Chapter 38 New Year Festival
Since Li Jiancheng came to prominence and Li Yuan returned to Beijing to take up his post, the influence of the main branch of the Li family has greatly increased. Although Li An still holds the highest official position in the family and is the most trusted by the emperor,

But after all, he obtained his status by sacrificing his relatives for the sake of justice. His family could understand him, but that did not mean they were willing to follow his lead. There were even quite a number of young men who looked down on Li Ang. Otherwise, so many clan members would not have preferred to remain penniless rather than ask him to recommend them for official positions.

Li Jiancheng didn't need to do anything special, as someone in the family would persuade Li An, and he would have no choice but to obey in the end. Without the positions of left and right prime ministers, he could not resist the will of the entire family, unless he wanted to be a lonely ghost without any ancestors.

Although he didn't say anything, Li An sent his third son Li Xiaogong and fourth son Li Yu to Li Jiancheng. His eldest son and second son had already started families and were serving as officials outside, and they also wrote letters to say hello.

This is a family. If the main branch does nothing wrong and has the potential to rise, the direct branches of the family will come closer one after another to become his arms and work together to achieve success and bring honor to the family.

Among the younger generations of the Li family, Li Jiancheng naturally valued Li Xiaogong the most and kept him by his side every day.

As for uncles like Li Shentong, Li Shenfu, Li Shuliang, Li Deliang, etc., after Li Jiancheng prayed for the crown prince, they were all sent out to serve as recorders and military assistants in the lower states or military assistants in the various Caos in the Central States, starting from the eighth rank, which was already very good.

What's more, it's a rare thing that he was ordered by the prince himself, so no one would dare to bully him when he gets there. Besides, the Li family still has some reputation, so he will always have a good future.

As for some mediocre uncles and elders, if they were interested in a career in officialdom, they would be assigned positions such as the Doctor of Law of the Dali Temple or the Proofreader, which were barely official positions.

If you are not interested in a career in politics, the Li family's many businesses will need someone to take care of them after they are integrated.

The nineteenth year of Kaihuang was about to pass like this. A rosy cloud welcomed the dawn, and thousands of red candles lit the Spring Festival. Li Yuan and others were in the palace to congratulate the emperor, empress, and prince, and to feast and watch dances.

Li Jiancheng led a group of young men to watch the Nuo parade in the West Market. In the long procession, the Nuo elders and mothers wearing masks of old men and women were dancing in the front.

Behind them were hundreds of guards wearing child masks, deacons wearing red clothes and red hats and holding hemp whips, Fang Xiangshi wearing masks and bear skins, and singing commanders holding wooden sticks. They walked, danced, played musical instruments and sang.

Where there is good, there is evil. There are also more than a hundred people who are either shirtless or barefoot and wearing various ghost masks acting as evil spirits. From time to time, they pretend to attack the Nuo elders and mothers, but they are all driven away by the deacons who guard the children.

As the saying goes, in the exorcism ceremony, flutes and drums are played, thin ghosts are painted on their faces and barefoot, arrows are shot with peach bows and whips are used to beat rats, and rats flee to the cheers of the crowd.

The crowd cheered, and the sound of firecrackers could be heard from a distance, which was full of the New Year atmosphere. Seeing that there were more and more onlookers, the singing leaders began to sing: "I just came to the palace gate from afar, and saw a group of devils. Among them was a black man, with a straight body and a squatting head. He was wearing an air bag, a brazier, red eyes, and a scarlet trousers. Qingyun was fierce, and Bi was gentle.

The courtyard is boiling with noise, and the yard is in chaos. Call Zhong Kui, block the door. Go to the head, release the gas to fumigate, break the ribs, pull out the tendons, pull out the tongue, cut off the lips, the south will be a thousand miles away, the north will be far away! "

Amidst the roar of applause, the singing leaders continued to sing the exorcism lyrics: "I just came to the palace from afar, and saw the devils laughing and frightening... blocked their mouths, slapped their faces, ground them in a mill, pounded them on the side, boiled them in a pot, boiled them with bean vinegar, set them on fire, grabbed them with a spear, cut them with a knife, and chopped them into pieces. So now we are exorcising the devils, welcoming good fortune and avoiding disasters!"

Li Jiancheng was watching with great interest, but Li Xiaogong was a little impatient. He pulled Li Jiancheng's sleeve and said, "Brother, they are going to dance until midnight. We might as well go and set off some firecrackers first."

"If you don't mind the cold, go ahead."

Most of the people around were wearing sheepskin or dog fur coats, watching the show happily with their hands in their pockets, while Li Jiancheng and others were wearing warmer and softer fox, sable, leopard, and rabbit fur coats, and they all had special hand-warming sachets in their pockets. It was a valuable thing that used open flames to burn spices, which could not only emit heat to warm the body but also emit fragrance. There were two concentric rings in the middle layer, and the outer wall and the inner layer of the incense burner were connected by a movable axis. The clever thing was that the incense burner kept balance as the ball rotated, and the burning spices would not spill out.

It is very expensive, not only because it is expensive to make, but also because it requires burning expensive spices every day. Ordinary officials are reluctant to give one to their children. Usually, the head of the family only takes one with him when he goes out, so as not to lose face in front of his colleagues.

But Li Jiancheng had his own shop make dozens of them at once, and gave them to whoever he liked. If anyone was short of spices, they could go directly to Li's shop to get them. This is how he gained his reputation for being righteous and loyal.

Some elders in the family also think that their husband is perfect in every way except that he is a little too extravagant.

Seeing Li Xiaogong shaking his head, he let the younger ones go play with firecrackers by themselves, while Li Jiancheng led the rest of the people into the restaurant to eat and drink to warm themselves up.

.........

The beginning of the 20th year of Kaihuang was very good. Li Jiancheng's mother was pregnant again, and Li Yuan also took on the position of Prince's Left Secretary. Although it was an honorary title, it was at least a step into the fourth rank.

The emperor seemed to have regained his former wisdom, and the prince was also learning and making progress with an open mind. Unfortunately, the progress stopped in February, when an urgent military situation was reported from 600 miles away: Li Yinglin, a native of Xizhou, led his people in a rebellion.

This made Yang Jian, who now claimed to be a wise emperor in a prosperous era, very unhappy. His violent temper, which he had barely suppressed for several months, was aroused again. He did not send anyone to investigate the reason for the rebellion or whether it was the officials forcing the people to rebel.

He simply issued an order to appoint Sima Zhang Heng, the governor of Yangzhou, as the commander-in-chief of the army and lead 50,000 infantry and cavalry to suppress the rebellion.

None of the court officials paid any attention to this rebel who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The Sui Dynasty was now at the peak of its power, and a mere unknown villain and 50,000 soldiers were simply an overkill.

But Yang Jian couldn't bear it. He inexplicably thought that this was deliberately created by someone to provoke him.

He was sure that this person was the Right General and Duke of Song He Ruobi, because He Ruobi had written several poems at the New Year's Day banquet some time ago, and the words in the poems contained resentment.

He believed that He Ruobi was resentful of him for having previously appointed Gao Zuo and now promoting Yang Su to be prime minister instead of using him.

As a result, a great general with outstanding achievements was imprisoned. Even Yang Su could not help but plead for him, but the emperor kept talking about He Ruobi's previous disrespect.

It is said that when he and Gao Zuo conquered Chen, he persuaded Gao Zuo: "Chen Shubao can be conquered, why not let the high bird die and the good bow be hidden?"

He also said to the deposed Crown Prince Yang Yong, "The Crown Prince and I will tell each other everything, no matter what secrets we have. You can trust me and rely on my power. Why don't you tell me the truth?"

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(End of this chapter)