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

From the Danbi steps downwards, there are seats on both the left and right, totaling about fifty seats.

These fifty seats, which are the main hall seats, are occupied by officials who are almost all high-ranking officials of the third rank or above, wearing purple robes.

This time, the emperor specially arranged a royal banquet, mainly to welcome back the meritorious officials who had contributed to the expansion of the territory.

Therefore, extra seats were specially added to the main hall to accommodate more than twenty officials in charge of expanding the territory.

About ten steps to the left and right of the seat in the main hall, there are several open doors, leading to two corridors.

There are many seats here, namely the seats in the two corridors.

The officials seated in the two corridors were almost all of the fourth or fifth rank, with the occasional sixth-rank official also allowed to sit down.

As the newly appointed Duke of Lu, and holding the titles of Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Xihe Road, Pacification Commissioner, and Grand Master of the Silver Seal, Jiang Zhao is already a high-ranking official of the third rank.

In addition, he was a key figure in expanding the territory.

Without a doubt, Jiang Zhao was seated in the main hall, and very close to the front.

Holding bamboo chopsticks, Jiang Zhao glanced at the rice, boiled rice, stir-fried meat, steamed meat, and flatbread in the silver bowl, picked up a few bites of food, and inadvertently raised his eyebrows.

Six years have passed, and the Imperial Banquet still hasn't made much progress!

The government is in a terrible state!

This life is probably not as comfortable as that of some ministers.

"Jiang Qing."

On the dragon throne, Emperor Zhao Zhen raised his wine cup.

Jiang Zhao quickly put down his chopsticks and raised his glass in a toast.

Zhao Zhen laughed heartily and drank it all in one gulp.

"Han Qing."

After drinking one cup, Zhao Zhen poured more wine and raised his cup to look at the head of all the officials.

"Your Majesty, please."

Han Zhang raised his cup and respectfully drank it.

After a few cups of wine, Zhao Zhen raised his cup, looked at the civil and military officials, and said, "Gentlemen."

"Your Majesty!"

All the civil and military officials raised their glasses in unison.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhao Zhen looked down.

"All civil and military officials may drink to their heart's content."

The implication is that it is appropriate to move around.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

All the officials praised it in unison.

However, that's what they say.

The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, but the officials were not very relaxed and hardly anyone moved around.

Zhao Zhen knew that his ministers were not very relaxed, so he made an excuse and said, "I still have memorials to deal with. All officials may enjoy the banquet to their heart's content."

Upon hearing this, all the officials rose in unison and bowed, saying:

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Zhao Zhen nodded, stood up, and strode away.

In fact, he had to leave early for almost 70% of the imperial banquets.

At any imperial banquet, if the emperor stays too long, the officials will inevitably become timid and hesitant.

There is nothing we can do about this.

Between the emperor and his ministers, someone has to suffer a little.

As soon as the emperor left, the atmosphere inside the Chuigong Hall immediately became more relaxed.

"Young Grand Secretary! This expansion of territory is truly a feat that will go down in history!"

Ouyang Xiu, the Minister of Justice, came over with a cup in hand.

Jiang Zhao raised his glass: "Minister Ouyang, you're too kind, please!"

"please!"

After they finished speaking, the two drank together.

"Presidential Envoy, please."

Zeng Gongliang, the Minister of Personnel, walked over and raised his cup.

"please."

Jiang Zhao drank another cup.

"The Pacification Commissioner's expansion of territory into seven prefectures is truly a great achievement!" Zeng Gongliang exclaimed.

Jiang Zhao sighed and shook his head, saying, "I never imagined that we would expand our territory to seven states. In this process, the right timing, the right location, and the right people were all indispensable."

"If Tibet does not split and Western Xia does not fall into internal strife, then there will be no opportune moment. If we cannot seize Hezhou in one fell swoop, then we will lose our geographical advantage. Without the support of the emperor and the officials in the court, we will probably face great difficulties."

Upon hearing this, many officials looked towards Jiang Zhao.

Although Jiang Zhao's words were somewhat modest, they were indeed pleasing to the ear.

"Zichuan, it's been three years!" Wang Yaochen, the Minister of Rites, walked over and laughed heartily.

Because they were acquaintances from the same department, the two spoke to each other without any awkwardness.

"Come on!" Jiang Zhao smiled gently and raised his glass.

"Ha ha!"

Wang Yaochen raised his glass, and the two drank it down together.

"Pacification Commissioner"

"Zichuan."

Gu Yankai and his son Gu Tingye arrived together.

The father and son had considerable conflicts.

There was a father and son, but the father did not know the son, and the son did not know the father.

However, perhaps seeing his son's success, Gu Yankai's temper improved considerably.

The relationship between the father and son has improved considerably.

Jiang Zhao raised his glass again.

As a result, many civil and military officials stepped forward to offer toasts.

They drank thirty or forty cups of wine before the toasting finally ended.

Of the thirty or forty people offering toasts, apart from Zhang Heng, Gu Tingye, and Wang Shao, who were fifth-rank officials, the rest were all purple-robed officials of the third rank or above.

In fact, given Jiang Zhao's status, there were far more than just thirty or forty people who wanted to toast him.

Toasting is something that happens between people of the same rank, or between a lower-ranking official and a higher-ranking official.

In theory, any court official attending the banquet was entitled to toast him.

However, there are appropriate times for offering a toast.

At this moment, those offering toasts were almost all high-ranking officials in purple robes.

It would be inappropriate for an official of the fourth or fifth rank to offer a toast.

Furthermore, Jiang Zhao has already drunk thirty or forty cups, so offering another toast might not be a toast at all, but could turn into "urging him to drink".

When offering a toast, you can respond with a lower toast to a higher one; however, when urging someone to drink, you should not respond with a lower toast to a higher one.

Now, Jiang Zhao has been granted the title of Duke of Lu and holds military and political power over a region.

There are very few people who are qualified to offer him a drink on their own!

As a result, officials of the fourth or fifth rank naturally dared not step forward, for fear of offending someone.

"teacher."

Jiang Zhao raised his glass and looked at the old man on his left.

The master and apprentice exchanged a glance and drank the wine in one gulp.

Seated in the two corridors, Sheng Hong was frequently offered wine, his cheeks flushing slightly.

He glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and saw that Jiang Zhao was also looking at him.

"father in law!"

Jiang Zhao calmly raised his glass.

Sheng Hong was overjoyed and flattered, and quickly raised his glass.

The father-in-law and son-in-law drank together from a distance.

Jiang Mansion.

Incense sticks are inserted into the incense burner, and the fragrance of sandalwood wafts out.

A wooden table was placed in the main hall. Sheng Hualan bathed and changed her clothes, perfumed her attire, and knelt in devout worship.

"Jiang's wife, Sheng, is virtuous and gentle, with graceful and beautiful appearance. Her virtues are pure and fragrant, her wisdom flows like a river, her kindness is natural, and her benevolence and filial piety are innate. Now, she is granted official robes and specially appointed as the Lady of Nanyang County, and given a phoenix and golden hairpin. The master of ceremonies shall carry out this decree."

what?

Sheng Hualan was stunned.

Lady of the County?

Without a second thought, she quickly bowed deeply, saying, "I am deeply grateful and thank you for your imperial grace!"

As soon as the eunuch left, Sheng Hualan looked at the imperial edict in her hand and let out a long sigh.

During the Zhou Dynasty, imperial edicts were divided into seven ranks.

Lady of the State, Lady of the County, Virtuous Lady, Respectful Lady, Suitable Lady, Peaceful Lady, and Lady of Filial Piety.

From highest to lowest rank, they are First Rank Lady, Second Rank Lady, and Seventh Rank Lady.

Theoretically speaking, a seventh-rank official was qualified to request an imperial decree for his wife.

However, theory is theory, and practice is practice.

Objectively speaking, imperial decrees were never something to be sought, but rather bestowed by the emperor on his own initiative.

Therefore, it is said to be a seventh-rank imperial decree.

In reality, regardless of whether one is a civil or military official, without wearing a purple robe, it is almost impossible to earn an imperial title and honor for one's wife.

For women, receiving an imperial decree is the most important pursuit in their lives.

Now, she has actually been granted the title of Second-Rank County Lady!

This is something that neither my grandmother nor my mother had!

"Oh my God!"

The debt of gratitude I owe you, sir, can never be repaid!

……

Chapter 96 My Wife, You Smell So Good!

The sky was ablaze with color as the sun set behind the western mountains.

The celebration banquet lasted for nearly three hours.