The Eighth Wise King became addicted to eavesdropping on the silly princess' thoughts

Qin Wang Zhao Defang asked for the tenth time in Chunfeng Residence, the palace: "Yun Yi, has the princess not returned yet?"

Yun Yi sighed helplessly!

He bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, the city gates are about to close, and the people guarding the city gates have not sent back the letter yet. The princess is probably staying at the manor, and she won't be back tonight!"

The King of Qin threw the book to the ground!

He snorted coldly, "You didn't come home at night! Do you still act like a princess? Yun Yi, tell the housekeeper that the princess is not allowed to leave the house at will in the future!"

Yun Yi sighed helplessly again!

He smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, this is a bit difficult for Butler Zhao! If the princess wants to leave the palace, can Butler Zhao stop her?"

King Qin Zhao Defang suddenly lost his temper.

If the princess wants to leave the palace, not only Housekeeper Zhao, but I can't stop her! And I can't bear to break her legs, so she can run wherever she wants.

King Qin sighed silently in his heart!

He reached out and picked up the visiting card left by Cao Wei on the table, wondering why the Duke of Lu's Mansion, which had never had any dealings with the Prince of Qin's Mansion, sent Cao Wei here?

We have been trapped in the Mo Yun Cavalry camp outside the city due to heavy rain for the past few days. Could something have happened in the capital?

"Your Highness, tomorrow is the day of the grand court session. You have to go to the palace at five o'clock in the morning. You'd better go to bed early!" Yun Yi reminded the prince.

"Okay! Let's go to bed now!" The King of Qin replied in a gloomy tone.

Yun Yi shook his head and thought, "As long as the princess is not in the mansion, it seems like his prince has no interest in anything."

Could it be that if the prince doesn't sneak into the tunnel for a day, he will feel itchy and lost? 】...

The Song Dynasty held a major court session every ten days.

The next day, Prince Qin Zhao Defang got up at five o'clock in the morning. After washing and changing into court clothes, he ordered Yun Yi to go outside the city to pick up the princess and bring her back to the palace. Then he took sixteen guards and left the palace in a carriage and rushed to the imperial palace.

On the day of the grand court, the Imperial Street was filled with officials of all ranks rushing to the Imperial Palace. The closer you got to the Imperial Palace, the more people there were.

Officials of the Song Dynasty were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs carried by humans. Officials of low rank or those who behaved in a low-key manner usually went out on horseback with three or two followers.

High-ranking officials of the court usually went to court in horse-drawn carriages, and their entourage ranged from a few to more than a dozen guards.

Only the prime minister of the time, Zhao Pu, liked to show off. He brought more than sixty guards with him. The huge group of guards surrounded the carriage and blocked the spacious Imperial Street.

When officials of all ranks saw that it was the ceremonial guard of the powerful Left Prime Minister Zhao Pu, they all stepped aside to make way for the Prime Minister.

The carriage of the left prime minister Zhao Pu was moving slowly forward, and the King of Qin Zhao Defang was sitting in the carriage and following slowly behind.

Several officials on horseback could not help but discuss in secret that the left prime minister Zhao Pu simply did not take His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin seriously and blocked the way in front of him, refusing to give way to him.

Some officials praised His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin for his self-restraint and broad-mindedness, while others lamented that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, who had been deprived of his military power and transferred back to the capital, had a hard time being an idle prince in the capital!

Xuande Gate is the main gate of the imperial city, nearly ten meters high, with two secondary gates on the left and right, and five other gates in a row.

The Xuande Gate is an exquisitely built gatehouse with gold nails and red lacquer, dragons, phoenixes, flying clouds, carved beams and painted pillars, and covered with glazed tiles.

The two secondary gates on both sides are the Zuoye Gate and the Youye Gate. The court officials entered in two waves through the secondary gates.

Behind Xuande Gate is a square that can accommodate 10,000 people, and behind the square is a magnificent giant palace, Daqing Hall, where grand court meetings or celebrations are held.

On both sides of the Imperial Road, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower stand opposite each other across the road, one in the east and one in the west.

One by one, the court officials, wearing official uniforms and goldfish bags on their waists, led the way in front of the ministers and entered.

The long wings of the officials' hats were swaying and flickering. No one dared to walk fast for fear that the violent shaking of the hat wings would ruin their dignified demeanor.

The Daqing Hall can accommodate thousands of people. When the whip sounds, the ministers, holding boards, enter in shifts according to their names.

The long hat brim prevented the court officials waiting in the hall from talking to each other.

The higher the official rank, the longer the cap brim, so that they could only stand firmly and hold the cymbal board with a dignified manner. Although the cap brim of the lower-ranking officials was a little shorter, they were all silent and did not dare to lose their manners.

Every time Qin Wang Zhao Defang saw this scene during court, he couldn't help but laugh secretly. His father, Emperor Taizu, had put a lot of thought into the hat wings of his court dress.

The attendant came out, with a group of eunuchs standing on his left and right.

The emperor came out in a dragon robe, stepped on the jade osmanthus and sat on the dragon throne with supreme authority.

Qi Wang Zhao Tingmei still claimed to be ill and did not come. Qin Wang Zhao Defang stood at the head of several princes who attended the court. Below them were the military officers in the back row of the Privy Council.

Zhao Pu, the head of all officials, stood at the head of the civil servants, his eyes slightly closed, with a look of confidence and a sense of superiority as if he was sure of victory.

Zhao Pu was the prime minister, the highest official among all officials, during the reign of Emperor Taizu, and he had great power in the court.

When Zhao Pu was the prime minister, Tan Quan was arbitrary and overbearing. He and the current emperor Zhao Guangyi, who was the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture and a prince at the time, fought for power to the point of life and death.

After the current emperor Zhao Guangyi came to power, the first important official he dismissed was Zhao Pu, who was demoted to Hebei Road to serve as a transport envoy.

But for some unknown reason, Zhao Pu was re-employed by the emperor two years ago and returned to the position of prime minister.

However, the emperor established the position of right prime minister and appointed several councilors to serve as governors, which greatly divided the power of the prime minister.

At the Grand Court Meeting, all civil and military officials would bring up for discussion issues that could not be resolved in the government offices. The emperor would also bring up controversial issues at the Small Court Meetings and let all officials discuss and seek solutions.

All the government affairs, big and small, caused the court officials to argue endlessly, and they even attacked each other with red faces.

A few princes would sometimes interject.

Only Qin Wang Zhao Defang, with only ears but no mouth, listened quietly without saying a word. He stood there silently like a beautiful sculpture.

A plan was finally decided on to dredge the river in the capital, and the hall finally became quiet.

Jia Yan, the Left Remonstrant, suddenly stepped out with a slate in his hand and said, "I have a memorial to make!"

The emperor, who had already had a headache from the noise from his ministers and looked a little tired, suddenly became energetic!

He looked at this trusted and beloved general with a friendly expression and asked, "What does Jia Qing have to report?"

Jia Yan raised his head and exchanged a knowing look with the emperor, then said, "Your Majesty!

Since Emperor Taizu founded the dynasty and established the capital in the city of Bianjing, the imperial palace was built on the site of a military governor's official residence, which was extremely small. How could it be worthy of the majesty that a palace of an imperial dynasty should have?

Today, under your Majesty's wise governance, the Song Dynasty has expanded its territory and made immortal achievements. Dali and Western Shu, the Western Han Dynasty has been included in its pocket, the territory is vast, and the four seas are subjugated.

The people were prosperous, lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the imperial treasury was well-stocked.

I request Your Majesty to issue an edict to expand and renovate the Imperial Palace to demonstrate the great power of the Song Dynasty. Order..."

Before Jia Yan finished his memorial, a court official nearby jumped out!

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!"

The emperor, who was stroking his beard in great pleasure when he was praised by his trusted generals and requested to expand the imperial palace to show the majesty of the great country, suddenly turned cold!

When the emperor saw that the person who tried to stop him was Zhao Pu's minion, Chief Censor Wu Mian, he felt furious!

"I'm just expanding the palace, not moving the capital. What's wrong with that?!" There was already a hint of anger in the emperor's tone.

Before Wu Mian could say anything, the left prime minister Zhao Pu walked out of the train.

"Your Majesty! Our dynasty has only been established for over thirty years, and its foundation is still shallow. In recent years, we have been at war for years, the treasury is empty, the people are exhausted, and foreign enemies are all around. How can we afford to build large-scale projects that will waste people's money and labor?

Moreover, there are tens of thousands of people who have lived near the palace for many years, and there are countless shops and commercial stores under the imperial city.

If the palace is expanded, where will the people who have lived here for generations and the merchants who have invested heavily live?

Your Majesty! Emperor Taizu once taught that you should not compete with the people for profit! How can you ignore the survival of the people just for the sake of the extravagant enjoyment of the royal family? "

"I second the motion!" Privy Councilor Chu Zhaofu came out to second the motion.

"I second the motion!" Minister of Revenue Luo Zhongxu came out to second the motion.

The emperor was so angry that his face turned pale!

[Evil Prime Minister Zhao Pu! You have given so many high-sounding reasons, but it’s because your Zhao family’s mansion and shops are all under the imperial city!

My great achievements over the past few years have become worthless in your mouth?! 】

Cheng Yu, who once served as the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture when the current emperor Zhao Guangyi was the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, was promoted to the position of Jieshi Zhong after the emperor ascended the throne.

Seeing that the Left Prime Minister Zhao Pu tried to stop him and spoke rudely, two important ministers spoke up again and hurriedly stood up.

Cheng Yu's eyes were full of sarcasm: "Left Prime Minister, what do you mean by competing with the people for profit? Is it because your mansion and dozens of prosperous shops are all at the foot of the imperial city?"

Zhao Pu did not take the emperor's confidant Cheng Yu's sarcasm and revelations seriously.

His two long eyebrows raised! "That's right! Not only is my residence and shop at the foot of the imperial city, but ask yourself, how many of the officials in this court have residences and shops that are not at the foot of the imperial city?

For the sake of the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu and His Majesty encouraged officials to take the lead in doing business. My business has paid a lot of tax silver, and I have also contributed to the abundance of the Song Dynasty's treasury!"

Cheng Yu was suddenly speechless!

Yes, since Emperor Taizu of our dynasty, we have been strongly advocating the prosperity of commerce.

In order to facilitate the people's trade, many of the city walls in Bianjing were demolished, and the night curfew was no longer enforced. How could Zhao Pu and the officials' shops be used as an excuse?

The emperor looked angry!

He said in a cold voice, "What if I must expand this palace and move your mansions and shops?!"

"Your Majesty, you must not do this! Here is a letter from the people, written with tears and blood, begging Your Majesty to revoke your decision!" Right Counselor Liu Zhi came out of the office and knelt on the ground.