Since the end of the Yonghui era, the yamen of the three provinces and six ministries of Liyang, big and small, had changed drastically. Senior officials such as Zhang Julu, Minister of War Gu Jiantang, and This Old Man of the Song family had either died or left the center of the capital. A group of people led by the head of the Secretariat, Qi Yanglong, had ascended to high positions in the imperial court. Among them, there were "seniors" like Chen Wang, the Left Scattered Cavalry of Menxia Province, as well as young scholars like Li Jifu, Wu Congxian, and Gao Tingshu, who had become famous in the Xiangfu Yuannian Imperial Examination, whose qualifications were far inferior to Chen Shaobao's. Tang Tieshuang and Xu Gong had also become assistant ministers. Among the old officials of the Cabinet, there were also a lot of changes. A large number of Yonghui officials, including Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun, had almost all changed their official positions. Yuan Guo, Han Lin, and Wang Xionggui had all been transferred to other places and became nominal border officials.
Among them, only Huan Wen was an anomaly. As an old official of three dynasties, no matter how the officials of the same dynasty changed, Tantanon had always been in charge of Menxia Province. Although it was rumored that he was not feeling well and had to make room for the second-in-command of the Secretariat, Zhao Youling, or Yin Maochun, the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel, to the civil and military officials of Great peace City, as long as His Majesty did not give an explicit order, Tantanon was still the dominant figure who had great influence on the entire imperial court. Even if Huan Wen really retired, as the only remaining senior official and literary leader of the Liyang Dynasty, the political affairs of Liyang would inevitably be handled by this old man who was praised as the "national treasure" by the late Emperor. No wonder the Huan family in Great peace City would tease them out of kindness.
As autumn approached this year, the Emperor asked the Imperial Household Department to carefully craft more than forty ink slabs with "Auspicious Talisman" engraved on them and gave them to the important officials. Those who received them all thought that they were treasures. Only Huan Wen received three slabs. Even Qi Yanglong, Yan Jiexi, and Chen Wang only received two slabs. Moreover, not only did Huan Wen receive this honor, but he also received an old ginseng that could be said to be the best among all the tributes in Liaodong and a jar of Chunling wine. As a result, the private discussions that speculated that Tantanon might not be able to survive the second year of the Auspicious Talisman vanished in an instant.
Following the rise of the two provinces under the Hall of Secretaries and the relocation of the Hanlin Academy to a new location, as well as the establishment of the six pavilions, a large number of important civil officials were sent out. The Zhao Family, which was originally a gathering of yamen offices, lived up to the grand occasion of "all the officials of the imperial court gathered here" in the early years.
On the first day of autumn, the Emperor specially opened the Golden Autumn Garden, which occupied the largest area and had the best scenery among the four imperial gardens, and held a grand banquet for all the officials. Before the banquet began, the young Emperor, who was quite interested, even set a new rule for Liyang to welcome autumn. He had the head eunuch of the Ceremony Directorate, Song Tanglu, bring in a pot of Chinese parasol tree that had been planted long ago. When the time came, he had Chen Wang temporarily act as the Grand Historian and loudly shout "Autumn is coming". Then, the Emperor personally plucked a piece of Chinese parasol tree leaf, implying that the Emperor represented the common people in reporting to the Heavens for autumn. In this impromptu and elegant matter that had no precedent, Chen Wang, who became the first "Reporting to the Emperor to welcome autumn" of Liyang, was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. Empress Yan Dongwu stood together with her younger brother Yan Chiji. After seeing this scene, this moving woman, who was the mother of the nation, said softly to her younger brother, "You must strive to become the person to report to the Emperor for autumn next year."
Yan Chiji, who was most afraid of being in the limelight, said with a headache, "Sister, what is there to fight about this kind of thing? Besides, I can't fight for it. With Chen Shaobao in front, next year, probably only the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, Jin Lanting, or the new Chancellor of our Hanlin Academy can take on this role. Otherwise, Song Keli, Fan Zhanghou, and the others would be more justified than me. "
Yan Dongwu glanced at the civil and military officials with different expressions. The older ones, like Qi Yanglong and Huan Wen, were, after all, old and had reached the top of the court. There was no need for them to add flowers to the brocade. Therefore, they all had an indifferent attitude towards this matter and did not want to fight with the younger generation. However, the younger generation of officials, such as Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun, were slightly different. They also did not need to fight for anything and were not suitable. However, when they looked at Chen Wang, who was a generation lower in seniority, there was still a hint of envy in their eyes. As for Gao Tingshu, Wu Congxian, and the other young people who had just made a name for themselves in the court of Liyang, all of them had burning gazes. These years, Jin Lanting, who had been successful in Great Peace City, was unperturbed. It seemed that he already saw the person to report to the Emperor for autumn next year as something in the bag.
Yan Dongwu, who now had the bearing of a phoenix, did not look sideways. She did not whisper to her beloved younger brother and said with an indifferent expression, "Your brother-in-law needs you to fight for it. However, he will not say anything to you directly. However, if you have the heart to improve, he will be very happy."
Yan Chiji sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, then I will do my best."
Yan Dongwu looked out of the corner of his eye at his father, Yan Jiexi, who was chatting happily with Wen Shouren, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Meritocracy, and the other court officials. He changed to an unquestionable tone and said, "Our father has already helped you pave the way. The six Grand Secretaries of the Hall of Martial Meritocracy, plus the six newly established Grand Secretaries of the Hall of Martial Meritocracy, these twelve people will be the most noble court officials of our dynasty in the future. You are still young and do not have enough experience. You do not have the extravagant hope that our Yan family will have two Grand Secretaries, but it will not be difficult for you to become a Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Meritocracy in ten to twenty years. Moreover, Grand Secretaries of the Hall of Martial Meritocracy are an empty title, and will not be taken away just because an official leaves the court. In addition, in a few years, if nothing unexpected happens, Father will be promoted from the Hall of Martial Meritocracy to the Hall of Martial Meritocracy.
Yan Chiji said timidly, "Sister, in the end, we are relatives. Shouldn't we avoid arousing suspicion …"
Yan Dongwu turned his head expressionlessly, but there was clearly some anger in his eyes. He directly interrupted his brother's words and said in a low voice, "Can you really not see the undercurrent in the court?! Even you, the brother-in-law, are not helping your brother-in-law. Do you want to place your hopes on those civil officials who are becoming better and better at being officials? "
Yan Chiji wanted to speak but stopped. In the end, he lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
The Emperor walked over to the side of the brother and sister. Seeing Yan Chiji's embarrassed state, he smiled and joked, "What is it, brother-in-law? Were you scolded by your sister again? Every time Grand Secretary Yan sees me and occasionally mentions you, his son, it is always difficult to hide his proud smile. Your sister, on the other hand, scolds him every time she sees him. I can't help but feel indignant for you. No matter, no matter. Since your sister is not close to you, I am very close to you, the brother-in-law. In the future, if you are wronged by your sister, feel free to come and complain to me. We can drink together to relieve our boredom. "
Yan Dongwu smiled gently and asked, "What troubles does Your Majesty have to relieve?"
The young Emperor, who had been caught red-handed, was immediately speechless. This made Yan Chiji, who was watching the fire from the other side, feel even more amused. The Emperor Zhao Zhuan reached out and pointed at his brother-in-law, who was rejoicing in his misfortune. "Ungrateful. I accidentally got into trouble because I wanted to help you."
If a normal subject heard the words' ungrateful 'from the mouth of an emperor, they would probably be scared out of their wits. It was unknown if Yan Chiji was too slow or what, but he was not nervous at all and smiled apologetically.
Although the young Emperor snorted coldly on the surface, in the depths of his heart, he was not angry at his brother-in-law's "arrogance." Instead, he felt very comfortable.
If they were not family, they would not be so casual.
Although the Emperors of the previous dynasties called themselves Emperors. Which Emperor really liked the feeling of being alone?
Yan Dongwu suddenly said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the matter of the palace serving girls cannot be delayed any longer."
Zhao Zhuan quickly laughed and then found an excuse to go find the Head of the Secretariat to discuss military matters.
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