"The song "A Laugh in the Sea" last night was pretty good. Why have I never heard you sing it? Why don't any of the ministers know about it?" After setting off on the second day, Li Zhi asked Wu Wu after breakfast on the horse-drawn train. Li Hong said, scratching his head and still having a headache because of his hangover.
"My son sings? Who dares to listen to it? Besides, my mother hates my singing, so my son can only entertain himself in the harem." Li Hong leaned his head against the window, looking forward to the glass The cold temperature on the bed can make his head clearer.
Songs that were too advanced like this would obviously not be accepted in the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, even if Li Hong forced the courtiers to listen to his singing, as the emperor, he would not be able to lose his identity and face to the courtiers. Such a song brings a sea of laughter.
But no matter what, this martial arts song from more than a thousand years ago still has the boldness and domineering character of the Tang Dynasty in both lyrics and music.
After he finished singing last night, Li Zhi and Wu Mei, who still felt unsatisfied, naturally asked Wen Rou to sing another song "Laughing in the Red Dust" even though the lyrics were more straightforward and colloquial. , but compared to Li Zhi and Wu Mei who have already accepted the art of opera, it is still good to treat it purely as a kind of entertainment.
And because there are not many kinds of accompaniments at the moment, and songs like "Laughing in the Red Dust" or "A Laugh in the Sea" do not require electronic soundtracks, and Yan Lingbin, a person who helped Li Hong rearrange them, After blending the complex changes of the tune more than a thousand years later and the simple soundtrack of today, it sounds quite different.
In addition, the lyrics are colloquial and straightforward, and when sung from the mouth of Wen Nvxia, who has always yearned for high and low, fighting against injustice, and the free and easy life of a knight-errant, it is extremely in line with the gentle temperament of a chivalrous woman.
"The world of mortals is ridiculous, infatuation is the most boring, and everything is arrogant. This life is not over, but my heart is not disturbed anymore. I just want to be free for half a lifetime. When I wake up, I smile at people, but in my dreams I forget everything. I sigh that it gets dark too early. In the next life Unexpectedly, love and hate are wiped out, and I just want to be happy until I grow old. No matter how cold the wind is, I don’t want to escape, no matter how beautiful the flowers are, I don’t want them. The higher the sky, the smaller the heart, no matter how many causes and effects there are. , drunk alone, crying today, laughing tomorrow, not asking anyone to understand, full of pride, singing and dancing, looking for happiness in the long night. "
"It's also relaxed and freehand, but could it be that you also wrote these words?" Li Zhi wrote the lyrics himself early this morning. Although he didn't have the urge to ruminate on this word, he read it from time to time. Looking at these words, there can be some lingering aftertaste.
"No, this should be some remote culture in Lingnan Road, but we don't know much about it now." Li Hong lowered his head and drank the porridge brought by Shangguan Wan'er himself, and said calmly.
When he finished speaking, Li Zhi sneered disdainfully as expected. He looked at Li Hong, who was drinking porridge by himself, and then looked at the slowly retreating scenery outside the window. He sighed and said, "Oh... I didn't expect that. Now you have something to worry about. As a man says, you dare to take action. When you were the prince, you looked down upon the world and didn't take anything seriously. How come you have become timid now that you have become the Supreme Being? You are afraid of your feet, this is not like your style, Li Hong."
It has been more than thirty years since Li Hong made his voice, and it is impossible that he only hummed some ditties from his previous life during this period of time. However, before this, he had never hummed the same tunes as he did in recent years. When these things were put on the table, even Yan Lingbin couldn't catch the little tune that Li Hongping occasionally hummed from his mouth.
But being unable to catch these light-hearted and complicated tunes does not mean that they have become unfamiliar with them during the time they spent with Li Hong. What's more, whether it was "The Legend of White Snake" or "The Romance of the West Chamber", etc. Li Hong’s influence can be found in some easy-to-understand words and lyrics, so nowadays, for Li Zhi and others, it is easy to think that works such as "A Laugh in the Sea" or "Laughing in the Red Dust" are Li Hong's works. .
And with the passage of thirty years, most of the maids and eunuchs in the palace, Li Zhi, Wu Mei, or the women in Li Hong's harem have actually accepted this art emotionally.
But their acceptance does not mean that everyone accepts it, nor does it mean that if Li Hong quietly tinkered with it in the harem, it would not spread out of the palace and reach other people's ears.
"The grievances and grievances between you and the scholar-bureaucrats and the five surnames and Qiwang still can't be resolved now. If you don't admit it now, is it because you are afraid that those people will use it to criticize you?" Wu Mei came over at some point and asked Li Zhi After sitting down next to him, he poked Li Hong's shoulder with the feather duster in his hand and asked.
"Those people are nothing to be afraid of. If I were afraid of their criticism, I wouldn't want to completely uproot them..."
"Li Hong, tell me the truth. Your father is also here. Let me ask you, why do you have to push the five surnames and Qiwang to death? In recent years, you have used them to spread the word about our greatness. The traditional culture of the Tang Dynasty, those collections of classics and histories, and even the annotations of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, can cover Goguryeo, Silla, and even the Japanese state. Now basically, the cultural bloodline of the Tang Dynasty has gradually taken root and been accepted by them. , it can even be said that in less than ten years, you have completely destroyed other people's culture, and then laid it on the culture of our Datang Dynasty. In this way, even if you, Li Hong, have five surnames and seven hopes, There is no merit here, and you cannot be punished to continue to suppress it, or even want to eliminate it completely, right?" Wu Mei glanced at Li Zhi and asked Li Hong strangely as he was eating a bowl of porridge.
After Shangguan Wan'er and others heard Wu Mei's question, including the eunuchs in this carriage, they all prepared to leave, leaving a private space for His Majesty, the Supreme Emperor and the Empress Dowager to discuss matters.
But when Shangguan Wan'er had just reached the connection point between the carriages, she was stopped by Li Hong: "Come here and listen. It may be useful in the future."
Li Hong wiped his mouth, his head sober and relaxed after the hangover. After raising his head and moving his neck a few times, he looked at Shangguan Wan'er who sat next to him, and then looked at Li Zhi and Wu opposite him. Mei, thought for a moment and said, "Do you understand universal education?"
Seeing that the three people all shook their heads in unison, Li Hong quickly organized his thoughts and continued: "The five surnames and Qiwang were in charge of the selection of officials in the court. The parallelism between the nine-grade Zhongzheng system and the imperial examination system often resulted in Bringing more resources to those who are recommended as officials. Compared with officials who have passed the imperial examination, they have much fewer resources and starting points than officials recommended by wealthy families with five surnames. The consequences of this That is, with the promotion and appointment of these officials, basically when they reach the fifth rank and above, 70% or even 80% of the officials will still come from the five surnames and Qiwang, or other noble families. In this way, the officials in the court will It is still easy for officials to form their own line, and there are still shadows of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes in the court. Similarly, although the formation of these officials does not mean that they will form cliques for personal gain in the future, at least they will implement certain policies in the court that touch the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. Or if it is in the interests of the wealthy nobles, they will go against it, or directly veto the decision-making of the three provinces at the court. Even if it is implemented by the six departments of the Shangshu, it is difficult to say that the effect will be half achieved by then, right? "
Li Hong held the tea that Shangguan Wan'er had brewed and watched Father Long and Mother Long recalling what he said. He looked out the window without saying anything, leaving time for his father and mother to digest.
Time was moving forward slowly, and the carriage was also moving slowly on the rails. The green outside the window was changing shape and appeared in people's sight. After a while, Wu Mei still spoke first and asked: "Then what do you want? What do you want?”
"What I want is that all policies for governing the country come from the court, instead of being influenced by the scholar-bureaucrats and causing trouble for the court." Li Hong looked at the three people in front of him quietly, his expression became a little solemn and surprised. , continued: "I can even tolerate the close relationship between officials, but I will never allow a huge family or force behind an official to bring resistance to the implementation of government affairs in the court."
"If you do this, who can give me advice and suggestions in the Tang Dynasty? The world is not governed by emotion. If you want to completely ignore those scholar-bureaucrats, or the five surnames and seven hopes, when you encounter bottlenecks in governing the country, what will you do? What to do? I don’t even have any counselors or staff around me..."
"If it really comes to that point, then all the officials in the three provinces and six ministries should be killed. Isn't that what the role of officials is? If half of the role and responsibility of officials is shouldered by scholar-bureaucrats or the powerful families behind the officials, That kind of court is dangerous." Li Hong held the transparent crystal teacup and looked out the window thoughtfully.
Shangguan Wan'er looked at Li Zhi and Wu Mei, and then said softly: "Although your Majesty's idea is a bit too extreme, now that the Tang Dynasty is at peace, there is not much peripheral threat. Now we are taking this opportunity to rectify the imperial court or Being a scholar-bureaucrat and a wealthy family behind him, this is a great opportunity. "
"None of these are important. The important thing is that the world cannot be governed by the royal family and the wealthy families, but should be governed by the royal family and officials." Li Hong turned his head and looked at Shangguan Wan'er who supported his position with admiration and said. .
"What's the difference?" Wu Mei asked lightly. She had always been like this. When she didn't understand something, she would always ask more questions than give insights. Only when she was sure, she had fully understood Li Hong's After thinking about it, she will express her opinion.
Instead of being like Li Zhi, no matter where he hears something, if he feels there is a problem, he will immediately raise an objection.
"The difference is that wealthy families can only represent the interests of some classes, but officials can represent the interests of the entire world. As long as the five surnames and seven hopes are completely eliminated, private schools or official schools are set up, and everyone has the opportunity to study and obtain fame, no matter We will give them the opportunity to join the officialdom if they know their background. In this way, in a few years, our official career in the Tang Dynasty will be possible from all walks of life." Li Hong looked at his mother Long's thoughtful eyes and said solemnly. said.
(End of chapter)