I

  Chapter 528 525 [New Chaohui]

  Yang Guanji was the magistrate of Changsha when he joined the new dynasty. A few years have passed, and he has become the governor of Jinling, the real power mayor of the capital of the third rank.

  He was very excited today, got up in the middle of the night, put on a brand new court dress and looked in the mirror.

   Before dawn, he paced out the door.

  He is also a well-known incorruptible official. He does not bring his entourage to and from get off work, nor does he have his own private sedan chair. Walking all the way to the outside of the imperial city, and walking around the base of the wall for a while, he came to a small gate. After checking the waist card, he was let by the gate guards.

  Many people stood outside the door, all of them were followers of officials, and they were not allowed to enter.

   There are also some sedan chairs parked, which are the private sedan chairs of certain officials.

  Zhao Han only forbids slavery, but does not prohibit sitting in sedan chairs, otherwise the bearers will lose their jobs. As long as the official income is legal income, there is nothing wrong with keeping bearers at home. To put it bluntly, they are full-time drivers.

  It can be said that there are almost no officials who ride to the court.

  Because the good horses were taken away by the government to maintain the cavalry, the rest of the people were all bad horses.

  Yang Guanji entered from the side of the Meridian Gate and was taken by the female officer to drink tea and rest.

   Entering the waiting room, there are already more than 30 people inside, noisy like a vegetable market, and the conversation is extremely excited.

  Since the founding of Datong, today is the first time to go to court.

  An old Ming minister like Li Banghua must be accustomed to the previous court. But officials like Yang Guanji feel very fresh, and they belong to the vast majority.

   "I heard that in the early Ming Dynasty, we had to go out at the fourth watch." The speaker was Chen Liangbi, a household doctor, who took refuge in Guangdong when the Datong Army captured Guangdong.

   "More than that, you have to get up in the middle of the night." Anhui official Xuan Guozhu said. This ancestor was a relative of the Yuan Dynasty emperor, and he was also a Semuren with blue eyes. More than three hundred years later, except for slightly darker eye sockets, other appearances are no different from Han people.

  Jiangsu official Wu Zhenyu couldn't help but smile and said, "Did we come too early?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

  Many officials laughed endlessly.

   It was the first time to go to court, and everyone was very excited. I was also afraid that getting up too late and missing the court meeting would leave a negative impression on the emperor.

   It's only five o'clock in the morning, and thirty or forty people have already come, and the meeting time is eight o'clock.

  Yang Guanji found a chair and sat down, sat for a while, feeling sleepy, couldn't help covering his mouth and yawning. He didn't drink tea to relieve his fatigue, but just sat on the chair and fell asleep, deaf to the conversation in the room.

   Until 7:20, a female official finally came to remind: "All the ministers are waiting inside!"

  The ministers lined up by the bridge, and Pang Chunlai stood at the front.

   There are not many military officers on the shift, because they are all fighting on the front line. Even if he is an official of the Ministry of War, it is also within the scope of civil servants-generals can be transferred to civil servants of the Ministry of War, provided that they are relieved of all command positions.

  After crossing the bridge, enter the Yingmin Gate and continue to wait in line at the square in front of the hall.

  About 7:40, a master of ceremonies shouted in Jingtian Temple: "All officials, step forward!"

  The guards in front of the hall shouted louder: "All officials, step forward!"

   There was no three-beating of the whip, but the etiquette and music were reserved.

  The ceremonial and music officials played solemn and solemn music, and the cabinet ministers set foot on Danbi collectively, while the rest of the ministers waited outside Danbi.

  Zhao Han came slowly, and sat on the golden throne in the hall.

  The ceremonial officer of the Ministry of Rites looked at the clock next to the emperor's throne, and the minute hand finally pointed to eight o'clock: "The emperor is ascending to the palace!"

   "The emperor ascends to the palace!"

   "Hundreds of officials enter the palace!"

   "Hundreds of officials enter the palace!"

   One sound after another, quickly spread to the outside of the hall, and the rhythm of ritual and music changed again.

  The officials discovered that there were actually chairs placed in the hall, and each chair was engraved with an official position.

  Yang Guanji's court meeting frequency is above average. Because the officials participating in the court meeting, except for special departments, must be at least above the fifth rank, that is, the department-level officials of the central department.

  Following the large troops into the hall, no one went to sit, but stood in line solemnly.

  On both sides of the main hall, there are ritual and music teams.

  Below the side of the emperor's throne, there is Cao Guan who recorded the court meeting (similar to Ming Dynasty Gishizhong). Cao Guan also put down his brush at this moment, and stood upright behind the table.

   "All the officials salute!" The master of ceremonies shouted.

  Yang Guanji and the others had rehearsed a long time ago, and they all bowed together: "Meet Your Majesty!"

  Zhao Han smiled and said: "Your honor is free. Give me a seat!"

  The master of ceremonies shouted: "All officials take their seats."

  The sound of the ceremony and music became a little more soothing, and the officials sat down one after another.

   Li Banghua and Qian Qianyi were deeply moved. They all lived in the Ming dynasty. You have to kneel down to the emperor, and after kneeling, you have to stand up all the way up.

  Now there is no need to kneel down, and everyone has a seat, that sense of dignity lingers all over the body.

  Yes, Qian Qianyi is also qualified to go to the court. As a doctor of the Imperial Academy, although he is not allowed to interfere with the government, his rank is relatively high.

Zhao Han sat on the golden throne, condescending, and said to the officials with a smile: "Today is the first court meeting of my court. The imperial dining room has prepared meals. After the court is over, you can have a banquet in the imperial city. You don't have to work in the morning, but I have to work in the afternoon, and each person is limited to one drink."

   "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the banquet!" the officials shouted.

  Zhao Han was in a happier mood: "I have nothing to say. The new dynasty was founded. You and my monarchs and ministers work together to create a prosperous world. I want to surpass the rule of Zhenguan, can you have confidence?"

   "Do your best to assist, and you will die!"

   "The minister must do his best!"

   "..."

   This thing has never been rehearsed, and the officials speak in all kinds of ways.

  After a burst of noise, Zhao Han patted the handrail, and the master of ceremonies immediately shouted: "Quiet!"

   It was quiet for a moment, and no one spoke.

  Zhao Han said: "I won't talk about business today. Many of you came early, and you must have not eaten yet. Let's have breakfast with me. Talk while eating. Disperse!"

   "Scatter the dynasty!"

   "Hundreds of officials respectfully send the emperor down!"

  The officials stood up one after another, bowed their hands, and watched the emperor leave.

   It's the first time to go to court, so it's over?

  Yang Guanji was a little dumbfounded. He looked at other officials with similar expressions.

  The routine court meeting, that is, the early court, is completely formalistic. The government affairs discussed have also been handled by the cabinet, and they are nothing more than performing in public.

  Once it is actually discussed in the early court, it means three situations: one is political struggles, the other is reporting to work by leapfrogging, and the third is that the emperor is dissatisfied with the cabinet.

  Only in those temporary court meetings, the emperor summoned ministers to discuss some difficult and difficult issues.

  Zhao Han doesn't like formalism, but he must keep the early dynasty.

  If the early dynasty is canceled directly, middle-level officials may never see the emperor for a lifetime!

   So, what should we do in the morning court?

  Zhao Han came up with a way to only go to court three times a month to avoid affecting his daily work. Every morning, the emperor would come up with an issue, and the ministers would conduct macro discussions around the issue. The details are basically not discussed, because the details can follow the normal workflow.

  After the dynasty was dispersed, Yang Guanji followed the large army and accompanied the emperor to have breakfast.

  The place where the emperor gave the banquet was in Xiyuan, which is the imperial garden west of the Forbidden City.

  Yang Guanji looked curiously all the way, and saw many female officials walking around, and all the inner courts were working. Some court ladies are obviously healthy women who are already in their 30s or 40s.

  Those healthy women belonged to the second batch of conscripted court ladies, and were mainly engaged in physical work in the imperial city. There is no age limit, as long as you are born innocent and have the ability to do things. After signing a five-year contract, you can leave when it expires, and those who want to stay can also apply for a renewal.

  The maids who brought wine and food to the banquet were all girls in their teens.

  Zhao Han raised his glass and said, "Today there is only one glass, please drink slowly."

   "Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

   All the officials toasted and shouted, and they all killed them in one gulp. No one really drank slowly.

  The emperor gave the banquet, using the private treasury of the royal family. The food and drink are not luxurious, but they are also quite delicious. Zhao Han is no longer so picky.

   Waiting for the officials to put down their wine glasses, Zhao Han finally brought out the topic of today's meeting: "Do you know that the earth is a sphere? Those who want to speak can raise their right arms."

  More than half of the officials raised their hands.

  Zhao Han pointed to one of them: "You tell me."

It was Yan Tinghui, an official from Fujian. He stood up and bowed to him and said, "Your Majesty, I am from Fujian. When I was a young man studying, I met Western Hongmaofan people. They came from the West thousands of miles away. According to these Hongmaofan people It is said that a small country in the west sailed westward and crossed the sea to a continent. This continent was named America. If you take a boat on this continent and go westward, you will be the country of Luzon in the South Sea. It can be seen from this that the land is indeed A sphere too."

  As soon as this remark came out, the banquet scene was noisy, and many officials really didn't know it.

  Zhao Han is very satisfied with this, and every morning in the future, he can spread new knowledge to all officials, lest their vision is still so narrow.

  Zhao Han pointed to Ai Julian: "Master Ai, tell me."

   Ai Julian is considered the most proficient in Confucianism among all the missionaries. Even his Confucianism cultivation can crush many Ming scholars. He advocated the integration of Christianity and Confucianism, and advocated respect for the customs of Han Chinese believers. Therefore, when the missionaries were expelled, Aurelius was not affected in the slightest, and now he has become a master of Qintian Academy.

Wearing official uniform, the Italian old man bowed to Zhao Han, and then to all the officials: "Your Majesty, the earth is indeed a sphere. There is a sun in nine days, just like a king. The earth and the five stars (five major planets) all revolve around the sun." OK, it is like all the ministers defending the king. Your majesty is the sun, with radiant light. The people are all things, and the sun shines everywhere, so they can prosper."

"well said!"

  Zhao Han accepted the flattery, smiled and said, "Tell the officials again, what countries are there in the West?"

Aurelius began to popularize science for all officials: "There are island countries in the far west, which are called England and Scotland. There are also continents, and there are many small countries. France, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Rakshasa (Tsarist Russia), Poland... and so on. In the Near East, there are Ottomans, Persians, Mughals..."

  The officials listen carefully.

  Zhao Han asked: "Which countries are the strongest?"

Ai Julius said: "For the western countries, if you talk about the army, France is the strongest, and if you talk about the navy, the Netherlands is the strongest. There is also the Raksha country, which has a vast territory, bitter cold and barren, and has a large number of troops. The Ottomans, Persians and others in the Near East The Mughals are all countries that are slightly inferior to my Datong China."

  Yang Guanji was confused and couldn't help raising his hand.

   Zhao Han said: "Please tell me."

  Yang Guanji immediately asked: "Mr. Ai, I have heard about Persia. Where are these Ottomans and Mughals?"

  Ai Julian explained: "The Mughals are in Tianzhu, and the monarch of this country is a descendant of Genghis Khan. As for Ottoman, it covers half of the Mediterranean Sea, and its land location is the big food country in Chinese history books."

   "Dashi, Persia, and Tianzhu, so that's how it is." Yang Guanji understood a little bit, and asked, "Which of these three countries is the strongest?"

  Ai Julian said: "Persia is caught in the middle, and most of the land is annexed by other two countries."

  Another official raised his hand, and was allowed by Zhao Han to ask: "How does the land of these three countries compare with our Datong court?"

  Ai Julian replied: "The size of our country today is comparable to that of Mughal, slightly larger than Persia, and certainly not as good as Ottoman."

   "Hiss!"

  All the officials gasped.

   "Is the land fertile in these countries?"

   "Some are fertile and some are barren. The land of Tianzhu seems to be fertile. The quality of cotton produced there is better than that of Lumian."

   "Tianzhu cotton is actually better than Lumian?"

   "It is true. English merchants bought more cotton from Tianzhu."

   "Where is the Raksha country? The name of this country is quite interesting."

   "..."

   Zhao Han was very pleased with the results of this court meeting and banquet, and the global vision of the officials was illuminated.

   (Owing more and continuing to owe.)

  (end of this chapter)