The emperor and officials of Fengxiang Mansion have already embarked on their way back to Chang'an, and the officials who have arrived in Chang'an in advance are busy.
[Recommended, Yeguo Reading is really easy to use, download it here www. Come and give it a try.]
According to the imperial court's plan, after the emperor returned to Chang'an, he would first pay homage to the Second Temple of Sheji outside Chang'an City under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites.
Next, we have to clean the ancestral palaces and temples, and comfort our ancestors that the royal family has returned to Chang'an, and deliver sacrifices to the ancestral temples.
Then, under the warm welcome of the people of Chang'an, the emperor entered Chang'an City through the Zhuque Gate.
These procedures are all stipulated in the court regulations and are necessary national ceremonies.
These ceremonial tasks were performed to worship heaven and earth and ancestors, and were very important tasks in ancient society.
But what is to be done next is the focus of controversy in the entire court.
After worshiping heaven, earth and ancestors, what the emperor did first was a big deal.
First, Cui Qi, the censor Zhongcheng, stood up. After the trial of the three legal divisions of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment and the Censor's Platform, the list of rebellious officials who participated in the puppet Yan court during the fall of the two capitals in the Tang Dynasty has been compiled, and the emperor has given instructions.
The trial of these rebellious officials.
Cui Qi believed that these officials had lost their integrity and should kneel with bare feet and tatters outside the Suzaku Bridge in Chang'an City to welcome the emperor and officials back to Chang'an.
This is a warning to officials who intend to surrender to the enemy in the future, and it is also a punishment for officials who have already surrendered to the puppet Yan.
However, more court ministers disagreed with Cui Qi's opinion.
Nowadays, everyone in the Tang Dynasty believes that except for officials like Da Xixun and Chen Xilie who took the initiative to rebel, many officials surrendered to the puppet Yan just to save their lives.
It was only because the emperor left Chang'an in a hurry that these officials fell into the hands of the puppet Yan.
Therefore, many court ministers expressed fierce opposition to Cui Qi's humiliating punishment.
At this time, the Ministry of Rites proposed another plan, allowing the scholars who passed the new examination this year to line up in front of the Zhuque Gate to welcome the emperor back to Luan Chang'an.
The emperor originally attached great importance to the imperial examination in this subject, and after returning to Luan Chang'an, the emperor would personally interview these scholars in the Taiji Hall and award them official positions one by one.
In this case, it is only natural for the scholars who have passed the examination to line up to welcome the emperor back to Luan Chang'an, and it will definitely please the emperor.
But just as the Ministry of Rites finished explaining his plan, the Ministry of War jumped out again.
Now the Minister of War is Guo Ziyi, and the Minister of War is Li Guangbi. Although there is only one right minister left in Chang'an City, his power is not small.
The right minister of the Ministry of War believed that we should follow ancient military etiquette and present victory to the emperor when he was in Chang'an.
The Ministry of War hopes to hold a grand victory ceremony outside the city to demonstrate the Tang Dynasty's martial arts in regaining the two capitals!
These three plans were litigated by Prime Minister Pei Mian for more than ten days. The emperor was about to return to Chang'an, but still no result could be reached.
Pei Mian was extremely busy, and there were still a lot of troublesome things left.
As the prime minister, the emperor returned to Luan Chang'an in December, and then he would interview the scholars who had passed the new examination at the Taiji Hall, and award the qualified scholars with official positions one by one.
This unprecedented palace examination requires the Ministry of Etiquette to handle it and formulate a set of impeccable etiquette.
How can a scholar without an official position pay homage to the emperor? What is the process of conferring an official position?
The officials of the Ministry of Rites, who were presiding over the ceremony of the emperor's return to Chang'an, seemed to have fallen into a double nightmare.
However, the nightmare of the Ministry of Rites is still to come. After the emperor returns to Luan Chang'an in December, preparations will be made for the Zhengdan Grand Court Meeting on January 1 next year!
This Zhengdan court meeting was extraordinary. It was the first Zhengdan court meeting after the emperor returned to Chang'an.
At the Zhengdan court meeting, all princes, ministers and envoys from various countries would present gifts to the emperor, which were gifts for the emperor to return to Chang'an.
The scale of this Zhengdan court meeting was far greater than before, which was another nightmare for the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
As the Minister of Rites, Pei Mian had a busy day and dragged his tired body back from the Government Hall to his mansion in Guanglufang.
As soon as he returned home, Li Kui, the Minister of Rites, came to visit him again.
Pei Mian, who had just changed out of his official robes, could only continue to receive his subordinate.
Li Kui said with a tired face: "Prime Minister Pei, my subordinates came to visit in a hurry. There is really something that cannot be decided, so I visited at this time."
Pei Mian was a generous prime minister, so he said gently: "What is the important matter?"
Li Kui then said: "Actually, this matter should not bother Prime Minister Pei, but the debate in the Ministry of Rites was fierce, and Kui really couldn't resolve it, so he asked Prime Minister Pei for instructions."
Pei Mian was the Minister of Rites, but also the prime minister of the imperial court.
Therefore, his position as the Minister of Rites is just a false position. On weekdays, Li Kui, the Minister, is responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.
Li Kui was a Jinshi in the late Kaiyuan Dynasty. He was smart, studious and talented at a young age.
In his imperial examination papers, because the questions in the classics examination during the Kaiyuan period were too obscure, many scholars at that time specifically selected the obscure allusions of Ji Qu Nao Ya to recite. Li Kui wrote in the practical policy examination:
"When a great country selects scholars, it must be talented. The scriptures are here, please feel free to search for them."
This means that when a great country selects talents, it needs to select talented and learned people, rather than looking for obscure allusions in classics to deliberately test candidates.
This practical policy was approved by the emperor, and Li Kui was awarded an official position and entered the officialdom.
Li Kui was outstanding in learning and familiar with various laws and regulations, so Pei Mian, the minister, felt at ease to let him be in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.
Li Kui said distressedly: "Prime Minister Pei, what worries the Ministry of Rites is what etiquette should we use to welcome the emperor?"
Pei Mian was also stunned at this time. The court had been clamoring about how to welcome the emperor, but they had forgotten about it.
The Emperor is going back to Luan Chang'an City with the Emperor, so how will he greet the Emperor then?
Li Kui said: "When your Majesty enters Chang'an, he naturally has to go through the main entrance of Zhuque Gate, so where is the emperor's chariot?"
"The same goes for entering Tai Chi Palace. His Majesty wants to take the main bridge of Zhuque Bridge. What about the Emperor?"
Hearing this, Pei Mian had a headache.
It is justifiable, this is not just feudal etiquette, etiquette is also a practical need.
These complex etiquette systems are also the basis for the operation of the court, and are rules that the royal family and officials must abide by.
Only by following the rules can the machine of the court run smoothly.
After all, the emperor is the emperor for more than 40 years, and he is also the emperor's father.
But there is only one supreme throne. If the emperor is greeted according to the same etiquette, if the emperor becomes unhappy, the Ministry of Rites will definitely have a difficult time in the future.
Even Pei Mian was worried, how could such an unfortunate thing happen to him?
He thought for a while and said: "Let's let the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy discuss what etiquette should be used to receive the emperor."
"Let the new Jinshis also join the Imperial College and see what these young Jinshis think."
Li Kui thought for a while and could only sigh and said, "That's all."
As Emperor Luan Jia was about to return to Chang'an, more and more people were worried like Pei Mian and Li Kui.
In the East Palace, Dou Shen got angry recently and the corners of his mouth were burned.
The emperor is about to return to Chang'an. Although the gifts to Luan Chang'an will not be presented until the Zhengdan court meeting in the first month of next year, the Jingzhao Mansion is now holding the body, and the plan to refine the elixir cannot be carried out.
A huge amount of money has been spent, but the "elixir" has not yet been refined.
The prince will return to Chang'an soon after the emperor returns to Chang'an.
When he thought of this, Dou Shen became even more anxious and angry. What would he do to deal with it then?
Dou Shen quickly came to the alchemy room again, only to see that the alchemy room was filled with smoke and filled with the fragrance of vegetation. Dou Shen's impetuous mood calmed down a little.
This Yuan Shenxian is very capable!
When he thought of this, Dou Shen quickly bowed at the door of the alchemy room and said:
"Yuan Shenxian! Can this heart fire be refined smoothly?"
The old Taoist sighed and said: "The fire in my heart is not strong, it is still a little short of fire, but it can be used barely."
"Changshi Dou, when can I get my 'Alchemy Furnace' back?"
Dou Shen said with a bitter face: "I came here just to talk about this matter. Does Yuan Shenxian have any other ideas?"
The man's tone suddenly turned cold and he said:
"This alchemy furnace is the most important thing. How can you make elixirs without an alchemy furnace?"
"The birthdays and horoscopes of this alchemy furnace were calculated by a poor Taoist who spent his lifespan! The treasures used to make the alchemy furnace are also passed down from the ancestors. What are you going to do to get another alchemy furnace?"
Dou Shen had a bitter look on his face. Cui Guangyuan of the Jingzhao Mansion, who was originally wanted to win over by the East Palace, suddenly turned into Master Qingtian who strictly enforced the law. No matter how much pressure the East Palace exerted, he refused to hand over the body.
The right guard of the East Palace led the Zhonglang general Wu Couo who went to ask for the body, but he lost his life in Jingzhao Mansion for no apparent reason.
But this matter happened to involve the new number one scholar. Now everyone in Chang'an City is saying that the East Palace is related to Ming Gu, so Dou Shen really doesn't dare to act rashly.
The East Palace accepted the body of General Zhonglang and swallowed it hard. He admitted that Wu Min, the real General General, was a fake, which was tantamount to acquiescing to Jingzhao Palace's statement.
Next, the Jingzhao Mansion's attitude became even more resolute. Cui Guangyuan showed his strength and arrested several domineering officials and servants of the East Palace, which even ruined the face of the East Palace.
But Dou Shen couldn't attack, and even the officials in the East Palace couldn't raise their heads in Chang'an.
Dou Shen then asked: "If all other materials are available, how many days will it take to refine the elixir with the elixir furnace?"
Taoist Yuan said: "If we open the Big Furnace Pill, it will take 7749 days. Now it's too late."
"But there is a way to open the Small Furnace Pill. It only takes seven days to turn it into a pill!"
Dou Shen breathed a sigh of relief now. At the beginning of December, the emperor returned to Luan Chang'an, and the prince estimated that he would be able to return to Chang'an in early December.
When the time comes, let the prince come forward and ask for the alchemy furnace from Jingzhao Mansion.
"Then when the prince comes back, I will ask His Highness to ask for the 'Alchemy Furnace' from Jingzhao Mansion!"