In the first year of Yanhe, Jiazi (the first day of the new year) in winter and October.

Downstairs in the north of Weiyang Palace, at this time, just after the third watch, the sky was still dark.

Above the sky, the sky is full of stars, still twinkling, and the starry sky before the A.D. is beautiful and intoxicating.

"How's the night? Night's Nest! On the tower of the city, dozens of confessors whispered in the ancient elegant language: "The light of the court fire, the gentleman will stop, and the sound of the court will be!" ”

The wind chimes hanging on the city tower and in the entire palace were artificially shaken at this moment.

The melodious ringtones and melodious chanting resounded in the world.

Zhang Yue stood under the city tower and looked up at the palace tower that was shrouded in night.

Then he saw the whole tower, and one by one it became bright.

One after another, huge bonfire braziers placed on the castle tower were lit one after another, and the sky-high fire was even reflected in the castle tower, which was also bright, like day.

It's an ancient ritual that's been around for at least hundreds of years.

The heyday of Zong Zhou, the era when Zhao Gong and Zhou Gong were still alive.

The era of the reign of the king!

King Zhou Cheng sits in the palace of Hojing in the winter and October of every year, waiting for the princes from all over the world to make a pilgrimage.

Therefore, the poem has a song of court fire.

With the firelight of Weiyang Palace, the heavy city gate of Beique was also slowly pushed open.

Then, Zhang Yue lifted the sword, followed Zong Zhengqing Liu Qu, Zhijin Wu Wang Mang, Da Honglu Dai Ren and Taichangqing Shang Qiu Cheng, Guanglu Xun Han Shuo, and Dasi Nong Sang Hongyang, and slowly walked into this Beique City Tower.

Behind him, followed by Shangguan Ji and Zhao Chongguo.

From this, we can also see the current political order in Chang'an City.

The first echelon of power is Liu Qu, Wang Mang, Dai Ren, Shang Qiucheng, Han Shuo, Sang Hongyang and other powerful Jiuqing.

Of course, there are also the magnates of the Inner Dynasty who were already waiting in front of the Xuanshu Hall at this time, including Huo Guang, the commander of the Fengche, Jin Ri, the commander of the horses, Zhang Anshi, and the Cheng Shengzhi in the imperial history.

And Zhang Yue has jumped to the second echelon.

And it is the leader of the second echelon, and even has the ability to enter the first echelon.

is like Shangguan Ji, who is about to be worshiped as a servant, and he will only be able to enter the Beique City Tower after him.

As for the acting Jiuqing who is not in power such as Gongsun Yi of Shoushaofu, Cai Mao, Captain of Shui Heng, and Gongsun Yue, who guards Weiqing, they can't even squeeze into the second echelon, so they can only wait outside this Beique City Tower for another half an hour.

With other 2,000 stones, courtiers, and county officials, they waited until more than half of the third watch before they could enter Weiyang Palace.

The reason for this is that the system is designed to leave an opportunity for important ministers to privately pry or negotiate certain things before the annual court meeting.

This is a policy left over from the Taizong era.

At that time, it was the time of Jia Yi Jia Changsha's scenery, when Jia Changsha wrote to Emperor Taizong, requesting the implementation of the system of 'not dishonoring each other'.

The so-called system of not dishonoring each other, to put it simply, means that the Son of Heaven wants to give the criminals 2,000 stones a chance to end their lives with dignity.

If you can't punish the doctor, you can't give the common people.

The high-ranking nobles and officials of the empire, even if they committed crimes, were to be given an honor to step down or end their lives without 'humiliation'.

Of course, on the other hand, this system requires that criminal officials, if the facts of the crime have been confirmed, take the initiative to commit suicide automatically.

Don't cause any trouble to the monarch and the country.

Otherwise, the system would not be effective for it.

And since the general is not dishonored, the Son of Heaven must also respect and retain the dignity and personality of the two thousand stone magnates.

Naturally, then, the courtiers should have the right to consult on certain important matters before the court meeting, and unify their positions and pace.

Otherwise, when it comes to the great court meeting, in front of the officials of the county and the two thousand stone clan princes.

The three princes and nine ministers of the empire quarreled so much that they even tore and fought in person.

Isn't that too loo?

It may even disgrace the courtiers!

It is precisely because of this that the power of the prime minister of the Han family has swelled unprecedentedly!

Because, the prime minister is the highest civil official and the highest military attaché.

He has the right to convene whomever he wants to convene before the court meeting to discuss the contents and steps of the court meeting.

The late Zhang Cang, the Wenhou of Beiping, Shen Tujia, Zhou Yafu, and Hou Tian of Wu'an, all used this system to check and balance the monarchy.

All four of them have successfully prevented the ruling emperor from trying to realize some of his policies.

Therefore, when Zi Yuanguang is today, he is committed to weakening the power of the phase.

By now, the system has become almost an ornament.

There is no way that anyone can muster enough strength to fight against his will.

Because......

Even if strongmen like Beiping Wenhou Zhang Cang and Tiaohou Zhou Yafu are resurrected and serve as prime ministers again, it is impossible for them to successfully resist the policy of the reigning son of heaven under the control of the inner dynasty and the servants.

Just by voting, the three lieutenants plus Yushi Zhongcheng, Shang Shuling, Fengche Duwei and Horse Duwei had seven votes.

On the Prime Minister's side, even if he could unite all the Jiuqing, he would only get ten votes.

Ten to seven looks like an advantage.

But unfortunately, the Zhuxia nation never talks about the voting of the people's pigs, and the minority obeys the majority.

Instead, it is reasonable, first-class, sophisticated, and worldly, and the world.

Therefore, ten to seven means that this matter is very controversial and has a great impact, and it must be judged by the Son of Heaven himself in order to get a solution.

What's more, in Han Ji, one vote of the Son of Heaven himself can be counted as n plural votes.

It is impossible for anyone to unite all Jiuqing at the same time! The Jiuqing people are not so stupid.

Therefore, in the formulation of policies, the imperial power has all the initiative.

After all, it is impossible to unify the position of the ten votes of the foreign DPRK.

And the seven votes of the inner dynasty will always obey the will of the Son of Heaven himself.

Therefore, from the time of Wuqiang Hou Zhuang Qingzhai, the prime ministers of the Han Dynasty were weaker than the other.

Power was completely monopolized by the monarchy.

The system designed by the politicians of the Huang Lao School to limit the power of the monarchy and balance the power of the monarchy has been destroyed beyond recognition.

It has become a limited platform for discussion and discussion of the government and state affairs today.

This is also the wonder of the Zhuxia system of government.

It seems to be centralized, and the monarchy is divinely granted.

But a lone husband and a thief, a word is still not advisable.

From the Son of Heaven to the common people, they will not approve of the fool's policy of making decisions by one person.

Both clusters and people's pigs, both people's pigs are centralized, and people who don't understand are in the clouds and fog, and they can't see clearly at all.

Don't understand how the Chinese play exactly?

But in fact, you only need to look at the "Book of Songs", "Spring and Autumn" and "Shangshu" to understand.

With a long history and a profound cultural foundation, our ancestors have already tried all the systems they can try.

Zong Zhou played with the division of princes (in fact, it is the federal system), and also engaged in the so-called republican government, and had an addiction to aristocracy and nobility.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Qi and Jin dynasties all played aristocratic republics and hypocritical politics.

The state of Qin played the politics of the first army, militarism.

The state of Chu played with the federal decentralization system.

South Korea has engaged in spy politics.

After playing around, I finally found that only by great unification and centralization of power can we better govern the world and resolve disputes.

But considering the lessons of Ji Xuan and the teasing of King Zhou You, King Zhou Li, and King Qin Wu.

Therefore, even now, in the high-level system of Han politics, this design of the Huang Lao School is still retained.

In order to facilitate the important ministers to conduct effective negotiations before the great court meeting.

Follow the Jiuqing in front of you, all the way through the palace corridors and corridors that have been reflected like day by the bonfire.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Yue came to the platform in front of the Xuanshu Palace.

Huo Guang, Jin Ri, Zhang Anshi, and Storm Shengzhi had been waiting here for a long time.

Because, the consultation of important ministers before the court meeting is only an unwritten system.

It was designed by the Huang Lao School to check and balance the monarchy's power when it was in power.

So, there's no such thing as a quiet room.

At that time, the important ministers, although they were cool and domineering, they didn't have the courage to do such a thing that was very likely to cause suspicion behind their backs to the Son of Heaven and the courtiers, and the three princes and nine ministers discussed privately in a small dark room?

Do you want to rebel?

The culture of the Zhuxia people has also opposed private transactions since ancient times.

Pay attention to 'nothing can be said to people', and emphasize 'gentlemen are frank, villains are often relatives'.

Even the law was required to be made public, and the subjects had to be informed, emphasizing that 'punishment without teaching is abuse'.

Of course, such consultations are also required to be open and transparent.

At the very least, you have to reassure the courtiers and the Son of Heaven that these ministers are not carrying big guys behind their backs, planning and planning some big events!

"It's really ......early for the princes to come" Huo Guang led the important ministers of the inner dynasty and greeted the ministers of the outer dynasty led by Zong Zhengqing and Liu Qu.

It's not because of how high Liu Qu's status and power are, but because after this great court meeting, if there are no major changes.

Then, the matter of Liu Qu's worship is already a certainty.

Prime minister!

No matter how miserable it is, it is also the prime minister, the civil leader of the empire in theory, who assists the world in governing the world, balances yin and yang, and is an absolute minister who governs the people!

"Didn't Huo Lingjun get up early?" Liu Qu carried the ribbon, stepped forward with a smile, and said: "This official has just arrived, and he is not familiar with the government affairs of Chang'an and the world, and I am afraid that in the future, I will need Huo Lingjun, Jin Duwei, Tyrant Zhongcheng, Zhang Lingjun and all the Ming Dukes to take care of ......."

"Zong Zhengqing is serious!" Huo Guang smiled, then turned to Zhang Anshi and asked, "Zhang Lingjun, does Your Majesty have any instructions?" ”

Since the establishment of the Inner Dynasty, Shangshutai has existed as a mouthpiece for today's sons.

Especially in such a short consultation, Shang Shuling himself has always been a representative who spoke on behalf of the Son of Heaven and guided the ministers to think and consider issues.

When Zhang Anshi heard this, he bowed to everyone, and then said with a solemn expression: "The Son of Heaven has no special instructions, but he just ordered me to tell you that about Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou, everything is headed by Zhang Zizhong!" ”

When everyone heard this, they all turned around and looked at Zhang Yue, who was standing behind him and didn't say a word.