Honghui is reborn in Legend of Zhen Huan, I will protect my mother

As the year draws to a close, the capital becomes increasingly busy, with all departments and places preparing for the upcoming Banquet for a Thousand Elders.

The Banquet for a Thousand Old Men was scheduled for the second and fifth day of the first lunar month and was held in two sessions. One was for the civil and military officials of the three banners of Manchu, Han and Mongolian, as well as retired personnel and ordinary elders who were 65 years old or above; the other was for the civil and military officials who were not in the banners, as well as other people.

Today's Banquet for a Thousand Old Men literally has just over a thousand people, which is completely incomparable to the ones held later by Hongli and his son Yongyan. Thinking of those two Banquets for a Thousand Old Men that the harem talked about with relish for several months, Honghui could not help but grit his teeth.

Let’s not mention it. It would be a waste of time if I did!

Just talking about this banquet for a thousand elders, it is actually quite extravagant and wasteful, but the elder did it on purpose, as it is preparing it to celebrate his 70th birthday next year in advance. Why should he, a junior, have the right to complain?

Honghui was in the Ministry of Rites, so he could only cooperate and make full preparations for the Banquet for Thousands of Elders in a few days.

After New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month, it was soon the day of the Banquet for a Thousand Elders.

The sky was very cooperative that day with clear skies, as if sending blessings for today's Banquet for Thousand Elders. From the Forbidden City to all over the capital, there was only one expression on everyone's face, and that was laughter.

We took a carriage along the way to the palace and saw decorations everywhere with red lanterns hung high. It was a peaceful atmosphere. When we entered the palace gate and walked not far away, we saw colorful tents everywhere, extending all the way to the front of the Qianqing Palace.

In fact, all of these had been laid out a few days in advance. Hundreds of seats in front of the Qianqing Palace were also set up in advance. The imperial kitchen stayed up all night and prepared all kinds of dishes and fruits in advance.

As one of the people who organized the Banquet for Thousand Elders, Honghui came to the palace as soon as the palace gate opened, and Yinzhen came with him.

"Check everywhere again. There must be no mistakes today, otherwise it will be a laughing stock." Yinzhen asked one by one, wishing he could go and check it himself.

"Don't worry, my son has already checked it five or six times. The banquet prepared by the imperial kitchen is more than enough, so it's still useful for everyone."

Yinzhen nodded and motioned his eldest son to come forward and speak: "These people dare not make mistakes at this time, but those who enter the palace for the banquet are different. Even if the prefects and governors of various prefectures endorse it, they must not be careless! The safety of the emperor is the most important. It is better to do useless work than to panic when the time comes."

Honghui lowered his head and said, "Son, you know, there are people watching everywhere. They are all strong eunuchs. If there is any unusual movement, they will be able to stop it immediately."

None of the people following them thought that this was an exaggeration, probably because the dragon body was precious and no mistakes could be made!

After a while, the princes and grandchildren of various palaces arrived one after another, and each of them consciously made room for them, with the intention of not causing trouble for those who were making the final preparations on the spot.

About an hour later, the elders arrived in an orderly manner, and the princes and grandchildren moved to the Qianqing Palace to respectfully invite the emperor to come.

"Father Emperor, everyone is here, and the time is almost up."

Kangxi was wearing a bright yellow casual suit. Although it was not too formal, he still looked very imposing. Just looking at the way he walked, one would have thought that the king in front of him was an old and weak man suffering from illness!

"Today, at this banquet for thousands of elders, everyone knows what to do, right? The reputation of the Aisin-Gioro family, the majesty of the royal family, and the prestige of the Qing Dynasty cannot go wrong! If there are any disputes, I will keep them to myself. What the royal family wants to show the world is brotherly love, respect for the elderly and love for the young, not tripping each other up."

After a brief mention, the group walked out of the main hall and were greeted by a banquet, a group of old men standing solemnly beside the banquet, and royal princes who had arrived in advance.

Amid the ringing of bells and drums, hundreds of people congratulated each other in unison, "May our emperor live a long life! Long live the emperor!"

Kangxi had a smile on his face, was kind and amiable, and seemed very approachable in every word he said.

In a short while, with a call of "Everyone take your seats", the Banquet for a Thousand Elders officially began.

More than six hundred old men all took their seats, and then hundreds of palace maids carried wooden trays and presented various delicacies and fine wines. There was order in the chaos, and there was no sign of panic at all.

First, everyone toasted the current emperor to congratulate him on his 70th birthday. Then the princes, grandsons, and members of the royal family toasted one after another. After that, the kings, beile, beizi, dukes, and idle members of the royal family went to various places to pour wine in person.

Honghui was no exception. He was also assigned to a table of old men. No, it should be said that these old men did not look like they were in their sixties or seventies. They looked more like they were in their eighties.

Honghui, who knew about the old man's seating situation in advance, naturally knew that these people were indeed quite old, so Kangxi specifically asked him, the imperial grandson who had always been highly valued, to take care of them.

Seeing that those old men were still full of energy and their eyes were clear and powerful, Honghui secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to pouring wine for them and urging them to drink.

The wine was all honey wine, which was neither intoxicating nor harmful. Kangxi held the Banquet for a Thousand Old Men to show his favor and to consolidate the rule of the Qing Dynasty. How could he ignore the health of these old men?

Looking around, there were indeed few people in bad spirits among the more than 600 people. Instead, there was a pair of eyes in the crowd that was particularly eye-catching. The depths of those clear eyes were full of envy and love.

Tsk! Hongli, why are you here again? No, wait, is this the reason why you hosted those two banquets for thousands of old men that emptied the national treasury, wasted countless money, and ignored the lives of ordinary people?

Honghui thought it was bad luck and turned his head away quickly, no longer looking around.

After three rounds of wine, the Banquet for a Thousand Old Men was coming to an end. Then Kangxi bestowed some rewards and had the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs lead these old men out of the palace, and then the officials from the prefectures and counties sent them back to their hometowns.

After the wine was finished and the crowd dispersed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief that everything had gone smoothly after all.

"Everyone has done a great job today, but we can't be careless now. There will be a banquet in three days, so we must make sure it goes smoothly!"

"Yes, I will obey your orders."

On the fifth day, there was another banquet for a thousand elders. This time the number of people was only half of the previous one, but they all completed the whole process smoothly. Afterwards, Kangxi even praised them a few words.

"Everyone worked hard at the banquet for a thousand elders the other day, and did not neglect anything. I am very happy! All those who organized the banquet were rewarded with a certain amount of gold and silver to encourage their work."

The reward of gold and silver was actually not much, but it was a kind of honor and recognition. The relevant personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Personnel and other departments who had not heard the news were all very happy - their efforts of nearly half a year were worth it!

As for the princes and grandchildren of the emperor who participated, they received even greater rewards. Wasn't that the case with the boxes of rewards being transported to several royal palaces?

After being busy for half a year, I should be content with this little reward! As for the title, oh, it is not so easy to get it.