Chapter 549

Wan Li curiously looked at the young man who just walked in. This person was about the same age as him, slightly thinner than him, and his facial features were very regular. As he walked into the hall, his eyes met with the Son of Heaven's. The young official wearing the seventh rank official's uniform was startled.

"How dare you look directly at the Emperor!" A handsome eunuch beside Wan Li scolded in a low voice. The young official seemed to wake up from a dream and let out a soft "ah". He quickly took two steps forward, lifted his robe, and knelt down. He heavily kowtowed and stuck out his buttocks.

Wan Li turned his head to look at his eunuch in astonishment. The eunuch who led Ye Xiaotian in was also baffled. The eunuch who led Ye Xiaotian in nervously moved closer to Ye Xiaotian and whispered, "Say something! Kowtow! Don't just stand there!"

"Ah!" Ye Xiaotian suddenly understood and quickly kowtowed three times. He straightened his back and said in a sonorous voice: "This official, Tongren Province's Imperial Judge Ye Xiaotian, greets the Emperor!"

The three kneeling and nine kowtows ceremony did not exist in the Ming Dynasty. It was invented during the Qing Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, high ranking officials only had to bow to the Emperor. Ordinary officials only had to bow three or four times to the Emperor. If the Emperor was attending an important event, then it would be more serious and required five or three kowtows.

Moreover, before bowing to the Emperor, one had to first report his identity to the Emperor and then bow. Ye Xiaotian cleanly bowed before reporting his identity to the Emperor. Not to mention that, he even straightened his back and looked at the Emperor. His whole body was twisted.

"No, no! You have to say your name first, then bow! " The eunuch beside him was already sweating profusely. The eunuch couldn't help but burst out laughing. Emperor Wan Li also couldn't help but smile. The corner of his mouth twitched and he said: "You may rise!"

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Ye Xiaotian climbed up from the ground as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He shyly explained to the Emperor: "This official has actually memorized the etiquette. It's just that this is the first time this official is paying his respects to the Emperor, so this official was a little flustered. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Uh … Your Majesty's dragon aura is unfathomable, this official is trembling … "

Emperor Wan Li could see that Ye Xiaotian had lost his etiquette earlier. This was the first time this brat met the Emperor and was scared. Thus, he couldn't help but feel a little vain and was not angry. When he saw Ye Xiaotian stand up and explain to him as if it was a family, the Emperor found it quite funny.

At this moment, Ye Xiaotian flattered the Emperor again, thinking himself clever. The Emperor could not hold it in any longer and burst into laughter. There were many flatterers in the palace. Which eunuch by the Emperor's side wasn't a flatterer? But the patting was done without a trace, making you feel comfortable in both body and mind, yet you couldn't feel that he was flattering you. This Ye Xiaotian's methods were really too clumsy. Even Emperor Wanli couldn't put on the airs of an emperor after hearing it.

In the eyes of those who saw it for the first time, the palace was like a heavenly palace. To Emperor Wan Li, who had lived there since he was a child, the palace was magnificent, but it lacked the elegance of nature. Thus, it seemed ordinary. Even if the carved beams and painted rafters were full of lifelike birds and beasts, it seemed dry and monotonous due to the lack of fresh blood.

In his prime, love was an excellent spice in his boring life, but most of the women in the palace were not to his liking. Beauty was not the most important factor in the selection of palace maids and concubines. They generally came from Beijing and the surrounding provinces. The most important thing was to be a commoner, have a clean family background, be educated, have good looks, have straight teeth, and no scars …

The overly harsh and uniform standards made the women in the palace seem to be carved from the same mold. Beautiful women were rare, and ugly women were also rare. In front of him, every one of them was neither beautiful nor ugly. They were well-behaved like puppets and had similar appearances. Emperor Wan Li's passion was completely exhausted.

In his young life, there were not many interesting things, except when he found some joy in watching a play. At this time, seeing Ye Xiaotian, who was clearly a bit clumsy but still showed off his cleverness, could be considered to have provided a little joy to his boring life.

Emperor Wan Li was very pleased. With a smile, he ordered, "Come, give me a seat!"

The accompanying eunuch was a little surprised. With Ye Xiaotian's rank, he normally did not have the honor of being given a seat in front of the emperor. It seemed that the emperor had a good impression of this country bumpkin. As the accompanying eunuch thought about it, he ordered someone to bring a brocade stool over and gestured to Ye Xiaotian in a friendly manner. They were the Son of Heaven's dogs. Since the Son of Heaven looked upon them, they would naturally show their goodwill.

Ye Xiaotian secretly let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he had passed the first important hurdle by pretending to be a fool. Although he had raised his head and stared blankly at Wan Li, he was actually not really sizing up this young Son of Heaven. Instead, he was trying his best to act out his act. Only now did he stealthily glance at Emperor Wan Li.

This young Son of Heaven was wearing a bright yellow casual robe with a pure yang scarf on his head. Although he was slightly plump, he exuded an elegant and elegant aura. Ye Xiaotian only gave him a quick glance before withdrawing his gaze. Wan Li said, "You are a low-ranking official, so why are you respected by the mountain people? We are very curious! "

Ye Xiaotian was not worried about this problem. Even the local residents of Guizhou outside the mountains had all sorts of unrealistic rumors about the people in the mountains. It was easy to imagine how much the Son of Heaven, who was far away in the capital and deep in the palace, would understand about them.

The people of the capital lived in the heart of the empire and had a much wider range of knowledge than the people of other places. However, in the eyes of most of them, Guizhou was a remote and desolate land, a place of unimaginable poverty. Then how much did they know about the unfamiliar mountain people?

In this way, Ye Xiaotian could naturally express himself without worry. Thus, he chose the words that catered to the Emperor's intentions and embellished them. In Emperor Wan Li's heart, those people who lived in seclusion in the mountains were similar to the people described in the Peach Blossom Spring. They were ignorant of the affairs of the world, simple to the people, but unreasonable to the outside world …

Emperor Wan Li listened with interest for a while before saying, "In Guizhou, the chieftains are divided into their respective territories and govern the people for the country. If the people in the mountains leave the mountains, it will inevitably need to be divided from the territories they control. Are the chieftains of Guizhou willing? "

Ye Xiaotian was somewhat unconvinced. "I believe that under the heavens, all land belongs to the Emperor. Those who lead the land are all the Emperor's subjects! How can a mere Yelang's land be an exception? It's just that Guizhou's mountains are high and the roads are dangerous, making it inconvenient to govern. Therefore, the Son of Heaven has entrusted it to the local areas. However, this does not mean that Guizhou can act arbitrarily and not be under the Son of Heaven's jurisdiction! "

When the young Emperor Wan Li heard this, he was very pleased. This Ye Xiaotian was indeed someone who came from the capital. Just look at his awareness, he was even higher than those local chieftains who had been passed down for thousands of years! Conferring him the title of Chieftain was like throwing a sh * t-stirring stick into the group of chieftains who listened but did not listen. It was a good thing!

However …

These words sounded beautiful, but there was no f * cking use!

In reality, the chieftains had the final say in that area. The Empire had never been able to interfere. If there was a perfunctory order, the chieftains would give the Emperor face and carry it out without error. As long as it harmed their foundation, they had ten thousand ways to treat the Imperial Court's orders as bullsh * t. There was no way for them to carry it out.

If Ye Xiaotian only knew how to say some high-sounding beautiful words, although Emperor Wan Li liked it, he had to consider whether this lucky fellow, whose ancestral grave emitted green smoke, had the ability to control his tribe and take root in a place where heroes coexisted.

If he was appointed as a chieftain, it would only cause trouble for the Empire. The Emperor would rather maintain the status quo. Fortunately, after Ye Xiaotian spoke righteously, he immediately cut to the chase.

"I dare not lie to Your Majesty. When the tribes in the mountains left the mountains, they also had disputes with the tribes outside the mountains. Fortunately, the chieftains outside the mountains had different opinions. Some chieftains were in favor of accepting the tribes in the mountains. The land outside the mountains was vast and sparsely populated. Many tribes occupied large amounts of land, but it was just letting the weeds grow wildly and wither year after year. Now that they took out a piece of land to settle the mountain people, they did not feel the pinch. Although some of the chieftains did not agree, the mountain people were swift and fierce, and a portion of the chieftains supported it, so they could not do anything. Because of this, I am confident that there will not be any unrest. "

These words did not sound problematic at all, but when analyzed carefully, they were all problematic. When the tribes in the mountains left the mountains, they had disputes with the tribes outside the mountains? How big was this dispute? The chieftains outside the mountains had different opinions, and this sentence was even more mysterious.

Was it because the interests of the chieftains outside the mountains were not unified, or was it because the tribes in the mountains had tried to rope in some of the chieftains? There was a lot of room for imagination in this. I am confident that there will not be unrest. This unrest and the dispute just now contrasted each other. What exactly was unrest?

The person he was facing was the Emperor. This promise of no unrest clearly meant that he would not cause trouble for the Emperor and the court. If the trouble was limited to Tongren or even Guizhou, then even if people's brains were beaten into dog brains, this Wanli Emperor would be happy to see it happen.

Ye Xiaotian first revealed his vulgar side and then slightly revealed his crafty side. After all, he knew that the Emperor did not want him to be ambitious, but he also did not want him to be stupid and incompetent. Otherwise, what value would he have to enter the Emperor's discerning eyes? Perhaps he could only stay in the capital to be a comedian and make the Emperor happy every day. That kind of jesting official was not what he wanted.

"Oh?" The Emperor mulled over his words. The more he thought about it, the more profound it seemed. The Emperor did not speak, so Ye Xiaotian did not say more. He only lowered his head and stared at the tips of his feet as if he was looking for ants on a golden brick.

Wanli was silent for a long time before he smiled slightly at Ye Xiaotian. "I will only go to court after the New Year. Your home is in the capital, right? Then you can stay in the capital for the New Year. On the night of the second, come to the palace and watch a play with me! "

The biggest entertainment for the Emperor's family during the New Year was to watch a play. Any official who was lucky enough to be invited into the palace to watch a play was a great honor. Even if they could not see the Emperor's face when they entered the palace and could only stand in the corner and watch for a while, their value would multiply if they went out and talked about it.

How could others know what kind of situation you were in at the time? If you were invited into the palace by the Emperor to watch a play, it meant that you were in the Emperor's heart. It proved that your current position was as stable as Mount Tai and that there was still room for improvement.

However, there were very few people appointed by the Emperor. Every year, the people who were arranged to enter the palace to serve the Emperor were mostly arranged by the Emperor's trusted eunuchs. The number of people who could accompany the Emperor was also limited. Thus, every Spring Festival, the officials in the capital would use all their skills just to get a chance to show their faces in the Pear Garden of the Imperial Family.

To participate in the Imperial Family's "Spring Festival Gala"! In such a difficult situation, Ye Xiaotian actually managed to get his hands on one without any problems!