Chương 486: Fighting Through the Night, Pacifying the Nobility

The three men quickly rose and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we obey! We will certainly not fail in your trust!"

Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "Sit down, sit down, don't be so polite. Aren't you tired of bowing every day?"

Fang Xuanling sighed with a bitter face and said, "Your Majesty, you make it sound so easy. Now that you've added the position of Minister of Works, I'm really running out of time. Last night, when I was eating, I was holding the process sheet in my hand and almost shoved it into my mouth thinking it was food. I only realized something was wrong after taking a bite."

Liu Ce was amused by him and pointed at him, saying, "Xuanling, Xuanling, are you treating the flowchart like a dish? Do you like the words on it?"

Fang Xuanling replied in a serious tone: "Your Majesty, I took a couple of bites and found that the words 'welcoming the gods' don't taste very good, not as good as 'offering jade and silk'."

Xun Yu and Xu Da were both suppressing their laughter, their shoulders shrugging.

"Haha, I know you've had a hard time," Liu Ce said with a smile as he poured them more tea.

"Just grit your teeth and hold on for another ten days. After the ceremony, I'll give you all a two-week vacation, double your salaries, and have the imperial kitchen send you delicious food every day. Let's treat this as a final sprint and make this founding ceremony a magnificent spectacle, so that future generations will give it a thumbs up when they talk about this day!"

Xun Yu said earnestly, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the court robes and positions of all officials have been checked, and the ritual implements for the sacrifices have all been brought out from the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I guarantee there will be no mistakes. I checked everything again yesterday, from the jade disc to the bundles of silk, from the incense burner to the candlesticks, nothing was missing."

Xu Da also clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards are all in place, and guards have been deployed inside and outside the palace, as well as in every street and alley of Luoyang. I can guarantee that not even a mouse, let alone an assassin, will be able to sneak into the palace."

Liu Ce nodded in satisfaction and said, "With the three of you here, I feel relieved. Alright, you all go ahead and get busy, don't overwork yourselves."

Fang Xuanling then asked, "Your Majesty, what if there are urgent official matters during the long holiday?"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "Anyway, you can't really rest, I'm just being polite."

Fang Xuanling: "..."

Xun Yu: "..."

Xu Da: "Your subject understands."

The three bowed again, then turned and hurriedly left.

Fang Xuanling walked to the door, then turned back and added, "Your Majesty, I made a new copy of the process document. Rest assured, the handwriting is clear and there are no saliva marks."

Liu Ce smiled and waved his hand, and the three of them disappeared outside the palace gate.

...

It was late at night, three days before the coronation.

In a side hall of Zhangde Hall, two huge bronze charcoal stoves were burning, and the warm steam dispelled the chill of the winter night.

The charcoal fire in the stove crackled and popped, occasionally sending out a few sparks that flashed and disappeared in the air.

On the table were freshly roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, as well as a pot of warm rice wine. The aromas mingled together, making one's mouth water.

The sweet potatoes were specially selected by the imperial kitchen; each one had a red skin and yellow flesh, and they were roasted until they were oozing oil. When you peeled them open, you could see the golden, soft, and glutinous flesh, steaming hot and with a sweet aroma.

Chestnuts were a tribute, large and plump. After roasting, the outer shell cracked open, and the golden flesh could be easily peeled off.

Liu Ce, dressed in casual clothes and wearing a fox fur cloak, stared blankly at the large white paper on the wall.

The paper was covered with densely written names in calligraphy, with various stars, checkmarks and crosses drawn next to them. Stars meant "must be sealed high", checkmarks meant "can", and crosses meant "to be discussed further".

Some names were circled and circled so many times that the ink had bled out.

With a creak, the palace door was pushed open.

A gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes blew in, causing the candlelight to flicker.

Cai Yan walked at the front, wearing a plain-colored cloak and holding a hand warmer in her hands.

Zhang Ning and He Lian followed behind, rubbing their hands together as they walked, muttering, "So cold, so cold."

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao held hands, looking around curiously. Xiao Qiao's nose was red from the cold, like a little red radish.

The Zhen sisters, Mi Zhen, Gan Mei, and others also came in one after another, each with a puzzled look on their faces.

"Husband, what brings you here so late?" Cai Yan asked softly, handing the hand warmer to Liu Ce.

"We thought something urgent had happened."

Xiao Qiao skipped and hopped to the wall, pointed at the large white paper, and asked curiously:

"Husband, who are all these names written on here? Why are there so many names? And what do all these scribbles and marks mean?"

Liu Ce took the hand warmer, pulled Cai Yan to sit beside him, and said with a smile:

"Don't rush, that's why I called you all here. In three days I will be enthroned, and the first important thing after that is to confer titles upon the founding heroes. There are over a hundred civil and military officials, big and small, who have followed me in my campaigns over the years. I've written down all their names and want to discuss them with you, hear your opinions, and see who should be given a higher title and who should be given a lower one."

As he spoke, he pointed to a column of words on the right side of the white paper and explained them one by one: "This is my newly established system of nobility, divided into two major categories and twelve levels. On the royal side, princes are only granted to my sons, and dukes are granted to collateral branches of the royal family."

His finger moved down: "The highest among the meritorious officials is the Duke of the State, given to those who have made unparalleled contributions; then comes the Duke of the Prefecture, given to the commanders-in-chief of the army and the core strategists; and below that is the Duke of the County, given to senior generals and civil officials at the level of the Nine Ministers."

Below that are county marquises, township marquises, and pavilion marquises, given to middle-ranking civil and military officials; at the very bottom are earls, viscounts, barons, and marquises within the pass.

The title of Marquis within the Pass was purely honorary; it did not grant any fiefdom and was awarded to soldiers and lower-ranking officers who had rendered minor service.

The ladies listened intently, crowding around the wall and staring wide-eyed at the names.

At this moment, Cai Yan gently tugged at Liu Ce's sleeve and whispered, "Husband, but... the inner palace must not interfere in politics; this is the rule of every dynasty. How can we women meddle in the matter of bestowing titles upon meritorious officials? If word gets out, the censors will surely gossip."

The other ladies nodded in agreement, and Zhen Mi said softly, "Yes, my husband, we don't know anything. It wouldn't be good if we talked nonsense and delayed important matters."

Mi Zhen chimed in, "I don't even recognize all those generals' names, how could I dare to speak carelessly?"

Feng Yu muttered under her breath, "I knew it was Cheng Yaojin, because... and he has a loud voice..."

Liu Ce smiled and shook his head, then put his arm around Cai Yan's shoulder and said softly:

"What do you mean by interfering in politics? We're all family behind closed doors, there's no need for so many rules. Besides, you deal with the families of these meritorious officials every day. You know better than those empty-talking censors in the court who know who's struggling, who's upright, and who fought so hard. I'm just letting you chat casually for my reference. The final decision is still in my hands, so what's there to be afraid of?"

Zhang Ning waved her hand casually: "That's right! Sister Yan'er is just too proper. Since my husband has said so, let's just talk casually. It doesn't matter if we say something wrong, just treat it as a chat."