The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 393 Don't ask about the future
Zhu Xiu and Li Congjia walked through the corridor on the west side of Yanjia Hall and headed to Zhaoqing Hall of the harem.

This morning, just after Zhu Xiu had finished his breakfast and was preparing to play mahjong with Pan Mei, Wu Youdi and Zhu Wu, Li Jing suddenly sent someone to summon him to the palace to see him.

There was no way, Zhu Xiu could only let Yang Qiaolian go to the battle to make up for it, and changed into the official uniform that Li Congjia sent him, and went to the palace with him to meet Li Jing.

Mahjong was brought to Jiangning by Li Congjia from Jingzhou. Unfortunately, he was not good at it. He forgot all the rules of the game after not playing for half a year. He made a pair of mahjong carved with ivory and jade tiles and put it in the warehouse to eat dust.

Zhu Xiu was bored at Honglu Temple, so he asked him to find mahjong and teach the Zhu family how to play.

Oddly enough, Wu Youdi is illiterate, but she is the fastest at learning mahjong. She has roughly memorized all the cards after playing them a few times.

Zhu Wu had a poor memory and relied on rote memorization to barely get started.

Yang Qiaolian is literate and can usually read letters, but learning mahjong is very difficult.

Zhu Xiu almost gave up.

He could tell that this sister-in-law didn't have a poor memory, but was naturally slow about numbers.

The whole family sat in the pavilion in the flower pond and played cards all day long. They had no worries about eating and drinking, and they were laughing and having a leisurely time.

Zhu Xiu entered Xingtang Palace and looked around. Judging from the architectural style, the Jiangnan palace still retained a relatively authentic Tang Dynasty style. Some details were different from those in the north, especially the newly built palaces in the past two years.

"Brother Zhu, do you think these palaces can show the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty?" Li Congjia pointed to the Yanjia Palace not far away and asked with a smile.

Zhu Xiu looked over and smacked his lips and said, "Brother Xian, do you want me to tell the truth?"

"Brother Zhu, just say it bluntly!"

Zhu Xiu said seriously: "I can see that the imperial court of your country wants to try its best to restore the grand scene of the Taiji Palace, but unfortunately things have changed and people have changed. The Xingtang Palace only retains its shape, but not its spirit! The true style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, It’s never about how splendid the palace is or how vast the palace occupies.”

Li Congjia blinked: "In Brother Zhu's mind, what is the true style of the Tang Dynasty?"

Zhu Xiu smiled, looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, and said: "The so-called style of the Tang Dynasty, I think, should be composed of four parts, each of which is indispensable.

First, the emperor rules China and makes the barbarians worship him. All nations come to court and command the four directions in the name of the Khan of Heaven!This is the orthodoxy of imperial power and the majesty of the emperor!
Secondly, the imperial court can control the local areas through the central government, and execute orders from the top to the bottom. Once the government orders are issued, they will be implemented in accordance with the regulations in various states and counties. The laws and regulations are strict and the officials govern clearly!This is what an officialdom should look like in a prosperous age.

Third, the common people have enough food and clothing, houses to live in, and fields to cultivate. Merchants can run their business with peace of mind. Scholars can study quietly. They can practice martial arts and join the battlefield. They can serve the country with blood. They can obtain honors and enter official careers and do practical things for the people.

Fourth"

Zhu Xiu paused, patted Li Congjia's generous shoulder, and said with a smile: "The fourth is to think about how to stay humble and diligent in the comfort and prosperity, and to stay alert and sober in the prosperity of the prosperous age. It should be noted that one is born in sorrow and dies in happiness. The so-called The style of the Tang Dynasty is just a flash in the pan in the long history. It is only remembered by people today because it is so gorgeous.

It's a pity that how gorgeous and charming it was at the beginning, it is now so dirty and rotten.

The era that belonged to the Tang Dynasty has finally passed."

Li Congjia was stunned and stood still.

Zhu Xiu smiled and walked forward with her hands behind her back.

Li Congjia came to his senses and hurriedly caught up: "Brother Zhu, what do you mean, we should not dwell on the glory of the Tang Dynasty, but should look to the future?"

"That's right! As long as any dynasty can achieve the first three points, it will definitely be able to create a prosperous age far beyond the Han and Tang Dynasties! But only by achieving the fourth point can it ensure that the prosperous age will not decline!" Zhu Xiu said firmly.

Li Congjia hurriedly followed up, panting a little: "Brother Zhu believes that the world will eventually be unified? Can later dynasties create glory far beyond that of the Han and Tang Dynasties?"

Zhu Xiu smiled, and his tone became more firm: "Jiuzhou is in chaos, people's livelihood is very difficult, people want peace and want to govern, this is the general trend, it is so majestic, there is nothing we can do!"

Zhu Xiu's footsteps were getting faster and faster, and Li Congjia couldn't keep up. He was already trotting, gasping for air and swallowing his saliva: "Brother Zhu thinks Kyushu will belong to the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

Zhu Xiu stopped suddenly, and Li Congjia stumbled and almost fell over, smiling awkwardly.

"Liu Lang calls himself the Hermit of Zhongshan and has never been involved in government affairs. Why are you suddenly interested in today's world situation?" Zhu Xiu smiled half-heartedly.

Li Congjia scratched his head and said: "Recently, the court has been talking a lot about the envoys sent by the Lord of Zhou. Because the founding of the Zhou Dynasty was still short, we don't know what the Lord Zhou's attitude is towards our court, so the people in the court are panicked, fearing that the war in Huainan will start again. .
Although my younger brother does not participate in government affairs, he is still a descendant of the Li family. There will be no unbroken eggs when the nest is overthrown. I would like to ask Brother Zhu for guidance on the future! "

Li Congjia bowed sincerely.Zhu Xiu smiled. Li Congjia had finally grown up and knew how to plan for his future.

His uneasy mood also represented most of the officials in the Tang court. The reason was that the Tang Dynasty, from top to bottom, had not yet figured out how to get along with the new Zhou Dynasty.

Although the Zhou Dynasty was founded not long ago, because it inherited almost all of Liu Han's empire, the country's strength has basically not been lost.

Liu Chong occupied Taiyuan and became independent, and the division in Hedong did have a great impact, but for the entire Zhou Dynasty, it was just a sore, and the pain was not fatal.

The only people who could threaten the Great Zhou were the Khitans in the north.

Four years ago, Yelv Deguang led his army south. Guo Wei was ordered by Liu Zhiyuan to lead his army to deal with the Khitans in Hebei. In the end, Yelv Deguang died of illness in Zhenzhou, and the Khitans retreated to Yanshan.

Shi Jingtang founded the country by ceding territory to his father. Liu Zhiyuan saw the right opportunity and took the lead in taking over Kaifeng. He held high the banner of expelling the Khitans and restoring Han unification, winning people's hearts.

As the most critical figure in the Hebei Campaign, Guo Wei's reputation reached its peak after the Khitans withdrew.

Now that Guo Wei has succeeded Liu Han's imperial line, knowledgeable people all over the world regard him as a strong and iron-blooded king who can lead the Han people to resist the Khitan invasion from the south.

It can be said that since Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, causing the Central Plains of Hebei to always be under the threat of the Khitan cavalry, Guo Wei is the most upright and most famous founding king.

The newly born Zhou Dynasty was also endowed with a ferocious temperament like a tiger or a wolf.

Meng Chang, the Lord of Shu who lives in Chengdu, should be the person who can best feel the powerful temperament of Zhou Dynasty among the separatist forces in the world.

Li Shouzhen rebelled in Hezhong before. Meng Chang sent the Shu army to Hanzhong, hoping to seize the opportunity to invade Guanzhong and Hexi. Unexpectedly, the Shu army suffered successive setbacks in Qizhou, prompting Guo Wei to personally command troops to take control of Qizhou. The Shu army lost tens of thousands in vain. Soldiers and horses, but they didn't take any advantage.

Therefore, when the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, Meng Chang immediately sent envoys to Kaifeng to meet with Guo Wei, and submitted his credentials. He was willing to accept the Great Zhou Dynasty as the suzerain and pay tribute according to the four seasons.

He was followed closely by Li Yiyin, the leader of the disaster-defeating army. The Dangxiang people were also quite sensible, and decisively threw themselves into the arms of the Zhou Dynasty. They wrote a letter expressing their willingness to suppress Yinxia on behalf of the Zhou Dynasty.

When the Jiangning court was still discussing how to deal with the threat of the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Lord took the lead in sending envoys to Jiangning.

Li Jing and the Manchu civil and military officials attached great importance to this meeting, and discussions on relations between the two countries have become increasingly intense recently.

That's why Li Congjia came to Zhu Xiu to ask about his future under such circumstances.

At this moment, Zhu Xiu felt proud of being a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"Listen to what Liu Lang said, is there anyone in your court who is worried about the outbreak of war between the two countries?" Zhu Xiu asked.

Li Congjia sighed: "Not long after the Lord Zhou ascended the throne, he ordered to form an army to suppress Huaihe in Suzhou to strengthen the frontline defense of Huaibei. Troops and horses were mobilized frequently. I heard that the Zhou army was still practicing naval training in Hongze Lake. There are various signs that Lord Zhou may There is an intention to use troops against Huainan.
Only then did the emperor urgently transfer Chen Jue as Jiangbei Defense Envoy to lead the navy, and ordered Jin Wangshu to patrol Zhenjiangkou for defense.
This time the envoys of the Zhou Dynasty went south, it is still unclear how the diplomatic relations between the two countries will develop! ~”

Li Congjia's eyes were full of resentment, as if to say, your Zhou army is so aggressive that you almost put a knife on our neck~
Zhu Xiu spread his hands: "Liu Lang, please don't look at me like that. This series of military orders were all issued by our Majesty. Every injustice has its owner, and every debt has its owner. If you want to blame, you can only blame him, it has nothing to do with me!"

Li Congjia sighed, his fat face a little sad, sniffed and said seriously: "Although you and I are our own masters, no matter how the relationship between the two countries changes, I don't want to affect the friendship between us!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and put her palms gently on his broad shoulders: "Even if the colors of the mountains and rivers change, the friendship between friends will never change!"

Li Congjia grinned and nodded vigorously.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Xiu looked around and said softly: "My Lord has his own deep intention in mobilizing troops and horses, but it is definitely not against the Tang Dynasty, at least not in the short term. I can guarantee you this. But what happens in the future , it’s not you and I who can decide
Just know these things yourself, don't let them show it to you! "

Li Congjia blinked, showing an honest smile, and his mood suddenly became much brighter.

"Thank you, Brother Zhu, for your guidance! Brother Zhu, don't worry!"

Knowing that there would be no war in a short time, Li Congjia was particularly happy, and his heavy steps became much lighter.

Zhu Xiu looked at him and sighed softly.

Li Congjia is indeed a kind-hearted person, but it is a pity that he was born into an emperor's family.

His fate may have been doomed from the beginning
(End of this chapter)