You have truly caused me great suffering!

Jin Ling and Li Xiaozhong at the front lines would understand Chen Shao's arrangements perfectly well.

First, since the emperor wants to protect this reckless general, we should give him face.
Secondly, in the emperor's heart, we are his own people, his old brothers.

With the war progressing so smoothly, most of those who are determined to be loyal to the emperor will likely give him face and tolerate Yue Fei's fighting style.

This matter involving Yue Fei may seem trivial, but it has always been a major taboo in the military.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Gao Xianzhi led an army on a distant expedition to Little Bolu (present-day Kashmir), inflicting a major defeat on the Tibetan coalition forces, capturing the King of Little Bolu and the Tibetan princess, and recovering the strategically important Western Regions.

On the way back from the campaign, Gao Xianzhi bypassed his superior, Fu Menglingcha, the military governor of Anxi, and directly sent his judge Wang Tingfang to rush to the capital to report the victory to Emperor Xuanzong.

Upon his return to the Anxi Protectorate, he was publicly and furiously berated by the Anxi military governor, Fu Menglingcha.
"You dog-shit-eating Goryeo slave! You were the garrison commander of Khotan, the commander of Yanqi, and the deputy protector-general of Anxi—which of these positions wasn't recommended by me? How dare you bypass me and report your victory to the Emperor first! You should be executed, but considering your recent great achievements, I will spare your life for now!"

Chen Shao's letter essentially confirms that a potential threat to the border troops has been resolved.

Otherwise, it's hard to say how this period will be described in future history books.

It was already the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, and lanterns and decorations were everywhere. Chen Shao was also preparing to return to Jinling alone to offer sacrifices to Heaven, and then hold a grand court assembly to welcome the eighth year of Jianwu.

The most important matters in the world are sacrifice and war.

Since the Western Han Dynasty adopted Confucianism as the sole state ideology, the worship of Heaven gradually became the highest-level "major national event" of the orthodox dynasties in the Central Plains.

On New Year's Day (Yuandan/Spring Festival), the "New Year's Day Southern Suburb Sacrifice to Heaven" ceremony is usually performed. This is the highest-level national ceremony in which the emperor confirms that he has "received the Mandate of Heaven".

If a person is unable to go in person due to special circumstances such as a personal expedition or imperial tour, a prince must be sent to act on their behalf, and the sacrificial ceremony cannot be omitted.

The sacrifice to Heaven here is to the Supreme God of Heaven, who is the true God of Heaven.

Chen Shao had ordered the scholars to prepare the text for the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven well in advance. In the past, Li Tangchen wrote it himself, but now it was written by a young man.

In fact, no matter whether the dynasties in the Central Plains were strong or weak, they were never short of learned scholars, and this is beyond doubt.

The atmosphere of learning is truly strong in the Central Plains region.

Actually, many people don't read books not because they dislike them, but because they can't endure hardship.

Like Chen Shao, he wasn't very diligent in his studies.

But when he became emperor, he had more leisure time and developed a great interest in calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting.

Poetry, songs, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—as long as there's no pressure from exams, they are all excellent ways to enrich life.

His calligraphy, after years of honing, while not that of a master, is still quite presentable.

However, many imperial edicts were still drafted by scholars, which was a common practice for most emperors.

The standard procedure is that "the emperor issues an edict, which is then polished and written down by court officials in Huangma."

Although imperial edicts are nominally the will of the emperor, the most reasonable edicts must actually be the will of the state.

Some emperors didn't consider these things; the reason they had someone else write the papers was simply to easily shift the blame.

For example, if the emperor himself were to write down a warrant for someone's execution:

"I want to confiscate the entire royal family as a warning to others."

If this document is kept, it's considered a "tyrant's confession," and there's no way to clear his name. What if he overturns the verdict?
The emperor is wise and mighty, the Son of Heaven, who is omniscient and omnipotent. If you unjustly kill someone, the emperor's prestige will be greatly diminished.

The text was given to a court official to write: "A certain clan has caused chaos and betrayed the country's favor. According to the law, their property shall be confiscated in order to uphold the order of the court."

The nature of the incident suddenly changed from "the emperor's personal rage" to "implementation of the law," and the ministers also shared historical responsibility.

In the Song Dynasty, the emperor and the scholar-officials shared power, and they especially emphasized that "all matters should be handled by the imperial academy and according to precedent." Emperor Renzong and Emperor Shenzong rarely wrote edicts in their own hand. Except for specially granted letters and secret edicts, they all had Hanlin scholars write them.

Finally, apart from the founding emperor, other emperors were essentially just in a position of power. They became emperors because their fathers were emperors, not because they were actually that capable.

Therefore, many emperors were not very well-educated. Imperial edicts, in particular, required parallelism, taboo avoidance, and tonal patterns to conform to the official style.

If the emperor were to scrutinize every word, how many edicts could he produce in a single day? The Hanlin scholars, on the other hand, are the best among scholars, well-versed in classical allusions, and can compose poems instantly.

Scholars were essentially like secretaries to the emperor.

The secretary of such a person in charge of such a large 'industry' naturally needs to be highly qualified, and only those who rank very high in each imperial examination have the opportunity and qualification.

Their leader used to be Yuwen Xuzhong, who was also his chief secretary, but now it has become Cai Xing.

Today, the Great Jing's territory is expanding, but its power is becoming increasingly centralized.

Therefore, the central decision-making ability needs to be particularly strong.

Fortunately, talented people are emerging in large numbers.

Just as he sent his eunuchs to deliver his decree, someone came in from outside, saying that a minister had come to request an audience.

Chen Shao nodded and arrived at the main hall where officials were summoned. It was not much smaller than the Funing Hall in the imperial city, but it did not have the spaciousness and grandeur of a palace. This was probably because there were too many things on it, mostly tables, chairs, and bookshelves.

It was filled with various maps, reports, and achievements from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Academy of Engineering.

Emperor Chen Shao was an emperor with a wide range of interests; in fact, it could be said that he himself was responsible for the prosperity of many things.

Therefore, he would track the progress and personally oversee the rewards and punishments.

The ministers standing in the hall bowed to him upon seeing him.

Chen Shao waved his hand, signaling everyone to take their seats.

The fire burning inside was made of silver-boned charcoal, a tribute from Hedong. Although it was very warm, it became a bit too dry after a while.

Chen Shao sat at the head of the table. Everyone noticed that His Majesty was quite relaxed in this palace. He only had a green jade hairpin tied up in his hair, and he was wearing a brand new apricot-yellow Taoist robe.

Chen Shao is frugal in many things, but he is meticulous about food, clothing, housing, and transportation, which doesn't really cost much money.

In comparison, Zhao Ji's hobbies were a bottomless pit.

In front of the case was a large table with several stacks of memorials piled on it, which appeared to have been brought by them themselves.

Liu Jizu brought almost everyone from the Political Academy with him.

Such a grand display is clearly not for any one particular purpose.

Sure enough, not long after they sat down, Liu Jizu asked, "Please enlighten us, Your Majesty—is the eighth year of Jianwu a year of 'defense' or a year of 'advancement'?"

Who is Liu Jizu?

He was the emperor's most trusted confidant, one of the emperor's own men. Although he was usually very respectful to His Majesty, he never spoke to him in such a tone.

Such a formal tone suggests that they intend to record this audience and preserve it.

These will be important reference materials for future historical writing.

Chen Shao sat up a little straighter and said, "It's not all about defense, nor is it all about offense. We will continue to fight next year, but we cannot neglect people's livelihoods."

Chen Shao already had a plan in mind, not only for the eighth year of Jianwu, but also for the next five years.

"The common people are like grass; they grow when moistened. In recent years, we have reduced taxes, distributed land, cultivated and promoted improved varieties, and distributed farming tools and oxen. It can be said that we have been encouraging land reclamation. Agricultural harvests have been plentiful, but even in good years, they cannot compare to commercial taxes. A ship from Quanzhou Port can earn tens of thousands of strings of cash when it goes out to sea and comes back—more than the annual income of a thousand acres of land."

"Agriculture is our foundation, so this year we will not reduce commercial taxes, but will continue to support farmers." The officials present had different thoughts.

Because the officials of the Great Jing Dynasty could not acquire land indefinitely, many of them invested their assets in various caravans.

With the expansion of the region, caravans gained access to raw material production areas and dumping grounds for their goods, making a fortune.

Everyone was enjoying their dividends immensely.

Therefore, everyone wanted to continue to encourage commerce and reduce or exempt commercial taxes such as those on ships, tea and horses, and silk.

But the emperor had a clear understanding and made his point, so no one wanted to argue with him.

Unless it's too outrageous, everyone can only put up with it.

After all, the good life we ​​enjoy today was created by His Majesty himself.

In other words, Chen Shao did not board this ship and remained rational; otherwise, Da Jing would have gone down this path and never returned.

Agriculture remains fundamental, and this cannot be changed.

For at least the next thousand years, trade must be kept under control.

Chen Shao continued, "As for the wars in India and the Western Liao, they will last a long time. Everyone should get used to coexisting with these two western expeditions."

He wanted everyone to normalize warfare, especially for the Jiangzhengtang, to desensitize themselves to war.

This means that there will be many more wars in the future, and they will not back down.

This requires the civil officials in the court to refrain from having any other ideas and to cooperate well with the military generals in fighting the war.

Civil officials from other dynasties would have fiercely opposed this at this time, even at the risk of losing their positions or being beheaded.

Because the gentry group they represented did not reap the benefits of the war, but had to pay the price for it.

They had to pay military wages, their tenants would be conscripted as laborers, and military commanders would rise above them because of it.

But for Da Jing, none of that matters; they too can reap the benefits of the war.

In the history of the Central Plains dynasties, there has never been an example of a military and civil officials working together and still losing a battle.

Achieving unity of mind in both literary and martial arts is extremely difficult.

If Da Jing manages to achieve this even briefly, the war will continue to escalate and will never stop.

When all the officials in the court are united and everyone is looking forward to war, then war is endless.

The Battle of the Southern Wilderness is one such example.

At the time, Chen Shao had not yet grasped the logic behind this. He only felt that the war was getting out of control, and when he tried to apply the brakes, he found that he could not stop it.

Fortunately, he later figured out the underlying reasons and simply loosened the controls, allowing the South China Sea Fleet to operate on its own.

The result is also clear: the South China Sea Fleet has fought its way to the present, eliminating all the enemies in front of it, and has now set its sights on India.

The Battle of the Southern Wilderness has shown that, under this model, war will never stop.

Chen Shaohe and the officials then discussed the two battles again.

These two wars were too far from the Central Plains, so many battle reports were not particularly timely.

However, everyone is generally aware of the general situation of the battle.

Overall, good news kept pouring in.

The evils and plunder of the battlefield, when they reached the Central Plains, were no longer heard of.

The people of Dajing generally believed that this was the royal army educating the barbarians, and that the emperor was exercising his power on the land that rightfully belonged to him.

After all, the legal and ethical justification of these wars can be found in the core of the Central Plains civilization.

As for the policy preferences for scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, these are actually the ones most closely related to the lives of ordinary people. Even the slightest adjustment can affect their livelihoods.

But these are things they cannot know; they can only discover them years later when they look back.

In the seventh year of Jianwu and the years preceding it, the imperial court issued numerous decrees that benefited merchants in order to support the war effort.

Now a slight adjustment is needed because trade has gotten somewhat out of control, and the imperial court wants to encourage agriculture.

As for scholars and artisans, due to the reform of the imperial examination system, these two can now be grouped together.

After all, both scholars and craftsmen had to take the imperial examinations. However, there was no major examination in the eighth year of Jianwu, so it wasn't discussed in much detail.

After this small meeting, the ministers in the Hall of State Affairs listened to and summarized His Majesty's will, and then formulated the decrees for the coming year accordingly.

Then it is submitted to Chen Shao for approval. If there are no problems, it is brought up at the court meeting for everyone to discuss and fill in any gaps.

It's highly likely that it can be implemented smoothly.

After listening, Liu Jizu and the others already understood that the general direction would remain unchanged in the eighth year of Jianwu, with only minor adjustments to agriculture and commerce.

So, for the next year, they won't need to make too many changes, so it will be relatively easy for them.

As it was getting late, everyone got up, bowed, and prepared to leave.

Chen Shao laughed and said, "If we go down the mountain now and return to Jinling, it will be late at night. You are all my trusted ministers, how can I let you go hungry all the way? Let's have a banquet here today."

The ministers, who hadn't attended an imperial banquet in a long time, all expressed their gratitude and didn't stand on ceremony with Chen Shao.

Because Chen Shao frequently hosted banquets, everyone got used to it and would occasionally come to the emperor's place for a meal.

This is not just about not having to go home hungry; attending the imperial banquet is an honor in itself, and each time can even become a part of their resume.

Coincidentally, throughout history, the dynasty that most enjoyed hosting banquets was the former Song Dynasty.

Zhao Da was a military leader, and like Chen Shao, he frequently held banquets for the military governors and surrendered princes of the imperial guards under the guise of "victory celebration banquets" and "banquets for former officials of the Jianlong era," using these banquets to consolidate military power.

To this end, he, along with Zhao Er and Zhao Pu, established a three-tiered system of "grand banquets, regular banquets, and special banquets".

The Continued Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government records that he held banquets for his close ministers at the Guangzheng Hall on several occasions and bestowed food upon his ministers at the Jiangwu Hall.

It can be said that Zhao Daba's "banquet" was upgraded from courtly enjoyment to a ceremony confirming the relationship between "emperor, meritorious officials/civil officials/foreign vassals," and this practice was followed by later generations as an ancestral system.

During the reigns of Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, this system was further developed and popularized.

“Every year on the New Year’s Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Winter Solstice and Autumn Festival, a grand banquet is held in Chongde Hall… At every grand banquet, seven rounds of wine are served.”

The Great Jing dynasty's empire was acquired through the abdication of the Song dynasty, and many of its ministers had served the Song, so they were happy to participate in the imperial banquet.

Chen Shao's imperial banquets were purely about eating and drinking, and sometimes he would invite hired musicians and dancers to play music to entertain the guests.

Even the emperor and his ministers often danced together.

However, state affairs were rarely discussed at the banquet. (End of Chapter)