Chapter 276 Tianshui Palace, Hundred-Year-Old Pear Tree

In the Tang Dynasty, weddings were based on the "Six Rites" and were filled with a lot of formalities.

But this is also what Li Xuan must obey.

The wedding ceremony is to serve the ancestors in the ancestral temple and pass on the legacy to future generations to continue the incense.

However, there is still a big gap between the weddings of ordinary people and aristocratic officials.

The wedding regulations for officials are more detailed. The specifications of all officials' weddings are divided into three levels according to their ranks: "marriage for officials of the third rank and above", "marriage for officials of the fourth and fifth rank and middle rank", and "marriage for officials of the sixth rank and below". The differences between upper, middle and lower rank weddings lie in the dress, the use of betrothal gifts and the different welcoming teams.

Li Xuan needs to have a marriage of the highest standards, and it won't do to be simple at all.

Soon, the entire Duke Song's Mansion knew that Li Xuan was preparing to propose marriage to the Order of Yishou.

Li Xuan's brothers and others were all very happy, and the atmosphere at home was even happier than during the Chinese New Year.

Li Xuan was undoubtedly the pillar of the family. It was the common wish of Li Shizhi and Li Qian that he could settle down.

Li Yuying has met Pei Lingxi. She is a smart and gentle woman who will definitely get along well with my brother.

She has a very good friend named Jiang Yueyao.

Since returning to Chang'an from Huaqing Palace, Jiang Yueyao has not seen her, which makes her very depressed.

Parents to enrich people.

After making the decision, Li Shizhi invited the best matchmaker in Chang'an to go to Yishou County to propose marriage. The first step in the wedding was to offer the betrothal gift.

Only after the woman agrees can the subsequent wedding process be determined.

If the woman refuses, the man should not continue to make trouble.

In the Tang Dynasty, those who worked as matchmakers were mainly the elderly, old ladies, orphans, as well as registrars who held minor official positions, registrars, military officers, or the families of some high-ranking officials.

Of course, there were also top-notch matchmakers, such as Lady Yang Yuyao of Guo State.

When the princes got married, Lady Guo would usually act as a matchmaker, thereby gaining countless benefits.

The matchmaker invited by Li Shizhi was Chen Jiuniang, who was famous for her "skillful eloquence". She could praise the man to the skies, making people imagine that he was a rare talent.

Chen Jiuniang took care of all the weddings, including the weddings of Li Linfu's children and Li Lang.

When Chen Jiuniang learned that the matchmaking was for the young husband, she happily agreed.

Of course she knew that Li Xuan was powerful in the court and didn't care about anything about reform!

Even if she was not given money, she would still pursue this marriage, because it would please Li Xuan, and completing this marriage would also become a milestone for her.

In Chen Jiuniang's opinion, no woman would refuse the matchmaking between the Li family and the Pei family and the Prince of Tianshui choosing a princess.

After Lin Jiuniang set off for Yishou, Li Xuan moved to the Tianshui Palace in Daozhengfang.

The main building is of hip-and-gable style, and the surrounding buildings are also magnificent and ancient.

Tianshui Prince's Palace is the largest mansion in Daozhenfang. Unlike the nine-courtyard Palace of Duke Song, the Guangyi Gate has several levels.

It is divided into the main courtyard, front courtyard, back courtyard and back garden. Overall, it is at least five times larger than the Mansion of Duke Song.

The main courtyard includes the main hall, inner hall, gallery, attic and dozens of other guest houses.

The front yard was the residence of slaves and guards, and there were also stables, various storehouses, ordinary relay stations, martial arts training grounds, etc.

The backyard was the maid's residence, as well as some granaries and other warehouses.

Between the hospital and the backyard is the back garden.

The entire garden occupies nearly half of the Tianshui Palace and is very large.

There is a pond of one acre in size.

There is a pavilion on the east side of the pond, and next to it there is an old pear tree. There are many stone benches and tables around it, which is quite spacious and suitable for gatherings.

There is a bamboo forest to the west of the pond.

To the south of the pond is a two-story building and a beautiful rockery.

To the north of the pond is a cluster of flowering trees.

There are also well-arranged flower beds in the back garden, planted with dozens of flowers including peonies, peonies, crape myrtles, orchids, chrysanthemums, etc.

There are also lotus and daffodils in the pond.

These make the back garden elegant and quiet.

Coincidentally, it was the second day that Li Xuan moved into the Tianshui Palace.

The king rarely sent people to escort Changli and Li Xuan's slaves and singing girls in Huangshui to Chang'an.

Many gold, silver, jewelry, lacquerware and jade wares that Li Longji rewarded Li Xuan were also brought in.

Li Xuan gave the money and silk as rewards to the families of his personal guards who died in battle.

Li Xuan sent people to take them to the Tianshui Palace.

Shen Ji was still appointed as the steward of the Tianshui Palace, in charge of the treasury, money, and expenses of the palace.

Originally the palace was short of staff, and these people were added to the palace, which was just enough to maintain it.

However, personal guards such as Luo Xing, Xue Cuo, Che Guangqian, and Hun Yu were no longer in military service and were equivalent to Li Xuan's private troops.

Of course, this was also recognized by the emperor.

After all, Li Xuan has too many enemies, and all the powerful people in the world want to stab Li Xuan. It is easy to dodge an open attack, but it is difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark.

Che Guangqian and Hun Yu were still young and ignorant, so they were not in a hurry to go into battle and make contributions.

Li Xuan also had the opportunity to educate them and correct their thinking.

Although he held a high position, he often attended court.

But he always found time to practice martial arts with his guards.

Especially when he was on leave, Li Xuan's martial arts would not be neglected.

On the contrary, Li Xuan feels that he is getting stronger as he gets older.

During this period, Li Xuan couldn't tell himself apart, but he looked forward to returning to the battlefield and fighting with swords and spears.

"Changli, you've worked hard on this journey. You should live in your middle courtyard from now on!"

Li Xuan said to Changli after seeing her again.

Now, only Li Xuan and Shuang'er live in the entire central courtyard.

In terms of habits, Shuang'er is not as knowledgeable as Changli.

"Thank you...husband!"

Changli bowed to Li Xuanying and changed the way he addressed her.

They were delayed by snow and did not set out for Chang'an until late January.

The many inconveniences along the way made Changli look a little tired.

Her delicate appearance made me feel sorry for her. When she returned to Chang'an, she felt mixed emotions. This was her sad place.

She prefers the tranquility of the frontier.

However, where Li Xuan is, everything is like spring with blooming flowers.

While she is still young, she wants to serve Li Xuan.

However, Li Xuan gave Shuang'er and Changli a clear division of labor. Shuang'er was responsible for Li Xuan's writing and organizing books for Li Xuan. Shuang'er could read, so she was in charge of all the letters and documents.

There are also some things and interpersonal relationships that I help Li Xuan record down and remind him when he forgets.

Changli was responsible for Li Xuan's hair, clothing, food, housing and transportation. She was also responsible for teaching Li Xuan music and songs. In addition, Li Xuan's poems were all kept by Changli.

If these can be handled properly, Li Xuan can save a lot of time.

Changli and Shuang'er got to know each other after being introduced by Li Xuan.

Shuang'er envied Changli for being so beautiful and charming, no wonder her husband didn't want her.

Changli envied Shuang'er because she had been able to be with her husband since she was a child and witness everything about him.

When they were young, they both lived in official families and became slaves because their fathers committed crimes. They felt sympathy for each other and got along well with each other.

On that day, some ministers who supported his reform and Li Xuan's former subordinates came to the Tianshui Palace.

Li Xuan invited them to sit at the open space at the stone table in front of the pavilion in the back garden of the palace, with Li Xuan sitting in the middle.

"Qingchen, how is the recruitment of new soldiers in Changping going?"

After Li Xuan asked the maid to serve tea, he asked Yan Zhenqing.

Yan Zhenqing is now a Langzhong in the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department, and concurrently serves as the judge of the Changping New Law Ambassador. Since he arrived in Chang'an a year ago, he has been recruiting good families in the Jingzhao area for the new Changping army for nearly four months.

Assisted by Liao Zhengrong.

Li Xuan recommended Liao Zhengrong as the Guoyi Commandant of Jingzhao on the grounds of his military merits, and granted him the title of Zhaowu Commandant.

A rank above the sixth grade.

Liao Zhengrong once fought alone with a sword and obtained a golden certificate from Tubo to become a general. He also followed Li Xuan in battles in the south and the north, and made many military achievements, which earned him an official title.

After these Changping recruits were recruited, they were all trained by Liao Zhengrong.

The training content was based on the booklet issued by Li Xuan, which included being loyal to the court, performing one's duties conscientiously, caring for the people, and some deeper thoughts.

Among them is a group of rangers who will be dispatched to counties across the country after completing their training.

A group of reinforcements will be recruited from the county soldiers and county pawns in all the counties across the country, and another group will be recruited from the local areas.

Li Xuan would first appoint Liao Zhengrong as the commander of the Henan Province of Evergreen New Soldiers.

After Liao Zhengrong's resume is ready, he will be appointed as the commander of the new recruits in Changping.

Many ideas are not suitable to be conveyed to the new recruits in Changping now, and we have to wait until the time is ripe.

Li Xuan asked Liao Zhengrong to take advantage of this opportunity to win over more confidants.

Li Xuan also wrote a letter to dispatch a thousand willing elite soldiers, team leaders, deputy team leaders, escorts, and yamen generals from Longyou and Hexi to join the Changping New Army.

These followed Li Xuan to fight on the battlefield, and after they arrived at the local area, they would at least be promoted to the rank of Baizong. Li Xuan had already formulated the ranks of the Changping New Army.

The highest rank was the commander of the Changping New Army, and he was also a fifth-rank official and a casual official.

The leader of the Dao was Wanzong, who was in charge of official posts and other officials of the seventh rank and above.

The commander of a county was called a Qianzong, and additional officials and miscellaneous officials of the ninth rank and above were included.

The commander of a county was a general, a lay official, but he could be promoted to an official appointed by the imperial court after passing the examination.

This level of rank seems to be an inconspicuous "government office".

After all, the commander was only a fifth-rank official. Anyone picked out at random from the carriage in the East Market of Chang'an might be a fifth-rank official.

But if you look closely, the structure of Changping's new soldiers is huge and clear.

And it is independent of the local government.

With such a low rank, people would think it was a law enforcement agency that helped the court collect debts.

But once the thinking changes and it is transformed, it may become terrifying.

Li Xuan first arranged these frameworks, using the iron-blooded veterans and rangers as the foundation.

Wait for your chance!

At Li Xuan's call, some Helong soldiers were willing to return to their hometown to serve as centurions.

In a sense, this can also be considered a glorious return home.

At the same time, a large number of team leaders and escorts left the Helong Army, as well as a dozen yamen generals selected by Li Xuan to be generals.

Enable more veterans who have followed Li Xuan to be promoted.

Although Li Xuan no longer holds military power, the soldiers still miss him, and this influence is everywhere.

Not to mention that Wang Nan was promoted by Li Xuan himself, even if a new governor was appointed, he would not dare to dismiss generals at will and eliminate Li Xuan's influence.

Because Li Xuan is still in the position of prime minister, he has the means to reorganize the marshals in the border areas.

"My Lord, the Changping New Army has recruited more than 15,000 soldiers."

Yan Zhenqing replied to Li Xuan.

Following Li Xuan, Yan Zhenqing entered the court. Li Xuan once said to Yan Zhenqing, "A gentleman changes like a leopard", and "I want to be torn to pieces like Shang Yang, or commit suicide like Li Kui", which shows that he had the intention of reform at that time.

Yan Zhenqing, who was deeply influenced by Li Xuan, felt his blood boiling, as if he had returned to his youth.

If they had not turned out to be like Li Kui and Shang Yang, they would have been able to succeed in their reforms and leave a good reputation for generations to come.

"It will be soon. We can recruit another 5,000 and distribute them to the counties."

Li Xuan nodded.

In the past few months, local officials have suppressed powerful families because they were afraid of Li Xuan's orders.

The powerful families only lost a little money, food and land, and did not dare to fight to the death.

Li Xuan has asked officials from all counties and prefectures to report the statistics of grain and money under their jurisdiction.

Then an order was issued to determine how much grain and money the counties could use for the new Changping Law.

"Although the snowstorm in Chenliu, Jibei and other six counties has been resolved, there are still many people who are homeless. As the ambassador of relocation, I will relocate the people of Henan and Hebei to resolve the land conflicts in the interior and enrich the border. Now we have gathered more than 10,000 vehicles, and the horses temporarily transferred by the Longyou Muguan have also arrived in Chang'an."

"Liu Langzhong, Doctor Cen, you must first migrate the people from the areas affected by the snowstorm. There must be many people there who are willing to go to Qinghai and Jiuqu. You must remember my instructions and be extremely cautious when migrating the people. I will send 3,000 soldiers from Luoyang to follow you. You must investigate openly and secretly, and kill any tyrants who hinder or sabotage the migration!"

Li Xuan then turned to Cen Shen and Liu Shan, both of whom were judges of the ambassadors of relocation throughout the country.

Cen Shen's official position was Counselor and Imperial Censor.

Liu Dan's official position was Langzhong of the Ministry of Works and concurrently Palace Censor.

Letting them serve concurrently as censors was to increase their authority and intimidate the people in the places they visited.

Because Li Xuan could guess that there would definitely be powerful families who would prevent the people in the village from signing up for immigration.

They would be optimistic and think that it is impossible for the censor to reach all villages.

At this time, spies should be secretly sent to the countryside to investigate.

Execute some powerful people to serve as a warning to others.

The reason why Liu Dan and Cen Shen were asked to do this was because they had followed Li Xuan to the battlefield many times and witnessed a lot of killings.

At critical moments, he can be ruthless.

If someone like Wang Changling or Du Fu were to take action, they might not necessarily be able to shock the powerful.

"As ordered!"

Cen Shen and Liu Shan said in unison.

"Doctor Li, starting tomorrow, you will lead people to inspect the local areas and see the progress of the Salesian Halls in the counties. If any county has not built a Salesian Hall before the eighth year of Tianbao, you must report to me immediately. We plan to have a government-run Salesian Hall in every county in the country within five years, so that abandoned babies and children with congenital disabilities can live in the Salesian Hall. The local governments must allocate a certain amount of permanent farmland for the Salesian Halls."

Li Xuan instructed Li Xiyan, the doctor who was also the supervisory censor.

"As ordered!"

Li Xiyan bowed and said that he was also a royal family member and had served as a prosecutor and secretary under Li Xuan.

The Salesian Hall was the least controversial issue among the decrees issued by Li Xuan.

Even if some dignitaries and officials think it is a waste of time, they dare not say anything.

This is implementing benevolence and virtue.

Respect the old and the young, not only your own but also others’.

This state of mind of benefiting the common people has led countless literati to believe that Li Xuan is a man of benevolence.

There were even literati who, after talking with Li Xuan, wanted to recommend themselves to the Salesian Hall.

Li Xuan decided that if he could manage the Salesian Church well, help the babies grow up healthily and understand the truth, he could also become a local official.

A scholar with such patience can govern a county at best.

Li Xuan will consider such a system after the Salesian Church is fully implemented.

"Yushi Lu, the issue of marriage should not be forced, but should be guided slowly. Only the families of girls who got married under the age of fifteen will be punished. For people who got married between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, their family assets will be fined 5%, 3%, and 1% respectively."

Li Xuan gave instructions to Lü Zhen, the internal official and supervisory censor.

The most difficult part is to correct the marriage. In such a poor and remote place, it is hard to correct the situation in a short time.

The only way to make other families pay attention is through punishment.

This penalty varies from person to person and must be based on a percentage of assets.

Otherwise, it would be giving the green light to the powerful, who could take young girls as concubines by paying a tiny amount of money.

Li Xuan did not want to punish the people, but he had to punish them, otherwise the order would be just empty talk.

Li Xuan appointed a confidant to be responsible for other matters concerning improving the quality of pregnant women.

It is necessary to train a large number of midwives in the counties first.

Li Xuan has already instructed the craftsmen to try to make forceps.

It is common for pregnant women to have difficult labor, and this often results in two deaths. Forceps can save the lives of pregnant women and babies at the critical moment.

There was no stainless steel in this era, so maintenance of forceps became a huge problem after they appeared.

To be on the safe side, it must be sterilized at high temperature.

These all require systematic training and will be the basic operations for every midwife in the future.

"Sir, your new law is selfless and good for the people of the world. I admire it and will definitely support it with all my strength. But I don't understand why you, as a role model for the world, would indulge the saint?"

After Li Xuan talked with his ministers about some matters concerning the introduction of new laws, the newly appointed Vice Minister of Personnel, Zhao Fengzhang, stood up and spoke to Li Xuan.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Zhao Fengzhang.

“When did I indulge a saint?”

Li Xuan asked Zhao Fengzhang back. He knew that Zhao Fengzhang was a ruthless character, and he tried every means to impeach Li Linfu and write a letter to the emperor to remonstrate with him.

In history, Zhao Fengzhang was caught by Li Linfu and beaten to death for some random reason.

When Li Linfu was in power and sent Luo Xishe to fight all the way from Qingzhou to Lingnan, Zhao Fengzhang, who was just a prefect, frequently impeached Li Linfu. This shows that Zhao Fengzhang had a strong character and would not compromise.

In some matters, he can put life and death aside.

"The sage now shows signs of neglecting state affairs. He holds a small banquet every three days and a large banquet every five days, and you are always present at each banquet. And you often play polo, cockfighting, and hunting with the sage. Isn't this indulgence? You are a prime minister of the royal family. You should do your best to persuade the sage like Jizi and Weizi did. Otherwise, you will be a lesson for us."

Zhao Fengzhang took the opportunity to tell the story to Li Xuan at his palace, and the allusions he used were also very exaggerated.

If this happened in front of Li Longji, he would definitely be furious.

"Even officials like us can live out our lives in peace after we retire. The saints created a prosperous era, so isn't it right for us to enjoy the happiness of family life now? What the officials should do is to help the people out of their misery, so that they can escape from the water and fire, have enough food and clothing, and live in peace."

Li Xuan avoided Zhao Fengzhang's words and answered in a deep voice.

Yang Zhao is also present here. This traitor might tell the saint what Zhao Fengzhang said.

So Li Xuan was "correcting" Zhao Fengzhang.

"Sir, the people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important..."

Zhao Fengzhang wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Li Xuan: "Don't argue about this anymore. Can a sage king be considered one who lived in poverty like Yao and Shun? As long as the country is strong, the expenses of a sage are not worth mentioning. In the past, Guan Zhong and Yan Zi disclosed the mistakes of their kings in order to leave their names for posterity. I think a capable minister should not do such a thing."

"Governing the world is people-oriented. If you want to make the world peaceful, you have to be a county magistrate. Minister Zhao is the Minister of Personnel. If he does a good job in selecting and evaluating officials, it will be more meaningful than these."

Li Xuan's words were very implicit, and his tone contained a reprimand for Zhao Fengzhang.

There is no point in admonishing Li Longji; instead it will make Li Longji disgusted.

Supervising the administration of officials is what the Ministry of Personnel should do.

If a county's magistrate is honest and capable, the local people will be better off.

(End of this chapter)