The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 51: The Grand Administration
At the end of the month of Mao, it rained a lot.

The carriage drove along the south bank of the Bashui River, and as it entered the city from the Jinguang Gate, silver threads fell silently, like a misty white veil. On the roofs, on the city walls, and on the streets, raindrops kept dripping. The officials, officials, and warriors stood in the rain, and the dripping water blurred their vision.

"Che!" Suddenly, a team of fierce knights stepped on the accumulated water and rushed into the Golden Light Gate.

A large group of armored infantry ran behind them, standing in line on both sides of the street, driving away the onlookers, and warriors wearing headbands rushed into the carved railings, watchtowers, pagodas and other buildings along the central axis, occupying various commanding heights. A half-drunk scholar stuck his head out to see what was happening, but when he caught a glimpse of the nine pure white rectangular flags symbolizing the emperor's conquest and killing, he immediately shut his mouth.

Da da da.

Music came from far away amid the sound of the falling rain.

A team of Taichang Temple musicians wearing black felt hats and white satin ribbons around their waists slowly came into view from the rain and fog. They carried a variety of musical instruments such as pipa, Qiang flute, 羯鼓, zheng, and konghou. Their bright red, white, and blue clothes complemented each other. Men and women, with noble and beautiful makeup, played drums all the way.

Afterwards, the cavalrymen pulled the reins and followed slowly.

Except for the warriors in the front two rows holding the team flags and leading the way, the rest of them all held their lances upright. The red and black lance tips gleamed coldly under the rain, which frightened the few vagrant teenagers who dared to look up and quickly buried their heads.

Grand Commandant Du Rangneng, his retainer Liu Chongwang, and Secretary Li Xi sat on white horses, and more than a thousand civil and military officials followed solemnly, holding ivory tablets.

Soon, the "Da Jia Lu tribe" appeared.

The female imperial officials, all dressed in yellow gauze, held their hands, and the eunuchs held lacquer sticks and slung ceremonial swords. The soldiers who surrounded them all wore red belts and face armor. Officials from the Imperial Household and the Imperial Household Department drove dozens of bronze carriages into the central axis. More than 10,000 infantry, cavalry, officials and civilians followed in front and behind, and the horses and soldiers were connected for ten miles from Bashang to Jinguang Tower, and they entered the city with a white leather carriage.

The body of the leather carriage is pure white, with a three-layered green canopy, embroidered with yellow, and a square mirror on top to observe the surroundings. Twelve Luan are hung on the crossbar in front of the carriage shaft, making a harsh sound of bells. On the left side of the carriage is a twelve-tassel flag with a crouching tiger. On the right side of the carriage is a halberd, four feet long and three feet wide, with a flying dragon embroidered on the top of the flag, with a title tied with a ribbon and a sash, baring its teeth and claws.

Six fat, snorting white horses pulled the grand carriage, with the imperial carriage captains Wang Bin, Wang Gui and Wang Chen holding the reins. They were nephews of the Saint's biological mother, Lady Wang, and cousins of the Saint, so they were very close to him.

Behind the pearl curtain, the saint, who had taken off his armor and put on a black and red crown, spoke little and sat on a yellow mat with a wooden expression.

Seeing the emperor's army passing by, the people cheered loudly at the blurry figure behind the pearl curtain.

"Long live, long live, long live!"

"I can take your place..."

"He is the supreme ruler who controls the world, and he is the master who whips the world. No wonder everyone in the world wants to compete for him."

The sage originally did not want to make such a grand ceremony.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in the capital, the court had already formulated a triumphal ceremony - the three dukes led hundreds of officials to the outskirts of Bashang to congratulate the emperor, raised the nine white flags of the emperor, rode a leather chariot, and entered the city with the specifications of a grand carriage, showing off his military achievements and intimidating his subjects.

Li Ye himself may not be too demanding, but the officials in the court urgently need such a practical and representative ceremony to boost people's morale.

The support of the people is the general trend, and the court wants to use this to tell the people that the emperor is still sacred, cannot be offended, and is born with the right character, so as to curb the increasingly chaotic atmosphere and teach the scoundrels to suppress their dirty thoughts and shout out nonsense like "only the strong can do it".

The force was irresistible, and the saint had no choice but to let them do whatever they wanted.

But now it seems that the effect is not bad.

The last time he went out for inspection, the people did not respond much to the saint. This time he returned with great victory and made a grand show. The people's emotions were provoked again under deliberate guidance. Therefore, the crowd chased the emperor's troops and shouted wildly. The warriors who went out to the battle also looked arrogant and complacent. The feeling of being praised and congratulated by the nobles and the common people was too wonderful and made them addicted. Being surrounded by the expressions of admiration and envy of the common people made people feel happy physically and mentally.

This is what a man should do.

"Here's a reward for you!" With pride in his heart, a knight proudly threw half a bag of copper coins to a hunchbacked old woman on the street.

Except for the more than 4,000 Qi and Bin prisoners who were held at the end of the team, they seemed to be frightened. They had no trace of their former arrogance and were dull in expression and eyes. They walked silently in the rain with their heads down.

When the common people learned that these captives with shackles on their feet were the Qi and Bin rebels who had raped, killed and looted outside the city of Chang'an years ago, they picked up stones and tiles and smashed them hard, then chased the warriors, angrily cursing them and issuing the most vicious curses.

The soldiers from Qi and Bin had to lower their heads to try to avoid being spit on their faces.

Eventually, more and more people from Chang'an came to the scene after hearing the news, ready to chop, slice, chop, drink blood and eat meat. The Yingwu Army escorting the prisoners saw that something was wrong, so they hit the soldiers on the head with the back of their knives, forcing them to run, to prevent the situation from getting out of control and being beaten to death by the common people who broke through the human wall.

The central axis road, which could be walked in half an hour, took a full hour to walk. The humiliation suffered by the four thousand Qi and Bin soldiers was unprecedented.

It was not until they entered the camp in Yongjiali that Li Jimi breathed a sigh of relief and spat out a ball of thick, bloody phlegm, which splashed onto the face of a general.

"You thieves, if you hadn't followed Li Maozhen to Chang'an to pick a fight, you wouldn't be in trouble today!"

The Ya army had been blaming each other all the way. The Ya general, who was as disappointed as death, didn't want to say anything, but the thick phlegm angered him, and he cursed with red face: "You Hebei dog slave, you are born to be a rebel, and you still have the nerve to blame others?"

Snapped!
With a crisp slap, five thumb marks appeared on the filthy face of the general, followed by the screams of a slaughterhouse. The lieutenant next to him whipped him on the head with a whip, and other soldiers kicked and beat the prisoners. The king's division had beaten them a lot along the way, and the prisoners knew how powerful they were. While wailing and begging for mercy, they stopped the pot-dividing meeting in dismay.

"Go in and squat." The Yingwu Army carried out the saint's order and locked them up in a small dark room, two people in a room.

No matter how bad the small dark room was, it was better than being caught in the rain. The warriors felt an inexplicable sense of relief. However, the beatings they had suffered on the way and the scorn they received when they entered Chang'an were truly the most humiliating things they had ever experienced. Some people sobbed, and their cries immediately drew ridicule: "Lock them up if you want, and die if you want, like a woman..."

The warriors were tearful and ignored the cold words. Now they had nothing left, so they couldn't even cry? However, when they heard someone being pulled out and beaten to the point of screaming, they immediately stopped crying like a frightened bird, just like a dog that had been beaten by its master, curling up in a corner and not daring to make any noise.

When the emperor and his troops reached Danfeng Gate, the sage jumped down from the leather carriage in one leap. He entered the corridor with hundreds of civil and military officials, accompanied by military officers including Wang Congxun, Liu Xianyuan, Zhang Jide, Cao Wei, Mo Zangqiqi, Pei Yan, Chen Quan, and Wang Shaorong.

The chief adjutants of the three ministries walked back and forth, bringing official documents for the emperor to review. The imperial concubines and attendants squeezed into the crowd to report the secrets of the three palaces.

"During the half month that I was away from the palace, has there been any incident in the court?" the sage asked, flipping through the documents.

"The Xuanwu Memorial Court submitted another memorial to Zhu Quanzhong, requesting that Shi Pu be transferred to another garrison. The Ganhua Army Memorial Court also submitted a memorial to the then Minister of Works, accusing Quanzhong of plotting against the law. An imperial edict has been issued to reconcile the two garrisons of Bian and Xu. Yan, Yun, and Jin sent troops to rescue Xuzhou and request to punish Quanzhong."

"Quanzhong petitioned to demote Zhao Keyu, the governor of Heyang, and requested that Zhang Quanyi, the governor of Youguo, take over the post. However, the emperor did not approve it, and the people of Bian had already occupied the three cities."

"The army of Chengde and Youzhou joined forces to attack Li Keyong with 140,000 men. They issued an edict to make peace, but Yan and Zhao did not accept it."

"Sun Ru swept through Xuanshe. Yang Xingmi sent Chen Keyan, the governor of Ganlu Town, to Bianzhou with money and goods to ask for help. The people of Bianzhou refused to pay the money, so Xingmi was furious and petitioned to remove Quanzhong from his post."

"Zhao Dezhen, the governor of Xiangyang, died and his son Kuang Ning took his place."

"..."

After reporting on the military affairs in Guandong, Zheng Yanchang, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, put away the official documents, bowed and stepped back.

The situation is worrying.

Zhu Quanzhong conquered cities and territories, forcing Shi Pu to retreat step by step in Xuzhou, and then forcibly annexed the three cities of Heyang, which made others sit still. The towns of Yan and Yun, including the Crow King in Taiyuan, all sent troops to reinforce. The Crow King's relative, Wang Chucun, the governor of Yiwu Town, was expelled from Hebei because of his marriage with him, and was punished by the coalition army of more than 100,000 people from the towns of Hebei.

Li Keyong was alone and had only this one ally. When Shi Pu was dispatching troops to help him resist Zhu Quanzhong, he had to lead the main force to provide support himself, like a fireman.

"In this world today, the only place that makes me feel at ease is Shu." The saint felt somewhat fortunate.

If the great lesson of the war with Yang Fugong had not been learned in history, the war between the Wai Zhai Lang and the imperial court had not been avoided, and Wang Jian's two requests for official titles had not been paid attention to, how could there be the current feast of slaughtering cattle by the eight Jiedushi and two governors to fight against Wang Jian. The people were not attached, and the prefectures and counties were fighting against each other. Wang Jian's good days were still to come. He wanted to eat a fat man in one bite, and he thought he was the original Zhaozong.

"How is things in the palace?" Putting this matter aside, the sage turned to ask about Zhao.

Facing Li Ye's question, Zhao lowered her head rather stiffly. She felt that the saint's temperament had "changed". He had lost his previous approachability, and he was no longer as fond of laughing and sighing as before. Instead, he became serious and cold, with a kind of hazy distance that made him unapproachable.

The ministers did not dare to take it lightly, and she was also a little frightened.

After quickly organizing her words, Zhao replied with a folded hand, "There is something going on in the palace. The eunuchs have been inspecting the concubines. Concubine Chen is already four months pregnant. Concubine Shu has appointed three female doctors to serve in the palace."

Concubine Chen is pregnant? The Saint was shocked and quickly calculated the time of her first sleep - huh, it was at the beginning of the year, it matched...

I want it now that I’m a father!

He had never been able to get close to those children before, perhaps because they were not his own, so he subconsciously resisted the current incarnation of the scapegoat. Although Chen Meicai was his first woman in the true sense, after repeated reflection, he still had to curb this idea, because since he had inherited the power, he had to be responsible for his family.

Thinking of this, he ordered: "Go and bring Concubine Chen to Penglai Palace to live and eat with me." Zhao looked embarrassed.

What would the other concubines think? How would the wife He feel bitter and jealous? It is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality. Moreover, with the coming of Concubine Chen, would the sage still favor her as before? She was very reluctant to serve the sage with that vixen. But there were so many people, and she couldn't say it directly, so she could only say vaguely: "There is no precedent, and I am afraid that the rules will be disrupted and the etiquette will be violated."

The saint acted as if he hadn't heard her: "Go and get her right away. I want to see her in Penglai Palace today."

"As you wish." Zhao left in a daze.

"Your Highness." Liu Zipi leaned close to the Saint's ear and whispered, "Junrong has made some progress in seeking the daughter of Li Situ for you. Xue Zhiqin, the official from Hedong, returned to the capital from Taiyuan half a month ago and said that the daughter of Li Situ is on the way."

So fast? The Crow King is very thirsty.

But it is understandable. The father-in-law is surrounded by powerful vassals, and he has provoked them all. Didn't you see that You and Zhao have sent 100,000 troops to attack him? Diplomatic relations have deteriorated to such an extent that the father-in-law can't find an ally except Chang'an. It's no wonder that Ximen Zhongsui threw out an olive branch and the father-in-law grabbed it.

"Li Situ sent General Cunzhen to lead a thousand Shatuo soldiers to escort the girl."

"Four days ago, Li Cunzhen came on horseback to report that the convoy had crossed the Yellow River and entered Tongzhou, and would take the Huayin route to the capital. The army had already sent troops to Zheng County to welcome Situ's daughter."

it is good.

The saint began to look forward to his married life with the Shatuo girl - he hoped that Hu Ji would taste good.

"There is one more thing." Liu Zipi hesitated for a moment, and said in a voice that only the master and servant could hear: "Minister Li Xi said that marriage between people with the same surname is not allowed, and the Situ family is a branch of Zheng, so he advised against it. Junrong was angry and said that Taizong took his brother's wife, Xuanzong raped his son's wife, and Dezong killed the crown princess. What is etiquette? Now I will use the Taiyuan woman to marry the saint, and follow the marriage of Qin, Chu, Zhou and Qi. Why can't I do that? The minister was ashamed and left in embarrassment."

The old pigherd is really a master at giving examples!

Li Ye was embarrassed: "Go on."

"Later, another minister from the Ministry of Rites tried to persuade Junrong to change his mind, but he was caught by Junrong and beaten in front of His Majesty."

Li Ye was speechless after hearing this. These ministers could not see the situation clearly. Not to mention that the world had been in chaos for a long time, and the Tang Dynasty was so dirty that even the servants spread it. What was there to fight for? A woman could be exchanged for the establishment of an alliance, which was worth it.

As for etiquette, there is no etiquette at all now - the emperor was carried around by his servants with caged birds, the prime minister saw the eunuchs performing the salute, and the governor pointed at their noses and cursed the emperor for being ungrateful...

Which one is in accordance with etiquette and law, and what is etiquette and law?

The right way is to make as many friends as possible - being safe will help you learn etiquette.

Fine.

Regardless of whether Miss Shatuo has scars or numbness or body odor or not, the saint is ready to be loving. Zhu Quanzhong swept through the Central Plains and defeated several soldiers from Yan, Yun, Xu and Jin in just a few months, beating the stones in the pit - Wei Bo was unconscious.

He doesn't have much time left to run his business.

When they arrived at the Purple Palace, the sage saw that the ministers were shivering from the rain, so he suggested, "Let's receive the congratulations tomorrow, and I will take a rest."

"I have something to say to Your Majesty alone." Du Rangneng glanced at the saint and said.

"The Grand Commandant is in charge of the court, and today he will be walking to welcome the emperor. He should not be too tired in the wind and rain." The sage encouraged him.

He wanted to have a private chat with him about the military farming, but thinking that he still had many experiences to summarize and record during the western tour, he acted very naturally and waved his hand: "Tomorrow, after the court congratulations, I will go to Yanying Palace with you to discuss state affairs. I also have a lot of doubts that need to be consulted."

Du Rangneng, like a statue, suddenly raised his big hand.

Seeing this, the saint reached out his hand and shook it tightly. Under the sleeve of his robe, a rough paper roll was stuffed into the saint's palm.

"My minister retire."

Li Ye looked around carefully, but saw Wang Congxun and others were fully armed and surrounded him. It was really embarrassing, but when the warriors filled the palace, the creepy feeling of being watched, observed, and peeped at disappeared completely.

Shrugging his shoulders, the saint slowly opened the note and glanced at it quickly: "The eunuchs are trying to steal power, or there may be changes."

"I'm going to sleep in the military camp in Yongjiali tonight," he said with a clenched fist.

"What's going on?" Wang Congxun subconsciously looked at the palace that looked even more gloomy under the rain.

Li Ye remained silent.

What? Of course, they deployed troops to defend themselves.

The old swineherd was still busy trying to find him a wife, and the relationship between the two sides had eased to a considerable extent, so there was no motive for him to take action. But he was not the only one who wanted to control the emperor. There were also many eunuchs who wanted to overthrow Ximen Chongsui. For example, Jing Wuxiu, the envoy of Xuanhui, Han Quanhui, the envoy of Neizhuangzhai, Liu Jishu, Wang Zhongxian, Luo Quanguan... In later generations, Zhaozong was treated as a rare commodity by these people and was snatched away.

The conflict between master and servant was not between the sage and Ximen Chongsui alone, but between the entire Northern Division and its intricate network of external military supervisors, military governors, and provincial governors, as well as the considerable amount of troops and finances they firmly controlled.

Now that the saints have the upper hand in this struggle, they will have a strong sense of crisis.

Taking a deep breath, Li Ye reminded himself again - the eunuchs killed each other, but they were highly united in manipulating the emperor.

He would never give the evil slaves any chance.

It was just in time to go to the Yingwu military camp in Yongjiali to take care of the remaining matters with the prisoners.

In Li Ye's view, the surrendered Qi people were the bullies who urgently needed to be suppressed and reformed by the revolution - they were given one meal a day, starved to death, and if they wanted to eat more, they had to work - they jumped and ran around the parade ground like ducks, and if they didn't run, they would be hung up and whipped. Aren't they unruly? He had plenty of "tortures" to discipline the ferocity of these warriors. If all methods were ineffective, would they still want to live!
As for the two thousand Bin people who ate meat...

Damn it, does this evil beast need to be treated as a human being?

These two thousand warriors are the most typical, cunning, vicious, and cruel criminals in this world! Each of them has one or more lives on their hands, and their hands are covered in blood. They are truly wolves and tigers in human skin.

One can tell their qualifications at a glance from the guys killed in the battle that day—each of them is an expert with rich work experience and is very difficult to train.

If the army were reorganized, who knows what kind of damage it would do to the army.

If you’re not careful, Xiao Wang’s head will disappear inexplicably within two days.

But if they were dismissed, once they were free, who would think they would take off their armor and return to the fields to work hard? If they didn't want to be soldiers, they could kill their generals and run away; if they didn't want to eat meat, they could leave Qiyang, but they would stay in the army even if they were starving. It can only be said that they were determined to make a comeback.

"Xiao Feng, go to the Ministry of Works of Taiji Palace to gather 200 craftsmen. Bring awls, soldering irons, knives, and ink." The saint called his attendant Xiao Feng and gave instructions.

After saying this, he left with his generals.

He wanted to smoke now, because a strong evil thought grew in his heart - he seemed to be addicted to killing. He had killed more than a hundred people in Guocheng, but to be honest, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all, but rather felt refreshed, a pleasure in deciding life and death.

Is Xiao Wang infected?
Or do I also have the potential to be a warrior?

Suppressing his sensitive emotions, he found that his intention was still to massacre these 2000 Bin people.

Burying alive, burning at the stake, being pelted with arrows, hanging, drowning... in an instant he mastered all the techniques without any instruction.

This moment of psychological activity made him shudder with fear.

After thinking for a long time, the saint decided to have a chat with Xiao Wang, a pioneer in the industry.

After listening to the saint's story, the little king seemed to be recalling his life and said quietly: "Killing one evil person is better than saving three thousand good people."

"Isn't it just a sin? I have done a lot. I used to be this kind of person. If a saint can't do it, I will do it. A warrior like me would have been skinned and boned long ago. If I die, I will go to hell and have my tongue plucked out and my nose hooked. This is no big deal."

　Ahem, I do have some drafts saved. However, an author told me that I only need to update 4000 to 6000 times during the recommendation period, and I followed his advice. I will update more when the book is available in a few days. The second thing is, I just looked at the writer's assistant - what virtue do I have? I deserve this love? Bingdao, Qishui Tangtang, asolaf, Shanhai Balong, tail number 5615, tail number 0006, tail number 3738, like mini, Wenbo Jiahe, tail number 2127, tail number 8913, live to see Juventus win the championship, King of Civilization, tail number 6425, Li Yiche, Daxia Oh, Yunxiang Yunmengze, Tange Kenzo, thank you all for your rewards, thank you so much, this feeling of being recognized is really addictive. I don't know anything else, I bow to you all. But compared to money, I prefer you to post long posts in the book review area to increase the popularity of the book, haha. I will talk to you guys about more when the book is published. I have a lot of sentimental things to say, but I think it is not appropriate here. Finally, please vote and comment! Those who read books without saying anything, where are the Yajun? Get rid of them!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)