Hearing the words of the eldest grandson Wuji, Li Shimin immediately waved his hand with a smile on his face, and interrupted him: "I have already said before, this celebration is all false, what is the use of asking for these false names? On the one hand, it not only costs the people and money, but on the other hand, it makes it impossible for the ministers to live in peace. In the end, it's just a matter of pouring out the power of the country and trying to make me happy, which is really undesirable, really undesirable! ”

"Although His Majesty has been on the throne for 20 years, in order to show compassion for the people, there has not been the slightest celebration, but this 20 years of Zhenguan is indeed an extremely festive year. In March, the Western Turks first proposed marriage. In June, then Shule, Zhu Jubo, and the three kingdoms of Green Ridge surrendered. In July, with the arrival of our Tang Heavenly Army, the army once again defeated the rebellious Xue Yantuo tribes, killed its Duomi Khan, and forced Iter Beto lose the Khan's sincerity to submit to my Tang Dynasty. In August, eleven tribes with the surnames of Hui, Bayegu, Tongluo, and Fugu also submitted to my Tang Dynasty. This strategy of fighting to nourish war has never used any of my Datang. In addition, this year, the wind and rain are favorable, the drought and flood are suitable, and the people's grain harvest is 20% more than in previous years. Looking at His Majesty's achievements over the years, the courtiers feel that they are not only unprecedented, but also far superior to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. And all this is thanks to the power of Your Majesty, who protects the thousands of people of my Tang Dynasty. Li Daozong heard what His Majesty said, and then followed in the footsteps of Sun Wuji, and came out of the queue.

As Li Daozong's words just fell, Li Shimin wanted to make another excuse. But when he saw this column of ministers, they all fell to the ground and shouted long live. Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion when he watched this scene, and after thinking about it carefully, he felt that there were indeed a lot of good things this year, not only spreading his prestige far and wide, but also making the people rich and living and working in peace and contentment. Thinking back on the more than 20 years since he ascended the throne, he said the following words to the ministers in his heart:

"It has been twenty years and three months since I first ascended to the Great Treasure in September of the ninth year of Wude. There are too many things that have happened in the past 20 years, and I can't remember many things as I get older, but what I remember is the warning of the late Guanglu doctor Wei Zheng and Wei Xuancheng: the source is not deep and the stream is far away, the roots are not solid and seek the length of the wood, and the virtue is not thick and think about the peace of the country. He may be gone, but I often remind myself of his words. If you want the country to have long-term peace and stability, you must work hard to be a generation of wise monarchs and a generation of holy masters. Over the years, I have not dared to slack off, because I know that water can carry a boat and it can also overturn a boat.

At the beginning of his accession to the throne, the auspicious khan offended my Tang Dynasty, and although I was angry on the bank of the Weishui River, I still gave brocade clothes and jade silk to sign the alliance under the city. Bearing the burden of humiliation, within four years, I destroyed the Eastern Turks. When Tuyuhun provoked an incident and cut off my trade in the Western Regions, I waved his army to level him!

And this Gaochang king Lu Wentai did not listen to my edict and wanted to cut off my way out, but I still sent troops to scare him to death. Xue Yantuo, Hui Hui, Gao Chang, Yan Qi, and Qiuzi are not a thorn, but they have all been conquered by me.

In the past 20 years, the population of this country has also increased from 2.5 million households at the beginning of my accession to the throne to 3.5 million households this year, a full increase of 1 million households. As the Aiqing said, the country is safe and secure, and it is enough to be rich and rich. It really fulfilled the four words that Zhu Suiliang once wrote for me, "Haiyan River Qing". In the past 20 years, although it has been hard, although there are many opportunities, although the gray hair has been boiled, I have never regretted it at all. For the sake of the people, for the sake of Datang, although death is enough. Thank you for your kindness, get up. ”

Listening to this generous statement, the ministers were deeply moved by Li Shimin's righteousness, domineering, majesty, and generosity, and some of them couldn't stop wiping these tears, and they were also full of emotion when they recalled the hardships of these years. And Wang Xuance seemed to be inspired by Li Shimin's heartfelt words, and he only wanted to make due contributions to the people and the Tang Dynasty......

As a result, this court meeting ended calmly in a harmonious atmosphere in which all the ministers worked together......

In China, a society that adheres to etiquette, since there is etiquette, there are rules, there are rules, and there are concepts. Especially in this period when all nations come to the dynasty and the four Yi surrender, etiquette is an indispensable thing. Throughout ancient Chinese history, if a foreign envoy was sent, the Celestial Empire would either give it a lot of gifts or send an envoy in return. There was Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty and Ban Gu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, all of whom were small functional people and pillars of the country. The Tang Dynasty, which is followed by it, should have a character comparable to them. And the twenty-first year of Zhenguan is destined to be an extraordinary year......

Think back to the years since my first mission. Wang Xuance, Zhou Zeng, and Chen Maocai not only made progress with each other, but also learned from each other and made a lot of progress.

Since Zhou Zeng apprenticed to Li Jin, he has often been immersed in the workshop of black powder. Although Chen Maocai has nothing to do in the house, he often wanders among the sea of books, studying the art of war, and reading a lot of books. And Wang Xuance is also very happy to talk about life and philosophy with Master Xuanzang from time to time.

With the end of the wax moon, the year also began with joy. The Chinese New Year is not only inseparable from the firecrackers that have been developed for many years, but also the newly developed fireworks. The three of them led the old servant of the doorman, in the courtyard of the deep house, playing with the new things that Zhou Zeng brought back from the artillery supervisor, and these new things were also happy.

With the sound of crackling and brilliant fireworks, the year began in a peaceful and festive atmosphere. On the first day, according to the etiquette of the imperial court, after Wang Xuance entered the court to worship and met His Majesty the emperor, he had nothing to do. Seeing others happily visiting relatives and friends, Wang Xuance remembered Master Xuanzang. So, as soon as the three of them discussed, they went out like this, and walked along Suzaku Street towards Hongfukuji Temple......

There is not much difference between the New Year in the temple and the ordinary people's homes. The only difference is that there are more chanting and blessings. Seeing that the chanting ceremony led by Master Xuanzang was still going on, the three of them quietly put on three sticks of incense, and after paying respects sincerely, they came to Master Xuanzang's meditation room, waiting for his return.

I saw that this meditation room was still simple and simple, with a table, a set of tea sets, four futons, and many books. Because they were so familiar, they naturally thought of it as their home. As the three of them chatted, Chen Maocai had already boiled the tea. At this time, Master Xuanzang also finished the blessing ceremony and walked into the meditation room.

"Mage, Happy New Year. We've been waiting here for a long time, and seeing that you're still busy, we're making our own tea, so don't be surprised. Zhou Zeng looked at Master Xuanzang who stepped into the threshold and said with a big grin.

How will Master Xuanzang answer? See the next section......

Knowledge: It is precisely because Li Shimin advocates frugality that in the Zhenguan Dynasty, not only did there not be much celebration, but there was no ceremony of this Zen Taishan. Unfortunately, during the reign of his son, Gaozong Li Zhi, and his daughter-in-law, Wu Shi Mei Niang, these celebrations of the country were unusually frequent.

(End of chapter)