Bai Xiaowen's western expedition had pacified Hanzhong and Yizhou in succession, destroying Liu Bei's forces and once again shaking the world.
Upon his return to Ye Capital, the emperor led all the officials out thirty li to welcome him, thereby honoring his glory.
The real show had only just begun.
Dong Zhao and Hua Xin jointly submitted a memorial, stating that the Duke of Yan had rendered great service in quelling rebellion, bringing peace to the realm, and supporting the world; the court ought to promote him to prince and bestow the Nine Bestowals upon him, thereby highlighting his distinction from the other officials.
The so-called "Nine Bestowals" were actually nine "grants"—nine kinds of ceremonial vessels that ancient emperors bestowed upon feudal lords and high ministers, representing the highest honor.
The Nine Bestowals included chariots and horses, ceremonial robes and crowns, musical instruments, vermilion doors, tiger guards, bows and arrows, axes and halberds, and so on. Throughout the ancient history of China, powerful ministers who received the Nine Bestowals had basically all established their own regimes. It could be called a synonym for usurpation and treason.
However, the Nine Bestowals of the Three Kingdoms era could not yet be equated with usurpation, because it was only from Wang Mang and Cao Cao onward that people gradually began accepting the honor of the Nine Bestowals.
And in this Three Kingdoms Plane of the Spirit Realm, Bai Xiaowen was the first feudal lord after Wang Mang to receive the Nine Bestowals.
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Discussion throughout the court and countryside was inevitable, but there were basically no voices of opposition.
The reason was simple: Bai Xiaowen had already wiped out the vast majority of the feudal lords, leaving only Jiangdong.
Many people had already begun counting down