If you make a mistake at the banquet and be reprimanded by the emperor, you will naturally be very embarrassed.
But this is actually nothing. Everyone is as thick-skinned as a city wall, so no one can criticize anyone.
Moreover, the remarks made while drunk were excusable. Du Yan quickly recovered and tried to make amends.
Although Li Po was not very happy, he would not hold Du Yan back because of this "little thing". As a wise gentleman, you must have this tolerance.
Generally speaking, the period when ministers are easily offended is when the emperor is in power...
There was a lot of fun at the banquet, as if nothing had happened before.
.....................
After the banquet, Zhongshu ordered Xiao Yu to stay.
"Although what Shilang Du said is quite rash, it may not be unreasonable.
Since ancient times, the most promising monarchs have shown others only their achievements. Your Majesty, the founder of the country, has made great achievements, which are rare in ancient times. Only the Emperor Qin and the ancestors of Han can compare with them.
Moreover, His Majesty is in his prime, and his situation has reached such a stage. It is only a matter of time or later that he will be the best in the world, surpass the previous sages, and become the leader.
Achievement is a word, but it still needs to be pondered.
Governing the world, implementing good government, and providing rest for the people are all among them, and building palaces is also one of them.
Did Emperor Qin build Chi Road just to travel around the world? Emperor Wu built Shanglin Garden just for hunting? Did Emperor Wen build the city of Daxing just to move to the new capital?"
This perspective is not new. Li Po frowned as he listened and said: "You are a person who knows the past and present, how could you speak like this?
The Second Emperor of Qin died, Emperor Wu issued the edict of Luntai, and Emperor Wen gave birth to a good son. We have learned so many lessons, how can I make the same mistake again?"
Xiao Yu smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty is wrong. I have no intention of advising you to abuse the people's power and build palaces wantonly. I only think that your majesty's glory will bring prosperity to the country...
Your Majesty lives in a shabby house, and your ministers must live in dilapidated houses. Your Majesty is clothed in coarse linen and linen, and your ministers must also be in rags. Even if your ministers are like this, what should the common people do?"
This sounds a bit polemical.
What he actually meant was that the emperor should not live too simply, otherwise his ministers would not be able to live comfortably.
Later, Xiao Yu cited the example of Yang Jian and his wife. Even though the couple had great personalities, they were extremely frugal in their daily life and diet, which caused a lot of trouble to their ministers.
However, neither of them are stingy people, nor is it due to temperament. In fact, they want to eliminate the extravagant trend that continued in the late Jin Dynasty.
Yang Jian would do everything that should be done. He built Daxing City, Chidao, and canals. The post station system in the former Sui Dynasty was also very developed, most of which were written by Yang Jian.
It can be seen from here that his son Yang Guang has actually been trying to imitate his father and try to surpass him.
Yang Jian built Daxing City, and Yang Guang built Luoyang City. Yang Jian dug a canal, and Yang Guang dug a bigger and longer one, etc. Many things can be traced.
Yang Jian was a man of great talent and strategy, and was still very influential in the early Tang Dynasty. Whether it was Li Po or his ministers, they would always mention him from time to time when giving examples.
This is very rare after the change of dynasties, which is enough to show Yang Jian's power.
Well, his son is more powerful, and the lesson is so profound and typical that everyone no longer has to trouble Qin II.
Li Po understood what Xiao Yu wanted to say.
Basically, he was trying to persuade him not to be too restrained. It is not shameful for the emperor to enjoy life. The emperor's face is precious. He represents the face of the Tang Dynasty and needs to always shine brightly.
As long as you have a sense of proportion and don't be like Yang Guang who has no control and planning, it is actually a very normal thing to build some palaces and enjoy beauties.
The ministers are happy to see the success, and the people will also talk about it.
In fact, there were some things that Xiao Yu did not dare to say. He believed that the emperor had a rough background, and other things left people speechless. It was just that there were still some flaws in his understanding of the identity of the emperor.
I always want to share the joys and sorrows with others, and I am a bit worried about the world's worries first, and then I am happy after the world's happiness. That is to say, Xiao Yu did not know this famous saying of later generations, otherwise he would have said the previous sentence, it should be the minister
their aspirations, not the way of the emperor.
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Li Po listened to Xiao Yu's words of advice and gradually realized that what he said did make some sense. But he turned around and wondered, why the hell did this sound like He Shen's sophistry?
If the officials are short of food and clothing, what will happen to the people?
Then Li Po understood that Xiao Yu was born in a noble family, and he could listen to what he said. Many times it was indeed reasonable, but if he listened to him completely, things might become extremely bad.
In fact, the most reasonable thing Xiao Yu said is that when he talked about Yang Jian and his wife striving to be frugal, he said from another perspective that the nobles were suppressed too hard at that time. When Yang Jian and his wife died, they all let themselves go.
I started enjoying it even more.
Therefore, the emperor's excessive restraint will not be conducive to the continuation of the dynasty in the long run.
For example, when the Queen of Documents, Dugu Jialuo, was in power, she did not allow her ministers to accept wives and concubines, let alone divorce their first wife and marry another. Even if he treated his first wife badly, if the news reached Dugu Jialuo's ears, it would make her angry.
And because she is involved in political affairs, it won't be too easy to punish you.
As a result, the nobles behaved very cautiously, and his wife was deposed as the crown prince. The unrest in the house was actually one of the reasons.
But when Dugu Jialuo died, the nobles breathed a sigh of relief. After Yang Guang came to the throne, the nobles took wives and concubines. They were afraid that it would not be enough, and they all wanted to make up for the good times in the past.
Do you think this incident was caused by the loss of the king or the fault of the nobles?
Li Po patiently had an in-depth conversation with Xiao Yu, during which there were many fierce arguments.
Xiao Yu showed his strength or stubbornness. He thought that what he thought was right would be spoken out even if the emperor didn't like it.
Compared with this guy, Wei Zheng is just a younger brother. He has lost such a big reputation in vain.
.....................
After Xiao Yu left, Li Po felt relieved and calmed down. He opened the small ledger as usual and moved Xiao Yu's name to the front of the ledger.
This idiot made him very angry.
Damn it, it makes no sense that it was the emperor's fault not to build some palaces.
It can be seen that he was at a rare disadvantage in the debate, which immediately made him feel bad.
Li Bi came out from behind, and Li Po was even more furious when he saw it. This woman actually came to listen to Qiang Gen again.
Li Bi smiled like a flower and looked extremely happy. She poured wine for him, ordered people to bring some food, raised her wine glass and then added insult to injury.
"Congratulations to my husband. It is rare to be a loyal minister. It is rare for a minister to be as good as Xiao Shiwen. I hope that there will be more such people around my husband, and he will have good results in the future."