Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Chapter 471 Chang'an's Problem

The emperor and all the officials of Fengxiang Mansion had already embarked on the road back to Chang'an, and the officials who had arrived in Chang'an earlier got busy.

According to the imperial court's plan, after the emperor returned to Chang'an, he first had to pay homage to the Second Sheji Temple outside Chang'an under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Then it is necessary to clean the ancestral palace and temple, to comfort the ancestors and the royal family have returned to Chang'an, and to send sacrifices to the ancestral temple.

Then the emperor entered Chang'an City through Zhuque Gate under the warm welcome of the Chang'an people.

These procedures are stipulated in the imperial court regulations, which are necessary ceremonies for the country.

These ceremonial tasks are to worship heaven and earth and the ancestors, and they were very important tasks in ancient society.

But the next thing to do is the focus of controversy in the entire court.

After worshiping heaven, earth and ancestors, what the emperor did first was a big deal.

First of all, Cui Qi, the censor Zhongcheng, stood up and was tried by the three judges of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and Yushitai. During the fall of the two capitals of the Tang Dynasty, the list of rebellious officials who participated in the puppet Yan court has been sorted out, and the emperor has given instructions. Trial of these traitorous officials.

Cui Qi believed that these officials were out of integrity and should kneel outside the Zhuque Bridge in Chang'an City with bare feet and rags to welcome the emperor and all the officials back to Chang'an.

This is a warning to officials who have defected to the enemy in the future, and it is also a punishment for officials who have defected to the enemy and puppet Yan.

However, more court ministers disagreed with Cui Qi's opinion.

Nowadays, in the Tang court, everyone thinks that apart from officials like Da Xixun and Chen Xilie who took the initiative to rebel, many officials surrendered to the puppet Yan just to save their lives.

It was the emperor who left Chang'an in a hurry that made these officials fall into the hands of the false Yan.

Therefore, many court ministers expressed fierce opposition to Cui Qi's humiliating punishment.

At this time, the Ministry of Rites proposed another plan to let the scholars who passed the new examination this year line up in front of the Suzaku Gate to welcome the emperor back to Chang'an.

The emperor attached great importance to the imperial examination of this subject, and after returning to Chang'an, the emperor would personally interview these scholars in the Taiji Hall and confer official positions on them one by one.

That being the case, it is also a matter of course for the Zhongju scholars of Xinke to line up to welcome the emperor back to Chang'an, and it will definitely win the emperor's favor.

But just after the Ministry of Rites finished talking about his plan, the Ministry of War jumped out again.

Now the Minister of the Ministry of War is Guo Ziyi, and the Minister of the Ministry of War is Li Guangbi. Although there is only one right servant left in Chang'an City, he has a lot of power.

The right servant of the Ministry of War believed that the ancient military etiquette should be followed to present the victory to the emperor when he was in Chang'an.

The Ministry of War hopes to hold a grand victory ceremony outside the city to demonstrate Datang's martial arts in regaining the two capitals!

These three proposals have been arguing for more than ten days at Prime Minister Pei Mian's desk, and the emperor is about to return to Chang'an, but there is still no result.

Pei Mian was so busy that he still had a lot of troublesome things left.

As the prime minister, the emperor returned to Chang'an in December, and then he was going to interview the scholars who had passed the new examination in the Taiji Hall, and awarded the qualified scholars one by one official positions.

This unprecedented imperial examination required the Ministry of Etiquette to organize and formulate a set of impeccable etiquette.

How can a scholar who has no official position pay homage to the emperor?What about the process of conferring an officer?
The officials of the Ministry of Rites who were in charge of the emperor's return to Chang'an ceremony seemed to have fallen into a double nightmare.

However, the nightmare of the Ministry of Rites is yet to come. After the emperor returns to Chang'an in December, the next step is to prepare for the Zhengdan Grand Court Meeting on January [-] next year!
This time the Zhengdan court meeting was extraordinary, and it was the first Zhengdan court meeting after the emperor returned to Chang'an.

At the Zhengdan Grand Court Meeting, all princes, ministers and envoys from various countries will present gifts to the emperor, which is the gift for the emperor to return to Chang'an.

This time, the scale of Zhengdan Dachaohui is much larger than before, which is another nightmare for the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Pei Mian, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had been busy all day, and dragged his exhausted body back to Guanglufang's mansion from Zhengshitang.

As soon as he returned home, Li Kui, the Minister of Rites, visited again.

Pei Mian, who had just changed his official robe, could only continue to meet his subordinate.

Li Kui said with a tired face: "Pei Xiang, this subordinate came to visit in a hurry. There is really one matter that can't be decided, so I visited at this time."

Pei Mian was generous, he said softly: "What is the important thing?"

Li Kui then said: "Actually, this matter should not have troubled Prime Minister Pei, but the Ministry of Rites argued fiercely, and Kui really couldn't decide, so he asked Prime Minister Pei for instructions."

Pei Mian is the minister of the Ministry of Rites, but he is also the prime minister of the imperial court.

Therefore, his position as Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites is just a vain job, and the affairs of the Ministry of Rites are usually done by Li Kui, the servant.

Li Kui was a Jinshi in the last years of Kaiyuan. He was smart, studious and quite famous when he was young.

On his examination papers for the imperial examination, because the questions of posting scriptures in the Kaiyuan period were too rare, many scholars at that time chose to recite out-of-the-way allusions. Li Kui wrote on the examination of practical policies:

"A big country chooses scholars, but it must be talented. The classics are here. Please search for them."

It means that in the selection of talents in a big country, it is necessary to select talented people, instead of finding out-of-the-way allusions in classics to deliberately test candidates.

This practical policy was approved by the emperor, and Li Kui was awarded an official position and entered the officialdom.

Li Kui is outstanding in learning and familiar with various laws and regulations, so Pei Mian, the minister, is very relieved to let him take charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.

Li Kui said distressedly: "Pei Xiang, what the Ministry of Rites is troubled with is what kind of etiquette should we use to welcome the emperor?"

Pei Mian was also stunned at this moment, before the court was arguing about how to welcome the emperor, but they forgot about it.

The emperor is going back to Chang'an City with the emperor, so how to welcome the emperor then?

Li Kui said: "Your Majesty will naturally go through the main entrance of Zhuque Gate when entering Chang'an, so what about the Emperor's Luanjia?"

"Entering the Tai Chi Palace is also possible. Your Majesty wants to take the main bridge of the Zhuque Bridge. What about the Emperor?"

Hearing this, Pei Mian had a headache.

Righteously, this is not just feudal etiquette, etiquette is also a practical need.

These complicated etiquette systems are also the basis for the operation of the court, and they are the rules that the royal family and all officials must abide by.

Only by following the rules can the machine of the imperial court run smoothly.

After all, the emperor was the son of heaven for more than 40 years and the father of the emperor.

But there is only one supreme throne. If the emperor is greeted according to the same etiquette, if the emperor is unhappy, the Ministry of Rites will definitely have a hard time in the future.

Even Pei Mian was worried, how could such an unlucky thing happen to him.

He thought for a while and said, "Well, let the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy discuss what kind of etiquette should be used to receive the emperor."

"Let Xinke Jinshi join the Imperial College and see what these young Jinshi think."

Li Kui thought for a while, and had no choice but to sigh and said, "That's the only way to go."

As the emperor Luanjia is about to return to Chang'an, more and more people are worried like Pei Mian and Li Kui.

In the East Palace, Dou Shen has been in a hurry to get angry recently, and the corners of his mouth are burnt.

The emperor is about to return to Chang'an. Although the gift to return to Chang'an will not be until the Zhengdan Grand Court Meeting in the first month of next year, but now the Jingzhao Mansion is holding the corpse, and the alchemy plan cannot be carried out.

A huge amount of money has been spent, but the "elixir" has not yet been refined.

The prince will return to Chang'an soon after the emperor returns to Chang'an.

Thinking of this, Dou Shen was even more anxious to get angry. What will he do then?
Dou Shen quickly came to the alchemy room again, only to see the smog in the alchemy room, full of the fragrance of plants and trees, and Dou Shen's impetuous mood calmed down a bit.

This Immortal Yuan is capable!

Thinking of this, Dou Shen hastily bowed at the door of the alchemy room and said:
"Yuan Shenxian! Can the fire of the heart be tempered smoothly?"

The old Taoist sighed leisurely and said: "My heart is not burning, it's still a bit short of fire, but it's barely usable."

"Dou Changshi, when can I get back my 'pill stove'?"

Dou Shen said with a bitter face, "I'm here this time to talk about this matter. Is there any other way for Shenxian Yuan?"

The Taoist's tone suddenly turned cold and said:

"This alchemy furnace is the most important thing, how can you make alchemy without the alchemy furnace!"

"The horoscope of this pill furnace's birthday was calculated by the poor man who spent his lifespan! The treasures used to make the pill furnace are also passed down from the ancestors. What do you need to get another pill furnace?"

Dou Shen's face showed bitterness. Cui Guangyuan of Jingzhao Mansion, who Donggong wanted to win over, suddenly became a strict law enforcement master Qingtian. No matter how much pressure Donggong exerted, he refused to hand over the body.

Donggong Youwei, who went to ask for the corpse, led Zhonglang General Wu Cou, but lost his life in Jingzhao Mansion for no reason.

However, this matter involved the champion of the new department, and now everyone in Chang'an City was saying that the East Palace was related to the murder case, which made Dou Shen dare not act rashly.

Donggong accepted the corpse of General Zhonglang and swallowed his breath, admitting that Wu Cou, the real General Zhonglang, was a fake, tantamount to acquiescing to Jingzhaofu's statement.

Next, the Jingzhao Mansion's attitude became even more resolute. Cui Guangyuan showed the appearance of a strong order, and arrested several domineering officials and servants of the Eastern Palace, and even swept the face of the Eastern Palace.

But Dou Shen couldn't get angry, and even the officials of the Eastern Palace couldn't hold up their heads in Chang'an.

Dou Shen then asked: "If all the other materials are ready, how many days will it take to refine the pill with the pill furnace?"

Taoist Yuan said: "If you want to open the Great Furnace Pill, it will take seven to seven forty-nine days, and it's too late now."

"However, there is still a way to open a small furnace pill. It only takes seven days to make a pill!"

Dou Shen breathed a sigh of relief. At the beginning of December, the emperor returned to Chang'an, and the crown prince estimated that he would be able to return to Chang'an in early December.

At that time, let the prince come forward and ask Jingzhao Mansion for the pill furnace.

"Then when the prince comes back, I ask His Highness to ask for the 'Pill Stove' from the Jingzhao Mansion!"

(End of this chapter)