The emperor ignored the cabinet who were still arguing in Wenyuan Pavilion, and directly took the first queen and two concubines to the square behind Duanmen.
There is already a convoy waiting here. The Ming Dynasty has always paid attention to etiquette. The emperor has royal etiquette, and the people have civil etiquette. What is for the emperor's royal use and what is for the subjects are very clearly defined and cannot be exceeded.
Otherwise, the consequences would be terrible, and there would be the risk of confiscating the entire family and annihilating the nine clans. The carriage system of the Ming Dynasty emperors was divided into two stages.
The first stage is the founding stage of Emperor Taizu. The second stage is the stage when Emperor Chengzu basically stabilized his system after the reform.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the ritual officials formulated the emperor's chariot and wheel format. During the Ming Dynasty, there were five types of chariots.
They are jade chariots, which have the highest specifications. It is generally used on very important occasions such as sacrifices. Next are leather chariots, elephant chariots and wooden chariots.
These three types of cars are used on many occasions, and they can also be used by queens and concubines. However, after Chengzu's Jingnan Campaign, he not only moved the capital to Beijing, but also made extensive changes to the court's etiquette system.
In the third year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu finally determined the level of Chehu. They are: large carriage, jade carriage, large carriage, small carriage, walking carriage, Daliang carriage, sedan chair and other carriages.
Today is a very grand ceremony, offering prisoners and offering sacrifices to ancestors. This is also the most glorious moment since Chongzhen ascended the throne.
There are not many opportunities for the emperor to add honor to himself. To expand territory and eliminate the enemy that threatens the most in the north, he is undoubtedly qualified to do so.
If Yang Fan could level Mongolia. It makes sense that the emperor wants to go to Mount Tai. Therefore, today the emperor wears the most solemn attire, rides on the highest-grade carriage, goes to the Ming Tombs to pay homage to his ancestors, and then returns to the Ancestral Temple to offer prisoners.
Enjoy the cheers of all the people. Most readers may not know that large carriages are sometimes driven not by horses, but by elephants.
The smaller Asian elephants from Yunnan are used. A baby elephant between the ages of three and five is fully capable of pulling a large cart.
Empress Zhou, Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan also saw the big train for the first time. All very surprised. Since they entered the palace, various crises in the court have continued, and the emperor has no intention of traveling, so these vehicles have been kept sealed.
At this time, they all looked at the emperor's carriage with curiosity. Concubine Yuan Guifei and Concubine Tian Guifei were a little jealous. This car could only be used by the emperor. At most, the emperor could take the prince and queen with him.
Others are not eligible to ride. They are just concubines, not even imperial concubines or imperial concubines, let alone qualified.
The two of them could only take the Feng sedan. The phoenix sedan is the most common vehicle used by the female members of the clan. Vehicles used by the imperial concubines, crown princes and princes of the Ming Dynasty.
The shape of the phoenix car is as follows: a green roof, a top with gold and copper beads, a gold and copper flying phoenix at each corner, a round treasure cover with silver incense hanging down, and a colorful decoration.
The body of the sedan chair has a red painted wooden frame, three sides are made of woven mat, painted with Zhai inscriptions, and nailed with gold-plated copper enamel flower leaves. The red painted beagle is decorated with gold-plated copper phoenix head and tail.
The blue and gold rims are decorated with red curtains and belts, and the interior is red on the bed and on the mattress. A red pin and a gold pin are used for the sedan chair, and are inscribed with gold pins and pearls.
The princess changed to wearing wooden red pingluo sedan clothes. Drain water, vanilla inscriptions, look at the belt and curtain, all are in phoenix inscriptions. This vehicle is a two-wheeler.
The emperor's carriages are two types of carriages, four-wheeled and two-wheeled. There is no comparison at all. Large carts can be pulled by horses or elephants.
When using horses, there are ten horses in each of the two rows in front. There are four shafts and three horses driving the shafts, making a total of thirteen horses pulling the chariot.
. The queen and the two concubines stepped forward to watch curiously. There was endless chatter. Today, Chongzhen was very happy and said: "You two." This was extremely merciful. Normally, the two of them were not qualified to even touch each other.
Today we were given permission to board the car and visit. Immediately, the two concubines followed the queen with beaming eyebrows and boarded the carriage.
The large carriage is one foot, three feet, nine inches high, eight feet, two inches wide, and the seat is more than four feet, one inch high.
If we convert it into modern length units, the height of a large wheelbarrow is nearly 4 meters and the width is about 2.5 meters.
The emperor's seat cushion inside is about 1.3 meters high. Sitting on it can be said to be condescending and looking down at the world, with extraordinary magnificence.
Ruyi dripping bead boards, now known as tassels, are hung around the carriage. But there are beads on the tassel.
These pearls are all pearls in Hepu, Guangxi. Each piece is priceless. Concubine Yuan Guifei exclaimed: "The pearls here are so big, but they are a bit old and have turned yellow." Concubine Tian felt a little sad when she heard this. She married King Xin when she was fifteen, and now her husband has become the emperor and has been promoted. Concubine, four years have passed in the blink of an eye.
How long can a woman be bright and beautiful in her life? Just like the priceless Hepu pearls on this tassel, over time, they are no longer white and flawless. The so-called pearls turn yellow with age.
Concubine Tian was a talented woman and had always been favored by the emperor. She is also somewhat sentimental. Under the cushion is a box painted with red paint, divided into twelve parts. Each part is painted with gold powder on 12 kinds of animals, including unicorn, lion, rhinoceros, Pegasus, elephant, phoenix, peacock and white crane.
The emperor didn't come up, and Queen Zhou didn't dare to cross it, so she tried to sit on it. Several people watched carefully.
Each large wheel has four wheels and the wheel decoration is also very luxurious. The outer frame of the wheel is painted red and has 18 spokes. Each spoke is beautifully carved, and even the nails have patterns.
The hub part of the wheel is bound with a copper gilded lotus petal-like hub. The traction rope of the car is made of the royal yellow rope.
The house on the car is nearly 2 meters high and has pillars all around. The pillars are five feet eight inches and four minutes high. There are many gold patterns carved on the two pillars in front.
The pillars of the carriage are divided into three sections with carved patterns, each with its own meaning. The upper part is engraved with the precious flower, which is called the solemn treasure.
This is a flower that symbolizes holiness and elegance. The lower part is carved with brocade with a turtle back pattern. The turtle was a sacred symbol in ancient times.
The middle part is engraved with a cloud and dragon pattern that symbolizes the royal family. Every pillar is gorgeous and exquisitely crafted.
As for the roof, it is also extremely luxurious. The huge five-clawed golden dragon entrenched on the roof of the car is painted with gold and surrounded by noble lotus patterns.
Chongzhen stepped onto the car with Wang Chengen holding his arm. Except for the middle compartment, the car body has railings and walkways on all sides.
It is the position where the charioteer and the bodyguard, the Han general, the imperial guard, stand to defend the emperor. At the back of the carriage, two Taichang Sanchen flags were erected.
Each Taichang flag is made of yellow silk thread, with 12 streamers hanging down. Each hanging ribbon is embroidered with a soaring dragon on both sides.
However, the meanings expressed by the two flags are different. The left flag has the sun, moon and Big Dipper embroidered on its waist, and the top of the flag is also a gilded dragon head symbolizing the royal family.
The flag on the right is embroidered with black and white patterns, and the flag head is a gold-plated bronze halberd. Because you have to pass through the gate of the Forbidden City.
Therefore, the width of the large chariot is more than four meters, because the gate opening of the Forbidden City is only more than six meters wide, and the chariot cannot enter or exit if it is too wide.
Four-wheeled vehicles are difficult to steer, so four-wheeled vehicles are generally not used when it is not particularly important. Seeing the emperor coming up, the queen and the two concubines immediately knelt down and waited for the emperor to sit down on the throne before they dared to stand up.
"We are about to set off. You two beloved concubines, please go to your carriages. Queen, come up and sit on my right hand side."
"Yes, thank you for your grace." The two concubines reluctantly got off the carriage and walked towards their phoenix sedan behind them.
At this time, the large cart has already been hitched to three adult elephants in the first row, and a four-year-old elephant at the shaft is closely matched to the shaft.
Wang Chengen quickly got into the car, holding the fly whisk in his arms, and stood behind the emperor. Usually, the emperor's carriages and horses were stored in the two rows of wing rooms between Chengtianmen and Duanmen.
The emperor's ceremonial guards, flags, drums, imperial costumes, etc. are all stored in Duanmen. At this time, the emperor came out of the palace, and at the Meridian Gate and Duanmen, the bells and drums rang together, and hundreds of drummers played music together.
In the sound of ancient music, the emperor's carriage slowly left the palace.
