Han Shizu

Chapter 1606 Jiaqing Festival and the troubles of the prince

Kaibao’s 17th winter in Kaifeng is softer than before. There is a rising sun in the morning and colorful clouds in the evening. The blue waves and yellow leaves also add a gorgeous color to the capital. It is a lush scene.

For the officials and citizens of Tokyo, this winter is obviously much more comfortable.Of course, for some officials, this is a good omen, and a good one at that.

There has never been a shortage of smart people in the imperial court, and there is also no shortage of people who are good at associating and figuring out what they want, not just one or two, but a group.

Many people associate this comfortable winter with one thing, that is, in a few months, Emperor Liu's birthday is approaching again.

Thirty years ago, Emperor Liu’s birthday was designated as the Jiaqing Festival by the imperial court. Of course, at that time, some officials from the Ministry of Rituals catered to Emperor Liu’s advice, and Emperor Liu was also in the stage of consolidating imperial power and expanding his influence. It seems that this method of setting one's birthday as a festival for the government and the whole country to celebrate can also be used.

Therefore, every year on the seventh day of March, the Jiaqing Festival is celebrated as usual, and after 30 years, it has basically been integrated into the lives of officials and people in the Han Dynasty.

It started with Li Longji to form the emperor's birthday into a fixed festival. However, the degree of promotion and acceptance of Emperor Liu's "Jiaqing Festival" is obviously far superior to that of Li Longji.

At least at the moment, the "divinity" of Emperor Liu is far superior to that of Emperor Tianbao. Now there is no such thing as "a thousand years" or "a long life", only Emperor Liu's Jiaqing.

It is conceivable that it doesn't take much, as long as the big man can maintain it for 100 years, then the "Jiaqing Festival" will become a fixed traditional festival.

Regarding this point, Emperor Liu is very vain. He has already done it, but he has done this to combine his reputation with Chinese culture, traditions, and customs. Very motivated.

In the early years, Emperor Liu didn't really care about it. At that time, his energy was focused on strengthening the country and enriching the people, but now, he is paying more attention to his own name behind him.

The Jiaqing Festival is just one of the most representative symbols. Just like people can think of Qu Yuan after the Dragon Boat Festival, what Emperor Liu hopes is that people will also think of him when they celebrate the Jiaqing Festival in the future.

As far as the current situation is concerned, this effect is significant. Of course, this is accompanied by certain administrative intervention.Nowadays, every Jiaqing Festival, Daozhou all over the country, whether it is official or private, will carry out certain celebration activities. Burning incense and praying is also one of the daily activities of officials and people on that day, or praying for Emperor Liu, or praying to Emperor Liu
Under the attention of Emperor Liu, the official celebrations became more and more lively, and the Jiaqing Festival was also designated as one of the regular holidays for officials across the country, with a three-day holiday.

Undoubtedly, this is a personality cult, and even a little disregarding his appearance to deify himself, and everyone will support him without any criticism. Of course, no one dares to say strange words or express any different views.

In fact, in today's great Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu has long been comparable to a god.Last year, Emperor Liu came here on a whim and specially received a group of local officials who had come to Beijing to report on their duties and transfers.

The scene was "moving", from the magistrate to the magistrate, when they saw Emperor Liu, they were all tearful and unable to control themselves. When asked why, they were also excited and hard to express their joy.As a result, Emperor Liu was overjoyed and found time to treat those officials to a meal.

Against such a background, the upcoming 18th Jiaqing Festival of Kaibao naturally attracted the attention of the Manchu Dynasty. This time, the importance was obviously more than any previous one, because Emperor Liu was over fifty years old and half a century old.

Not to mention anything else, Emperor Liu could easily manage birthdays in ordinary years without extravagance, but this kind of ten-year lifespan deserves more attention.

Even if Emperor Liu didn't mention it, those caring courtiers would actively respond.Therefore, in the winter of 17, the imperial court had already started preparations for the Jiaqing Festival in a few months, and Zhao Pu personally presided over the planning and preparation of the celebration, and Xue Juzheng, Duke Ji of the State of Ji, served as Minister of Rites.

Since the beginning of winter, the imperial court, including those officials, have shifted a large part of their energy to praise Emperor Liu, and auspicious signs from all over the world have begun to gather together again, even in Kaifeng, which is a comfortable winter. Far-fetched will be related to auspicious omens.

Amid all the turbulence, there are still people who are sober, such as Prince Liu Yang.From the heart, it is not normal for the court to be so grandiose and go to war. The ethos inside the court is not normal. The ministers and workers are busy praising and praising Emperor Liu, busy singing praises for the emperor, and the political affairs and people's livelihood are obviously not so good. If many people pay attention, it will even affect the normal operation of the government.

However, he can't open his mouth to express any dissenting opinions, let alone stop him. He is both the crown prince and the prince, so he can't risk being charged with "disloyalty and disfilial piety".

Even, Liu Yang was sure that if he really put forward some opinions that were against the general trend, some officials would even dare to criticize him. There might not be any explicit criticism, but there would definitely be no shortage of insinuations and accusations.

This is also where Liu Yang's suffering is unspeakable, and his mood is unavoidably gloomy recently. Under his forced smile, his heart is actually full of sorrow.Of course, Liu Yang's worries and worries were not only caused by this matter. The turmoil in the East Palace and the restlessness in the back house also made him quite depressed, even feeling tired.

In the past few years, the infighting in the East Palace surrounding the Crown Princess and Concubine Zhao has become more and more intense. In the past, the ministers saw the possible seizure of the prince's heir, but now, some people have seen the third generation.

So far, Liu Yang's position as the crown prince is still secure and almost unbreakable, and a prince who has been a crown prince for 20 years has already had a strong foundation and influence. Even without the support of his mother clan, Liu Yang can rely on In itself, his banner is strong enough.

The most important thing is that Emperor Liu always trusted him, and expressed his expectations with all his heart, saying "the future of the country is yours". Such situations are not unusual.

In fact, for Emperor Liu Yang, Liu Yang can already be regarded as a kind of sustenance, entrusting his hard work and expectations. It took so many years to cultivate such a satisfactory heir. Persevere, there is no turning back.

Of course, all of these have a premise, that is, Liu Yang himself will not commit suicide.However, judging from the quality he has shown over the years, such a handsome prince is smart enough, and he has already adapted to his identity, and he is even more proficient in how to deal with Emperor Liu.

However, he was always distressed about his own family affairs and the troubles in the East Palace.The relationship between Concubine Murong and Concubine Zhao is not about the rivalry and jealousy between the women of the Eastern Palace. It reflects the struggle between the two noble families, the Murong family and the Zhao family, and it is also related to the issue of the inheritance of the empire in the future.

This is obviously also an eye-catching thing. After Emperor Liu, if there is no accident, it will be Liu Yang. This is well known. The other princes, princes, and princes, no one has the strength and prestige to compete with him .

But after Liu Yang, this is worth talking about.Although it seemed a little early to talk about this when Emperor Liu was still alive and when Liu Yang was in his prime, it was not early at all for some "long-term-sighted" people.

Moreover, Liu Yang's situation is also worthy of attention. Up to now, Liu Yang has only two sons and one daughter.The eldest son, Liu Wenhuan, was born to Concubine Zhao, and is now nine years old; the second son, Liu Wenji, was born to Concubine Xiao (Xiao Yanyan's status was naturally raised after giving birth), and is now five years old.

As for the concubine, she finally got pregnant in the 15th year of Kaibao, and gave birth in the winter of that year. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a girl. This not only made Concubine Murong lose her composure, but also caused Liu Yang a lot of headaches.

It was Liu Yang himself, how could he not have considered the issue of heirs, choosing from the existing two sons, there is no doubt that it should be the eldest son Liu Wenhuan, after all, the root is right, and Liu Wenji is Xiao Yanyan's son after all, born at a disadvantage.

However, the Crown Princess would not do it. In a desperate situation, someone gave her an idea. He was the Crown Princess, Liu Yang's wife, and the aunt of Liu Yang's children, so he suggested that she adopt Liu Wenhuan.

This idea is very constructive. Even Liu Yang thought it was a good idea after listening to it, killing two birds with one stone.However, this was obviously strongly opposed by Concubine Zhao, probably because of the influence of her mother, and the little emperor's grandson Liu Wenhuan was also unwilling.

This matter has been a commotion for a while, which has attracted gossip from the government and the public, but it still doesn't matter, and it ends with the princess's voluntary abandonment.After all, adopting a son who is likely not to be filial to oneself in the future is really unnecessary. Instead, it is not cost-effective to secure the status of the "enemy's" son.

During the whole process, Zhao Kuangyin did not express his position hastily, and remained silent all the time. On the contrary, Zhao Kuangyi, who had already returned to the court to serve as the Minister of Zhongshu, told Zhao Kuangyin in private that it would be a good way to let the crown princess adopt him. This can directly determine and confirm Liu Wenhuan's status. things.

It's a pity that Zhao Kuangyi has a unique vision, but he doesn't have much ability to interfere. He is just an uncle and can't control Concubine Zhao's thoughts, let alone influence Concubine Murong.

This matter caused a lot of trouble, even Emperor Liu heard about it, and Liu Yang also asked for advice on this, and was criticized by Emperor Liu indifferently, saying that even if the harem cannot be governed, how can the world be governed?Some shamelessly used their "harmonious" harem as an example to educate them.

As far as Emperor Liu was concerned, he didn't have any ideas in his heart. They all said that he was relatives from different generations, and he really had no special preference for his grandchildren. Besides, when it came to the issue of heirs, he had to be more cautious.

However, Emperor Liu was also displeased with the infighting in the East Palace.At the same time, I also feel that people are confused. He is still alive and well. Some people start to think about the third generation emperor.

Therefore, during that time, Emperor Liu's temper was also a bit bad. When he asked Zhao Kuangyin to drink, he always kept a cold face.

The matter of Murong's adoption of Liu Wenhuan came to nothing, and because of Emperor Liu's attitude, the East Palace has been peaceful for two years, but recently, there have been disturbances again.

After long-term observation and thinking, the crown princess once again proposed to Liu Yang that she would adopt Liu Wenji, born to the Xiao family.As soon as this discussion came out, Liu Yang really had a headache, and the East Palace, the Imperial City, and even the imperial court also had a lot of repercussions.
(End of this chapter)