Tiantang

Chapter 424
Chapter 433

It has to be said that the setting of eunuchs, in the eyes of Zhang Xuan, is very cruel and inhumane.But in this era, even as an emperor, he is unlikely to be completely detached from this era.

This is passed down from generation to generation, regulation, palace regulation.

Some chores in the palace need eunuchs to do, and the maids are not physically strong enough.If it weren't for the presence of eunuchs, the three thousand beauties in the emperor's harem would definitely cause a lot of scandals, which is inevitable.

Therefore, in this age of kingship, eunuchs have the rationality and legitimacy of existence.

Zhang Xuan once had the idea of ​​abolishing the eunuch system, but after hesitating for a long time, he still didn't propose it and let it go.

But what happened to Zhang Xuan deeply touched Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan sighed for a long time, looked at Zhang Li and sighed, "Li Zhang, since that's the case, you stay in the palace and come to me to be the chief eunuch of the Huaxia Palace. You always know the inner court affairs around me. Take care of yourself first—"

After Zhang Xuan finished speaking, he turned around and left resolutely.

Behind him, Zhang Li kowtowed to the ground with tears of gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness, long live my emperor!"

When Zhang Xuan returned to the palace, he ordered the Seven Ministers headed by Chen Xilie, Yan Zhenqing, Minister of Internal Affairs and Governor of Zhongjing, Governor of Henan Province, and Tian Kexin, head of the six female officials of the inner court, to be sent to the imperial study to meet him.

Chen Xilie and others came one after another. Seeing that the emperor's expression was not very good, they were a little uneasy and respectful.

For these important court officials, they must be cautious, diligent and conscientious in doing things under the emperor Zhang Xuan.The emperor had his own thoughts on almost every detail, and he had to do all aspects of government affairs by himself. Facing the extremely diligent emperor, they felt very stressed.

Chen Xilie and others have the imperial gold medal and privilege to enter the palace at any time.No matter when, as long as the emperor summons, they must be on call.And sometimes, the emperor reviewed the memorial in the middle of the night and thought of something to explain, and he might even summon him in the middle of the night.

According to the emperor's will, Chen Xilie and others took turns to be on duty, and two people stayed in the inner court every day and night to serve the emperor's decision-making.

This initially formed the "Prime Minister on Duty System" that was later institutionalized.

Chen Xilie and others sat respectfully on both sides, quietly waiting for the emperor's lecture.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a long time, then looked up at Yan Zhenqing and Tian Kexin and said, "Qingchen, how many eunuchs and maids with duties are there in the palace?"

Yan Zhenqing and Tian Kexin were taken aback, they didn't expect the emperor to ask this question, and they really didn't pay attention to how many eunuchs and maids there were in the palace.

But at this moment, in Zhang Xuan's court, the number of court ladies and eunuchs must be much less than that of the Li Tang Dynasty.But no matter how few, there should be hundreds of people.

Yan Zhenqing faltered and hesitated a bit.

Zhang Xuan glanced at him, "Qingchen, after you go down, check the number of eunuchs and maids in the palace in detail. Some functions must be streamlined if they can be streamlined. If they should be merged, there is no need to keep so many people in the palace."

Before Yan Zhenqing had time to speak, Yang Guozhong got up and bowed down, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to merging the functions of the internal supervisor. But in the palace, the number of court ladies and eunuchs is already so small that it cannot be reduced. If we want to streamline and abolish , Where is His Majesty's majesty? Where is the court's majesty?"

Yang Guozhong told the truth this time.

Chen Xilie and the others immediately stood up and agreed.

Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said softly, "Everyone, I have an idea."

"The matter of eunuchs is inhumane and contrary to human relations. I can't bear it. I intend to abolish the eunuch system..." Before Zhang Xuan finished speaking, Chen Xilie and the others were shocked, their faces changed, and they knelt down together and said loudly, "Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

"The inner eunuchs of the imperial palace serve His Majesty and the concubines in the harem, and take on important duties. If the eunuchs are abolished, the etiquette and law of the harem will be chaotic, His Majesty's majesty will be lost, and the court's laws will be out of order. It is absolutely impossible!"

"It's about the country and the country, and it's about the etiquette of the court. It's absolutely impossible, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty resolutely opposes it, please take it back!"

The intense reaction of Chen Xilie and others was actually expected by Zhang Xuan.The attitude of these people actually represents the attitude of the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty. If he really wants to abolish the eunuch system, it will definitely cause resistance and strong backlash from the officials.

Chen Xilie burst into tears and kowtowed to the ground.

Everyone never expected that Zhang Xuan would suddenly have such a shocking thought.Eunuchs are derivatives of the emperor and the imperial power system. If eunuchs are abolished, wouldn't the emperor's harem be messed up?
The corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, and he let out a long sigh.

"If the eunuchs cannot be abolished, then—" Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "Then try to reduce the number and duties of eunuchs as much as possible, and reduce by [-]% based on the current number!"

"In addition, the maids in the palace will establish a rotation system, and they will be rotated every five years. After serving in the palace, they can follow their own volition and go out of the palace to return to their original place of marriage. This is settled, don't discuss it any further."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand abruptly, and said resolutely, "There are so many court ladies living in secluded palaces, and I can't bear to be unable to reunite with their families. According to my order, all eunuchs and court ladies in the Chang'an Imperial City in Xijing will be returned immediately. This task is fully acted by the left-behind department of Xijing."

Zhang Xuan's attitude is very firm.

Chen Xilie and the others looked at each other, hesitated for a long time, and finally agreed to accept the order.

The rotation of palace maids is not too outrageous. Fortunately, the rotation every five years will not affect the normal operation of the palace.

However, for the maids in the palace, this is great news.Many court ladies who have passed the age of 20 can discharge their duties in the court, leave the palace and return to their original place to marry.

Chen Xilie and Yan Zhenqing exchanged glances, each of them made up their minds.

Although the emperor said so, the Ministry of Internal Affairs still had to carry out the actual implementation.Those maids with ordinary duties can be rotated, but some court ladies who have been favored by the emperor, or who know the internal affairs of the palace, and who are beside the emperor and the concubines cannot be released from the palace no matter what.

Otherwise, the majesty of the emperor and the inner court will be difficult to preserve.

In the eyes of the two, this was just a whim of the emperor, and it was impossible to truly implement it.There are hundreds of maidservants in the powerful family, not to mention the emperor and the palace!
Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and did not continue to dwell on this topic.In fact, he also understood in his heart that his edict might be nothing.

"I told you that there is one more thing."

"Qingchen, I have decided to cancel the inner court treasury and merge it into the imperial treasury. All the expenses for me and the court will be submitted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs. From now on, the expenditure of the inner court will be in the existing On the basis of that, it will be reduced by [-]%.”

"Everything that can be abolished, such as dispensable banquets and entertainment, must be abolished. Banquets are necessary, and everything should be kept simple."

"Governing the country with diligence and thrift starts with me. From now on, the imperial court will fight against extravagance with great fanfare, and use money and food where it should be used."

Zhang Xuan talked eloquently, with a serious look on his face.

The so-called inner court inner treasury is actually the emperor's private small treasury. The emperor and various expenses and various huge expenditures of the palace are all spent from the inner treasury.Zhang Xuan's inner treasury is the inner treasury of Li Tang's royal family.In a sense, the emperor's internal treasury is not much worse than the national treasury.

The corner of Yang Guozhong's mouth twitched, Emperor Xindao is really generous, and he wants to hand over such a huge internal treasury?So, in the future, the emperor will have to approve the approval of the Ministry of Households when he spends money?
The expressions of Chen Xilie and the others changed.

They could hear that the emperor had made up his mind, but... the internal treasury is an important institution to support the operation of the palace. If the internal treasury is abolished, the emperor and the imperial palace will have to go through the procedure of approval by the imperial household department. , which is equivalent to compressing in disguise and breaking the emperor's supreme privilege.

The emperor cut himself.It can be seen from this that the emperor's diligent and thrifty governance policy is by no means empty talk.

Chen Xilie sighed lightly, and took the lead to bow down, "Your Majesty is diligent, self-disciplined, self-denying and devoted to public service. He is indeed a wise emperor through the ages. This old minister is moved to tears!"

"Your Majesty is wise, long live my emperor!"

Yang Guozhong and the others had no choice but to kneel down and follow behind Chen Xilie, shouting long live.

Tian Kexin knelt at the back of the crowd, looking at Zhang Xuan with a bright light in her eyes.The emperor in front of him is really different, really wise and mighty!At the critical moment, the world is arbitrary, but it handles state affairs without monopolizing power. It has both great mind, great wisdom, great vision, and great courage. Few emperors in the past dynasties can compare with it.

Zhang Xuan sat there with an extremely firm expression.

He has long been very disgusted with the extravagant and wasteful court atmosphere and social atmosphere of the Li and Tang Dynasties. However, if he simply attacked his subjects, it would be difficult to reverse this evil trend. Slowly getting better.

"Okay, tomorrow I will issue an edict advocating frugality. In the whole of China, it is a virtue to uphold frugality, honesty, and diligence, and to be ashamed of extravagance, waste, arrogance, extravagance and lust. Ten days later, I will lead an army to march in person. This is a matter in the court. Entrust Chen Zaifu and you all, the government and military affairs of Zhongjing and Heluo are all in the hands of the Qing officials. I will go here for half a year, and for more than a year. I hope that you can perform your duties and assist me to help the world and create a world. Foundation!"

Zhang Xuan's voice suddenly rose an octave, his eyes were piercing, and his power was awe-inspiring.

Chen Xilie and others bowed down immediately, shouting "Long live my emperor".

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Wuwei.

Li Gong sent people to ambush on the official road from Chang'an in Xijing to Hexi, preparing to rob and kill Ge Shuhan.Unexpectedly, Ge Shuhan detoured Qinghai and entered Hexi through the Shaliu River where Yang Lian was located.

It was impossible to assassinate Ge Shuhan, and Taoist Taiping who went to Yang Lian's camp to persuade him to surrender also failed to achieve his goal.Hearing that the thief came to persuade him to surrender, Yang Lian immediately turned his face and ordered someone to take him down.However, Taoist Taiping was very powerful, and seeing the situation was not good, he immediately escaped from Shaliuhe City.

(End of this chapter)