The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 164 I have no money

Three cups of cypress wine, a plate of five pungent vegetables. A few cups of bluetail wine, a plate of gum glutinous rice.

After the court fire, activities such as drinking Tusu wine, eating Wuxin dishes, and setting off firecrackers were carried out one by one. At dawn, the sage, who was dizzy from staying up all night, was caught up again to wash and change clothes before he could sleep for a while, ready to attend the grand court tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Xuanhuiyuan and Shangshesi set up the imperial tent in the Hanyuan Hall, which had been simply renovated a few years ago.

The Southern Court appointed welcoming envoys to guard the East and West courts, prepare music, set up the throne, and set up a sword-unwinding seat outside the Danfeng Gate.

All officials gathered in Hengjie. Behind the prime minister, the bloodline of the previous dynasty was also there. The Tang Dynasty conferred titles on the royal families of the Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui dynasties as Han Gong, Jie Gong, and Feng Gong. They only had this opportunity once a year, so they were given a very decent etiquette and stood in a row with the prime minister.

After them, the ranks were arranged according to the rank of the third rank and below, and the sixth rank and above. The counties, vassal states and towns also sent envoys to congratulate, and their positions were also good, lining up on the left and right sides of the officials in the capital.

Well, there is another group of "tools", namely the princes, princesses, princesses and prince consorts of the royal family. It is difficult to judge their status - they stand in the last row. Others are not qualified to enter the palace, and they watch the fun from the corridor outside the door.

At this time, the streets were filled with purple clouds. The rest of the streets in Chang'an were filled with warriors from the Imperial Guards and the Imperial City Envoys. Everywhere there were warriors wearing helmets and armor, with their teeth bared. Citizens, whether they were high-ranking officials or peddlers, were forbidden to go out. Shops along the streets were not allowed to operate. The commanding heights in the inner city were also occupied. The capital pressed the "pause" button.

"Dang, dang..." A heavy and penetrating bell sound came from the Daming Palace, indicating that the saint had set off. The whispers outside the Danfeng Gate disappeared immediately.

Prime Minister Li Xi, holding a bamboo tablet, was the first to enter the palace and ask for the emperor's order.

According to the procedure, the saint cannot be carried directly to the Hanyuan Hall. They have to find a place to stop and wait for the ministers to invite them... Li does not appreciate this etiquette very much. You are a delicate and shy pipa woman, and everyone has to beg you to come out after much urging.

After waiting for a while, the Zhongyan was almost over. Under the guidance of the eunuchs, the Taiwei finally found the emperor, who was sleepy and listless, at the Xuanzheng Gate.

"Please come to the court." The beautiful concubines surrounded the saint and bowed in unison.

"The Grand Commandant, Rang Neng, respectfully reports: All the ministers shall take their seats. The officials in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the welcoming envoys shall all come out of the corridors, and the messengers shall lead the officials to the front seats of the court. Your Majesty, please sit facing south."

Without waiting for the saint to speak, Nangong Chongyan nodded: "It is approved."

The following process is cumbersome and annoying.

After the reception at the pavilion, they waited for the eunuchs who went to inspect to report the situation and finish the external affairs, then they embraced him and continued to set off. After sitting down in the Hanyuan Hall, Fu Baolang put away the imperial seal and other tokens of the emperor, and held out his hand for everyone to observe - look, this is the real emperor. The saint had a tense face and tried hard not to laugh out loud.

"Bow." The clear voice of Song Ya, the female official in charge of ceremonies, rang out.

"Bow!" the outer court chanted again, and everyone inside and outside the palace bowed. Then Prime Minister Liu Chongwang hurried to the throne, knelt down facing north and congratulated: "The minister of state Chongwang says: The first year of the reign of Emperor Yuanzheng is the beginning of the prosperity, and the new blessings are the new. I humbly wish that Your Majesty will be blessed with peace and prosperity."

Then the emperor bowed again, and all said in unison: "The Emperor has been blessed with a new fortune and may the Emperor be blessed with peace and prosperity."

Then Prime Minister Zheng Yanchang walked out, took the imperial edict from Privy Councilor Zhao Rushin, turned to the northeast corner of the hall, held up the imperial edict, and shouted, "There is an order." This time, everyone bowed again but said nothing.

Zheng Yanchang loudly proclaimed: "I celebrate the inauguration of the new emperor with you. Let's change the reign title to Qianning in the hope that the country will be safe."

Then the men and women bowed again, and then danced, shouting "Long live the emperor" three times in a regular and interval manner while dancing, and then bowed down again after shouting.

The next procedure is gift giving.

"Chengde Jinzouyuan presented Zhao General Wang Rong with 1,000 sets of farm tools, 3,000 sets of armor, and 500 oxen..."

"Wei Bo Jinzouyuan presents Wei General Tian Xide..."

"Hedong..."

"Hunan Surveillance Commissioner..."

"Governor of Jincheng..."

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat read the petition. This was the personal New Year's red envelope given to the emperor by officials of various counties and vassal states. The saint pricked up his ears and did not miss a single one. Damn it, my uncle sent 500 horses, what does that mean? Yuwen Rou stood beside him, holding the gift list in his left hand and the pen in his right hand, writing down the "loyalty" of the foreign ministers on the paper like flying.

After sending out the red envelopes, the Secretariat reported the auspicious signs of the locality and sent congratulatory letters from China and abroad to be placed one by one in front of Li. After a quick glance, the sage looked unhappy and asked Liu Mingji, the secretary of the Secretariat, "Where is the congratulatory letter from the Yincheng Commandant?"

"Your Majesty, I haven't received Wu Xiong's congratulatory message." Liu Mingji replied with a grim expression.

For a moment, the hall was silent.

This is because they still hold a grudge against the Saint for transferring the Bining Army to Yin County to fight the barbarians! Seeing his Adam's apple throbbing, the Privy Councilor leaned over to his ear and breathed hotly to remind him: "It is not appropriate for the court to reprimand you."

snort!
Then there were various activities arranged by the officials, and he still couldn't go back to Penglai Palace to sleep. The sage forced himself to be alert, and was dragged by the ministers to watch the troops, feast at Taiqing Palace, visit the Emperor Xuanyuan Temple and Kaiping Shrine, meet with some kings, and inspect the schools...

It was already afternoon when he finished the whole walk. The saint was so busy that he felt dizzy and almost exhausted. He could fall asleep while standing. He had just returned to the palace to change his clothes and had to take his family to the Linde Hall for a banquet. This was not the end. The officials were not blind and filled his schedule for the second, third, fourth and fifth days of the New Year - visiting Zhaoling, meeting with the people, hunting, military lectures, five fields, and a grand feast for the guards.

Don't tell me, except for Li's suffering, it's actually quite interesting. Seeing the country's increasingly strong situation, the despair and depression that shrouded Chang'an in previous years gradually faded, and the vitality became stronger day by day. Everyone had confidence and worked actively. Anyway, the emperor and his ministers had a New Year's Day dinner in the past two years, and this time these activities were not mentioned by the officials.

Before I knew it, I had reached this point.

The people under his command were no longer Wuxia Amon. For example, Changshan Hou, Yunzhongzi, Wuyuanzi, and Zhaofu were all purple lightning and blue frost. For example, Xiao Wang wanted to make progress so much that he even hired Li Yu, Wei Zhuang, Zhang Pin, and Chen Tuan as his guests. For example, Mei Zangqiqi, Zhazhu, Kang Lingzhong, Dou Biao, and Fu Cunshen, after they became successful, their relatives came to their hometown to seek refuge. Fu also brought his wife and children to Chang'an, and it seems that he has decided to take root here. His son Fu Yanchao was recruited into the palace to accompany the prince.

The old-fashioned atmosphere is swept away by the newcomers. They will be a group of new talents of the era who are determined to continue to make progress.

******
The golden clouds cast a riot of colour on Bianliang. Looking down, the busy streets were covered in red dust.

"An!" A few heart-wrenching and shrill eagle cries came from the Xingjiao Building.

The eagle soars into the sky.

After flying back and forth in the air for a few times, it suddenly flapped its wings and darted diagonally towards Xingjiao Building like an arrow. As it approached, perhaps sensing that the aura was not right, the hawk slowed down and gently landed on her shoulder, not moving. She wanted to write down her thoughts, so she leaned on the railing alone. Behind the railing, the Queen of Heaven stood with her hands behind her back.

"The mulberry leaves have fallen, their yellow bodies have faded." The Queen Mother was sad and unhappy.

Zhu Wen, who was sulking, did not dare to get angry with his wife and chose cold violence. He hurriedly went to Shandong before the New Year and did not return to Bianliang for the New Year. The ministers went to persuade him, but he did not respond, saying that the military was tight and he could not get away. So the first New Year's Day ceremony since the founding of Daliang was held today, and the Queen Mother did not attend it on the grounds that "a wise woman is like an owl."

The officials reacted strongly. Two saints, two saints, and the first grand court without a saint, which was intolerable to any knowledgeable person. So dozens of officials gathered outside the palace gate to petition. They thought that as long as they knelt down and cried, the Queen Mother would naturally relent. But this time, the Queen Mother, who took the overall situation into consideration, remained indifferent. She even sent five special envoys to welcome her but to no avail, so she had to cancel the grand court in disgrace.

The "rumor" of the discord between the emperor and the empress spread like wildfire.

Their feelings for each other were not deep to begin with; it was just Zhu Wen's one-sided infatuation.

The Queen's heart had died long ago. For Zhu Wen, it was more of a matter of marrying a chicken and following the chicken. Given Zhu Sheng's infatuation with her, the Queen gave birth to a son, Zhu Youzhen, for him in ten years. Wasn't that enough to show the clues?

Perhaps, the ten years of ups and downs between Zhu Wen and Zhang Hui were gone. Zhu Wen's cold violence was only one aspect - she had confirmed through Yu Chengjun and others that the rumor that Princess Bo was humiliated by Zhu Wen was true.

They also found out that Jing Xiang's wife, Liu, had also been raped.

Liu was originally the daughter of the magistrate of Lantian. Shang Rang was passing by with his army and was bewitched by her and married her. After Chao was destroyed, Shang Rang surrendered to Shi Pu. Shi Pu was also bewitched and killed Shang Rang to take her away. Last year, Zhu Wen defeated Xu and captured Liu among his soldiers and gave her to Jing Xiang. But Zhu Wen soon regretted it because he could not resist the beautiful legend of the jade smoke.

But Liu was different from Wang Yu—she did it willingly.

Although she was a born slut, Zhu Wen would even ride on such a woman, which made the Queen Mother feel very embarrassed.

Adding Wang Yu's incident, it was like a red-hot sword stabbing into frozen butter.

The Queen never imagined that she would marry such a beastly husband and treacherous father.

What about morality?

Is it that difficult to tighten the belt?
Is it so satisfying to conquer other people's wives and daughters?

There are so many things that the Queen of Heaven cannot understand. But on second thought, it is right that she does not understand. Summer insects cannot talk about ice. How can humans talk about ethics with animals? She talks about benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trustworthiness, but in her heart she is full of thieves and prostitutes. With such a kind of stuff, why should she open her legs?
Many ugly and pale memories emerged, and there was no way to get rid of them. Standing on the top of the Xingjiao Building, the Queen, who was no longer able to numb herself, had the urge to jump down several times. But if she died, who could replicate the evil wolf in human skin? At that time, who knew how many retainers would be killed at will, and how many officers would die of suspicion.

“Heaven does not abdicate man, it is man who brings disaster upon himself.” The Queen of Heaven felt disheartened.

"Queen of Heaven!" The Imperial Envoy Jiang Xuanhui trotted up the stairs carrying a pile of memorials.

Zhang Tingfan and Xiao Qu followed behind, looking anxious.

The Queen looked back slightly and saw Xiao Qu, her eyes full of disgust. Born in the Qi and Liang families, a descendant of the Southern Dynasty royal family, working for people like Zhu San... What's his face?

"Greetings to the Queen of Heaven." Zhang Tingfan and Xiao Qu lowered their heads and hands and saluted.

"What's the matter?"

Hearing the cold voice that kept people away, Zhang Ting secretly frowned. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. When did the two saints become so moody? Could it be that the Kuichao... is the right flow...? I deserve to die, I am guilty. After cursing myself in my heart, Zhang Tingfan presented the memorial and said, "Your Majesty, Yingzhou reported that a group of evil monks who claim to be from the Shangcheng Sect appeared in the territory and spread misleading teachings. I sent people with Xiao Yushi to inspect and found that there are not only Yingzhou, but also Chen, Guang, Cai, and Shen. Listening to their scriptures, they are just like Monk Mani. And this so-called Shangcheng Sect has bewitched the ignorant people, formed secret communities, and advocated righteousness comparable to the Taiping Dao. If we let it go, I am afraid that the great virtuous teacher will be resurrected."

"Monk Mani?" The Queen Mother leisurely flipped through the memorial and asked casually.

"Correct!"

Manichaeism was introduced to the Central Plains in the early Tang Dynasty. The superstitious Li family was not interested in it. Later, it was introduced to the Huihe, just like Buddhism was introduced to Tubo, and it immediately became the will of heaven for the empty barbarians. Thanks to the Huihe royal family's assistance in the Tang Dynasty's An Shi Rebellion, the Manichean monks invaded the Central Plains again and competed with Buddhism and Taoism for the right to speak. The Li family hated it, but it was not good to offend the Huihe, so there was nothing they could do.

When the Huichang Uighurs collapsed, Taoist priests from all over the country, such as Zhao Guizhen, petitioned to eradicate the sect. Emperor Wuzong then issued an edict to kill all the Manichaeans in the country, abolished all the Manichaeans in the world, and even killed all the female Manichaeans in Chang'an City, regardless of their family background. Even the Manichaeans in the Uighurs' own territory were arrested by the Zhenwu and Datong towns. The military method was very brutal - they were executed on the spot. The Youzhou army even issued an order: "If any wandering monks enter the country, they will be beheaded!" Only a small number of them were captured and reported to the court, and then exiled to the Jianghuai region.

At that time, a minister felt that it was too much and asked Prime Minister Li Deyu if he could be more lenient. As a result, he was demoted to a small position by Li Deyu the next day. Since then, the word Mani has become a taboo topic in the court, and the religion has gone underground. At this time, there are still many people who believe in this thing in Fujian, Jiangxi, Liangzhe and other states under the jurisdiction of Daliang, and the people have a deep foundation; the government is afraid of it as a flood and a beast.

Not to mention General Zhang Jue, the God of Heaven, his name alone is enough to make many people tremble with fear.

Chen Shuozhen, the female saint of Wenjia in the early Tang Dynasty, was an orphan and a maid. At the age of 18, she used Taoism to start an uprising and quickly gathered a team of tens of thousands of people, killing the Tang army and making them terrified. Later, Fang La was still inspired by the female saint of Wenjia - "In the early Tang Yonghui period, Chen Shuozhen, a woman from Muzhou, rebelled and called herself the Emperor Wenjia. Therefore, it is said that there are the Emperor's Foundation and the Wannian Tower in the area, and Fang La was able to rely on them to gain confidence."

How can I not be afraid?

At this time, perhaps it was the backlash of the failure of the Western Expedition against Li Ni, or it could be the bitter fruit of Zhu Wen's increasingly harsh capture and taxation of the people, or it could be that the disbanded bandits caused many farmers to go hungry and go bankrupt; the flames of the Yellow Turbans were brewing in the Huaixi area. Xiao Qu, who was ordered to go south to investigate, did not dare to stay for long. Although no one had "started a rebellion", the signs had already appeared, and the mysterious prophecy had been spreading, which made Xiao very panicked. As soon as he returned to Bian overnight, he immediately found Zhang Tingfan and made an appointment to come together to play the game.

"Since ancient times, the most important priority for monarchs is to prevent the people from rebellion. The harm caused by the rebellion of unruly people is even worse than that of military men. When Huang Chao entered the capital, the bones of officials were trampled on the streets, and the inner treasury was burned to ashes..." Seeing that the Queen Mother was just staring at the memorial and not saying anything, Xiao Qu had to speak up.

The Queen raised her lips slightly and looked at Xiao Qu: "Everyone knows what you said. There are only two solutions. Use food to prevent hunger. Use soldiers to prevent ants from stealing. However, the allocation of food and the use of soldiers cannot avoid the word money. The one who manages the country's wealth is Pei Di, the envoy of Jianchang Palace."

Xiao Qu bowed again and said, "Daliang is the world of the two saints. The country is the country of the two saints. The wealth is also the wealth of the two saints. How can we distinguish between public and private..."

"shut up."

The Queen Mother was very perceptive and immediately understood Xiao Qu's hint.

"After the bandits left Xiama, the prefectures and counties were in ruins, and hooligans were everywhere. Building houses, fighting plague, providing relief, preparing for spring plowing... But when the summer tax was not yet due, the Qingmiao money had been collected for three years, and Jianchang Palace had no money to use. Minister Pei was busy all day, and could only meet military needs. The peace and prosperity of the Qin, Han, Wei and Jin dynasties were all maintained by money. Without money, how can we appease the unruly people? How can we drive the warriors?"

"I do not have money."

"Your Majesty... It's a time of scarcity, why is the Queen still wearing bamboo shoes?"

"I told you, I have no money. Jiang Xuanhui is in charge of the Xuanhui Court's finances, so you can discuss it with him."

"Queen of Heaven!"

"The queen is in charge of all affairs, but she is against Tian Gang. How can I follow Wu?" The Queen Mother was impatient and threw the memorial back to Zhang Tingfan: "Send it to the saint quickly. The saint has the virtue of literature and martial arts, and his achievements are equal to three or five. He must have a perfect purpose."

The laughter gradually faded, the voices became quieter, the goshawk flapped its wings, and the Queen of Heaven floated down the stairs.

Zhang Tingfan choked.

From the tone of his voice, has the relationship between the two saints become so bad?

(End of this chapter)