In the fourth year of Xianqing (659 AD), on the first day of the first lunar month, two hours of Mao, the grand ceremony of the New Year's Day was held.

The most solemn court meetings in the Tang Dynasty were the Great Court Meeting on the New Year and the Great Court Meeting on the Winter Solstice. The New Year is also called Sanyuan, which is the so-called Spring Festival, also known as Yuanzheng or New Year's Day, which represents the beginning of the New Year. The so-called Great Court Meeting means that all officials meet the emperor. Zhou Li explained: Spring is called Chao, summer is called Zong, autumn is called Jin, and winter is called Joy.

In layman's terms, all officials in the capital, foreign envoys, royal relatives; governors of the Governor's Office, guru, deputy guru, governors of various states gathered in Taiji Hall to greet the emperor's New Year. It may not be there, for various objective reasons, politeness is beyond the reach of others.

Its political significance is divided into internal and external. It is internal, clarifying the relationship between the monarch and the ministers, strengthening the control of local officials, thereby strengthening the central government and controlling the states and counties. Maintaining hierarchical order and consolidating the rule of the Li family.

To the outside world, clarify the relationship between the foreign countries and the sect leader with the Tang Dynasty, and clarify the relationship with ethnic minorities. Strengthen the connection with ethnic minorities, declare the Tang Dynasty's strong national strength. Strengthen the rule of the border, strengthen the deterrence of neighboring countries, and maintain long-term stability of the country.

Today, in Chang'an City, there is a special alert state and traffic control in various streets. The guards of the southern and northern yamen and the imperial guards of the northern yamen almost all came out. Around the walls of each fang, the guards were covered with helmets and armor, with strong bows and long swords on their backs, and armed them to their teeth.

To the north of the Imperial City, flags cover the sky and the sun are covered with stars and scattered throughout the palace. From Chengtian Gate to Taiji Hall, there are twelve square formations along both sides of the main road. They are distributed in the left and right squares, called the left and right wings, similar to the military parade.

Yesterday afternoon, the left and right governments were ordered to go to the Tai Chi Hall to cooperate with the officials of the Ministry of Rites to arrange imperial tents for the court meeting. A wall was set up behind the imperial seat, which was an axe-shaped screen; the main hall was covered with red carpets, called "Seeping mats", and the incense burner and incense table were placed, and the guest area was planned according to the official position and the foreign ministers.

Before dawn, guests gathered. The Censor led his subordinates and waited in the west wing of Taiji Hall. The Censors arranged a queue. When dawn, the Jiade Gate opened, and the Censors led people into the door. The lieutenant of the left and right gates called the roster, and the person who was called out loudly shouted "Are".

It is also a physical job to click hundreds of names. After all, the censors finally ordered the names, and the civil servants entered the east gate of the palace, the military officers entered the west gate, and arranged the Tai Chi Square. The minister of the Secretariat, led by the minister of the ministry, prayed behind the incense table.

Li Yifu and Du Zhenglun were demoted, Xu Jingzong took over as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and former Dali Qing Xin Mao was promoted to the Minister of the Secretariat. Lao Xin played the guest role as an eunuch, recited the opening speech, and announced that the internal office of the atrium was held. Officials of the Censorate arranged guests to take their seats according to the ranks of all officials, and waited for Li Jiu to arrive.

The guests were all in their place. Xin Mao ordered the Honglu Temple to go to the West Gate to invite the main master, which was called the Foreign Office. The main master wore a robe, a crown of twelve jade beads, and a robe with twelve heralds. The robe was raised by the twelve palaces, and the people of the twelve palaces held ritual fans and followed them on both sides of the chariot. The ritual fans were long-handled wooden fans, which looked like banana fans. It was luxurious inlaid with gold and jade, and was used to block the wind and sun.

Twenty-four are on the left and right, carrying strong bows and arrows, and lined up behind the chariot. Twenty-four thousand oxes are prepared, wearing bright iron armor, holding long thousand ox swords, guarding both sides of the chariot. Wu Kang is wearing golden armor and walking at the forefront of the left team, standing out at the golden light of the chickens, dazzling everyone's eyes.

When he arrived at the west side of Tai Chi Hall, Yuyu slowly fell down. Wu Kang approached Yuyu, waved his right arm with a dull angle, and clenched his fists with his right hand. The boss pressed his wrist and walked down Yuyu slowly, looking like the eunuch Li Lianying, serving Empress Dowager Cixi. He was disgusted instantly. Mei Niang's bad idea was very harmful to others.

Left half a position, Li Yang, and protected the king's left and right together. All Qianniu were prepared, all were prepared, and followed behind the two. Twelve banana fans opened the way, crossing into a fan array to block the king's face, and seemed to be shameful.

When they entered the Taiji Hall, the guests stood up and the emperor was promoted to the imperial throne. Three fans were left on each side, Wu Kang and Li Yang, guarding the steps on both sides. Being able to stand at this position indicates that Sheng Jun Zhenglong was the emperor's confidant. Li Yang's father Li Yi Mansion, and Wu Kang's sister Wu Meiniang, was just a matter of time.

Zuowu waited for the general of the guard and came out to report loudly: peace inside and outside the left and right wings. The people from the public affairs house called out, and Xin Mao led the guests to bow their heads and kneel down to the king. He bowed twice in a row, which roughly means: Today is the Spring Festival, I wish Your Majesty a happy New Year and all the best.

After the bowing ceremony, Lao Xin stepped forward to ask for an order. Li Jiudan said: "It's okay." Lao Xin walked to the northeast and faced west to announce loudly: "There is a rule." All officials bowed again, and Lao Xin announced his decree: "The celebration of taking the new job is the same as the Duke. The general meaning is that when you bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, you will be happy together."

Accompanied by the music, serious scenes, the style of painting suddenly changed. Tai Chi Hall instantly changed into a dance party, the guests danced with their hands and feet, shook their arms and butts, slapped at Li Jiu, and grinned. Wu Kang was dumbfounded, and the legendary demons danced around, and finally saw it.

Changsun Wuji and Li Ji and others, older officials, danced heart-wrenchingly. Wu Kang was really worried about them and broke his old bones apart. Xu Jingzong, who was fat as big as a ball, was shaking all over his body. He was so angry that he couldn't bear to look at him directly. Do you want to laugh to death?

The herdsmen who can sing and dance were even more unwilling to be outdone, and their clothes were fluttering and their hair was spreading. A chief jumped to approach the imperial platform, but Wu Kang frowned slightly and moved to block him. The chief was slightly surprised, and continued to twist his fat waist, danced to Li Yang, and continued to go on stage.

The footsteps of the imperial platform sounded, and Li Jiu walked off the stage and came to Li Yang. The bearded chief knelt at Li Jiu's feet, held his boots in both hands, and lowered his head to sniff the boots. The legendary sniffing foot is the highest etiquette of the nomadic tribe, and only exercises against Khan. Wu Kang was confused, and the legendary sniffing foot is very eye-opening.

Li Jiu laughed happily, the chief smiled and twisted his butt back to the dance floor. Another chief was approaching, and Wu Kang was approaching, staring at the smelly chief. He was ready to go. If there was a half-point abnormality, he raised his foot and kicked the chief and chopped it in half. Is it not good to stay on top of it, and it would not increase the difficulty of the work?

Twenty-five envoys held their feet and sniffed their boots without feeling disgusted. Then all the officials approached and stopped three feet away to show their graceful dance. Li Jiu was in a good mood, waved his hands and greeted him, and waited for the end of the game, turned back to the imperial throne. He walked past Wu Kang and whispered in his ear: "Your dear, don't be nervous, that's their etiquette."

Wu Kang responded lightly, but he complained in his heart that you would not feel pain when you stand and speak. If someone has ulterior motives, Jing Ke will assassinate the King of Qin, I will definitely be the one who is unlucky. The music comes to an end, the demons dance around, and the officials bow again. The three bows are completed, and the New Year's Day worship ends, and the atmosphere reaches climax.

Xin Mao was the general of general to preside over the ceremony. The censor held the list in his hand and sent a message to the hall, and was inspected by the saints. He led the military guards on both sides and the commanders of Huang. Twenty people opened the way and ten people broke the back. He wore a red cloak, held a long halberd in his hands, and hung a red crimson tent.

The yellow flags of the left and right guards, the red flags of the left and right guards, the white flags of the left and right guards, the black flags of the left and right guards, and the green flags of the left and right guards. Different colors, different guard cloaks, different hilts of the knife, swords and halberds; the same military appearance, the same momentum, and the same majesty. The envoys of the foreign countries were indeed shocked and were all dumbfounded.

Half an hour later, the inspection of the ceremony was completed, and Xin Mao would continue to preside over the presidency. The officials of each state and the vassal states presented local specialties. The people of the Tongshi House held the gift list and first read out the vassal states, such as a certain Western Turkic tribe, how many cattle and sheep they sent, how many war horses they sent by the Uighurs, and how many Silla maids they sent by Silla...

Then the prefectures of the Tang Dynasty announced which one to stand up and bow to him. What things are there, such as mats, jujubes, and mulberries, which were all rotten in the future, but now they are offerings. Wu Kang was in a lack of interest, and his desire for money has dropped to the lowest level in history, and he cannot buy good things with money.

When it was Wuzhou's turn, he was almost cheered up. Di Renjie seemed to have gained a lot of weight in his red robe. Others grew taller, but you grew horizontally, with fat heads and big ears, and almost became a meatball. He gave his eyes with disdain. Such a good meal, there was a lot of embezzlement, right?

Lao Di looked at him without squinting, and he could not check and responded to the contempt of the boss. Wuzhou had a lot of local tributes, including kudzu and kale powder, fragrant ginger and coptis chinensis, cloth and vine paper, white wax and yellow wax, Chisongjian rice and Chameng sweet rice, and various fluorite jewelry. Li Jiu was very satisfied and praised Lao Di for a few words, saying that Wuzhou was Hua Tianbao.

Wu Kang was also very pleased. Yesterday, I heard from Mei Niang that Wu officials had good political achievements and their economy was booming. Mei Niang blew the wind beside her pillow, and withdrew the governor's office in Yuezhou and set up the governor's office in Wuzhou, but was rejected by Li Jiu. He blew the wind beside her pillow, promoted Di Renjie to Beijing, made up for the general of Xin Mao, and took over as the Minister of Dali Temple.

Li Jiu still refused and gave two choices, either the governor of Wuzhou or the chief of Dali Temple. The governor of Wuzhou was from the third rank, and the chief of Dali was from the sixth rank, which was eleven levels apart. The only advantage was to become a Beijing official and approach the political center.

It seems that he obeyed Mei Niang's life and was unmoved by politics. Wu Kang even felt that Li Jiu suppressed the Wu clan to restrict Mei Niang. Demoting the Wu brothers was just following the flow, and his fundamental purpose was to restrict Mei Niang.

During the Western Turkic Battle, I made many military achievements and only prepared Qianniu. The left and right commanded the left and right palaces, Qianniu General, sounded high-end, but in fact, the bodyguard leader had no military power or regime. I offered secret techniques to cure choke, saved the princess' life, and only gave him a sword helmet. Killing Qianniu bastard deliberately suppressed me, and also restricted Meiniu?

My scalp was numb. If this was the case, Li Jiu would be terrible. I must remind Mei Niang not to participate in politics too much. I must also determine how cautious Li Jiu was towards the Wu family. I should not sigh at the slightest sigh. When the dynasty meeting ended, I would like to find Di Renjie to reminisce about the past. Stay in Wuzhou as the governor, and go to Beijing to become the Dali Chief, so I will give you an accurate statement.

The stinky and long gift list was finally read out, and then it began to be funny. The states and vassal states presented the so-called auspiciousness. All kinds of strange things, all kinds of donkey hoofs and horseshoes, Wu Kang was so amused and crying. What's the point?

The strange stones, with the patterns on them, look like text, are listed as the best auspiciousness, and the devotees are rewarded with 10,000 gold. Right-angled natural stone strips are indeed good things and proof of the movement of the earth's crust. Unfortunately, there was no geology in the Tang Dynasty.

The cute little white mice have become the best auspicious, and they are unlucky test subjects in later generations. There is even happier one. There is a woman in Bingzhou who gave birth to four babies in one child. Li Jiu was very excited. The woman Xuan entered the palace and encouraged her for a long time, holding four babies one by one.

Quadplants are not common, but they are not auspicious, and they are rare and strange. It seems that Li Jiu is hindered. The palace servants took five of their mothers to the harem to meet the queen. Let the queen get a quadplants, and they also treat Mei Niang as a sow.

Happy time passed quickly, and the auspiciousness was delivered. The Minister of Revenue was listed and the tributes from all over the country were my. The Minister of Rites did not show weakness, and I took away the tributes from the vassal states. Li Jiu agreed. The Minister of Revenue asked his younger brother and brought things into the warehouse, except for the quadruplet women.

When the final process is entered, the saints give guests a banquet, which is a ritual food. Such as drinking Tusu wine, medicinal wine soaked from rhubarb, pepper and other medicinal materials. It can nourish the air and warm the yang, dispel wind and cold, and avoid epidemics. It has gradually spread and become a custom.

When drinking ordinary wine, the elderly drink first, and Tusu wine is the opposite. Young people drink first, and the elderly drink last. Su Shi once wrote a poem that lasted for Tusu wine every year, but he didn't realize that he had more than seventy years, which is a portrayal of this custom.

Cut onion, garlic, leek, mustard and wormwood into a five-prudent plate, which means bidding farewell to the old and welcome the new, which can unblock the internal organs and prevent influenza. Boiling peach wood into soup is said to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. Wu Kang is not allowed to discuss it, and the authenticity is not discussed, and the taste is definitely not good.

The guests were feasting, and Wu Kang sneered. You were in groups of three or five, chatting, and I was holding a thousand-magic knife and standing on duty. You sat and stood there, and you were eating and watching, which was quite depressed. In order to relieve the depression, I quietly looked at the crowd, tried to remember the faces, and had already prepared for emergencies.

The carpet that leads directly to the hall gate is divided into two halves of guests. Near the imperial seat to the east, it is the most noble area, and it is a civil servant above the third rank. The leader of Changsun Wuji and Li Ji are all big shots and must be remembered in mind.

At the end of the team of the boss, a white-haired old man was wearing the most formal Confucian robe. He was the descendant of Bao Shenghou and Confucius, and was fortunate to attend the conference. There were two people sitting opposite the civil servants, namely Jie Duke and Wei Gong, Jie Duke and Wei Gong, and Wei Gong was the royal family of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Wei Gong was the royal family of the Sui Dynasty.

Behind them were military officers above the third rank, such as the General of the Sixteen Guards, and Su Dingfang was also among them. The third rank civil and military officers were envoys of the vassal states, and the rest were local officials. The governors of the governors of each governor's office, the arch-masters of each governor's office, the deputy governors of each state, and the governors of each state.

The above is the main area, and the deputy area is in the east of the main hall, including the fourth and fifth rank civil servants and the sixth rank below. Near the hall gate are royal relatives and are very unpopular. Outside the hall, there are also the chief officials of each state, sesame, mung bean, etc.

I felt that someone was watching, and suddenly I turned my eyes. It was Taiwei Changsun Wuji. Wuji was caught off guard and hesitated for a few seconds to close his eyes and continue drinking peach soup. This old guy should hate me to the core, but it doesn't matter, I will deal with you immediately.

Wu Kang withdrew his gaze, tried to remember his appearance, and determined what to fight for and which ones must be killed. He couldn't help but feel evil. If a terrorist attack occurs, he throws grenades into the hall. The Tang Dynasty, when the elites were lost, it will collapse, right?

I don’t know how long it took, there was a disharmonious atmosphere. The Tubo deputy prime minister Da Yan and Mang Buzhi bowed to Li Jiu and shouted like a broken gong: "Dear Your Majesty of the Tang Kingdom, today the yen is in the grand ceremony, and wise men are gathered together. There is a riddle for the foreign ministers, who are unable to figure it out. I beg you to explain the doubts."

The guests' eyes were focused, the hall was silent, and Tubo was in a terrifying manner again. Wu Kang's eyes swept over and almost made a sound. He was so funny. His head was like a shuttle, and he suffered a lot when he was born, with freckles on his face, and a catfish's mouth.

Seeing that he was unhappy, he was quickly provoking. Last year, his marriage was rejected, so he held a grudge. After Li Jiu agreed, Mangbuzhi glanced at the hall and shouted the riddle: "Can you make some sound? Walk on four legs in the morning, walk on two legs at noon, and walk on three legs at night. What is it?"

After hearing this, everyone frowned; after hearing this, Wu Kang was dumbfounded. This is the legend of the Khufu pyramid, the sphinx, and a very classic riddle. Because he liked history, he read the world history at the age of fifteen and knew this legend. Tubo and Egypt were 108,000 apart, how did he know it?

The hall was silent, and some of the elites of the Tang Dynasty were thinking hard, while others whispered to each other, and seemed to know it. For about half a quarter of an hour, Mang Buzhi was very arrogant: "Don't blame you guys, this mystery is really difficult. I thought hard for a day before I solved the mystery."

The meaning is very obvious. If you can't answer, it's all just like the vain. It's better to tie the elites together than to the great prime minister Lu Dongzan. The naked provocation, the ministers looked ugly, and Li Jiu was also angry and glanced at the civil and military officials: "My dear friends, answer as soon as possible."

Ten minutes passed, including Wuji and Li Ji, all frowned and pondered, and no one could guess the answer. Mang Buzhi sneered, Li Jiu's face was blank, and his words became angry: "Give the answer as soon as possible, and I will be rewarded by the first answer."

Wu Kang really wants to ask, what do you always reward? Can you impress me? Wait a few minutes later, and sigh helplessly, I will answer. I don’t want to show off, just for rewards, and I am not used to Tubo’s arrogance. I coughed lightly, attracted my eyes, turned to look at Li Jiu, and reminded him: "Morning, noon and evening can be understood as childhood, adulthood and twilight years."

Li Jiu was stunned for a few seconds, and Long Yan smiled slightly. He already understood. All officials were elites and knew it well, but no one spoke, and wanted the boss to show off. Li Jiu took the initiative and said lightly: "Walking when he was young, walking with his feet when he was adults, and walking with crutches when he was old. The answer is human."

All the officials stood up and called Your Majesty the wise and wise. We felt ashamed. Mang Buzhi stared at him, which was incredible. The great minister didn't guess that it was given by Kunlun slaves. This guard was not simple. He was said to be a relative of the foreigner and the younger brother of Empress Wu.

Li Jiu was in a good mood and said seriously: "Lu Dongzan thought about it all day long. It only took two quarters of an hour for my misuse of guards. I, the Tang Dynasty, did a good job. Wu Kang did not embarrass the queen. I would like to give me any rewards. I agree to everything I want."

You are useless, and you are still such a saying. You obviously don't want to give it to him. After Wu Kang complained, he cooperated with him to act: "The answers to these riddles are just boring games that can be played after dinner, and it is difficult to be a good place. I dare not take credit for you, so please take your majesty back."

Everyone looked different, and Su Dingfang and Di Renjie had a faint sorrow. Li Jiu was very satisfied and stood up with a glass of wine and invited the ministers to drink together: "All my beloved ministers and envoys will drink tea cups with me to celebrate the New Year's Day celebration."

The guests stood up one after another and drank with the king. Wu Kang keenly captured the sorrow of his mentor and Lao Di, the joke of Changsun Wuji, and Li Ji's gloating. He was soon as he was struck by lightning. It seemed that as expected, Li Jiu, the grandson of the turtle, was indeed suppressing and restricting me.
Chapter completed!