Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne Chapter 1001 - 87: The Military Parade Begins

As the trade conference reached its conclusion on the final day—also marking the occasion of the parade ceremony—Tong Xi jolted Zhao Yao from his sleep before the first light of dawn.

The parade ceremony is scheduled to kick off in the hour of Si, yet Zhao Yao must first handle the morning court session prior to its launch.

Typically, morning court assembles at the hour of Chen, but with the parade happening today, the timing has shifted forward to the fourth quarter of the hour of Mao.

Zhao Yao had initially planned to skip court this day, though the ministers viewed the parade ceremony as crucially significant, demanding a court assembly before it could proceed.

Zhao Yao felt a bit unwilling about joining court, yet he had no choice but to go along with it.

After slipping into his princely ceremonial robes, Zhao Yao headed to the nearby dining hall for breakfast, where he was caught off guard by the presence of Uncle Gao and He Lianfang.

"Second Uncle, Uncle Gao, since morning court isn't required of you, why rise at such an early hour?"

He Lianfang answered in a casual tone, "I woke up."

Uncle Gao, however, spoke with bubbling excitement, "I couldn’t sleep."

Noticing Uncle Gao's reddened eyes and overjoyed expression, Zhao Yao's mouth corners lifted faintly, "Uncle Gao, did excitement keep you awake through the night?"

Uncle Gao nodded bashfully, "Yes, I couldn’t sleep."

Hearing that, a hint of surprise crossed Zhao Yao's features as he questioned in disbelief, "You couldn't sleep just because of the parade?"

Uncle Gao: "Yes."

He Lianfang added from nearby, "He spent the whole night in a state of nerves."

"Uncle Gao, haven't you seen the parade rehearsals before?" Zhao Yao recalled how Uncle Gao had shown up for every single one since arriving in Swamp Prefecture.

"It's not the same; this is the real parade today." Much like the Personal Guard members set to march in the event, Uncle Gao brimmed with eager expectation for the official display, no matter how many practice runs he'd observed.

Zhao Yao reflected that in the last rehearsal, the Personal Guard had donned their combat armor, making it indistinguishable from the actual event.

"What a shame, Your Highness, that you wouldn't let me join the parade." Uncle Gao yearned not merely to observe but to actively participate in the procession.

"Uncle Gao, apologies, but your height falls short, and you're a tad too aged for it." Zhao Yao expressed regret sincerely while delivering the harsh reality.

Uncle Gao's face went rigid for a moment, then he let out a wry chuckle, "Your Highness, there's no need to say it so directly."

With a playful look at Uncle Gao, Zhao Yao cut to the chase, "Uncle Gao, you're really after the armor, aren't you?"

Caught in his intentions, Uncle Gao laughed uncomfortably, "You've seen through me, Your Highness, I..."

Zhao Yao lifted his hand to cut off Uncle Gao, stating firmly and without mercy, "No, drop that notion."

Turned down again, Uncle Gao: "..." His Highness tends to be quite open-handed usually, so why such reluctance over the armor? His wish wasn't extravagant; he simply desired one suit of it, but His Highness kept denying him.

"Uncle Gao, as I mentioned, only my Personal Guard may don the armor, and you're not among them."

"Your Highness, I could join your Personal Guard." Uncle Gao was eager beyond measure to enlist as one of Zhao Yao's Personal Guards.

"Uncle Gao, remember, you're destined to rule as Emperor of Japan," Zhao Yao pointed out to him, "Don't lose sight of your responsibilities."

"Your Highness..." Truth be told, he held little interest in ascending to Japan's throne.

"I can craft a design for armor suited to you. When you return to Japan, have it forged there."

Though disappointed, Uncle Gao relented to this arrangement, "Very well, I appreciate the effort, Your Highness."

"Uncle Gao, cheer up—Japan overflows with gold. I'll sketch golden armor for you," Zhao Yao continued, "It'll surely rival what my Personal Guard uses."

At these words, Uncle Gao let go of his fixation on acquiring the Personal Guard's armor.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Observing that Uncle Gao had moved past his pursuit of the Personal Guard's armor, Zhao Yao felt a quiet sense of relief. With morning court looming soon, he kept the conversation brief with Uncle Gao and the rest. Following a hasty breakfast, he departed for the court session.

The focus of today's morning court revolved entirely around the impending parade ceremony.

While the Ministry of War held primary oversight of the parade, various other ministries lent their support. After hearing the Minister of War's briefing on the parade preparations, Zhao Yao expressed profound approval with a nod.

With morning court wrapped up, the officials made their way to the pier to finalize setups.

The pier served as the parade site chiefly due to its ample open space. Additionally, with just one thousand soldiers involved, no vast area was required, and the pier proved ideal.

Zhao Yao's Personal Guard actually exceeded twenty thousand in number, but such details remained concealed. Publicly, he commanded only a bit over fifteen hundred Personal Guards. Meanwhile, the Southern Garrison's troops never factored into Zhao Yao's plans for the parade.