It was New Year's Eve again.
Just as Liu Xiyi had said in his poem, "The flowers look the same every year, but the people are different every year."
Every year, the Great Xia would advance to a new level. This year, they had been promoted to the status of an imperial dynasty. It was like adding oil to a raging fire.
Some officials had already suggested calling it the 'Rule of the Divine Martial'.
What made the people even more excited was that after becoming an imperial dynasty, the imperial court did not remain content with the status quo. As soon as it was promoted, it proposed three national policies in a row. Furthermore, it had a vast heart, accepting talents from all over the world.
The Great Xia Emperor's ambition was revered by the people of the world.
With such an emperor, the Great Xia and its people were extremely fortunate!
It was nighttime, and the capital was bustling with activity. The fireworks in the night sky had not stopped since evening. Together with the countless lanterns, lanterns, and candles, the capital had become a city that never sleeps.
The people of the capital were celebrating the New Year's Eve and this rare golden age.
Royal City, Royal Palace.
The routine royal banquet was coming to an end. The banquet was bustling with noise and excitement.
A year had passed, and the members of the royal family had grown up. Whether they were in the military, the yamen, or the conglomerates, they had gradually gained a foothold and became a new force that could not be ignored.
Among the members, Ouyang Huan, who had just been appointed as the governor of Wu Province, was undoubtedly the most dazzling one.
"Your Majesty, let me propose a toast to you!"
Ouyang Huan left his seat and proposed a toast to Ouyang Shuo. Ouyang Huan knew that his appointment as the governor of Wu Province had not only caused a storm in the royal court, but even within the royal family, there were many who were jealous.
If he wanted to gain a foothold in the Great Xia, other than ability, he needed the support of His Majesty.
At this moment, Ouyang Shuo was sitting at the head of the table. On his lap was Luo 'er, who was already one and a half years old. When Ouyang Huan came over, Ouyang Shuo was peeling his precious daughter's favorite grapes for her.
Ouyang Shuo did not want to imitate the ancient emperors and talk about the mercilessness of the heavens. He did not strictly restrict Yu'er, allowing him to do as he pleased, fully respecting the nature of a child.
In order to help the two children build a foundation for cultivation, Ouyang Shuo even insisted on logging off once a day to use the pure energy of the Five Emperors Mantra to nourish the meridians of the two children.
Seeing that Ouyang Huan had arrived, Ouyang Shuo put down the grapes he had just peeled and raised his cup with a smile. "Third Uncle, Happy New Year!"
"Thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing!" Ouyang Huan was very pleased with His Majesty's respect. He knew that at this moment, there were countless pairs of eyes staring at them, whether in the open or in the dark.
The uncle and nephew took the opportunity to talk about government affairs.
At this moment, seeing that her father was chatting with her Third Grandpa and not peeling grapes for her, the little Princess Luo'er finally got angry. She pouted and her chubby little hand suddenly reached up and grabbed her father's beard.
The dignified image that Ouyang Shuo worked hard to maintain was instantly obliterated.
"Hehe, the little princess is angry. I'll leave now." Seeing that His Majesty had made a fool of himself, Ouyang Huan knew that it would not be appropriate for him to stay there and watch.
After chatting for a while, Ouyang Huan had already achieved his goal.
In fact, how could Ouyang Shuo care about such trifles? He said, "Third Uncle, take care." Then he turned around and started to coax the Little Princess, peeling grapes for her as an apology.
Speaking of the beard that was grabbed by Luo'er, there was a story behind it.
Ouyang Shuo was young, and it was not easy for him to subdue a group of civil and military officials. At least from his appearance, he was too young and did not give people a mature and steady feeling.
Because of this, Song Jia suggested that Ouyang Shuo grow a beard to make up for the age gap.
Ouyang Shuo readily followed her advice and grew a beard. Indeed, he looked much more mature. At first glance, he was no longer a hot-blooded young man who had just entered the game, but a mature uncle.
Although he was a little old-fashioned, Ouyang Shuo was still very satisfied.
After the small interlude, the whole banquet was coming to an end and everyone dispersed.
…
On the first day of the first month, there was a sacrifice to the ancestral temple as usual.
The difference was that this year, the ancestral temple had invited the ancestral tablets of the Ouyang family. The tablets of Ouyang Shuo's parents were also placed in the ancestral temple, and they were given the posthumous titles of Retired Emperor and Retired Empress.
This was also a demonstration of filial piety to the people of the world.
Following that was another long week-long holiday. During the imperial court's break, apart from paying attention to the war in Africa, Ouyang Shuo put aside all government affairs and focused on accompanying his family.
In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the second month, and the imperial court was once again in session.
Royal City, Imperial Palace.
Long before the New Year, after visiting Old Zhang and Old Guo, Ouyang Shuo had been preparing for a major event to eliminate the misunderstanding that the outside world, especially the elites, had towards Great Xia and Ouyang Shuo.
After the opening of the court, this matter was officially put on the agenda.
Ouyang Shuo planned to set up the Supreme Court of Great Xia outside of the cabinet. It would be on par with the Cabinet of Advisors, the Honglu Temple, and the Imperial Censorate. It would be in charge of the final interpretation of the Code of Great Xia.
Under special circumstances, the Supreme Court of Great Xia also had the power of judicial review. It could review controversial judicial cases from the Sentencing Office of the Internal Affairs Council or the Sentencing Office of the Provincial Governor.
In this way, it was equivalent to the Sword of Damocles hanging above the Internal Affairs Council.
The Internal Affairs Council had the Public Security Bureau, the Sentencing Office, and the Supervisory Office, which was equivalent to combining the public security, the procuratorates, and the people's courts into one. This was obviously very disadvantageous to the implementation of the rule of law and the maintenance of the authority of the Code of Great Xia.
After the establishment of the Supreme Court of Great Xia, it would be able to form a stable iron triangle with the Imperial Censorate, which was in charge of supervision, and the Internal Affairs Council, which was in charge of judicial enforcement.
More importantly, in order to implement the rule of law and maintain the authority of the Code of Great Xia, Ouyang Shuo was prepared to set up a principle for the Supreme Court of Great Xia: "If the Emperor breaks the law, he shall be punished the same as the commoners!"
This was equivalent to saying that Ouyang Shuo was exercising self-restraint.
Ouyang Shuo did this as a response to those elites who said that he was a feudal emperor. It was also an objective need to perfect the internal governance structure of Great Xia.
Ouyang Shuo naturally had complete trust in the Minister of Internal Affairs, Wei Yang. However, Wei Yang could not always be in charge of the Internal Affairs Council. The entire internal affairs system would not be carried out according to Wei Yang's will.
The fundamental solution was to form a system of restraint.
What Ouyang Shuo did not expect was that when he proposed this idea, not a single person in the cabinet agreed. The reason was very simple. Restricting the authority of the emperor was unprecedented, and it could not be a precedent.
Previously, when Ouyang Shuo was formulating the ideology of Yan Huang, he proposed the principle of "water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The authority of the emperor is not bestowed by the heavens", which was accepted by the ministers.
However, this time, Ouyang Shuo had really met with resistance.
Ouyang Shuo knew that the ministers' opposition was, on the surface, to protect the authority of the emperor, but in fact, it was to protect their own interests.
Imagine, if the emperor were to be restrained by the Code of Great Xia, then the unspoken rule of "not punishing a physician" would definitely be broken. How could the ministers not be worried?
This was a huge blow to historical talents. It was normal for them to be unable to accept it.
Even so, Ouyang Shuo was determined not to change.
From the sixth year of Gaia onwards, when formulating the national policy of Great Xia, Ouyang Shuo had linked it to the future Planet of Hope. The further he went, the deeper the connection became.
Ouyang Shuo's ultimate goal was to completely break through the barrier between the two worlds.
When he landed on Planet of Hope in the future, Ouyang Shuo hoped that he could easily replicate the system in the game world on Planet of Hope. This would allow the two worlds to communicate in real time.
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