The four hundred and sixtieth chapter of the grand ceremony (3)
The dawn has passed, but the dawn has not yet come.＠
The sky is still dotted with stars.
Fire disks extended out from Xuanshi Hall, and on both sides of the road, black-armored warriors stood silently with weapons in hand.
Thousands of people, including princes, ministers and officials, crowded the usually spacious Xuanshi Hall.
In particular, not everyone comes empty-handed.
On the first day of the new year, I wish to extend my birthday greetings to the emperor, so how can I come empty-handed?
After more than fifty years of development, the Han Dynasty had clear regulations on sending congratulatory gifts to the emperor.
This rule is a Zhou etiquette for plagiarism.
The princes will hold the gui, the princes and ministers will hold the wall, the princes and princes will hold the leather and silk, the ministers will give lambs, the officials will give geese, and other officials and ministers will also give a pheasant.
Among them, even the princes, princes, honorable ministers and relatives who also hold the title of Gui and the wall are divided into three, six or nine grades.
There are strict regulations on what kind of kuibi can be used at what level.
As the saying goes, "Use jade as the six auspicious symbols to serve the country, and use birds as the six auspicious symbols to serve as the ministers."
If you are below the level, you cannot send gifts that exceed the level to the emperor.
Therefore, if modern people saw the beginning of the great court ceremony of the Han Dynasty, they would probably burst into laughter.
In the past, all the powerful people and giants gathered together nervously, holding a wild goose or carrying a lamb, waiting for the arrival of the emperor.
The princes, kings and noble ministers held the Guibi with both hands and lowered their heads in solemn silence.
As for the clerk who delivered the pheasants, he couldn't even enter the gate of Xuanshi Palace.
They could only wait outside the temple.
During this period, officials should be careful about their gifts (such as lambs, geese, and pheasants). If they escape, someone will die!
A charge of disgrace before the king is enough to make people despair!
Although it looks funny, at this time, this is an extremely serious and traditional political activity.
The New Year's ritual is to present congratulatory gifts to the emperor to wish him a happy birthday. This is a gesture of support and willing submission from the officials and the world to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.
When the emperor accepted gifts from his ministers, he also expressed his gratitude and encouraged the ministers who presented the gifts.
Ministers congratulate the emperor, and the emperor thanks his ministers. In a sense, this is also a political statement by the emperor to express his willingness to rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats.
Just after dawn, the rooster crows.
The inner hall doors of Xuanshi Palace were all opened.
Dozens of black-clad warriors wearing armor filed out of the inner hall and stood in awe before the emperor's steps.
Four censors walked out from behind the censor Chao Cuo, holding a scroll of Han laws, and stood under the imperial steps. Suddenly, the entire hall fell silent.
Anyone who dares to speak out about the censor's law enforcement is seeking death!
When everything was ready, Liu Che's imperial edict was launched from the inner hall of Xuanshi Palace.
"Police!" Prime Minister Zhou Yafu came forward and bowed with a jade, and the entourage behind him immediately joined Liu Che's car with weapons like ornaments.
"Police!" Chao Cuo, the censor doctor, stepped forward and kowtowed. Behind him, several censors came out, holding volumes of Han laws, and joined the team.
"Police..." Along the way, wherever the imperial chariot passed by, countless ministers came forward to kowtow, and Liu Che's team became larger and larger. When the chariot arrived in front of the imperial steps, dozens of ministers who had been prepared immediately raised their bows and narrowed their bows.
Arrow. Stand on the imperial steps, stand on both sides, and look at the officials.
At this time, Taichang Dou Pengzu came to the cart at the right time, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the auspicious time has come, please come aboard!"
Liu Che sat in the cart, motionless, slightly opened his mouth and said, "Yes!"
Wang Dao immediately shouted loudly: "Your Majesty said: Yes!"
The ministers immediately kowtowed: "Welcome Your Majesty!"
Liu Che stepped down from the cart and did not look back to see the situation in the Xuanshi Palace. Instead, surrounded by dozens of elite Tiger Guards, he walked up the imperial steps until he reached the throne. Only then did Liu Che turn around.
Turn around and face the officials.
At this moment, what appeared in front of Liu Che's eyes was an extremely magnificent scene.
Inside and outside the Xuanshi Hall, countless fire disks illuminated the ministers and silent soldiers. On both sides of the hall, countless war flags were flying high.
Dawn has faintly appeared in the eastern sky.
At this moment, Liu Che happened to be standing at the highest point of Xuanshi Palace, and Xuanshi Palace was the tallest building in Weiyang Palace, and Weiyang Palace was higher than Chang'an City.
Liu Che stood in front of the throne, as if he were a god on top.
He opened his hands slightly and commanded: "Everyone, please make yourself at home!"
Taichang Dou Pengzu immediately said: "The emperor ordered all the ministers to be freed!"
Thousands of non-commissioned officers kowtowed to Zuo San before they stood up. Then, they were divided into civilian and military ranks on the east and west sides.
But the boundaries between civil and military affairs are not so clear.
The Han Dynasty was a militaristic regime. Especially in the middle and early stages, the boundaries between the civil and military regimes of the Han Dynasty were not clear.
It was common for military attachés to serve as county governors, to shepherd and govern the people, and for civilian officials to serve as generals, to take charge of armies, and to conduct expeditions thousands of miles away.
Therefore, there are many active generals among the civilian officials in the west, and civilian officials can also be seen among the military generals in the east.
The boundary between the two is just whether the minister is controlled by the prime minister or the general or lieutenant.
Or he comes from a noble family or a family of officials.
Generally speaking, the former has higher priority than the latter.
After all, for a militaristic regime, military merit is everything, and both civil and military affairs rely on military merit for survival.
In particular, the Han Dynasty is still threatened by the Xiongnu and is not peaceful internally. How could it be possible to imitate King Wu of Zhou and release horses to Nanshan and store swords and guns in the treasury?
Making soldiers and horses, accumulating grain and grass, training soldiers, and waiting for opportunities to act are the true portrayal of the Han Dynasty!
Liu Che glanced at the ministers, then slowly sat down.
Prime Minister Zhou Yafu then led the nine ministers to come forward and said: "I would like to congratulate your majesty. May my emperor live forever!"
Liu Che has been rehearsing in the East Palace for more than ten days for today's grand ceremony.
Faced with such a situation, he certainly knows how to deal with it.
He stood up, while the Nine Qings led by Zhou Yafu happened to bow down and kowtow.
Taichang Dou Pengzu, as the ceremonial officer, sang a promise: "The emperor is waiting for you!"
So Zhou Yafu took the lead and led the nine ministers to present congratulatory gifts to Liu Che - pieces of beautiful jade.
Wang Dao immediately stepped forward and first took the jade offered by Zhou Yafu.
Liu Che had sat down again at this time. To be honest, he felt a little bit unhappy in his heart - that bastard Shu Suntong! He actually designed such a complicated link!
But in fact, such a link helps to demonstrate the emperor's ability to control his ministers.
This is also the inheritance and sublimation of the tradition of ministers respecting their emperor and monarchs respecting their ministers since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
At this time, the scholar-bureaucrats and literati and poets also had a mentality similar to "If the emperor pleases me, I will do things for him. If the emperor's affairs are not in line with my wishes, I will hang up and leave."
In the history books of the Han Dynasty, there are many examples of the emperor doing things that made the ministers unhappy, and there are many examples of ministers giving up their sons.
The scholars in the opposition were even more powerful. The emperor refused to become an official even though he tried to conquer the country. He grabbed a lot of them.
Therefore, what this program actually conveys is the meaning of ‘the minister is loyal to the emperor, and the emperor respects the minister’.
Liu Che is still clear about this.
Therefore, according to the established procedure, he stood up again and said to Zhou Yafu: "I would like to thank the Prime Minister for the gift!"
Next, it was Chao Cuo, and Liu Che stood up as usual and said: "Thank you!"
Although Liu Che, the other nine ministers, still had to stand up, this time they only had to say a word of thanks.
Liu Che only had to thank the remaining generals, generals, princes, princes, princes and brothers for their congratulatory gifts.
As for the two thousand stones and the representatives of the county, Liu Che needed to say: "Yes!"
It means that I allow you to give gifts.
Only the princes and noble ministers who came to Chang'an for pilgrimage in person needed Liu Che to say "thank you".
The entire process has established procedures and rules.
And the only people Liu Che needed to come forward to accept the gifts in person were ministers with more than two thousand dan.
Gifts such as wild geese and pheasants worth less than two thousand dan will be collected by Taichang.
Despite this, it took almost half an hour to complete this round of procedures.
At this time, the sky is getting brighter. The sun rises from the east and shines on the whole world.
The great ceremony has just begun.
The first thing Liu Che had to do was to arrange the seats for the officials.
This is very serious matter!
In particular, today is Liu Che's first major court ceremony since he ascended the throne, so it is particularly important - it is related to the ranking and status of the giants in the DPRK and China this year and even in the next few years.
The position of ministers in the Han Dynasty's imperial rites is basically equal to the minister's future status in the court.
The ranking of ministers is roughly equivalent to the ranking of the Politburo in later generations.
For example, when Emperor Taizu Gao held his first court ceremony, Prime Minister Xiao He sat first, so the Han Dynasty established the political ranking of the prime minister first and the imperial censor second.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, the generals of chariots and cavalry were ranked after the prime minister and the imperial censor, thus determining the qualifications of the generals of chariots and cavalry for presidential military affairs when the vacancy of Taiwei was available.
When the late emperor came to the throne, he placed the internal historian Chao Cuo and the doctor Zhou Ren at the forefront. Only then did Chao Cuo have the momentum he had when he clamored to cut down the feudal vassals, and he was able to build up such a large momentum.
It is no exaggeration to say that the seat and position of a minister in the imperial ceremony and the number of times the emperor mentions the minister determine how much power the minister and the forces he represents will have in the future.
Liu Che's eyes were burning, he looked around the ministers and said: "Prime Minister, for your hard work and merits, I will grant you a seat in front of the emperor!"
Immediately, eunuchs carried futons and tables, and respectfully invited Prime Minister Zhou Yafu to sit under the imperial steps closest to Liu Che.
Zhou Yafu thanked him and went immediately.
Don't think that being a prime minister in the Han Dynasty will definitely rank first.
That happened in the previous life, let alone mention it.
In the second year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign, Taizong took advantage of the opportunity of Chen Ping's death to launch a surprise attack and removed Prime Minister Zhou Bo's seat at the imperial ceremony. In one fell swoop, Taizong defeated the power of the veteran ministers and achieved a great reversal.
Later, he immediately issued an imperial edict and drove Zhou Bo back to the feudal country to farm, and completely took control of the power.
The prime minister immediately sat down, and everyone's eyes fell on Chao Cuo, the imperial censor.
Everyone knows that Chao Cuo was lucky enough to rely on the favor of the late emperor.
Now, the new king has ascended the throne. As the saying goes, one emperor has one courtier. Moreover, the former prime minister, Guanhou Shentujia, and Chao Cuo are political enemies, and Shentujia is a veteran respected by the emperor.
Since the emperor came to the throne alone, there have been more than a dozen envoys sent to Shentujia's residence to express condolences and reward him.
During today's imperial ceremony, the emperor personally issued an edict, granting Guanhou the right to enter the palace without any hesitation. He would not be able to praise and worship, but only had his sword and shoes to reach the palace. He would be able to catch up with Xiao He's treatment back then!
In this way, how will today's people deal with Chao Cuo, the imperial censor and the remnant of the late emperor?
Many people are curious.
Even Chao Cuo himself felt uneasy, like fetching water from a bamboo basket.
Chao Cuo knew very well that today it was necessary to adjust the forces between the government and the opposition, and arrange for his closest confidants. Today was the best day to take advantage of the opportunity of the imperial ceremony to openly and honestly adjust the political order and power in the government, and even make room for his own people. Location, this is what it should mean.
To be honest, since I came to the throne, I have not taken any action against the DPRK, which is already very valuable.
However, Liu Che looked beyond Chao Cuo and towards the veterans and ministers standing in Dongxiang on the west side.
"Zhang Wuhou Guangguo!" Liu Che said calmly: "As the brother of the Empress Dowager, I do not pride myself on wealth and honor, but stick to my heart and be law-abiding. I am loyal to the country and I have great respect for it. The ancestral system has its merits. Reward, but punishment if you go too far!"
Liu Che stood up and said: "Marquis Zhang Wu accepts the imperial edict!"
Dou Guangguo, Marquis of Zhangwu, quickly came out. Although he was Liu Che's uncle and the biological brother of the Empress Dowager.
But in the Heavenly Family, there are no relatives, only emperors and ministers.
Therefore, Dou Guangguo immediately knelt down, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I, my lord Guangguo, pay my respects!"
"I appointed you to be the special elder. You will attend court meetings every month on the first day of the month and sit next to the prime minister. You will observe government affairs. Therefore, Anhou Shentujia, Qu Zhouhou Liji, Gonggaohou Han Daidang, General Luan Bu are all the same. Order!" Liu Che said calmly.
But his words were like a bomb that hit the ministers in court.
Dou Guangguo and Shen Tujia granted him the special title of senior senator, which is nothing.
The right to participate in the Synodic Court is just a symbol of honor.
The Shuowang court meetings of the Han Dynasty generally did not discuss practical issues, but only discussed theories and national policies. In fact, they were just talking about it.
Real government affairs are decided at the Umrah meeting once every five days.
Therefore, this is actually a kind of praise for senior ministers like Dou Guangguo and Shen Tujia.
But those listed immediately after these two people are all generals with real power!
Li Ji has been a general of the Han Dynasty since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Gong Gaohou Han Daidang has always been the commander and trainer of the Han Dynasty cavalry. General Luan Bu has become stronger with age.
Although these three people are all over fifty, the oldest Luan Bu is even seventy years old this year.
However, during the Warring States Period, there were stories about Lianpo being able to make a living even though he was old.
Now that the Han Dynasty is prosperous, that soldier is willing to leave his post and give up his power to become the so-called special elder?
If someone else does such a thing as promoting style, everyone will be happy to see it, but when it's your turn, hehe...
For a moment, the expressions of Li Ji, Han Daedang, and Luan Bu all changed.
But Liu Che urged: "Please accept the edict!"
Will a glass of wine release military power?
This is the release of military power over a glass of wine!
Forcing Li Ji, Han Daidang and Luan Bu to retire will allow Liu Che to fully control the barrel of the gun.
You know, these people are all subordinates who have followed Zhou Yafu for many years.
The military power is in the hands of these people, which makes Liu Che very embarrassed!
I feel a little uneasy when I sleep at night!
Besides, there are a bunch of old men in their seventies and eighties who always occupy the positions of the highest-ranking generals in the Han Dynasty. What should the young people do?
Elder politics is a taboo in the country!
Of course, for a slap, you have to give a sweet date.
A mere special promotion to such an honorary position would not satisfy the appetites of the elders and ministers. It would also make the world gossip and say that the old Liu family was mean and ungrateful.
Therefore, Liu Che explained: "I will set up a martial arts garden in Shanglin Garden, and specially invite the elders to offer wine to the martial arts garden. From now on, all generals in the world, including captains and captains, will have to serve in the martial arts garden after being promoted.
Yuan is a one-year-old trainee, learning the art of war, and must be given the guidance of the elders before he can take up his post!"
Duwei and Xiaowei were the backbone of the Han Dynasty army. All armies in the world were composed of Duwei and Xiaowei as units.
In other words, this martial arts academy was actually the Whampoa Military Academy of the Han Dynasty, and its graduates became independent senior generals upon graduation.
Letting Elder Tejin take the post of offering wine in the Wuyuan, on the one hand, it is to appease these old people who have lost their positions, so as to prevent them from feeling resentful, and it can also make the world speechless.
More importantly, this was used to separate these senators from the army.
When people die and the government rests, people leave and the tea is cool. As long as Han Baidang, Li Ji and others leave the army, they will no longer be able to control the army.
This military power was completely in Liu Che's hands.
At the end, Liu Che added: "I will personally be the head of Mount Wuyuan, and Wuyuan will be allowed to visit the palace at any time to offer wine to you!"
With such a step, and the fact that his arms could not lift his thighs, when Han was named, Li Ji and Luan Bu had no choice but to follow Dou Guangguo. Shen Tujia kowtowed and said, "I am here to serve you!"
It’s okay not to obey the imperial edict!
Dou Guangguo and Shen Tujia will definitely obey the imperial edict.
If they don't obey the order, I'm afraid they will be thrown into Tingwei's prison immediately.
The political struggle of the Han Dynasty has always been so cruel!
Besides, the compensation given by the emperor is not bad...
This was Han Daedang's idea. As a descendant of the Xiongnu, Han Daedang felt that it was really good that he could achieve such a result, not to mention that he could leave a rich network of connections to future generations. It was worth it!
"That's good. From now on, I can safely compile cloth to usurp Ying and Peng Yue's military tactics..." This was Luan Bu's idea. Luan Bu was already over seventy this year. Even if the emperor didn't let him go, he was ready to beg.
The skeleton has retired and returned home - he is too old to hold on any longer!
Li Ji, the only one who was reluctant, had no choice.
Although Li Ji felt that she was already in her sixties this year.
But the bones in his body are still very strong, and he can still shine for the emperor for another ten or twenty years.
However, Li Ji's family knew about his family affairs. After he sold the Lu family, he was known as a villain who betrayed his friends. The scholarly public opinion was unfavorable to him, and the veterans and ministers also regarded him as an alien - you
If you can betray your life and death brother Lu Lu, there is no guarantee that he will not sell me out. I’d better keep a distance from you!
His ability to be active in the political arena of the Han Dynasty to this day relies on the trust of the Tian family.
Li Ji was not stupid enough to destroy the image of a loyal and lonely minister that he had established for the emperor.
Liu Che sighed.
In fact, he originally wanted to take a more drastic action and force all generals over the age of 65 to be transferred to the reserve service, so as to make room for young people and fully control the military power.
After all, future wars and the war patterns these old men are familiar with will completely change, and they will no longer adapt to the development trend of the times.
But unfortunately, that is not realistic.
Apart from Emperor Gao and Empress Lu, there was no third monarch who fully controlled the military power of the Han Dynasty.
Even when Xiaozhu fought against the Huns, he had to rely on the noble princes and ministers at the beginning. After Wei Qing fought, Wei Qing was allowed to lead the army. (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
ps: ps: Compared with the later period of the Western Han Dynasty, especially the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial court ceremony system in the early and middle periods of the Western Han Dynasty was very imperfect. After searching the information for a long time, I could not find all the information, so there were naturally omissions in the writing, and the omission of the ministers entering the palace was also deleted. A trendy plot~
But it's not important. It felt a bit boring to write, so I deleted it.
In addition, in history, it was during this period that Emperor Jing successively relieved the old men of their military power, Han Dai was raised in Chang'an, Li Ji, the bastard, even lost his title and title, and Luan Bu was deceived to go to another place to become the prime minister.
I also thought about playing this way, but I felt it would be better to stay in Chang'an and let the veterans teach the newcomers.
