While Yi Xiaodao and the others were still "escaped" in Su City in Nanhuai, the capital city was decorated with lights and colors, and it was peaceful.
"Your Majesty, all the officials are here and waiting for you." Wang Zhenliang came to Zhao Yizhi's study and said respectfully.
"Oh, really? Got it, you can go down first. This is the first festival here, so it needs to be lively!" Zhao Yizhi replied.
Wang Zhenliang was a little confused: "The first festival..." But he didn't dare to ask more questions and left.
After Wang Zhenliang left, Zhao Yizhi sighed: "It's only been less than two months... It's like a dream..." Without thinking much, Zhao Yizhi got up and changed his clothes, putting on a bright red dragon robe. It was only after arriving here that Zhao Yizhi realized that dragon robes were not only bright red, but that there were dragon robes of any color. What to wear only depended on the emperor's preference. Emperors of all dynasties wore red or yellow in public to show their dignity. In fact, the colors were worn in private, except for the First Emperor who loved black.
Zhao Yizhi, who had finished dressing up, came to the Imperial Palace. This was the palace where the Great Qi Dynasty held banquets. The palace was extremely spacious, and it was not difficult to place hundreds of tables. There was also an extremely large square outside the palace, where people could sit and hold banquets. It is used by the public to invite theater performers, acrobatic troupes and other performances.
All civil and military officials had already stood by their respective seats according to their rank, waiting for Zhao Yizhi. As soon as Zhao Yizhi appeared, the officials, headed by Zhou Ziru, with Chen Song on his right, all knelt down and said: "Welcome our emperor." Your Majesty! May Daqi live forever! May our emperor live long and prosper!"
Zhao Yizhi often listened to their shouts of "Long Live the Mountain" when he went to court on weekdays, but in this Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Yizhi was very happy to hear it on this festive day.
"Everyone, I love you!" Zhao Yizhi stood in front of the palace and raised his hand to support him. "The prosperity of Daqi cannot be separated from the assistance of all my dear friends! I am still young, and I hope you will give me your advice!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All civil and military officials stood up.
Zhao Yizhi raised his hand to signal the banquet to start. Wang Zhenliang quickly shouted in a high voice from the side: "Hundred officials! Take your seats! The banquet has begun!"
The waiting maids filed in. Which maids were responsible for which tables had already been arranged. At this time, it seemed chaotic, but in fact it was orderly. Plates of delicacies were brought to the tables in front of the officials.
A group of eunuchs ducked in from the side door of the hall and arranged chairs and instruments. A group of musicians walked to the chairs with their heads lowered, picked up the instruments they were good at, and started playing. For a time, the chimes were loud, the flutes were melodious, the pipa was crisp, and the copper plates were cheerful... The music played by various musical instruments filled the hall, and the atmosphere suddenly became cheerful after being swept away from the seriousness before.
"My dear friends! Please drink this cup to the full! Those who can't drink can use tea instead of wine!" Zhao Yizhi picked up the wine glass on his imperial desk, stood up, and paid respect to the ministers of the court.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is as important to Daqi as the Spring Festival. It is said that Taizu Qi met eight ancestors during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and together with Zhou Yu, the ancestor of the Zhou family, started this prosperous age of six hundred years. On this day, the emperor personally proposes a toast, who can't drink it? All civil and military officials, regardless of whether they could drink or not, all raised the wine glasses in front of them. Of course, there are also those who are really teetotal and secretly pour out half the glass. Even if their colleagues see it, they won't say anything.
Zhao Yizhi's thoughts were spread throughout every corner of the hall, and he knew every move of the civil and military officials, and he would not be unhappy about such a trivial matter at this joyful time.
"Do it!" Zhao Yizhi was full of energy. He swept away the gloomy feeling caused by the court affairs in the past few days and took the lead in doing it.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All civil and military officials thanked him and drank the wine in their glasses.
"My dear friends, have fun as you like!" Zhao Yizhi showed the bottom of the glass, then put down the glass and sat back on his seat.
"General Li! I heard that another bandit was wiped out. Congratulations!"
"It's all thanks to your majesty's great blessing! Mr. Wang, I heard that you recently took in a beautiful concubine. I'm so happy~"
"Master Gu, your son is going to take the imperial examination this year? I will add another pillar of talent to Daqi soon!"
"Master Rao, thank you very much. Your daughter has given you a fat grandson. What a great joy!"
Above the main hall, there was a symphony of palace music, and all the civil and military officials were sitting in the same position. They were familiar with each other, and they started eating, drinking and chatting.
Everything was seen by Zhao Yizhi, and he sighed in his heart: "It would be great if in the world of Daqi, this scene could be seen everywhere... Maybe that is the task that God has given me... my destiny..."
At this time, a short and fat official with a big belly squeezed through the seats from the last seat in the hall and came to Zhou Ziru: "Prime Minister Zhou, I am the magistrate of Feicheng County, Zhang Chu, and here is a toast to you. "
Zhou Ziru was stunned for a moment, then raised his glass and stood up. Even though he didn’t know Zhang Chu, it was not difficult for Zhou Ziru to imagine that he was here to make a familiar face and to think about whether there would be a chance to find an official position for himself. , the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhou Ziru didn't want to spoil the fun on this festive day, so he drank all the wine in one gulp.
"Prime Minister Zhou, Feicheng is under the governance of the official, the weather is smooth, the country is peaceful and the people..." Zhang Chu hurriedly drank the wine in his glass and took the opportunity to praise himself.
"Congratulations to Prime Minister Zhou on his new appointment. Your subordinate is the County Magistrate of Yangcheng. Nowadays, all industries in Yangcheng are prosperous, and Yangcheng's thin horse is the world's leader..." Another tall and thin old man also squeezed over with a wine glass.
"Prime Minister Zhou, I am serving as the county magistrate of Chucheng. The scenery of Langya Mountain outside the city is beautiful. When Prime Minister Zhou is free..."
"Prime Minister Zhou, the last general is the North Gate General of the Imperial Guard, which can open the door to convenience for Prime Minister Zhou..."
"My little girl is now twenty-eight, which is her prime age. If she is not abandoned by Zhou, I still hope..."
All of a sudden, officials of all sizes gathered around Zhou Ziru. They all held wine glasses and did not bother to toast politely. They all told their reasons for coming.
Zhou Ziru was overwhelmed and looked at Zhao Yizhi as if asking for help. Zhao Yizhi saw it in his eyes, snickered at the corner of his mouth, deliberately ignored it, turned his head, and let Zhou Ziru deal with it on his own.
"Okay, gentlemen, sit down and drink together. Let's drink together." Zhou Ziru couldn't answer, so he had to fill his own glass with wine, and drank it all in one gulp, not caring who was who.
All the officials were delighted when they saw this. Regardless of whether Zhou Ziru heard what he said or not, it was a great honor to have a drink with the new Prime Minister Zhou during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They all seemed to have seen their own light. The future is beckoning to me.
Whenever there is a grand banquet held in the imperial court, all civil and military officials will definitely meet each other, make friends, and make plans for their future. This "custom" is not only found in the officialdom of the imperial court, but also applies to all occasions in later generations, and it cannot be banned. Zhao Yizhi didn't intend to be that evil person, so he just let everything go.
Zhao Yizhi was eating wine and vegetables alone, listening to the leisurely music and the complimentary words of tribute. He was leisurely and contented. Suddenly, he noticed an inappropriate conversation in the palace.
"After my mentor died, these people immediately went to climb a new tree!"
"The magistrate of Feicheng County is the most hateful. His benefactor arranged for him to get his job back then!"
"How about... reading one of their books tomorrow can be considered as comforting the spirit of my mentor in heaven."
"The one who killed my mentor was...that one. How can I comfort him?"
Zhao Yizhi followed his thoughts and saw two ministers from the Ministry of Household Affairs, whispering there.
"Are those two disciples of Li Changwen?" Zhao Yizhi winked at Wang Zhenliang.
Although Wang Zhenliang was a little older, his eyes were very sharp. Following Zhao Yizhi's eyes, he suddenly understood and reported softly: "Your Majesty, that's right! Not long after joining Grand Master Li, Grand Master Li..."
"I understand." Zhao Yizhi nodded.
Zhao Yizhi raised his hand and tapped the musicians. The little eunuch on the side quickly stopped the musicians and signaled that His Majesty had something to say.
"Gentlemen, do you recognize this thing?" Zhao Yizhi took out a square stone from his arms, which was exactly the Biuan paperweight that Liu Hongliang held tightly when he died. Wang Zhenliang once advised the deceased to keep his belongings unknown, but Zhao Yizhi refused to listen and insisted on taking them with him.
Before the civil and military officials could respond, Feicheng County Magistrate Zhang Chu was smart and answered first: "Your Majesty, this is from the study! It is a paperweight besides the four treasures of the study!" After saying this, he pretended to be respectful and bowed. Zhao Yizhi felt a little sad for him, with such a big belly and bowing so low.
"Yes, this is a paperweight. Who knows the origin of this thing?" Zhao Yizhi continued to ask.
Naturally, some of the civil and military officials knew the inside story. Some of the officials who dealt with the Ministry of Punishment were subordinates of the Ministry of Punishment. When asked by the Ministry of Justice, they found out that Liu Hongliang, the prison director of the Ministry of Punishment, had held a piece of 狴狴 paperweight tightly in his hand before his death.
"You may know it, or you may not know it. Let me tell you. This thing was in the hands of Liu Hongliang, the warden of the Ministry of Punishment, before his death not long ago. A young man entered the capital to gain Liu Hongliang's heart. What was Liu Hongliang thinking at that time? I don't know. But I must have refused, otherwise I wouldn't have died." Zhao Yizhi said happily.
"Master Liu is loyal to the country and is truly a role model for us!" Someone among the officials praised, and everyone else agreed.
"I wait for role models, I wait for role models."
Zhao Yizhi raised his hand to press it: "Later, a strange person told me that he could pinch and calculate. Liu Hongliang was very entangled and nervous at the time. Finally, holding a paperweight in his hand, he calmed down and decided to report Xiao Xiaozhi. Disciple, unfortunately, he was tricked by Xiao Xiao and ended up dead outside the palace."
Only then did all the civil and military officials understand what Zhao Yizhi meant. Everyone was a member of the court. This paperweight was called Bifan paperweight. How could they not understand the meaning of Bifan?
"Master Liu died for his beliefs. From beginning to end, he was worthy of his official position as Prison Director of the Ministry of Punishments! I feel that he was loyal and loyal, so I always carry this thing with me..." Zhao Yizhi continued.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to give you 10,000 taels of silver to replenish the national treasury. I only ask that your Majesty give this to my officials to keep me alert day and night!" Another voice came from among the officials. Zhao Yizhi turned around and saw that it was still Feicheng. County magistrate Zhang Chu.
Zhang Chu knew that Zhao Yizhi was looking at him. He was neither humble nor arrogant, but his face turned red and he felt a little excited: "Weichen's family used to be a businessman, and he just became the magistrate of Feicheng County. I am really uneasy. I am willing to donate my eyes today." Wanliang, I just want the Bifan paperweight in your Majesty's hand!"
The hall suddenly became quiet, and many officials secretly cursed Zhang Chu: "Didn't this damn fat man put us on the fire to roast us? He just donated it, how can we escape?"
Zhao Yizhi's eyes flickered. No one knew what Zhao Yizhi was thinking. Even Wang Zhenliang beside him did not dare to speculate.
"That's right! I'll give this Biwan paperweight to you! It's just ten thousand taels of silver, so there's no need for it. Mr. Zhang, I just hope that you will be loyal to the country." Zhao Yizhi suddenly smiled and handed it to Wang Zhenliang, signaling that Deliver it.
Wang Zhenliang took the paperweight with both hands, went down the steps, and handed it to Zhang Chu.
Zhang Chu really wanted to show his face in front of His Majesty the Emperor and the civil and military officials of the dynasty. Although it was a pity to have ten thousand taels of silver, he could still afford it. What he bought with ten thousand taels of silver was not the beast, but the emperor and the civil and military officials. The official's gaze. Unexpectedly, His Majesty did not ask for ten thousand taels of silver, but in order to show his face, he ordered Manager Wang to personally give this beast to him.
When I started holding the Bifan, it didn't feel cold to the touch as expected, but rather warm. The Bifan on it was lifelike, with teeth and claws.
Zhang Chu looked at the arrogant Bi An, then thought about himself, and suddenly felt a sense of guilt. His knees softened and he immediately knelt down: "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your grace!"
"You're welcome, I'll remember you. Feicheng has been managed, and you have high-ranking officials and generous salaries." Such straightforward words were spoken openly by Zhao Yizhi, and all the civil and military officials below were a little uncomfortable.
"Okay, everyone has eaten and drank, right? If you are not full, please continue. If you are full, come out with me to watch the show." Zhao Yi held his hands behind his back, walked down the stairs leisurely, and walked out into the main hall.
None of the civil and military officials dared to continue, and all followed Zhao Yizhi outside the palace.
Zhang Chu looked at the 狴犴 in his hand, put it in his arms, and followed Baiguan. Although hundreds of officials blocked him, Zhang Chu still found the right position and stood quietly behind Zhao Yizhi.
