Because it was not a major court meeting, it was not until 4 o'clock that the palace servants invited all the prime ministers from the Zhengshi Hall outside the Wude Hall.
"Huh? Why are you not holding a court meeting at Yizheng Hall this time, but coming to Wude Hall?"
Before several ministers entered the palace, they heard someone whispering about something inside, and judging by the sound, there was more than one person speaking. It seemed that many people were curious about today's court meeting.
"Hush, Zhongshu, the ministers are here..."
However, it didn't take long for someone in the main hall to notice Fang Du and others at the door. They quickly winked at each other, and then the main hall, which was originally humming, fell silent.
The ministers looked at their noses with their eyes, and their noses looked at their hearts, as if the people who just spoke were not them.
Fang Du and others glanced at the ministers standing solemnly in the hall, then looked up at the three characters "Wude Hall" hanging high above, and suddenly they all felt a cold feeling.
It's not a physical chill, but a mental chill!
"House minister please!"
"Please, Mr. Du!"
After a moment of humility to each other, these top ministers of the Tang Dynasty slowly entered the hall. With either awe or envy in the eyes of those on both sides, they reached the front position.
Unlike those lower-ranking officials, these people all have chairs and can sit and talk with the emperor.
Other officials felt aggrieved because there were not enough chairs in the hall, so they could only sit cross-legged on the futon, always feeling a head shorter than others.
However, compared to later generations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties who could only stand or kneel to listen to the emperor's instructions, this was considered a generous treatment.
"Ding……"
Soon, with a crisp bell ringing, Li Shimin, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, walked out from behind the screen.
"My emperor..."
When the ministers heard the bell ringing, they stood up one after another to salute His Majesty the Emperor. However, as they were bending down, they suddenly discovered that there was another person following Li Shimin!
"This is Changsun Wuji? Didn't he go to Shandong a while ago?"
Xue Shou was in the front position, so he was the first to see clearly the person following Li Shimin, and that person was none other than the Duke of Qi, Changsun Wuji, who was the Minister of Personnel at the time!
Changsun Wuji was originally designated as the number one meritorious official in the first year of Zhenguan. On the basis of the title of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was specially named Minister Youpu She and was also a member of the prime minister.
However, it is said that it was because Empress Changsun was afraid that her brother would be arrogant and favored her, so she strongly requested Li Shimin to take back the post of Youpu She.
In addition, Changsun Wuji himself resolutely resigned, so Li Shimin finally gave him a position as the third director of the Kaifu Yitong Division and withdrew from the prime minister's team. Of course, everyone knew that with Li Shimin as his backing, it would only take time for him to enter the political affairs hall again. That’s all!
"When did he come back? Could it be that this court meeting has something to do with him? Isn't it just for Xiao Han?" Xue Shou was alert in his heart, but his face remained calm. He saluted along with the officials who reacted. After the ceremony, Then Shi Shiran sat back in his seat, nothing seemed strange at all.
While the ministers were saluting, Changsun Wuji had already taken a few hurried steps to his original position below.
After Li Shimin accepted the salutes of the ministers, he slowly sat on the large dragon chair. The pearl crown hanging in front of his forehead covered his eyes, adding a bit of mystery and majesty.
"What do you ministers want today?" Li Shimin, who was sitting on the dragon throne, said calmly, his tone cold, as if without any emotion.
Yang Hongli, a member of the Zhongshu House, was the first to go out and said loudly: "Your Majesty, it is extremely cold in the southern parts of the country this year. Many places where it never snows have begun to snow. Local officials reported to the court and requested that the treasury be opened and that food, cloth, etc. be allocated. Material relief!”
Li Shimin said calmly: "Yes! Under the supervision of the governors of various places, if anyone enriches his own pockets and swallows up disaster relief money and food, he will be killed!"
"Your Majesty, the Northern County has presented you with good news, saying that a white deer has appeared auspiciously...
"His Majesty……"
With the first thing, there is the second and the third.
After these happy or sad matters were dealt with, the court room suddenly fell into a brief period of silence for some reason. It was so quiet in the air that you could hear a pin drop.
However, this strange silence did not last long. Soon, an unknown fifth-grade official stood up and solemnly said:
"Your Majesty, I have received a memorial today. Banditry has occurred frequently in Shandong. Several groups of strongmen have robbed villages and attacked government offices. As a result, local clan officials have come to Beijing to ask for help. Please ask your Majesty to mobilize troops to suppress the banditry!"
"Oh?" After hearing this man's report, Li Shimin moved slightly on the dragon chair, and a pair of eyes hidden behind his crown seemed to shine: "Why didn't I hear anyone asking for help?"
"Um..." The fifth-grade official lowered his head, his body trembled slightly, and did not answer for a while.
At this time, Fang Xuanling, who was in the front row, suddenly recalled the memorial he had seen in the morning, so he stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to your majesty, I also saw the news of banditry in the memorial this morning, but it seems that there is nothing said by this person in it. So serious!"
"Well, okay!" Li Shimin nodded to Fang Xuanling, then suddenly sighed and said softly: "If I remember correctly, Shandong and other places have been peaceful for several years! But why did I just launch an army against the Turks? Is there chaos there?”
Li Shimin's tone was very soft when he said this, but in other people's ears, especially Fang Xuanling's ears, it sounded like thunder, almost knocking him unconscious!
Heart-breaking words, what are heart-breaking words, this is heart-breaking words!
Fang Xuanling felt extremely regretful at this moment. She regretted why she had to come out and say such a thing. She didn't see Xue Shou, Wei Zheng and others were just watching from the sidelines. How could she rush out?
Well, in the morning I was still scolding those people under me for being reckless, but in the blink of an eye, I was the one who was the most reckless!
If Fang Xuanling was very upset at this moment, then the fifth-rank official in the middle of the court could no longer look at him!
On a cold day, the sweat on his body had soaked through his thick court clothes. Just like this, the sweat on his face continued to flow down his chin until it dripped on the gold bricks, making a crisp sound.
Xue Shou, Du Ruhui and others were also shocked at this moment!
They originally thought that today's court meeting was specially prepared by Li Shimin for Xiao Han. At most, it would only kill the chicken to scare the monkey!
Unexpectedly, His Majesty the Emperor was Xiangzhuang dancing with his sword, aiming at Pei Gong! His real target, which has quietly crossed everyone's sight, is aimed at the ancient clans entrenched in Shandong!
(Regarding the prime minister system of the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was a group prime minister system, generally held by the positive and negative officials of Zhongshu Province, Shangshu Province, and Menxia Province. There were also prime ministers directly promoted and appointed by the emperor, so the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty were not the same as those of the Qin and Han Dynasties. , only one or two, but one or two groups.)
