Reborn Tang Emperor Li Chengqian

Chapter 60

Soon New Year's Day is coming, and the new year is about to begin.

The first day of the first month of the 18th year of Zhenguan, this day is a great day for the people of Datang.

For the civil, military and court envoys of the Manchu Dynasty, this day is the day when they pay New Year's greetings to the supreme head of the empire and summarize the annual meeting.

For the envoys of the vassal state, this day is the day when they pay tribute to the suzerain state.

At dawn, under the North Tower of the Taiji Palace, there were already crowds of people, and long teams gathered from all directions.

The imperial relatives of the Tang Dynasty, the six ministries of the three provinces, the government offices of each department, the envoys sent by the local government, and the envoys sent by the vassal states to the Tang Dynasty will all gather in front of the gate of the palace on this day.

In the Tang Dynasty, officials, regardless of their position, mostly rode to the court, and the senior officials were accompanied by two servants who held lamps for their masters in the dark.

The lower-level officials had limited salaries and could not afford to support servants, so they had to walk alone in the night with a lantern.

The people who participated in the Grand Court Assembly started from their own residences and marched towards the Taiji Palace, and slowly gathered into teams. The long team was like a winding fire dragon, and was heading towards the Taiji Palace.

According to the rules and regulations, officials of the Tang Empire must go to court on time. No matter who they are, anyone who dares to be late will be severely punished, ranging from a one-month salary penalty to a serious penalty.

Even the crown prince, who is the crown prince, is no exception, and he dare not be late for no reason!
Officials who are farther away from the palace have to get up earlier than others to wash up before going to court.

At the fifth watch, Li Chengqian was woken up from the warm bed of the servants, and put on court clothes under the service of the maid.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, King Jin Li Zhi and the young prince stood in front, and behind them were arranged neatly according to the size of their positions, waiting for the palace gate to open.

At dawn, the imperial guards opened the gate of the palace after checking the status of the gate, and the officials, led by the officer of ceremonies, walked through the gate to the Hall of Taiji.

Every time they pass through a palace gate, the forbidden army will carefully check the identity of each official, and all officials who go to court must be registered in the book, so that the forbidden army can check.

The name, position, age, as well as height and physical characteristics of the officials are recorded in the book to prevent impersonation.

"Advising doctor Chu Suiliang..."

When checking their identities, the leading forbidden army will compare the books in their hands one by one to name the officials of the upper dynasty.

The officials who were named stepped forward, opened their arms, and waited for the imperial guards to search their bodies. After the searches, the officials could step through the palace gate in front of them.

After a series of strict confirmations, they finally arrived at the Tai Chi Hall to wait for the emperor to go to court.

In the Taiji Hall, chariots, soldiers and guards, as well as various flags and ceremonies were displayed. At this time, the ritual officer shouted "Turn".

The civil and military officials walked forward in a neat and orderly manner, and were arranged in east-west directions in the front hall of the Taiji Hall.

According to the ritual system, civil and military officials must first wait in the front hall of the Taiji Hall, and finally the emperor will visit the Taiji Hall.

"Your Majesty is here!" With the voice of the internal guard, the New Year's Day Grand Court officially began.

The supreme emperor of the empire, His Majesty Li Er, surrounded by Cheng Yu by his servants, walked in slowly from outside the Taiji Hall amidst the sound of festive drums, and His Majesty Li Er crowned Linxuan.

The ranking of the Dachaohui is also particular.

The civil officials of the third rank and above are located on the right side facing the emperor, the descendant of Confucius Bao Shenghou is behind, and the military generals of the third rank and above are on the left.

The envoys from the local area were on the left and right sides of the civil and military officials, and the higher the rank, the higher the ranking.

Then there are officials below the third rank, and envoys from vassal states, and the last ones are the royal family members.

The crown prince Li Chengqian, the Jin king Li Zhi, and the princes and civil and military officials who had not yet settled down immediately knelt down and said: "I see your majesty!"

"Everyone loves you in peace!" Li Erhuan looked at the ministers and said.

After the crown prince and others kowtowed three times, they got up and stood up.

"I congratulate my father on New Year's Day!" Li Chengqian, as the crown prince, was the first to present the congratulatory form and New Year's gifts.

Then it came to Li Chengqian's younger brothers, the princes of the Tang Dynasty, who came forward to present congratulatory forms and gifts.

The Duke of the State and other relatives of the emperor stepped forward one by one to present congratulatory forms and gifts.

After the civil and military officials in the court completed the congratulatory forms and congratulatory gifts, Zhongshu ordered Yang Shidao to present the local congratulatory form, so that the envoys of the imperial court could go forward to worship and see the holy face.

Immediately afterwards, the servant of the Huangmen played auspicious and auspicious omens, and then the Minister of the Household Department played the contributions of the states.

The Minister of Rites played the contributions of the Fans and so on, and the envoys of various countries brought up the treasures presented to the emperor.

For these foreign envoys, the Grand Court will be a great opportunity to see the emperor's demeanor up close.

The many etiquettes of congratulations from all directions lasted for a relatively long time. The coming of all nations to congratulate is not only a good blessing for the new year.

It is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty who demonstrated the supremacy of imperial power, the control power of the central government over the localities, and the deterrent power of the celestial kingdom against foreign nations.

Li Er has been the emperor for more than ten years, and he already knows the etiquette procedures of the Great Court Assembly like the back of his hand, and he handles it with ease.

To put it simply, the first step of the Grand Court Assembly is that His Majesty Li Er, as the emperor, can accept gifts from subjects, localities and envoys without any pressure.

And it's still mandatory to accept the gift! Anyone who doesn't give it has bad intentions!
The gifts offered by the locality are related to the prosperity of the locality. Rich places naturally donate valuable things, while poor places can only donate cheap gifts.

Li Chengqian found out!
The presents offered by the court envoys from different places are all kinds of strange things!
Not to mention rich places, what everyone donates is nothing more than gold and silver treasures, which is like this every year, nothing new.

It was mainly those local impoverished court envoys who offered a variety of gifts, some of which were calligraphy and paintings from governors or governors, and some even sent a duck directly.

Giving gifts is to show the respect of civil and military officials, localities and vassal states to the emperor! This is just the prelude to the Great Court Meeting.

After receiving the gifts, the emperor first wants to thank everyone! Reward foreign envoys to show his favor!
Then there is the annual summary of the court envoys, reporting to the court the GDP and fiscal revenue of the area under their jurisdiction in the past year.

It is up to the imperial court to consider your achievements in the past year to decide whether you are a competent local official.

In the Han Dynasty, the top or second leaders of these local states and counties would bring accounting books and report the local "political achievements" to the prime minister's mansion! This is called Shangji, and these people are called Shangji officials.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Shangji was changed to Chaoji, and Shangji officials were also called Chaoji envoys. Local officials no longer had to report to the prime minister's mansion, but to the Ministry of Officials.

The annual summary report is also an important part of the Great Court Meeting. The emperor will also select several local court envoys during the Great Court Meeting, and personally inspect and evaluate them.

At the same time, they will also ask them about the local management situation, and the officials who are asked must answer truthfully and must not deceive the emperor.

The dynasty will last a long time!
After the Great Court Meeting is over, it is time to wait for the banquet hosted by the emperor in the evening. At that time, everyone will gather together to eat, drink, watch singing and dancing.

(End of this chapter)