After the winter solstice, the New Year's Day is getting closer and closer, and the entire capital is slowly starting to become lively.
This year's Winter Solstice Festival is similar to previous years, but different.
The similarity is that it is still grand, complicated and lively.
The difference is that, based on last year's experience, this year the Ministry of Rites wisely revised the notes, deleting the link where the emperor led his ministers to pay homage to the Nangong, and replaced it with the official minister Wang Wen leading the ministers to pay homage.
It is said that for this festival, the Ministry of Rites discussed for a long time, and it was definitely not possible to let the emperor go. The old man just stood there blankly, and at most he gave a perfunctory salute. Not only was the emperor unhappy, but it was just a courtesy. The officials themselves were helpless.
Therefore, in order not to cause trouble to ourselves, this section must be changed, but the problem is how to change it. If the emperor does not go, then someone will have to worship on his behalf.
This candidate is the focus of controversy. Many ministers in the court believe that since the crown prince has left the cabinet, it is natural that the crown prince should lead the ministers to celebrate the winter solstice festival of the crown prince.
However, this proposal also met with opposition from many people. One reason is that the prince is young and cannot bear the fatigue of too complicated rituals. According to the original ritual instructions, the prince should lead all the ministers to worship the emperor during the Winter Solstice. This cannot be changed.
If the prince is asked to lead his ministers to congratulate the emperor, then the same ritual will have to be done twice, and consideration must be given to whether the prince's energy and physical strength can sustain it. But these ministers are desperate to die.
In addition, the more important reason is actually the issue of legal system.
When this proposal was first proposed in the morning court, it was strongly opposed by a group of the Emperor's Party headed by Wang Wen. In addition to the prince's energy issues, their most critical reason was...
"The Crown Prince is conferred by His Majesty, inherits His Majesty's legal authority and leads the ministers. Therefore, on the Winter Solstice Festival, we should congratulate the Emperor as the Crown Prince. This is the courtesy of the monarch and his ministers.
"If you congratulate the Supreme Emperor, the Crown Prince will congratulate you as the eldest son of the Supreme Emperor. If you lead the ministers, the etiquette will be messed up and must not be done."
In the court, only Wang Wen dared to say this directly.
Of course, after he said it, it naturally triggered fierce impeachment by many courtiers. Some said that he had alienated the relationship between the Tian family, some said that he wanted to trap the prince into being unfilial, and some said that he despised the emperor.
There was a big quarrel in the court over this matter. Wang Wen was naturally not afraid of these impeachments, but after all, he was also one of the Seven Ministers, so he would not have to argue with some ordinary officials in person.
Therefore, in the end, this matter actually turned into a matter where many officials from Prince Tan's Palace, under the leadership of Wang Wen, fought against the matter.
In contrast, some officials of the Prince's Palace, headed by Zhu Jian and with Xu Youzhen as their main backbone, competed with them.
Other ordinary ministers have their own opinions, but they cannot escape from these two points.
In the end, the eldest uncle Hu Xi came forward in person and suggested that the Minister of Civil Affairs should worship the emperor and the crown prince on their behalf on the grounds that the prince was young and weak. This matter was finally settled.
But other than that, everything else went smoothly. The only difference was that the empress in the harem was already six months pregnant, so she did not accept the homage in person. The aunt in the outer court was paying homage to the two emperors. After the Queen Mother, it ended in a hurry.
However, the impact of this incident is still being fermented in the future.
Especially after the Winter Solstice, the main government affairs of the court have basically come to an end. Most of the yamen are idle except for some summary work at the end of the year, so it has triggered all kinds of discussions.
Outside Zhengyang Gate, as the New Year approaches, various vendors and boys gradually increase in number. Even at the main gate of the capital, there is an endless stream of people coming in and out.
Not far from the city gate, a four-person sedan was parked. The old man was wearing a Confucian robe and a thick cloak. He was looking into the distance with his hands clasped in his hands, as if waiting for something.
Not long after, a group of carriages came slowly from a distance, accompanied by dozens of people. They did not look like ordinary people's carriages, but they did not display any signs.
Seeing this carriage, the old man couldn't help but feel happy and moved forward to greet it.
"Tingyi, you are finally back!"
The carriage staggered to a stop, the curtain was opened, and an old man with a pale face was sitting in the carriage. When he saw the people underneath, he quickly stood up, got off the carriage, held his hands in front of him, and said.
"Brother Shichao, long time no see, you look even better than before!"
There were still people coming and going around, but they all consciously avoided the carriage. After all, although this carriage was low-key, just by looking at the guards around it, you knew it was not an ordinary family.
However, what they never expected was that these two seemingly inconspicuous old men were actually the Minister of War and the Second Assistant to the Cabinet of the current dynasty.
Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for a long time. When Yu Shiyue saw Yu Qian again, he couldn't help but feel excited. He stepped forward and held Yu Qian's hand tightly and said.
"Tingyi, thank you for your hard work on this trip..."
Although Yu Shiyue is in the capital, he is in the cabinet and naturally has more information than ordinary ministers.
Because of this, he knew how many difficulties Yu Qian had experienced and how many people he had offended when he left Beijing this time.
As he spoke, he glanced at the entourage behind Yu Qian and said.
"Same for you. Now that you're back, the imperial envoys have to put away their honor guards and change their official uniforms. Even the Ministry of War didn't notify them in advance. Otherwise, why would it be so simple..."
However, Yu Qian shook his head and said.
"When I left in a grand manner, it was to shock me, but when I returned quietly, that is Yu's nature. Brother Shichao, you know, I don't like the extravagant and vain trend. It's as simple as that. In the end, good."
Yu Shiyue was also very good at observing words and expressions. Hearing Yu Qian's tone, he understood that Yu Qian was hiding something in his heart.
However, after learning the lesson from last time, he didn't ask any more questions and just said.
"Forget it, when you return to Beijing today, I specially prepared good wine and food, and sent someone to deliver it to your house in the evening. How about you and I getting drunk together today?"
Yu Qian didn't refuse, he smiled and nodded, so the two of them got on the carriage and rushed to Yu's mansion.
Not long after, they arrived outside the gate of Yu's mansion and the two got off the carriage. Sure enough, just like last time, a few of the entourage brought back by Yu Qian bowed silently, then got on their horses and galloped away.
Seeing this scene, Yu Shiyue breathed a sigh of relief, turned sideways and asked.
"Is there no one else now?"
Seeing the dignified Deputy Minister of the Cabinet, Zhan Shi of the Prince's Mansion, looking so sneaky, Yu Qian couldn't help but smile bitterly and said.
"Brother Shichao, these people are here to protect me, not for surveillance. You..."
"Having said that, it's better to be careful..."
Yu Shiyue muttered a few words in a low voice, which made Yu Qian helpless for a while.
However, at this time, Mrs. Dong of the Yu family who had been waiting outside the house for a long time, along with Yu Qian's two sons Yu Mian and Yu Kang, as well as the youngest daughter Yu Xuanying and son-in-law Zhu Ji who came back specially, all came to greet them. Come up.
So, Yu Shiyue quickly calmed down and followed Yu Qian behind him.
"Greetings to father, I met Uncle Yu."
In front of juniors, Yu Cifu has always been kind, and even when facing Zhu Ji, his attitude is very good.
Looking at the respectful Yu Mian and the slightly excited Dong, he cupped his hands.
"Today Tingyi has just come back and it's your family reunion, so I won't bother you. However, today is the last day of rest during the winter solstice. Tomorrow Tingyi will go to court. There are some things I need to talk to him about. So, I’m afraid I’ll have to disturb you a lot later, so please forgive me, madam.”
Dong's temperament is gentle and generous, so she naturally understands her husband's old friend, and she feels blessed at the moment.
"Master Cifu, what are you talking about? If you come to my humble residence, my husband and I will naturally welcome you. It's getting late, why don't we stay for dinner together?"
Although this was an invitation, Yu Shiyue was not ignorant of current affairs, so he waved his hand and said.
"My lady is so kind and I shouldn't refuse it. However, lunch has been prepared in my house. My lady personally cooked it today. If I don't go back, I'm afraid I won't be able to go back in the future, or it will be later." Well, in the evening, I have agreed with my wife in advance that we will have dinner again."
After that, Yu Shiyue said goodbye without staying long...
In the evening, Yu Shiyue arrived as promised. Yu Mian had already been waiting outside. When he arrived, he took him directly to the study.
It was said that he wanted to have dinner and drink, but in fact, Yu Shiyue was not really so ignorant. After all, today was a day for family reunion. If he really came to have dinner, he would be disliked by others.
Therefore, when he came, it was already past meal time. Yu Qian obviously knew his purpose and did not prepare any wine. He still had a cup of tea.
The two sat opposite each other, with tea and birds in the study room. Yu Shiyue chatted casually, and then told Yu Qian one by one about everything that had happened in Beijing during the recent period.
Of course, Yu Qian had already known most of these things through official documents and other channels, but he still listened carefully.
"...This is the general situation in the capital during this period. Although it is difficult on the border, it can be considered a satisfactory solution. Now, Jin Lian and Changping Hou have taken Marco Guergis on their way back to the capital. It is estimated that in two days, it will be time to arrive at the capital. After this incident, Tatar and Oara have fallen into civil strife, and the border should be stable for a while..."
Yu Shiyue talked for a long time, his mouth felt a little dry, so he picked up the tea cup and took a sip to moisten his throat.
Seeing this situation, Yu Qian stretched out his hand to fill it up and then said.
"It's really surprising that Yang Jie is here. The grassland group can actually achieve such a harvest. He really lives up to His Majesty's expectations for him."
Hearing this, Yu Shiyue seemed to hear something, snorted softly and said.
"I wrote to you a long time ago. His Majesty has no intention of sending troops. He sent Yang Hong to lead troops to Xuan Mansion just for the purpose of deterrence. The public opinion and attitude in the court are just pretending. Please don't get involved. Something like this."
"But what about you? I must not believe it. The return of this memorial has made His Majesty dissatisfied. Can't you see that the people in the court are waiting for you to be the spearman and let you contradict His Majesty? !”
"Look at the guy from the Ministry of Finance. He usually has a hard time digging for a few taels of silver, but this time when Your Majesty mentioned it, he didn't say anything and tried his best to support him. Look at you again..."
Yu Shiyue became angrier and angrier as he talked, and his beard stood tall.
You must know that when Yi Ming brought Yang Jie's secret message, Yu Shiyue was also summoned, so he knew clearly what the emperor's attitude was.
After coming down, he wrote to Yu Qian, telling him the contents of the memorial in a tactful way, and warning him not to interfere in matters in Beijing.
Unexpectedly, Yu Qian ignored him at all, and still wrote a memorial to Beijing to express his clear-cut opposition to the emperor's military deployment.
In the end, the emperor was displeased and even issued a special decree called a compliment, which was actually a warning.
This time Yu Qian returned to Beijing, although he kept a low profile and did not publicize it in advance. However, no matter what, the emperor must know that he returned to Beijing with such an identity. If it were different, the emperor would definitely send someone to welcome him. , but this time, there was nothing. It can be seen that the emperor was still dissatisfied with Qian.
However, facing Yu Shiyue's expression of hatred for steel, Yu Qian was very calm and said.
"I am different from Shen Yi. In this court, if Shen Yi obeys His Majesty, I have to persuade His Majesty. Brother Shichao, I naturally know your intentions, but I still have to persuade you. Besides, if I take part in this memorial, it can be regarded as cooperating with His Majesty in acting..."
"Humph, just make excuses!"
Yu Shiyue said angrily, and couldn't help but pick up the tea cup and take a big sip to express his dissatisfaction.
However, it only took a moment for Yu Shiyue to put away his slightly joking attitude and speak seriously.
"Tingyi, I really want to remind you, be careful!"
"Although His Majesty has always had great trust in you, after all, you have made a lot of enemies because of the military camp. This time, His Majesty has specially allowed the kings to come to Beijing to visit the disciples of the sect. I looked at the list, and there are many of them. I'm afraid they are all Coming for you."
"There is also King Yin. Although everything seems to be fine now, judging from what happened when you left the city, he has a deep hatred for you. Now that your majesty has lifted his restraint, something may happen."
"It would be better if His Majesty protects you, but if you anger His Majesty again, if something happens to you, I'm afraid your life will not be easy."
"You have been in the court for many years, and you should know that not all people in this court are public-minded. You are in charge of the military camp and are in the limelight. People who want to laugh at you secretly can't Not a few..."
These words were said with great sincerity. It can be said that if it were not for being an old friend for many years, it would never have been said so thoroughly.
"Thanks for the reminder, Brother Shichao. I will be careful. However, Brother Shichao, don't worry too much. Yu acts with a clear conscience and is not afraid of being framed by villains."
However, Yu Qian obviously didn't listen. He said something perfunctory and then turned to other topics.
"The border issue has been resolved, so we won't talk about it anymore."
"I heard that His Majesty intends to reorganize the military government?"
