Han Shizu

Chapter 300 Winter Solstice Banquet

On the day of the winter solstice, the Bian Palace, which had been silent for a long time, was rarely bustling, especially the main hall of the Han Palace, the Chongyuan Hall, and the servants of the various bureaus in the palace were busy making final preparations and arrangements.

The emperor had issued an edict long ago, intending to hold a court banquet on the day of the winter solstice. Concubines, ministers, generals of the two yamen, ministers of the nobles, and Jiedu of the feudal town who came to Beijing to meet were all invited to the banquet.

This is probably the most "extravagant" activity since Liu Chengyou took the throne.Although he advocated thrift, but at the beginning of the national situation, there is still a little food in the money, so it is necessary to simply organize a grand event to connect feelings and inspire people.

There are many ups and downs in the founding of the Han Dynasty, and Liu Chengyou's succession in less than a year is also full of ups and downs. Sometimes the illusion of peace through singing and dancing needs to be maintained.

Liu Chengyou said before that the aim was to have fun with the people, so an imperial edict was issued to extend the curfew and closing time in Tokyo to midnight for the citizens to have fun.There is still a long way to go before Kaifeng is closed at night. Although the market system is gradually breaking down, in order to facilitate the management of the city, it was still strictly enforced before.

The enthusiasm of the people in Tokyo for the festival is far beyond Liu Chengyou's imagination. No matter the honorable bureaucrats or the ordinary rich and poor, they all celebrate the festival, wear new clothes, and eat dumplings.The winter solstice is as big as the year.

To the north of the imperial city, on the side of Xuanwu Gate, there is a vast military camp. The school yard, barracks, dining room, armory and other buildings and facilities are neat and complete, and there are heavy troops stationed there.

More than [-] newly-made iron cavalry hatchbacks under the Dianqian Division were stationed here, and together with the bodyguard Long Jiejun on the northwest side, they jointly defended the palace city.

Originally, the iron cavalry army was composed of ten thousand cavalry, but due to the shortage of generals, soldiers, especially war horses, and the fear of dismantling the guard horse army, it could not be full in the end. Long Jiejun fought against each other.

At this time, there were less than half of the soldiers in the army. Except for officers on duty, soldiers who were alone, and soldiers whose families were not in Tokyo, they were all allowed to leave and return home.However, in the camp, colorful flags were also displayed, and the usual solemn and strict atmosphere was diluted a lot.

Carts of wine and meat were taken to the camp and piled up in the school grounds. All the troops stationed in the camp sent their hands, and under the leadership of their respective officers, they collected them together.This is an edict issued by Liu Chengyou, and the treasury is used to store money to buy it, and reward the two yamen and the forbidden army.

The reward materials for tens of thousands of soldiers in the battalion is another expenditure that is enough for the third division to make Wang Zhang's heart hurt.

On the school grounds, although the atmosphere was lively, the orderly scene fully reflected the new training quality of the iron cavalry sergeants.Yang Ye was dressed in a vigorous military robe, and the armor embedded in his body was polished. Standing with his sword in hand, he personally supervised the distribution of wine and meat.The efficiency is very high, but within an hour's time, the distribution is in place.

Yang Ye resigned from the Tong'an army and returned to Beijing with Liu Chengyou. After the army was reorganized, he was named the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the left wing of the iron cavalry, and the governor of Kuizhou, and assisted Han Tong in taking charge of the left wing of the iron cavalry. military.

The reward supplies are obviously counted according to the number of people. After the troops and battalions received them, there were only a small and a half carts left.Seeing the mess left in the school grounds, Yang Ye immediately ordered to the left and right: "Clean it up, and record the remaining property and materials into the camp treasury. In addition, the order will be passed on, and His Majesty will reward the three armies, and all the soldiers will celebrate, but it is impossible Forget about violating discipline and desecration, command the commanders of the various armies to supervise them well."

"Yes!" The military officials who followed Yang Ye's arrangement said in a tone of emotion: "Mr. Yuhou is loyal to his duties, and the humble officials respect him!"

Yang Ye didn't pay much attention to the rest of the half-carload of goods. It's very rare in the military for three generations.

As he said that, the military official looked at Yang Ye curiously: "Your Majesty is hosting a banquet in Chongyuan Hall, why doesn't Marquis Yu go?"

Among the senior officers above the Marquis of Yu on both sides of the iron cavalry army, only Yang Ye stayed in the camp.

Arching his hands in the direction of Miyagi, Yang Ye said: "Your Majesty's kindness, I will be deeply grateful. However, the army cannot be left alone, and besides, being able to celebrate with the brothers is enough!"

After looking at the sky and hearing the noise of festivities coming from the battalions, Yang Ye waved: "Go, follow me to inspect the armies!"

The situation is similar to that of the Cavalry Army. Inside and outside Kaifeng City, the barracks of the Imperial Army in Tokyo are full of excitement.A holiday, a reward, is enough to continue to eliminate the depression and discord brought about by the division of power in the army.

In the palace city, the Chongyuan Hall, before evening, was already densely covered with colored silk and decorated with candles.Inside and outside the palace, facing inside and outside, the generals and their families were invited to the banquet. Thousands of people attended the banquet and entered the palace early one after another.

Of course, the space of Chongyuan Hall could not accommodate so many people, so the two verandahs were put to use, and a large tent was temporarily built outside the hall.Even so, it is still crowded, but on the other hand, in the winter, people can gather to keep warm.

Since Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, there has never been such a bustle and bustle in the palace of the Han court.

Zhe Congruan and his granddaughter also entered the palace and banquet early, and under the guidance of the waiters, they took their seats. His seat was naturally in the palace, and it was relatively front.For this winter banquet, the eunuchs and maids in the Han Palace were simply not enough, Liu Chengyou also transferred a thousand guards in the palace to serve them.

"Is this the main hall of the imperial palace? It's really spectacular!" Zhe Saihua followed Zhe Congruan, this little lady from Fuzhou was already dazzled by the magnificent scenery in the palace, she glanced at the busy scene around her and exclaimed: " It's so lively!"

"This is Kaifeng, the place where the essence of the world gathers!" Of course Zhe Congruan was safe, although he had never experienced such a grand scene in his life.

However, the little lady Zhe couldn't help muttering: "Isn't it rumored that the emperor advocates frugality and simplicity? How much food does such a banquet cost?"

Although the surroundings were noisy and Zhe Saihua's voice was quiet, Zhe Congruan could still hear clearly, so he quickly stopped the little granddaughter and taught her to be cautious in speaking in this palace.

Zhe Congruan has a lot of seniority, but he grew up in Fuzhou, among the ministers in the palace, he doesn't know many people, and even fewer have friendships.However, when he was sitting there, many people who knew him took the initiative to come forward to say hello.After all, the emperor's regard for Zhe Taiwei has already spread.

As the weather got late and there were more people, the scene became more and more like a palace banquet.Seeing that the time was about the same, and the people were almost here, Liu Chengyou, Empress Dowager Li, and Empress Fushi entered the palace together.The imperial concubine Gao was not among the small group of people at the finale.

And with the arrival of the emperor and the two empresses, the originally enthusiastic atmosphere inside and outside the hall suddenly subsided, but the festive atmosphere remained the same.Liu Chengyou only glanced at the grand scene in the palace, everything was in order, this banquet was prepared by the uncle of the country and envoy of Xuanhui South Court, Li Ye, Liu Chengyou found that his uncle seemed to be quite capable in this respect of.

Climbing the imperial steps, sitting on the dragon bed, together with the two empresses, accepting the worship and congratulations of the internal and external officials, and officially began the imperial banquet.

(End of this chapter)