Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

The crossbow bolts pierced the air and still possessed astonishing power three hundred paces away; those hit by them died instantly, while those grazed were wounded.

Occasionally, a horse would be shot and die from a single arrow piercing through it.

"Shh!"

More than a thousand crossbow bolts shot straight through the wall of fire, one of which struck Li Liangzuo, piercing his intestines.

"How come there are so many?"

His body moved slowly to the left, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Li Liangzuo's eyes were wide open, his death unresolved.

Blood stained the air, and the sounds of clashing metal gradually rose.

Chapter 199 Reporting to Your Majesty: The Great Victory at Xihe!

December 26th is the Laba Festival.

The most important matters of state are war and sacrifice.

As a festival for worshipping gods and praying for a good harvest and peace, the Laba Festival is one of the few festivals with an "official holiday".

In terms of importance, it is almost on par with the New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Cold Food Festival, Ghost Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Qingming Festival, Winter Solstice, and Summer Solstice.

Conventionally, the monarch would offer sacrifices to the god of agriculture, the god of the forest, and his ancestors, praying for a bountiful harvest and peace and prosperity for the country in the coming year.

Afterwards, the imperial kitchen would prepare Laba porridge, and the court would bestow it upon the officials at Jinming Pond. The Ministry of Rites would also prepare some seasonal foods to be given to the officials.

Jinming Pond.

Civil and military officials were seated in order of rank.

From the Danbi (Imperial Steps) downwards, it is about ten zhang long and three to five zhang wide, with a total of three to four hundred seats.

A six-foot wooden table, a wooden stool, porcelain cups, bronze cups, and silver cups constitute the most basic seating arrangement.

In addition, the wooden table was set with Laba porridge, mutton, rabbit meat, venison, jujube cake, chestnut cake, preserved fruit, and Tusu wine.

This is the imperial decree food for the Laba Festival.

All the officials were present, and they all felt honored to be there.

The food at the Jinmingchi banquet was certainly not particularly good.

All the officials who were qualified to attend, except for the newly appointed top three scholars, were at least fifth-rank officials.

A fifth-rank official in red robes is already a figure who has entered the inner circle of officialdom, and naturally, he will not lack a little bit of Laba porridge, meat, pastries, dried fruit, and wine.

Some people might even eat much better than they would on Laba Festival.

The difference is that this is an imperial banquet, and the minimum requirement for entry is a fifth-rank official or above!

With this threshold in place, even if the food is the same, the feeling is completely different.

The officials took their seats and began to talk in twos and threes.

About two incense sticks' worth of time.

The discussions grew louder and louder.

There is no other reason than that there is no emperor on the throne.

On the left, a purple-robed eunuch holding a whisk hurriedly walked over and whispered something to him.

Grand Master Han Zhang understood and then let it go.

As soon as the eunuch left, Han Zhang stood up and looked down.

In an instant, the palace fell silent.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it's highly likely that the Emperor will not attend the banquet.

"His Majesty is unwell and unable to attend the banquet. The officials may drink and eat as they please," Han Zhang said slowly.

really!

All the civil and military officials couldn't help but look towards Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu.

In the morning, the emperor was present to worship the gods and ancestors, and showed no signs of illness.

After the sacrificial ceremony, he continued to feign illness.

The reason for this was undoubtedly due to the encouragement and support from Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu, which led to repeated memorials from their subordinates.

The purpose of holding regular court meetings was to hear the opinions of officials or to announce important matters.

As a result, Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu instructed their cronies to submit a memorial, which dragged out the usual court session, which was supposed to last about an hour, to two or three hours.

The emperor was so annoyed that he simply stopped attending court!

As of now, the Emperor has been absent from court for nearly two months since he claimed to be ill at the end of October.

Many people shook their heads inwardly.

Beginning at the end of October, the emperor suspended court sessions, claiming illness.

At that time, Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu thought they were almost able to get the emperor to compromise, which led to their cronies submitting memorials more and more frequently.

During that period, the followers of Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu submitted a memorial to the throne almost every day.

The situation lasted for about a month, with memorials submitted until early December, but the emperor showed no sign of backing down.

Therefore, from the beginning of December, Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu realized the seriousness of the problem.

After all, if the emperor can skip court for a month, he can skip court for two months.

The two men quickly restrained their subordinates, preventing them from submitting further memorials.

Unfortunately, the authorities have taken this seriously, and their coercive tactics are abhorrent.

The fact that Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu reneged on their promises and promptly ordered their subordinates not meant that the matter of coercing the emperor was wiped clean.

The relentless barrage of memorials from his cronies caused the emperor considerable torment.

More importantly, the coercive implications it contained were something that monarchs would not tolerate.

If nothing unexpected happens, the day the border troops return in triumph will be the day the two men are demoted or dismissed from their posts.

Even if the border troops did not return victorious, the two men would not have a good ending.

If coercing a monarch leads to his refusal, then there is certainly something to gain.

But what if the monarch withstands the pressure and doesn't back down?

Under the watchful eyes of all the officials, Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu exchanged a glance and silently ate their Laba porridge.

The imperial kitchen chefs were quite skilled; the Laba porridge was made with "seven treasures" including glutinous rice, japonica rice, lotus seeds, red dates, walnuts, and longan, as well as two nourishing ingredients: mutton and cheese. It had a smooth texture and was fresh, fragrant, and slightly sweet.

In terms of taste, it can be considered a top-notch Laba porridge.

However, the two of them found the taste to be indescribably bitter.

Even so, you still have to savor it slowly, bite by bite.

If nothing unexpected happens, this will probably be the last time the two of them eat Laba porridge at Jinmingchi.

Life!

What a rollercoaster ride!

Royal study room.

Zhao Ceying scooped up a spoonful of Laba porridge and put it in her mouth, nodding in agreement.

To be fair, the imperial kitchen was indeed quite skilled at making Laba porridge.

"My dear ministers Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu have been diligently submitting memorials for two consecutive months; it is truly commendable."

Zhao Ceying raised his eyebrows, quite concerned: "I specifically instructed that bitter ginseng be added to the Laba porridge for both of them to clear heat and relieve dryness. Has the imperial kitchen made the necessary arrangements?"

"This old servant has already given the order, and specially had someone add bitter ginseng."

The Grand Eunuch Li Xian reported, "The two gentlemen ate the Laba porridge, but their faces remained expressionless and they showed no reaction."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ceying nodded in satisfaction, and even seemed to enjoy his meal more, finishing the rest of the Laba porridge in just a few bites.

After finishing his Laba porridge, Zhao Ceying got up, picked up a geomantic map of Northwest China, and began to examine it carefully.

"Have any military reports come from Xihe Road recently?" Zhao Ceying asked.

"Not at the moment," Li Xian shook his head.

Zhao Ceying understood, folded the geomantic map in his hand, and placed it in the corner of the imperial desk.

Since there's no bad news, then it's all good news.

"Another bowl, please." Zhao Ceying tossed the bowl over.

"Your Majesty, Laba porridge is certainly good, but it is not advisable to eat too much," Li Xian advised.

"Official!"

Before he could finish speaking, several eunuchs, their faces filled with urgency, rushed inside, carrying military reports.

Without exception, all of them wore red or purple robes, making them among the highest-ranking eunuchs.

"Your Majesty, Minister Jiang has sent a military report," a purple-clad eunuch reported, his face flushed.

Zhao Ceying was startled, and then stood up abruptly.

"Is this a military report sent by Jiang Qing?" Zhao Ceying's face flushed red as he asked anxiously.

“That’s right,” the purple-robed eunuch replied respectfully.

"How is it?" Zhao Ceying asked eagerly.

Led by the purple-robed eunuch, several men bowed and said in unison, "Your Majesty, the Xihe region has achieved a great victory!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ceying breathed a sigh of relief.

About a few breaths.

"Snapped!"

With a slam of his chopsticks down, Zhao Ceying straightened his dragon robe and strode out.

"Ha ha!"

"I want to go to Jinming Pond to eat Laba porridge!"

Feel proud!

That's so satisfying!

Chapter 200 Jiang Qing will not fail me, and I will not fail you!

As he boarded the sedan chair, which was about ten feet long, the imperial guards cleared the way and escorted him. With the curtain half rolled up, Zhao Ceying held a military report in his hand and read it word by word.

Your humble servant Zhao respectfully reports:

The Western Xia ruler, Li Liangzuo, usurped the title of 100,000 and occupied Lezhou. Starting from the first day of the tenth month, the imperial army of 70,000 advanced in different directions to attack. In the eleventh month, they captured Datong, and in the twelfth month, they captured Xunhua, beheading more than 3,000 enemy soldiers and seizing countless provisions and supplies. The remaining rebels fled westward and retreated to Miaochuan.

On the day of Dingyou in the twelfth month, I personally led 60,000 troops to Nanbao Village, and approached the city under cover of darkness. The battle formation was as follows:

The East Gate controls the gorge and is home to tens of thousands of people;

The west gate guards the Longzhuhei Pass, commanding five thousand troops;

The south gate was fortified with deep moats and high walls, and the central army numbered 40,000.

The north gate was positioned on a flat area, intended to lure the enemy. The area was surrounded on three sides, with one side open, and 5,000 troops were deployed.

From the ninth day of the month (戊戌) to the fourteenth day of the month (癸卯), bandits repeatedly attacked, but the city was besieged without being attacked, and the food in the city ran out.

On the fifteenth day of the Jia Chen year (5), at the hour of You (5-7 PM), the bandits, having gathered their elite troops, broke through the encirclement.

The south and east gates launched a feigned attack on the 10,000 troops, but Zhong E and Zhang Ding led the army to repel them.

Li Liangzuo led 7,000 cavalry to break through the north gate. Yao Si's troops set up a wall of fire to block the road, and crossbowmen used broken crossbows to fire in a barrage.

Liang Zuo was struck by a stray arrow and died.

The remaining troops were routed, with over ten thousand heads taken, over ten thousand surrendered, and over ten thousand horses, armor, weapons, and equipment captured.