Chapter 257: Li Longji builds momentum for Li Xuan's appointment as prime minister, horse dance

"These carps seem to have no scales!"

Li Longji came forward with great interest and watched the four carps swimming around in the jar.

The golden arrows passed down from the time of Songtsen Gampo in Tibet gave Li Longji a sense of satisfaction of controlling Tibet and ruling the world.

The return of the seven-inch golden arrow to the Tang Dynasty meant that Tubo declined in his hands and became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

His majesty is embodied in the Golden Arrow of the Zamp, which even Emperor Taizong had never seen.

Baihai has never belonged to China. Developing Baihai, which is close to the source of the Yellow River, and getting fish from Baihai mean great military achievements.

It seemed that as long as he wanted something from a place, Li Xuan would get the mountains and rivers there for him.

Watching Li Xuan presenting the fish, a feeling of comfort rushed to Li Longji's mind.

This wonderful feeling is unforgettable.

Li Longji decided in his heart that the matter of Li Xuan's appointment as prime minister should be put on the agenda.

"Replying to the Saint, this fish is a naked carp, it has no scales on its body, its meat is fragrant and tender, it is unique..."

Li Xuan explained the naked carp to Li Longji.

There is also a kind of naked carp in Qinghai, also known as Huangyu. It usually lives in salt water and swims back along freshwater rivers to lay eggs.

"Then I'll have to taste it carefully."

Li Longji looked at the naked carp for a while and couldn't help feeling excited.

At Gao Lishi's signal, several eunuchs took the naked carp away and prepared to make fresh fish sashimi.

Whether the fish is fresh and delicious can be best reflected in the fish sashimi.

An Lushan, who was standing by, saw this scene. Although he still had a smile on his face, his heart was filled with rage.

Whether it is the preciousness of Zamp's golden arrow or the meaning of Baihai naked carp, neither can be compared with ginseng.

The powerful and wealthy in the Tang Dynasty pursued ginseng, believing that it could prolong life, but there was no shortage of saints.

An Lushan thought that the ginseng he presented was rare in ancient and modern times, but in fact Li Longji had seen ones of similar size.

Seeing the joy in Li Longji's eyes, An Lushan could only pray that Li Xuan would die young like Huo Qubing.

In An Lushan's eyes, Li Xuan was his biggest enemy.

The other ministers around were silent, as Li Xuan was really good at pleasing them.

But the ministers were unable to blame Li Xuan.

The Golden Arrow of the King was captured by Li Xuan on the battlefield. He would have to give it to Li Longji sooner or later, but Li Xuan chose to present the Golden Arrow of the King on Li Longji's Thousand Years Festival.

And catching a few carps in Baihai Sea does not require any waste of money and effort.

If we really talk about the price, it might not be as good as the piece of silk offered by Li Xian.

Since ancient times, honest and upright officials have been very careful about their reputation. They would speak out directly to gain reputation and never flatter.

As for Li Xuan's deeds, no matter how you look at them, you would think he would be a minister as tough as tempered steel, but he took tact to the extreme.

Li Xuan's combination of strength and gentleness made Li Linfu feel that it would be difficult to drive Li Xuan out of Chang'an and save the Tang Dynasty.

After the meeting between the Right Prime Minister's Office and the ministers the day before, officials from various temples, and even Yang Qi and Yang Jian, showed goodwill to him.

This made Li Linfu have the illusion that he was a loyal minister, and he believed in his heart that Li Xuan would bring disaster to the Tang Dynasty.

For both public and private reasons, he had to stop Li Xuan.

Afterwards, Li Longji took Li Xuan to pay respects to the highly prestigious ministers.

This has been the rule for a long time.

Bringing Li Xuan along represents the emperor's favor for Li Xuan.

Even An Lushan did not receive such treatment.

An Lushan could only try to please Yang Yuhuan in front of her seat.

Although An Lushan shamelessly acknowledged Yang Yuhuan as his mother, Yang Yuhuan was very impatient at this time and just perfunctorily responded to An Lushan. She wanted to quietly look in the direction of Li Xuan.

It seemed that since she arrived, Li Xuan had not kept his eyes on her for a moment.

"Pei Liushou, this is Li Qilang, a handsome man of the time, with the qualifications to be a prime minister."

Li Longji took Li Xuan and spoke to Pei Rongxian.

Li Longji was very happy that Pei Xianxian, who was already eighty years old, could come from Luoyang to attend his Qianqiu Festival.

So I expressed my condolences to Pei Rongxian first.

Now Pei Rong is the governor of Luoyang.

Pei Rongxian had been a third-rank official for more than 30 years and enjoyed a very high reputation among the ministers.

"A few years ago, when the King of Tianshui was suppressing the pirate Wu Lingguang, he passed by Luoyang. I met the King of Tianshui once. It is a blessing for the Tang Dynasty that such a great man has come here."

Pei Rong first bowed to Li Longji and spoke slowly.

An old minister like Pei Rongxian, just like He Zhizhang in the past, would not be harmed by Li Linfu if he had any brains.

"Qilang wants to make Tianbao better than Kaiyuan. Please take care of yourself and watch the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Longji held Pei Rongxian's hand and said.

"There is a firm temperament in the eyes of the Tianshui King. No matter what he does, his determination will not waver. Tianbao will definitely be better than Kaiyuan."

Pei Rongxian sincerely wishes.

At his age, half of his body is already buried in the earth. It is difficult to know what happened next.

However, he had already determined that Li Xuan must be appointed as prime minister.

Because Li Longji publicly said that Li Xuan had the qualifications to be prime minister.

If this is the case, Li Longji could only praise Li Xuan in private.

And he said in public that he did it on purpose to build momentum for Li Xuan.

The signal has been sent to the ministers that Li Xuan may be appointed as prime minister at any time.

After all, Li Xuan had just come of age, and the ministers had to be mentally prepared for him to be appointed prime minister at such an age.

"At the banquet, take good care of Pei Liushou." Li Longji specifically instructed two eunuchs to serve Pei Junxian exclusively to avoid any inconvenience to Pei Junxian.

This shows the respect for Pei Rongxian.

"Thank you, Saint. I wish you a long life."

Pei Rong first gave Li Longji a simple blessing.

"Mr. Pei, please take care of your health too!"

When Li Longji left to visit other old ministers, Li Xuan bowed to Pei Rong first.

"Kaiyuan is better than Tianbao, and much more needs to be done. Two policies are far from enough."

Pei Rongxian whispered to Li Xuan.

"I have dozens of strategies in my mind. When they are implemented, the world will be at peace."

Li Xuan replied to Pei Rongxian.

"The time has not come. You started this way, and you must end this way!"

Pei Rong first quoted the words from Zuo Zhuan and carefully reminded Li Xuan.

In the past two days, the princes and nobles in Chang'an have been saying that Li Xuan wants to carry out reforms and undermine the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Xuan was a person who could not bear to be lonely. The princes and ministers could tell from just one decree issued by Li Xuan that Li Xuan was definitely more than that.

With Li Longji backing Li Xuan, no one could persuade Li Xuan to stop.

"When I went to the battlefield, I always wore the jade pendant around my waist. It has been stained with blood many times. But it is still crystal clear. This is my heart!"

Li Xuan stroked the jade pendant hanging around his waist.

The jade pendant with a flying bird holding a flower was given to him by Li Longji when he first took office as the deputy envoy of Feng'an.

He was also awarded a sword at that time.

But the sword had been broken on the battlefield, and the jade pendant was stained with more blood than the sword, but it was still shining brightly.

Li Xuan hinted to Pei Rongxian that he would not be tainted by any rumors and that his heart was as pure as jade and would always be clear.

"I wish that King Tianshui can be as invincible as he was on the battlefield."

Just as Pei Rongxian said before, Li Xuan is a determined man, and no matter what happens, his determination cannot be shaken.

Li Xuan bowed again and caught up with Li Longji.

Now Li Longji was comforting Li Shizhi: "Duke Song has raised a good son for the royal family!"

"Without the saint's wisdom, Qilang would not have been given such an important position. It was the saint who overcame all objections and appointed Qilang as the leader, which is why he has achieved such great success today."

Li Shizhi replied to Li Longji with a smile.

"The wonderful story of Su Gui and Su Ting, father and son, may happen again."

Li Longji said meaningfully.

This sends a signal again.

Because Su Gui and his son Su Ting were both appointed prime ministers, and their story has been passed down through the ages.

Even Li Linfu worked hard to cultivate Li Xiu, hoping to replicate the legend of father and son serving as prime ministers.

Therefore, Li Xiu, at a young age, was already a third-rank Chief of Works.

But the officials of the Nine Temples, even if of the same rank, would be one level lower than those of the Six Ministries.

Because the prime minister has always been selected from among the six ministries, not the nine temples.

There were even cases where assistant ministers were directly given the title of "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi".

"To serve the country, one does not look at paternity or position. If the old ministers were not incompetent, I would be willing to be a clerk again."

Li Shizhi was excited in his heart, but spoke calmly.

"Ha ha……"

Li Longji looked up and smiled, then invited Li Shizhi to take a seat and prepare to enjoy the performance.

Li Xuan also came over and bowed slightly to Li Shizhi.

Next came the old ministers such as Wu Jing and Xi Yu.

Du Fu would later leave a poem in Chang'an: "It is rare for a person to live to be seventy."

It is the most true portrayal of this era.

From then on, the term "guxizhinian" was used specifically to describe people over the age of 70.

Even now, there is a concept that people over seventy years old are extremely rare.

Therefore, except for "first-rank officials" like Li Shizhi, all the others whom Li Longji greeted were old ministers over seventy years old.

After about two quarters of an hour, Li Longji returned to Yang Yuhuan and Li Shizhi.

Li Longji asked Li Xuan to sit next to the couch and taste the naked carp together for a while.

As Li Longji returned to his seat, the banquet performance officially began.

An Lushan had already gone to please the three Yang sisters. Without Li Longji's call, he could not sit beside them.

Yang Yuhuan picked up the jade pot with her bare hands and poured wine for Li Xuan and Li Longji personally.

When Li Xuan wanted to take the wine jug, it was too late.

He took a look at Yang Yuhuan, who was stunningly beautiful and more mature and charming.

Just keep your hands on your knees.

Li Longji didn't care and thought Yang Yuhuan was considerate.

"Your Majesty, the Qianqiu Festival means longevity. But a thousand years will eventually come to an end, and I think this name is inappropriate. It would be better to change the Qianqiu Festival of the Saint to Tianchang Festival, which means eternity and endlessness."

Li Xuan took the opportunity to give advice to Li Longji.

The most significant period of change in history occurred during the seventh year of Tianbao.

Li Longji would see whoever proposed it first and whoever felt more comfortable.

Li Longji was an emperor who was unwilling to grow old and wanted to seize time.

He will seek hope for everything that has a good meaning.

"The festival lasts forever..."

Li Longji recited this sentence silently, and suddenly his eyes lit up. This suggestion touched his heart.

He suddenly felt that Tianchang Festival would be more appropriate for his birthday.

"Sanlang, Qilang is right. Tianchang is more suitable than Qianqiu."

Yang Yuhuan whispered to Li Longji from the side.

She would support all suggestions made by Li Xuan.

"Good! Starting next year, the Qianqiu Festival will be changed to the Tianchang Festival. After today's banquet, we will announce to the world that the three-day holiday will remain unchanged."

How could Li Longji not agree?

"May the saint live forever!"

Li Xuan bowed and drank the wine in the jade cup.

Li Longji also drank the wine happily. Yang Yuhuan raised the jade cup and took a sip. Before the cup left her beautiful red lips, she turned around and saw Li Xuan looking up to drink.

"Qilang, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, go to Hedong and bring the person who assassinated you to justice! Go quickly and come back quickly. I think what you said makes sense. The laws of Yao Chong and Song Jing are no longer suitable for the current situation. If we want to take the prosperity to a higher level, we need to formulate new policies and decrees. The policy and decree you call the 'New Changping Law' should be implemented by you. You must withstand the pressure and don't let the country down."

After Li Longji put down his wine glass, he talked about this matter.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Xuan responded.

The new Changping Law is the "Qingmiao Law", which certainly cannot be called "Qingmiao" in the Tang Dynasty.

Because the New Changping Law was established based on the Changping Granary, it was called this.

The pie that Li Xuan painted for Li Longji was so big that Li Longji felt that he was only one step away from becoming an eternal sage.

Just like when Zhuge Liang governed Shu, people did not pick up lost items on the roads, doors were not locked at night, and merchants slept in the wild.

It is not only the long-cherished wish of ministers and prime ministers, but also the expectation of the emperor.

Li Longji trusted Li Xuan so much that he thought that although the new Changping Law was difficult to implement, it was just a minor problem and with Li Xuan's help, the problem would be solved quickly.

After the new law is implemented, the people will be able to live and work in peace and will no longer sell themselves to the powerful.

Li Longji was immersed in the illusion that people all over the world were calling him a saint.

"Let the three aunts and Lushan come over to drink..."

After Li Longji had a brief conversation with Li Xuan, he did not forget the Yang sisters and An Lushan.

After receiving the summons, An Lushan ran over happily and sat below Li Xuan.

Before he sat down, in addition to bowing to Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, he also bowed to Li Xuan.

At this time, Li Xuan's reputation was so high that even Yang Yuyao, who was always arrogant, did not dare to have any improper thoughts about Li Xuan.

She could promote local officials and bring down high-ranking officials by making false accusations.

But for Li Xuan, none of these are useful.

What's more, Yang Yuhuan warned the Five Yangs not to provoke Li Xuan.

All the wealth and prosperity of the Five Yangs came from Yang Yuhuan.

If there was no Yang Yuhuan, Yang Qi, Yang Jian and others would all be like weeds beside the Wei River.

At the birthday banquet, the ministers toasted each other and enjoyed themselves.

Li Linfu changed his usual arrogant attitude. He walked among the ministers and toasted them very humbly.

He greeted even the fifth-rank officials with a smile.

This is not a smile with a dagger hidden behind, nor is it sweet words with a sharp tongue.

He was ready to regain power from a new path.

His son Li Xiu was polite and took the initiative to entertain his ministers.

Since Li Xiu had never done anything to bully his subjects, some officials were quite convinced of him.

Li Linfu temporarily put aside the matter of dealing with the crown prince and prepared to unite all the officials to trap Li Xuan.

A wise minister like Pei Rongxian could see the turbulent situation beneath the peaceful banquet.

Li Xuan, who was sitting in front of the sage's couch, was chatting and laughing with the sage.

Even if it's a mountain pressing down on you, you can still lift it with ease and remain calm.

At this time, a song resounded in the banquet: Holding on to the green mountains, I will not let go. My roots are in the broken rocks. After thousands of blows, I am still strong. No matter which direction the wind blows...

This gave the ministers who supported Li Xuan a certain degree of confidence.

“Wheeze….”

Accompanied by the neighing of horses, more than a hundred horses, led by Liyuan disciples, arrived at the center of the banquet.

Without exception, these horses are strong and graceful, with hair as smooth as silk.

Their sides are covered with gold and silver, with tassels and bells, and their legs are decorated with silk.

"Dancing Horse..."

“The most exciting show is coming…”

“The horses are stronger this year.”

The princes and ministers at the banquet calmed down, stopped chatting, and focused on watching the horse dancing performance.

After the Liyuan disciples prepared all the props, they stepped aside and picked up their respective instruments.

Hundreds of horses stood motionless in the center of the banquet like obedient children.

"Dong dong dong..."

The tune of "Tilting the Cup" sounded, and all the horses raised their left front hooves in unison.

When the next beat sounded, they put down their left front hoof and raised their right front hoof.

The hooves changed constantly with the music, without a trace of disorder.

“Wheeze…”

After the drum strings accelerated, all the dancing horses shouted in unison and raised their hooves high at the same time.

Even the tassels and bells on the body rang in unison.

They put down their hooves and kept stamping the ground in rhythm with the instruments.

The sound of horse hooves on the stone tiles is also a natural musical note.

The leading dancing horse seems like a divine horse. It leaps out from the crowd of horses, holds its head high and drums its tail, dancing gracefully.

When the beat of the instruments reaches its climax, the leading dancing horse jumps onto the three-tier bed boards prepared nearby.

A horse spun around like the wind.

The dress was embellished with gorgeous tassels and ringing bells, which amazed all the civil and military officials including Li Xuan.

After the leading dancing horse jumped down from the bed, a disciple from the opera came forward, holding a wine jug filled with fine wine.

The leading dancing horse held the pot in its mouth very smartly and walked towards Li Longji.

After arriving at the stage where Li Longji was sitting, the leader of the dancing horses knelt on the ground with their front hooves to congratulate Li Longji on his birthday and wish him a long life.

Li Longji had experienced dancing horses many times. He stood up from his seat, walked to the dancing horse and took the wine pot.

"Clap clap clap..."

When Li Longji took the wine pot, all the civil and military officials, princes and princesses, noble ladies, foreign envoys and others stood up and applauded.

Gao Lishi took the wine jug handed to him by Wu Ma and filled a glass for Li Longji.

"May the saint live forever!"

Downstairs in the Hua'e Xianghui Tower, all the ministers raised their glasses and congratulated in unison.

The king and his ministers drank from the same cup.

The atmosphere of the banquet reached its peak.

On the road separated from the Xingqing Palace by a wall, there was a constant stream of pedestrians. They could imagine the singing and dancing in the Xingqing Palace just by hearing the sounds.

"Naked carp is indeed a delicacy in the world..."

At this time, the fish sashimi was prepared by the imperial chef and served.

Li Longji took a piece and was full of praise for its delicious and tender taste.

"Yuhuan, try it..."

Li Longji nodded and said to Yang Yuhuan.

A piece of fish meat was put into the jade bowl. Yang Yuhuan knew that this was the carp that Li Xuan brought back from the source of the Yellow River, so she took the bowl and tasted it.

“It’s delicious!”

Yang Yuhuan also praised.

When Li Longji saw that Yang Yuhuan was satisfied, the smile in his eyes became even wider.

Li Longji also let Li Xuan, An Lushan and the Yang sisters taste it.

The rest of the fish slices were distributed to the prime minister and senior officials.

Li Xuan doesn't like eating sashimi, but he can only say yes against his conscience.

The emperor and his ministers drank and had fun together and played games.

The banquet lasted until the afternoon.

After the banquet, Li Longji presented exquisite Yangzhou bronze mirrors to officials above the fourth rank, implying that officials should be honest and upright and keep a clear mirror high.

The ministers bowed and followed Li Longji's instructions.

Most of the officials placed all the rare treasures they had collected from all over the place in Xingqing Palace, only to receive a bronze mirror in return...

(End of this chapter)