People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1762: The descendants continue, the nations are in awe, and the world is stable
After the grand ceremony, the emperor held a banquet in Liangyi Hall to thank his ministers.

Li Xuan sat on the imperial couch, and Liu Jinyu sat beside him.

Li Xuan raised the golden cup, smiled and looked at the ministers, saying: "Last year, thanks to the hard work of the ministers and the generals, the country prospered and prospered. I am grateful. After a year of hard work, everything is new. Today I have prepared an exquisite banquet. Please drink a few more cups and don't leave until you are drunk. Come, everyone, drink this cup together!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials and envoys bowed slightly to Li Xuan and Liu Jinyu, then raised their heads and drank the wine in their glasses.

"Someone, dance!" Li Xuan put down the empty wine glass in his hand and waved to the side.

In an instant, countless beautiful dancers poured into the hall from all directions, and the sound of drums and music rang out.

The entire hall was immediately immersed in the beauty of singing and dancing.

As his eyes were filled with the dancers, Li Xuan's expression gradually faded. He turned sideways to look at the generals beside him and waved slightly.

Su Baotong came over immediately: "Your Majesty!"

Li Xuan nodded and asked, "How is the army doing?"

"Reporting to your majesty, in the past three months, seventeen officers above the rank of colonel in the Right Guard have been transferred to the Sixteenth Guard. Eight of the vacancies were transferred from the Sixteenth Guard, and nine were promoted by the Right Guard themselves." After a short pause, Su Baotong said, "In compliance with your majesty's order, promotions in the army are in place, and war strategies come first."

"If you want to learn war strategies, you need to be able to read. Soldiers above the rank of Sixteenth Guards must read and learn to read every day, so you have to personally take charge of the affairs of the military school." Li Xuan made a special point.

"Here!" Su Baotong immediately handed over his hand.

Li Xuan raised her hand slightly: "You continue."

"Among the sixteen guards, more than 340 teams of officers and soldiers retired at the age of aging and were transferred to local government troops. The other 14,000 ordinary soldiers returned to their hometowns after completing their service. The Ministry of War has tried its best to place them in local government offices, but there are still many people who are invited by wealthy people to serve as guards." Su Baotong described in detail the military transfers in the past few months.

There were many things that even the Ministry of War did not notice, but he was secretly paying attention to them and even handling them.

"Two o'clock." Li Xuan poured a glass of wine himself, pushed it in front of Su Baotong, and whispered: "The affairs of the local soldiers, the connections and exchanges, will be handed over to Zhou Qian. These matters will be handled by Zuo Qianniuwei. You will keep an eye on the soldiers who have returned to various places and send people to contact them. I want to know the local sentiments, especially the taxation of local fields."

"I understand." Su Baotong bowed and took the wine glass, then drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and stepped back.

Amid the singing and dancing, Li Xuan summoned the generals one by one, gave each of them a cup of wine, and asked them about military affairs.

By the time all the generals in the army had left, the singing and dancing had just come to an end.

Tang Jianri, who was sitting at the end of the hall, saw this scene, but he just glanced at it and walked away, his eyes fixed on the dancer who was starting to retreat.

In the army, the generals in the army, the fierce generals in the army, they are the weapons that the emperor holds to control the world.

Not to mention the northwest, which is all under its control, and Yongluo even more so. In addition, the four major military governorates of Yizhou, Bingzhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou directly penetrate the four centers of the world, suppressing countless states and counties and making them unable to move at all. There is also the Tang navy in Yangzhou.

From Youzhou to Dengzhou, to Yangzhou, to Hangzhou, and even the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and the canal, all are in his hands.

This completely shattered all ideas of raising an uprising in the local area.

The only way is to find a way to assassinate the false emperor when he is alone, but this is extremely difficult.

The only thing that could give people like Tang Jianri and Zhou Jitong hope was the war against Silla in a few years.

At that time, they will ally with Silla externally, cut off the food supply internally, and do what Yang Xuangan did. When the world is in chaos, they will have a chance to overthrow the world.

As for now, just keep quiet, obey, and be a submissive subject.

……

After the dance was over, the dancers left and the hall became quiet again. Even the music and rituals stopped completely.

After slowing down a bit, Li Xuan waved to the side, and Li Zhizhao immediately came forward with his brothers to bow.

Li Xuan raised his hand slightly, and except for Li Zhizhao who stayed in front of Li Xuan, the others stood inside and outside the hall, in front of the officials, foreign envoys, scholars and elders.

All the ministers bowed solemnly as they watched this scene.

Li Xuan sat on the imperial couch and looked at the ministers and said, "My dear ministers, whether they are royal family members or court officials, civil or military officials, I should show my respect to you all for your hard work this year, but I cannot drink much, so the Crown Prince and the kings will offer you a glass of wine.

Prince Zheng, Prince Deng, Prince Wuling, Prince Jiangdu, Prince Fanyang, please fill the glasses of wine for the emperor's nephews."

"We obey your order." Li Jing, Li Jiong, Li Ne, Li Xu and Li Ai stood up at the same time, walked to the side of the Crown Prince, King Qi and others in order, and personally poured a full cup for them.

Li Xuan nodded, and then said: "My sons are young, each of them can only drink one cup, I hope you will forgive me."

"I dare not!" All the ministers bowed their heads.

After the New Year's Day court session, the emperor asked the crown prince to toast to all the court officials at the thank-you banquet. This has been a long-standing custom in the Tang Dynasty.

Sometimes, there were too many court officials for the crown prince to handle alone, so he asked other princes for assistance.

If there is no crown prince, or when the princes are young, the kings will take their place.

Therefore, all the ministers had no problem accepting this cup of wine.

"Gentlemen, let's drink to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty!" Li Xuan nodded to Li Jing, who immediately raised his glass. Li Zhizhao followed suit and drank it all without hesitation.

All the kings and princes inside and outside the palace also drank together.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The ministers drank it all in one gulp.

Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "The kings and princes should thank the ministers and offer a toast on their behalf."

"Yes!" Li Jing, Li Jiong, Li Ne, Li Xu and Li Ai all turned sideways to receive the order. Then, holding the prince's hand, they came in front of the ministers and toasted them one by one.

The princes could choose not to drink, and the kings could do so instead. However, when the kings introduced every court official, local governor, famous scholar, retired elder, and even foreign envoy to them, they had to bow on behalf of Li Xuan.

Even though the youngest Li Zhigao was drunk, Li Ai still carefully pulled him along and walked in front of the foreign envoys.

Li Xuan, who was sitting on the imperial couch, looked at him with cold eyes.

From earl and marquis to prince, these are what the princes have to endure.

Li Xuan had to admit that these rituals passed down from Emperor Gaozu to the present day have played a huge role.

This matter alone forced the emperor to have more sons. With so many sons standing in front of him, the ministers would understand how stable Li Xuan's throne was, and they would no longer think about Li Xuan, but would focus more on Li Xuan's princes, and even invest in them in the future in the hope of getting superhuman returns.

Of course, only a few people can finally get such rewards. Most people may not only get no rewards, but may even offend others.

At that time, the winner will come to power and the loser will be exploited, so that more wealth will fall into the hands of the new emperor and those close to him.

After that, if the emperor used his power to achieve his goal, it would be his own method.

Li Xuan's scrutinizing gaze fell on the foreign envoys. The fact that the emperor had a long line of descendants also meant a strong country, and those foreign envoys naturally did not dare to act recklessly.

This is beneficial to national stability.

Of course, there are pros and cons.

Now that the world is initially settled and people's hearts are at ease, under the guidance of Li Xuan, more court officials are focusing on creating a greater prosperity.

However, when Li Xuan's descendants grow up in the future, even in less than ten years, the struggle for the throne will arise again, just like in the later years of Taizong.

Of course, Li Zhi had set a very good example for Li Xuan by appointing a crown prince early and letting him govern the country early, leaving no room for any other offspring to have any illusions.

Therefore, during the reign of Li Zhi, the relationship between the three brothers Li Xian, Li Dan, Li Xian and Li Hong was still good.

Even Li Dan, who coveted the throne, was surrounded by Northern Gate Scholars arranged by Empress Wu.

A negative example is Emperor Taizong. Li Shimin allowed Li Tai to enter the Wude Hall, which completely drove Li Chengqian crazy. The final coup destroyed his three sons.

……

Li Xuan gently turned the wine glass, and when Li Jing brought Li Zhizhao back, he raised the wine glass and toasted Li Jing.

Li Jing quickly raised his glass and drank the wine in it.

"Brother, please call over the Crown Prince's Left Assistant, the Crown Prince's Secretary, the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary, and the Crown Prince's Central Sheren." Li Xuan raised his hand slightly.

Li Jing immediately bowed, then turned around to call for help.

Although Li Jing is now the Secretary General, he also holds the official position of Prince Zuo Yude, helping Li Xuan to look after the Eastern Palace.

Soon, the Prince's Left Assistant Wang Yinke, the Prince's Secretary Di Renjie, the Prince's Junior Secretary Xing Wenwei, the Prince's Secretary Li Jiao, and the Prince's Left Yude Li Jing were all standing behind Li Zhizhao.

The maid at the side quickly brought a bottle of wine to each person.

Li Xuan raised the wine bottle, looked at the five people and said: "My lords, the prince is a kind and honest person with above average talent. I don't ask him to be very smart in the future. I only ask him to know the world."

Wang Yinke, Di Renjie, Xing Wenwei, Li Jiao, and Li Jing couldn't help but change their expressions slightly.

For them, training the prince into a learned scholar is not as difficult as understanding the world.

Even now, among all the officials in the court, there are only a handful of people who can understand the affairs of the world.

If one can understand the world, even if his qualifications are poor, he can understand people's hearts and become an emperor with a stable throne.

This is difficult, but what can the five of them say when facing an emperor who is equally knowledgeable about the world?

The five of them all bowed their hands and said solemnly, "We obey your orders."

Li Xuan continued, "During the New Year, there is not much to do. You may as well go to the East Palace more often. The Crown Prince will go to the school in the East Palace every day at noon to attend classes. I will leave the lessons for the next few days to you. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, I will go to the East Palace in person to assess the Crown Prince's academic performance."

The five people felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, but they all bowed and said at the same time, "We obey your orders."

"Gentlemen, I will entrust the future of the Crown Prince to you." Li Xuan raised his glass and said softly, "Please!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The five men bowed immediately and drank the wine in their glasses. However, at the bottom of the glasses, everyone had a heavy expression on their faces.

Li Xuan's knowledge was already extremely impressive, so his assessment was not that easy.

"One more thing." Li Xuan put down his wine glass and said, "Tomorrow is the second day of the first lunar month, which is the customary day for offering sacrifices. I have already offered sacrifices to the heaven and earth, the land, and the imperial temple today. I will not go tomorrow. You officials will accompany the prince, along with the Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Minister of Rites. Among all the ministers, Minister Ouyang will go, so that heaven and earth can have a good look at my prince."

Ouyang Tong is Li Xuan's uncle. If he leads the team, including Wei Xuantong, Lin Renji, Wang Yinke, Di Renjie, Xing Wenwei, Li Jiao and Li Jing, seven people will go together. God will also notice it.

"We obey your orders." The five men bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, and the five people returned to their seats.

What Li Xuan had just said quickly spread among the ministers, and more people's eyes fell on Li Zhizhao.

Two words have involuntarily appeared in their minds: "Regent!"

……

At the end of the banquet, the sound of bells and chimes rang again.

The ministers immediately put down their wine glasses and looked at Li Xuan solemnly.

Li Xuan and Liu Jinyu sat together on the imperial couch. Li Xuan said, "This year is auspicious, and this New Year's Day is auspicious. Come on, give the nobles some money as you wish!"

As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, a dozen strong eunuchs appeared inside and outside the palace carrying red boxes.

Then, handfuls of exquisite Kaiyuan Ruyi coins fell in front of everyone.

It's just that there are more and less.

Those above the third rank need nine coins, those above the sixth rank need six coins, and those below the sixth rank, as well as envoys, scholars, and elders, only need three coins each.

At the same time, more cases of bestowing money took place in every corner of Chang'an and Luoyang, and even in various military camps.

However, this time, what was distributed to the people and soldiers were mostly exquisite ordinary Kaiyuan Tongbao coins.

Only a very lucky few can get a Kaiyuan Ruyi coin.

A seed has been planted, it just depends on when it will bloom.

(End of this chapter)