Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 408: The King and His Subjects Must Be in Order

No, no, no, no, it's not possible. How could such a convenient thing happen to wipe out the core members of the imperial court at once?

Li Ming shook his head desperately to dispel this unlucky thought.

You've just secured your throne, and you're already starting to become suspicious?

If this goes on for too long, you might end up killing people in your dreams, right?

No, no, we cannot fall into internal friction and must quickly find goals for ourselves and this country.

They could not follow the old path of other dynasties, which, once peace had been restored, devoted all their attention to maintaining their rule, gradually degenerating from the enterprising spirit of the early dynasties into a rigid and conservative atmosphere of decadence...

"Cough, cough." Fang Xuanling coughed dryly.

Li Ming came back to his senses from self-reflection, only to see the ministers sitting down looking at him eagerly.

Li Ming's mouth twitched.

No buddy, are you really hungry?
Are you looking forward to dinner?
Our Ming Dynasty is not so poor that even officials of the fifth rank cannot get enough food, right?
It seems that the "three nutritious meals" plan is really necessary...

He gathered his thoughts, put on a kind yet dignified smile, coughed lightly and said:

“It happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival… It has been more than a month. Due to well-known reasons, the whole country was unable to celebrate this important festival.

"Fortunately, our wish came true. By chance, we are all able to sit here safely and happily together.

“Enjoy life to the fullest, and don’t miss the good times and beautiful scenery.

"Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to bring everyone together. It will also allow everyone to get to know each other, which will make it easier to work together in the future."

Li Ming did not put on the solemn and majestic airs of an emperor, and his choice of words was very down-to-earth.

But even such a plain and simple opening statement contained some information, which eased the awkward and tense atmosphere a little.

It is true that some "unpleasant" events have indeed happened to us in the past.

But your majesty's meaning is very clear, that is to put aside the disputes and make wealth together.

After all, people have to look forward and live their lives.

There have been countless large-scale wars in China throughout the dynasties, and it is difficult to say who was right and wrong.

Don’t hold grudges. If you hold a grudge every time you fight a war, how can we live our lives?
Although no one spoke, everyone listened attentively to the Emperor's instructions.

But the atmosphere at the table visibly relaxed.

Anyway, everyone has experienced the peak period of job-hopping during the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty. There have been conflicts before the Tang Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty.

Today, the Ming Dynasty and Tang Dynasty are simply repeating this process.

After today, say goodbye to past troubles!
But just when the ministers began to relax and waited to feast, especially the surrendered ministers of the Tang Dynasty were waiting to taste the local specialties of Liaodong.

His Majesty Li Ming spoke again:

"So, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words."

What? So what you just said wasn’t the opening statement?

The ministers who had just lost their energy quickly stood up again, bowed their heads and straightened their backs, and listened attentively to the leader's speech.

It's just a few words, how much time will it take? It won't take long.

…………

"So we must adhere to the 'two musts' and implement the 'three whatevers', think about what the people think and worry about what the people worry about, and although the credit may not be mine, I must have some of the achievements, so that we can truly serve the public and govern for the people..."

I do not know how long it has been.

His Majesty the most virtuous and holy Emperor was still sitting on his seat and talking with saliva flying.

The ministers below the seat were all confused after listening. They felt drowsy but dared not sleep, and endured the urge to yawn in extreme pain.

If we were to choose the most inhumane behavior, giving a long speech before a meal would definitely be on the list.

After a whole day of intense mental work, the ministers were already starving. Some elderly ministers even suffered from hypoglycemia and felt dizzy.

When will the banquet start?

The ministers of the new Ming Dynasty almost lived up to the joke and fell into a state of malnutrition.

Fang Xuanling's body was shaking more and more violently, and it seemed that he might fall down at any time.

Seeing that his dear colleague who was taking the blame (crossed out) was about to die, Changsun Wuji felt anxious and quickly coughed and winked at His Majesty.

Li Ming was on the stage and saw his uncle winking at him. He followed his uncle's finger and saw Prime Minister Fang's father shaking his head more exaggeratedly than a pendulum.

"Ahem, that's all I want to say. I hope you can all encourage each other."

Li Ming then stopped reluctantly.

Huh... One could almost hear the ministers breathing a sigh of relief, as they all looked towards the self-sacrificing Fang Xiang and the intelligent Chang Sun Xiang with grateful eyes.

In fact, the content of your Majesty's "two simple words" is easy to understand. It is nothing more than asking your subordinates to:
Establish a people-oriented approach and initiate brainstorming;
Compatible with the original system and iterative new organization;
Create an open closed-loop ecosystem to discover safe and reliable innovation needs;
All parties aligned their granularity to increase people's awareness of policies and empower the people of Ming Dynasty with a combination of new policies.

The lingering sound made the officials feel both "blown in the head" and "empty in the mind".

After listening to the magical music for a whole night, everyone seemed to have heard a lot of content.

But after it was over, there was only one thought in my mind:
It’s time to eat!
Soon, a palace maid came in carrying a food box.

The senior officials who had no worries about food and clothing had never been so excited about what to eat in the evening as they were today.

But the first dish left them dumbfounded.

Inside the exquisite porcelain bowl was a round white jade egg.

It is the most common boiled egg, not fried, stewed or baked.

His Majesty the Emperor is inviting us to dinner, and the first dish is so... simple and elegant?
"The raw materials for boiled eggs are the top-quality black-bone chicken eggs presented as tribute by the King of Baekje. Please enjoy them," Li Ming introduced with a smile.

With His Majesty’s generosity, the officials naturally could not refuse and took a bite with gratitude.

Yes, that's right, it's a boiled egg.

Apart from being smaller in size, there is no essential difference between black-bone eggs and ordinary eggs.

Boiled eggs taste just like that, bland, and even without salt.

This appetizer is really... unique!

Everyone thought this was the royal chef's new trick to whet their appetite and continued to wait for the second dish.

The graceful palace maids brought over the exquisite lacquer food boxes and gently opened the carved lids.

Inside was a piece of something that looked like animal tissue, with a few vegetable leaves next to it.

"Boiled chicken breast. The raw material is the top-quality black-bone chicken breast tributed by the King of Baekje. Please enjoy it."

Still the same high-quality recipe, still the same obscene method.

The ministers looked embarrassed and took a bite reluctantly.

Sure enough, no salt was added...

However, this meal of Li Ming's special flavor was not worth mentioning to Fang Xuanling.

It’s just a piece of chicken without salt. At most it has no taste. How bad can it be?
During the period of the Emperor Retired, he got a lot of meat from the annual sacrifices. It was the same boiled meat, and pork was much fishier than chicken, but didn't he eat it the same way?
Fang Xuanling put the boiled black-bone chicken into his mouth with an expressionless face.

An indescribable fishy smell instantly filled my mouth.

Before he could control his facial muscles—

"puff!"

Poor Lao Fang couldn't help it and instinctively spat out the meat in his mouth.

The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the Prime Minister who had lost his composure.

Poor old Fang didn't even have time to wipe his mouth. He hurriedly stood up, stumbled to the dragon couch, and knelt down to apologize. "I will die..."

"No, no, no! It's my fault."

Li Ming quickly jumped off his seat, supported him personally, and said with some embarrassment:
"I was too radical. I wanted to provide more nutrition for Fang Xiang, but I was afraid that ordinary oils would be detrimental to cardiovascular health, so I ordered people to use the liver of East China Sea shark to refine oil and add it to the boiled meat..."

When these words were spoken, all the ministers stood in awe.

Fang Xiang was not fainted by the smoke when cooking chicken with cod liver oil. He was considered well-trained.

Black-bone chicken is a precious thing, and mackerel is also a precious thing.

Both ingredients are top-notch stuff, yet Your Majesty can turn them into dark dishes.

Your Majesty's little head is really amazing, and he never lacks creative ideas when it comes to torturing people.

…………

Fortunately, the first two appetizer-closing dishes were just something Li Ming came up with on a whim.

Compared to the non-carbon-based biological idea of ​​"chicken breast cooked with cod liver oil", the formal dishes at the dinner were much more conventional.

Although there are still too many lean meat, fish, shrimp and vegetables, the taste is light, too green and healthy, and not greasy enough.

But it is normal food after all, and it is still quite delicious thanks to the exquisite craftsmanship of the imperial chef who cooks it in snail shells.

The banquet was in full swing, with cups being passed around, and the boundary between the Ming and Tang dynasties gradually blurred in the intoxication brought by the wine.

If there is anything that can bring two people closer together than suffering together, it is suffering together twice.

"Hey! Lord Wei, I'm going to be honest with you. In fact, during the battle of Jinyang, I expected that Your Majesty would sail on dry land! But the battlefield in Shuozhou took up my energy and made me ignore the threat from the Nanshan direction!"

Li Shiji was probably drunk, and he started beating his chest and stamping his feet when he caught Li Jing.

Ashina She'er and Cheng Zhijie, who were not far away, became unhappy when they heard this and left their seats to come over to confront the enemy.

"If you, Li Shiji, hadn't lost a large number of troops in the Central Plains battlefield and missed the opportunity to fight, how could we have been in a passive position in Shuozhou?"

Li Shiji was not to be outdone:
"Cheng Zhijie, you still think you are right? If you hadn't failed to defend Taihang Pass, would the Ming army have been able to advance so smoothly? You have to bear the consequences of your own actions!"

Cheng Zhijie immediately retorted:

"Why didn't I defend Taihang Pass at that time? The pass I was defending was intact and was not lost until the end of the Jinyang Campaign!

"It was because Ashina Pushe was giving blind orders in Chang'an that he asked me to go and see that empty gate!"

Ashina She'er was so anxious that he blew his beard and glared:

"That pass is indeed the lifeline of Chang'an. Great Khan...Yin Khan specifically told me to defend it well. If there is any problem, go and talk to Khan!

"Besides, the situation of the army is unpredictable. As a general on the front line, you, Old Cheng, should be able to adapt to the situation and proactively look for opportunities to fight. How can you waste time on an empty road?"

"I don't want to waste it either! But if it weren't for General Li Shiji squandering too many military resources..."

The loser trio is like a noob who gets beaten by strangers in a black game, and they try their best to get rid of the blame after the game.

Li Jing just looked at his three defeated generals quietly and said:
"Played well."

After hearing this, the three people's noise gradually subsided. They were filled with anger, but they couldn't vent it.

They suspected that Li Weigong was plotting against them, but they had no evidence.

Li Ming sat at the head of the group, feeling very relieved when he saw his former enemies now living happily together.

It turns out that socializing can also be very enjoyable.

Especially when you are the leader who is flattered by everyone.

Although the plan of "three nutritious meals" seems to have fallen through, Lao Fang is unlikely to return to work because of a piece of chicken breast cooked with cod liver oil.

But an unexpected result has been achieved, and the goodwill between future colleagues has increased.

It was worth his hard work to set up this drinking party.

Gulp, gulp... He drank the unfermented grape juice and looked down at the entire hall with contentment.

Most of the senior officials of the New Ming Dynasty have arrived.

In addition to the Ming officials and Tang army prisoners who were originally in Tangzhou, the civil officials who were watching over the house in Chang'an were also "invited" from afar -

Of course, Li Shimin, Li Chengqian and Li Zhi were not present. After all, no matter how magnanimous Li Ming was, he would not give them a chance to rekindle their old relationship with his old ministers.

In the bustling hall, Li Ming's sight caught a familiar and old figure.

He immediately put down the cup in his hand, took two steps at a time, and came to a white-haired old man in the surprised eyes of everyone.

"Mr. Kong Yingda!"

Li Ming diligently supported his primary school teacher (the primary education institution for children of the powerful was called "primary school") and exempted him from the kneeling ceremony.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty." Kong Yingda, the 32nd generation grandson of Confucius and Li Ming's enlightenment teacher, was filled with mixed emotions.

Who could have imagined?!
The yellow-haired boy who stood on the desk, spoke rudely to him and threatened to pee in his scholar's cap.

He actually became the supreme ruler!

Rule the most powerful empire in history!
Time flies by so fast...

wrong!

It seems like only a few years have passed since that guy caused such a scene in elementary school!
"Mr. Kong." Li Ming excitedly shook hands with his beloved elementary school teacher.

"Your Majesty..." Kong Yingda held the powerful little monkey tremblingly.

"Sir, my classmates and your other students are all here! Come, take a look!"

Li Ming enthusiastically took Kong Yingda's hand and took him to the children's table.

"It's been a long time since we last met. You must miss your students very much!"

No, I don’t miss those little monkeys led by the Monkey King at all... There was only despair in Kong Yingda's eyes.

"Brother Ming!"

Yuchi Xunyu shouted loudly.

Under his leadership, all of Li Ming's "primary school party" stood up.

"Have you called teacher?" Li Ming asked in feigned anger.

The young men then saluted Mr. Kong in a proper manner:

"I hope you are well, sir."

"Well, you are all well..." Kong Yingda was very moved and waved to the students with tears in his eyes.

The most respectful episode.

…………

Walking out of the banquet hall with a lively atmosphere.

The inside and outside of the Shangshi Bureau, which is connected to the main building of the State Council by a corridor, is also bustling with activity.

The dishes for tonight's banquet are being cooked here. Palace maids are carrying plates in and out, and the royal chef is working busily in the kitchen. Everything is busy and orderly.

At this time, the back door of the banquet hall opened. The jugglers who had been entertaining the distinguished guests had just finished their performance and left one by one under the guidance of the guards.

The general manager immediately ordered his men:

"Hurry up and serve the wine during the break in the show!"

The servants began to prepare intensively, some were cooking, some were serving dishes, some were leaving, some were providing guards, everything was happening at the same time and there was a brief period of chaos.

No one noticed that a figure was quietly approaching the Shangshi Bureau.

(End of this chapter)