In Zhongjing City, among the imperial palace and harem, the now famous Changle Palace has changed its appearance.
All the walls around the courtyard were demolished, and three or four nearby courtyards were opened in one go. The trees in the courtyard were then removed, paved with stone bricks, decorated with gilded dragons and phoenixes, chariots and horses, and bronze cranes and turtles, making this place even more beautiful. The courtyard of the harem looks like the front of the former palace.
Even if the houses are low, they are still low houses after all, but it does not affect this place from becoming the real core of this huge palace.
On this day, there was a court meeting in Changle Palace. A number of courtiers and officials from Zhongjing County and Jingdong County gathered together. In order to show the kindness of the new emperor, compared with the early dynasty system that lasted for nine hundred years in Dading, now in Changle Palace The court meeting was held two hours late, so that when the sun came up, especially in this autumn, the officials attending the court meeting would not be too nervous. Hard.
Not only that, Changle Palace has also added a lot of seats from the inside to the outside. On the left and right sides, the top ten seats are thick black, wide and comfortable, and the seats below are about the same size. When the officials gather, the court After bowing to the young emperor, they could each sit down. Although it was not as solemn and solemn as the front palace hall, it was better because the atmosphere was harmonious and the monarch and his ministers were harmonious. Out of place.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, his courtesy and corporal gesture seemed to surpass the princes who had no idea how much they knew about their status.
The court meeting ended smoothly in such an atmosphere. After saluting the new emperor, all the courtiers and officials left in the order they came. Compared with the panic and chaos half a year ago, the current court meeting in Changle Palace is really better. appearance.
The ministers retreated, and in the middle position, the young emperor, who seemed a little tired, held his cheek with one hand and raised his other hand to wave outward. The guards originally guarding Changle Palace and the palace attendants all saluted and bowed. Retreat.
When the palace door closed, apart from the young emperor, there were only two people left in the palace. One was behind him, on the other side of the bead curtain, a graceful and rich and beautiful woman, and the other was sitting peacefully on the stage. The person at the top of a row of generals.
The man was dressed in a purple robe and looked quite young. He had gray hair on both sides of his temples under his broad official hat. His eyebrows were very good, but slightly muddy. His beard was neatly combed, but a little sparse. His nose was straight, his lips were thin, and his body was well-proportioned. , sitting comfortably on the large seat, but his momentum was not inferior to that of the young emperor who was already sitting upright in Minghuang imperial clothes.
"Grandpa, what Chang Cheng Zhao Yu said just now was so rude that it aroused public anger. Why do you have to speak for him at that time?" The young emperor leaned forward slightly and looked at the purple-robed old man, speaking. It was casual, but the gesture was quite respectful, "Besides, what he asked for was completely nonsense. We didn't dismiss it on the spot. We already took care of the etiquette of the court!"
Behind the bead curtain, the graceful lady had no words.
The purple-robed old man raised his eyelids and looked at the young emperor who was looking up. He smiled slightly and then spoke. His voice was like gold and stone clashing, sonorous and powerful, "Then Zhao Yu is just asking for an official position on behalf of the prefect of Li County. Why is he so rude?" explain?"
The young emperor straightened his figure and said, "It has been nine hundred years since the founding of the Ding Dynasty. High-ranking officials and important positions have their own destiny. They are always determined by the emperor's order. How can any minister take the initiative?" What’s the reason for asking the emperor? The prefect of Li County is good at starting the war among the princes first, and asking for power later, it’s just... Huh!"
The old man in purple robe shook his head gently when he heard this and said no more.
When the young emperor saw that the purple-robed old man was silent, he stopped talking. Behind the bead curtain, the noble lady who had remained motionless like a statue spoke this time, "Father, this time the prefect of Lijun sent someone to ask for help from Hanzhou." As for the governor, do you mean... to give it to him?"
The old man in purple robe slowly leaned back in the chair, pressed his hands on the armrests, and wielded a big golden sword, as if he was sitting in the military commander's tent. "What is the governor? He is an important confidant who supervises the local area for His Majesty the Emperor. His position is the prefect of each county." He is above, but he is not as good as the three princes and prime ministers. He cannot influence the decision-making of the court, and he cannot control the military and administration of a place. So what if it is given to him?"
Before the lady behind the bead curtain could speak, the young emperor had already replied, "If the post of governor is given to someone else, it is indeed just a sinecure, but if it is given to the prefect of a county, it will be very different. This is Dading This is something that has never happened in the nine hundred years of the dynasty, especially the ambition of the prefect of Li County. If he is given the power to supervise Hanzhou, he can openly conquer other counties in Hanzhou for any reason. Wouldn't it encourage Did you lose that thief’s arrogance?!!”
The purple-robed old man laughed and asked, "The prefect of Li County first seized the land of Sancang in Yongchang County, and then took the Anling Yan family to replace it. At that time, did the young man of the Luo family have the power to be the governor? So he became the governor of Yongchang County. Is there no reason to send troops?"
The young emperor was immediately speechless, and then he seemed to be a little angry, "But the etiquette of the Great Cauldron is here, and we can't change it easily! What's more, not to mention us, even the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and the officials of various counties, are not right Is this so deeply abhorred? Just now at the court meeting, almost everyone was opposed to this matter, which shows that the people’s hearts are not towards the rebellious ministers and traitors of the court!”
The purple-robed old man turned his head and looked directly past the young emperor to the noble lady behind the bead curtain, "Shenxiu, you should spend more time on Dao'er."
Ping Ping's indifferent words made the young emperor blush, and the lady behind the bead curtain nodded, "This is what father taught me."
The old man in purple robe looked at the young emperor, his voice was a little deep, "Just now at the court meeting, the people with the loudest opposition were the people of the Yun family in Guang County. This is not difficult to understand. Now the two counties of Li and Guang are attacking each other. There are constant frictions. Whatever Li County wants, Guang County will oppose it, and vice versa. The voices of all parties in other counties seem to be unanimous. It was firm opposition, but in fact it was all ambiguous. It was very simple when you think about it. The prefect of Li County made such a move too hastily. They had not even received the intention of the master behind them, so they could only say random things according to the etiquette of the Great Cauldron. , how can we take it seriously?"
He rubbed one hand on the armrest of the seat and spoke more slowly, "As for etiquette..." He leaned towards the young emperor, "If you ask the Taiwei, is there anyone in the world who is guarding the law?" If you are loyal to Dading etiquette, I would say yes, but if you ask grandpa the same question, I will tell you, not much."
"Dading has been a country for nine hundred years. Most of the time, the emperor has relied on the etiquette of Dading to govern the country. This is not wrong, but now, it is no longer possible." The old man in purple robe looked at the young emperor, but the young emperor did not dare to look at him. "You don't have the invincible and loyal Renwang Army when the Ding Kingdom was founded. You don't have the Ding King Army that was able to suppress the five states at its peak. You don't have the Liuxian Lu Zu who is invincible with a single sword. How can you make the people of the world, especially the world? Princes, abide by your etiquette?! If those people already regard the great cauldron as nothing, but you still insist on guarding this thing, then you will not be able to understand this world for the rest of your life."
The young emperor, who had his head lowered, couldn't help but trembled when he heard this, and then suddenly raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, he suddenly looked like the old man in purple robe in front of him. There are many similarities, "I asked my grandpa to teach me, if I abandon...the etiquette of the Great Cauldron, how can I...restore the Great Cauldron?!"
