Chapter 206: Conferring Titles on Ministers
“Long live your majesty, long live the Tang Dynasty!”

The people of Chang’an, who live at the feet of the emperor, are always the first to know about the current affairs. They are excited about the nobles they are familiar with who will rule Chang’an and take over the world.

I am even more excited about the new emperor’s reign title, Taiping. This is what people all over the world have been looking forward to for a long time. There is nothing better than Taiping.

Your Majesty, you are still that kind-hearted gentleman, and you will bring peace to the world!
In the Taiji Hall, the emperor established the queen and ordered all the ladies to pay homage to the queen. Then he waved his hand to confer titles on members of the royal family, starting with his three younger brothers.

Since ancient times, the titles of kings of Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu have been the most honorable. According to the request of the Supreme Emperor, the Emperor appointed Li Shimin, Duke of Zhao, as the King of Qin, the General of the Left Guard, and led the herdsman of Henan to wipe out bandits.

Li Xuanba, the Duke of Jin, was appointed as the Chief of the Jin Clan and was in charge of the Clan Affairs Office.

Li Yuanji, Duke of Yan, was appointed King of Qi, General of the Right Guard and Governor of Bingzhou, to wipe out bandits and guard against the Turks.

The King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Qi came forward together to receive the order and express their gratitude.

Among the rest of the royal family, only Li Xiaogong was canonized as the King of Hejian and the General of the Right Guard, while the rest were all dukes. The emperor decreed that, except for the princes, all royal family members had to show merit to be promoted to the throne.

The emperor conferred titles on Li Baiju as Duke of Huanggua County, Li Xiaoji as Duke of Shuliang County, Li Shuliang as Duke of Changping County, Li Daoxuan as Duke of Huaiyang County, Li Shentong as Duke of Yongkang County, Li Shenfu as Duke of Xiangyi County, Li Boyi as Duke of Longxi County, and Li Fengci as Duke of Bohai County…

But without waiting for the royal family to say anything, the emperor issued an edict to appoint them to official positions, mostly as local governors, and promised that as long as they could pacify the country and bring peace to the people, they would be promoted to higher positions and given free titles, without any deception.

Most of the empire was conquered by the emperor’s cronies. Although the royal family contributed, it was not much. And since the emperor gave them the opportunity to make meritorious service, they had no choice but to accept it.

The ministers were quite surprised by this, but they were mentally prepared. If the emperor deliberately suppressed the titles of the royal family, then he must also suppress their titles. Moreover, with the royal family in front of him, it would be even more difficult for them to say anything.

Everyone’s eyes were on Xiao Cong, and the emperor began to announce titles to his ministers. As expected, he was the first one to be conferred the title.

“Confer the title of Prince of Liang on Xiao Cong, and make him the Minister of State and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Xiao Cong had experienced many ups and downs in his life and had no longer any desire for titles and official positions. He even felt that this position was a bit high and that he should resign and return home after some time.

“Li Jing was conferred the title of Duke of Weiguo, the title of General of the Left Guard, and the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the State.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Shan Xiongxin was appointed as the General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard of the Duke of Jiyin County, Qin Shubao was appointed as the General of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard of the Duke of Xinli County, Xu Shiji was appointed as the General of the Left Wuwei Guard of the Duke of Lihu County, and Zhai Rang was appointed as the General of the Right Wuwei Guard of the Duke of Weicheng County.

Zhang Huli was appointed as the Left General of the Guards of the Duke of Rongping County, Yang Jishan was appointed as the Right General of the Guards of the Duke of Hongnong County, Li Mi was appointed as the Left General of the Guards of the Duke of Yangdu County, and Xue Ju was appointed as the Right General of the Guards of the Duke of Fenyang County.

Xiao Xian was made the Duke of Lanling and the General of the Left Army, Du Fuwei was made the Marquis of Zhangqiu and the General of the Right Army, Wang Shichong was made the Marquis of Xinfeng and the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, and Wang Bo was made the Marquis of Zouping and the General of the Right Jinwu Guard…

Pei Ji, the chief secretary of the Xiangguo Mansion, was appointed as the right servant and the minister of government affairs, Liu Wenjing, the military commander, Dou Wei, the secretary, was appointed as the internal historian, and Li Gang was appointed as the Guanglu doctor to assist in the selection of officials. Yin Kaishan was appointed as the Minister of Personnel, Wang Long as the Vice Minister of Personnel, Zhao Cijing as the Minister of War, Fang Xuanling as the Vice Minister of War, Wei Yijie as the Minister of Rites, and Du Ruhui as the Vice Minister of Rites…

The edict to confer titles on the ministers took a full hour to read out. It not only included official titles, but also a brief description of the person’s achievements. Five officials took turns reading the edict.

When everyone had an official position, the emperor issued an edict: “In view of the fact that loyal officials did not dare to make remonstrances during the Zhou and Sui dynasties, I am here to ask for frank advice. Anyone who has any remonstrances can report them to me in person.”

He also issued an edict to establish a system for selecting scholars for the subjects of Mingjing, Xiucai, Junshi and Jinshi, and to set up the Guozi Academy, Taixue and Simen Academy, enrolling more than 300 students, and ordered all the prefectures and counties under its jurisdiction to set up schools and enroll students at the same time.

Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing were ordered to revise the laws, roughly based on the early years of Kaihuang. They must consider the complexity and simplicity, take into account the times, correct the violations, and stick to the essentials!
All the officials were excited when they heard the decree, and they all felt that an era of great peace was approaching. However, there were also quite a number of people who were still wondering why their official positions and titles were so low.

However, facing the emperor who had just conquered the world, they did not dare to make a fuss at this time. Although the sixteen generals of the world had been appointed, the military power was still in the hands of His Majesty. For example, Li Mi, Xue Ju, Du Fuwei and others, although they had the position of generals, could not mobilize even a single soldier without the tiger talisman.

Li Jing, Li Shimin, Zhang Huli, Xu Shiji and others who hold military power are either your Majesty’s brothers or old friends. How could they possibly disobey your Majesty when they are in high spirits at this time?

We still have to wait and see. It is easy for Your Majesty to conquer the world, but it will be difficult to eliminate the many hidden disasters.

In the Wude Hall, the emperor held a banquet for his ministers, singing and dancing with them. But halfway through the banquet, the emperor said, “I love wine and feasts, as you all know. But now, even though I am drunk, I am filled with depression and it is difficult for me to be happy.”

The ministers hurriedly stopped singing and dancing. Even those who were drunk were held down tightly, and the sober ones stepped forward and saluted carefully: “Your Majesty founded the country and established the system. You are the master of the country and the father of all the people. Why are you worried? Please be strict and let us relieve your worries.”

Li Jiancheng sighed, “Since the end of the Sui Dynasty, wars have been raging, leaving farmland barren and people starving. As a king and a father, I have led my officials to indulge in wine and pleasure and slaughter and sell meat. Isn’t this the same as Emperor Yang’s behavior?”

Wei Zheng, who had been scowling the entire time, immediately pushed Fang Xuanling aside and stood up: “Your Majesty, what you said is very true. I was just about to give you a piece of advice. Your Majesty is the ruler and father, and you should be a role model for your subjects. Although it is a day of great joy, you should also exercise restraint and think about your subjects who are still in dire straits!”

Everyone looked at Wei Zheng in surprise. He could have said this at any other time, why did he have to offend His Majesty today?

But Li Jiancheng smiled happily and said, “What Wei Qing said is very reasonable. I should accept it. A bronze mirror can help me dress properly. Ancient history can help me understand the rise and fall. People can help me see my gains and losses. Wei Qing should be my mirror!”

Not to mention the ministers, even Wei Zheng himself was stunned. He was prepared to be driven out, and also thought that the emperor might be open-minded and accept advice, but he never expected that he would praise him so much.

Wei Zheng couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. After all, today was the first day of his ascension to the throne. It was already extremely difficult for His Majesty to think about the people while enjoying himself. He should have advised him slowly instead of doing so.

Li Jiancheng pointed at the wine and meat scattered everywhere and said, “Don’t say that I am now the emperor and have all the wealth in the world. Even when I was the prince of the state, I didn’t care about being stingy with wine and meat.

But thinking of my people starving, I feel so sad. I was entrusted with the mandate of heaven to establish the country. Should I let the people suffer from hunger and cold so that I can enjoy wealth and luxury?”

……………

(End of this chapter)