“Yellow Sky”: Crisis for the Han Dynasty sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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Cao Cao watched his father prepare for the imperial ascension ceremony with interest and a shred of amusement.
“Why do you smile, Cao’er…?” Director of Retainers Cao Song asked as he fumbled around his desk for a hairpin. “What amuses you?”
“Is it true that the future emperor is the same age as me?” Cao Cao asked.
“His Excellence the Marquis of Jieduting is twelve,” Cao Song replied as he tried to fix his own unbound hair into a shape that his official’s hat would fit over comfortably. His principal wife - and Cao Cao’s mother - watched silently, having been rebuked earlier for having supposedly muttered something; two of Song’s younger children - both boys - clung to her robes and stared at their father with fearful reverence while a gibbering baby boy was being nursed - and soundlessly pleaded with for silence - by one of Song’s young consorts.
“I don’t know if I could rule the whole country at my age!” Cao Cao suggested cheerfully. “It must be fun though; everyone would have to do exactly what they were told, all the time, and he can do whatever he wants.”
Cao Song turned to his son and said, “Don’t say such things, Cao’er!”
“But he can do as he pleases,” Cao Cao reiterated.
“The state is a responsibility for strong shoulders!” Cao Song scolded. “An official cannot do as he pleases all the time, not when he must put the needs of all before his own desires! It is the same with the Son of Heaven! Every action affects all people, not just those closest to the throne, so every action must be a proper one!”
Cao Cao hummed thoughtfully.
“I thought you might be there as some sort of assistant, but unsurprisingly, there are others with better connections who desired the occasion of ‘basking in the light’ for their own relatives,” Cao Song muttered honestly. “I cannot take you… so you shall just have to study.”
“Perhaps I will be important enough to attend one when I’m older,” Cao Cao said.
“A lot older, with any luck,” Cao Song replied with even greater honesty. “Every time this happens, it means that a sovereign has passed, and the strength of our nation is temporarily weakened. Hopefully, His Excellence Marquis Liu will rule for the next fifty years or more… provide some much needed consistency. His Excellence is certainly young enough to live that long.”
“…Then I’d be old and wrinkly when it happened next,” Cao Cao complained.
Cao Song laughed and said, “Your observations are as abstract as ever, Cao’er. Go and study… I am late enough as it is.”
Cao Cao returned to his sleeping quarters, and Cao Song continued his preparations for the ascension ceremony.
All of the most important officials in the land were invited to the ascension, and refusal was not an option except in the direst circumstances. The emperor-to-be was led by his attendants to a grand throne and ceremonial altar that were placed at the top of a high platform, so that he might be high above his future subjects. The Minister of Ceremonies oversaw proceedings, which saw the emperor accept the regalia of his divine office - including the jade Imperial Seal of Office - and hear pledges from his subjects that they would serve him tirelessly and without question.