The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 169 Ancestor Worship and Harmony Discussion 1

I'm currently reading Chapter 169 of the novel "Cola Novel," which is about paying homage to ancestors and discussing unification. I'm completely engrossed in it and can't tear myself away.

Below the dragon throne were officials from the six ministries, along with a dozen or so Grand Secretaries and twenty Assistant Generals from the Beijing Garrison.

These people, totaling no more than fifty or sixty, were all elites of the Han Dynasty, figures who could determine the future of the Han.

At this moment, they were all dressed in bright red round-necked robes, with uniform white jade belts around their waists, kneeling behind a tea table, on which were placed pastries and tea.

Kneeling is not like the Japanese kneeling; instead, there is a small stool under the buttocks to prevent bowlegs.

As for the style, it is similar to the sushi plating of later generations.

I don't know how the Japanese learned it back then.

As for why it was arranged this way, it's because Liu Mu himself doesn't like being too formal, and he believes that everyone needs to feel comfortable during meetings to come up with a good solution.

Judging from the expressions of Li Guangdi, Zhou Peigong, and others, they clearly enjoyed this method. After all, who would want to kneel and be groveled?

Wouldn't it be better to have a system like the Han and Tang dynasties, where the emperor and his ministers governed together, and high-ranking officials could sit with the emperor, eat and drink together, and discuss state affairs?

Even in the Northern Song Dynasty, only the officials were demoted, so that only the emperor could sit, while all the officials stood up. They did not kneel normally, but only knelt to the emperor for important matters.

Even so, it was only because of the special circumstances of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that they were forced to do this. There was no other way; even soldiers dared to take knives and attack the emperor. They had no choice but to force a change in the relationship between superiors and subordinates.

When the Mongols invaded, their tradition was that the Great Khan or Emperor was the master, and everyone else was a servant. Therefore, kneeling and bowing became the norm, and even lower-ranking officials had to kneel when they met higher-ranking officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang inherited only a portion of the original rules, stipulating that only subjects needed to kneel when meeting the emperor, while officials did not need to kneel among themselves. However, the Qing dynasty fully reinstated this rule, meaning that even lower-ranking officials had to kneel when meeting higher-ranking officials.

After Liu Mu settled in, he waved his hand, and Zhao Fengnian immediately understood, taking small steps to the side of the Emperor's steps.

"Gentlemen, do you have anything to report?"

Li Guangdi, as the Minister of Revenue of the Han Dynasty and concurrently the Grand Secretary, the foremost civil official, was the first to step forward.

"Your Majesty, our Han Dynasty governs the country with filial piety. Now that you have restored the Han Dynasty to the Central Plains thrice, you should pay homage to the ancestors of the Liu family and proclaim filial piety to the world!"

Actually, this is all part of the process. The questions raised by Li Guangdi were just what Liu Mu had instructed us to do. Including today's court assembly, there are only two things to be dealt with.

The first issue is the responsibility of those left behind in Beijing when the emperor goes to Guanzhong. How should government affairs be allocated, and what level of government affairs need to be urgently sent to the emperor for processing?

The second is to plan the expenses for silver, provisions, and troops needed for the southward campaign next year, which is to eliminate Wu Sangui.

The third step was to receive the English envoy.

Liu Mu was in such a hurry to go to the Northwest mainly because he wanted to inspect the local conditions and the military garrisons. His impression of Tianjin was really bad from his last visit.

This was also Liu Mu's first time experiencing this firsthand.

What does it mean to outwardly comply but inwardly defy?

I finally realized that officials are not puppets; they are flesh and blood and can do things that harm the foundation of the country for various reasons.

"Minister Li is absolutely right. This time, we should not only pay homage to Emperor Gaozu of the Great Han Dynasty, but also to Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty. Their tombs should also be repaired!"

"Ouyang Jing, you handle this!"

Ouyang Jing, who was eating rice cakes nearby, immediately looked downcast upon hearing this. He wanted to say that the construction of the wooden cabinet was still underway, and now they had to deal with the construction of the imperial mausoleum.

Building an imperial mausoleum is not as simple as erecting a stele or clearing weeds; it involves piling up the mound and building a grand hall around it, all of which cost a fortune.

However, the emperor's command could not be disobeyed, so he could only stand up and bow.

"Ouyang Jing, receive the imperial decree!"

"I guarantee it will be repaired even better than it was over a thousand years ago!"

Liu Mu liked Ouyang Jing's attitude. Whether a task was easy or not, he would take it on first and then complain to him later.

After all, emperors are human too, and sometimes they are prone to making careless remarks and saying things that are not true. If their ministers refute them on the spot, wouldn't the emperor lose face?

Thinking of this, Liu Mu, carrying a teacup, took small steps from the steps leading to the center of the main hall.

"Ouyang Jing, you will remain in Beijing this time. Discuss matters concerning the governor and those below the rank of brigade commander with Li Guangdi. As for accompanying the emperor, Zhou Peigong and Xie Bo'an will accompany you!"

Upon hearing that the emperor had appointed him regent for the second time, Ouyang Jing felt elated, and inwardly shouted:

I, Ouyang Jing, am the Emperor's confidant!

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

Li Guangdi, just like last time, showed no change in expression as he followed Zhou Peigong and the others in bowing.

For a civil official to reach his position is to have already reached the pinnacle.

Li Guangdi was very open-minded. In fact, if the emperor were not only thirty years old, but sixty or seventy, Li Guangdi would have considered whether to start making a coffin in advance.

Zhou Peigong, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. After all, he was not good at handling political affairs and only held the position of Minister of War, so he was not worried at all about his achievements overshadowing the emperor.

After bowing, he was leisurely pouring tea when the emperor gave him a look, at which point he adjusted his hat and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report came three days ago: Zhao Liangdong, the Governor-General of the Southern Capital, has just captured Guide Prefecture and Runing Prefecture, and is leading a large army to approach Wuyang County. Zhao Yingkui, the Governor-General of Shanxi, has also captured Kaifeng Prefecture and Ruzhou of Henan Prefecture, and is now stationing troops in Nanzhao County of Nanyang Prefecture!"

"Now Wu Sangui's army has completely occupied Hubei and is stationed in Henan. Both of them are asking when they will march south and destroy Wu Sangui!"

He had read all the military reports, and even knew about Wu Sangui's letter urging him to surrender and the rebellion of Wang Fuchen, that traitor.

Wu Sangui was very generous, treating the title of prince like it was free. As a result, Zhao Liangdong and Zhao Yingkui were quite satisfied with their current treatment and sold Wu Sangui out as soon as they got their hands on him!

As for having Zhou Peigong bring it up, it was a way of making it public, letting everyone know when the emperor was preparing to destroy Wu Sangui, thereby uniting the people's hearts.

These are just petty tricks, not worth mentioning!

Now that we've got the introduction, it's time for us to speak for ourselves.

"Supplies, provisions, and weapons are not yet in place. Order the two men to organize defenses on the spot and not allow Wu Sangui to advance even half a step!"

"Xie Bo'an, the Ministry of Personnel must quickly dispatch officials to properly manage Henan, reclaim the land that has been abandoned for the past two years, and obtain the necessary cattle from the grasslands!"

With such a vast grassland at their disposal, they have no shortage of cattle.

As for the fact that grassland cattle are not suitable for plowing, Liu Mu had already thought of this before, so the cattle raised in the Hetao region are all broad-backed yellow cattle from the north.

Seeing that everyone was listening, Liu Mu raised his teacup.

"I have decreed that after the autumn harvest, provisions should be prepared, and the army will march south to Henan after New Year's Day, launching a general offensive in March!"

"This is the decisive battle; one battle will decide the fate of the world!"

Upon hearing Liu Mu set a date for unification, all twenty adjutants stood up excitedly. Whether they could be promoted to general and ennobled depended entirely on this final battle. How could they not be excited?

Seeing that the time was right, Minister of Rites Chen Jingting immediately stepped forward and presented a booklet written in English.

"Your Majesty, a small western country named England has sent three envoys to pay their respects!"