Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 494 Following Sixth Brother, Holding the Reins and Supporting the Saddle

"Thank you, Liu Lang, for recommending me to succeed as Protector-General!"

When Zhang Dai returned to his courtyard, the burly Lai Tian knelt down in front of him with a thud, and said to him with a grateful expression.

Zhang Dai was startled and quickly bent down to help the man up, saying, "You don't need to thank me. If you are not talented enough, my recommendation would be useless. Besides, this matter still needs to be reported to Prefect Zhao and decided by the ministers in the court. Whether it succeeds or not is still uncertain."

"Even if it doesn't work out, Liu Lang's kindness in helping me is real and true! Although I have some achievements to speak of on the frontier, I am not good at self-promotion, and no one in the country knows my name. Liu Lang's willingness to speak on my behalf has made my name known in the court, and my years of hard work have been recognized. I am deeply grateful for this and will remember it forever and repay it in the future!"

Lai Zhen still refused to get up, his knees seemingly welded to the ground. He bowed his head to Zhang Dai and said, "Recently, I have often seen you, Liu Lang, helping the weak and caring for the masses. I also know that there are many in the capital who dislike this upright man and want to harm him. All I have now is my strength and courage. I am willing to follow you, Liu Lang, to protect you!"

Zhang Dai was delighted to hear this, and he bent down to pat Lai Zhen's shoulder, saying with a smile, "Although I admire your bravery and strength, I also know that you consider yourself a fine steed from the west and may not be willing to stay in the capital for long. However, since there is nothing to do after returning from Anxi, I will leave you in the capital for the time being to build up your strength and will not stop you from galloping across the battlefield and killing enemies to make meritorious contributions next year!"

Upon hearing this, Lai Zhen immediately bowed deeply and loudly proclaimed, "Zhang Yan Gong was a renowned minister of his generation, skilled in both literature and military affairs, serving as both a general and a prime minister. If Liu Lang inherits this legacy, he will surely be more than just a scholar. If he is sent to govern the border next year, no matter where he is, I will surely rush to his aid and support him!"

"Me too! Me too! Wherever Ah Lang goes, I will be the first to go!"

Ding Qing, who had overheard the conversation between the two, immediately chimed in, not wanting to be left out.

"There's a chance!"

Zhang Dai laughed again, his heart filled with longing. Each additional person meant he could better cope with the uncertainties of the future, and could even proactively create them.

The selection of the Deputy Protector-General of Anxi was not a priority at the moment. Basically, anyone with decent abilities could be appointed. After all, Anxi was too far from Chang'an. Although there were many factions in the court and the prime ministers were still vying for power, they wouldn't be so idle as to make moves in Anxi.

Although Zhang Dai recommended Lai Yao as the more suitable candidate for the position of Deputy Protector-General of Anxi to Zhao Yizhen, Zhao Yizhen had his own considerations. He reported all three candidates he had considered, only making slight adjustments to their specific rankings.

It is likely that Zhao Hanzhang had not been in office long and had not yet been able to amass enough wealth on the Silk Road to bribe court officials. Therefore, the latest personnel appointments in Anxi were as follows: Lu Xiulin, the governor of Xizhou, was appointed as the deputy protector-general of Anxi to replace Zhao Yizhen, while Lai Yao was appointed as the military governor of Qixi.

This was a relatively prudent arrangement. First, they would leverage the advantage of Lü Xiulin's military background and his family's long-standing presence in Anxi, allowing him to manage Anxi's political affairs and properly handle relations with various ethnic groups. As for Lai Yao, this brave general, he would take charge of Anxi's military affairs and oversee matters of military campaigns and deterrence.

The handling of this matter did not consume too much of the prime ministers' energy, as each prime minister was currently focused on their respective fields. The most important task at court at the moment was to ensure the emperor's birthday was celebrated properly.

Because the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, which was in charge of rites and music, was now only headed by Vice Minister Wei Tao, the Secretariat-Chancellery summoned Lu Xiangxian, the former prime minister and now the governor of Tongzhou, to the court and appointed him as Minister of Imperial Sacrifices. Lu Xiangxian was also the brother-in-law of Xiao Song, the Grand Secretary, and the cousin of He Zhizhang.

As July drew to a close, Zhang Dai and other officials from the music bureau became even busier. The various departments, both inside and outside the bureau, had prepared a large number of programs. If they were all performed, they could perform for ten days or half a month without repeating any of them. Therefore, they also needed to select these programs.

During this period, Zhang Dai was like a group director for the Spring Festival Gala, watching various song and dance performances and acrobatics every day, selecting the excellent programs and eliminating those that were not exciting or eye-catching enough.

At first, the job was quite enjoyable, after all, the dances were pleasing to the eye, the songs were melodious, and the actresses were all beautiful. But even the best performances can become boring after a while.

Meanwhile, in order to make their respective programs stand out, the musicians and performers also started to have their own ideas, such as the kind of bribery that Teacher Fan Wei was hoping for. They took turns testing each other, whether openly or secretly, which made Zhang Dai and Brother Kun very angry every day.

He wasn't a lecherous or indecisive person, so naturally he wouldn't make any silly mistakes at this moment. Although all sorts of temptations were tempting, he still tried his best to control himself, suffering every day, yet he couldn't find the time to go home or spend the night at Sanqu. He could only look forward to the emperor's birthday. After all, if the emperor didn't sit at the table, they, his officials, really didn't dare to touch their chopsticks.

Besides the affairs of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Zhang Dai also did not forget about the Prince of Shou's performance.

With the technical support of the professionals at Yichun Academy, the choreography of "Brahman Song" went very smoothly, and several stage setups envisioned by Zhang Dai were produced, all with excellent visual effects.

After watching several performances in advance, Consort Wu Hui, the client, was full of praise and eagerly awaited the Emperor's birthday. As the ceremony drew closer, the once bustling Crown Prince's Palace became very quiet, in contrast to the busy preparations of all parties.

Originally, the Crown Prince was quite enthusiastic in preparing for the birthday celebration, but after the previous incident, not only were Wang Shouqing and other officials of the Eastern Palace subjected to extreme punishment, but the musicians gathered in Shaoyang Courtyard were also disbanded, and the Crown Prince's family was also removed from Shaoyang Courtyard and placed in a separate hall of Xingqing Palace. Even the officials of the Eastern Palace could only pay their respects to the Crown Prince outside the corridor of the separate hall on the first and last days of the lunar month, but were not allowed to enter the palace to meet him.

Clearly, with the encouragement of Zhang Dai, a busybody, the emperor's steps to guard against his sons, especially the crown prince, were greatly accelerated.

Historically, during similar periods, although the crown prince was also largely invisible in the political landscape, his daily life and interpersonal interactions were not subject to such severe supervision and restrictions.

Judging from the fact that the Crown Prince is currently confined to a separate palace and rarely sees outsiders, and he doesn't even see his brothers often, it's likely that the three kings of history will never be able to reunite.

For Consort Wu Hui, it's hard to say whether this is good or bad. With the Crown Prince currently under strict control, it's naturally harder to find fault with him and make false accusations. Without a sufficiently powerful catalyst, deposing the Crown Prince will become extremely difficult.

Of course, the situation may not always remain this way. If the current emperor really intends to depose the crown prince but does not want to bear the name of a cruel father, he may play a trick similar to "Duke Zheng defeats Duan at Yan". He may first relax the supervision of the crown prince and indulge him to a certain extent, and then incite others to target the crown prince when the crown prince makes mistakes in his words and deeds, thereby taking the opportunity to depose his son.

Zhang Dai's idea was somewhat dark, after all, what father would go to such lengths to harm his son? But if applied to a sage like him today, it doesn't seem out of place.

In short, in our Great Tang Dynasty, fathers are kind and sons are filial, and anything is possible. As for those like Zhang Dai, who are greedy, rebellious, and gloating, they can only keep their talents hidden and wait for the right time to act.

Amidst this tense and busy atmosphere, the Emperor's birthday soon arrived.

After midnight that day, Chang'an City began to bustle with activity. Because of the large number of people coming to court to offer their birthday greetings, the emperor returned to the Daming Palace, which he had not visited for a long time. The emperor would receive the greetings of officials, chieftains of various foreign countries, and envoys in the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace.

Therefore, as dawn broke, all the officials gathered again outside the Danfeng Gate of the Daming Palace, waiting until the night was over before entering the court.

Zhang Dai and the other music officials did not need to go to the Daming Palace to attend the court ceremony. Instead, they stayed at the Xingqing Palace to set up the banquet venue. After the court meeting, the emperor would return to the Hua'e Tower to hold a birthday banquet for his officials.

Under the outer corridor of the Hua'e Tower, thousands of male and female musicians and performers stood waiting expectantly. Different areas were separated by curtains outside the corridor, and musicians such as Zhang Dai led these people to their respective waiting areas according to the performance order.

This was the first time Zhang Dai had experienced such a grand cultural performance. In the past, even when there were similarly large-scale ceremonies, there were always relevant rules and regulations. However, as this was the first Qianqiu Festival, there were no precedents for anything, and all arrangements were made in accordance with later practices, which naturally put a lot of pressure on all the participants.

"In the afternoon, the imperial carriage returned to the palace. The 'Dragon Pool Music' was played first, but where were the Dragon Pool disciples? The 'Sacred Longevity Music' followed, but why did the 'Brahman Song' change to 'Sacred Longevity Music'?"

After attending the court ceremony, Wei Tao, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, rode back before the Emperor's carriage returned to Xingqing Palace to review the proceedings. Upon seeing that the order of the dance and music had been changed, he immediately shouted and questioned the matter.

Zhang Dai was still arranging personnel behind the scenes when he heard this, so he hurriedly came forward, pulled Wei Tao aside and whispered, "Reporting to Wei Shaoqing, when we were arranging the performance the other day, everyone present said that 'Shengshou Yue' was an old piece of music by Empress Wu and was not suitable to be performed today, so we changed it to 'Brahman Qu' instead."

"I watched a dance performance at the temple the other day, why didn't I see this piece?"

Wei Tao had not participated in the final selection of the program, nor had he ever seen a performance of "Brahman Song," so he was naturally a little nervous: "The next dance is the focus of everyone's attention. Is the new piece worthy of such an important role?"

Before Zhang Dai could answer, Prince Shou, who had also rushed over after the court assembly to offer birthday greetings, arrived at Zhang Dai's place, looking somewhat excited and impatient: "Cousin, I'm here. Where should we wait?"

Zhang Dai raised his hand, signaling Zhao Ling to lead Prince Shou to the waiting area first, then turned back to Wei Tao and said, "This dance was carefully arranged by Prince Shou to celebrate his birthday, so please rest assured, Shaoqing."

Upon hearing this, Wei Tao obediently shut his mouth. Since it was a gift from Prince Shou, whether it was good or bad, it was not something he could question. However, he was still a little curious: what amazing performance could Prince Shou, at such a young age, possibly offer?

(End of this chapter)