A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 635

The palace banquet was held at Shuntian Gate.

Standing on the high gate of Shuntian Gate at the south gate of Taiji Palace, there is a 400-meter-wide cross street in front of you. Pass directly in front of the gate. Looking around, you will see the ten-mile-long Zhuque Street facing directly to the south.

The [-]-step side street is completely a huge square.

Some small squares in the south of the city are only 350 steps away.

The three gates of the city, the left and right chapels, and the cross-street square in front of the gate correspond to the Tianjie, which is a hundred steps wide and ten miles wide in the south. It is the south gate of Taiji Palace and the middle gate of the wall shared by the imperial city and the palace city.
The emperors of the Sui and Tang dynasties held grand ceremonies here, and often held banquets and music here. Today, it is rare for people to celebrate in the square.

Before the palace banquet began, a chamberlain announced at the door that the Northern Expedition was a victory and the emperor would grant amnesty to the world.

Immediately afterwards, many chamberlains carried many boxes of brand-new Kaiyuan Tongbao and began to sprinkle money on the tall tower.
Occasionally, some silver Kaiyuan and gold Kaiyuan will be thrown in.
The atmosphere in that scene instantly became lively, and countless people quarreled happily.

Wu Huaiyu took a shower and changed clothes. He took off his golden armor and brocade robe and put on a purple robe and jade belt. He also covered it with a mink fur cloak. Especially the purple nine-ring jade belt around his waist was more conspicuous than the goldfish bag.

Although it is not as good as the Khotan jade belt with thirteen rings, seven squares and six circles that Li Jing received after defeating Xiao Xian in the fourth year of Wude, but since Zhenguan, the emperor usually only wears nine-ring belts, and his ministers generally do not wear more than seven rings, and those of the third grade or above Only gold and jade can be used.

The purple background of Wuhuai jade and the jade belt of the jade ring were already the highest level that the courtiers of the Zhenguan Dynasty could obtain.

Nine-ringed jade belt, three beams gilded with virtue crown,
Once he stood on the Shuntian Gate Tower, he immediately attracted the attention of countless people, not to mention that beside Wu Huaiyu, there was also His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's close attitude toward Wu Huaiyu made others even more envious.

Hou Junji, who also had a purple robe and a gold fish charm, immediately came up to him and bowed respectfully to the prince. Unfortunately, the prince remembered that Wu Huaiyu had told him several times before not to get too close to Hou Junji and Zhang Liang, so his enthusiasm for him was only mild. size,
Hou Junji pressed his hot face against his cold buttocks,

When he saw the nine-ring jade belt on Wu Huaiyu's waist, he couldn't help but be jealous. The jade belt on his own waist only had seven rings, but it was still a gold jade ring.

Hou Junji is naturally not short of money now, but the belt is the same as the official robe. The color and material are all linked to the grade. Generally, if Hou Junji becomes the prime minister like this, it is just seven rings, gold and jade rings. Wrapped in purple silk.

Such as Wu Huaiyu, Li Jingna and other nine-ring, thirteen-ring, or jade with jade tail, etc., then special gifts are needed.

The chamberlain came over and invited the princes and prime ministers to sit down.

Today's Shuntian Gate Tower Banquet was very lively. Not only were all the civil and military officials invited to attend, but there were even thousands of people in the square. They were all representatives from the various workshops in Chang'an, and almost all of them were from the workshops. There are prominent people, including representatives from all walks of life including scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.

The emperor and the people celebrate together.

The higher the official title, the seat at the palace banquet will naturally be higher, and the closer to the emperor.

Wu Huaiyu's seat was very forward, much further forward than Hou Junji, who was also the prime minister.
Zhang Anan, the chamberlain supervisor, even came to say hello to Wu Huaiyu. This Eunuch Zhang had been quietly occupying the position of chief chamberlain in the past few years. No one could replace him and he was deeply trusted by the emperor.

"The saint asked Duke Jin to go over and speak."

Wu Huaiyu's position was originally very close to the emperor, but now the emperor asked Wu Huaiyu to sit next to him, and the crown prince sat on the other side.

Countless eyes looked at it,

Hou Junji's eyes were even more complicated.

Wu Huaiyu sat down and felt his eyes looking back, and their eyes met.

He nodded with a smile and ignored it. He actually admired Hou Junji. He started a successful business with the King of Qin in his 20s. He was promoted from viscount to Duke of Lu and general, and at the age of 30, he became a senior official. Prime Minister.

No matter where you put it, it will be explosive.

Although he is the childhood friend of the emperor, he is really capable. His fighting prowess is not inferior to that of Yu Chigong. He is just a little impetuous, but he is willing to learn. He has worked hard in the past few years. Even a very demanding person like Wei Zheng has asked him several times. Li Shimin recommended Hou Junji as a prime minister and even accepted him as his student.

It is not difficult to understand Hou Junji's hostility. Wu Huaiyu came from behind, not to mention being younger. He had been with the emperor for a shorter period of time, but his rise to the top was stronger.

They are both prime ministers, but they still have to suppress him, Hou Junji.

"I've thought about it a lot, and I plan to let you exchange it with Hou Junji. You will be the Secretary of the Military Academy and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and let Hou Junji be the Minister of the Ministry of War. What do you think?"

the emperor asked him.

Although the voice was not high, many people around the emperor could actually hear it.

"I dare not enter the political hall to participate in political affairs. I hope I can gain more experience in the local area for a few more years."

Wu Huaiyu still wants to resign.

Li Shimin thought to himself, "You destroyed the capital of Liang Dynasty first, and then destroyed the Eastern Turks. You have made great achievements in battle. It is very suitable to be in charge of the military department. However, after Du Ruhui died of illness, the official department was short of people. Later, Dai Zhou was asked to take charge of both, but he also managed it." It was inevitable that there would be some oversights, so I asked Xuan Ling to help with the internal and external official examinations, but the previous imperial censor Shi Quan Wanji's impeachment was unfair.
I asked Hou Junji to recommend him, but he was very brave in fighting, but he didn't read much, and he suddenly took over the civil service department and couldn't figure it out."

"Qingyang, it's you who will also be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and be in charge of internal and external official examinations. The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the six departments, so there can be no chaos."

The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of personnel and appointments. This is a very important authority. Officials must first pass the examination and then be appointed by the Ministry of Personnel. In recent years, as the number of officials has increased, a system of selection has been implemented. Every year, tens of thousands of people apply for appointments. Exam selection.

Of course, the appointment of officials above the fifth rank is nominated by the Ministry of Personnel and decided by the prime minister. For officials below the fifth rank, the prime minister does not interfere and is entirely decided by the Ministry of Personnel.For those above the third rank, the prime minister only has the right to nominate the prime minister, and the decision-making power rests with the emperor.

Since the Zhenguan period, it has been the practice that the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs should be promoted to the Political Affairs Hall, and even the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs should be promoted to the Political Affairs Hall as the Prime Minister.

The status is very prominent.

"I recommend Sun Wuji, the eldest son of Zhao Guogong, to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel." Wu Huaiyu said in front of everyone.

"The auxiliary machine has not been in good health and needs to be nursed back to health," the emperor said tactfully.

"The minister then recommended Xu Guogong Gao Shilian to join the court as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Gao Shilian has been in Yizhou not long ago, and is currently busy dredging the Wenjiang River and digging new canals. He cannot enter the court yet." The emperor refused again.

Li Shimin paused and said, "If Hui once used the title of Minister of the Ministry of War to inspect and inspect the school, and also to photograph the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and to supervise the troops and horses in the East Palace, and to know the selection, I will also grant you the Minister of the Ministry of War to inspect and inspect the School of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and to photograph the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. , the director of the East Palace soldiers and horses knows the selection."

Different from Du Ruhui at the beginning, there was a school inspector and a school secretary, but the same point was that he was in charge of both departments, especially the election.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of the selection and appointment of civil servants below the fifth rank, the Ministry of War is in charge of the selection and appointment of military attachés below the fifth rank, and the prime minister himself is in charge of the nomination of officials of the fourth and fifth ranks.
Du Ruhui's original official position was actually that one person was in charge of the selection of civil and military officials below the fifth rank, and also had the right to nominate officials above the fifth rank.
"Your Majesty, I am afraid and dare not take on this important task. Please choose someone else who is worthy of your Majesty." With the increasing number of officials, Wu Huaiyu already suspected that Li Shimin did not really want to grant him these official positions at all, but was trying to test something, especially the director Dong Gong. The errand of soldiers and horses is not a formal official position. When Du Ruhui took this position, it was because Li Shimin was not the emperor but the prince at that time.

Wu Huaiyu repeatedly rejected the emperor's kindness, and the emperor looked unhappy.

Seeing this, Zhang Ananda took a few steps forward and whispered to the emperor, "Your Majesty, it's time to have a banquet."

"Well, let's have a party."

The banquet started, and it was very lively.

Thousands of people in the square were still scrambling for the money that had been thrown away.

After a few glasses of wine, Li Shimin forgot about his unhappiness just now. Amidst the music, he couldn't help but feel a little proud. He waved to Jie Li, who was sitting silently in a corner.

"Please ask Jieli to dance for everyone!"

Jieli's face turned purple, he felt extremely aggrieved, and his hands were trembling. However, under the eyes of all the Tang Dynasty monarchs and ministers, he finally had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand up to accept the promise.

Come to the imperial palace and start dancing.

Jieli used to like drinking and eating meat, hugging beauties, listening to songs and watching dances, but his dancing was average.
Jieli is very fat.

With his thick and fat body, nervous mood, and a bit of drunkenness, he danced extremely clumsily, but looking at his embarrassed appearance,
But the kings and ministers of the Tang Dynasty were very happy and laughed.

Tu Li, Prince of Peiping County, seemed to be used to this scene. He had been dancing for the emperor for more than a year in the Tang Dynasty. He was not used to it at first, but he gradually got used to it.

He will be able to return to the grassland soon,

He was in such a happy mood that he couldn't drink much wine. Seeing Jie Li's clumsy and embarrassed look, he actually laughed a few times, left the stage directly, and danced with Jie Li.

Prince Li Simo of Huaihua County, Duke An Guo Zhi lost his ability to think, and Duke Xue Guo Shi Zhong looked at each other. After a long time, they also took the initiative to leave the stage and danced together to cheer up.

Seeing the five people dancing wildly there, Li Shimin became even more happy.

I feel really happy at this moment,
His eyes caught sight of several barbarian figures, including Feng Zhidai, the son of Feng Ang from Lingnan, as well as the barbarian chiefs Xie Yuanshen, Xie Qiang, Xie Nengyu from Qiandi, and Xifenbu Lai, the chief of Dangxiang Xifeng Department, etc.

"Feng Shaoqing, please compose a poem based on the scene of the palace banquet."

Feng Zhidai has been staying in Chang'an since he entered the capital at the order of his father in the first year of Zhenguan. He was once the governor of Chunzhou and is now the Weiwei Shaoqing. He spent money like water in Chang'an and was generous and generous. He also had a good reputation. He even often talked to Yang Shidao and others. Xu Jingzong and others recited poems and sang harmony.
When Feng Zhidai came out, he really just wrote a poem for the emperor, and his level can be said to be above average.

The Supreme Emperor Li Yuan was already drunk. He was half leaning there and clapped his hands and applauded, "The Hu Yue family is unprecedented in ancient times!"

Li Shimin was also very happy, and the barbarian chiefs who came to pay tribute also flattered him wildly.

When the emperor was happy, he issued an edict in a drunken mood, "Ordered to change Xie Yuanshen's Dongxie tribe to Yingzhou, and Xie Qiang's Nanxie tribe to Zhuangzhou. They were both subordinate to the Qianzhou Dudu Mansion, and they were given the title of governor.

Xie Nengyu's Zoke tribe was placed in Kezhou and given the title of governor of Kezhou. Another tribe of Zoke tribes were appointed as governors of Kezhou. They were placed in Chongzhou and their leader, Zhao, was appointed governor.
The land of Xifeng Bu Lai's Xifeng Department was placed in Guizhou.

Wu Huaiyu looked at the leaders who were wearing the costumes of the southwestern barbarian tribes that were completely different from those of the Tang Dynasty. These guys were very perceptive. Except for Dangxiang Xifeng Bu Lai, all the Xie family and even the Zhao family were actually Zoke barbarians. The tribe was in Zoke County in the Han Dynasty, which is the area in southern Guizhou, has a very long history.

In fact, Xie Zhao and others are the same as the Cuan family in Yunnan today. They are also the surnames of the Han Dynasty wealthy families who moved south during the Han Dynasty. After hundreds of years, Xie Zhao replaced the Yin, Fu, Long, and Dong families and became the leaders of Guizhou, especially Xie Zhao. The Zhao family occupies most of the Qiannan area, and the Zhao family is also dependent on the Xie family.

Since the time of Wude, the Tang Dynasty has continued the tradition since the Han and Wei dynasties, using local tycoons as governors and county magistrates, and using them to rule and manage remote areas. Now it is basically a Jisi-style rule, which is far inferior to the court's control of the Lingnan region. control.

In fact, it is equivalent to chieftain autonomy. Those governors and governors are hereditary anyway, and there is no tax, only a little tribute.

The mountains are high, the emperor is far away, and the whip is beyond the reach of these people.

However, these people are actually very concerned about the Central Plains Dynasty. After all, the most powerful force in the southwest for hundreds of years was actually the Cuan family in Nanzhong. However, during the Sui Dynasty, they dared to destroy and block roads and not communicate with the Central Plains. In the end, they were not Several conquests by the Sui Dynasty severely damaged their vitality, and even the Cuan family was split into the East and the West. The former King Cuan was captured by the Sui Dynasty and sent to Chang'an as palace slaves.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty, King Cuan's son, who had been a slave for many years, was released and allowed to return to Nanzhong with King Cuan's coffin.
Duan Lun, Dou Gui and others managed Bashu in their early years. They also used troops against Yizhong many times, fighting and pulling back at the same time. The barbarians were still quite afraid.
And when Cheng Yaojin was appointed governor of Luzhou, he suppressed the Tieshan barbarians and almost wiped out their tribe.
This has made the various tribes in the southwest more and more reverent to the Tang Dynasty. In recent years, they have come to Chang'an to pay tribute one after another. They were awarded official titles and established prefectures and counties based on their land.

Being granted titles by the court and having hereditary positions such as governors and governors, these tribes have a stronger local rule. They can even gain the upper hand in conflicts with other surrounding tribes, and sometimes they can even get The imperial court had the support of garrisoning nearby.

Moreover, it will be more convenient to trade with Han Dynasty in the future.
Anyway, joining the imperial court did not require them to establish households and integrate the people, nor did they require them to pay taxes and serve in the military. Even on their territory, they still used their rules. Of course they were willing to do such a good thing.

The emperor is very happy today.

Alcohol is not intoxicating, people are self-intoxicating.

Jieli Tuli and other Turkic chiefs danced to add to the fun. Feng Zhidai, a barbarian from Lingnan, presented poems. Later, the chiefs from Qiannan also performed a dance that looked like a great god.

"Yan Liben,"

Li Shimin called Yan Liben, the chief doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, to "draw all the prosperous members of the Hu Yue family today." He was afraid that he could not draw it by himself, so he also called Yan Liben, the young eunuch, and asked him to draw it together with his brothers.

"Then play music,

Dance on! "

The emperor raised his glass,

So Jieli Khan could only continue to dance with his fat body. Zhu Xie from Qiannan, Xie Yuanshen, Xie Qiang, Xie Nengyu and others were half drunk, but they were really singing and dancing very happily.

The emperor raised a toast to Wu Huaiyu and said, "Don't refuse again and again. I will not be satisfied with this. I will also conquer a larger territory and establish a stronger dynasty. One day, I will not only restore the Western Regions of Han and Liaodong, but also restore the Western Regions of Han and Liaodong. We also need to send a fleet to the Ming Dynasty in Haidong Continent that you once told me about."

"You will serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Officers and Military Affairs, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Minister of Photography of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. I will know the selection of civil and military affairs, and supervise the troops and horses of the East Palace. I will appoint you as the Prince's Young Master."

Wu Huaiyu wants to resign.
Li Shimin waved his hand, "Okay, let's continue drinking and watching the dance!"

"The Hu Yue family is unprecedented in ancient times. It is unprecedented in ancient times." Li Shimin was drunk and proud.

(End of this chapter)