The Sword Master God's Journey to Face Slapping

On the morning of the second day, Xuanyuan put on his dragon robe and crown and rode on the dragon chariot to the Huangji Hall where the morning court was held. The morning court of the Daqing Dynasty was held at the end of the Yin hour, when it was really dark before dawn.

A quarter of an hour before the morning court began, the officials who needed to attend the morning court had gathered outside the Huangji Hall. They stood quietly outside the hall, waiting for the morning court to begin.

Outside the Huangji Hall, in addition to the officials waiting for the morning court to begin, there were also the Imperial Guards standing silently. They stood like javelins, fierce and brave, and were the backbone of guarding the Forbidden City.

When the bell for the morning court rang, the civil and military officials waiting for the morning court were divided into two columns according to the size of their official titles and entered the Huangji Hall in order. Except for a few officials who had just joined the morning court, the other officials were used to it and entered the Huangji Hall smoothly.

After the civil and military officials entered the Huangji Hall, they were divided into the left and right sides, with civil officials on the left and military officials on the right. They were arranged in order according to their official titles. There were fixed numbers and rules, which could not be easily broken.

After the officials entered the hall, they stood in silence for only half a moment, and the sound of whips came from far to near. The next moment, a big eunuch shook his head and announced loudly: "Your Majesty has arrived, and all officials kneel to welcome you."

The civil and military officials, who were originally wearing different colors and had different patterns on their chests, knelt down at the same time, and their movements were uniform: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

While everyone was kneeling to welcome, Xuanyuan had already sat on the dragon throne. He slightly raised his phoenix eyes and glanced at the civil and military officials who were kneeling and resting their heads on the ground. He leaned back and leaned on the dragon throne casually, and said in a deep voice: "No need to be polite, everyone."

0617 couldn't help but whisper to Xuanyuan: "Host, it feels so impressive." After the host was bowed by these people, it felt that its level had been improved a lot!

Xuanyuan curled his lips and said calmly: "You have no knowledge."

0617: So angry! I'm going to be angry like a pufferfish!!

After Xuanyuan exempted himself from the formalities, all the officials stood up, straightened their official robes, and then stood solemnly holding the elephant tablet. The eunuch standing on the side of the dragon throne shook off the dust in his hand again and announced: "Your family, if you have a petition, please report. If you don't, please leave the court."

Xuanyuan sat at the top, looking at the officials below with interest, and curled his thin lips slightly, smiling in an unfathomable and meaningful way.

0617 shuddered: "Host, what are you laughing at?" The smile made it feel weak, and it always felt that the meaning contained in this smile was not friendly, but rather indescribable indifference.

Xuan Yuan sneered: "I just feel a little bit of sympathy for Yan Junxian." He said this, but his slightly stretched voice was obviously full of sarcasm, "It seems that I understand a little bit why Yan Junxian is so hostile to the Shen family."

0617: ? ? ?

His phoenix eyes were slightly raised, and there was a little unpredictable light flowing in his unfathomable black eyes. He said lightly: "Among the civil and military officials who seem to be respectful and obedient below, Yan Junxian's real confidants do not exceed ten."

"And these people's official positions are not high, the highest is only the fourth rank." Xuan Yuan's smile deepened, bringing out a little indifference, "As an emperor, there are only these officials who can be used, and the Shen family's followers are hundreds of them. How can Yan Junxian not be as upset as a fishbone stuck in his throat."

Xuan Yuan laughed: "After sitting in this position, I finally understand why emperors are suspicious. In fact, many times, they can't help being suspicious." The position of the emperor has too many things to bear.

0617 said "oh" and asked without feeling: "Does the host also plan to deal with the Shen family?" Anyway, their goal is to complete the task left by the original owner. It doesn't really matter whether they are from the Shen family or not.

"Well, at least I don't want to see that half of the people in the morning court have the surname Shen." Xuanyuan curled his lips and said lazily, with a hint of coldness in his eyes, "It's not too much for Yan Junxian to attack the Shen family, but he has to sacrifice the three border towns and 800,000 Shen family troops."

While Xuanyuan and 0617 were talking, a military officer in a crimson official robe holding an elephant tablet stepped out of the crowd and bowed to Xuanyuan who was sitting on the high dragon throne: "Your Majesty, I have something to report. Today, the Daqing Dynasty is at war with the Daqin Dynasty. As the saying goes, when two armies fight, food and grass must go first. Please order the Ministry of Revenue to issue food."

Xuanyuan rested his right elbow on the armrest of the dragon throne, and leaned his head slightly on his propped up hand. Hearing this, he only raised his eyebrows, said nothing, and watched the reactions of the people below with interest.

Sure enough, the next moment, the civil servants listed the Minister of Revenue and said, "Your Majesty, there have been many natural disasters and man-made disasters in various places this year. The Ministry of Revenue has already transported grain and grass to various places to open warehouses for grain. Now the Ministry of Revenue has insufficient inventory, which is really a case of a skilled cook having no rice to cook."

"Besides, half a month ago, after Duke Qin went north to the border to fight against the Qin Dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue had already exhausted its strength to transport some grain and grass to the border. Those grain and grass were enough for the 800,000 troops for several months. Now Duke Qin asked for the transportation of grain and grass again. Could it be that the grain and grass sent half a month ago have been completely gone?"

The Minister of Revenue spoke eloquently. In his words, he not only pointed out the difficulties of the Ministry of Revenue in having no grain, but also pointed out the fact that the Ministry of Revenue had already transported grain and grass to the border troops. He even subtly stabbed the military officers who requested the release of grain, implying that they were suspected of embezzling military rations and enriching themselves.

This civil servant spoke in a roundabout way.

"The Ministry of Revenue naturally had some grain and grass sent to the border half a month ago, but the Qin army is strong and powerful, and the border war will last for an unknown period of time. It is natural to prepare more grain and grass. In the past few years, Daqing has had good weather and a lot of tax revenue. How could the Ministry of Revenue be out of grain?" The military officer who stood up first frowned and said.

The Minister of Revenue glanced at him and said coldly: "Two months ago, the Yellow River flooded again, and all along the way were flooded. Your Majesty was kind and ordered the warehouses to open and release grain to provide relief to the victims. Millions of people along the Yellow River have been saved because of your majesty's benevolent rule. Now the Ministry of Revenue has no surplus grain."

The two argued with reason, arguing because of their different positions, and people from both the civil and military sides spoke up to support them. For a time, the civil and military officials targeted each other, and their colleagues stood up. For a time, the matter of transporting grain and grass to the border almost caused a fight between the civil and military sides.

"Ahem." Seeing that the civil and military officials who were arguing below were getting more and more angry and were about to quarrel and fight, Xuanyuan coughed lightly to attract everyone's attention.

Looking at the officials below with indifference, Xuanyuan said indifferently: "The Ministry of Revenue will do its best to raise food and grass to send to the border, and pass the imperial edict to Duke Qin to prepare for the war with Daqin as soon as possible and strive to get results as soon as possible."

The officials who were originally arguing stopped awkwardly: "Yes, Your Majesty." No matter what they thought in their hearts, they could accept the current result just barely, so let it be for now. After all, His Majesty's majesty today really made them feel a little uneasy.

"Do you have another memorial?" Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Xuanyuan looked around at everyone, his voice was magnetic and slightly cold, and his tone was indifferent.

The civil and military officials in the Golden Palace looked at each other in silence for a moment. Because of His Majesty's sudden indifference today, everyone's heart was shocked, and they realized that His Majesty seemed to have changed today, not as gentle and calm as before.

"Your Majesty, I have a report." An official from the Ministry of Rites stepped out of the line, bowed to the head and said, "Your Majesty has been on the throne for four years, but you have no children and your harem is declining. I think you should hold a beauty contest to select beautiful girls to enter the palace to continue your descendants."

"The descendants are related to the country and society, and cannot be neglected. Please make your decision, Your Majesty."

Xuan Yuan raised his eyebrows, smiled thoughtfully, and said in a long voice: "A beauty contest..."

Seeing that Xuan Yuan did not object, the official from the Ministry of Rites bowed again and said: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and it is the time to work hard to govern the country, but the affairs of the country are not only about the court, but also about the continuation of descendants. Please order the selection of beautiful girls to enter the palace."

The faces of the officials standing on the side of the Shen family changed slightly. Concubine Yuan Shen Xiaoyue has been in the palace for a year, but she has never had any children. This has always been a big worry for them. Now someone reported the beauty contest, which made them look ugly.

As members of the Shen family, they naturally hope that Shen Xiaoyue can give birth to an heir to the throne. If the Shen family can become the next emperor's maternal grandfather, then this overwhelming wealth will naturally be within easy reach.

Thinking of this, all the officials who favored the Shen family stood up and began to oppose the selection of talents. The reasons they found were nothing more than the shortage of the national treasury and the selection should not be held at this time, or the war was imminent and the timing was not right. In short, the reasons were very far-fetched.

Selecting beautiful women for the emperor to continue the inheritance of offspring is absolutely something that no one can directly oppose, because it is related to the foundation of the country. If the emperor of a country has no heir, the loyal ministers cannot see the future and cannot find the person to obey in the future, and the court will naturally be in chaos.

When Yan Junxian's knees were empty, no one had a suitable reason to directly refuse or stop it, because this was a serious matter! Don't think it's funny. If a country wants to pass on, the heir is indispensable. Only the royal family that can pass on stably can make people follow it wholeheartedly.

At least their merits and favors will be continued by the next emperor, and their descendants will also have a place to go. This kind of cohesion and centripetal force is the foundation for a dynasty to be passed down.

Xuanyuan sat high on the dragon throne at the top, looking at the officials who jumped out one after another to oppose below, the smile on the corners of his lips became colder and colder, and the eyes became deeper and deeper, with a bit of wind and rain, which was frightening.

Xuanyuan sighed in his heart: "Is the Shen family courting death?" He slightly raised his slender eyebrows, and his eyes under the thick eyelashes showed a bit of frost like ice and snow, cold and indifferent.

0617 shivered, dared not speak, it keenly perceived that the host's impression of the Shen family plummeted, and it was afraid that something would happen, but as long as it was not the one who took the blame, it didn't care how unlucky the Shen family would be.

Anyway, it's better to die than to die?

Xuan Yuan lowered his eyes and said calmly: "Just give them a chance. After the court session, go to Qifeng Pavilion to meet Shen Xiaoyue and remind her."