The Great Wei Music Bureau

Last time, we talked about how Tao Zhongwen, a lay Buddhist of Shuide, requested the Emperor of Wei to personally meet Li Yi, not only to let him see Li Yi's talent, but also to let him win over Li Yi, so that when he passed away, he would not have to worry about the emperor and his subjects being split up. So, can Tuoba Jun win over Li Yi? Let's continue to read on.

The next day, Li Yi and Shi Yu rehearsed for the whole morning as usual. After lunch, a man from Qingxian came to tell them that the owner of the Exiled Immortal House would come to discuss something with Master Li. Li Yi was very surprised. Why did the person behind the Exiled Immortal House suddenly want to discuss something with him?

Li Yi asked Shiyu: "Do you know that Manager Zhou is a eunuch in the palace?"

Shi Yu asked in confusion, "Li Lang, don't you know the rules here? In order to prevent people from doing shameful things, the managers of brothels are usually either women or people who have been castrated. Why do you suddenly say this?"

"Oh, I see. I really didn't know about this. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Even if Manager Zhou is not a eunuch, the owner of this Exiled Immortal Tower must be a man with connections to the imperial palace."

Shi Yu smiled and said, "This is not difficult to guess. Since I was sold here by Jiao Fangsi, I found that the Exiled Immortal Tower is different. No one dares to cause trouble here, not even the children of the noble families. So Li Lang, you must be cautious when you talk to this boss later."

Li Yi nodded, and soon Manager Zhou accompanied a handsome young man with extraordinary bearing into the Moon Palace.

Li Yi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I think this is the owner of the Exiled Immortal Tower. I am Li Yi, nice to meet you, sir. May I ask your name?"

This elegant young man was none other than the Wei Emperor Tuoba Jun. Half of the brothels in Shangjing were owned by him. This was an idea given to him by Tao Zhongwen, and the purpose was naturally to make money. The Yuwen family held the financial power. Although he was the emperor, he could not do anything without money. At that time, Tao Zhongwen was the Minister of Rites.

The Jiaofangsi of the Wei Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, which was a unique advantage. The female relatives of the prisoners who were captured and sent to the Jiaofangsi became the emperor's cash cow after training. Although it sounded sinister, it was in line with Tao Zhongwen's treacherous style and was indeed a helpless move. He not only used brothels to make money, but also used these brothels to gather all kinds of information from the capital.

Tuoba Jun returned the greeting and said, "I have long heard of you as the most talented person in the capital. I have come to visit you today. My last name is Xiao Yao, and I am a few years older than you. You and I should call each other brothers, so don't be polite."

Li Yi heard the hidden meaning of his self-introduction. First, his surname was Xiao, and the Queen Mother of Wei was surnamed Xiao, so the meaning was self-evident. Second, he was older than Li Yi, which was emphasizing that their identities were different, and he should respect me and not act rashly.

Li Yi was unhappy, but he thought that nobles like him were all of this kind, so he didn't take it too seriously. He smiled and said, "Oh, I've met Brother Xiao. I think Brother Xiao has a very good relationship with His Majesty."

Manager Zhou at the side coughed at Li Yi. Li Yi ignored him and continued, "I wonder what Brother Xiao wants to talk to me about today?"

Shi Yu saw that Manager Zhou looked unhappy, so she quickly tried to smooth things over, "Li Lang, no matter what the boss wants to discuss, we have to go into the elegant room to talk about it. Come on, Master Xiao's elegant room is right over here."

As he said this, he bowed and stepped forward to lead the way. The few of them arrived at the elegant room. Steward Zhou naturally pulled out a chair, waited for Xiao Yao to sit down, and then bowed and stood behind him.

Li Yi smiled faintly and then asked, "Mr. Xiao, are you here to discuss the singing party?"

Xiao Yao shook his head and said, "You, Manager Zhou, and Shiyu can decide on the singing party. I'm here to discuss other matters."

"Oh, what did Mr. Xiao come to discuss?"

Xiao Yao casually said: "National affairs!"

At this time, Shiyu personally served tea to Master Xiao, but was stopped by Manager Zhou. He took the teacup, opened the lid, looked at it, poured it out, and returned the cup to Shiyu, indicating that he should make another cup. Shiyu was not displeased at all, and poured tea again and handed it over. Manager Zhou also took the teacup, opened the lid, smelled it, and then smiled and put it in front of Master Xiao.

Li Yi smiled and said, "It seems that Master Xiao has a lot of rules."

Manager Zhou explained, "Mr. Li, pouring out the first cup of tea without drinking it is just the most basic etiquette of the tea ceremony. Isn't it called washing the tea?"

Li Yi shook his head and said, "Shiyu had clearly washed the tea just now, everyone saw it clearly, Manager Zhou, why do you have to explain it?"

Manager Zhou was about to open his mouth to refute, but Xiao Yao stopped him with his hand. He said, "I have an extra rule when drinking tea. After washing the tea, I have to use the first cup of tea to warm the cup to remove the stains. I call this washing the cup."

Li Yi shook his head and said with a smile: "Shiyu, please go out. Young Master Xiao and I need to discuss state affairs. It is inconvenient for you to serve here."

Shiyu stared at Li Yi blankly, not sure what Li Yi was doing. Xiao Yao did understand that Li Yi didn't want Shiyu to serve him because he felt that he had too much to do and was troublesome! He waved his hand, and Manager Zhou gave Shiyu a look, and Shiyu bowed and left. Only Xiao Yao, Manager Zhou, and Li Yi were left in the room, and Manager Zhou naturally took over Shiyu's job and started to make tea.

Li Yi looked at Manager Zhou's skilled movements and said with a smile, "What did your Majesty want to ask today?"

As soon as these words came out, the teapot in Manager Zhou's hand cracked instantly, and his eyes were fixed on Li Yi. Xiao Yao asked with a smile, "You figured it out so quickly?"

Li Yi took the teacup, drank it all, and said with a smile: "If I can't see this, I'm afraid that your majesty will look down on me."

"Since you know my identity, why are you so calm, or are you pretending to be calm?"

Manager Zhou sneered and said, "Mr. Li has good eyesight, so why don't you kneel down and salute His Majesty?"

Li Yi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you came here as Xiao Yao, isn't it just to hide your identity? Why does Chief Steward Zhou want everyone to know that the Emperor of Wei came to the brothel? Is the largest brothel in Shangjing City owned by the emperor?"

Steward Zhou's eyes were filled with murderous intent. Li Yi and Tuoba Jun stared at each other, and Steward Zhou squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Li Yi, you are so brave!"

Tuoba Jun waved his hand and smiled, "It's okay, since he has already seen it, what he said is not wrong, there is no need to be too serious, go get a new teapot."

"Your Majesty, this? I am a little worried about leaving you here alone with this arrogant person."

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Go quickly. His Majesty wants to ask me something serious. You don't have such good eyesight. It's a pity that you have served in the palace for so long!"

Manager Zhou crushed the handle of the teapot in his hand into powder, glared at Li Yi, turned and left. Of course, he did not go far and just stood guard at the door.

Li Yi stood up and found a new teapot from the cabinet next to the door, and began to brew tea again. His technique was not as skillful and beautiful as Shi Yu's, and it could be said that it was very rough! He poured himself some tea, then looked at Tuoba Jun and asked, "Your Majesty, are you here for the matter of the Xuanjing Division?"

Tuoba Jun smiled and said, "You should just call me Young Master Xiao."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Okay, Master Xiao, just tell me what you want to ask."

Xiao Yao picked up the teacup and brought it to his mouth, but then put it down and said, "The teacher praised you highly and said that you can help me unify the world. I want to know if you have the ability to do so."

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "I definitely don't have that ability! I can neither lead an army to conquer the world nor be an official to govern the world. I can only talk and show off my quick wits."

Xiao Yao smiled and said, "Why do you have to be so modest? The imperial examination system, the two policies for governing monks and Taoists, and the proposal of the Xuanjing Division were all from you. These are all means to maintain peace and order in the country."

Li Yi shook his head and said, "You can't conquer the world with just these!"

Xiao Yao asked: "Then tell me how to conquer the world?"

Li Yi replied: "Since Emperor Taiwu rode his horse and whipped the whip, he drove out the Xiongnu, destroyed the Huxia, recovered Guanzhong, settled Liangzhou, defeated Gaoche and unified the north. The Wei Dynasty can be said to be strong in military and horses. Internally, he believed in Taoism and destroyed Buddhism, promoted Confucius and respected Confucianism, built the Imperial University, promoted culture and education, suppressed Ge and Wu, and suppressed rebellions. These are all the merits of the previous emperor. However, years of war have led to the decline of people's livelihood and constant rebellions. This is the most critical issue at present, to calm the people's hearts, consolidate the imperial power, win the hearts of the people with culture, and rule the world with systems."

Xiao Yao chuckled and said, "According to what you said, you can conquer the world just by relying on the prosperity of literature and the system. This is too much of a joke!"

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Of course that's not what I meant. How can we conquer the world without fighting? But in my opinion, what the Wei lacks is not the strength to conquer the world, but the momentum to conquer the world."

Xiao Yao asked: "Momentum? What do you mean?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "What good ministers there are in Jiangnan!"

This is a joke that the Northern Wei Emperor Tuoba Jun himself made. One year, on the birthday of Empress Xiao, the Southern Liang sent envoys to the capital to celebrate. The envoys from the Southern Liang were two Confucian and Taoist masters, one of whom was Cheng Jing, a great scholar of heaven and earth.

This great scholar of heaven and earth is equivalent to the pinnacle of the fourth-rank Confucian and Taoist great scholars. He is a Confucian and Taoist practitioner recognized by heaven and earth. The Southern Liang even has Zhu Wentai, who is at the extraordinary third-rank Confucian and Taoist level. Therefore, Tuoba Jun respects these two envoys from the Southern Dynasty very much.

During the conversation, Tuoba Jun felt the profound heritage of the Southern Dynasty Confucianism. The Northern Wei Dynasty had been promoting the Central Plains reform, such as the class system, court dress, changing clothing customs, and promoting Confucianism. However, in the eyes of Tuoba Jun and many Confucian scholars, the orthodox inheritance of Confucianism was not in the Northern Wei Dynasty but in the Southern Liang Dynasty, so he actually said in front of all the officials, "There are many good officials in Jiangnan." This sentence can be said to be not very lethal, but extremely insulting.

The court officials were naturally displeased, but Tao Zhongwen was the only one who said indignantly: "There are many good ministers in the south of the Yangtze River, but the ruler changes every year. There are no wise ministers in the north of the Yangtze River, but the ruler changes every hundred years." Only Tao Zhongwen dared to say this. As the emperor's teacher, he dared to teach the emperor a lesson. At the same time, he also mocked the envoys of Southern Liang.

Xiao Yao waved his hand and smiled, "It's old news, let's not talk about it."

Li Yi said sternly, "Master Xiao, do you still remember when the three kingdoms of Liang, Chu and Han attacked Wei, the people on both sides of the Yellow River assisted the Liang army, and more than a thousand people surrendered every day, and more than 20 cities were captured in a month. This was a great shame!"

Xiao Yao clenched his fists. Li Yi touched his sore spot. For a long time, the Southern Dynasty had always called the Wei people "Suolu", mocking the braids of the northern people. However, now the Northern Wei Dynasty respected Confucianism and etiquette, changed clothes and customs, and was no longer the Xianbei barbarians of the past. Xiao Yao looked at Li Yi, thinking, is he testing my heart? To see if I am a wise ruler? So he stood up and said in a serious tone:

"The sun shines brightly across the sky, illuminating only Liangchu.

I wish to follow the wise emperor and ascend the Henghui Mountain, and all nations will be sincere to him.

The clouds and thunder roared, and the gates of heaven opened. Guests from all over the world came to revise the calendar.

Shun danced with the Ganqi and the halberd, and the world came back to him. His literary virtue spread far and wide and everyone missed him.

The imperial wind blows and the nine lands surround it; the sun shines in the sky and clears the universe.

The tomb you buried was in the past, but it was not as bright as it is today.

King Wen’s political teachings shine brightly on the rivers and lakes, just like the great enlightenment that shines in all directions.”

When Xiao Yao finished reciting the poem, a golden airflow appeared. This was not talent, but the dragon energy that symbolized the emperor! Only an emperor who had a profound influence on future generations could possess this dragon energy!

Li Yi knew that the wheel of history in this world was quite different from that in the previous life. In the previous life, the Qin Dynasty died in the second generation and was replaced by the Han Dynasty. After that, the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty faced off against each other in the north and south. In this world, after the death of the First Emperor, Hu Hai and Zhao Gao seized power. When the edict was forged to order Prince Fusu and General Meng Tian to commit suicide, Meng Tian killed the messenger and tried his best to ensure that Fusu returned to Xianyang to fight for the throne. With the support of Meng Tian, ​​Fusu successfully seized the throne, implemented benevolent policies, relaxed punishments, and accumulated people's strength. The Qin Dynasty was able to continue, and it was passed down for 27 generations, lasting for more than 500 years.

Although Meng Tian supported Fusu's ascension to the throne, he failed to deal a fatal blow to the Xiongnu because he led his troops back to the country, which indirectly led to the demise of the Qin Dynasty. In the late Qin Dynasty, the country was weakened due to the rebellion of the kings. The Xiongnu took the opportunity to attack the former capital of Qin, Chang'an. Although the Qin State had moved its capital to Luoyang at that time, and the Xiongnu's invasion to the south did not directly destroy the Qin State, the Xiongnu's bloodbath in the former capital of Qin made the surrounding major tribes see clearly that the powerful Qin Empire no longer existed.