In the third year of Tianyou (760), on the first day of the first lunar month, the Northern Tang Dynasty held a meeting.
On the day of Yuan Zheng, the entire Liangzhou City was filled with the Imperial Guards of the Tang Dynasty. Looking along the street, there were soldiers and guards wearing helmets and armor everywhere. Flags and guards of honor were all over the Liangcheng Palace.
The atrium guard, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, Honglu Temple, etc. led civil and military officials at all levels and envoys from the vassal countries to their respective positions.
Emperor Li Longji, who had not been seen for a long time, was lying in a royal bamboo mat and was carried into the palace by more than a dozen servants.
When the court ceremony began, all the officials in the palace kowtowed and knelt down.
Zhou Jun was the only one holding a sword, standing under the throne, facing the civil and military officials, and after all the officials had finished their salutes, he said: "The Yuan Dynasty is Zhengshou Zuo, the scenery is new, and the prosperity is new. May the sky and the Tang Dynasty shine with the sun and the moon, and the heaven and the earth."
Qi Sheng."
Li Longji, with a withered face, was lying in a coif. He had been unable to speak or move due to the stroke. His whole body was as motionless as a rotten wood.
Even so, Li Longji's eyes were shining slightly as he stared at Zhou Jun's back.
According to the usual practice, the emperor should have received the fan lord and the envoy next.
But after the worship service, the palace used the excuse that the dragon was unwell, and Li Longji was carried down by a group of chamberlains.
The emperor, who was entering his twilight years, disappeared from the court hall without saying a word from the moment he entered the palace until he was carried away.
Zhou Jun led the courtiers in the palace and the Tibetan envoys to complete the following etiquette such as receptions, gifts, military parades, etc.
Faced with all this, officials in the DPRK and China seemed to have become accustomed to it. From beginning to end, no one stood up to question or object to anything.
After the Yuanzheng Dynasty, the Northern Tang Dynasty held a banquet according to the custom of previous years to entertain the many guests who came to attend the court.
After all the busy work, the time finally came to the Lantern Festival in the third year of Tianyou.
When Li Longji was in power, every Shangyuan Festival, the palace would hold banquets at Huaxianhui Tower in Chang'an or Shangyang Palace in Luoyang. Thousands of guests would be invited, and the carnival would last for several days.
But now, the emperor is seriously ill, and the palace banquets have been stopped in recent years and will no longer be held.
The court officials and prominent households in Liangcheng naturally turned their attention to another place - the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Zhou Jun doesn't like drunkenness and revelry, let alone extravagance and waste. Everyone in Liangcheng knows this.
Every Lantern Festival, the Prime Minister's mansion, like other wealthy families, would hold a banquet in the mansion and invite guests to enjoy the lanterns.
Therefore, in the past few years, the number of guests attending banquets at the Prime Minister's Mansion every year has become an object of competition among Liangcheng's high-level circles.
However, on the Lantern Festival in the third year of God's blessing, everything in the Prime Minister's Mansion was different.
There was a noble surname from other places, and he paid a lot of money to smoothen the relationship, just to get a good word from the officials who were familiar with Zhou Jun, so that the head of the family could show his face in the prime minister's house, and in the future, he could work for the future of the family.
Many state and county officials took the opportunity to come to Liangcheng to report on annual work, and went to the Prime Minister's Mansion with heavy gifts to try their luck and see if they could meet noble people.
These two groups of people actually arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion this year and were dumbfounded when they saw the notice at the door.
The following three items were written on the notice:
One, the house does not accept gifts.
Second, after visitors leave their names in the courtyard, they can go to the long street of the outer garden on their own.
Third, during the Shangyuan Festival, regardless of family background or official rank, treat people as friends when dealing with them.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, there was a huge crowd in front of the mansion. A middle-aged couple carrying heavy gifts. The husband was extraordinary and the wife was heroic. They looked at the notice in front of the Prime Minister's door and couldn't help but feel troubled.
The husband frowned and said to his wife: "The Prime Minister's Mansion does not accept gifts, so what about these we brought...?"
Wife: "Since you don't want to take it away, just put it back on the carriage."
Husband: "Would it be a lack of etiquette if I go in empty-handed?"
Wife: "If it says I won't accept it, what's the point of etiquette? How can you, a manly mother-in-law, act like a woman?"
The husband shrank his head and said nothing.
The two of them followed the crowd and arrived at the entrance hall. They saw that the check-in desk was crowded with people, and they didn't know where to go for a moment.
The attendant of the prime minister's office who was responsible for maintaining order saw that the couple's clothing and temperament were different from ordinary people, so he asked the man: "May I ask whether the distinguished guest is an official?"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and replied: "I come from the south and have no official position."
When the attendant heard this, his tone became a little arrogant: "Since you are not an official, you can go over there and leave your name. There is a desk for ordinary people to sign in."
The man cupped his hands and said thank you.
The woman snorted, walked straight to the desk, picked up her pen and wrote three characters in the sign-in column - Wang Yunxiu.
Seeing this, the man quickly wrote his name on the book - Yuan Zai.
When the rebels captured Chang'an, Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu fled the city and went to Jiangnan to escape the disaster of war.
According to the history books, the Yuan Dynasty moved through several places, and finally in 759, he was promoted as deputy envoy by Li Xiyan, the Jiangdong interview envoy of the clan, and was awarded the title of Wai Lang, a member of the ancestral hall. Later, he was appointed as the governor of Hongzhou (Nanchang, Jiangxi).
Now, the Yan army led by An Shouzhong went south in a large scale and successively conquered most of Henan Road and Nanyang and other places in Jiangnan West Road. The northern front of the Southern Tang Dynasty was completely collapsed.
Before Yuan Zai could wait for his appointment, he had to take his family and embark on the road to escape again.
This time, Yuan Zai's original intention was to continue southward and enter the hinterland of Jiangnan West Road - Yuanzhou (now Yichun).
And his wife, Wang Zhongsi's queen Yunxiu, has a strong personality and has had enough of being driven away by the bandits.
She heard that the Northern Tang army captured Fan Yang and defeated the rebel army in Handan, making Shi Siming afraid to go north.
Wang Yunxiu then said to Yuan Zai: "How can a man serve his country and avoid disaster blindly? What is the difference between this kind of behavior and the incompetent rats?"
Yuan Zai knew his wife's temper, so he carefully replied: "I am a civil servant. I should sit in the rear, run the prefectures and counties, and appease the people."
Wang Yunxiu: "If all the bandits take over the south of the Yangtze River, where do you plan to stay? Is it possible that you also plan to join the bandits and seek an official position?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Hearing this, Yuan Zai suddenly smiled bitterly, not knowing how to explain.
Therefore, under the strong leadership of Wang Yunxiu, the Yuan Zai family went north via Bashu, and finally arrived in Liangzhou, the capital of the Northern Tang Dynasty, in the first month of the third year of Tianyou.
Yuan Zai followed Wang Yunxiu's suggestion and came to the Northern Tang Dynasty. On the one hand, he could not defeat his wife, but on the other hand, he had selfish motives.
Before Yuan Zai went north, he had already found out clearly that the person in power in the Northern Tang Dynasty was Zhou Jun. He had a close relationship with him several times, and his wife Wang Yunxiu's father, Wang Zhongsi, was Zhou Jun's old superior.
, and there is also the benefit of Beifan.
This time he went north to join Zhou Jun. In Yuan Zai's opinion, as long as he relied on Wang Zhongsi's relationship, he could win an official position.
After spending the little money he had, Yuan Zai purchased a bunch of gifts, took his wife with him, and arrived in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, only to find that he couldn't understand.
Several past prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, whether Li Linfu or Yang Guozhong, received a mountain of gifts during festive seasons, and only invited dignitaries into their mansions to meet them.
But when he came to Zhou Jun, who was ranked as the third prince, he actually didn't accept gifts and set no barriers.
Regardless of whether they are important officials of the clan or ordinary people, as long as they have time, they can come to the mansion as guests.
Recalling his past interactions with Zhou Jun, Yuan Zai felt a little worried for a moment.
Judging from the current situation, Zhou Jun does not seem to be the kind of nepotistic character who opens the back door. What if he moves Wang Zhongsi out and the other party acts impartially and refuses to give him another official position? What should he do?
When Yuan Zai was worried, Wang Yunxiu ignored others, strode into the prime minister's house, and walked straight inside.
Seeing this, Yuan Zai could only bite the bullet and follow him.
This chapter has been completed!