It was the twelfth lunar month of winter again, and the plains of Bashang were covered with snow. However, in the east of Chang'an City, there was a sand embankment that was more than ten feet wide and ten miles long, extending from the city center to the outside.
There is no snow on this sand embankment avenue, and pedestrians are prohibited from walking on it. It is carefully maintained every day. It was not until the middle of the twelfth lunar month that Taichang, Honglu and other officials from the ceremonial department went out of the city to decorate the tents and put out the decorations.
A welcome etiquette.
Daxingtai Yu Wentai had already come to the capital to pay homage as early as the beginning of the month. The welcome etiquette prepared by the Lishi was naturally not for welcoming Daxingtai, but apart from that, who else would come to the imperial court for whom the imperial court should have started preparations many days in advance?
?
On the eastern outskirts of Chang'an City, more than 2,000 elite infantry and cavalry soldiers drove toward Chang'an City in a beautifully designed four-wheel-drive vehicle. The guards of honor before and after the vehicle were not the standard for the entry and exit of Chang'an dignitaries. Those with knowledge on the right side of the road could see it.
Then you can recognize that this is the ceremonial guard for the dignitaries of Nanliang to travel, and it is of a very high standard.
As this team appeared on the outskirts of Chang'an City, the cavalrymen who had been waiting for a long time were running back and forth to deliver the news.
This four-wheel-viewing car parade does have a wide view, but it is not a good experience to ride in the cold winter months. The wind blows from all directions, making the hands and feet of the passengers on the car cold.
Seeing that Chang'an City was already in sight, Li Tai smiled and said to Xiao Qing, who was in the same car: "The capital is getting closer. Please allow me to get off the car and follow me, so as not to be offended by the people of the capital."
Xiao Jin is no longer the King of Yueyang of Southern Liang, but the King of Liang who was canonized by the Chang'an court. At the end of the year, he specially went to the court with Li Tai to express his gratitude. At this time, he was wrapped in thick fox fur, but
His face was still red from the cold. As a southerner, he really couldn't bear the cold weather in Guanzhong. When he heard what Li Tai said, he quickly raised his hand and grabbed him and said: "In this country, the people are unfamiliar, and Boshan is a millionaire."
Don’t abandon me!”
Li Tai didn't know whether King Liang was cold or nervous, but after hearing what he said, he could only continue to accompany him in the car for the rest of the journey.
When the car drove onto Shadi Avenue, it became smooth and comfortable. Li Tai couldn't help but smile and said: "I am taking advantage of the favor of the king today, and I can actually walk in the honorable way."
"Boshan is so humble. You have expanded the country thousands of miles, made outstanding achievements, and won all the battles before and after. You can be said to be a powerful person in China. If I didn't walk with you, how would Guanzhong Shiliu know who I am?"
After hearing this, the King of Liang quickly said that if he had been a bit arrogant due to his status in contact with Li Tai before, but now in front of Li Tai, he did not show any arrogance at all. He knew that even his current position as King of Liang
It’s all because of Li Tai’s praise and his sincerity from the inside out.
No matter who this sand embankment was built for, the identity of the King of Liang is always displayed here. Now when a prince enters the country, Li Tai can accompany him for a while, but it is not easy to enter the court with a carriage in a grand manner.
As soon as the official came out of the reception area, he got out of the car in advance and took a horse to lead the way.
This time, the King of Liang entered the court and needed to be treated solemnly. Therefore, there were no idle people inside and outside the city gate to stop and watch. Only the ceremonial officials followed King Yuankuo of Qi and entered to greet the King of Liang.
Yuan Kuo walked forward solemnly under the guidance of the etiquette officer. When he saw Li Tai in the team, he couldn't help but look at him and said loudly: "The Governor has made great achievements this year. With his own efforts,
Promote the prestige of our country and make Yu Nei admire you!"
After Li Tai heard this, he bowed slightly in response. Seeing that other people in the court couldn't help paying attention to him, he took two steps back, highlighting the protagonist, Liang Wang Xiao Qing.
After some polite questions and greetings, the two kings boarded the carriages one after another, and then walked down to the city under the escort of honor guards, escorting King Liang to the Royal Villa not far from the imperial city.
middle.
Li Tai originally thought that King Liang would go directly to the court to see His Majesty the Emperor and Daxingtai, but he was stunned when he saw this. But it was better to let King Liang rest in the garden first. Poor Nan Wazi was blown away by the cold wind after arriving in Guanzhong.
My nose is almost full of snot.
He originally wanted to stay and explain to King Liang what to pay attention to in Guanzhong's daily life, but King Qi sent someone to urge him to go to the imperial city. Only then did he know that the court held a special banquet to welcome him today, so he had no time to arrange Liang's daily life.
The king went to the court to pay homage.
After learning about this, Li Tai could not speak frankly to the King of Liang, so he could only politely refuse his offer to stay, leaving several disciples here to take care of the King of Liang's daily life, and he left the villa together with the King of Qi Yuankuo.
After leaving the garden, Li Tai saw dozens of drummers and musicians standing in front of the door. At the same time, the ceremony officer came forward and said: "Dong Xihe has made great contributions to the country, and your majesty has specially given the drummers in front and behind to enhance the ceremonial and military power!"
Before and after the Northern Wei Dynasty, he advocated only three divisions, two majors, and three public rations. Although Li Tai added Kaifu, which was comparable to Shanggong to some extent, there was still a difference after all. He advocated ceremonial guards that Kaifu could not enjoy, and required an imperial edict.
Only special gifts can be enjoyed.
Li Tai was not surprised by this reward. Compared with his achievements this year, this honor was nothing. Listening to the musicians playing and playing, he felt fresh and wanted to ask
Do these musicians receive wages from the court or do they support themselves?
But then he thought that it was unnecessary to ask, so he comforted himself in his heart that he should just spend more. After all, he would be a real boss who could bring his own BGM from now on.
Accompanied by the sound of drums and music, the group arrived in front of the imperial city gate. Looking around, they saw that the place was already densely packed with courtiers who came to greet them. Everyone's face was filled with enthusiastic smiles. Seeing Li Tai
As the ceremonial guards came, they greeted each other with their hands and fists in hand, making people dizzy and unable to respond.
However, Li Tai did not stay here long. After dismounting, he was ushered into the imperial city by the visitors waiting here, and then went straight to the court.
In the court hall, from His Majesty the Emperor on down, Daxingtai, the Crown Prince, all other Zhuguo, and clans, and the Grand Duke were all present. After Li Tai came to the court to see him, the ceremonial officer would announce Li Tai's actions.
The latest awards.
First of all, Li Tai's title was changed from Duke of Xihe County to Duke of Taiyuan County. The explanation given in the edict was that it was the beginning of his great achievements, which refers to his previous attack on Jinyang.
Li Tai was also very happy when he heard about the change of title and the reasons given. The Duke of Taiyuan was originally a knight of Wang Sizheng. Before the destruction of Yingchuan City, he changed the title of Duke of Yingchuan to himself. This time, he gave the title of Duke of Taiyuan to himself.
, I don’t know if the imperial court used this to implicitly mock Wang’s inability to do everything in his political affairs.
Of course, the most important thing is for the Eastern Wei Dynasty, which is naturally full of ridicule. Every time Li Tai is called the title, the story of the Eastern Wei Dynasty being raided will be recalled again!
This time the imperial court did not increase Li Tai's food estate, because he had previously expressed his willingness to transfer his merits to relatives and friends. This was because between August and September, Li Yunxin and others who had been lurking in Jinyang for a long time finally brought his mother, young child, etc.
My brother, five cousins from the same ancestor, and their respective family members took him back in one fell swoop.
Naturally, his mother and younger brother had no worries about their livelihood and future when they came to Kansai. His cousins came to Kansai with their families. Of course, Li Tai could not let them have no business to be independent in Kansai. At that time, he also had to sit in Jingzhou to control the city.
In Fuxin's new land, he had no time to return to deal with these family affairs, so he used his merits to apply for a title for his relatives from the court.
The imperial court was also quite generous in this regard. Li Tai's two younger brothers were both granted the title of County Duke, and his five cousins were each granted the title of County Marquis, with each receiving a thousand fiefs.
Although the title of the Western Wei Dynasty is an honorary title, brothers from the same clan were all promoted to princes within one day, and the effect of honor and favor was also directly maximized. Moreover, in addition to the title, five cousins of Li Tai, Yu Wentai, etc.
None were left for the court.
As for Li Yunxin, who rescued Li Tai's family this time, he had accompanied Li Tai to attack Jinyang before, so he was directly awarded the title of Duke of Jinyang County. Together with his great grandfather Li Tai, he became the two tools of the Western Wei Dynasty to mock the Eastern Wei Dynasty.
In addition to the title change, the next most important conferment was that Li Taide was given the title of General.
The Western Wei Dynasty originally had the title of Grand General, but it was originally Grand Sima. The title of Grand General was among the two great princes. Nian Xian, Yu Jin, Wang Sizheng, etc. all had the title of general, and they all belonged to the second great.
However, the promotion of general by Li Taijin belongs to the senior position among the twelve generals of the Liuzhu Kingdom, which is familiar to later generations. Because he is not the first person to increase the title of general. In September this year, his father-in-law, Dugu Xin,
When the Longyou expedition returned to the central court, Qinzhou governor Yu Wendao was appointed as the general manager of Qinzhou, and he was the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Longyou states. His duties and powers were the same as Li Tai's Jingzhou general manager's office, and he was given the title of general.
There is no doubt that Yu Wentai made this appointment to urgently promote Director Yu Wen. His idea is to at least put his most valued and trusted nephew, Director Yu Wen, who is the first of the second generation of the Yuwen family, in the pecking order.
Overwhelming Li Tai.
To be honest, in terms of merit alone, Li Tai is not far behind some people in the Zhu Kingdom.
However, the merits of the Western Wei Dynasty and Yuwentai have different meanings after all. It can even be said that the position of the Zhuguo Kingdom has been determined with the completion of the Yuwentai Bafu. No matter how outstanding a rising star Li Tai is, it is impossible
To surpass these Zhuguo, unless he also does it with Yu Wentai.
The most powerful person under the Zhuguo Kingdom is naturally the general. There is no need to even discuss who the twelve generals are. It can be said that Li Tai is the leader of meritorious service. However, Yu Wentai also clearly feels that Li Tai is really sharp.
, so a time lag was created to allow Director Yuwen to become the first general to be appointed.
Although the positions of all the generals are equal and there is no distinction between superior and inferior, the time before and after the appointment can always represent the depth of seniority. Even if it is only a few months earlier, it can be said that Yu Wendao is the first person in the next generation of the Western Wei Dynasty.
Not Li Tai, even though this second generation is only a few years younger than Yu Wentai.
Li Tai knew that Director Yuwen could not suppress him, so he did not care too much about it. And although Director Yuwen was awarded the title of general earlier than him, when it came to the personnel strength under his command, the situation was different.
Based on this series of wars this year alone, the six people under Li Tai who were awarded the title of hussar to open the mansion include Cui Qian, Linghu Yanbao, Liang Shiyan, Zhao Gang, He Ruodun, and Li Qianzhe. If we add the six people who were awarded the title of hussar earlier,
Yang Zhong and Dou Chi, who opened the mansion, were the eight founders. In addition, there were also more than ten people, including chariots and cavalry officers. As well as the additional states added to the newly expanded territory of Jianghan, there were a total of thirty-six states.
Under the control of Li Tai.
After thinking about it this way, Li Tai also felt that it would be abnormal if Yu Wentai didn't do something to suppress him. This guy must not want to be his boss and wants to be his own father, so he would have no idea at all.
Today's General Manager's Office in Jingzhou is so powerful that it is far from comparable to Director Yuwen's General Manager's Office in Qinzhou. Even though Yuwentai previously transferred Hanzhong to the Qinzhou General Manager's Office for personal gain, he still could not shake the General Manager in Jingzhou.
The status of the first party town in the prefecture.
What's more important is that this situation will continue for a long time under Yuwentai's nose, because more than half of the sphere of influence of Jingzhou General Mansion was brought back by Li Tai himself, plus the glory of attacking Murong Shaozong
His achievements have made some people in Nanliang respect him as a god, and as Hou Jing continues to toss, this prestige is expected to be further improved.
So don’t say that other people in Bafu now, even Yu Wentai himself went out to Jingzhou, do not dare to say that he can do better than Li Tai. Unless Yu Wentai is willing to give up a large area of territory and interests between Jiang and Han, otherwise Li Tai
He can't replace the Jingzhou manager. Even if he wants to give up, other Zhu kingdoms may not be willing to agree.
In addition to changing the title of Taiyuan County Duke and adding the title of Grand General, Li Tairong changed his title from Prince Shaobao to Prince Taibao, and added the title of Shangshu Zuopushe.
To become a high-ranking official at a mere young age was originally an extremely amazing treatment, but because he was destined to be a remote leader, it was just an arrangement by the Taiwan government to take advantage of the chancellery. Even so, except for the Gao family,
Not many of these two achieve such a position and honor at this age.
As for the rest of the gifts and advocacy, Li Tai just listened casually and didn't take it to heart. In his opinion, as long as he doesn't follow the rules of the court, praises and worships without name, and goes to the palace with swords and shoes, everything else is almost meaningless.
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After all the rewards were given, and after Li Tai finished thanking him, the emperor stood up from the royal bed again, and with a smile, signaled the ministers to go to other halls to congratulate the meritorious soldiers on their return to the country.
A group of people followed the emperor's chariot. After leaving the palace, Daxingtai Yuwentai raised his hand to signal Li Tai to step forward and follow him. As soon as Li Tai stepped forward, his father-in-law Duguxin raised his hand to stop him.
“It’s cold in the middle of winter, but my clothes are still so simple, and I don’t know how to cherish myself for those close to me!”
When Dugu Xin saw Li Tai's thin clothes, he frowned and scolded him.
Li Tai felt a little innocent when he heard this. He went to the capital with King Liang and was ushered into the palace before he could go home. Before entering the palace, he asked the eunuchs in the palace for emergency help to find a court dress to wear to the palace. So far, he has not
I have time to find a place to change clothes.
After Dugu Xin scolded him for a few words, he took off his mink fur coat and put it on his beloved son-in-law. He pretended not to hear the laughter of the court officials behind him, but frowned at Li Tai and said: "This year's results,
I have heard a lot, and I have done many dangerous things. In the future, I can no longer rely on my courage to show off my strength. I should cherish this life for my country and my family!"