312, Wu Huifei (Full Order Required)

"Thank you, General Gao, for reading the decree."

Bai Gui took the imperial edict in his hand, took a few steps forward, bowed, and thanked Gao Lishi.

At this time, the court meeting was about to begin. There were censors patrolling the hall and the court ceremony.

Just after Gao Lishi finished reading the decree, many officials waiting for the court meeting also looked here.

Focus.

Generally speaking, the imperial edict can be carried out after the court meeting begins. It is not impossible to confer the title before the court meeting, but it is a bit against convention.

"I haven't seen you for nearly two years. Mr. Bai is still as young as he was in the inner court. His heroic appearance is still the same. This time, he has made such a contribution after some polishing in the town. He will definitely become a minister of the saint in the future..."

"I won't talk to Mr. Bai much. I still have to serve the saint in the court."

After Gao Lishi finished speaking, he took a few eunuchs around him into the side hall.

"Mr. Bai..."

Bai Gui considered the meaning of Gao Lishi's words, and his heart was a little calm. He had already figured out the emperor's intention.

The conversation Gao Lishi just said mentioned the inner court and his old position, which has two meanings.

First, officials from the inner court have always been favored by the emperor. His official position before the station was Zhongshu Sheren, an inner court official, so compared with the outer court officials stationed outside, his background determined that the emperor would favor him: second, Gao Lishi used this to implicitly tell the aftermath of Princess Jinxian's entry into the palace to plead for him... Li Longji did not get angry and still trusted him as before.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the inner court was established to seize the power of the outer court and to divide the power of the prime minister. The inner court officials are similar to the official positions of Shizhong, Changshi, and Sheren, which are different from the formal official system of the outer court. The outer court officials are the familiar official positions of the three dukes, nine ministers, and six ministries.

Compared with the outer court, officials who stand out from the inner court are often regarded as the emperor's confidants.

In other words, Bai Gui's actions when he returned to Chang'an just hit the spot that Li Longji wanted.

Asking Princess Jinxian to plead for mercy was a good move.

Think about it, such a powerful frontier official, who had made great contributions abroad, not only did not act arrogantly and domineeringly after returning, but chose to let the princess he loved to plead for him because he was afraid of the emperor's power. After this series of actions, any wise monarch would be secretly happy.

And the matter of pleading for mercy..., whether it is a wise monarch or a foolish monarch, they all fall for it, which has good and no bad.

…

Hanyuan Hall is the main hall of Daming Palace and the place where the grand court meeting is held.

Other regular court meetings are located in Xuanzheng Hall.

Inside the hall.

There are supervisory censors who are responsible for the rectification of court ceremonies, and they quickly found the position where Bai Gui should be ranked in the court meeting, which is the military officer on the right.

Civil officials are on the left, and military officials are on the right.

"A gentleman values ​​the left side when he lives and the right side when he is in charge of the army." - "Tao Te Ching"

"The territory under the jurisdiction of the Jingnan Protectorate is still unclear, and the court has not yet agreed on it..."

"However, although the Protectorate is divided into the Grand Protectorate and the Upper Protectorate, the Grand Protector of the Grand Protectorate is generally led by a prince, and the Deputy Grand Protector and the Protector of the Upper Protectorate are all third-rank officials..."

"Linyi Hou is also a third-rank county marquis, so it is appropriate for Bai Duhu to sit in this position."

An inspector quoted from the classics and said.

Disrespect in front of the palace does not only refer to officials making jokes at the court meeting. Failure to arrange seats and sitting randomly are also one of the disrespects in front of the palace.

"Okay!"

Bai Gui nodded and sat on a Hu stool in the right row of the hall with a calm expression.

The inspector bowed, stepped back, and sat in the civil service team on the left row.

Officials in the court meeting of the Tang Dynasty all had seats.

As usual, those with lower positions arrived earlier, while those with higher positions arrived later.

When the ministers came in one after another, they were stunned when they saw Bai Gui, who was almost on the same level as them in the right row, and then they took their seats.

Too young!

The military officers who could be ranked in the front of the right row were basically all white-haired veterans, and few young people could hold high positions. It was not that the age gap of the generals in the Tang Dynasty was so serious, but only the retired veterans would attend the court in Chang'an. The military generals who guarded the local areas obviously would not attend the court most of the time, and even if they did, they were mostly middle-aged and elderly.

This comparison showed a clear gap.

However, the ministers were not unfamiliar with Bai Gui, the double champion of civil and military affairs. They were very familiar with him and knew his qualifications and merits, so they were only slightly surprised for a while and then retracted their gazes.

It was also the first time for Bai Gui to attend the court, and the first time he saw so many prime ministers. He was originally an inner court official and would not attend the court, so he looked back. Seeing this, the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty also smiled and looked kind.

Although the Tang Dynasty did not respect civil officials and despise military officials, and it was common for generals to become prime ministers, it was clear that there was still a difference when you saw that most of the prime ministers were from the Jinshi degree.

Bai Gui was from the Jinshi degree and was once a civil official. He served as a proofreader, secretary, and secretary in the palace. He had a lot of time dealing with these prime ministers and had a good relationship with them. Just based on this qualification, he was regarded as a close younger generation nephew by the prime ministers.

Natural faction!

The court meeting began.

According to the principle of big meetings for small matters and small meetings for big matters, the court meeting was very boring. The officials just read out some trivial matters, and then the emperor gave their approval.

The court meeting started and ended at noon.

The officials left one after another.

"Bai Duhu, the saint invites you."

A small eunuch walked up and bowed.

Bai Gui nodded.

When he came to the morning court today, he knew that Li Longji would definitely summon him privately. Not to mention what happened last night, he would have to report on the affairs of Nanzhao Kingdom again.

Although I have received several memorials and secret reports, I have never seen him in person. It would be better to explain in detail and ask clearly.

Li Longji is not a fool yet.

This is the time to work hard.

Following the young eunuch, he went around to the side hall of Hanyuan Hall.

Just walked in.

Then I heard the teasing laughter of Li Longji and the concubines in the harem.

Take a quick look.

She is a beautiful girl with a double-ringed bun, emerald pearls between her eyebrows, peach cheeks and almond-shaped eyes, a light body, and a thin green dress that complements her fair skin.

At this moment, the two of them were talking about interesting things. The girl covered her mouth, her smile was like a flower, and she was charming.

"Ahem..."

Gao Lishi, who was accompanying him, reminded him softly.

Li Longji straightened his posture, raised his eyes, and said with a smile: "It's Meihe. Meihe is a member of the family, so there's no need to be so formal... Besides, Wu Jieyu and I were just chatting and laughing, no problem, no problem."

He waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, is this the Protector Bai whom you intend to make the champion?"

"You are so young and handsome, no wonder Sister Jinxian is so enthralled..."

Wu Jieyu glanced at her and asked.

"The champion died young, and his name is unknown, so I did not confer it on Meihe, but he was as civilized and military-minded as the Huo Qiaoqi of the Han Dynasty."

Li Longji took a sip of strong tea and replied.

"I wonder what your Majesty's summons are for?"

When Bai Gui heard the name Wu Jieyu, he understood who this Wu Jieyu was.

She was one of Li Longji's favorite concubines in his early days, Wu Zetian's grandniece, and she was raised in the palace since she was a child. She was the biological mother of the later longevity king Li Hao, namely Concubine Wu Hui.