There is a small hall with three connected couplets, separated by screens, surrounded by large cabinets inlaid with copper leaves. The desks are piled high with scrolls and filled with the fragrance of ink. This is the place where the cabinet is located.
It's so weighty, but not luxurious at all. If it weren't for the golden atmosphere, it would be almost the same as an ordinary study room of aristocratic families.
"I heard that in the past when the Qin Dynasty made thirty-six counties, the bamboo slips and memorials that the First Emperor read every day had to be measured with stones. According to the weight of the bamboo slips, one hundred and twenty kilograms of stone would have thirty-eight characters. Even if it is three hundred thousand characters,
It can be said that the First Emperor was not industrious... Nowadays, bamboo slips are no longer used, and the weight of the paper book has reached 200 kilograms, and this is just a clerical matter." Jia Xu stood up and beat his sore back, sighing.
Prime Minister Xu Shu looked up from his copywriting, but said with a smile: "To be precise, there were more than forty counties at the peak...but later generations have progressed with the times, and in our dynasty, there are 109 counties, and this autumn the Station Xunpan Network is completely completed.
, it’s easier to communicate, and it’s the first year since I ascended the throne, wouldn’t there be many memorials from various places to show loyalty?”
This was true, but it ignited the atmosphere in the official office. Everyone was still discussing the busy government affairs during lunch break and dining in the dedicated dining hall. Many old people lamented that the leisurely life of scholar-bureaucrats in the past was no longer the same. Just looking at their expressions, they looked very stressed. Please obey carefully.
The sound is all proud...
In the Han Dynasty, there was originally a simple two-meal system, eating in the morning and eating in the evening. This corresponded to the farming habit of leaving early and returning home late. This is what the saying goes: "Get up in the morning to clean up the waste and filth, and return home with a moon load to hoe".
However, the amount of labor in the city is large, and the three-meal meal system is a more scientific habit. With the gradual recovery of grain production in recent years, and sufficient funds, the emperor took the lead in starting the three-meal meal system when he was still King Ying.
Gradually it became popular.
However, Ye Qing learned the restaurant system from the Tang and Song Dynasties.
The emperor made the following stipulations: "The cabinet supports the emperor, the chief officials, and the general administration. At noon, the internal meal is served."
In fact, it's not just the cabinet, but also other officials.
The restaurant was built in the south of the imperial city, and was renovated from an old palace very close to the government offices. The prime minister had a separate private room, and the dining tables inside were all gathered together according to rank and seniority. Young officials heard the discussions about the busy government affairs, and then saw
Those people all looked at each other, sometimes laughing to themselves.
Or for men, being busy with power is inherently painful and pleasurable, and it can boost energy more than the best medicine.
Prime Minister Xu Shu and several important cabinet ministers could not go to dinner at the moment, so they went to meet the Queen Mother first and presented the national year-end statistical account books and some suggestions for adjustments to this month's logistics matters.
"Snow conditions have appeared in Hedong County north of Sili, and it is necessary to mobilize inventory of clothing to prevent freezing and disaster..."
When they looked, they saw a dim and graceful figure behind the beaded curtain. The curtain was lowered to show the difference between inside and outside. The eunuch presented the proposal on a gold plate.
Empress Dowager He was sitting upright in full robes, with beautiful brows and focused eyes on every line. She had recently become proficient in the new organizational process. After reading the proposal, she thought it was a trivial matter, so she marked it with a red pen at the beginning of the article and put it away.
Return it to the gold plate and ask the eunuch to pass it back to the foreign ministers.
"The Ai family will keep this statistical account book for now, and we will look at it carefully later..."
The important ministers in the hall looked at each other, and they all knew very well that the Queen Mother was very cautious in her administration, and would basically ask the emperor for instructions on any important matter. This document must be forwarded to Qinghe County.
Last month, Xunpan.com had a problem at a relay point in Chenliu County. As a result, the military information going to Qinghe County had to take a long way to be relayed. It only took an hour for the Queen Mother to sense it. This woman’s scolding is still fresh in my memory. That night
He issued three orders to conduct a thorough investigation of the place.
The shortest message disk link from Luoyang to Qinghe County needs to pass through more than ten nodes. Chenliu County is in the northern border of Yanzhou. This is clearly suspected of Cao Cao's manipulation, because the Cao family's influence is still deeply rooted in Yanzhou, and the newly appointed governor of the local government is not
Dare to take action, Xuchang sent an additional 100 magicians overnight, and the next day it was discovered that a heavy snowstorm had buried the local post station.
Even though the truth became clear, Cao Cao still ended his confinement for several months and went to the central government to resign from the post of governor of Yanzhou.
The court and opposition parties in Luoyang had heard about this incident, and they all secretly praised the Queen Mother He's powerful methods. The small thoughts of the wealthy family because the emperor had been away from the center for a long time were extinguished as if cold water was poured on them.
Political means in themselves are nothing. Empress Dowager He had no soldiers and no power at that time. After fighting for two years, she was almost poisoned by Dong Zhuo. Everyone in Luoyang knows this dark history.
But the powerful family knows best who this woman's power now comes from. No emperor personally conquers without worrying about losing control of the rear. With such a strict interrogation system, coupled with the military mobilization system, Xu Shu, Zhao Yun and others are stationed in Luoyang, with the empress dowager in the middle who is dedicated to the emperor.
Host, who dares to make waves now?
For local heroes, the fact that Cao Mengde, the former and modern hero, admitted defeat in front of a woman made them even more sad. They realized clearly that as long as Emperor Yingwu existed, the radiation of the authority of the real dragon could be suppressed.
Everywhere.
All lands belonging to China have been dominated by the newly born Third Han Empire.
Several private newspapers in Luoyang even published numerous articles, in-depth reports on the significance of the upgrade of the post station Xunpan network: "...Information and transportation are the biggest constraints to the expansion of the empire. Originally, it took a month for the post station to send messages from Jiaozhi, the farthest place in the south, to Luoyang.
The Xunpan Network will arrive in ten hours, and the world will be at peace from now on..."
Empress Dowager He had her own small kitchen and did not share meals with foreign ministers. After Ye Qing came to the throne, she stipulated three meals a day, but she only said "pass the meal"
These words were spoken loudly, and before the echo disappeared, a group of well-dressed eunuchs came carrying the dining table.
When Queen Mother He saw it, her heart moved and she suddenly asked: "Have all three Queen Mothers used it?"
There are now four queen mothers in the Han family, including Liu Bei's mother. She has been a widow for a long time, and now she has finally come to an end.
"Empress, the three empresses have already used it."
After hearing this, Queen Mother He nodded her head to eat. Royal dining must be staged, that is, the plates and bowls are signed with the name of the dish and the chef. This is to ensure quality and facilitate accountability.
The tableware is even more particular. Ye Qing ordered "mainly silverware". The royal family likes gold for the sake of nobility, and the use of silverware has many practical functions.
The most important thing is to guard against poisoning. Poisons that were commonly used in the past often contained sulfides, so silverware is very effective in detecting poisons.
After having lunch alone, which was usually the time when she read the newspaper, she frowned when she saw this paragraph: "Peace in the world? This scholarly attitude is a bit exaggerated... Not to mention the hardships of the emperor's personal expedition, Chang'an is not yet at peace.
Seeing that she was in a good mood, the serving female officer joked and said: "My dear, it is more convenient than ever before. How can the false emperor of Chang'an be compared with your majesty?"
Queen Mother He smiled and whispered in her heart: "The target he wants...is to attract traitors."
This was her own secret guess. She couldn't explain it clearly, so she just changed the topic: "The interrogation is just to know the enemy's situation, and the transportation is far from convenient. For the time being, we can only use magicians to provide quick support, which is not enough for military purposes, and for civil and economic purposes."
It was more difficult to communicate on the road... However, other plans were being prepared. In addition to the rammed earth straight track, the Qin Dynasty also experimented with a stone and wood track. The parallel grooves accurately matched the carriage wheels, which was very convenient. Unfortunately, the cost was too high, and the emperor planned to switch
In order to lay the railway track, it is said that it takes ten days to reach Youzhou."
"Ah... isn't iron more expensive?"
"Girl, you haven't been out of the palace for a long time. Every subway office has renovated blast furnaces, and the price of iron has dropped sharply...
After the casual chat, it was time to discuss political matters again in the afternoon, and the day in the imperial city passed so quickly.
In the evening, the North Palace was brightly lit and seemed a little lonely. Since the emperor left, Queen Mother He had not held a banquet, so it seemed deserted.
The jade chariot returned from the palace and verandahs, and a beautiful woman in Luan dress sat upright in the silk tent, looking through the statistical account books with only the light of the lantern outside, her eyebrows not raised.
The Taoist war consumes a lot of money. Ye Huolei needs to use the precious and scarce resources of spirit stones and the magic circle. In a few months, the previous four years' stock has been used up, which is simply shocking.
Until we passed by Zhiyuan, the deep black night revealed the dense crowd, and the faint laughter of the girl came over, breaking the silence that had been in the Beigong for several months.
Queen Mother He was a little displeased at being disturbed. She pressed down on the logistics statistics, raised the curtain and asked, "What's going on over there?"
The eunuch accompanying him ran to inquire about it and came back and said: "This winter is cold, and the palace maids have been given two sets of thick new clothes, one more set than in previous years. I am very happy to have this."
The accompanying female officials looked at her and said, "Everyone is praising the Queen Mother for your kindness."
Empress Dowager He said "Oh" and only told the palace maid to rest early without saying much. She had achieved success in cultivation and now she no longer paid much attention to other people's evaluations, so she would not be too harsh.
At this time, a gust of night wind blew, and something cool fell on her face, making her startle and raise her head.
Snowflakes were falling all over the sky, and they were all bright and white. Luoyang, which used to be warm and prone to drought, had its first heavy snow this year, and it was so dense.
"Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest."
She sighed quietly, this was a good sign, but it was a pity that no one could share the joy. This year's Spring Festival would probably be spent alone.
"But I heard that the Yellow River has frozen...isn't it getting colder in Jizhou across the river?"
Qinghe County Daying
It's New Year's Eve, and the Han army can't go home yet.
The aroma of a large pot of broth floated in the camp, the campfire was bright and red for a long time, and numerous snowflakes were flying. As the soldiers sang, the snowflakes swept from all directions and piled up thickly on the ground.
Ye Qing specially gave the soldiers a day off, and the thousands of cattle, sheep, and pigs that had been brought in from behind were slaughtered and served with side dishes, and even some wine was rarely rationed.
After a night of feasting and feasting, the party gradually dispersed late at night. Only the sentries and vigilance technicians took turns at their posts to guard the last night of the first year of Yingwu.
In the Han Dynasty, there was actually no name for New Year's Eve, and there was no custom of keeping the year old. It was not until the Northern and Southern Dynasties that pasting Spring Festival couplets and hanging door gods did not appear until the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Or the more turbulent the era, the greater the need for ritual security.
However, the custom of hanging lanterns has already existed. The red lanterns were hung all over the camp, reflecting on the frozen fence, and each one flashed with cold light like a sharp sword.
Late at night, the cold wind from what would later be known as the Siberian wilderness roared past the camp, breaking the ice picks and causing a piece of ice to fall on the ground.
"No--"
Ye Qing woke up in the tent, covered in cold sweat.