In the establishment of the early Tang Dynasty, following the Sui Dynasty, there was a daily curfew in Chang'an City. Each workshop was signaled by the sound of gongs, drums and bells, and the doors were locked at that time. There was only one day in the year when the doors were unlocked.
This day is the first day of the first lunar month, later known as the New Year's Day, and in the Tang Dynasty it was called New Year's Day.
On this day, Chang'an City will wake up from the darkness much earlier than usual.
In the darkness, there were a few candles at first, and then the lights gradually spread. Both sides of Zhuque Street and several avenues were filled with candles and lanterns, illuminating the whole city.
On this day, the city of Chang'an looked like a sea of fire, so it was known as the "City of Fire".
Officials of all sizes went to court along the illuminated avenue to congratulate the saint.
In ancient history, only the Tang Dynasty had the habit of greeting people on the first day of the new year. The other dynasties all had a holiday directly. This was a rule set by the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan.
The sage Li Yuan wears a crown with twelve white beads hanging from his head. Wearing Xuanyi with twelve chapters of decoration. Wearing a deer-lu jade sword and wearing red shoes embroidered with gold ornaments, he accepted the congratulations from all the officials.
After a complete set of procedures, Li Yuan gave a banquet. After the meal, he and several important ministers sat down in the Liangyi Hall, congratulated each other on the New Year, casually talked about old memories, and laughed from time to time.
"By the way, I have already read the letter from Wei Zheng and Cui Hao who inspected Shandong." Li Yuan pointed at Li Jiancheng and said with a smile: "To appease Shandong and Huairou, the soldiers captured the leader and surrendered. Da Lang chose the right person."
Li Jiancheng held his hands in a serious tone and said, "I dare not take this as a father's compliment. Wei Xuancheng and Cui Hao are inspecting Shandong as ordered by the Holy Spirit."
"It's really rare to be on the road in the first month." Li Yuan nodded and said, "Da Lang remembers to remind you that if you can return to Beijing, you should be rewarded."
Sitting in the back, King Li Shentong of Huai'an couldn't help but glance at Li Shimin, who was silent and speechless. He was so partial...
"Erlang, I heard that in the battle of Hulao Pass last year, Dou Jiande's counselor Ling Jing recommended that he attack Hedong. If Dou Jiande had listened, I'm afraid it would be difficult to sweep the Central Plains." Li Yuan said with a smile: "But Ling Jing is a counselor from Shandong. This time to appease Shandong, Wei Zheng wrote to him to ask for credit."
Li Jiancheng's expression changed and his cheeks shrank slightly, as if he was secretly biting his silver teeth.
Can you not hate it?
First, I hate Li Shimin for being a troublemaker, secondly, I hate that Li Yuan wanted to mention this matter because of Mao, and thirdly, I hate that Wei Zheng actually wants to take credit for Ling Jing.
But Wei Zheng had no idea. Ling Jing had already traveled most of Shandong, and there wasn't much he could do. He could only hold his nose and sing praises to Ling Jing.
When Li Yuan mentioned Ling Jing, he obviously had other intentions... It's a pity that he didn't know the inside story.
At this time, Li Shimin stood up and said: "Father, the brother of the King of Huaiyang wrote a letter and praised Ling Jing, a famous scholar from Shandong, for his contribution to helping the court appease Shandong. It happened that Cao Shen, a soldier in Tiance Mansion, was vacant in the military, and I wanted to call him to his post."
Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at the expressionless prince from the corner of his eye... You're a good-for-nothing, Ling Jing was actually lured over by his second son, so you were responsible for appeasing Shandong, but in the end you only got some leftovers?
Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin both knew about this matter, but most of the court officials did not. Today, there were not only many important ministers in the Liangyi Palace, but also many clans and princes, as well as adjutants and censors from the three provinces, and they were all talking about it.
King Qin summoned Ling Jing into Tiance Mansion and would not talk about it openly if he was not sure.
There is no doubt that to appease Shandong, although Li Jiancheng took the initiative, he lost the points. Li Shimin failed to intervene, but he was the one who scored.
At this time, suddenly a middle-aged official came out and said, "Your Majesty, Li Shanyi, a child with a yellow mouth, killed people indiscriminately and almost ruined Wei Xuancheng's pacification of Shandong. He should be arrested and imprisoned..."
"What Yixuan said... you can discuss it." Li Yuan raised his hand with a half-smile.
Li Shimin glanced at him, and he naturally recognized this person. Cui Yixuan, a descendant of the Cui family in Qinghe, once served as an official in Li Mi. He returned to the Tang Dynasty in the first year of Wude and was granted the title of Duke of Qingqiu County.
The first one to jump out was Chen Shuda, a minister in charge of the province, "There is a lot of discussion in Chang'an about this matter. Li Huairen beheaded the Cui family's children. Although it was inappropriate, it caused the people to rebel and rebel."
"This move is too reckless, but Li Huairen is still young and has not yet been crowned." Prince Li Jiancheng said loudly: "Wei Xuancheng once wrote a letter praising this son's talent and asking for his father's forgiveness."
Li Shimin coughed twice and said, "What the elder brother said is absolutely true. Li Huairen is a brave man with a heart full of benevolence and righteousness. He does helpless things and actually stabilizes the people's hearts."
It has been almost a month, and the qualified officials in Chang'an City have almost figured out what happened in Qinghe County. Even the well-informed people know that Li Shan took a step back before.
Although the act of killing the disciples of the noble family is still not recognized, Cui Hao's crime is unquestionable. It is normal to do something secretly and take revenge in the future... but it cannot be punished in the court.
Didn’t you see that even the prince and the king of Qin jumped out?
Sitting behind Li Jiancheng, King Qi Li Yuanji's eyes rolled in his eyes, and he casually echoed a few words. He regretted it a little. He remembered hearing that this man was praised by his second brother half a year ago, and asked Li Qianyou to recruit troops, but he didn't pay much attention to him after that. .
Unexpectedly, as soon as he got the chance, he would become famous and his reputation would spread far and wide. It seemed that not only the second brother, but also the eldest brother had been contacted.
Li Yuan waved his hand to stop everyone and said with a smile: "Let's let this matter go. The Cui family of Qinghe, a prominent family in the world, should also be magnanimous and generous."
Cui Yixuan stepped back with an unswerving expression. His words were obviously a slap in the face and also a taunt... The Cui family of Qinghe is one of the five surnames and seven families. There is such a bastard like Cui Bo in the family. If it weren't for Cui Hao's letter, he would still be there. I really don’t want to humiliate myself.
After such an incident, everyone was soon ready to disperse. The next seven days of vacation were coming. Li Shimin suddenly stepped forward and said, "Father, the King of Huaiyang will return to Beijing in three days."
Li Yuan nodded slightly, "Daoxuan pacified Shandong this time and captured and killed Liu Heitai. He has done great service to the country..."
After a slight pause, Li Yuan's eyes turned to Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, and he hesitated before continuing: "Ren Yuwen came out of the city to greet us."
Zhongshu Shilang Yuwenshi should be the leader.
Yu Wenshiji is a high-ranking official in the court, and he is also the Sima of Tiance Mansion. His status is just right. Li Yuan originally wanted to choose someone from the East Palace... Let's forget it. Shi Wanbao was so ashamed that he committed suicide. Li Daoxuan was afraid that he would be resentful of the East Palace. , if something happens again, this year will be difficult.
All the important ministers and clan members came out of the palace one by one. Li Yuan got up and went to the harem accompanied by Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji. Today is New Year's Day, a day for family reunion and celebration.
In the Ganlu Palace, either the concubines of Li Yuan's harem or the principal concubines of his sons, and several princes and grandsons who were still young were arguing. A little fat boy knocked a child over with his head, which angered Li Yuan who had just entered. Laughing a lot.
Li Shimin calmly saluted according to the rules, and then sat next to Princess Qin. Behind him were Li Chengqian, Prince of Zhongshan County, Li Ke, Prince of Changsha County, Li You, Prince of Yiyang County, and several daughters sitting on the flanks.
At this time, Ganlu Hall was the home court of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Li Shimin was away at war all year round, and the concubines in the harem were familiar with the former two... Whenever there was anything, they never refused, obviously this was intentional.
Seeing Li Jiancheng and his wife, Li Yuanji and his wife mingling with the concubines in the harem, Princess Qin wanted to get up, but was pulled back by Li Shimin.
Princess Qin secretly sighed. Her husband seemed easy-going, but in fact he was arrogant and disdainful of using this method... But what Li Shimin thought in his heart was, what's the use of trying to please him again?
