Chinese New Year

Chapter 648: Congratulations (Part ) (Additional chapter for the leader who changed the human empire)
The musicians struck the bells and chimes skillfully and played the beautiful music.

Shao Xun subconsciously looked at the empty hall.

The guards in the palace were wearing armor and holding spears, and the servants stood respectfully...

The incense was lit and all the supplies were ready. This was all thanks to Wang Jun, which was great.

He knelt leisurely behind the desk and gestured to Yang Man.

Yang Man understood and immediately left the palace. The music stopped and all the ministers stood up.

There is no doubt that every single one of them was an official of the State of Liang and was a subject of the Duke of Liang, with the status of monarch and subject. After all, this was a true feudal state.

Yang Man returned to the palace, knelt down with great respect, and said, "Mingsir, all the ministers and officials have arrived. Please come in and pay your respects."

"Yes." Shao Xun stretched out his hand and said.

Yang Man stood up and walked out of the palace again.

Shao Xun waited quietly.

This was also a first for him.

It was the first time that he accepted congratulations from his subjects as a monarch, and it was on such a solemn occasion as New Year's Day.

He knew very well that the New Year's Day celebration was the most important political event in the six months since the establishment of Liang State, and was an indispensable part of establishing his ruling position in Liang State.

What was just played was "music", and the congratulations were "ritual", so together they are "ritual music".

If today's serious political activity is messed up, it will be the collapse of rituals and music.

The attendant Yang Kai, who "voluntarily worked overtime", stood behind the palace gate. When he saw the first person enter, he shouted, "Prime Minister Yu Chen is here with a gift to congratulate you."

The music started again.

Shao Xun sat steadily, looking at the gray-haired Yu Chen. When their eyes met, they were both filled with emotion.

When the music stopped, Yu Chen had already knelt on the ground.

Liu Bai, the former attendant of the crown prince (Sima Quan) and the current attendant of the Liang State, took the gift brought by Yu Chen and said, "Your servant Yu Chen presents you with a white jade to congratulate you."

"No need to be so polite." Shao Xun stood up, put his hands together and said.

Yu Chen stood up and saluted, then looked at Shao Xun, and the two smiled at each other.

Everyone knew that today's bow was meaningful, and the status of the monarch and his subject had been determined, even though their identities were father-in-law and son-in-law.

The clerk came over quietly, led Yu Chen out, and stood outside the palace gate.

The so-called "holding gifts" means bringing gifts.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, every time there was a formal meeting, Cao Cao would ring the bell at the Wenchang Hall in the Ye Palace at seven quarters before midnight to receive congratulations, and civil officials and military generals would enter the court with gifts.

Neither Shao Xun nor Cao Cao were emperors, so there were not so many etiquette requirements.

If it was the emperor who was paying respects, Yu Chen would kneel down when he entered the palace, then bow a second time in front of the throne, at which point the emperor would stand up. After the second bow, the emperor would sit down, and Yu Chen would bow again, a total of three bows.

Those who came to pay their respects did not need to say anything extra during the entire process. Even the words of congratulation were spoken by the Grand Herald, strictly following the procedure.

As for gifts, the king, duke, marquis, three dukes, special officials and others were given white jade, while the middle-ranking officials of the two thousand stone level and others were given fur coats, and so on. According to the size of the official rank, gifts such as silk, lambs, geese, and pheasants were given.

In simple terms, the court congratulations of Cao and Shao were actually simplified and modified versions of the emperor's court congratulations. After all, they were not emperors, and the positions of officials were different in both principalities and kingdoms, and many court officials that were only assigned to emperors were not available at all.

After Yu Chen finished his congratulations, the Imperial Censor Pan Tao came in and presented him with a white jade.

When I was kneeling, everything seemed fine at first, but suddenly I felt very complicated.

The one sitting high up was originally a military strategist, a slave soldier who had never had a chance to rise to prominence for generations. However, he was a descendant of the Pan family of Xingyang, a family of noble family origin that had produced countless talents.

Normally, would the two of them ever meet? Shao Xun had a hard time even meeting him.

But now it was he, a proud member of the aristocratic family, who was kneeling respectfully.

This bow seemed to break something, making Pan Tao feel extremely complicated.

According to the education he received since childhood and the values ​​he developed as an adult, there was etiquette between him and Shao Xun as a monarch and his subject, although many people today do not particularly care about it.

Pan Tao left quickly.

The next in line was originally Taiwei Pei Kang, but he was still recuperating in Xuchang, so he was exempted from attending the New Year's Day celebrations.

Next came the left and right military commanders and the chief secretary of the General’s Office.

Then we will batch them according to the level...

The first phase of the morning congratulations was finally concluded when the clepsydra water level reached six quarters high.

The guards of the Liang Palace came in one after another and set up tables.

It's time to eat.

However, only higher-ranking officials were allowed to eat inside, while middle and lower-ranking officials were given meals in the corridor outside the palace - the hierarchy was very strict, and this was also part of the etiquette.

Yu Chen, Pan Tao, Wang Yan, Lu Zhi, Pei Miao, the six ministers of the Shangshu, the Chief Clerk of the General's Office, the Sima, the Military Supervisor, etc., a total of about twenty people, came in and sat behind the desk.

"It's really magnificent." Wang Yan sighed as he looked at the furnishings in the hall. To be honest, he, like Pan Tao, was still not completely calm.

The Wang family of Langya was of such high status that the emperor would normally treat them with courtesy. However, on such a solemn occasion as the New Year's Day court celebration, family background was no longer important and gave way to the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects.

In the past, you could just call him "Shao Quanzhong" at home, and you could chat and laugh when you met him, and it seemed that you were not disrespectful to each other, but today, you realized the difference between superiors and subordinates, and between the monarch and his subjects - although Lao Wang was not an official of the Liang State, so he did not need to perform such a great ceremony.

With a heavy heart, Wang Yan felt that he might never call him "Quanzhong" again, nor would he talk to him on an equal footing in the tone of a political ally.

It’s different now. Lao Deng feels very complicated.

You are a famous person in the world, a wealthy family, and a scholar of many generations. You have even made my daughter pregnant, and you still want me to worship you!

Shangshu Ling Pei Miao had a relatively good mentality.

Although he came from a wealthy family, he did not have the psychological burden that Wang Yan had. As early as when Duke Liang was the military commander of the Yanzhou government, he regarded himself as a subordinate, although there was no distinction between the monarch and his subjects at that time.

He accepted today's situation very quickly and understood that this was a step that Mr. Liang had to take.

The Liang State had been established for half a year, and it was a good opportunity to rectify the slightly lax atmosphere and integrate the makeshift team into a proper government.

Etiquette is something that cannot be seen or touched, but you have to admit that after performing the ceremony of kneeling and paying homage in the hall under the bells and chimes, a subtle change has occurred psychologically.

Lu Zhi is even more free and easy than Pei Miao.

No, maybe it's not carefree, but indifferent. His focus is not on this.

It's just a formality, it's nothing.

He was more concerned about the future distribution of power, and he had been thinking about this kind of thing. Until now, he was still thinking about the affairs of Hebei and Bingzhou, and he was very worried.

In short, everyone has their own unique thoughts and ideas.

Three quarters of an hour later, Shao Xun returned to his seat in the main hall.

The sound of music started again, and the Minister of the Palace, Cai Cheng, brought a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and a glass of wine to Shao Xun's desk, and all the ministers stood up at the same time.

"Everyone, sit down." Shao Xun seemed to think the atmosphere was too solemn and serious. He smiled and said, "Hurry up and eat."

The guards came in one after another and placed rice, soup and wine on the table in front of each person.

Shao Xun picked up the wine glass and calmed down.

The music stopped.

"I—" he said.

"Mingsir." Cai Cheng reminded softly.

Shao Xun understood and said helplessly: "I came to Luoyang more than ten years ago. At that time, I was just a small soldier in Panyuan. After entering Luoyang, I defended Biyong for several months and killed the enemy general in front of Kaiyang Gate. Then I captured Sima Yi in the palace, defeated Shi Chao in Daxia Gate, defeated Jisang in Feixiang, and defeated Shi Le in Yemagang. After more than ten years of fighting, I was favored and promoted to a high rank. Recalling the past, I am filled with emotion. Come, drink this cup."

"Drink this cup to the full." All the ministers raised their cups and drank it all in one gulp.

Shao Xun handed the wine glass to Cai Cheng and said, "Although the world has been somewhat at peace for more than ten years, there are still bandits in Qin, rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River, and evil spirits in Qi. It is not time to let the horses go to the south mountain."

"You are all my pillars, you should know my intention. This year, the great banner points eastward, and we will divide our forces to attack. We will first eliminate the evil spirits in Qi. If there is enough time, we will send troops to the river and destroy the nest of evil spirits in Henei."

"Military affairs require discipline and discipline from the army, and the officers and soldiers must obey the law. The state's major affairs are all entrusted to you, so don't let me be distracted. Come, have another drink."

Shao Xun took the wine glass handed to him by Cai Cheng and drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone drank it all in one gulp.

Shao Xun sat back happily and clapped his hands.

As the music started, a group of dancers given by Princess Xiangcheng quietly entered the palace and began to dance happily. Someone with a melodious voice also started to sing, which diluted the originally somewhat serious atmosphere in the palace.

The officials in the corridor heard the singing and had different expressions.

Some continued to eat and drink, not taking it seriously.

Some people put down their chopsticks and stopped eating, with complicated expressions.

Some people sighed and hated that they were not allowed to go in to watch the singing and dancing.

Some lower-ranking military officers, in particular, kept their eyes fixed on the direction of the palace gate, causing the civil servants who were of scholar-official origin to laugh at them.

A country bumpkin who has never seen the world!
However, wasn’t the person sitting at the very top of the hall also a country bumpkin?

But today he is sitting high above, accepting the worship of everyone. What can you say?
How many scholars can compare with his current pomp and circumstance?

Which of the beauties in the harem was not of noble birth? But now they were competing to flatter and seek favor.

Alas, what is the difference between scholars and men and women?

Now that you have knelt and worshipped, just forget about his background and focus on your work to seek wealth and honor for yourself and your family.

Otherwise, you will only continue to make yourself feel upset.

The dance and music gradually reached a climax and the sky was already bright.

The golden sunlight shines on the Guanfeng Hall, and clouds rise up and linger for a long time.

(End of this chapter)