Ji Tang

Chapter 1497: The world is a Go game, with all nations as chess pieces!

How big is the Palace of the Peoples?

It is 108 meters long, 88 meters wide and 22 meters high. It is a three-story palace that is as majestic as a fairy palace.

The first floor hall is even larger, and can accommodate thousands of people at the same time without appearing crowded. From the beginning, the Palace of the People was the place where the Tang Empire would hold grand ceremonies in the future, and many places were perfect.

The huge palace lanterns shine brightly on the corridors and under the eaves. The palace maids in gorgeous costumes are as elegant and eye-catching as fairies in heaven. Their half-striped dresses are even more fascinating!
Inside the main hall, hundreds of small desks with rolled edges were neatly arranged on both sides. Above them were more than a dozen separate desks, which were the seats for the princes. Further up were three imperial desks placed side by side, one slightly forward, which was the seat for the emperor. At the very top were the seats for Li Shimin and his eldest grandson.

On the left were military officers, on the right were civil officials. At this time, most people were talking to old friends, and if you listened carefully, they could not avoid tonight's grand ceremony.

"Wow, this is really a good guy. Ziyi really opened my eyes this time. Look at the layout, the arrangement, and the clothes of the palace maids. Even the eunuchs are dressed in fancy clothes."

Cheng Yaojin has been talking non-stop since he came in. He touches this and looks at that, like a country bumpkin who has never seen the world, making many people look away from him!

As he spoke, he touched the carpet under his feet and exclaimed: "Look, look, this authentic Persian carpet actually covers the entire floor. How much money must it cost!"

"And the palace lanterns, my goodness, they are actually glass lanterns. Damn, this is not a ceremony, this is just a waste of money, what a spendthrift."

After saying that, he winked at Yuchi Gong beside him and said, "How is it? Is it okay to bring your family here?"

"Damn it, has anyone seen such a scene before? Even Yang Guang in the early Sui Dynasty was not so extravagant, right?"

Yuchi Gong glanced at the side hall and couldn't help but sigh at the old witch's thoughts. She knew from the beginning that tonight would be a big event and brought her whole family along early. If she had known earlier, she would have brought all her sons, grandchildren and granddaughters along. What a loss, what a loss.

"What do you think Ziyi is thinking? With such extravagance, does he still want to keep his reputation? Those who know him think that he is trying to show off the power of the Tang Dynasty, while those who don't think about him think that he is trying to curry favor with his superiors. After all, he is a great scholar and a role model for the people of the Tang Dynasty. How can he not care about his dignity at all?"

Yuchi Gong was worried. He had been muttering to himself ever since he entered the hall. How could he be in the mood to listen to the old goblin's constant exclamations?

"Old buddy, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you should just put your mind at ease. Others don't know who that guy is, but you and I know him. When has he ever done anything wrong?"

Cheng Yaojin looked at the envoys from various countries who were still in a trance, and smiled in his heart, thinking that they must be dumbfounded. These people probably couldn't even dream of such a scene, let alone see it. As long as they go back and publicize this grand ceremony, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty will rise to a higher level. This is no longer a matter of whether or not to dare to attack the border of the Tang Dynasty, but a crushing of civilization.

A few years ago, Ji Song asked his disciples to bring back the Mayans and many books and documents from Yinzhou. He didn't quite understand why he spent so much energy on this. You know, for these books and documents, his four disciples spent a full ten years of their youth and almost died at the bottom of the sea.

Is it worth doing this?

But now he understood that since the Tang Dynasty had conducted in-depth research on the Mayan civilization documents, various academic achievements had emerged one after another. This was only what he, who understood the ins and outs of it, could see.

He didn't understand anything else, but based on that knowledge, the Tang Dynasty was developing rapidly in all aspects, just like giving wings to a war horse, soaring into the sky.

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong suddenly gave a bitter smile: "Old, really old!"

"Now the world is dominated by young people. Look at the court now. Changsun Huli and Chu Suiliang are fighting against those officials from the Academy. The noble families are fighting against the poor families. There is even more fighting between the civil and military officials. The officials from the Academy are divided into many factions. It is simply a hodgepodge."

"I dare not speak in the court, for fear that I might say something inappropriate and be used against me. And Xu Jingzong is not a good guy either. Ziyi recommended him, but this old guy always goes against us. He is simply not a human being!"

"Who says those who oppose us are no longer our people?"

Cheng Yaojin chuckled, and in the horrified eyes of Yuchi Gong, he whispered: "That old guy was sent by Ziyi to bite people. If one day he stops biting people, that would be really dangerous."

"He is one of ours? How is that possible? How come I don't know?"

"Tsk, can I tell you? You can fight if you can't keep secrets, but you'd better not get involved in these intrigues. Just know that he is against us to protect us." Yuchi Gong was silent, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, you guys can handle this matter, I will resign after the New Year!"

"No, old fellow!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin became anxious and said quickly: "If you resign, what should I do? Now we are the only civil and military officials of the same age. If you leave, I won't even have anyone to talk to. How boring it will be!"

"It's settled. My body is starting to weaken my strength now. I suddenly woke up from a dream some time ago and thought of those old friends in the dream. They must be waiting anxiously." Yuchi Gong said calmly.

Cheng Yaojin also fell silent. Now that everyone has left, how many of them are still there who fought together to conquer the world?
The military generals were shouting loudly, but the civil officials were much more polite and spoke in a low voice. When they heard the military generals' shouting and yelling, they would occasionally steal glances of contempt, as if they were ashamed to be associated with you.

"Lord Qing has really spent a lot this time. It must have cost a huge amount, right?" Ma Zhou looked at the envoys from various countries and the kings and leaders who had not yet come to their senses, and said to Xie Lian who was at the head of the group.

"It's worth it no matter how much it costs. Even though it costs a lot, even one grand ceremony consumes 30% of the tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty, but you will see that in a few years, this money will be earned back many times over."

Xie Lian knew a little about the inside story, and smiled at Ma Zhou, "Does our Tang Dynasty lack money now? No, not at all. Not only that, but we have a surplus. Not to mention the national treasury, the Ministry of Revenue racks its brains every year to think about how to spend the money. For example, last year in Chang'an County, the county magistrate did not plan any major siege, but the officials of the Ministry of Revenue gave him instructions, asking whether the silt in the river in the city was cleared? Whether the city wall was maintained? Whether the trees on both sides of the road can provide shade in the summer?"

"Listen, is this what people say? The magistrate of Chang'an County rushed to make plans overnight and improved the appearance of Chang'an County. Now if you go to Chang'an County, you will see that the roads are as clear as if they were licked by a dog, the water in the river is crystal clear, the riverside is shaded by green trees, and some people have planted flowers and plants on both sides of the river."

"Did you dare to think of this a few years ago?"

"And last year's Hexi Road, they said they thought the road was too narrow and wanted it to be at least twice as wide to reflect the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty. The local governor was so angry that he almost hit someone."

"Let's not talk about all that. Let's just talk about the private vaults of your Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus. I heard that the gold in there is almost turning green. If it's not spent, the Tang Dynasty will soon be in a financial crisis."

Hearing Xie Lian's words, Ma Zhou was also deeply moved. He had witnessed the development over the years. He didn't know since when the development speed of the Tang Dynasty had been getting faster and faster. Sometimes there was even a sense of rapid change.

"Remember, what we want is not their money, but their civilization and way of thinking, which is very different from that of the Tang Dynasty. Don't you find that there is a sense of a hundred schools of thought contending now?"

Boom~
Ma Zhou's mind suddenly exploded as if by thunder, his face turned pale, and he shouted in his heart: I understand, I understand everything!
"Are all these the work of Lord Qing?"

It’s so terrible. He actually did such a big thing right under the nose of one of the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty. What on earth does he want to do?
"Then you think too highly of him!"

Xie Lian shook his head and said, "If it weren't for the support of His Majesty and the Emperor, do you think everyone in the world is a fool?"

"The current Hundred Schools of Thought are completely different from those in the Spring and Autumn Period, because they are carried out within the framework of Confucianism. Don't you realize that Confucianism has reached a dead end after all these years of development? Without the injection of new ideas and fresh blood, it will only go round in circles."

"The Mayans brought amazing numerology and imagery, which played a great role in complementing and perfecting Confucianism. Western dialectical thinking brought new lines of defense and ways of thinking to Confucianism. The political systems of the Arabs, Persians, and Romans brought thousands of years of experience and theories to Confucianism and the Tang Dynasty. These cannot be measured by simple money."

"Civilization, building a perfect and powerful civilization is what our generation should do. With civilization as the foundation, ink craftsmanship as the sword, business as the living water, and agriculture as the foundation. Then, with the revitalized Confucianism as the thought, who else can I, the Central Plains, China, and the Tang Dynasty be afraid of?"

Xie Lian's words rang like a huge bell in everyone's heart. Even Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, Xu Jingzong and others at the top were shocked. Although they had vague ideas in their minds, it was the first time that someone had linked the whole thing together in such an orderly manner.

"Don't look at me. This should be the policy for governing the country jointly deduced and determined by the Emperor, Your Majesty, Ji Song, and many great Confucian masters of the academy. I heard some of it from my son-in-law before. Now it seems that Your Majesty will come to discuss this matter with us as soon as the ceremony is over. It is not a breach of promise to talk about it now!"

hiss~
Everyone gasped. Only the emperor emeritus and many great scholars and masters could do such a thing as using the world as a chessboard and all nations as chess pieces.

They never doubted the wisdom of those old scholars. If they were willing to be officials, there would be nothing for them. Especially the old scholars in the academy, they were a group of old foxes with high eyes and profound wisdom.

No wonder His Majesty has been going to the academy for a long time in recent years. Did he go there to plan this matter? As for not telling them? Haha, if he had asked someone else, they might not be convinced, but if it was those old masters, then forget it.
Can't afford to offend, can't afford to offend!

(End of this chapter)