"Young Master! Young Master! "
Meton turned over in a daze and pulled the quilt over his head, ignoring the noise outside.
"Young Master! Get up. It's time for you to go to the morning court! "Zi Yi's voice persisted outside the room. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The door shook.
"Morning court!"
Meton suddenly woke up and jumped out of bed. He was no longer sleepy.
Today was the day of reward for drought relief. As early as yesterday, a eunuch had informed Meton that he would go to the morning court.
This was Meton's first time getting close to the center of power of the Tang dynasty. To be honest, he was more curious than excited.
With a creak, Meton yawned and casually put on a shirt to open the door.
"It's already dawn. Oh no, I'm going to be late!" Meton looked at the sky outside and was shocked.
This was his first time going to the morning court. If he was late, he would be dead.
"Young Master, it's not late at all. The morning court is at seven in the morning. There's enough time to go to the palace now." Zi Yi hurriedly pulled Meton back.
Seven in the morning!
Modun immediately blushed. Only then did he realize that he had been poisoned by the Qing Dynasty dramas of the later generations. He had thought that all dynasties held court at five in the morning. Fortunately, Li Shimin was not that perverted Yongzheng Emperor.
Meton changed into his court attire and had a simple meal. He calmly rushed to the palace and found that only a few officials had arrived. After Meton arrived, the rest of the officials arrived one after another.
Meton looked at the two distinct rows of civil and military officials and consciously lined up at the back of the military officials.
In front of him was someone Meton was familiar with, Li Junxian. However, Li Junxian was very old-fashioned and ignored Meton's conversation. Meton was embarrassed and stood at the back of the line awkwardly.
There were not many officials qualified to go to the morning court. They all knew each other. The sudden appearance of a new face immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Mo Jiazi!"
Many courtiers were suddenly enlightened. In the last few months, Mo Jiazi had risen like a comet in Chang 'an City. Now, he was on par with them in the imperial court.
When she thought about her own child, she couldn't help but feel that her own child should be like Mo Jiazi.
"Mo Lie is so lucky!" Many people from the military sighed. They used to be very familiar with Mo Lie. They used to be extremely regretful of Mo Lie's early death, but now they were extremely envious.
"Boom!"
The gates of the Imperial City opened!
Meton followed the officials and entered the Vermilion Bird Avenue, entering the Imperial City.
Compared to the previous two times when Meton entered the Imperial City, Meton's mood this time was not as perturbed as the previous two times. Walking at the very back, he still had the leisure to look around.
"The person who built the Imperial City must be a master of mathematics!" Meton thought to himself, because he realized that the biggest characteristic of the Imperial City was its symmetry.
The entire Imperial City was symmetrical along the Vermilion Bird Avenue. As long as there was something on the left side of the Vermilion Bird Avenue, there must be something on the right side.
At the end of the Vermilion Bird Avenue, a towering building appeared in front of Meton. This was the Taiji Palace, the center of power of the entire Tang dynasty!
Meton didn't know where to go since it was his first time in the imperial court. However, he had a unique skill, which was to follow Li Junxian. Sure enough, Meton found his seat beside Li Junxian's long table.
"Phew!"
Modun breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing he had found Li Junxian. Otherwise, Modun would have been prepared to squeeze in with him regardless of whether Li Junxian agreed or not. After all, before Modun had arrived, Li Junxian had been the lowest ranked general in the court.
Now that he was the second from the bottom, shouldn't he pay a price?
"The Emperor has arrived!"
With Pande's sharp voice, Li Shimin appeared on the Dragon Throne, and the morning court began.
The efficiency of the Zhenguan period was very high, and political affairs were quickly dealt with.
Soon, Li Shimin put down the table in his hand and looked at the courtiers.
All the courtiers also put down their government affairs, knowing that it was time to reward according to merit.
"Fang Xuanling! How is the distribution of well drilling tools? "Li Shimin asked from the Dragon Throne.
"Your Majesty, the distribution of tools has been completed around Chang 'an. The other northern provinces are sending tools. As for the southern provinces, because they are far away, the possibility of drought is low. The Minister just sent the blueprints and ordered them to build the wells themselves. The other northern provinces are doing the same," Fang Xuanling replied.
This was what Li Shimin admired the most about Fang Xuanling. As long as a task was given to Fang Xuanling, he could always do it properly, and sometimes even more.
"Fang Xuanling is thoughtful!" Li Shimin nodded and praised. If the imperial court paid for the wells, how many holes would be filled?
"This time, the Tang dynasty was able to overcome the drought for the first time, which is a big event that has never happened in thousands of years. As for the soldiers of the 16 Guards who participated in the relief, each of them will be recorded as a merit and be rewarded with three months of salary." Li Shimin waved his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The soldiers were overjoyed.
The value of military merit in the Great Tang was very high. When the soldiers of the Sixteen Guards retired and returned to their hometowns, they would at least be able to obtain an additional portion of Yongye Farmland. It wouldn't be difficult for them to even become village chiefs. However, if they wanted to climb up the ranks, they would need even more military merit.
Dai Zhou, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, felt his heart skip a beat. This time, the Ministry of Revenue was going to bleed again, but Dai Zhou spent the money very quickly. If the drought in Guanzhong was not controlled, the Ministry of Revenue would have to spend more than a hundred times more money.
Li Shimin stopped and looked around. Finally, he saw Meton, who was looking around stealthily at the back, and said angrily.
"Meton, County Count of the founding of the country, has offered the method of drought-resistant wells. He will be rewarded with the title of Marquis."
The ministers were not surprised by this reward at all. After all, the method of drought-resistant wells was too important for the Tang dynasty. This was the first time that human beings had a way to fight against natural disasters. Even a promotion was not enough to match Meton's contribution.
Many ministers looked at Meton, who was in the corner, enviously. The title of Marquis was not given casually. Moreover, there was a world of difference between an inherited title and one that was given based on merit.
From today onwards, Meton really got rid of his identity as a second-generation Marquis and became the youngest Marquis in the Tang dynasty.
However, the ministers suddenly found that Meton, who should have thanked them, was indifferent. His eyes were fixed on Li Shimin, as if he was still waiting for the reward.
Li Shimin's face suddenly darkened. He said angrily, "Marquis Merton, are you dissatisfied with my reward?"
"Ah! The Minister doesn't dare! " Meton thanked him with a bitter face. Why did others get a salary increase of three months, but he didn't get a penny?
Li Shimin snorted. The Village Mo was now making a lot of money every day, but you still had the face to ask for a reward. For this drought relief, my treasury was emptied.
Later, the Supervisor of Works and the blacksmiths in all places were rewarded. The Meritorious Award Ceremony came to a successful end.
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