Chapter 987: The First Congratulations

Chapter 987: The First Congratulations

Chapter 987: First Congratulations (Part )
The people who entered the main hall of Taiji Hall for the banquet were carefully selected. In addition to the six dukes and nine ministers, the three ministries, the three academies of the imperial guards, the chief officers of the eight guards, and the four princes, there were also people specially invited by Shao Xun, such as foreign monarchs and scholars from Xiliang.

Everyone took their seats according to their shifts.

The four princes were all of the first rank, but out of humility, they let the prime minister Wang Yan, the royal guardian Pan Tao, the royal commander Yang Jiongzhi, the minister of works Liu Han, and the minister of civil affairs Pei Miao, who were also of the first rank, sit below the imperial throne.

Hot dishes were served one after another, and the graceful palace maids attentively poured wine for everyone.

"The extravagant style of the previous dynasty can be stopped. There will be no dancing today. If you have any great articles, you can recite them in public." Shao Xun picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Drink this glass first, and then discuss other things."

After that, drink it all in one gulp.

Everyone raised their glasses in response.

Shao Xun slightly turned his head. There was a small table next to the imperial desk. Shao Zhen was kneeling there in a proper manner, looking down at the food.

My son is so pitiful. He has never had a good meal since he was born.

He took the meat-cutting knife and carefully cut a few slices of venison, then asked the palace servants to bring them to Shao Zhen's table.

Shao Zhen looked at him with joy and admiration.

Shao Xun smiled slightly, turned his head and looked at everyone, and said: "Yi Fu, you have been the prime minister of twenty counties, and now you are the prime minister of fifteen states in the north. Do you feel anything?"

"I am deeply touched." Wang Yan said, "When I was the Shangshu Pushe of Jin State, my orders could not go beyond Luoyang. Now I am the Prime Minister of Daliang, and people near and far are willing to obey me. Wherever I order, it goes smoothly. This shows your majesty's prestige."

"Yi Fu is still the same." Shao Xun looked at everyone and smiled.

Everyone laughed a few times, and the one who laughed the loudest was Yan Wang Shao Yu.

The smile on Wang Yan's face froze, and he thought of Wang Jingfeng's torn cotton jacket that was leaking air.

"Look far ahead." Shao Xun asked while slowly cutting the meat, "Did you ever think of this day when you came to Guangchengze to join me?"

Chu Huo was a weak drinker and got drunk after just two sips. He asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Tell a lie first." Shao Xun said with a smile.

"When I saw Your Majesty in Yecheng, I was struck by your beauty and vowed to follow you until death," said Chu Huo.

"Lies really sound good." Shao Xun said, "What about the truth?"

"The truth is that Henan and Hebei had been at war for a long time, so I had to flee to Youzhou to avoid the chaos. After the chaos was quelled, I returned home. I didn't want to be an official anymore, nor did I dare to. But Yu Min, the Minister of Justice, invited me so warmly that I couldn't refuse. I thought that Luyang was in Jingzhou, and it wouldn't be too dangerous to be a farmer there. Before I knew it, I became the Minister of the Chancellery." Chu Huo said.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.

Shao Xun also smiled and said, "If you don't come, I really have no one to use. Come, drink this cup, and we will have a long story of king and minister. No matter how he came, your family's wealth and honor are inevitable."

After saying that, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

Chu Huo secretly gathered his energy, drank it all in one gulp, and nearly choked.

Seeing his flushed face, the military officers all laughed as if they were looking at someone weak and frail.

Wang Yan smiled and glanced at the warriors led by Chen Yougen.

Chu Huo looked a little unhappy.

I don’t know when it started, maybe it was since the Jinyang Discussion, these warriors became more and more "rampant".

In particular, the emperor created many military positions, such as the Three Academies of the Imperial Guards and the Eight Guards of the Palace Army, which were unheard of before and the ranks were not low. As a result, the number of military personnel in the court also increased greatly.

When there are a lot of people, they like to stick together, speak loudly and become arrogant.

"Gongji." Shao Xun raised his wine glass again, looked at Liu Runzhong, and said, "I heard that you have another wife?"

Liu Runxin was shocked but his face remained calm. He pretended to be drunk and said in a rude tone, "The daughter of Wang from Taiyuan. In the past, I could only watch her from afar, fearing that I would be slapped if I got close. Now that I have taken her home, I find that she is nothing special."

Shao Xun laughed and said, "You haven't fully understood it."

Liu Runzhong was relieved when he heard this and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has mastered all the tricks and has taken over the world. I am not as good as you."

Shao Xunfu laughed and asked, "You have more than 20 wives and concubines in your house, right?"

"Almost thirty." Liu Runzhong said, "Most of them were purchased in the past five years."

In fact, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there have been requirements for the number of wives and concubines of officials, but they have never been implemented because it is impossible to implement them. People say that this is not a "madam", but a "female musician", "dancer", or "maid", so what can you do?
Furthermore, for a man in power, such a policy would be unpopular and doomed to be resisted and exist in name only. So Liu Runzhong spoke out openly and did not think there was anything wrong with it.

"Can you afford it?" Shao Xun asked.

"Thanks to your majesty, my family business is becoming more prosperous and I am enjoying endless wealth." Liu Runzhong said, "I only hope that the people of Daliang will not suffer from floods and droughts, and the country will not suffer from famine. The Shangdang Liu family has such good fortune, all thanks to your majesty. If there is a war in the country in the future, your majesty will just tell me. As long as I can still ride a horse and draw a bow, I can suppress the few villains overnight."

After saying that, he picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, saying: "This is all I can do. But I have dozens of concubines. I can give birth to more sons. When they grow up, they can fight for your majesty."

"Gongji, you and I have known each other for many years, and our friendship is extraordinary." Shao Xun also drank the wine in the glass and said, "We should share the wealth and honor together."

Liu Runzhong was extremely generous. He poured himself another bowl of wine. After drinking it, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and shouted that he was delighted.

"Your Majesty." Pei Xian, the Imperial Censor, stood up from the back row and said, "I criticize Minister Liu for being inappropriate in front of you."

Liu Runzhong was stunned, and then became angry.

"Forget it, I am happy today, no need to be restrained." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "This is the first time for me to be the emperor, and it is also the first time for many people to be ministers. It is not easy to get the country of Daliang. The meeting of the emperor and his ministers is a good story. Today, let's just drink."

After saying this, he raised his glass again and said, "Drink it up." All the ministers responded with toasts.

After Shao Zhang put down his wine bowl, he secretly glanced at Liangcheng County Lord Yuan Zhen.

His father arranged him to be by his side. To outsiders, this was considered a courtesy to the envoy of Dai State and a great honor.

But in Shao Zhang's view, it was because the father felt that he owed his son and tried every means to make up for it.

Yuan Zhen should also know who his real father is. His little face turned around from time to time, looking very happy.

He was too young and craved his father's company.

However, there was no possibility for the fourteenth brother to get his hands on the Dabao, and the Zongzheng Temple did not even record his name on it.

After retracting his gaze, he looked towards the opposite side.

My second and third brothers were both sitting in the civil service class.

The third brother Nian Liu was actually also secretly looking at him. When he saw that he was discovered, he raised his glass to signal.

Shao Zhang responded with some surprise.

My third brother's temperament is a little different. Could it be that Sang Ziyuan's half-year experience has such a good effect?
A few days ago, he even heard that the officials in Prince Zhao's mansion had been fully staffed, the fastest among all the brothers.

The king's teacher - called "Fu" in the Jin Dynasty to avoid taboos - came from the Pei family of Hedong.

You and Wenxue came from the Wei and Liu families in Hedong respectively.

The lieutenant was appointed by Xue's son, who was strong and brave.

The Jingzhao Du family, the Wei family, the Hongnong Yang family, the Xihe Song family and other clans also had sons and daughters who served as officials.

This is a royal palace with a strong Xizhou flavor.

Of course, this is not surprising.

Culturally speaking, the Hedong and Pingyang counties are of the same lineage as Guanxi and have close ties with the Guanxi gentry. The Pei family also has very close ties with the Bingzhou gentry, so it is not surprising that they vigorously recruited scholars from the four states of Yong, Qin, Bing and Liang.

Shao Zhang ate his food and wine in silence, with a lot on his mind.

The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly heated, and everyone gradually relaxed.

Shao Zhang noticed that his father stood up and left the table to chat and laugh with Beigong Chun, the General of the Western Army.

"I am very happy to see the talented people from Liangzhou at today's grand gathering. Come, drink this cup." Shao Xun said with a smile, holding up the wine glass.

"The elders of Liangzhou have been looking forward to your Majesty for a long time." A group of Liangzhou officers and officials, led by Beigong Chun, responded one after another.

Most of them were newly appointed officials, and were a way for Shao Xun to win over the people in Liangzhou.

That is, tell the local big families, I am willing to employ your children as officials, so who are you going to follow?
At present, things have begun to ferment locally, and the effects will become more and more obvious as time goes by.

"After I establish the country, I will want to inspect the territory." Shao Xun added: "This year I plan to tour the Guanzhong region in the west and stay in Chang'an. It's a pity that Liangzhou has not been decided yet, otherwise I could go and take a look and select talents from Qin and Liang to serve me."

Everyone understood the elegant meaning of the music and knew what was going on when they heard these words.

There is a great possibility that the emperor will attempt to launch an attack on Xiliang, most likely this year.

Liangzhou is different from other places. The terrain, climate and external environment have created a more obvious local aristocratic politics than in Guandong.

They have great influence in the local area.

Who was sitting next to Beigong Chun? Xin Mi, the Imperial Attendant.

He was born into the Longxi Xin family and was of the same clan as Xin Yan, who commanded Xiping, Jinxing, and Fuhan, and the latter was an independent military leader under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou.

Zhang Jun was unable to command him and once planned to attack Xin Yan and his son on the grounds of "abusing power", but was finally dissuaded.

In addition to the Xin family, there are also descendants from the Han, Suo, Yin, Yan, You, Qu, Ma, Dou, and Li clans.

For more than a hundred years, these families have been coming and going in Liangzhou and the neighboring Longxi and Tianshui. No matter how the Central Plains changes, their status as local tyrants has never changed.

Compared with them, Zhang Gui, Zhang Shi and Zhang Jun, three generations of the family, were considered outsiders.

To put it bluntly, Zhang Jun is totally out of his mind. Why should he let these local tyrants work for him?
"Liangzhou still has to rely on the famous families who migrated westward since the Han and Wei dynasties." Shao Xun finally said, "These people have made great contributions by studying and managing their property and defending the area. If I don't use them, who else can I use? Liangzhou does not need to measure the land. All kinds of wealth should be used to support the soldiers to prevent bandits."

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other.

Your Majesty has put forward another condition.

They did not measure the land, give them official positions, and did not shake the status of the Liangzhou clans in the local area...

At this point, the determination of people in Liangzhou to resist weakened a little.

This is using the general trend to suppress others and then divide and disintegrate them.

The outcome of a war may have been determined before it even begins.

(End of this chapter)