Soon New Year's Day will come and the new year will begin.

On the first day of the first month of the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, this day is a major day for the people of the whole country in Datang.

For the civil and military envoys of the Manchu Dynasty, this day was the day for them to pay New Year's greetings to the supreme head of the empire and summarize the annual meeting.

For the envoys of the vassal states, this day was a day for them to pay tribute to the suzerain.

At dawn, under the north gate of Taiji Palace, there were already crowds of people, and long queues gathered from all directions.

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

In the Tang Dynasty, most officials, regardless of their positions, rode horses to the court, followed by two servants who held lamps for their masters in the night.

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

The people who participated in the Great Dynasty Meeting, starting from their own residences, marched towards the Taiji Palace, and slowly gathered into a team, and the long procession was like a winding fire dragon, which was heading towards the Taiji Palace.

According to the rules and regulations, the officials of the Tang Empire must go to court on time, no matter who dares to be late, they will be punished very severely, ranging from a month's salary to a month's salary, and in serious cases, they will lose their official positions.

Even the crown prince, who is the prince, is no exception, and he doesn't dare to be late for no reason!

Officials who were far away from the palace had to get up earlier than others to wash up and then go to the court.

On the fifth watch, Li Chengqian was called up by the warm quilt of the attendant and put on court clothes under the service of the maid.

The crown prince Li Chengqian, the king of Jin, Li Zhi, and the young prince stood in front, lined up in order of position behind them, waiting for the palace door to open.

The day was slightly bright, after the forbidden army checked the door, opened the palace gate, and the officials, under the leadership of the ceremonial officer, walked through the palace gate to the Taiji Palace.

Every time they passed through the palace gate, the forbidden army would carefully check the identity of each official, and all officials of the previous dynasty must be registered in the register for the forbidden army to check.

The name, position, age, height, and physical characteristics of the officials were recorded in the notebook in case someone impersonated.

"Counseling Doctor Chu Suiliang......"

When checking the identity, the leading forbidden army will compare the book in hand and name the officials of the previous dynasty one by one.

The named official stepped forward, spread his arms, and waited for the forbidden army on the side to search his body, and after the search, the official could cross the palace gate in front of him.

After a series of strict confirmations, it was finally possible to arrive at the Taiji Hall and wait for the emperor to ascend to court.

In the Taiji Palace, there are chariot cavalry guards and various flags and ceremonies, and at this time the ceremonial officer shouts "trend".

The civil and military officials marched forward in order in order, and arranged in the east and west shifts in the front hall of the Taiji Palace.

According to the etiquette system, civil and military officials must first go to the front hall of the Taiji Hall to wait, and finally the emperor will come to the Taiji Palace.

"Your Majesty has arrived!" With the sound of the inner attendant, the New Year's Day court meeting officially began.

The supreme of the empire, His Majesty Li Er, in a festive drum music, surrounded by the inner attendants, slowly walked in from outside the Taiji Palace, and His Majesty Li Er was crowned in Linxuan.

The ranking of the Great Dynasty Meeting is also exquisite.

The civil officials above the third rank are located on the right side facing the emperor, behind which are the descendants of Confucius, and on the left are the military generals above the third rank.

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

Then there are the officials below the third rank, as well as the envoys of the vassal states, etc., and the last in line is the royal family.

The crown prince Li Chengqian, the king of Jin Li Zhi, as well as the princes and civil and military officials who had not yet taken up the domain, immediately knelt down and said: "See Your Majesty!" ”

"Zhong Aiqing is flat!" Li Er looked around at the ministers and said.

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

"Son-in-law congratulates my father on New Year's Day!" As the crown prince, Li Chengqian bore the brunt of the congratulatory watch and New Year's gifts.

Then it was said that Li Chengqian's younger brothers, that is, the prince of the Tang Dynasty, stepped forward to offer congratulatory watches and gifts.

The prince and other relatives of the emperor stepped forward in turn to send congratulatory tables and gifts.

After the civil and military officials in the court completed the congratulatory table and congratulatory gifts, it was the congratulatory table of the place where Yang Shidao was ordered by the Zhongshu order, so that the envoys of the court could come forward to worship and see the holy face.

Immediately followed by the Yellow Gate Shilang playing auspicious auspicious signs, and then the contribution of the Hubu Shangshu playing the states.

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Rites played the contributions of Zhufan and so on, and the envoys of various countries brought the treasures presented to the emperor.

For these foreign envoys, the Great Court would be a great opportunity to get a closer look at the emperor.

Many of the rituals of the four sides of the congratulation lasted for a long time, and all nations came to congratulate them, not only for the good wishes of the New Year.

It was the Tang Emperor who demonstrated the supremacy of imperial power, the control power of the central government over the localities, and the deterrent power of the Celestial Empire over Fanbang.

Li Er has been an emperor for more than ten years, and he already knows the etiquette procedures of the Great Dynasty Meeting well, and he is even more handy in dealing with it.

To put it simply, the first step of the Great Dynasty Meeting was that His Majesty Li Er, as the emperor, could accept gifts from his subjects, localities, and envoys in a bright and open manner without any pressure.

And it's also a compulsory gift! Whoever doesn't send it is with bad intentions!

The gifts offered by the local area are related to the prosperity of the place, and the rich places naturally offer valuable things, and the poor places can only offer cheap gifts.

Li Chengqian discovered!

The gifts presented by these local envoys are really strange!

Not to mention the rich places, what everyone offers is nothing more than gold and silver treasures, and this is the case every year, and there is nothing new.

Mainly the poor envoys of the court in those places, the gifts they offered were really varied, some sent their own assassins or dudu calligraphy and paintings, and some even sent a duck directly.

Gift-giving is a sign of respect for the emperor of civil and military officials, localities and vassal states! This is just a prelude to the Great Pilgrimage.

After receiving the gift, the emperor first wanted to thank everyone! Reward foreign envoys as a sign of favor!

This was followed by the annual summary of the envoys, who reported to the court the GDP and fiscal revenues of the district in the past year.

It is up to the court to consider your achievements in the past year to determine whether you are a competent magistrate.

In the Han Dynasty, the top or second leaders of these local prefectures and counties would bring their accounting books and go to the prime minister's office to report their local "political achievements"! This kind of work was called Shangji, and these people were called Shangji officials.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Shangji was changed to the Chaoji, and the Shangji officials were also called the Chaoji envoys, and the local officials no longer had to go to the prime minister's office to report, but went to the Ministry of Officials.

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

At the same time, they would also be asked about the local administration, and the officials who were questioned should answer truthfully and not deceive the emperor.

The Hajj will last a long time!

After the end of the court, it is time to wait for the evening, a banquet presided over by the emperor, when everyone gathers to eat, drink, and watch singing and dancing.