Joy of Life: I, a man, became the Queen of Northern Qi?

Chapter 164: There is no good banquet.

After packing up and changing into the brand new phoenix robe that had been prepared long ago, Li An and the sad-looking Doudou walked out of Yong'an Palace.

The palace in winter was like walking into a refrigerator. Every breeze was cool, but the heat on the little emperor's face was deep-rooted, and it seemed that it would be difficult to dissipate in a moment. Fortunately, the sky had darkened, making it difficult to notice.

She lowered her head, held the Queen's hand like an emperor, and said softly, "The guards are outside the courtyard, aren't you ashamed?"

"What are you afraid of? Some people clearly saw it, but they won't say anything. Are they all dumb?"

They are all afraid
When the two men left the hall, a large group of eunuchs, palace maids and guards surrounded them, led by Xu Chu and Zhao Gao.

He had just stepped forward with a simple and sincere smile, but Li Ang waved his hand and said, "Get away from me," and he retreated away at a loss, making way.

The little emperor tightened his grip and walked forward slowly, murmuring, "You, you..."

The emperor and the empress walked away slowly, leaving the people behind them unclear about what they were talking about, and they could only follow from a distance.
At this time, the celebration banquet was attended by high officials and celebrities, but they all sat upright, looked straight ahead, and were completely silent. This time was different from any other morning court or banquet. No one dared to claim illness or deal with urgent matters: those who claimed to be sick all recovered, and those matters were no longer urgent.
It's just magical.

The eldest princess sat upright in her seat, looking somewhat excited. God knows what her expression was when she heard that the queen's younger sister was a grandmaster not long ago. It was as if the stories written by the queen's younger sister had come true. So, were the stories written by the queen's younger sister also true?
Some imaginary images of a domineering president emerged in front of her eyes. Zhan Qiaoqiao twisted her body shyly, and her eyes occasionally stole glances in the direction of Yong'an Palace.

"There are many rules at the banquet. If you cannot follow them and remain restrained, then go back to your own bedroom." The Queen Mother reminded the eldest princess in a bad mood. This eldest daughter was too innocent. Why was she becoming less dignified and mature as she grew up?

Zhan Qiaoqiao quickly retracted her gaze and said with some shame: "Thank you for your reminder, mother. It is my daughter who lacks some discipline and self-control. I will be careful in my words and actions in the future, set an example, and not bring shame to the royal family!"

"Hmm~"

The Queen Mother nodded slightly, and her eyes also looked in that direction.
Why do I feel more panicked as the night goes on?

At this moment, the sound of bells and drums rang out in the palace, and a eunuch shouted loudly: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the people who were waiting in boredom finally looked over and saw His Majesty the Emperor with a gentle smile on his face slowly appearing with Empress An. Everyone stood up, bowed and said, "Greetings to His Majesty, and to the Empress!"

The solemn atmosphere slowly reached its climax with the sound of palace music.

Zhan Doudou smiled slightly, his eyes swept across the entire room, dispelling the heavy atmosphere, and said loudly: "Everyone, please stand up. Today's dinner is to celebrate the Queen and the soldiers, so please be casual."

"Just sit down."

Of course, this was just a polite remark. After the ceremony, Zhan Doudou and Li An bowed to the Queen Mother and then sat down in their seats. The two were very close to each other, and even the food was placed on the same table.

All the ministers came out and sang the same praises, but the content was different.

The weather was already cold, and as the food slowly lost temperature, Ang Lee was about to fast forward or skip these parts, but after thinking that this was a rare part of the commendation and Doudou's happy time, he gave up the idea.
Well, I still have to sneak a bite after the banquet.

As the session came to an end, the little emperor raised his glass and stood up, and the surroundings instantly fell silent. Li An noticed someone was watching him, and when he turned his head, he found that it was Zhuang Mohan, a great man from the Northern Qi Dynasty. His face looked a little older, but because of his tall stature, he did not look old and weak, and his bright eyes gave people a sense of strength.

"In this battle, our Great Qi won a great victory over Southern Qing, and spread our national prestige beyond the borders. This was all thanks to the Queen's strategic planning and the soldiers' desperate fighting. This is a great achievement and deserves a reward!"

"Everyone, please raise your glasses with me to toast the Queen and the soldiers!"

Li An took a sip from the wine glass, hmm~
wine.
He turned his head and winked at Zhao Gao, and soon the cup was replaced with orange juice.
Without much delay, after a brief opening speech, the little emperor smiled at Li An and continued, "The Queen is in the center of the palace, so I can reward her privately. Then I will reward the generals and soldiers of the three armies!"

"His Majesty."

Li An smiled slightly and interrupted the emperor's words.

Queen, what are you doing? Why didn't you tell me something about this while we were playing?
Zhan Doudou's smile was a little forced: "Oh? Queen, do you have anything to say? You are the protagonist today, so feel free to say whatever you want to say."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li An stood up and looked at Wei Hua, who was in the middle of the hall, with a half-smile. He didn't care about other people's reactions and slowly said, "Your Majesty wants to increase the rewards for the three armies, and I agree with that. But I'm not in a hurry to reward those commanders."

There was no emotion or prejudice in his voice. Li An just said in a matter-of-fact way, "Ruan Yu was promoted by me. He was given the position of general in times of crisis. Although he made contributions in the counterattack against the Qing army, I have already given him the reward! This position of general!"

Seeing everyone nodding slowly, Li An continued speaking.

"The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is a new army, and I know its strengths and weaknesses. In this battle, Wei Xin was instructed by me to only train the troops. Although they worked hard, they did not achieve any merit, so I will not reward or punish them."

"As for the commander of the last group of troops, what a coincidence! He is none other than Wei Hua's second uncle, the Marquis of Chang'an!"

At this point, everyone began to hear a hint of dissatisfaction from the queen.

"Marquis Chang'an is the Queen Mother's brother, and he is trusted by Your Majesty to command the Central Army. What a favor this is! When he was fighting the Qing Army, he had help from all sides. Just when our army was winning a great victory and attacking Nanqing, he was defeated by Ye Zhong of Nanqing in three battles, causing our army to lose many soldiers and generals!"

"In my opinion, the Marquis of Chang'an has not only done nothing but has committed mistakes. How can he deserve a reward?"

"Your Majesty, this is wrong."

The new Prime Minister Zhang Shuntai gently twirled his beard and said, "The Taiyuan Road that Chang'an Hou attacked was originally the most important road for Nanqing. It has been a barrier to enemy countries since ancient times, and the people are martial and fierce. Unlike the Qing army that attacked deep into our territory from Cangzhou Road, Ye Zhong defended and waited for the enemy to tire, and he and the border army led by the enemy general Yan Xiaoyi advanced and retreated, and had both offensive and defensive capabilities. It is understandable that Chang'an Hou lost this battle!"

"Your Majesty's words of favor may be a bit too much. To completely deny the other party's contribution just because of their defeat this time may discourage the soldiers of the three armies and will not be conducive to the court's management of the border." After Zhang Shuntai said this, he immediately kept silent, as if to explain the interests involved and let everyone discuss it.

It can only be said that although Zhang Shuntai took advantage of the opportunity to become the head of all officials, he still lacked some polishing from the Queen Mother, or some twists and turns, and his thoughts and concerns were still on paper. Compared with Jin Weixian, he was also a little less shrewd.

Seeing Li An's puzzled expression, the little emperor whispered in his ear, "The candidate recommended by the Queen Mother is the new Prime Minister Zhang Shuntai."

Li An nodded slightly. He didn't even need to refute anything, naturally someone would rush to show off their achievements.

"Prime Minister, if you don't know anything about military affairs, don't talk nonsense here, it will make you a laughing stock!" At this time, a middle-aged man sitting in the front row suddenly stood up and scolded in public. He was the newly promoted Minister of War Han Wei (formerly Wang Lin), "What else are you talking about? I'm afraid it will make the soldiers of the three armies feel disappointed. Chang'an Hou is the brother of the Queen Mother and the uncle of Your Majesty, but he is such a stupid person. Looking at his previous record, he has never won a single victory! In my opinion, this is what makes the soldiers of the three armies feel disappointed!"

As he spoke, he bowed respectfully and said in a high and sincere voice: "How can a defeated general say anything else? If he didn't rely on his... Such people are really a disgrace to the Queen Mother. I ask Your Majesty to understand and order the punishment of Chang'an Marquis, remove him from his post as the commander of the Central Army, and recall him to the capital for further punishment."

"This gentleman is..."

"I dare not trouble your Majesty to ask, but I am the Minister of War, Han Wei."

"Sir Han, Marquis Chang'an has been in the military all his life. Your Majesty appointed him as the commander of the central army in order to stabilize the overall situation. How could he be appointed because of his closeness to the Queen Mother?" Everyone turned their eyes to look. Queen An's words were apparently a reprimand for Han Wei, but in fact they were also a reminder.

"I have spoken out of turn." Han Wei bowed his head and held back his anger. He had already sent out the signal that he wanted to get closer to Queen An, and the rest of the matters had nothing to do with him.

Now he has two generals of the three armies in his hands, and his purpose is self-evident. If anyone dares to disobey the other party's appointment to the position of commander of the central army, his fate will be the same as that of the former prime minister, and he will be burned to death in the fire!
As the nominal Minister of War, he has no real power and is just a puppet. Only by putting himself in the right position can he achieve long-term success.

A smart man.
Han Wei?
Li An remembered this person in his heart: "I don't care how the Marquis of Chang'an got to that position before, but the army is the courage of the empire and the most important weapon of the country. Since ancient times, the capable have been promoted and the weak have been demoted. We only look at the results and don't ask right or wrong. I am not targeting military generals, the same applies to civil officials!"

"With the instructions of your Majesty and the Queen Mother, in this dangerous and volatile situation, from now on, the court will employ people according to their talents, and those who occupy positions without doing any work should be swept into the dustbin of history." Li An started talking nonsense. Although they were all his own ideas, he had the confidence because he had military force in his hands, so he could say whatever he wanted.

"Regarding Marquis Chang'an's opinion, let's follow the previous agreement and call him back to the court. Your Majesty will decide on the selection of the commander of the central army."

After that, Li An looked Wei Hua straight in the eyes and said, "I don't like fathers, sons, uncles, and nephews serving in the same court. You can figure out the real reason yourself. It's not like Da Qi doesn't have other people to use, so why should we let everyone in the prefecture work so hard?"

This basically wiped out the whole thing. If they really did what the Queen said, who knows how many people in the court would have to be dismissed and how many positions would have to be vacated!
Only in such a great victory situation as today can such drastic reforms be carried out.

There is also the power of Grandmaster Li An to suppress it. Otherwise, the court would probably stop immediately because of the great disturbance.
After hearing this, some people nodded or twirled their beards, while others disagreed. These people were not involved in many interests, so they could remain calm. On the other hand, the others were anxious.

"Wei Hua understands what the Queen meant, and will keep it in mind from now on!"

Nepotism is not acceptable. If one really has talent, it would be fine. But now it is a feudal dynasty. Take the father and son Fan Jian and Fan Xian of Qing as an example. One of them is extremely capable and can manage the country's purse well, and never disappoints Emperor Qing; the other is very intelligent and can get started with all kinds of affairs very quickly.

But even such talented people cannot avoid being partial to their families and damaging the national strength.

Everyone has selfish motives.
This shows how important it is to the development of a company to eliminate some office father-son culture.

"Today's banquet is for me to welcome you back. This celebration and rewarding of the army is a happy occasion, but I think it is too monotonous! Why not do something more to have a double happiness? In this case, I will boldly suggest to your majesty to change the theme of this banquet."

Every time Li An'er appears, the banquet is never a good one!
Everyone could not help but frown. They all knew that the queen would either remain silent and act like a statue, or she would arrange a series of measures to make things go as planned.
However, no one can tell whether the impact of this next move is good or bad.

His Majesty the Emperor seemed not to notice the undercurrent in the situation. He just smiled and agreed.

Unexpectedly, Li An's next words instantly ignited the atmosphere, and even the slightest attempt to cover it up could not be done: "All the people of Uesugi Tiger, please stand up! This time on the battlefield, I heard and saw many people colluding with Uesugi Tiger and Chen Pingping, collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country. They deserve death! Those who are connected with them are guilty of the same crime."

Prior to this, there were representatives who spoke on behalf of Uesugi Tora in the court.

Since Prince Gong was able to support the other party with food and military supplies during his lifetime, he must have had remnants in the court who could be used for communication and mediation. All of these people were the criminals mentioned above!
Although they won't get drunk today, the ministers in the hall would rather get drunk. Even Zhuang Mohan, who had been silent, wanted to say something. This was not a dismissal or anything else. It was the same crime as Uesugi Tora, and it meant execution!

Inexplicably, he felt a vague sense of uneasiness in his heart.
Seeing that the sidelines were gradually getting noisy, but no one was moving, Li An asked curiously, "Why? Do you want me to invite everyone one by one?"

"Where are Jinyiwei Shen Zhong, Dongchang Cao Zhengchun, and Xichang Yu Huatian? Tell us how those related people colluded with each other, formed a clique for personal gain, and brought disaster to the court. By the way, tell the ministers about the former Minister of Revenue Zhou Jing!"

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are called for.

The three of them stepped out quickly, and it was Shen Zhong who spoke up and narrated what had happened.

These are the things they investigated and they are based on empirical evidence. Only a small part of them were fabricated by themselves. In this way, they can be considered rare good officials, and they can be said to be fair and strict!

During the entire banquet, everyone listened carefully, fearing that they would miss out on information related to themselves, and they were all a little annoyed.

For a moment, the whole place was silent, with only the heavy voice that never stopped.

After a long while, when everyone was digesting the information, the people from the East and West Factory Guards had already captured the people who had just been read out, and took them to the center of the place to kneel and wait for their fate.

Judging from the expressions on their faces, the three violent intelligence agencies had been quite careful in their work and had not alerted the enemy. Before their names were read out, they had not yet sensed any danger and had not made any preparations to deal with it.
Or maybe they believed deep down that the royal family would not act so rashly.

You know, some people represent not only themselves, but also countless wealthy families and local forces behind them! How dare this queen!

Did she think that as a grandmaster she alone could govern such a vast territory?
The emperor and the scholar-officials rule the country together. Outside the capital, isn't it still relying on them that the country can run harmoniously and the people can live and work in peace and contentment?

None of the people kneeling on the ground begged for mercy, because they still didn't believe that the queen would dare to kill everyone. At most, she would just replace them, but there would be another "self" in the family to take over their position and serve as an official in the court!
Their family will continue to prosper!
Therefore, everyone stared at Li An with red eyes, waiting for her to be in a dilemma.
In fact, what they thought is not unreasonable.

The Northern Qi dynasty was descended from the Wei dynasty, and there were many old family forces, many of which were inherited from the previous dynasty and had been operating for a long time. The various ethnic groups had intermarried with each other for many years, and they had long been entangled with each other. The intricate connections had an invisible impact on the entire Northern Qi dynasty.

If they were removed abruptly, not to mention how many people would lose their livelihoods and become hidden dangers, the operation of the entire court would instantly come to a standstill.
"I like the look in your eyes."

“They are all fearless people!”

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(End of this chapter)