On the day of the completion of Tianshu, the imperial court would hold a grand celebration, which had been arranged a long time ago. The whole ceremony was personally arranged by Prime Minister Li Zhaode, and the scene was very grand.
In addition to the civil and military officials, famous ministers in the capital, relatives of the emperor, and meritorious ministers, many chiefs of the four barbarians also came to congratulate.
At this moment, the towering and spectacular Tianshu stood outside the Duanmen Gate, which could be seen by the whole city. It was a pillar supporting the sky! The golden coiling dragon and the Qilin were vivid and lifelike, as if they were riding on clouds and mist, ascending the pillars. The eight large characters' Great Zhou Ten Thousand Countries Praise the Virtuous Dubhe 'were sparkling with golden light, and could be seen clearly from the bridgehead of Tianjin.
Before the emperor arrived, the Musical House had arranged beautiful girls to dress as flower-scattering fairies. They wore flower vines on their heads, red dots between their eyebrows, and tassels. Their slender waists were exposed, their navels were covered with gold powder, and their snow-white feet were bare. Although their bodies were tender and petite, they actually had a kind of charming charm.
The heavenly maidens all carried bamboo baskets filled with small silk flowers and danced gracefully while scattering flower petals all over the sky. There were also some teenagers of the Musical House, who were dressed like golden boys, holding incense burners in their hands. They were distributed throughout the celebration site, so that the entire square was filled with sandalwood.
A group of solemn eminent monks in kasayas stood orderly in front of the magnificent Tianshu, and the chanting converged into a heart-shaking airwave. Countless people in Luoyang, dressed in neat and bright clothes, came to the front of Tianshu in groups, worshiped, and then retreated to the side, watching eagerly …
Her Majesty had sent people to pull a total of ten carts of copper coins. They saw strong and strong warriors carrying boxes of copper coins up the gate tower, and the heavy money boxes bent their waists. When the ceremony was over, Her Majesty would ask people to throw down the copper coins one by one, so many people who came today were strong workers of their families.
The imperial palace was also preparing. The imperial edict of amnesty had been prepared, and the Chinese language of worshiping heaven had been written with gold powder by Shangguan Wai, which was placed on a tray covered with red silk and held by the eunuch of the ceremony.
Great General Wang Xiaojie and the other generals were all dressed in military attire, looking majestic and awe-inspiring. Kesselow and the other leaders of the various tribes were all dressed in their national costumes. For a moment, all kinds of leather hats and pheasant tails were gathered together. Feng Yuanyi ran back and forth behind Eunuch Gao, his face flushed red.
In the palace, he worked as an attendant, but this was where eunuchs should be. At least no one looked at him strangely. He didn't notice that his sister was standing among a group of women, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him. Grandmaster Ru Mei stood at the head of the group, nervously memorizing the "Ode to Virtue of All Nations" that the Empress had personally written.
Xue Huaiyi hadn't had the chance to enter the palace for a long time. As the Imperial Sorcerer, Duke, and General, he finally entered the palace on such a grand day. Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to see the Empress. He could only stand there and occasionally chat with Yang Fan. Most of the time, he just looked around impatiently.
The buzzing sound of people whispering to each other permeated the Golden Water Bridge until the Empress's carriage appeared. There were actually two imperial carriages. The civil and military officials, as well as the relatives of the royal family, all looked solemn, thinking that the Crown Prince had received an imperial carriage.
When the imperial chariots arrived in front of them, they discovered that the person sitting in the front imperial chariot was Her Majesty, who was dressed in a grand regalia, while the person sitting in the rear imperial chariot was Princess Taiping, who was dressed in a bright red peony regalia. On the left and right of the Empress's carriage were Shangguan Wai and Crown Prince Li Dan.
The officials were a little surprised at first, but then they realized: Her Highness was pregnant, so the Empress took pity on her daughter.
"Yang Fan, come closer and talk!"
There was still a while before the auspicious hour, and the palace gates hadn't opened yet. Wu Zetian's carriage had to stop here for a while.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Wu Zetian smiled and glanced at the officials. She didn't expect to see Xue Huaiyi's resentful gaze. Wu Zetian was afraid that this boorish fellow wouldn't be able to restrain himself and rush up to talk. If he said something inappropriate, it would be too embarrassing in such a grand occasion. Her gaze shifted, and she happened to see Yang Fan. Without thinking, Wu Zetian called out his name.
Yang Fan didn't expect the Empress to call out to him. He was a little surprised and hurriedly took a few steps forward. Xue Huaiyi had wanted to go forward to greet and strike up a conversation, but seeing that the Empress had summoned the officials, it wasn't appropriate to go forward. He could only stand there angrily.
Yang Fan walked to the front of Wu Zetian's carriage and cupped his hands in greeting. "Subject Yang Fan greets the Sage."
Wu Zetian was just calling out to someone in a moment of desperation. Now that he was in front of her, she didn't know what to say. She quickly changed her mind and asked with a smile, "The borders of the Southern Border is an important place for the country. A day cannot go by without a shepherd. Thus, the selection of officials in the Southern Border cannot be delayed. How is it going?"
Yang Fan crossed his hands and said, "This subject is following Her Majesty's orders and is screening people day and night. The selection will end in a few days. At that time, the list will be submitted to the Political Affairs Platform for the Prime Ministers to review!"
"Hmm …"
Wu Zetian was basically looking for trouble now. She deliberately dragged Yang Fan to speak so that her lover, who had fallen out of favor, wouldn't come forward and 'act like a spoiled child'. Hearing this, she nodded slightly and smiled. She asked, "Subject Yang, what are the criteria for the selection of officials?"
Yang Fan didn't understand why she was testing him in public. The 'Four Good' and 'Twenty-seven Best' had always been the criteria for the selection of officials in the Imperial Court. Even a lowly official could recite these regulations. Of course, he couldn't rigidly follow the regulations and say these things. He hesitated slightly and replied in a clear voice, "This subject is appointed as a Heavenly Official to select officials for Her Majesty. I abide by three principles. The first is loyalty!"
Not only were there civil and military officials, there were also relatives of the Imperial Family and the chiefs of the four barbarians. The Empress arrived and ignored everyone else. She only called Yang Fan to come forward and test him. In the hearts of the officials, they naturally had their own interpretations. They all thought that the Empress had given such an important and lucrative task like the selection of officials in the southern border to Yang Fan, which was enough to show the Empress's favor and trust in him. Now that she was testing him in public, it was probably because of the Empress's favor and trust. They were jealous and envious in their hearts, and couldn't help but listen attentively. For a moment, there was absolute silence.
Yang Fan said, "This subject believes that, as an official, the most important thing is loyalty! With loyalty, even if one's ability is slightly lacking, there won't be any big problems. On the contrary, the stronger the ability, the greater the disaster! "
These words really hit home with Wu Zetian's heart. The Empress had originally been casually testing him in order to stall for time. At this moment, she couldn't help but nod repeatedly, a joyful expression appearing on her face.
Yang Fan said, "This subject selects officials for Her Majesty, and the second criterion is talent. Her Majesty is wise and mighty, and is a rare and brilliant ruler in the golden age. All the officials and common people are loyal and devoted to Her Majesty. If you want to talk about loyal officials, they can be found everywhere. On this basis, there must be people with official reputation, political achievements, and talent! "
Wu Zetian nodded and said, "En! Then what is the third criterion? "
Yang Fan said, "There were originally officials in the southern border, and many of them were dismissed because of incompetence. Investigating the reason, it wasn't because they were disloyal to Her Majesty, nor was it because they didn't have talent. This subject carefully pondered, the reason why they didn't do their job well, was because they were completely unfamiliar with the place, and because of their temperament, they couldn't put down their pride and communicate with the local chiefs of the southern border.
Among Her Majesty's officials, there are many talented people, and there are many who are qualified to hold the position of a pastor. Therefore, this subject first selected many officials, and from these people, I chose those who have traveled extensively, have rich experience in governing, and have a candid temperament and are good with words, for Her Majesty to choose! "
Wu Zetian laughed, turned her head and asked Li Zhaode who was standing at the head of the hundreds of officials, "What does Minister Li think?"
Li Zhaode already knew that among the officials selected by Yang Fan, his people and Wu Sansi's people were divided equally, and they were the ones with the most influence. He was extremely satisfied with Yang Fan, and when he heard the Empress's inquiry, he immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Although Yang Langzhong is young, he is a capable and experienced person, this subject congratulates Her Majesty!"
Wu Zetian laughed loudly.
Li Zhaode twirled his beard with his hand. He was also immensely proud of himself. He didn't notice that because he had monopolized so many official positions and destroyed the hopes of many of his colleagues, many officials were secretly looking at him with jealousy.
When Yang Fan heard Wu Zetian and Li Zhaode talking, he knew that the memorial was over, and then he straightened his back, and when he looked up, he saw Princess Taiping. Princess Taiping was wearing a red peony robe, which made her face look extremely beautiful, but her belly was slightly protruding, and her body was slightly bloated.
Yang Fan saw her just a few days ago, and he didn't know how enchanting her slender waist was, but now she looked like this, and he didn't know what kind of messy things were hidden under her clothes, he couldn't help but feel angry and funny at the same time.
Duke Taiping saw that when he looked at him and saw his own face, he was at first absent-minded, and then his eyes fell on her belly, but revealed a slightly strange expression, as if he knew what he was thinking, he couldn't help but smile at him, and a mischievous look appeared in his eyes.
At this time, the bell and drum sounded, and the door opened wide. Wu Zetian sat up straight, and ordered, "Let's go!"
Xue Huaiyi finally waited until Li Zhaode's voice stopped, and just squeezed two steps forward, and the time for the ceremony was up, the Empress was already sitting in the imperial carriage, looking straight ahead, and passed in front of him. Xue Huaiyi stopped, and all the officials passed by him. Xue Huaiyi was in a trance, and actually didn't move.
Xue Huaiyi only brought his two favorite disciples, Hong One and Hong Six, into the palace this time. The two disciples were also wearing monastic robes, and stood in the distance. Both of them saw their master's actions, and felt sad for him. The two squeezed to Xue Huaiyi's side, and Hong One scratched his head, and said awkwardly, "Master, let's go!"
Hong Six's eyes turned, and said to Xue Huaiyi, "Master, the Empress likes crowds very much. Our White Horse Temple hasn't held a grand ceremony for a long time."
"Hmm?"
Hearing him mention the Empress, Xue Huaiyi came back to his senses, and hurriedly said, "Brat, if you have something to say, just say it, don't be so wishy-washy."
Hong Six whispered a few words into his ear, and Xue Huaiyi's gloomy expression was swept away, and he said excitedly, "Good idea! Let's go back and prepare, hehe … "
Xue Huaiyi smiled widely, and chased after the officials. Hong One hurriedly grabbed Hong Six, and asked, "Old Six, quickly tell me, what did you say to Master?"
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