In the Tang Dynasty, the appointment of a prince was a very solemn matter. At least, it was very solemn in terms of ceremony.
The grandness of its ceremonial pomp is second only to that of a prince ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor. It can be seen from this that the weight of imperial power is strengthened through solemn etiquette again and again.
In order to achieve the purpose of commanding the world!
Etiquette may seem useless, but in fact its psychological implications for the world cannot be underestimated.
Since it is reused, it is natural to pay attention to details.
For example, the date for the appointment of the crown prince was not decided by the emperor at will. He had to ask relevant personnel from the Ministry of Rites to "set an auspicious date for the appointment," and the decision could only be made after discussion by the ministers. This process must be followed, otherwise the crown prince's registration will not comply with the "Basic Law".
At least that's how it is viewed among the civil service group.
After the date of the canonization ceremony is determined, the Ministry of Rites will begin to prepare various personnel and objects required for the ceremony, and start holding the canonization ceremony in Taiji Hall.
Even though Wu Zetian and the subsequent emperors of the Tang Dynasty hated Tai Chi Hall, they did not dare to easily change the place where the prince was appointed.
According to records, the venue for the canonization ceremony must be "with an imperial altar sitting under the north wall of the Tai Chi Hall, facing south."
On the third day after Fang Chongyong left Chang'an and went to Pizhou, the ceremony to establish the crown prince was held as scheduled.
In the Tang Dynasty, people paid great attention to sitting in the north and facing south as the seat of honor. During the canonization ceremony, this position was still reserved for the emperor. Therefore, it is not difficult to guess that this arrangement is to emphasize that the prince at this time is still the prince and cannot challenge the imperial power by overstepping his authority.
So where is the position of Prince Li Xuan?
The answer is: the Ministry of Rites will set up a seat on the north side of the East Hall of Taiji Hall, facing the west. This is a "special seat" for the prince who will be named. At that time, the longevity king Li Xuan will sit in the specially set up "prince seat". "Special seat".
The canonization ceremony also has arrangements for the ministers. They will be in the east and west courts, and their status will be obviously lower than that of the prince.
Judging from the status arrangement of the ministers, the emperor has vaguely elevated the status of the prince and is superior to the ministers. In the seating arrangement, the emperor who sits north and faces south is still in the supreme position. Everything is so logical.
Of course, it is just the regulations of the regulations and does not represent Ji Ge's own thoughts.
In addition, the positions, locations, ceremonial guards, drums and other facilities for the courtiers and officials were prepared the day before the canonization ceremony, and historians were present to make detailed records. The Ministry of Rites also has dedicated personnel to provide remedial responses in special circumstances.
On the day of the canonization, the prince is not allowed to go directly to the venue at will. He must comply with a series of ceremonies and be responsible for it by a specialized official.
It can be said that this is a political process in which political animals participate. Each participant, including the emperor and the prince, is nothing more than a machine for executing orders. When to say something and what to do are all arranged by the Ministry of Etiquette.
If the emperor or prince responded improperly, said something he shouldn't have said, or done something he shouldn't have done, the historians present would record it mercilessly and it would become a scandal.
After the canonization ceremony is started, various ceremonies need to be held in accordance with the procedures established after consultation with the previous courtiers. Since the canonization of the prince is a major national event, the central government officials at all levels must be formally notified in advance to participate.
After the emperor and the prince are all seated and the corresponding hour is reached, the palace guards can announce the entry of hundreds of officials. At this time, all officials serving in the court, big and small, must enter according to the system.
After all the officials have arrived, a grand ceremony is held, which is also the highest etiquette of the Tang Dynasty. After everyone has arrived, the ceremony will begin with the attendant presiding over it.
"The emperor wears his crown, and the imperial carriage comes out. The curves, canopies, police and guards remain the same."
In front of the gate of Taiji Hall, Wei Qing, who served as the guard of honor, shouted loudly with his loud voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, the band from the Taiyue Department began to play music, ringing bells and drums, and various ceremonial instruments played in sequence.
Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, accompanied by Gao Lishi, walked into the main hall of Tai Chi Hall, and the crown prince canonization ceremony officially began.
Immediately afterwards, the longevity king Li Xuan also walked into the main hall of Taiji Hall, followed by Li Linfu and Li Shizhi who had just become the left prime minister. Behind them were the central ministers who attended the crown prince canonization ceremony. Except for those who were on "business trips" for urgent matters (such as Fang Chongyong), basically all other officials of the sixth rank and above of the central government had arrived.
Seeing the last minister entering the hall, Wei Qing, the guard of honor, shouted: "Bye".
At this time, the candidate for the crown prince, the Longevity King Li Xuan, mechanically and numbly knelt down and bowed to the Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty in accordance with the requirements of the regulations;
Wei Qing followed the procedure and continued to say loudly: "Goodbye".
The ministers, including Li Linfu and Li Shizhi, knelt down and bowed to Li Longji together with the new crown prince Li Quan. After the prince and the ministers stood up, Zhongshu ordered Li Shizhi to hold the case in hand, and Pei Kuan, the minister of Zhongshu, to hold the seal and ribbon. After the two verified the record, Li Linfu crossed his hands and saluted Li Longji and said: "With control."
Li Longji nodded slightly and said, "Let's make him a prince."
At this time, according to the procedures of the regulations, the new crown prince Li Xuan stood up, came to Li Linfu, and received the case book and jade seal face to face.
From this moment on, he was recognized by the imperial court as the prince and recognized by everyone in the Tang Empire!
Wei Qing, the guard of honor, immediately ordered the ministers to kneel down and worship. This was already the final step of the canonization ceremony.
Zhongshu ordered Li Shizhi to go out, take over the prince's appointment edict from Li Longji, and read the edict on behalf of the emperor.
The general content of this edict is the same thing. It is not that Li Longji can write whatever he wants, but the "laws" have long been stipulated, and there is no way to do anything.
The content is nothing more than praising the prince's good conduct, encouraging his future performance, etc., and formally delivering the seal ribbon to the prince Li Wei in the name of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. This finally completes the entire canonization ceremony. process.
The prince took the edict with neither sadness nor joy on his face, and bowed to Li Longji in accordance with the standard etiquette of the regulations.
Then Wei Qing shouted: "The crown prince's canonization is completed."
At this time, the drum music sounded again. Prince Li Han used standard but emotionless movements to turn around and leave the Tai Chi Hall amidst the solemn ceremonial music. The drum music stopped when he walked out of the main entrance.
Immediately, the hall fell into deathly silence.
This is the key point in the entire crown prince canonization process where things are most likely to go wrong. At this time, the prince must turn around and kneel down to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who is sitting on the dragon throne and facing north, looking down at him!
If the prince does nothing at this time, or if the etiquette is not appropriate, then the entire prince canonization ceremony will be scrapped! No one can say what disastrous political impact it will have in the future. After all, in the more than 100 years of the Tang Dynasty's history, it seems that there has never been any situation here.
However, what made the ministers breathe a sigh of relief was that Prince Li Xuan bowed down to Li Longji calmly and standardly. Taking this action as a symbol, it represented the end of the canonization ceremony and marked the beginning of today's crown prince canonization. A full stop.
The entire crown prince's canonization ceremony was boring and boring from beginning to end, but it was also of great significance. It represents the invisible and intangible imperial power, and carried out a "half-time" handover. From then on, another political core in the DPRK will gradually form to compete with the imperial power.
However, all of this only made Longevity King Li Lu feel like it was a waste of time.
Well, now I’m going to call him Prince Li Heng.
After completing the crown prince canonization ceremony, he followed Zhongshu Ling Li Linfu. He felt that everything that happened today was so absurd and yet so real!
Once, his mother, Concubine Wu Hui, was Li Longji's favorite concubine, and even Li Linfu came to show her favor.
The specifications of everything he owned were far superior to those of the then crown prince Li Ying. Many people said that the saint would depose the crown prince Li Ying and make him the crown prince Li Chan.
Looking back now, those people were right.
Li Ying was indeed deposed and killed. The saint killed three sons in one day, shocking the government and the public.
And now, Li Xuan, the prince who had been waiting for many years and who was rumored to be canonized soon, has indeed been crowned prince.
Judging from the results, what those people predicted at that time was absolutely accurate!
However, Li Chen felt that all this was meaningless. The process of reaching the stage of becoming a prince was too tortuous, and I lost too many things that were difficult to let go of in my life.
If he could make a wish, Li Chan would like God to give his Wei Sanniang back.
What's the use of holding the position of prince?
As a result, as soon as he walked out of the Tai Chi Hall and before he could "return" to the East Palace next door to the Tai Chi Hall, Li Chen was stopped by Gao Lishi.
"Prince, the saint is waiting for you at the Calyx Xianghui Building. You should go this way."
Gao Lishi nodded slightly to Li Chan with a non-smiling smile and made a gesture of invitation.
Li Linfu, who was leading the way, was stunned for a moment, turned his head and looked at Gao Lishi with a mysterious smile, and then looked at the prince Li Xuan who was "emotional and intangible", and silently led the others away.
He seemed to have forgotten his duty today, which was to guide the new prince into the East Palace.
Although the longevity king Li Wei had moved into the East Palace a few days ago, these huge and expensive rituals were purely for outsiders to see.
"General Gao, please lead the way."
Li Chen nodded slightly and said, with no sadness or joy on his face.
Gao Lishi was shocked and found that he really couldn't understand Li Chen now.
It’s hard to say whether this person had any ability in the past, but he was really cowardly to the extreme. Nowadays, "break and then build", since the incident at the wedding banquet, it seems that all gains and losses of fame and fortune have been put aside!
This calm demeanor shows no emotion or anger... Is he really capable of taking over the "True Dragon" of the Tang Empire?
Gao Lishi suppressed the surprise in his heart and calmly led the way, taking Li Xuan back to Xingqing Palace alone and to the corridor of Huacalyx Xianghui Building. At this moment, Li Longji had already moved a cushion and was looking at the fallen leaves at the railing of the corridor for a long time.
"sit down."
Li Longji said without looking back and waved his hand to Gao Lishi. The latter retreated more than ten feet away with a wink. The view here allows you to see Ji Ge but not hear the conversation between Ji Ge and Li Chen.
"Sage, there are no seats here."
Hearing this, Li Chen felt funny in his heart and said in a calm tone.
He didn't feel it before, but now he feels more and more that Li Longji is a superstitious and narcissistic waste who only uses a few power tricks over and over again.
Once you have seen through life and death, any threats to life and death will become insignificant, and your previously blinded vision will become infinitely wider.
It is said that if you have no desires, you will be strong.
It was like now that Li Longji in his heart was an old immortal and pitiful man wearing a dragon robe who was hated and hated by all his children.
"Then just stand."
After hearing Li Chen's answer, Li Longji said in a deep voice, frowning slightly and feeling unhappy.
"Weak ministers obey the instructions of the sage."
Li Chen said calmly, crossing his hands and saluting, standing aside casually as if he was indifferent.
His attitude is indeed bad, but no matter which angle you look at it, his etiquette is impeccable.
However, what Brother Ji wants is not etiquette, but fear and fear, crawling in front of him like a dog!
Seeing Li Chen's attitude, Li Longji's anger instantly surged in his heart!
"Do you know that I once told Gao Lishi that I will crush you to ashes in the future!"
Li Longji looked gloomy, turned his head and stared at Li Chen and said.
Li Xuan became the prince, didn't he want to be the emperor? As long as he wants to be the emperor, he must submit now!
Why doesn't he give in?
At this moment, Li Longji felt a little panicked. The other party's reaction was completely unexpected.
Brother Ji found that he seemed to be unable to control his son who saw through life and death and fame and fortune. If a person is not even afraid of death, what else can suppress him?
Unless the deposed prince plays the "son-killing game" again.
But the purpose of Li Longji pushing Li Chen out was to let him restrain the other princes. If Li Chen is killed, not only will it severely damage his authority, but he will also have to choose another prince!
Among those people, there is no character more hated than Li Chen!
So the current situation is that Brother Ji needs Li Chen to stand in front of him as a target and a shield, and as a guard dog to fight against other princes.
Instead of Li Xuan begging Brother Ji to make him the prince.
The demand relationship between the two people has been completely reversed.
"The saint can take action, but I will never resist."
Li Chen saluted Li Longji calmly, seemingly not afraid of what Brother Ji would do to him.
Speaking of breaking the sky, it's just a knife, what else can it do?
"Evil son! I have appointed you as the crown prince, don't you have any gratitude at all?"
Li Longji cursed loudly.
"Sage, I just moved from the prison of the Ten Kings Residence to the prison of the East Palace. To me, there is no difference. The saint is disappointed."
Li Chen calmly saluted Li Longji with folded hands.
Hearing this, Brother Ji clenched his fists tightly and was so angry that the veins on his neck bulged. However, Li Chen still had no "regret".
"Go away! Go back to the East Palace!"
Li Longji flicked his sleeves, turned around angrily, and turned his back to Li Chen!
"Wei Chen resigns."
Li Chen still saluted calmly, then turned and left, leaving only Li Longji alone in the wind, his embarrassed posture was like a withered yellow leaf blown down by the autumn wind.
In the end, it will fall silently to the soil in the courtyard.
After a while, Gao Lishi came over, saluted Li Longji and said, "The prince has left Xingqing Palace."
"Did I make a mistake in making Li Xuan the crown prince?"
Li Longji sighed and asked.
"A saint can properly promote and re-appoint a prince to check and balance the prince."
Gao Lishi suggested in a low voice.
"well said."
Li Longji nodded slightly, and then asked: "Who should I choose?"
"It doesn't matter who he is, what's important is that he won't cause trouble for the saint."
Gao Lishi suggested cautiously.
Li Longji nodded slightly, without comment, as if he already had an idea in his mind.
I went to the hospital to see a doctor during the day today. I just finished typing and went to bed.
(End of chapter)
