At the Six Harmonies Palace, Zi Shou spent the evening talking with Deng Chanyu. Those long legs really packed a punch.
The next day, Zi Shou finished drawing up the arrangements for the Laji Festival.
He planned to turn the Laji Festival into Great Shang's annual company party. And an annual party had to have a prize draw, right?
For bending your back to the task: a trip to watch the tides at Chentang Pass.
For unwavering loyalty: sunbathing at Guanjiangkou.
For pouring out your heart's blood: building snowmen in the North Sea.
For forgetting food and sleep, for a heart blazing with loyalty...
Zi Shou had practically emptied his vocabulary. There were no other rewards-just time off.
His ministers worked conscientiously until accumulated exhaustion made them ill. Surely letting them rest a little more wasn't unreasonable?
Just look at Wen Zhong. Old Man Wen was seventy or eighty, yet he still worked hard to attend court. Three days on, ten days off-let him strive to become a veteran of four reigns.
Then there were Jizi and Mei Bo, both elderly royal uncles who needed walking sticks. Take care of yourselves!
As for the ministers in their prime...
Yang Ren, was it? Look at you, without even a descendant. Government work must have kept you too busy. Take a few days off and devote yourself to making babies. Having no descendants was unfilial!
Yuan Hong and his six brothers? Couldn't monsters find wives? My wife was a fox! Go out and look around during your vacation. Maybe some girl would be blind enough to take you!
In short, he just had to give the court ministers as much leave as possible.
The Western Han granted one day off every five days, the Great Tang one every ten, and the Great