The Zichen Hall was the place where Emperor Liu went to court, and the Qianyuan Hall in Luoyang was the place where major dynasties and ceremonies were held. For small dynasties like this in ordinary times, Emperor Liu chose the Zichen Hall. Although it is not as magnificent as the Qianyuan Palace, the Zichen Palace is also a relatively large palace complex in the Luojing Imperial City.
In the Zichen Hall, Emperor Liu was still high up, looking down at the ministers, civil and military officials, all standing in the hall obediently and respectfully. Of course, not all court officials will gather for such a small court meeting. According to the "Hui Dian" system, except for the chief ministers of the political affairs hall, the three yamen of the forbidden army, and some special missions and honorary officers, all the subordinate ministries and yamen are as scheduled. Go to court in turn to report matters, otherwise all officials will be present and a lot of time will be wasted just discussing matters.
However, in the past twenty years, due to Emperor Liu decentralizing power and not going to court for a long time, this system has not been implemented, and government affairs are still handled by the Zhengshitang.
What is surprising is that in the past six months, Emperor Liu's frequency of going to court has increased significantly. Even though he is not as diligent as in the early years, he still goes to court five or six times a month.
The sun was already high, and the warm spring light penetrated into the palace, but it did not bring much relaxation and brightness to the mood of the ministers. After the ceremony, they all waited quietly for Emperor Liu to speak.
Emperor Liu, on the other hand, made what he thought was a relaxed posture, smiled, and said: "I haven't been to court for a few days. I'm in a good mood today. Let's not talk about state affairs for now and tell you a joke!"
As soon as he said this, all the ministers looked at each other, wondering, what kind of trouble is the old emperor going to do again? While doubtful, I subconsciously added a bit of caution.
"I respectfully listen to His Majesty's instructions!" Zhao Kuangyi came out and cupped his hands.
"Don't be so serious. It's just a joke for entertainment!" Emperor Liu waved his hand and said leisurely: "It's not complicated. I had a dream last night about the former Han Dynasty Emperor Liu Che. Of course, he was in his later years. Emperor Wu.
I have to say, that overbearing and willful attitude is really annoying. His head is gray, and he is obviously old and twilight, but he is still conceited and guessing. He is so arrogant that he even asked me to kowtow to him. Guess how I responded? "
Everyone was extremely surprised to hear Emperor Liu talk about such a dream without any explanation. However, their faces gradually became serious. Before the story was finished, it already had an unusual meaning.
"The merits of Emperor Wu are unparalleled, but His Majesty's merits are far greater. Even if we meet in a dream, it is Emperor Wu who should salute His Majesty!" Wang Zhu responded proactively, wanting to be the one to praise him.
When Emperor Liu heard this, he glanced at him and said softly: "When you say this, do you also think that I am the Emperor Wu?"
"I don't dare!" Upon hearing this, Wang Zhu suddenly shook like chaff, and his mind frantically warned, danger! I thought to myself, "Oh no, I said the wrong thing again."
However, Emperor Liu did not care too much and just continued to tell: "I originally respected Emperor Wu as a hero of his generation. He made great achievements. He opened up the territory for China and made strong men stand tall in the sky of the universe. No one dares to show his strength.
However, he refused to give up and boasted in front of me about his achievements, such as reforming the system, extending grace orders, and unifying the country, driving the Huns in the north, pacifying Ouyue in the south, and expanding into the Western Regions. He was so complacent.
As a result, I only asked two questions, which left him speechless and ashamed. Gentlemen, please guess which two questions I am talking about? "
Regarding this question, whether it was Li Fang, Zhao Kuangyi, Wang You, Lu Duan or other ministers, or other civil servants, their expressions changed drastically, and they were obviously guessing. Even Yang Ye, the newly appointed Minister of War, was also thoughtful.
If Wang Zhu dared to speak to the first question, then everyone did not dare to speak and remained silent on this one. They only hoped that Emperor Liu's "interest" would pass quickly.
Seeing no one answered, Emperor Liu glanced around, landed on Prince Liu Yang, and said, "Prince, tell me."
Liu Yang tensed up when he heard the sound, stepped out of the queue and cupped his hands and said: "I'm sorry for being stupid, I really don't know!"
Hearing this, Emperor Liu felt bored, sighed, and said slowly: "I only ask Emperor Wu, but he still remembers the disaster of witchcraft and the edict of sin! I'm afraid you can't imagine Emperor Wu's reaction. He was furious, and I feel so ashamed, so interesting!
As for the comparison of achievements, I only asked him whether he knew Liuqiu or the Nanyang Islands? In the end, the Emperor Wu had nothing to say and walked away with his sleeves covered."
"Hahaha" Emperor Liu's laughter was not high-pitched, but it vibrated in the palace and reached everyone's ears. However, only one person's laughter seemed a bit embarrassing.
Emperor Liu also noticed it. He looked down and saw that his ministers all had tense faces and solemn expressions. Some of them were even sweating. He looked at Liu Yang again. His face remained calm, but the half of his hand exposed by his sleeve was tightly held, showing the turmoil in his heart.
"You are not laughing at all. Isn't this story funny?" Emperor Liu looked puzzled: "Although it is absurd, I think it is quite interesting."
Emperor Liu was laughing and talking in a relaxed manner, but the ministers in the palace were not in such a mood. They even tried to agree and apologize, but it was easier to remain silent.
Seeing that no one agreed, Emperor Liu's interest finally cooled down. After thinking for a while, he said: "That's all, it's just a joke, just for fun, so I won't mention it!"
It can be seen that as Emperor Liu finished speaking, everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Emperor Liu took a panoramic view and said calmly and slowly: "I will tell you one more interesting story!"
"It's about the affairs of the dynasty. There is such an official who never does anything by himself. For example, when going to the toilet, it is said that four maids are required to serve him. The maids must be young and beautiful, and those over 20 are not required. , one person holds a fan, another person holds an incense burner, another person holds toilet paper, and another person is responsible for wiping buttocks
Hahaha. All the ministers think, is this strange? Is this person strange? "
The ministers in the palace once again had expressions of astonishment on their faces. Emperor Liu actually brought such dirty things as going to the toilet to the Golden Palace. However, the astute courtiers noticed that someone was going to be unlucky. They were just curious about who. To live such a "delicate" life?
Emperor Liu stopped laughing. He looked around and his tone suddenly turned serious: "Which minister is this talking about? Are you in the palace? Stand up and let everyone have a look, and let me have a look too!"
After saying this, the officials in the palace began to look around. Without letting them wait too long, a person walked out from behind the courtiers. He trembled and fell to the ground before he reached the middle: "I am guilty! I am guilty!"
"Who is this?" Emperor Liu's eyes were like knives, stabbing at Luoyang Prefect Lu Mengzheng.
Lu Mengzheng also had a look of fear on his face, lowered his head and clasped his fists and said: "Return to your majesty, Judge Zheng Xu of Luoyang Mansion!"
"What grade is the judge of Luoyang Prefecture?" Emperor Liu asked again.
"From the fourth grade!"
"What an official I am, what a high rank I am! I'm really curious. Surrounded by four people, I can't poop like this!" Emperor Liu patted the handle of the throne with all his strength.
At this movement, all the ministers trembled and bowed their heads in unison. Zheng Xu, the judge of Luoyang Prefecture, kept kowtowing and still shouted: "I am guilty! I am guilty!"
Seeing this, Emperor Liu leaned forward with a ferocious expression: "What I'm more curious about is, was your Luoyang Mansion's judgment written by someone else?"
This time, Zheng Xu changed his words: "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
There was silence in the palace, the air was almost solid, and only the voice of "I deserve to die" was left. After a while, Emperor Liu sat up straight and said softly: "Young ladies have also heard it. This Zheng Xu has always said that he deserves to die. Since he also thinks that he deserves to die, then I will help him."
"The guards in the palace, drag this man out and kill him!"
"yes!"
Amid Zheng Xu's sad cry of "spare my life", the dignified judge of Luoyang Prefecture ended his life just like that. Before going to court, he did not ask his family to prepare a coffin, so he had no foresight.
"How did you, Luoyang Mansion, fail to educate your subordinates well?" Zheng Xu was beheaded, and Emperor Liu turned his attention to Lu Mengzheng, who had been in office for less than half a year.
Lu Mengzheng's face was tense and he responded: "I have committed the crime of neglecting supervision and teaching. Please punish me!"
"I will fine you a salary for half a year to see the effects!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
