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

Chapter 1825: You Can’t Be Too Selfish When Hiring People, But You Can’t Be Not Selfish
In the Liangyi Hall, all officials sat separately.

Li Xuan, in a scarlet and yellow dragon robe, and Liu Jinyu, in a black phoenix robe with gold threads, sat together on the imperial couch.

The tiara and phoenix corona have been taken off.

Under the imperial throne, Princess Fuchang, Crown Prince Li Zhizhao, and Li Zhiming of Yongzhou sat on the left side respectively.

The fact that Princess Fuchang surpassed the Crown Prince was no longer surprising to the ministers.

Since the time of Emperor Gaozong, Princess Fuchang has been particularly favored by the emperor and empress.

You have to know that at that time, the emperor was Gaozong and the empress was Wu Zetian.

Li Xuan was only the heir to the throne at that time, but his daughter was already a princess, and of course, his son was also a prince.

However, many people said that it was because of the influence of Princess Fuchang. Otherwise, even if Li Xuan had the merit of destroying the country, the Duke of Jinchang would never have been named the Prince of Jinchang.

Of course, that's all in the past.

Now, Princess Fuchang is twelve years old, with bright eyes and a cheerful look.

I don’t know how many court officials have been secretly calculating in their hearts.

However, the emperor's attitude was very clear. To pass his test, the sons must be talented, martial, strategic, and have good family background. Finally, they must be willing to sacrifice their future for the princess. It would not be so easy for the families to release such heirs.

Of course, Li Xuan himself is not in a hurry, and he doesn't need to be in a hurry.

Li Xuan had decided in her mind that her daughter should get engaged at the age of sixteen, get married at the age of seventeen, and have children in the future at least when she was eighteen.

I don’t know why, but when I think of the word “having a child”, Li Xuan feels vaguely uneasy.

Having a child is like walking through the gates of hell.

Even though he had invented forceps and many other methods to assist women in giving birth over the years, he could not help but feel uneasy when he thought about his daughter having to walk through the gates of hell and there was a 30% chance that she wouldn't survive.

……

A sound of "Eh" suddenly interrupted Li Xuan's thoughts.

Li Xuan subconsciously looked up, and then saw Li Yuanjia, Li Yuangui, Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen and other old ministers, all of whom were looking at the slightly yellow-green liquid in his wine bottle with curiosity. They also subconsciously looked at Li Xuan.

Today is the New Year's banquet, and it is the emperor who prepares wine and food for them.

Everyone also discovered that, except for the old ministers in the hall, all other ministers drank normal clear and sweet liquid.

Li Xuan smiled, raised his hand slightly, looked at Li Yuanjia, Lu Yuanfang and others, and said: "These are the medicinal wines I prepared for you. They contain ginseng, licorice, ganoderma lucidum, and more than a dozen other herbs. Their effects are to soothe the body, cure diseases and prolong life."

Upon hearing the words "cure disease and prolong life", the ministers couldn't help but look at the wine jar beside them.

"It's not that magical." Li Xuan couldn't help but laugh, waving his hand and saying, "It's just a prescription for replenishing vitality. It can be used as medicinal food and wine. You should bring back a few more jars of wine and the prescription later. It's my good intention. If you are healthy, my world will be stable and peaceful. If there is a chance, I would like to join you in the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai."

Although Fengshan Taishan is a trap, it does not mean that Li Xuan cannot use it to seduce people's hearts.

The reason why Li Xuan did this today was mainly due to the influence of Jiang Yan's death.

There has never been a more worrying moment than at that time that something might happen to his officials, especially the prime ministers.

Although Di Renjie, Zhang Jianzhi, Yao Chong, Song Jing, Li Zhaode, and Wang Yinke have gradually grown up, not to mention Pei Judao, Wang Fangyi, and Lin Renji, once something happens to these prime ministers, it will definitely have a huge impact on Li Xuan's rule over the world.

Don’t say that you don’t have a backer, how can you get by in the court? But in fact, the emperor maintains stability in the world through the relationships between the prime minister, the six ministers of the six ministries, and the nine temple ministers.

The emperor has his confidants, and they can also go through normal assessments and supervision of officials by the Ministry of Personnel. But in reality, with limited transportation in the world today, even if Li Xuan became emperor, the only places he could truly control at any time were Shazhou and Changzhou in the west, Jiannan, Jingxiang, Ganmin in the south, Yangzhou, Qi and Lu in the east, and Youzhou, Yingzhou, and Yunzhong in the north.

As for Mobei, Andong, Guangzhou Annan, the Western Regions, and even Fanzhou, Li Xuan was unable to reach them.

That is why we need to use various relationships to check and balance.

The emperor would not be able to trust a person who had no background, was not even close to the emperor, and was only focused on governing the world with his own "justice".

Most of these people would stay in the court as censors, and not every emperor would be able to employ the rest with confidence.

Especially the closer to the border, the greater the military power held by the county magistrates.

Therefore, when Li Xuan employed people, apart from those he selected, trusted and promoted, he also gave many key positions to the prime minister and the Ministry of Personnel.

This will inevitably lead to some drawbacks, but generally speaking, the world is still stable.

In particular, most of the prime ministers he used were honest people, and most of the people they promoted were also regarded as superiors.

What remains is the matter of surveillance by the Censorate and the Secret Guards.

But now, Li Xuan still needs these old ministers to serve in their positions for a few more years, so this matter of tonic wine came up.

……

"We thank Your Majesty for his great grace." More than thirty court officials above the third rank, kings, and generals all stood up and saluted solemnly.

The emperor's trust and respect for them was beyond words, and they could all see it clearly.

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, then smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down. There are still many things to do this year, so while you are tired, you should also pay attention to handing some things over to the young people so that you can hold on for a few more years."

"Haha!" The ministers laughed, but they also felt relieved. They were like this, but more court officials behind them saw this scene and their eyes couldn't help but flash with ambition.

Many of today’s court officials who are above the third rank were already officials of the third rank or above during Emperor Gaozong’s reign.

The most typical example is Li Yiyan, who was already the Minister of the Secretariat and the third-rank prime minister during the Shangyuan period.

Now thirteen years have passed. Although he has become a minister, his physical aging is clearly visible.

Others such as Zhang Da'an and Wang Jishan are also not young anymore. There are also Xiao Siye, Chen Guang, etc., whose health is not very good either.

In addition, the King of Han, the King of Huo, and the King of Lu were also of considerable size.

To put it bluntly, there will be plenty of opportunities in the court in the next two years.

After finishing the glass of wine, the sounds of dancing and music began again.

I don't know how many people no longer have the time to appreciate the graceful dancers dancing.

Neither did Li Xuan.

……

Liu Jinyu was sitting next to Li Xuan. Li Xuan, who was originally enjoying the dance and music, suddenly became absent-minded at some point.

Liu Jinyu pushed Li Xuan's arm slightly, then asked in a low voice: "Husband, what's wrong?"

Li Xuan came back to his senses in an instant, and then whispered: "Nothing, I was thinking about the rituals and music. The dance and music used in the court now are all the rituals and music from the reigns of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Gaozong. Although I have no problem with it, I still want these things. It would be better if we have our own."

"So my husband wants to create a ritual and music of his own?" Liu Jinyu immediately understood.

"No, no." Li Xuan waved his hands quickly and said, "I know nothing about this, so I'll leave everything to you, Sanniang."

Li Xuan smiled and said, "I will give instructions to the Palace Department, the Imperial Household Department, and the Ministry of Rites. The Queen will be in charge of all matters. Try to produce something that is not inferior to Emperor Taizong's Qin Wang Pozhen Music and Emperor Gaozong's Shangyuan Music in one or two years. I will leave everything to the Queen."

Li Xuan decisively pushed the matter aside.

Although he is excellent in many things, he has to admit that he is not good at vocal music.

Even when he was compiling "Qieyun" back then, he was just the beginning.

"Okay!" Liu Jinyu nodded seriously. It was time for her to do something.

……

The dancing and music stopped and the hall fell silent again.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at the ministers, smiled, and said, "I have already raised a glass just now. Come, Crown Prince, you and Erlang, let's toast to the ministers together!"

"Yes!" Li Zhizhao and Li Zhiming stood up together and bowed solemnly.

He watched his two sons stand up, one inside the hall and the other outside, and toast to the ministers one after another.

Li Zhizhao was one of the ministers of the Eastern Palace, Li Zhiming was Liu Yuanlang, and there were a group of Liu family’s children, who were specifically instructed by the Queen.

But even so, they mostly drank wine.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Kang Liancheng, the envoy of Kang State, among the many foreign envoys, and asked, "Kang Qing."

"Your Majesty!" Kang Liancheng bowed and stood up.

Li Xuan nodded and asked, "Kang Qing, I noticed that in addition to the tribute from Kangguo this year, you also personally paid tribute with some grapes. But has the grape cultivation in Changzhou yielded any results?"

"Not really." Kang Liancheng cupped his hands and said seriously, "Grapes grown in Xituyuhun have already borne fruit in a few places, but in most places, it will take until this autumn to bear fruit."

It takes two to three years for grapes to grow. Only a few can grow in two years, while three years is the most common.

"I originally thought that the taste would take a few years to adjust, but unexpectedly, it's quite good." Kang Liancheng showed a hint of joy on his face.

Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "You have done a good job. I will reward you handsomely later. I hope these grapes can grow more."

"Yes!" Kang Liancheng bowed seriously and then stepped back.

There were sounds of singing and dancing, and dozens of dancers from the Western Regions appeared in the hall. The Hu Xuan dance immediately attracted people's attention.

Li Xuan turned sideways at this time and said in a cold voice: "Send people to Changzhou to watch over those grapes, and also find a way to get all the cultivation methods."

"Yes!" Liu Jinyu nodded seriously, and then asked in a low voice: "Husband, why?"

"I want these grapes to be planted all over the Tang Dynasty in the future." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said solemnly, "Grains can be used to make wine, and so can grapes. Moreover, the growth of grapes does not affect the growth of grains. If wine can occupy a certain share of the world's alcohol in the future, it will not only reduce grain losses, but also provide a way for the people to survive."

Liu Jinyu nodded subconsciously, and she even looked at Li Xuan with some disbelief.

It was two years ago that Li Xuan asked Kang Liancheng to grow grapes in Changzhou. He had actually already started planning to make wine from grapes two years ago.

Even Liu Jinyu was surprised by this long-term plan.

Even if we only save food and use grapes to replace grain, I wonder how many people in the world will be able to survive in a year.

(End of this chapter)