm for two hundred and ten years, and its allotted span was exhausted."

"When the edict was finished, Wang Mang personally took the child's hands, weeping and sighing, and said something like: 'Long ago the Duke of Zhou acted as regent and in the end was able to restore the governance to the bright sovereign; now I alone am compelled by august Heaven's awe-inspiring mandate and cannot follow my own wish!'"

"He lamented for a long while before finally releasing the frightened, weeping child. The ritual officer led the child down from the hall, where he faced north and declared himself a subject to Wang Mang. The hundred officials in attendance were all moved."

Wang Long listened and could not help a wry laugh — Wang Mang's power at the time had blazed to the heavens; how could they not be moved? Still, from the sound of it, although Wang Mang put on a show of spirits and omens to find classical precedents for his enthronement ceremony, to put it plainly, it was just bullying a Han orphan.

And as the wheel of fortune turned, when it was the King of Wei's turn to proclaim himself Emperor, clan members like the Seventh Biao actually proposed dragging in Wang Mang's daughter, the Han dynasty's last Empress Dowager, to attend — humiliating two dynasties at once — but the King of Wei refused.

"Wang Jujun bullied an orphan — am I now to imitate him and humiliate a widow?"

And so Wang Mang's enthronement ceremony was also cut with a snap — it had no reference value.

This made things hard for Wang Long and his colleagues; they could only keep tracing further back, all the way in one breath to the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Gao of Han. Both were founding sovereigns — surely they could copy a thing or two from that?

So he ordered the scribes to comb through the records, and they found an account:

"On the jiawu day, he assumed the imperial throne north of the Fan River."

And then — that was it. Just that one brief line, no details, no ritual whatsoever!

But if you think about it, Liu Bang had just defeated Xiang Yu, the institutions were still rudimentary, Shusun Tong had not yet gained favor, so the ceremony must have been extremely simple.

Going further back, they even dug up the old accounts of how the First Emperor of Qin took the title — those records were just as sparse. They could only consult the Erudites of the Imperial Academy, and the more ancient rites of Xia, Shang, and Zhou were debated with no end of noise and no clarity.

Ah, when the ancients made no effort, later generations can only fabricate from imagination. In the end, Wang Long poured everything he had ever learned into drafting the basic stages of the enthronement ceremony. Like the State of Wei's current institutions, it was a patchwork stitched together from Qin, Han, and Xin.

"First, sacrifice to Heaven at the southern altar; then pay homage at the temple of the Martial King of Qi in the city; then move to the front hall of Weiyang Palace for the mandate ceremony; then bestow the seal, don the crown and cap; and finally, issue the edict, grant rewards, and proclaim a general amnesty."

Except for the seal-bestowal — since the Heirloom Seal of the Realm had, for some unknown reason, fallen into the hands of Gongsun Shu in Shu, a new seal had to be carved — Chang'an had all the other venues ready. Just slap a fresh coat of paint on the Han halls and temples and call them Wei halls and Wei temples!

But when the first draft of this project was submitted, Diwu Lun did not approve. Instead, with a grand wave of his hand, he decided to move the ceremony to Hongmen!

This meant many plans had to be scrapped and redone from scratch.

With only half a month left, Wang Long's head was about to explode, and he missed Diba Jiao desperately. To make matters worse, Diwu Lun thought it still wasn't enough and piled on new difficulties.

Organizing a "People's Observation Delegation" — requiring one or two elders from every county in Guanzhong, and even from every commandery under his rule, to come and observe — that was one thing. But the most crushing blow was that the King of Wei directly added a massive new event to the schedule.

"A grand military review with ten thousand men from the Guard Division?"

Wang Long wanted to argue his case forcefully. The boss moves his lips, the staff run their legs off. With the struggle for the realm still undecided, it would be better to keep everything simple.

But a few words from Diwu Lun made Wang Long drop all opposition to a grand, elaborate affair.

"Since Emperor Gao of Han, whether wise rulers like Wen, Jing, Wu, Zhao, and Xuan, or muddled ones like Yuan, Cheng, and Ai, every emperor inherited the enterprise from his father. So all they needed was to shut the doors in the front hall of Weiyang Palace and put on a show, like a snail making a display inside its shell. They sat high and lofty, but drifted far, far away from the people of the realm."

"And Wang Mang, with his fondness for reviving antiquity, played out that charade of Yao abdicating to Shun. Deceiving a widow and orphan, he only needed to feign mystery and put on an act with the child Ying to call himself emperor."

"But I am different. I am like Emperor Gao — I rose from the ranks grasping a three-foot sword. When the enthronement ends, I must immediately lead the army to pacify the realm. I cannot afford to make the vision for myself, or for my descendants, a small one."

"Hongmen is where I took command of the Boar-Rush Braves, where I gained my first army in this life."

"It is also where I openly raised the banner of comforting the people and punishing the tyrant, where I rose against Wang Mang and won righteous legitimacy!"

"The founding of Wei cannot be separated from two words: army and people. So it was in the past, and so it shall be in the future if we are to achieve the imperial enterprise. That is why the people's observation of the ceremony, and the grand military review — neither can be omitted!"

"These things were absent in Qin, Han, and Xin? Good. Then let them begin with Wei! Since the former kings are not worthy models, let later generations take me, this 'Latter King,' as their model!"

Closing his eyes and recalling this scene, Wang Long's heart surged with emotion. Just then, the jolting carriage stopped, and the driver said:

"Minister of Ceremonies, Hongmen is here."

Wang Long emerged from the carriage to see the Hongmen plain transformed. The King of Wei's Guard Division was not only handling security duties but would soon participate in the military review. They were drilling now, their voices shaking the fields in all directions!

There were also the elder representatives from the various commanderies and counties, all finding this matter quite novel: in all their years, through the Han and Xin dynasties, when had commoners ever been allowed to observe such a ceremony?

Wang Long gritted his teeth and said to the Chief Steward, Chief Butcher, Chief Physician, Chief Historian, and other subordinates, who had been here preparing for half a month and were nearly deformed from exhaustion: "Let us only hope that our ten-plus days of preparation and rehearsal will not be in vain. Remember this!"

"Unlike the missing details of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wu of Zhou, the First Emperor of Qin, and Emperor Gao of Han, every procedure of today's event must be recorded in the annals of history!"

……

PS: Tomorrow's update will be in the evening.