Chapter 71. Deqing’s birthday (Part 2.
At this time, outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the waiting officials and nobles had already lined up on both sides to make way. They watched in stunned silence as the eunuchs in the palace arrived in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony holding Zhao Junchen's congratulatory gifts. 【Read the latest chapter】
There were more than a hundred eunuchs holding congratulatory gifts. Each eunuch held a large umbrella cover in his hand. Under the umbrella cover, there were countless silk strips, and a large number of names were densely written on the silk strips.
This is the Wanmin Umbrella! !
Although the shapes and sizes are different, although these Umbrellas do not seem to be formal, and although most of the officials present have never received Umbrellas in their lives, they saw the large umbrellas held by the eunuchs and the The silk strips made everyone recognize that these were indeed Wanmin Umbrellas! !
On the other side, standing on the imperial steps, Emperor Deqing, with the support of his ministers, saw the birthday gifts sent by Zhao Junchen, and obviously guessed that these were Wanmin umbrellas, and then thought of Zhao Junchen's "giving gifts on behalf of others" Yan, although he forced himself to be calm, he still couldn't help but tremble slightly.
As an emperor who loves great achievements and claims to be a holy king, and now has no shortage of money, what could be more satisfying and more prominent than the people giving him the Wanmin Umbrella as a gift?
Throughout the ages, how many emperors have received the Wanmin Umbrella from the common people?
What's more, he sent hundreds of Wanmin umbrellas in one go?
"Zhao Aiqing..." Emperor Deqing's voice seemed calm, but he stared at the Wanmin Umbrella under the imperial steps without blinking and asked, "What are these? Who are you giving gifts on behalf of?"
Understanding Emperor Deqing's intention to ask questions knowingly, Zhao Junchen stepped forward and used his loudest voice so that all the officials and nobles outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony could hear.
"Your Majesty, these are the umbrellas made by the people of Lu'an Prefecture overnight for Your Majesty when I inspected the disaster situation in Lu'an Prefecture on behalf of Your Majesty a few days ago. All of them were made voluntarily. There are as many as one hundred and seventeen umbrellas. ! During your Majesty’s inspection of Lu’an Prefecture, your Majesty’s love for the people was seen and remembered in the hearts of the people. When I returned to Beijing, the people even blocked the way and asked me to take these umbrellas. Send it to His Majesty."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued: "Your Majesty, you just said that this birthday ceremony allowed your Majesty to see the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, the loyalty and filial piety of the officials and the people of the world, and the harmony between the emperor and his ministers in the court, but In my opinion, your Majesty has missed something, that is, your majesty loves the people like a son, and the people respect you like a father! Your majesty, please don’t think that these umbrellas are shabby. As far as I know, the people of Lu’an Prefecture We have just experienced a locust plague and are living in poverty and embarrassment. However, in order to make these umbrellas for Your Majesty, the cloth and satin used are donated by the people. Many people finally have good clothes. In a few years I was reluctant to wear it even once, but in order to make the Wanmin Umbrella for Your Majesty, I did not hesitate to cut it into materials used to make the Wanmin Umbrella. Such a loyal and filial heart makes me feel extremely moved whenever I think about it, and the people What we have done further illustrates Your Majesty’s reputation and holy name in the hearts of the people!”
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing felt that he had stolen the limelight at this birthday banquet. From now on, he would have the confidence to call himself a "saint king and wise master". The joy and excitement in his heart were no longer enough to be appreciated by outsiders, but just continued. Said "good" three times.
After a long time, Emperor Deqing reluctantly looked away and issued an order in a loud voice: "Come here, put these Ten Thousand People's Umbrellas into the main hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Come with me today. Wherever I go, these Ten Thousand People's Umbrellas will follow you." Wherever you go. After the birthday ceremony, you must also treasure it carefully! Since it is the will of the people, as a king, I must not neglect it. Once again, pass on my will. All taxes in Lu'an Mansion will be exempted this year to spread my kindness!"
As Emperor Deqing's words fell, everyone said "Your Majesty is wise" again. During this period, there were all kinds of flattery and flattery. Emperor Deqing became more interested and accepted them all with smiles.
………
While Emperor Deqing was rejoicing, the officials around him had complicated thoughts.
Giving the emperor the Wanmin Umbrella seemed to be a shocking violation of the rules, but Zhao Junchen obviously got the right flattery once again.
This time on Deqing's birthday, the limelight was indeed stolen by Zhao Junchen again, and it was even more popular than in previous years. The fifty-five large pendulum clocks before were already amazing, and Emperor Deqing also liked them, but with these ten thousand people Compared to an umbrella, it is nothing.
Many people were surprised and began to look forward to Zhao Junchen's third congratulatory gift. If the third gift made Emperor Deqing more happy and satisfied than the Wanmin Umbrella, how would Emperor Deqing reward Zhao Junchen after the birthday ceremony?
Among them, the thoughts of Prince Zhu Heyu are the most complicated.
Zhu Heyu paid the most attention to Zhao Junchen. When Zhao Junchen left Lu'an Mansion, he had received rumors about the Wanmin Umbrella. Zhu Heyu also heard about it, but Zhu Heyu didn't believe it at all at the time. With Zhao Junchen How can such a corrupt official receive the support of the people?
At this time, seeing these Ten Thousand People Umbrellas in front of them, Zhu Heyu already understood that those rumors were probably true. If Zhao Junchen forged the Wanmin Umbrella and gave it to Emperor Deqing, it would be easy to expose, but once exposed, Emperor Deqing, who was happiest at the moment, might be the most angry one later, and Zhao Junchen simply could not afford to take the risk.
However, in Zhu Heyu's view, Zhao Junchen must still have tampered with the Wanmin Umbrella, because even if the common people gave the Wanmin Umbrella, they would only give it to officials, and who would give it directly to the emperor?
Zhu Heyu wanted to expose Zhao Junchen's trick, but in the end he restrained himself.
Without him, this matter did not hinder Zhao Junchen at all. At that time, Zhao Junchen was inspecting Lu'an Mansion on behalf of Emperor Deqing as an imperial envoy. Giving the Wanmin Umbrella to Zhao Junchen was equivalent to giving it to Emperor Deqing. At most, it was only It would not be difficult to fool Emperor Deqing's joy with Zhao Junchen's clever words and demeanor.
The most important thing is that it is simply impossible for Zhu Heyu to admit in person that a corrupt official like Zhao Junchen has received the Umbrella of the People and received praise from the people.
Therefore, during the rest of the birthday ceremony, Zhu Heyu kept looking weird. Obviously, the news that "Zhao Junchen received the Wanmin Umbrella" came true, which had a big impact on him.
………
But it was said that Emperor Deqing returned to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and looked at the 117 Wanmin Umbrellas lined up on both sides of the hall. The smile on his face did not diminish, and he smiled and scolded Zhao Junchen: "Well, you Zhao Junchen, since these Wanmin Umbrellas have already been You received it before returning to Beijing, how dare you hide it and hold it until now and only offer it to me?"
Isn’t it because only presenting at this time can make you stand out the most?
With this thought in his mind, Zhao Junchen looked like a virtuous minister. He smiled and said: "Your Majesty, forgive me. I have heard that filial piety is the foundation of human beings, and the emperor is the leader of all the people in the world." Parents, it can be seen that it is natural for the people to show loyalty and filial piety to Your Majesty. However, Your Majesty lives deep in the palace and cannot have casual contact with the people. On your birthday, the people can only burn incense at home and pray for blessings. With this in mind, After I received these Ten Thousand People Umbrellas, I kept them secret until today, His Majesty’s birthday, because in my opinion, these Ten Thousand People Umbrellas not only represent the gratitude and filial piety of the people of Lu’an Prefecture towards you. , and it also represents the gratitude and filial piety of the people all over the world towards you."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing was overjoyed again, and he became even more pleased with Zhao Junchen in front of him.
Suddenly thinking of something, Emperor Deqing said again: "By the way, Junchen, you have prepared three gifts in total, so what is the third gift? Present it quickly, and prepare it after the Wanmin Umbrella, I am afraid it will be even more extraordinary. Bar?"
Zhao Junchen nodded with a smile and said: "I have been preparing for the third congratulatory gift since I entered the court as an official. Now I have finally prepared it. It is the most important gift I offer to His Majesty this time." .”
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, everyone in the hall became more and more curious, with expressions of anticipation on their faces.
At Zhao Junchen's signal, the eunuchs in the palace finally carried the third gift to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
This time, everyone in the palace knew that Zhao Junchen was making a big deal again. There was only one third gift, but it actually required more than ten eunuchs to carry it.
After staring, everyone in the hall looked at each other in shock. Zhao Junchen's third gift turned out to be just a huge blanket. It was rolled up and was more than five feet thick and over ten feet long. It was obviously very large in area.
Such a large blanket is certainly valuable, but it is obviously not suitable to be placed behind the Wanmin Umbrella.
While everyone was wondering, Zhao Junchen motioned to the palace eunuch to place the blanket in the center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and then slowly unfolded it.
As the blanket unfolded, the whole picture was displayed in the eyes of everyone in the palace. Exclaims in the palace came and went, and the look of surprise appeared on everyone's faces. Emperor Deqing, who was originally sitting firmly on the imperial steps, stood up suddenly.
"This, this is..."
Even Emperor Deqing, looking at the blanket that was one foot wide and two feet long in front of him, felt a little trembling in his voice.
"Your Majesty, this is the territory map of our Ming Dynasty and surrounding countries!"
Zhao Junchen replied solemnly.
Looking at Emperor Deqing's surprised and happy expression, Zhao Junchen knew that this time, he had guessed Emperor Deqing's thoughts correctly again.
Until Matteo Ricci came to China, China was limited by technology and investment and was unable to draw accurate maps, especially during the Ming Dynasty. The most accurate map was actually the "Ming Dynasty Mixed One Map" drawn during the period of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and that map Not to mention extremely inaccurate, it was unable to even mark national boundaries. The map only depicted the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty territory, but there was no administrative division of state capitals at all.
Zhao Junchen's map of the territory of the Ming Dynasty combines his memories of the territory of the Ming Dynasty and the drawing techniques of later generations. The size of the territory of the Ming Dynasty is clearly visible on the top. The administrative divisions, rivers and mountains are also clearly organized. The countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty, including Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Annan, are all in short supply.
You know, even the vague "Hunyi Map of the Ming Dynasty" has been kept secret in the palace. Except for the emperor, ordinary people can't take a look at it, let alone this map drawn by Zhao Junchen?
Zhao Junchen estimated that until this map appeared, everyone in the palace probably realized for the first time the size of the Ming Dynasty and the distribution of surrounding forces.
In Zhao Junchen's view, to a certain extent, ancient emperors, or the most insecure profession, did not know the size of their country, how many people they ruled, officials deceived their superiors, and even Let them not know the true wealth and tax revenue of their country.
For an emperor like Emperor Deqing, who was ambitious but not talented, this kind of insecurity was probably even more obvious.
This is the significance of Zhao Junchen's map of the Ming Dynasty territory.
It is not only necessary to eliminate Emperor Deqing's insecurity, but also to make him feel proud and understand how vast and powerful the territory he rules is.
This kind of meaning and surprise was more impactful to Emperor Deqing than the Wanmin Umbrella.
!d@t
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