Li Zhaode walked out of the Myriad Divine Palace and straightened his back, feeling a deep weariness. Compared to those old Prime Ministers who were easily in their seventies or eighties, the sixty-something-year-old Li Zhaode could be considered a man in the prime of his life, but with the entire world pressing down on his shoulders, he still felt somewhat powerless.
Many matters were discussed in today's court session, but the first matter was particularly important. This was the achievement that Wu Zetian was most proud of: the recovery of the Four Garrisons of Anxi.
This achievement was her, the most glorious achievement of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. Thus, Wu Zetian had not been stingy in publicizing it and rewarding it. The hundred-some civil and military officials who had participated in the recovery of the Four Garrisons of Anxi had all been rewarded. Commander-in-Chief Wang Xiaojie had been promoted from Great General of the Left Guard, promoted to Minister of Xia, a third-rank official of the Phoenix Pavilion, and promoted to Prime Minister.
Wang Xiaojie had made such a great achievement that his promotion to Prime Minister was inevitable. Li Zhaode would not stop him, nor did he need to. Wang Xiaojie's title of Prime Minister was the same as Lou Shide's. It was only an honorary title that would not divide his authority.
Power was something that could make one feel like they were walking on clouds. Good food and silk clothes could not compare, children and grandchildren could not compare, beautiful women could not compare, and a long life of a hundred years could not compare. It was the greatest temptation in the world. For the sake of power, the Empress could even kill her own children and grandchildren, her own flesh and blood. He was only dragging his old body, working a little harder and getting a little more tired. What did this count for?
The second matter discussed in today's court session could be said to be the icing on the cake of the first: the completion of the Heavenly Pivot!
The Heavenly Pivot was erected at the Duanmen Gate of the Imperial City, consuming two years' worth of the entire nation's steel production. The Heavenly Pivot was one hundred and five feet tall, with eight sides, each side five feet in diameter. Beneath the Heavenly Pivot was an iron mountain, one hundred and seventy feet in circumference and two zhang tall. Copper coiled dragons coiled around it, with a Qilin coiling around it. At the top was a cloud-bearing plate, three zhang in diameter, and four dragons holding fire pearls, one zhang tall.
On the "Tian Shu" were engraved the names of the civil and military officials and the chieftains of the Four Barbarians, as well as the inscription that recorded the achievements of Wu Zetian in appointing Wu Lizhou. There was also a line of words written by Wu Zetian, "Praise Tian Shu of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
The completion of Tianshu coincided with Wang Xiaojie's return to the imperial court, and Wu Zetian wantonly rewarded the meritorious officials, so the inscription recording Wu Zetian's achievements was even more convincing. Therefore, Wu Zetian cherished this opportunity to publicize her achievements very much, and ordered the civil and military officials to discuss a grand celebration ceremony.
Now, Li Zhaode could make decisions on important matters in the imperial court with a single word. The so-called discussion among the officials was completely planned by him alone. In order to make this grand ceremony look awe-inspiring and dignified, Li Zhaode racked his brains and finally satisfied the Empress. Of course, this matter also consumed a lot of his energy.
There was another matter that did not seem to match the festive atmosphere, because the third matter was about killing people, people from the Imperial Censorate. Originally, there were ministers who suggested delaying the execution. Seeing blood on such a joyous occasion was not very auspicious.
But Wu Zetian herself objected. She had stepped over countless corpses and waded out of a sea of blood. Why would she care about killing people? In her view, killing people added a bit of solemnity to this grand ceremony. Compared to the hundred-some officials who had recovered Anxi being rewarded, it made her seem even more impartial in her rewards and punishments.
Since the Empress herself did not care, Li Zhaode naturally followed her advice. Moreover, he had long since wanted to execute those ruthless officials from the Imperial Censorate as soon as possible. A long night was fraught with trouble. Ever since Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, the situation in the imperial court had become even more unpredictable. It was safer to kill these people as soon as possible.
As a result, the last item in the imperial court was to announce the crimes of the ruthless officials from the Imperial Censorate and publicly execute them.
Huang Jingrong and Liu Guangye had already died in the southern border, so they were only relieved of their official positions. The others, such as Wan Guojun, Wu Rang, Zhao Jiulong, and Wang Deshou, were all executed.
The once-glorious Imperial Censorate, which even the Prime Ministers of the Political Affairs Hall feared like snakes and scorpions, was thus wiped out in one fell swoop. All the civil and military officials of the imperial court celebrated. It was as if … the cruel politics of the Wu and Zhou dynasties had come to an end with the deaths of these people.
The criminals were paraded through the streets and then dragged to the three cities of the North, South, and East for public executions. They were also abandoned for three days.
The execution grounds of the North City were crowded with people.
Most of those who had been persecuted by the Imperial Censorate were from the families of officials. Even though the ruthless officials of the Imperial Censorate had been executed for extorting the barbarians of the southern border and framing the vagabonds, and their crimes would not be vindicated, some of their family members, relatives, and friends in the capital still surrounded the execution grounds and set up incense tables. They lit incense sticks and burned paper money, waiting for the moment their heads fell to the ground to console the souls of their deceased loved ones in heaven.
Among the many incense tables of various sizes set up for the wronged relatives, there was a small and unremarkable incense table. A boy and a girl, dressed in mourning clothes, were kneeling in front of the memorial tablets. They were the son and daughter of the Panzhou Provincial Governor Feng Junheng, Feng Yuanyi and his older sister, Feng Min 'er.
Feng Min 'er had originally been imprisoned in the Musical House and served as an official slave. Now that Feng Junheng's case had been vindicated, she was released. She was also taken by Yang Fan and temporarily placed in his home. Today, the imperial court publicly executed a group of ruthless officials. The two siblings also came to the execution grounds and set up incense tables for their loved ones.
The execution grounds were very quiet. Not a single sound could be heard. Even the cold and stern voice of the executioner could be heard clearly by everyone present. When the executioner raised the executioner's saber high, the entire place was even more silent. It was as if one could hear a pin drop to the ground.
The saber rose and fell. A cold light brought a rain of blood!
As the saber fell and the rain of blood rose, it was as if the gates of hell had been opened on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Shrill and horrible cries quickly filled the entire place. Countless people burst into tears and wailed. They were not crying for the ruthless officials who had been executed, but for their dead relatives. "The enemy has finally been beheaded!"
In the loud wails, they worshiped the deceased and cursed the ruthless officials. Naturally, they also mentioned Yang Fan. If Yang Fan hadn't risked his life, how could the enemy have been beheaded, and how could their relatives rest in peace? However, when they set up the memorial tablets and kowtowed to their benefactor, they didn't expect that Yang Fan was standing among them.
Dressed in black, Yang Fan stood behind Feng Yuanyi and his younger brother. When the two of them offered incense and worshiped their deceased father, and fell to the ground and wept bitterly, Yang Fan sighed softly, stepped forward, poured a cup of wine, and poured it gently in front of Feng Junheng's memorial tablet. Then, he turned around to help Feng Yuanyi and his younger brother up, saying in a low voice, "The dead are gone. Now that the enemy has been beheaded, your father can also rest in peace. Don't be too sad!"
"Big Brother Yang!"
Feng Yuanyi threw himself into Yang Fan's arms and cried loudly. Yang Fan gently patted his shoulder and comforted Feng Miner, who was wiping away her tears, saying, "Now that your father has been rehabilitated, you have regained your freedom. In a few days, I will send a carriage to send you back to Lingnan! "
When Feng Yuanyi, who was crying bitterly on Yang Fan's shoulder, heard this, he opened his mouth to speak, but then he saw his father's memorial tablet. In front of his father's memorial tablet, how could he bear to speak of his plans and cause his deceased father's spirit in heaven to suffer? The words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back …
…
Li Zhaode returned to the Political Affairs Hall. There were two tall stacks of documents waiting for him.
Li Zhaode had been standing in the Imperial Court for the entire morning. His heels were aching, so he ordered a young servant to fetch a bucket of hot water, took off his official boots, and put his feet into the bucket of hot water. Only then did he heave a long sigh of relief.
Although there were many documents on the table, he did not feel bored at all. On the contrary, when he saw the high stacks of documents, he felt an inexplicable excitement in his heart. Every document was a piece of power. Perhaps it was someone who had performed meritorious deeds and should be promoted, or someone who had broken the law and should be severely punished, or a place that had suffered a disaster and should be allocated money for disaster relief, or a place that needed to be allocated funds for infrastructure construction. Everything was decided by him.
There were medicinal herbs in the water, which seeped into his skin along with the hot water, activating his blood vessels. As he read through the memorials, his mind was also floating, and he felt a strange sense of pleasure.
"Diligent in politics, daring to take on tasks. He is my right-hand man, and cannot be separated from me even for a moment!" This was the Empress's evaluation of him.
He did not know how many documents he had read, but Li Zhaode's presbyopia eyes were already filled with tears, and his old waist was so sore that it was about to break. He had to put down the documents regretfully, and asked a young servant to bring a wet towel to wipe his face. He pulled his feet out of the already cold wooden bucket, put on a pair of high tooth clogs, and wanted to go behind the screen to let the young servant massage his shoulders and back.
As soon as Li Zhaode got up, a young servant walked in lightly, bent down, and reported, "Prime Minister Li, the new Imperial Officer, Yang Fan, wants to see you!"
"Oh?"
Li Zhaode was not moved at all, as if he had already known that Yang Fan would come. He walked behind the screen as usual, and lightly ordered, "Let him in!"
Yang Fan followed the young servant into the Political Affairs Hall, but did not see Li Zhaode. Yang Fan slightly raised his eyebrows, and the young servant did not stop walking. He walked to the side of the screen, looked back at him, and gestured for him to follow.
Yang Fan smiled knowingly, and stepped forward to follow. He walked around the screen, and saw a space surrounded by a painted screen, with a bed in the middle, and a stick of sandalwood burning at the head of the bed. Li Zhaode had loosened his official robe, and his feet were bare. He was only wearing a snow-white shirt, and he was lying on the bed. A young eunuch was skillfully massaging him.
Li Zhaode's chin was resting on the back of his hand, and his eyes were closed. He did not open his eyes even when he heard Yang Fan come in.
Yang Fan stood still, and made a deep bow to him, "I am Yang Fan, greeting Prime Minister Li."
Li Zhaode closed his eyes, and said, "Oh! I wanted to invite Erlang to my residence for a banquet yesterday, and unexpectedly your teacher also held a banquet to welcome you. Today I am busy with work, and have no time to drink. I was planning to invite Erlang tomorrow, why are you here now? "
Yang Fan smiled politely, and said, "I am not worthy of Prime Minister Li's invitation. I just returned to the capital yesterday, and after seeing His Majesty, I wanted to visit Prime Minister Li. Unexpectedly, my teacher has not seen Yang Fan for a long time, and in his joy, he has already held a banquet at the Drunken Golden Hairpin, so I delayed my visit until today."
"Haha …"
Li Zhaode laughed loudly, opened his eyes, and looked at Yang Fan with a smile, and said, "Erlang has returned to the capital this time, and has been promoted to Heavenly Official Doctor, and has the right to know Heavenly Official Assistant Minister. Congratulations!"
When Yang Fan heard this, his face immediately turned bitter. "This lowly official's words carry little weight. As a new official, I have no foundation to speak of. This small bamboo raft has to be weighed down with a heavy burden. This lowly official is worried that … it will sink!"
Li Zhaode raised his white eyebrows, and glanced at him with interest, "Even the cruel officials of the Imperial Censorate, who are feared by all the civil and military officials like snakes and scorpions, Erlang is not afraid, why … is it difficult to be Heavenly Official Assistant Minister?"
Yang Fan shook his head, and smiled nervously, and shook with grievance, "The sharp teeth and claws of those cruel officials of the Imperial Censorate can be seen, and can be felt, and cannot be considered powerful. But the position of Heavenly Official Doctor is different, especially in this Southern Border official selection storm, the undercurrent is turbulent, dangerous and unusual, one careless mistake and one's body will be smashed to pieces. If not for Prime Minister Li's protection, how would I dare to be the one who rides the waves? "
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