Chapter 61: Morning Court
Xiangyunlou is one of the most famous restaurants in Shangjing. It is not famous for its dishes, but for its high-end and private environment, which is very popular among wealthy businessmen and officials.
In the private room on the second floor, Lin Guangyuan, the Censor of the Ministry of Revenue in Tengyun Pavilion, put down his wine glass, his face full of sullenness.
"Who the hell is Liu Lin! He was just a fifth-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites before, but now he's climbing over my head!"
"There's nothing we can do about it. A new emperor appoints new ministers. What can we do if he wins the favor of the new emperor?" The speaker was the Chief Censor Wei Yu.
Lin Guangyuan picked up the wine glass and drank another one. "I only dare to nag you a few words about this. The little emperor has a bad temper, and I dare not easily offend him."
Wei Yu smiled bitterly: "How many of those who can rebel and seize the world are good people? It is a great grace for him to re-employ us. We should do our duties honestly and not be treated like a chicken to be killed for the monkey."
Although this was true, Lin Guangyuan was still unwilling to give in, so he filled his glass with wine again and drank it in one gulp.
"Brother Guangyuan, please drink less. Too much alcohol is harmful to your health..."
As he was speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Both of them were stunned. No third person was notified of the party today, and the food had already been served, so no one should have come to knock on the door rashly.
Lin Guangyuan stood up and asked, "Who is outside the door?"
"Master Lin, I'll open the door."
The faces of the two people in the room changed. It turned out to be the Minister of War Huang Shan.
After opening the door, Huang Shan walked in hurriedly.
"Sir Huang, why are you here?" Lin Guangyuan was just an acquaintance with him. Although they were officials in the same dynasty, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue did not have much interaction on a daily basis.
There is no such thing as a visitor without a reason. This old fellow must have something wrong when he suddenly came to me.
"To be honest with you two, I came here today to discuss something important."
Lin Guangyuan: "Please take a seat. I'll ask the waiter to bring a few more dishes."
"No need to serve, I'll leave as soon as I'm done."
Huang Shan closed the door and said, "My Lords, what do you think of this emperor?"
Lin Guangyuan and Wei Yu looked at each other, wondering what Huangshan was up to.
"Master Lin, you have been in the Ministry of Revenue for many years and were about to be promoted. Now you are suddenly kicked in the back by Liu Lin. Aren't you angry?"
Lin Guangyuan sighed: "What's the point of being angry? We don't have Liu Lin's handsome appearance to flatter!"
Huang Shan: "Let me be frank. If someone surnamed Song sits on the throne, we old officials will never be given important positions!"
This was indeed a very arrogant statement, but it was indeed the truth. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Song Yuzhu did not like these old ministers.
"Now he has no available talents to keep us. When the Enke is held next year, there will be no place for people like us when new people take office!"
His words touched Lin Guangyuan's lungs. He was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations and had worked hard in the Ministry of Revenue over the years. However, the dynasty changed and he was kicked out of the power center. He was unwilling to accept this!
Wei Yu: "Master Huang, what do you mean by these words?"
Huang Shan said quietly, "We still have the crown prince in Dasheng. If Yang Yuanchao had not ascended the throne without being summoned and forced Queen Mother Zhou to death, the one who ascended the throne would have been the twelfth prince Yang Yuanhao. The roots of Dasheng would not have been cut off!"
Wei Yu's eyes widened: "You, you want to rebel?"
"What do you mean by treason? The twelfth prince is the legitimate heir! We are the old ministers of the Sheng Dynasty, and we should support the Yang family. The twelfth prince has raised an army in Shuzhou, and when the time is right, he will return to the capital to take back the country!"
Huang Shan became more and more excited as he spoke, and finally he said with tears in his eyes: "We can't let the Great Sheng kingdom fall into the hands of others! What a bullshit Qi Dynasty, how dare this brat claim to be the emperor?"
Lin Guangyuan stared at him blankly: "Are you... are you telling the truth?"
Huang Shan took out the letter from his arms and handed it to him: "Master Lin, please read this. This is the handwritten letter from the twelfth prince."
Lin Guangyuan took out the letter and read it carefully, feeling wavering.
"Master Lin, don't hesitate. If we help the twelfth prince return to the capital, we will be the emperor's successor after the restoration of the country. Not to mention a minister of the Ministry of Revenue, even the position of prime minister is between you and me!"
The scale in Lin Guangyuan's heart gradually tilted towards the twelfth prince. Although this kind of thing is risky, the rewards are even greater!
When the late emperor sent Liu Lin to negotiate peace, that guy must have defected to King Chengtian at that time, otherwise why would the new emperor promote him to the throne as soon as he ascended the throne!
If he could seize this golden opportunity, becoming a king or a prime minister in the future would be a piece of cake.
"Master Huang, what do you need me to do?"
Huang Shan saw that the rebellion was successful, and he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You are in control of the national treasury in the Ministry of Revenue..."
Lin Guangyuan hurriedly shook his head: "I can't get the money. Liu Lin is a new official and he is very careful about the national treasury than his ancestral grave."
“There will always be opportunities in the future.”
As they were talking, they thought of the people next to them and looked at Wei Yu at the same time.
Wei Yu swallowed his saliva and said, "Of course I am the same as Master Lin."
Huang Shan: "Great! With the two adults joining us, I think the twelfth prince will be able to successfully restore his country soon!"
*
Song Yuzhu woke up as soon as it was light outside.
He held his waist and sat up, his whole body aching. Zhao Xiao almost broke his bones last night. Song Yuzhu couldn't stand it anymore, so she sent him back in the middle of the night.
Although she enjoyed being with him, that boy was gifted, young and strong. After tasting the sweetness, she wanted to pester him to do that every day, but her body couldn't take it.
He gritted his teeth and stood up, and the palace servants hurried over to help him get clothes.
"What time is it?"
"Your Majesty, it is already Yin hour."
After washing, I put on my court robes and prepared for today's morning court.
In fact, the emperors in ancient times had a very miserable life. They had to get up around 5:30 in the morning and go to court at 6:00. It was not so bad in the summer, but in the winter they had to get up in the dark before dawn to go to court. They could only have two days of rest in a month, on the first and fifteenth day of the month.
The morning session lasted about an hour and a half, or more than three hours. If it was a major event, it would often take five or six hours, and might not be finished by noon.
During this period, the emperor was fine. He could eat cakes when he was hungry, drink water when he was thirsty, and go to the back to relieve himself when he had to.
The ministers were in a different situation. They had to hold their pee and feces and could not wet their pants. If they misbehaved in front of the palace, it would be a crime of disrespect and they would be dismissed from their posts.
During the Wu Dynasty, there was an official who, because he drank an extra bowl of soup in the morning, he could not hold it in and wet his pants during the morning court. He was directly demoted by the emperor to a place thousands of miles away.
Therefore, when the court was in session, the ministers basically did not eat. Those who lived far away had to get up at midnight and were hungry until the court was over before they could eat a bite of food.
Song Yuzhu felt that this kind of work was too competitive. The ministers would definitely go to work with bad moods if they didn't get enough rest. It would be strange if nothing went wrong after a long time.
After he ascended the throne, he changed the time of court attendance, to five days in court and two days off. The morning court session was still held at 3 a.m., but he tried to shorten the time as much as possible, reporting matters when necessary and dismissing the court when not.
After everything was packed, Song Yuzhu ran to the front hall. The bedroom was more than a thousand meters away from the front hall. The emperors of the previous dynasty all went there on sedan chairs, but Song Yuzhu didn't want to sit there, and running could also help exercise her body.
He had a weak constitution and really didn't want to die young just after ascending the throne.
When he arrived at the front hall, he took the handkerchief handed to him by the palace servant and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The officials had already arrived, chatting in groups of three or five, and when they heard the eunuch shouting that the emperor had arrived, they quickly took their seats, with the civil officials and military officers standing on either side.
Today's morning court was still devoted to dealing with reports sent in from various places. Some areas in Zhongzhou and central Jizhou suffered from a drought rarely seen in a century. Not a drop of rain fell for three months. The people missed the spring ploughing and it is feared that the harvest this year will be dismal.
Song Yuzhu said, "I have heard of this matter. I have sent the Minister of Revenue Liu Lin to personally escort the relief grain to the victims. General Bai will lead the troops to assist and ensure that the grain can be delivered to the people."
The two men knelt down and received the order.
After the overthrow of the Sheng Dynasty, several rebel armies in the south still maintained their autonomy and refused to obey the local government. They were like local tyrants, exploiting the local people. Song Yuzhu sent Du Chong to lead 30,000 troops to clear them out.
If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. The Sheng Dynasty had not repaired the official roads for nearly 40 years. When fighting all the way from Xuzhou to Shangjing, Song Yuzhu saw that the road was very bumpy, and on rainy days, the mud was so deep that it was difficult for vehicles and horses to travel.
Song Yuzhu said: "If the official roads are not repaired, merchants will have difficulty in trade, the army will have difficulty in marching, and the people will have difficulty in living. I have decided to allocate money to repair the roads, and I must repair the official roads well. If you cut corners and do things perfunctorily, I will punish you severely!"
The road construction is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and under the Ministry of War is the Ministry of Transportation, which is specifically responsible for transportation.
Huang Shan's face lit up with joy. It was a good thing to allocate silver! As long as the money was in his hands, he could decide how much to use! Just then, the twelfth prince also received news that he was preparing to recruit soldiers and horses, and the silver in his hand was not enough, so he hoped that Huang Shan could help.
Huang Shan knelt down immediately and said, "I accept your order."
After the business was over, some people began to flatter him. The official Tian Zhao said, "I dreamed a few days ago that a golden dragon flew into the capital, the sky was full of colorful clouds, and all kinds of animals came to congratulate it. After waking up, I thought about it and realized that it was you, the emperor, who came!"
The corner of Song Yuzhu's mouth twitched. If it weren't for the fact that he had sent someone to make up the story of the golden dragon's reincarnation, he would have almost believed it.
"I understand."
As soon as Tian Zhao stood up, someone said, "My servant happened to see a pair of white deer on the mountain. This is a good omen. I have sent someone to bring them to the palace."
Auspicious signs have existed in every dynasty and were mostly used to please the emperor.
What had Song Yuzhu not seen in the zoo in her previous life?
Rubbing his brows, he said, "Stop flattering others and focus on the real work."
The two men's faces froze. They didn't expect that they would flatter the horse's hoof. They lowered their heads in disappointment. The other ministers who wanted to flatter them quietly patted their chests. Fortunately, they didn't speak first.
After the court session, Song Yuzhu prepared to go home for a walk. He had been so busy dealing with state affairs these days that he had no time to go back. He missed his younger sister a little.
The Song Mansion is very close to the imperial palace, and it only takes less than half an hour to get there by carriage.
In fact, such a short distance is very suitable for riding a bicycle. I should draw the blueprint of the bicycle when I have time and ask the Ministry of Industry to find a way to make one to try.
When they returned to the mansion, Jiang Rong was sitting in the room making clothes, and the maid was playing with Song Yutong beside them.
Xiao Yutong, who is more than six months old, can already crawl and is chewing the spool of thread with his mouth full of saliva.
"Yuzhu is back!" Jiang Rong put down her needle and thread and looked at him with surprise.
When the maid saw him, she immediately knelt down to greet him, but Song Yuzhu waved her hand and said, "It's not necessary to do that at home."
Song Yuzhu took the younger sister from her hands and teased her. The little girl was not shy and hugged his hand and started to bite it.
"Tongtong has grown teeth! Let big brother see it."
The little girl seemed to really understand. She opened her little mouth and spoke baby talk. She looked so adorable!
Song Yuzhu pinched her little nose and touched her soft little face, and she really couldn't let go.
Jiang Rong couldn't help but burst out laughing as she looked at the brother and sister: "You like children so much, why don't you get married? Don't you have to have a queen when you become an emperor?"
"Don't be in a hurry." Song Yuzhu hasn't told his parents about him and Zhao Xiao yet, fearing that they won't be able to accept it for a while.
Jiang Rong put down her needlework. Her son was not young anymore. If these things hadn't happened, he would have been married by now. However, his status was special now, so she couldn't control him too much.
Song Yuzhu put her little sister down and asked, "Where is Dad?"
When Jiang Rong mentioned this, her face stiffened and she said, "Your second uncle wrote to me a few days ago, saying that he would take your grandmother to the capital. She should be here today."
If the family division had not happened later, they would have come. When the family division happened, Qin Shi had made such a fuss over money. When Jiang Rong thought of them coming to the capital, she felt sick as if she had swallowed a fly.
"Don't worry about it. I and your father are here to take care of it."
(End of this chapter)
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