Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 11: All officials go to the palace and the court meeting begins

On November 15th, the weather was even colder, with dark clouds hanging low. The sound of the evening drum at Danfeng Gate was not as loud as usual.

It was already mid-morning, and the sky was still dark, as if it was about to rain or snow.

The ministers had already gathered in groups of three or four outside Danfeng Gate.

At first glance, the ministers seemed to be standing in a messy manner, but when looking down from the sky, you can find that the court officials are standing in three groups.

There are clear boundaries between each other.

One group was headed by the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong, and his followers included the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Li Yifu, the Imperial Censor Cui Yixuan, and the Chief Censor Yuan Gongyu.

There are not many officials like these, and they form a small circle of their own, all of whom support the removal of Wang Liwu.

Now that Empress Wu has come to the throne, they are all very proud and smiling, as if a bright future is beckoning to them.

The other group was headed by Prime Minister Han Ai. They were the group that opposed the abolition of Wang Liwu. The boss behind the scenes was Zhangsun Wuji. Although there were many of them, most of them had gloomy and depressed expressions.

Many people looked at Xu Jingzong and others viciously, as if the assassination of Changsun Wuji last night was related to them.

The last group was composed of officials headed by Sikong Li Ji, Zhongshu Ling Yu Zhining, and Bingbu Shangshu Cui Dunli.

They supported the emperor's decision, but were unwilling to mingle with Xu Jingzong and others, so they formed their own faction.

Pei Xingjian crossed the side street and came to the outside of the palace gate. He looked around and found that many officials from aristocratic factions were staring at him coldly.

This is no wonder. He was never liked by the aristocratic families, and was even driven out of the mansion by Changsun Wuji last night.

Some people already regarded him as Empress Wu's lackey.

Pei Xingjian hesitated for a moment, then walked towards where Li Ji and others were, but he didn't dare to get too close, so he stood alone on the side.

Although he was only a fifth-rank county magistrate, he was quite famous in Chang'an City. In particular, Li Ji and Su Dingfang both spoke highly of him, making him very popular among military generals.

When Li Ji saw him, he took the initiative to walk over, cupped his hands, and said with a smile: "Shouyue, why do you look a little unwell? Did you sleep well last night?"

Pei Xingjian folded his hands over his chest, pushed them forward, and made a solemn bow. He said, "Greetings, Li Sikong. I studied late and didn't get enough sleep last night."

Li Ji narrowed his eyes and asked, "Shou Yue, has Su Lie ever written you a letter?"

Su Lie is Su Dingfang. He is actually not much younger than Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin, but he became successful too late, so he is a junior in the army.

Pei Xingjian knew very well that Li Ji was not asking about Su Dingfang, but the army that Su Dingfang was on the Western Expedition.

"I haven't received any letter from Mr. Su." He whispered.

Li Ji said calmly, "If he wrote to you, please ask him why the army is marching so slowly."

Li Ji did not have a good relationship with Cheng Zhijie. He did not ask Cheng Zhijie, but asked Su Dingfang. It was obvious that he regarded Su Dingfang as the main force of this expedition.

Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "I'll remember this."

At this moment, a series of three drum beats sounded, which was the drum sound to announce the time to go to court.

Imperial Censor Cui Yixuan walked to the door and shouted to everyone, "The time has come, enter the court."

The officials lined up and, led by Cui Yixuan, passed through the Danfeng Gate and the Imperial Bridge, bypassed the Taiji Hall, and came to the corridors of the Liangyi Hall to line up.

Officials below the fifth rank stood at the bottom of the steps and could not enter the hall. Officials above the fifth rank stood on the two steps, and the captain in charge of the gate held a "gate register" and called out the names of the officials.

The censors stood aside, staring with their big eyes, carefully scanning the dress of each official to see if anyone was violating etiquette.

After the roll call was finished, the officials entered the hall in order according to their ranks.

The Liangyi Hall is magnificent and spacious, and is equipped with ceremonial items such as the imperial curtain, mats, incense burners, and incense tables.

Because court meetings often lasted for several hours, when the court was in session, all officials sat on mats to listen to the court, and only stood up to answer questions when they needed to step out of the line.

After a while, the officials took their seats in the hall.

Only one eunuch could be heard singing loudly: "The Saint has arrived."

Li Zhi entered the hall surrounded by eunuchs and guards.

Today he was wearing a bright yellow round robe and a Tongtian crown, looking very energetic.

Looking at the officials lined up neatly below, he felt a little more nervous. He quickly walked up to the throne and sat down on it.

The Qianniu Guards spread out in a line and stood on both sides of the throne. They wore flat turbans on their heads, their hands on the hilts of their swords, and wore armor with high-toed shoes. Their demeanor was dignified, showing the royal style.

Xue Rengui was in charge and stood next to the throne. If there was any accident, he could stand in front of the emperor as quickly as possible.

In addition to the Qianniu Guards, there were also thirty-six Jinwu Guards standing in the corners of the court. They were called the imperial guards.

The ceremonial officer stepped out and chanted, "Step forward!"

All the officials came out at the same time.

The ceremonial officer sang: "Take off your shoes."

The officials began to take off their shoes.

The ceremonial officer sang: "Bow down." All the officials knelt on their knees and prostrated themselves on the ground.

The ceremonial officer sings: "Xing."

The officials stood up.

The ceremonial officer sang: "Bow again."

The officials bowed again and performed two kowtows.

Li Zhi looked down at the dozens of officials below and felt a sense of emotion.

When he was in the inner court of the imperial palace, although he knew that he was the emperor, he did not actually feel it very much. It was not until he accepted the homage of all the officials that he clearly felt the weight of the power in his hands.

With the court meeting approaching, many new memories emerged in his mind.

The central decision-making system of the Tang Dynasty was known as the Three Provinces and Six Departments system.

The three ministries are the Secretariat, the Ministry of Palace Affairs, and the Ministry of State Affairs, and the six ministries are the six ministries of the Ministry of State Affairs.

All the policies of the Tang Empire came from the Secretariat.

According to the process, six Zhongshu Sheren were responsible for drafting imperial edicts, which were then handed over to Zhongshu Ling and Zhongshu Shilang for review and revision, and then sent to Menxia Province for review and approval.

Only after it is approved by the Menxia Province will it be sent to the emperor's desk for approval. After the emperor's approval, it will be sent to the Shangshu Province and the six ministries for execution.

Therefore, even if the emperor wanted to issue an edict, it had to be sent to the Secretariat for drafting and then to the Ministry of Personnel for review before it could be approved.

If the prime ministers disagree, they can reject it. Of course, the emperor also has the right to dismiss the prime minister who disagrees with him.

When Li Zhi first ascended the throne, Zhangsun Wuji controlled both the Zhongshu and Menxia ministries, and he also had people in the Shangshu Ministry. His power was almost the same as that of the emperor.

In addition, this process has two disadvantages that are prone to occur.

First, if the prime minister of the Secretariat and the prime minister of the Ministry of Personnel are not in harmony, they will fall into an internal cycle of issuing edicts, rejecting them, issuing edicts, and rejecting them, and government orders will not reach the Ministry of State Affairs.

In order to solve this problem, the Secretariat established a Political Affairs Hall.

All the prime ministers and vice-chancellors gathered together, explained their concerns to each other, reached a consensus, and then issued the edict without any obstruction.

The second problem was that the prime minister had a dispute with the emperor.

For example, the edict passed by both provinces was not to the emperor's liking and was rejected by the emperor, but they did not know why it was rejected, so there was a court meeting.

The court meeting was an enlarged version of the government affairs hall, where the ministers would have in-depth discussions with the emperor and express their ideas to each other.

Only in this way can consensus be reached and government orders be implemented.

Therefore, court meetings are of great importance. An emperor who often does not attend court meetings can easily be exploited by treacherous ministers and think that the world is at peace, but in fact his vision and hearing are blocked.

"The spring night is short and the sun rises high. From now on, the emperor no longer attends court early." This refers to the fact that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was addicted to beauty in his later years and was unwilling to attend court, which was why he was ridiculed by Bai Juyi.

On the other hand, as long as the issues are unanimously approved at the court meeting, they will go through the process as quickly as possible until they are submitted to the six ministries and implemented at the local level.

The new and full moon courts are more important than the regular courts.

During court sessions, only senior officials could discuss matters with the emperor, and the emperor had no access to lower-level officials.

All officials in Beijing are allowed to attend the new moon and full moon ceremonies.

Some county leaders encountered difficult problems that they were unable to solve themselves, so they submitted memorials to the court, but their memorials were withheld by the officials in Beijing.

How to do?
They could send their second or third-in-command to Chang'an, wait for the new moon and full moon court sessions, and then inform the emperor during the court session to expose the problem.

Of course, doing this requires a certain amount of courage.

Among the officials below the fifth rank standing outside the court steps, there are many officials from prefectures and counties.

Because there are so many topics to discuss, the new and full moon meetings often last for three or four hours, from morning to afternoon.

In order to prevent officials from going hungry, Emperor Taizong of Tang established a dining area outside the corridor, allowing officials to eat in the corridor outside the palace during meetings.

When all these memories came into his mind, Li Zhi couldn't help but take a breath.

To be a good emperor, one must spend a lot of time every day sitting in meetings, and then deal with a large number of memorials and imperial edicts sent by the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel.

With such a heavy workload, anyone who is weak and sickly can easily die early.

It is no wonder that Emperor Gaozong of Tang's health was getting worse and worse. If he had suffered from rheumatism, this kind of life would have been even more torturous.

If he did not attend court and allowed the prime minister to control the government, all his previous efforts to crack down on the aristocratic families would be in vain.

That's why Emperor Gaozong of Tang left government affairs to his wife to handle. It was also a helpless move.

He probably didn't expect that his wife would be so brave and become the first female emperor in ancient and modern times.

Just as Li Zhi was sorting out his memories, Imperial Censor Cui Yixuan strode out, holding up a tablet and making a loud report.

"Your Majesty, Censor Lu Botao has been absent from court without cause. I implore Your Majesty to order his arrest and bring him to the palace to be punished for his disrespect!"

(End of this chapter)