Guo Zongyi was dreaming that he was riding on horseback to defeat the Khitan, and he was awakened by Liu Dong who he captured to warm his bed.
"What's wrong?" Guo Zongyi asked sleepily.
Liu Dong clutched his dirty clothes tightly and replied with a blushing face: "A chief eunuch came outside and said he was sent by His Majesty to invite you to court."
"Go to court?" Guo Zongyi suddenly woke up and turned to look at the sky outside the window. It was just dark.
"Yesterday was the Lantern Festival. Today is the 16th day of the lunar month. It will be the first day of the lunar month." Liu Dong replied in a low voice.
Guo Zongyi sighed helplessly: "Let's get some water."
The eunuch who came to pick him up this time was an eunuch from the Xuanhui Palace. Along the way, he told him many etiquettes that should be paid attention to during court meetings.
Guo Zongyi hadn't woken up yet, and hearing him nagging in his ears was even more disturbing. He still had to smile and chime in from time to time, showing a humble and studious look.
When he finally arrived at Chongyuan Hall, he only remembered ten or two.
The Five Dynasties mostly inherited the Tang system, and slightly modified it according to the stories of each dynasty, but the court meetings have not changed much.
There are mainly Changchao, Dachaohui, and Yanyingyi. Dachaohui includes ceremonial court meetings such as New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, New Year's Eve, May New Year's Eve (summer solstice court meeting), etc. The main function is to display etiquette and declare power and virtue.
The monarch looks at the regular court. If he is diligent, he will be in court all year round. If he is lazy, there will be no fixed day. However, since the Anshi Rebellion, the country's main decisions and decrees have come from the more efficient and simpler Yanyingyi.
Today, after the Shuowang court meeting, after giving him a meal on the veranda, he will go to the cabinet to open Yanying. This is why Guo Wei sent someone to invite him to the court.
There were so many people in front of the palace, a large area of red and green, that made Guo Zongyi take a breath: "There are actually so many officials in Beijing!"
The eunuch explained: "According to the regulations, those who are in the ninth rank or above in Beijing must participate in the imperial meeting. Those with lower official positions or commissions will stop at the corridor. Outside the palace, only a few dozen people can enter the Chongyuan Palace."
Guo Zongyi stood on tiptoe, looking at the huge sea of people, a little puzzled: "Is there a path here?"
The eunuch couldn't help but smile: "Your Highness, please wait a moment and let me clear the way."
After saying that, he cleared his throat, took a deep breath, lowered his Dantian, and sang loudly: "Hey——"
This sound resounded throughout the world, echoing endlessly, and the crowd all looked over.
The eunuch didn't even take a breath. He raised his voice and sang loudly: "Officials - make way for His Royal Highness, the eldest grandson of the Emperor!"
There was a commotion in the crowd, but heads surged through the sea of people, like water ripples, and a path soon appeared.
Seeing this scene, Guo Zongyi couldn't help but sigh: "Xuanhui Courtyard is really a crouching tiger, hidden dragon."
He suddenly remembered that Wang Jun's position in the former Han Dynasty was that of the envoy to the North Academy of Xuanhui. Putting him in this position as an actor, Liu Zhiyuan really knows people well.
"Your Highness, please come quickly." The eunuch bowed.
"good."
Guo Zongyi walked quickly, and officials on both sides bowed their hands and saluted each other, and everyone called him "Jin An". He had no choice but to nod his head left and right. When he arrived at the corridor of Chongyuan Hall, his neck was a little stiff.
His position belonged to the third rank of the martial arts class, and he was ordered to wait outside the west gate to enter the cabinet. There were very few military attachés above the third rank in Beijing, only a dozen or so. Guo Zongyi was taken by the eunuch, and before leaving, he presented an elephant tablet and another
After a few simple words of etiquette, he left.
After he walked away, a middle-aged military attache left the crowd, walked up to him, and saluted loudly: "My lord, Privy Councilor Wang Jun has met His Highness."
Guo Zongyi quickly returned the courtesy: "It turns out it's the prince, I'm rude."
Wang Jun is not tall, but he has a dignified appearance and a deep and powerful voice. At first glance, he looks like a pillar of the imperial court.
"Did His Highness arrive last night?" Wang Jun and Xi chatted with him, his eyes gentle, as if he were looking at a close grandnephew.
"That's right, I caught up with the imperial meeting as soon as I arrived. If I had known better, I would have set off two days earlier." Guo Zongyi said with a smile. It was the first time in his life that he got up so early.
"His Royal Highness will live in Beijing for a long time in the future. Going to court will be a normal thing. Just get used to it." Wang Jun's eyes flickered and he stared at him motionless.
Guo Zongyi looked bitter and said sarcastically: "I am still young, and I am also a wooden stake when I go to court. It is not interesting to get up early."
Wang Jun saw that he showed no enthusiasm for political affairs and couldn't tell the truth for a moment, so he had to laugh and say goodbye.
The first test between the two ended in this way. After Wang Jun walked away, several more generals in purple robes came up to pay their respects.
Guo Chong was the military commander of the Wuding Army and the commander of the guard and horse army. Guo Chong's original name was Guo Chongwei. He changed his name to Guo Chong to avoid the taboo of Guo Wei. When he was in Songzhou, he had Liu Yun poisoned. He was Guo Wei's confidant general and a hero of Conglong.
Later, he led the Zhaowu Army Jiedushi and the infantry commander Cao Yin.
Shi Xi, the general of Youwuwei, was from the royal family of the former Jin Dynasty.
Song Yanwo, the Duke of Guangping County, was the grandson of Li Cunxu and the son-in-law of Liu Zhiyuan. After the Qianyou Rebellion, Guo Wei led his troops back to Beijing. At that time, he served as the military commander of the Yicheng Army and surrendered the town. He was very decisive.
There are also relatives of the former Jin Dynasty, General Zhang Congen of the Jinwu Guards on the left, Hou Renju, the general of Yulin on the left, Jiao Jixun, commander of the Shenwu Army on the right, General Qianniu Guard on the left, Zhai Guangye, envoy of the North Academy of Xuanhui and Deputy Privy Envoy, and Fu Yanlin, the general of Linmen on the right.
, he is the younger brother of Fu Yanqing, Xue Keyan, the military commander of the right dragon, Zhao Kuangzan, the commander of the right feather forest, and Song Yanyun, the general of the left guard.
There are only a few high-quality generals in Beijing. Except for Guo Chong and Cao Yinshi who hold military power, the rest are all honorary officers.
Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde were both low-ranking officials at this time. They were standing far back in the Fei Pao team. They stood there dissatisfied and only smiled and nodded to him. Guo Zongyi didn't want to worry about it, and it was inconvenient to go over and greet him, so he just walked away from a distance.
Junior gift.
Just as some fourth-grade military attachés who were close were hesitating whether to come forward to pay homage, they suddenly heard a loud shout. It turned out to be the censor urging all the officials to get back to work.
Everyone quickly divided into groups and stood still, waiting for the door to open.
There was a faint sound, and after a while, the door opened, and the supervisory censor led the civil and military teams into the pavilion in order to pay homage to the emperor.
Guo Zongyi, Wang Jun and others were the first batch to enter the pavilion. Feng Dao, a veteran in the literary class in the east, took the lead. He was still walking vigorously with a cane, and they were led to their positions. The door envoy shouted: "Bye!"
Guo Zongyi is now learning and practicing. He holds the elephant wat in both hands and bows down three times, and sings along with the music: "Holy bow, long blessings."
Then the people from Zhongshushe led them to stand under the east-west steps. After that, all the ministers entered the pavilion to pay their respects. Guo Zongyi roughly counted them. There were about twenty batches. Starting from the third batch, they could no longer stand in the Chongyuan Hall.
, you have to go to the porch outside the door to wait.
The ritual was complicated and detailed, until at the end, the gatekeeper sang again: "There is nothing going on in the yamen."
Guo Wei then got into the chariot and left, and the imperial visit had just ended. Guo Zongyi moved his hands and feet, found Dr. Kelu beside the hall, and asked: "When is it?"
"Back to Your Highness, we have just arrived."
Guo Zongyi did the math, he went out at three quarters past nine o'clock, and at four o'clock, the New Year's Eve meeting took him nearly two hours. He lived very close to the palace, only separated by a wall from the palace. If he were an official farther away, he would have to get up at about four o'clock.
Already.
"Are all major court meetings so time-consuming?" he asked again.
"Exactly, the New Year's Day party lasts a whole day."
"What about Chang Chao?"
"The rituals of the regular court are also quite strict, but there are only a few people attending the court, and only people of fifth rank and above are allowed to attend, so it takes a short time. If only the edict is announced without discussing matters, one hour is often enough."
Guo Zongyi felt relieved. It seemed that going to court would not be easy. If he met a diligent emperor, he would have to get up early every day.
He suddenly remembered that his own father seemed to be a workaholic after he came to the throne.
