The various organizations under Zhu Youxiao's command have been busy all the time, including factory security, military, and government. None of them stopped. And in the midst of such busyness, time passed slowly, and the New Year soon came.

In the north, the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is regarded as the off-year, while in the south, the 24th of the twelfth lunar month is regarded as the off-year. In order to take care of the gap between the two places, the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month is the annual holiday.

Government agencies in various places, except for some necessary personnel who stayed behind, have all begun to take annual leave, and this holiday lasts until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

After the Lantern Festival, there is the first lunar month meeting.

This is a rare opportunity to rest. You must know that in the Ming Dynasty, there was no time to rest in the past. Officials were not free all year round. They not only had to deal with government affairs, but also participated in various sacrificial activities during holidays and had to rest.

Also usually at night.

Of course, different local officials are different. If they really want to take a rest, no one will care about them, but the reputation and assessment are not good-looking.

Now it's better. At least I have a complete annual leave after one year. It's almost a month's rest time, which makes officials big and small very happy. They can not only receive salary but also rest. How could such a good life have existed before? Especially especially

Recently, there have been rumors in both the government and the public that salary increases will be made after the new year, and the amount will be extremely huge.

Thinking about the days to come, the officials in the six ministries will be satisfied. They have a decent status and a decent income. What else is missing.

The entire empire is on holiday, and Zhu Youxiao is also relaxed. Without the pressure of government affairs, he can also live a leisurely life like a rice insect. Of course, as the head of the empire, no one forces him to work hard every day.

Even the cabinet hopes that the emperor will ignore the government affairs. Now that the inner court has been abolished and all administrative power is vested in the cabinet, this has really made Li Ruhua and others addicted to the prime minister. Even though there is still an emperor over their head, their power is not necessarily small.

How much.

There are more than a dozen provinces in the world today, and there are countless things happening every day, but most of the things that really reach the level of the cabinet are big things, and some big things have routines, and they are handled accordingly. For other more complicated things, the cabinet can also explain them in one word

There are not many decisions that really need to be made by the emperor.

Within the cabinet, there is a system in which the five cabinet elders decide with votes. The first assistant has three votes, the second assistant has two votes, and everyone else has one vote. Even if the emperor cannot execute affairs due to illness, as long as this procedure is passed

, that is also reasonable and legal, and if the emperor does not approve the matter reported by the cabinet, it will be taken back by the cabinet after five days and executed on its own.

This rule is useless in normal times, but when the emperor is unable to personally govern or ignores government affairs, the power falls into the hands of the cabinet. Therefore, now that the cabinet is in power, they wish that the emperor would be as lazy as possible, as long as they can make the decision themselves.

The only pity is that now the military and government are separated, the judiciary is unified, and supervision is independent. Although the cabinet is powerful, it is also subject to great restrictions and cannot intervene in many places. In administration, one can make big decisions, but not other things.

.

However, this is a cabinet matter and has nothing to do with Mr. Li Ruhua. He is very satisfied with his current status. He will still have such opportunities when he is old. Life is really unpredictable.

If His Majesty hadn't just ascended the throne and had no useful people at hand, he himself is old, has high prestige, is mature and prudent, and most importantly, the Donglin Party's clutches, he would never have been able to ascend the throne in this life.

This is the pinnacle stage of life.

Although I am a little tired now, I am really happy to be able to participate in so many changes. I just don’t know how long my body can last.

"Ahem!" Thinking of this, Li Ruhua coughed a few more times. He knew about his own body. When His Majesty came to the throne, he wanted to retire and go home to recuperate. However, His Majesty's heavy responsibility and the burning in his heart made him persist.

It's been a year, and now my health is getting worse and worse, and I don't know how much longer I can hold on.

I don’t know if I can see the day when the empire will rise again. Empire, this word is really inspiring. Just saying it makes people’s blood boil. I don’t know how His Majesty came up with it.

Thinking about all these, Li Ruhua couldn't help but feel a little crazy!

At this moment, in the Forbidden City, in the Jiaotai Hall, Zhang Yanzheng was constantly directing the eunuchs and palace maids to arrange the banquet. The long table was placed in the center. This was used for the family banquet during the Spring Festival last year. Today, it is also private.

It was a banquet, so I used it.

State banquets in the Ming Dynasty were generally divided into separate meals, and most upper-class families entertained important guests and friends at home. Of course, this custom is becoming increasingly rare now. After all, many people are not willing to kneel down to do it and add a table.

The chairs looked nondescript. They were only used more often during formal banquets in the imperial court.

Today, what is being held in the Jiaotai Palace is a family banquet held by the emperor. Of course, it is not a banquet for people in the harem or court ministers, but for the ministers who were hiding in the palace. These people are his confidants, so they naturally need to keep in touch with each other well.

Zhang Yan, together with Shu and Concubine De, were taking care of each other with excitement. They had done a lot more things in recent days, which made their temperaments more lively, and their relationship with each other became much more familiar.

"Should I also follow Your Majesty's example and entertain some ladies from the court?" Looking at the venue that was gradually taking shape, Zhang Yan thought of her responsibilities as a queen. She should also shoulder the burden of caring for the world and share His Majesty's worries.

!

Regardless of the queen's thoughts, as the night went on, the people at the emperor's banquet gradually arrived. Li Tu, Li Tao, Li Yuyu, and Xu Wen were the four best among the original twenty people. Yu Zigao, Qi Jin, these

The two of them were his earliest classmates. Sun Chengzong was his teacher, needless to say.

Those at the back were surprising. Zhou Quan, Wei Zhongxian, and Wang Chengen all came up openly. From the surprised and frightened looks of the three of them, they also felt that it was sudden, but there was nothing they could do about it. This was the emperor's order.

Yes, I had to sit down.

In addition, there are Luo Yangxing, Wang Wenyan, and Liu Bin. Although their status is not as good as the previous ones, they have all followed them very early and are absolute lurkers.

Some of those present looked proud, some were panic-stricken, and some were as calm as Mount Tai. Sun Chengzong, the then highest-ranking deputy minister of the cabinet, was the most calm. Although he was also surprised by the complexity of the participants in today's banquet, he still showed good Qi-nurturing skills and was not surprised at all.

Ran look.

Soon, Zhu Youxiao came over wearing black casual clothes. Then, bottles of palace wine were opened and poured into personal cups. Suddenly, the whole banquet was overflowing with the aroma of wine.

"You are all considered to be my potential ministers. It's rare to get together today, so don't be restrained." Zhu Youxiao raised his wine glass and took the lead in drinking.

"Your Majesty's words are serious." Sun Chengzong, who had the highest status, was the first to respond, followed by others. Many people attended the banquet very suddenly, and even their cups were shaking with excitement at this moment.

Your Majesty has not forgotten me!

Everyone has feelings, and so does Zhu Youxiao. Many people here have followed him since he was very young. Now there is no purpose in holding this banquet. It is really just for him to meet certain people.

China has always had a wine-table culture. After three glasses of wine, the atmosphere soon became lively. Even Sun Chengzong was no exception. He told many things about being teased by Zhu Youxiao when he was a child. As soon as this example was started, everyone present said that at that time

My first feeling when I met His Majesty was that I admired His Majesty's talent and prowess.

Zhu Youxiao smiled and listened to them talking about the other side of themselves. This feeling was really magical. The normal banquet was a success. Although it was a bit reserved at the beginning, the atmosphere was quite warm later on.
Chapter completed!