It snowed all day and all night, and it didn't clear up until the next day. This thin amount of snow was quickly cleared away by the footsteps and wheels of Chang'an people. The officials in the imperial court began to walk along Danfengmen Street in the morning light, heading towards Daming.
The palace takes part in the pilgrimage.
The princes all rode their horses sleepily, letting the servants in front lead them forward. Right Prime Minister Li Linfu sat in the ink carriage, with a crimson cloak draped over his body, woolen covers on his ears, and an incense burner in his hand.
I closed my eyes and followed the car as it swayed.
The vehicle came to a halt, and the sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped. Li Linfu opened his eyes, yawned, frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
The servant driving the carriage outside replied: "Alang, the palace door is closed."
"Why is the palace door closed?"
Many officials who were riding to court stopped in front of Danfeng Gate and talked among themselves.
Two soldiers on the city gate beat the big drum, and a red-lipped eunuch wearing a red robe stood in front of the railing and shouted loudly below: "The sage has spoken, we will not attend the court today, and the left and right ministers, as well as the ministers and ministers of all ministries, can go to the south."
Discussing matters in the inner calyx building."
Upon hearing this, all the officials turned around and went back.
Right Prime Minister Li Linfu raised his head and thought carefully before waving his hand and saying to his servant: "Turn around and go to Nanei."
"Here."
…
At the same time, the palace officials came to the backyard of the Anxi Jiedu envoy in Pingkangfang, and announced an oral order to Fumeng Lingcha who was waiting there, asking him to take the Anxi generals to the Huacalyx Tower to be holy today.
After the palace officials left, Fumeng Lingcha sighed happily: "What a risk. Fortunately, we got all the gifts in advance. Who would have thought that His Majesty would meet with the envoys from various countries in the Western Regions at Huaqe Tower one day in advance."
"Quickly, don't be stupid, change your clothes and get ready."
There are only three so-called Anxi generals in total, and the preparations are quite simple. There is no need to wear court uniforms, just change into simple ordinary clothes. The three of them will be led by three personal soldiers to Xingqing Palace.
Before they arrived at the Flower Calyx Tower, they first passed through the palace gate downstairs. Many officials were already waiting in the square in front of the building. Looking over, they saw a gathering of purple air. They were all officials from various ministries and departments. Only Fumeng
Ling Cha was qualified to stand with them, so Cheng Qianli and his two junior military attachés had no choice but to follow behind from a distance.
According to the rules of the imperial court, people are ranked by their official positions. Fumeng Lingcha's official position is no more than Yushi Zhongcheng. Even though he is the only one in Qixi and can cover the sky with one hand, he still feels quite inferior when standing among these purple robes. This is the officialdom.
The ultimate goal of becoming a general is actually to enter the phase.
But as a Qiang man, he should probably give up on this idea.
Li Siye stood far away, just enough to get out of them and have a superficial understanding of these people.
Needless to say, Li Linfu, just looking at his back gives me goosebumps. Li Shizhi, the left prime minister, is the great-grandson of Li Shimin and the biological grandson of Li Chengqian, and Li Linfu is the great-grandson of the great ancestor Li Yuan's brother Li Shuliang. Although he has already been born
After serving for five times, they were of the same spirit. Just because they wanted to fight for power when they became prime ministers, the two fought to the death. In the end, Li Linfu forced him to take poison and commit suicide. As expected, as he said in the future, peers are naked.
Hatred.
The highlight of Li Shizhi's life was when he served as the governor of Youzhou, and later became the prime minister of the court. Because of his rough temperament, he was often plotted by Li Linfu.
The prince is actually there too? The person standing on the right side of the prince should be the famous eunuch He who wrote "Yong Liu".
There is another person in the queue, Mao Shun, the great craftsman who will be the supervisor. He enjoys the treatment of the third grade. He is good at casting, engraving, construction, design, and drawing. He is a real engineering technician and a master of practical work.
…
"Please pull Khan Na, Tu Qi Shi, Xiao Bolu's envoy, the ministers on the left and right to meet with the chief ministers of various ministries, the Anxi Jiedushi envoy and all the generals to meet the Holy Spirit!"
The hollow doors downstairs of the calyx opened one after another, and the upward wooden stairs appeared. The officials stepped on the stairs and entered slowly. As Li Linfu walked forward, he sighed: "It takes a lot of time to build the Taishang Xuanyuan Lamp Tower.
The wealth is so huge that we have to cut down countless bamboos and trees in the southern mountains of the Qinling Mountains and transport them to Chang'an, which is really hurting the people."
Li Shizhi, who was walking beside him, heard this and thought it was an exclamation, so he asked with interest: "The Prime Minister also thinks that this big lantern tower that costs countless money and is only lit for one night should not be built?"
Li Linfu shook his head and said: "Whether it should be built or not is a question for the saints. I only consider my own problems."
The officials came to the second floor and stood on the left and right respectively. They all bowed to the emperor who was sitting cross-legged on the stage and crossed their hands: "I will see your majesty."
The emperor was still in good spirits, but his hair was inevitably stained with frost. Unfortunately, there was no hair dye at that time. Gao Lishi stood next to the royal steps and shouted loudly: "Is the envoy here?"
"I'm here." A foreigner wearing a fur robe came forward, crossed his chest and saluted.
Li Longji sighed with emotion and seemed to come to the conclusion: "Asillanda, the king of Bukhanna, twice helped the Tang Dynasty to quell civil strife in Tuqishi. His loyalty can be seen and his sincerity is commendable. I want to marry the princess to Asillanda, and the two countries will live forever."
It’s great to be of the same mind.”
The envoy was so excited that he knelt on one knee, crossed his hands and saluted: "It is the honor of our Lord Asilanda to be granted marriage by the saint. Lord Asilanda is willing to be a vassal of the Tang Dynasty forever, paying tribute every year.
May the Tang Dynasty be prosperous for a long time and the country be blessed for thousands of years."
The emperor stroked his beard with satisfaction. Bukhanna's complete submission expanded the Tang Dynasty's influence in the Western Regions and effectively curbed the influence of Tubo and Dashi on this region. It was regarded as an invisible victory.
"Please ask the sage to give me the title of Bukhanna again, and give my ruler a Chinese surname."
Li Longji tugged on his beard and thought about it, nodded and said: "Then I will give the country the name Ningyuan and the surname Dou."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Immediately following him was Dumo Zhi, a representative of Tuqi Shihei. His political opinion of supporting the Fire-Tumbling Immortal Khan had been reported to the emperor by Fu Meng Lingcha in advance. Li Longji was mentally prepared and readily agreed to the request.
He personally gave Tuqishi Khan a large scroll and talismans, and also gave Dou Mo a branch with the third surname of Yehu to control all Tuqishi tribes.
The envoy from Xiaobolu Kingdom still reiterated the old tune, asking the Tang Dynasty to send troops to drive away Tibet, so that Xiaobolu returned to the Tang camp.
This is not because King Su of Xiaobolu yearned for Tang rule and was willing to be a Tang official rather than a Tubo official. At least this was not the main factor. All considerations were based on political interests, which can be seen clearly from the geographical location. For Xiaobolu
For Bolu, Tubo was too close. The city of Luoxue, the center of its rule, was only a thousand miles away from the small city of Bolu, but it was thousands of miles away from Chang'an. Even the four towns of Anxi were separated by a rough terrain called Congling.
.
If Xiaobolu was controlled by Tibet for a long time, it would be in danger of being annexed and annihilated, and would become part of the plateau map. However, if it was controlled by the Tang Dynasty, there would be no such problem, because the implementation of the restraint policy gave the ethnic minorities the right to autonomy.
As long as they recognized the status of the suzerainty of the Tang Dynasty and fulfilled their responsibilities such as paying tribute and responding to wars, the kings did not have to worry about losing their dominance.
Although the saint is getting older, he is still clear about the pros and cons of the situation surrounding the Tang Empire, and he easily received the envoys of these three forces during the conversation.
The left and right ministers and ministers were still sitting below, putting together the content of today's court meeting and the etiquette for receiving foreign ministers. After the envoys retired, Li Longji asked everyone: "What should the court council discuss today?"
?”
Li Linfu stood up from the ground, holding a tablet in his hand and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty wants to summon Mao Shun, the chief craftsman today, to discuss the construction of the Xuanyuan Lamp Tower for the Shangyuan Festival. What should the lamp tower look like? The saint must have
It seems vague, please let your majesty make it clear, so that Master Mao Shun can draw the plans and start the construction, hoping to catch up with the Lantern Festival next year."
Mao Shun, who was standing behind them, frowned and was about to step forward to remonstrate, but was stopped by Li Shizhi with his eyes.
The emperor raised his head longingly, looked out at the corridor at the end of the calyx building, stretched his hands in the air and described: "It should be towering above thousands of palaces, so that the entire city of Chang'an can be seen, and the main lamp is the Taiyuan."
Surrounded by the statue of Xuanyuan God, Phoenix, Kirin and other eight desolate beasts, there is a colorful curtain on the outside and figurines of lamps inside, which are connected by organs and acupoints. Once lit, they will rotate endlessly and shine for miles."
"My lords and Mao Shun, do you think my idea can be realized?"
Master Mao finally couldn't help it anymore, and just as he was about to step forward, Li Shizhi stretched out his hand to stop him, stood up in person, held the wat board in both hands, and said: "Your Majesty, the bamboo used for this big lamp is huge. The wood needs to be cut down in large quantities from the southern foot of Zhongnan Mountain and transported back."
Chang'an, how many people will be forced to work hard along the way, I request your Majesty to slightly reduce the number and replace the big lights with medium lights and small lights, so that the people along the way will suffer less."