The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 151 Chang Can
"Kill!" "Traitor, prepare to die..."

Images of clashing swords and galloping horses flashed through Li Yi's mind, along with splattered blood and severed limbs scattered on the ground.

Suddenly, a spear pierced through his chest!

Li Yi was immediately terrified and opened his eyes abruptly, his forehead already covered in sweat.

Turning my head to look, it was still pitch black outside the window.

Li Yi then recalled that he had been drinking with several brothers the night before, and after taking a shower in a daze, he went to bed.

He felt his head was still a little dizzy.

A hangover is definitely not a pleasant experience.

“Why would I have such a strange dream…” Li Yi frowned slightly.

Unfortunately, the imagery in his dream was fragmented and illogical; he was inexplicably stabbed through the neck by a gun... and then he woke up with a start.

"Never mind, it was just a dream."

Remembering that he had a court assembly to attend today, Li Yi stopped thinking about it and prepared to get out of bed.

"Creak—" Just then, the door opened and the maid, Xian'er, walked in from the outer room.

Seeing that Li Yi was awake, the girl paused for a moment, then softly called out, "Ah Lang..."

"Why are you here?"

"Didn't you tell me last night before you went to sleep that I should wake you up at 7 a.m.?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi immediately realized that Fu Erniang had already gone to bed early because he had been drinking too late the night before, so he hadn't disturbed her. Instead, he took a bath and went to sleep in this side room.

To prevent himself from oversleeping and missing today's court assembly, he did indeed give such an instruction to someone.

When Xian'er walked up to him and saw that Li Yi was covered in sweat, she quickly asked, "Did you have a nightmare, Ah Lang?"

She subconsciously took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped Li Yi's sweat.

"Hmm." Li Yi let out a soft hum. The surroundings were utterly quiet, a quiet solitude. His restless thoughts gradually subsided.

The girl's face was focused and gentle. As she wiped herself, she asked in confusion, "I heard that soldiers can rest at home after returning from battle. Why do you have to get up so early, my lord?"

Li Yi chuckled and said, "After returning from an expedition, there are ten days to half a month of rest, but that only applies to ordinary soldiers. As a general of the Imperial Guard, I, your son, naturally cannot completely ignore military affairs. It's just that I'm a little more relaxed than usual and can avoid attending court and being on duty for a few days. But I still need to show my face at the Palace Guard office to see if there are any important matters to handle."

Li Yi is usually quite patient with those close to him and rarely puts on airs.
Xian'er nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Does Ah Lang have important business today?"

Li Yi nodded and said, "His Majesty will summon me today to discuss the war between Qin and Feng."

According to the usual practice of the imperial court, on the day the army returned in triumph, the emperor would summon the commander-in-chief to report back and recount his duties.

However, the war on the front lines in Jiangnan was tense. Yesterday, the emperor discussed military matters with the chief ministers and important officials in the inner court and granted Li Yi special permission to hand over military power to the Privy Council and return home to reunite with his family.

Therefore, the task of reporting to the emperor was scheduled for today.

"Oh..." Xuan'er finished wiping and put the handkerchief away. At this moment, she suddenly realized that her actions were too intimate and should not be done by a maid.

The girl secretly glanced at Li Yi and saw that his gaze was slightly strange, and he was also looking at her.

Xian'er quickly lowered her head and said shyly, "This servant will help you get dressed, my lord."

After saying that, she turned around and went to the outer room to bring in a few neatly folded clothes, and then went forward to help Li Yi put them on.

Xian'er gently bit her lip, her face turning red. She gently grasped Li Yi's large hand with her long, slender hand, making him raise his arms to the sides, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes layer by layer.

Then she moved around to Li Yi's front, reached her arm behind him to straighten his clothes, and wrapped her belt around his waist from behind, making it seem as if the two were embracing.

Xuan'er had always been Fu Erniang's personal maid, and had never served a man so intimately before. She was both shy and nervous, and her movements were inevitably a little clumsy.

While serving him, Xian'er's soft and voluptuous body inevitably touched Li Yi from time to time. Her fingers would slide across his chest through his clothes as she dressed him, and she would also squat down to smooth out the folds of his trousers and gently caress his entire body.

Li Yi could smell the faint fragrance emanating from the girl.

The height difference between the two was quite significant, and Xian'er had to stand on tiptoe from time to time; before long, sweat was already beading on her nose.

After getting dressed, Xuan'er asked Li Yi to sit down on the stool, and Li Yi obediently let her do as she pleased.

The girl first used small scissors to trim the edges of his eyebrows and the uneven stubble. Then she tied up Li Yi's hair and put a turban on him, and then carefully wiped his face with hot water.

Xian'er gently stroked Li Yi's face with her fingers, her eyes focused as she washed him, but her expression became even more shy and gentle.

After a long while, Li Yi finished washing up and looked completely refreshed... He had a tall and imposing physique, and a very handsome appearance. He was wearing a purple robe, a belt with a jade buckle around his waist, and deerskin riding boots on his feet.

No one would have guessed that this "refined and elegant young nobleman" was actually a ruthless killer.

"Ah Lang is so handsome..." Xian'er was stunned for a moment. This teenage girl had never seen anything like this before.

Since ancient times, beautiful women have been a scarce resource, but so have handsome men.

Moreover, this man was very powerful, and also incredibly patient and gentle with women… At least in Xian'er's eyes, her beloved was extraordinary, unlike any other man of this era. In truth, she had grown up in the Fu family and had rarely seen any other men besides those from the Fu family. But she still had this feeling.

"The Emperor may host a banquet for me today. Tell Second Sister when she wakes up that she doesn't need to wait for me to come back for dinner tonight."

Seeing that Xuan'er was in a daze, Li Yi waved his hand in front of her. When the girl came back to her senses, he said a few words.

"Ah? Oh, I... I understand." Xuan'er's face immediately turned red, and she quickly replied.

Li Yi said no more and strode out of the room.

At this moment, Li Hanchao was already waiting in the front yard with more than a dozen personal guards. When he saw Li Yi come out, he quickly led his horse forward.

Li Yi took the reins and asked, "Have Yu-ge'er and the others gone back?"

He had been drinking too late last night, and his brothers were all a bit drunk, so he arranged for them to stay overnight at his residence, which is why he asked that question.

Li Hanchao replied, "My second brother and the others knew that you were attending the court assembly today, so they left the mansion earlier and went directly to the military camp."

Li Yi nodded, then nimbly mounted his horse. But then, as if remembering something, he turned back and said, "Han Chao, you've been promoted to Commander of the Army after this campaign, so you definitely can no longer serve as the commander of the personal guards."

"As for which army you will serve as commander-in-chief, I heard it hasn't been decided yet. I'm planning to recommend you to the Emperor for the position of Right Wing Cavalry Commander. What do you think?"

As one of the four main armies and subordinate to the Palace Guard, the Iron Cavalry naturally had no objections from Li Hanchao.

He immediately replied, "I will leave it to you, elder brother."

Li Yi nodded slightly: "Of course, I can't guarantee anything. At the level of the military commander, even the Privy Councilor can't make the decision alone; he has to ask the Emperor for his opinion... But considering your military achievements in Qin and Feng, plus my recommendation, the possibility is still quite high."

Li Hanchao hurriedly said, "As long as I can stay in the Imperial Guard and follow my elder brother, it doesn't matter which army I serve in."

Li Yi smiled, but didn't say anything. In his heart, he was thinking: Even among military officers of the same rank, there are differences in status. Whether it's the number of personnel or the strength of combat power, there are many intricacies involved.

He would definitely try to arrange good seats for his own brothers... Li Hanchao himself probably knew this.

He had been by Li Yi's side for a long time and knew his older brother's temperament; he would never mistreat his brothers.

The group went straight out of the gate, and immediately a commotion broke out, with shouts of "Giddy up!" and the clatter of horses' hooves filling the air.

……

The rituals and regulations of the Five Dynasties followed the Tang system, and the court attendance was divided into three different forms.

Every year on the first and fifteenth days of the first lunar month, the imperial court holds a grand court assembly.

This is the most solemn ceremony for paying homage to the emperor, requiring a "grand display" and a very grand scale.

The emperor, dressed in imperial robes and a royal palanquin, proceeded out in his carriage, with a canopy of curved and straight lines, and guards and attendants as usual, receiving the court audiences and congratulations from his officials and envoys. He then moved outside the city to hold ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to Heaven and making offerings at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Secondly, there was the monthly court assembly held on the first and fifteenth of each month. Although it was not as grand as the main court assembly, and the emperor did not need to go out to hold the ceremony, all officials of the ninth rank and above in the capital were required to attend.

However, these two types of court visits were more symbolic than practical. The large-scale mobilization was merely to demonstrate the imperial majesty and, incidentally, to give officials of lower rank a chance to see the emperor.

Finally, there is the daily morning audience, also known as the regular audience, which is held every day except for holidays. It is generally done without any pomp or ceremony and is considered a true administrative day.

According to regulations, only those holding positions of the fifth rank or above with significant responsibilities are eligible to participate.

Of course, rules are rules, but actual implementation is another matter.

Even emperors have times when they want to slack off, and the ministers also suffer greatly from this. After all, there aren't important matters to report every day, and getting up earlier than the rooster just to go through the motions is really infuriating.

Since the Five Dynasties period, the time when the Changcan system was truly fully implemented has been extremely short.

Most of these meetings were held by the emperor every few days, and they rarely discussed important matters. Confidential and important issues were discussed by summoning close advisors and high-ranking officials to the inner court. The significance of these regular meetings was merely for the emperor to meet with mid- to high-ranking officials and strengthen relationships.

Unless there are occasional matters that need to be discussed openly, such as the discussion last year about reorganizing the Imperial Guards, the emperor would listen to the opinions of his ministers during regular meetings.

However, specific decisions and arrangements still need to be discussed privately with the chief ministers and important officials.

Outside Chongyuan Hall.

Led by the Imperial Censor, civil and military officials entered the main hall in turn and took their places according to their respective ranks.

The heads of the literary class were several prime ministers.

The leaders of the military corps were not Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde, but several older military officers... Li and Zhang wielded considerable power within the Imperial Guard, but their official ranks were not entirely tied to their military positions.

Although the old generals standing at the front were of no use, they were veterans of several dynasties, and the emperor still had to treat them as "mascots."

Of course, the right to speak is another matter entirely. If one doesn't know what's good for them, Meng Hanqing, who was forced to commit suicide last year, is a good example.

There was nothing of great importance to discuss during the daily audience; only a few imperial censors would step forward to report on miscellaneous matters.

These guys are specifically there to monitor the daily behavior of officials, and the things they talk about are all minor, harmless issues.

(End of this chapter)