"Exactly, exactly. I have practiced it several times in the past few days. I wonder if you still remember it, Queen.
In addition to the great dynasty that stipulates that princes and kings come to see the emperor on time every year, there are also arrangements for the etiquette of regular dynasties. Do you remember-"
Court rituals were a very important part of the entire set of ancestral temple etiquette, music, and rituals conceived by Shusun Tong. It was also his secret attempt to combine Confucian benevolence, justice, etiquette, and governance with administrative means, and to use Confucianism to influence real political life.
On the basis of combining the ancient rites of the Spring and Autumn Period and the rites of the Qin Dynasty, Shusun Tong formulated the new Han dynasty rites, which were divided into two types: the Chang Dynasty and the Great Dynasty.
Changchao, as the name suggests, is a fixed arrangement for the emperor to meet with ministers, princes and clans living in Luoyang on a daily basis;
The great dynasties are far less frequent than regular dynasties. They are only scheduled at the beginning of the year or on a few specific dates in a year. The emperor will accept the princes of different surnames themselves or the envoys sent by the princes, as well as the princes living outside Luoyang. Go to Beijing to congratulate you.
Obviously, the purpose of the Great Court Meeting was to affirm the orthodoxy of the Han family, demonstrate the emperor's majesty, and clarify the order of superiority and inferiority between monarchs and ministers. It also had the intention of winning over the kings.
Of course, for the princes and kings with ulterior motives, the Dachaohui is also a touchstone and a gateway to find out their loyalty.
Whether the princes and kings who are domineering in their own country dare to abandon the private soldiers in the kingdom and go to Beijing alone to attend this unpredictable court meeting will surely become a psychological test several times a year.
Shusun Tong had already prepared this set of court rituals. He took advantage of the opportunity to teach the princes in the Beigong privately and secretly showed it to the queen, the Taifu and others several times. Even the maids on the left and right almost learned it by seeing it, but because of the It was too complicated and he didn't dare to show Liu Ji face to face.
***
Now, seeing that he was talking endlessly, Lu Zhi had no choice but to find a way to stop him with a question.
"Yes, it is this great court meeting, you can find an opportunity to report it to His Majesty.
But I have a question. According to your current arrangements, during the court meeting, the heroes, princes, princes, kings, etc. will stand on the west side, while the civil servants, prime ministers, etc. will stand on the east side.
In the future, if foreign leaders come to pay tribute, such as the Xiongnu kings and Dawan kings in the Western Regions, I mean for example, then should they stand on the east side or the west side?
Should it be placed before the princes or kings, or after it? "
Lu Pheasant's question was not an extraneous matter, deliberately looking for trouble.
"Hanshu" records that more than a hundred years later, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu Huhanxie Shanyu came to the dynasty. There was a huge quarrel between the civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty as to where he should stand in the great dynasty meeting. It was a huge turn of events. Everyone searched through the ritual annotation books of the early Han Dynasty, but could not find any relevant regulations.
So, taking advantage of the God-given opportunity now, she could ask Shusun Tong, the originator of this set of rules, face to face, why not do it?
Moreover, if I can speed up the process of history in this life, instead of posing problems to Lord Fengchang again, I would rather simply take into account the possibility of tribute from the dynasties in the Western Regions at the beginning of formulating the etiquette.
"Ah, I didn't think of this at all, I didn't even dare to think about it!
That's right. In the future, our great Han Dynasty will be at the top of the sky and become the center of the world. Foreign countries will naturally come to visit us. Should they be regarded as princes and kings? …”
Shusuntong thought so and became fascinated.
Lu Pheasant had to remind him,
"Feng Chang, isn't it time for you to go to Nangong to discuss matters?"
Shusun Tong woke up suddenly, shouted "Not good", and ran away without caring about etiquette.
***
Even though the road to Nangong was complicated, Shusun Tong was already familiar with it, and he still knew the way even if he was blindfolded.
When he hurried to the forbidden area, everyone had already gathered, gathering in twos and threes, whispering.
Shusuntong scanned it quickly and found that Zhao Wang Zhang Ao, who had never been absent in the past few days, was not here.
He immediately knew what was going on, and couldn't help but admire the Queen's clever calculation even more:
Sure enough, the matter to be discussed today is about the princes and kings.
After another cup of tea, Liu Ji Youyou walked out of the east chamber on the side of the hall, still followed by two palace attendants wearing plain gauze Zen clothes and hand-waving small fans for instant noodles.
The fans are all made of three-color sutra brocade. Upon closer inspection, they are densely woven with text patterns of "Changle Guangming". When they are shaken, they look like colorful butterflies flying in the hall, which is very beautiful.
Probably because the palace attendant did not dare to use too much force in fanning, Liu Ji sat cross-legged on the couch, snatched the small fan from the palace attendant's hand, and fanned himself violently, as if to relieve his boredom.
He was still too lazy to wear a crown, and when the wind blew from the fan, his scattered hair flew around, making him even more irritated.
"I came to you to discuss how these princes and kings, after their respective kingdoms, are like birds flying into the forest, so comfortable that they have gone too far——"
He paused for a moment and realized that he was a little impatient, so he sat up straighter again and said carefully,
"A few days ago, when we were discussing the matter of establishing the capital, Lou Jing, who was wearing sheep's clothing, also said that during the Zhou Dynasty, on every New Year's Day, eight hundred princes would come to Luoyang to pay tribute and congratulate us.
Later, the Qin Dynasty did not establish princes and kings, and established a unified state. The whole country was under the direct control of the central government, and there was no such thing as dynasties.
Now, we have established several vassal kingdoms all over the east. Do we need to restore the Zhou system and let these kings come to see me from time to time? "
Everyone looked at each other for a while. Prime Minister Xiao He coughed lightly and took the lead in speaking.
"Your Majesty, our court has inherited the Qin Shangzhi system. Each county under the central government has a Shangzhi system at the beginning of September every year.
After comprehensive sorting and assessment by each county, the account books were transported to Luoyang and submitted to the imperial court, which took about two months.
Therefore, I speculate that by the end of October at the latest, the planners from all over the country should arrive in Luoyang. This is the first time the Han Dynasty has planned a plan, and we will be able to figure out the rules by then. "
The upper plan means that local officials make statistics every year on the amount of farmland cultivated, the number of people under their jurisdiction, taxes, and public security conditions, etc., and report the upper account books to the central government level by level.
Every autumn and winter, it is a good time for the central government and the prime minister to review local political performance, and it is also an important basis for the central government to apportion taxes.
***
"Hmm." Liu Ji responded, knowing in his heart that Xiao He was starting from the above issue. It seemed that the answer was wrong, but he was waiting for him to ask further questions.
"What about the vassal states? How are their populations, tax accounts, etc. reported to the central government?"
Xiao He answered quickly,
“During the Zhou Dynasty, there was no system of superior planning. Under the emperor’s enfeoffment, the princes were the guardians of the territory and reported their affairs mainly in the form of oral reports.
In my opinion, since the counties and counties need to make plans, the princely states also need to send people to Luoyang to make plans. "
"Well, that's the truth.
I think we might as well let these princes and kings bring their kingdom’s top planners to come together every October. "
Liu Ji nodded fiercely and saw Shusun Tong winking at him eagerly.
"Shu Sun Tong, what do you want to say?"
"What your Majesty and the Prime Minister said is very true, but I would like to add a few more words.
In my humble opinion, the superior plan should be returned to the superior plan, and the court meeting should be returned to the court meeting. It seems to distinguish the two and make them more organized.
Local officials report the number, which is called Shangji. When the princes came to Luoyang to meet the emperor, it was called reporting their duties, which also means reporting their duties. "
Seeing the emperor listening thoughtfully and carefully, Shusun Tong was greatly encouraged and continued,
"In addition to the annual October report, if Your Majesty misses the kings, you can meet with them a few more times.
The minister drafted a ceremony about the Great Court Meeting, which can be held three times a year, namely, the court greetings, the autumn invitation and the first month of worship. "
"Then let them come three times a year?"
"This is not counting your tours to various countries in accordance with etiquette and law." Shusuntong said respectfully.
Liu Ji's eyes lit up, "You should go back right away, write down the plan for the great court meeting in detail, and submit it to us for a look.
Remember, don’t make it too complicated. "
"In this case, when the princes and kings come to report their duties, do they need to bring the prime minister and others of the kingdom with them?" Xiao He asked again.
Liu Ji shook his fan again and smiled slyly,
"I don't think it's necessary, so as not to scare them.
Guess who won't come this year? "
