Bidding Farewell to the Old, Welcoming the New: Grand Preceptors North and South

Farewell to the old, welcome to the new; the court and the realm were made anew.

At that moment in Taiji Hall, not a single official, high or low, had those four words on his mind.

"...For crimes across the four quarters, the blame lies with me... My virtue is thin, insufficient to nurture all under heaven... My lack of wisdom is grave indeed... Heaven follows its constant course; it does not endure for the sake of sages or perish for the sake of fools. The Crown Prince, for the sake of the state, shall take his rightful place... Now worthy men fill the court. Grand Preceptor Su Gui and Grand Commandant Wei Huaiwen are both pillars of the state, men to whom its mountains and rivers may be entrusted..."

A young eunuch read the edict in his hands.

It was an edict of self-reproach, and it was also a final edict.

In it, the emperor gave a systematic account of the results of his many years ruling the realm.

The result was that he had achieved nothing and had only made trouble for everyone.

Since he had made such trouble, His Majesty was deeply sorry. After mature reflection, and mindful that his health was failing ever more rapidly, he had, upon careful consideration and under no pressure whatsoever from outsiders, reached a momentous decision.

He would abdicate.

The Crown Prince would naturally inherit the throne. To ensure political stability, the emperor had also taken pains to appoint several trusted ministers. They were none other than Su Gui and Wei Huaiwen, along with men from the Yingchuan Yu Clan and the Wang-Xie Clans.

Su Gui became Director of the Secretariat, while Wei Huaiwen became Director of the Department of State Affairs. Between them, the two clans had taken control of