Chapter 1205: Peerless glory (2/2)
“I prefer carrying you this way more,” Long Feiye smiled.
What was Han Yunxi to do in front of all the onlookers? She could only “acquiesce” to him. Long Feiye thus carried Han Yunxi past the kneeling courtiers all the way back to Chengqian Hall. Upon seeing his return, all of the officials inside resumed their posts with respectfully bowed heads. However, they couldn’t help sighing in their hearts.
The exceptions and honor this woman received were far beyond their expectations! The delegates from the south were deeply affected and unresigned. If Han Yunxi received such glorious honor now, how could any future woman hope to suppress her when they entered the palace? Would they be trampled to death instead?
Long Feiye carried Han Yunxi to the front of the hall before setting her down. He returned to his dragon throne and proclaimed loudly, “Han Yunxi, come forward to receive your title!”
A eunuch stepped out and loudly announced the imperial edict to confer her into the empress. Han Yunxi made a grand bow as she respectfully accepted the decree. When facing the man before her, Cloud Realm’s current master, she was both willing and pious to bow. After all, this man would also be the master of the rest of her life!
The eunuch presented the empress’s golden seal, a symbol of her imperial might as the mother of the nation. Han Yunxi accepted it with both hands before kneeling to express thanks for the grace. Long Feiye looked at her from above, his cold gaze hiding the tender feelings and joys within. The spectators couldn’t see any of it, but he knew better than anyone that the kneeling woman before him was his true master!
When Han Yunxi rose, all of the courtiers bowed down to say loudly, May the empress live thousands and thousands of years. Under their cries, she walked step by step to Long Feiye. He extended a hand and led her to the dragon throne with him.
Actually, Han Yunxi was already filled with emotions from the moment she stepped off the palanquin. She desperately wanted to give Long Feiye a tight hug, but under these circumstances, she sat majestically in her phoenix robes, looking noble, luxurious, and elegant. Truly, it was the descent of a phoenix on Earth.
Everyone had expected her to be conferred as empress, but nobody expected Long Feiye to kick her palanquin door and carry her all the way here. This was a first-time precedent for the empress conferring ceremony! Yet while they were reeling from their surprise, Long Feiye did something even more astounding.
He had the eunuch read out his first imperial edict of appointment and made Han Yunxi the master of all armies and head of all generals, leaving her in control of Cloud Realm’s four major military factions.
Everyone was stunned. Only Gu Beiyue remained smiling with his head bowed. No one else could believe or accept this until Han Yunxi accepted the master military command token. The assembled crowd noticed that there were still other military tokens on the eunuch’s plate meant for various region generals. None of them dared to speak out under such circumstances because they hadn’t been conferred their posts yet. If they ruined Long Feiye’s mood now, they might get nothing at all.
Each military faction had sent two to three representatives, so Long Feiye had plenty of candidates to choose from. In the silent court, no one was willing to be the fool who spoke up first. Because of that, the matter ended without protest.
This was also the reason while Gu Beiyue was grinning. Long Feiye had give a blow to his courtiers in his first day on the throne!
The official system of Great Qin government was built upon its previous iterations with some adjustments. There were a total of Six Ministries divided between Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works. There were various levels situated below each Ministry that took care of managing different affairs in the country. The highest office reported to the emperor himself. Han Yunxi’s master command token meant she was the leader of Ministry of War!
Typically speaking, one shouldn’t start conferring titles with the military, but Long Feiye chose them first. Moreover, he gave a title to Han Yunxi before anyone else. This was telling them that anyone who dared protest would lose a chance at their own title too!
It was a veiled threat, the first show of force from the throne!
Han Yunxi made sure to cast her gaze at the various generals before openly accepting the command token. Nobody would know she had just made a private vow to not favor any faction in the future. Her priority laid in protecting Great Qin and its citizens to the greatest advantage!
After that, Long Feiye issued titles to the east, west, south, north, and central region’s generals and officials. Baili Yuanlong was put in charge of the central region while Jin Zi guarded Northern Li. Chu Tianyin and a few western frontier generals shared custody of the three prefectures in the west while the southern generals watched over their own territory. A personal team of Long Feiye’s crack troops joined forces with some of the Baili Army to guard the east, the future location of the permanent capital city.
According to Han Yunxi, it wasn’t wise to leave snakes in their old haunts for long lest it brought about future disasters. But for now, it was easier to station them where they were instead of making the effort to redeploy troops. Furthermore, they needed locals to understand the present situation in the different areas after war.
The military participated in battles during war, but in times of peace they were integral to construction and rebuilding!
Cloud Realm Continent’s map was redivided into different regions totalling 30 prefectures and 15 major cities. The previously independent Medical and Medicine City, as well as the City of Daughters and Carefree City, all fell under the rule of their respective prefectures. Yunning Prefecture was made the site of the temporary imperial capital while Tianning’s imperial capital was renamed the Celestial Capital of the Great Qin Empire.
Long Feiye personally conferred ranks to officials of fourth rank and above. Gu Beiyue was made the first-rank Grand Tutor, head of all civil servants, the teacher of the imperial princes, and the emperor’s representative.
Once all the titles and ranks were distributed, Long Feiye made Rui’er the crown prince. The little boy had yet to reach one-year old when Zhao mama carried him into the palace. He didn’t cry in the face of such a grand gathering, but began to laugh. Besides the story of Long Feiye kicking the empress’s palanquin door, the crown prince’s conduct also grew into a source of stories around the land.
When everyone thought the court could adjourn, Long Feiye conferred a final rank, that of Great Qin’s one and only Qinwang.[1]
1. Qinwang (亲王) - Different from 秦王, or Duke of Qin, this Qinwang refers to a Prince of the First Rank. Tianning had its own Qinwang too, who showed up back in C224.