After entering the Imperial Palace and arriving at the plaza in front of the Taiji Palace, Li Zexuan was greeted by a sea of people. With a cursory glance, he estimated that there were at least a thousand people. Li Zexuan was elated at the sight of this. This was because the Taiji Palace would definitely not be able to accommodate so many people. When the time came, there would be a group of officials standing outside. He could also take advantage of the chaos and fall asleep behind them.
Logically speaking, he was not at all interested in this nuisance of a court assembly. Although he had never experienced it before, he knew that it would be nothing more than Li Er leading the officials to recall how awesome their achievements were last year, reflect on their shortcomings, look forward to what breakthroughs they should make in the new year, and so on!
In any case, Li Zexuan did not like to listen to such superficial things.
"Yo! Marquis Yong 'an? What a coincidence! "
Just as Li Zexuan's eyes were darting around, a familiar voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw an old acquaintance!
"Provincial Governor Wang! You've also come to Chang 'an? "
Who else could this person be but Wang Yu? Back then, Wang Renbiao's half-brother, Wang Renyi, had urged the bandits to kidnap Han Yuxi and failed. Wang Yu had personally come to Chang 'an to apologize to Li Zexuan. Now, more than half a year had passed, and Wang Yu's appearance seemed to have aged a little, with white hair at his temples.
"Haha! This old man has already arrived in Chang 'an a few days ago. Marquis Yong' an, I hope you've been well! "
Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, his face amiable.
However, his heart was not calm at all at this moment! After more than half a year, Li Zexuan had gone from being a lowly county boy to a marquis of the Great Tang. No one dared to underestimate him in court! But that was not the main point. The main point was that the Cui Clan had collapsed under Li Zexuan's secret maneuvering!
That was a thousand-year-old clan that even Wang Yu had to be careful when dealing with! But it had collapsed just like that?
Wang Yu couldn't help but secretly rejoice at his decision back then. If he had completely fallen out with Li Zexuan because of Wang Renyi, then before the Cui Clan fell, wouldn't their Wang Clan have fallen first?
After hearing the news from Chang 'an, Wang Yu could not help but break out in a cold sweat every time he thought of this. Logically speaking, during the annual Yuan-Ri imperial court meeting, there was no rigid rule that required the provincial governors of each province to personally come to the capital. They only needed to send their adjutants.
However, Wang Yu had chosen to come personally for two reasons. On one hand, he wanted to use his wife, Princess Tong 'an, to further strengthen his relationship with the imperial family. On the other hand, he wanted to use Wang Renbiao to deepen the friendship between the two families with Li Zexuan.
Wang Yu had no reason to make an enemy out of a young man with such strength at such an age!
Since you can't be enemies with some people, then you can be friends with them!
Unlike the other arrogant aristocratic families, Wang Yu understood the Wang Clan's current situation very well. As such, he was always able to make the right choice.
"Haha! I wonder if Governor Wang is still doing well in Sui Province? "
As the saying goes, don't slap a smiling face. Moreover, Li Zexuan's enmity with the Wang Family had long been resolved, so there was no need for him to deliberately keep a straight face.
"Everything is good! Everything was good! Haha! I heard that tens of thousands of flowers bloomed in the sky above Cloud Mountain last night. This old man was busy with mundane matters and had no chance to see it. It's truly a pity! Next year, oh, no, it's this year's new year. If there is such a wondrous scene on Cloud Mountain, this old man will definitely make time to personally take a look! "
Wang Yu stroked his beard and said with a smile.
Li Zexuan smiled. "The doors of Cloud Mountain are always open for Governor Wang!"
As Li Zexuan lived outside the city, he was relatively late. The two of them didn't chat much before the imperial court meeting was about to begin!
At this moment, on the steps of Taiji Palace, an attendant holding a horsetail whisk stood there and shouted in a sharp voice, "The Yuan-Ri imperial court meeting begins. Civil and military officials, envoys from various countries, enter the court for an audience!"
The previously noisy Taiji Palace immediately quieted down. The officials of all levels immediately lined up according to their ranks. Under the leadership of the civil official, Sun Wuji, they carried the imperial edict and walked up the steps toward Taiji Palace.
Halfway through, Li Zexuan wanted to take advantage of the situation and sneak to the back of the line, but he was stopped by Wang Yu.
"Marquis Yong 'an, all the officials in this Yuan-Ri imperial court meeting must be positioned according to their ranks and merits. They cannot stand randomly!"
Crown Prince Zhan Shi was a third-rank official, while the founding marquis was a third-rank official. As a result, Li Zexuan directly jumped to the sixth row of civil officials. Those standing in front of him were all the old officials who founded the country!
This made Li Zexuan rather depressed. He originally wanted to catch up on sleep, but with his current position, how could he sleep! He didn't even have a place to lean on!
After greeting each other, the officials began to pay their New Year greetings to Li Er. This New Year greeting wasn't just a simple kowtow or a sentence. It had to be read out by the prime minister.
The entire greeting was long and awkward, so it had to be read out properly. Then, the various vassal towns and affiliated countries all had their own greeting, and the prime minister had to read them out one by one. Especially the greeting from the affiliated countries, it wasn't something that was difficult to understand. Many countries didn't even know how to express themselves in Chinese, so how could their greeting be smooth? It was even more difficult to read! But no matter how hard it was, it had to be read out. This was the face of the Heavenly Empire!
Li Zexuan listened in the line and felt a toothache. He couldn't help but sympathize with Zhangsun Wuji. He didn't know how many times this old man had to read the greeting to be able to smoothly read out these awkward greeting.
Actually, in the later dynasties, it wasn't as troublesome for the officials to pay their New Year greetings to the Emperor. In the Song Dynasty, after New Year's Eve, they only needed to write a 'greeting card' and hand it to the Emperor. They didn't even need to enter the palace to attend any court meetings.
After reciting for close to an hour, Li Zexuan, who was listening at the back, was about to fall asleep. Zhangsun Wuji finally finished reciting all the greetings. This old fellow's face and neck were still red in the middle of winter, as though he had just finished running ten kilometers, panting heavily!
Next, Fang Xuanling stepped forward to give a 'report on the work of the government'. He first praised the enormous achievements the Great Tang had made in the past year, such as how many rebellions had been quelled and how many bandits had been wiped out. He also mentioned how in the spring and summer of last year, there had been a small drought in the Guanzhong region, which had caused the food supply of the people to decrease. Fortunately, the wise Emperor Li Er had promptly issued a decree to reduce taxes, allowing the people to continue living.
Finally, Fang Xuanling praised the Warm Tang Foundation led by Empress Zhangsun. Due to the Warm Winter Operation initiated by the foundation, there wasn't a single person who starved or froze to death in Chang 'an and the nearby counties. Such a situation had never happened even during the era of Qin Huang and Hanwu!
In short, the first year of Zhenguan was a successful year, and also a year where the Tang Empire worked hard. This year, the treasury of the Tang Empire was filled, the people were rich, and there were more people who could read and write in the world …
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