On the first day of the first lunar month, the new year begins.
The New Year's Day Grand Court Ceremony is the highest-level court celebration of the dynasty. It can be compared with it, which is the day of the emperor's birthday and the winter solstice.
The ceremony on this day was grand and long. Zhao Guan's family didn't sleep much and got up early.
At Yin Shi, the San Mao Bell on Qibao Mountain rang. Zhao Guan's family put on their futou, belts, boots and robes and began to perform the ceremony step by step.
First, go to the Longchi and the Holy Church of Funing Hall to burn incense and pray for a bountiful harvest in the new year and peace for the country and the people.
Then go to the Tianzhang Pavilion Ancestral God Palace to drink and offer gifts to the ancestors.
Next, if the Queen Mother is still alive, she will have to go to Cining Palace in the east to congratulate her.
Immediately afterwards, he returned to the Funing Hall to receive congratulations from the queen, prince, princess, concubines, internal officials and others.
Originally, Zhao Mengqi could not miss this occasion, but now he is "in jail."
Later, the Zhao Guan family took the carriage newly presented by King Yan and headed for Daqing Palace.
This is Daqing Hall, also known as Chongzheng Hall, but the plaque has been changed today.
At this time, the sky was dim, but the civil and military officials had already lined up waiting at the Li Zhengmen in the south of the imperial city. They could usually be at Hening Gate, but today it was more serious, so even if they had to go around in a big circle, they had to do this.
There were many people attending the court meeting. Most of them were officials who were in Lin'an, as well as relatives of the clan, nobles, nobles, people from all walks of life, and New Year envoys from all over the world.
Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty had no diplomatic relations or vassal states at this time, and the three or two kittens were mostly found by wealthy Nanyang merchants to replenish their numbers.
Three moments before sunrise, the first drumbeat sounded from the top of the city. The censors of the palace inspected each train one by one and asked sternly, "Is the train ready?"
The personnel responsible for inspection responded one by one, "Ban Qi!"
After the formation of the team, they continued to wait in front of the closed city gate until the third watch drum on the city tower sounded.
At this time, the sky was dimly lit, and through the owl kisses on the eaves of the tower, a few stars could still be seen.
The guards shouted loudly, and the imperial guards slowly pushed open the city gate. The grinding sound of the door shafts was sharp and harsh, and cut through the faint morning light.
Thousands of ministers looked solemn and stepped slowly and lightly, filing in through the doorway, passing through the Nangong Gate, entering the Daqing Hall gate, and arriving at the Daqing Hall.
On both sides of the middle road from the south palace gate to the main hall, there are 3,300 burly guards holding yellow flags. In front of the hall steps, there are ten green umbrellas. Those who can stand under these umbrellas are the prime ministers. Important minister.
There was no room in the palace, so many people could only stay in the courtyard outside. Thousands of officials stood there, the court ceremony was solemn, and the atmosphere was solemn.
When Zhao Guanjia came to the back of the palace, there was a clear sound of stomping, and the orchestra played Qian'an music. He turned around the jade screen, walked to the throne and sat down.
Wearing a sky-high crown and a red robe, Zhao Guan's family looked particularly majestic amid the smoke.
The great music was played, and Prime Minister Dong Huai and Privy Councilor Cheng Yuanfeng led hundreds of officials to pay their respects to the throne and danced with the mountain call.
Next, the routine formalities of entering the table, announcing the table, delivering eulogies, and officials from various states presenting local tributes, etc., took about more than an hour.
Finally, all the officials put the wat tablets they were holding on their waists, bowed to the emperor, danced three times, knelt down to congratulate him, and shouted long live the mountain.
When the Zhonghe Shao music sounded again, Zhao Guanjia left the throne, and the ceremony ended.
The whole process is solemn but rigid. Everyone has strict rules for everything they say and do. There is no room for any mistakes, otherwise you will be impeached afterwards.
After the congratulatory ceremony, there was a banquet given by the officials. Everyone had been tossing for a long time, so they had to have a meal to comfort themselves.
But this kind of super large banquet, even though it looks fancy, the food is actually not delicious at all, and it is even cold when it reaches the table.
The main dish of the finale is called pork belly, which is the pork, beef and mutton used for sacrifices on New Year’s Eve.
The meat was boiled without salt, and the chamberlain cut it into small pieces with a knife and distributed it to the ministers.
This cold and tasteless white meat was simply miserable for the ministers who were used to eating delicious food, but they had to eat it and they had to finish it.
Some ministers ate too much of this kind of banquet
After knowing it, he learned it well and secretly did some small tricks in private.
When they are at home, they put their handkerchiefs in the spiced meat soup to soak in the flavor, dry them and carry them with them, and then take them out to wipe their mouths when they eat the meat.
In this way, you can eat with a little more flavor without being considered rude or disrespectful.
Of course, most of the ministers did not have this experience, nor did they have the courage, so they could only bite the bullet and swallow it alive.
After the banquet was over, the exhausted ministers dispersed.
Zhao and Min invited Qiu Yue and Qian Tao to go to Prince Yan's Mansion to pay New Year's greetings.
The three of them sat in a flat car together, and Zhao and Min told the two of them their intentions.
Qiu Yue shook his gray eyebrows and hesitated without speaking.
Qian Tao's face showed embarrassment, "Jupo, this matter doesn't seem to be a big deal, but King Yan probably won't agree to it."
"Is it possible that King Yan doesn't even show mercy to the two of you?" Zhao Yumin asked doubtfully.
Qian Tao couldn't laugh or cry, "This is not a question of merciless people. It's just that King Yan seems to be out of touch, but his thoughts are very right. It's hard to make him change anything he believes in... Besides, go Xin Zongxue and the Wei army are not a bad thing, don’t you think my unscrupulous son is also with King Yan?"
Qiu Yue also spoke slowly, "My nephew, I thought you wanted to get closer to King Yan, so I wanted the two of us to build a bridge for you. You are talented and promising, and you will surely be appreciated by King Yan. I will also I'm happy to accomplish this, but I didn't expect that you only wanted to ask King Yan to plead for your children, which makes me don't know what to say to you..."
"Uncle Shi, judging from what you said, I am a member of the clan and I am very satisfied with my official career. I don't have and cannot have greater ambitions. Why should I get closer to King Yan?"
Zhao Yumin seemed magnanimous and sincere, "In a few years, I will reach the age where I know my destiny, and I have no other aspirations in this life. As a parent, I just want my children to live a smooth life. The so-called I only hope that my children will be stupid and stupid." Lu, there is no disaster and no trouble for you. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you are a minister or not. Children like me, even if we have no future, will never be hungry. But if we join the army and go into battle, the pain of life and death will be unpredictable. What if there is someone? Three long and two short, then I am not a white-haired person giving a black-haired person?"
After hearing this, Qiu Yue's eyes flashed with disappointment and displeasure, "In this current situation, someone must step forward. As a clan member, you are not willing to make sacrifices for the Song Dynasty. Who else do you expect to do it?" The sacrifice of the Song Dynasty? If no one risked their lives to resist the Mongolian Tatars, how long can this country be preserved? Don't you cherish your children, but others won't?"
Zhao and Fan were stunned and looked a little resentful, "Uncle Shi, that's not what I meant. It's just that the clan has never allowed anyone to get involved in martial arts. If you don't know anything about it in the military, what good will it do to the country? What's more, those boys in my family have been weak since they were young. It’s so bad that I can’t carry it on my shoulders and lift it with my hands, so it’s a drag when going into battle..."
"Hey, Jupo, what you said is wrong." Qian Tao interrupted him and said seriously, "The distinction between civil and military forces is not destined by nature, and in essence, the ancestors of your Zhao family and my Qian family are not both. Did he start out as a martial artist? Wasn't the one in my family weak before? Now he is wearing heavy armor and can run for three to five miles without taking a breath. He is completely different. In addition, King Yan's guard specially recruited many scholars. Now everyone looks very brave and strong. So you don’t need to worry about this at all. As long as you join the Yan King’s guard, even scrap metal can be turned into refined steel for you.”
"I see, all the things he said are actually excuses. In the final analysis, it's the civil and military prejudice in his heart." Qiu Yue sighed and shook his head.
Zhao Yumin was speechless and still had a grimace on his face.
The inherent concepts in people's minds cannot be easily changed with a few words, and the truth does not work for everyone.
Seeing him like this, Qian Tao didn't want to persuade him anymore, "If you insist on this and want to ask King Yan for permission, that's up to you. As an old friend, I can help you beat the drum. It's hard to say whether it will work or not." "
Qiu Yue also said, "If there is anything I can talk to, I will try my best to help you." Z.br>
It's hard for anyone to avoid the worldly world, and it's always common to help relatives but not help others.
Only then did Zhao Yumin's faces look a little happy, "Give me two
Bit of trouble. "
"Why should we be so outsider between you and me?" Qian Tao waved his hand and changed the subject to ease the atmosphere, "I remember that your Meng Gui is the same age as my boy, and it's almost time for him to leave the government. The two children seem to get along quite well. , why don’t we discuss it and become a couple?”
Zhao Yumin's fourth daughter is called Zhao Menggui, who is the daughter of his original wife Li. From the name, you can tell that she is Zhao Mengqi's younger sister.
Qian Tao's abacus was so successful that he wanted to marry his daughter to Zhao Mengqi, and at the same time he wanted his son to marry a girl from Zhao Mengqi's clan. It was like a close marriage.
Although it would be best to marry Zhao Feng and Zhao Chan, Qian Tao felt that based on the virtue of his fat son, he might not be able to pass the test of King Yan, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
Zhao Yumin had no intention of rejecting this, "This is a good thing, but I'd better talk to the children first and see what they think..."
Just talking like this, the ox cart was rocking and rocking, and they arrived at the gate of Prince Yan's Mansion. The entourage handed the greeting card to the guard.
Qian Tao got out of the car and clasped his waist with his hands, "It's really hard to go from luxury to frugality. After riding in the little girl's carriage several times, and then riding in this ox-cart, it's really unbearable..."
Although Qiu Yue was a civil servant, he had been leading troops for half his life. The pain of this mere bumpy road was nothing to him, and he looked as normal when he got off the car.
"Prince Yan gave me a ride, but I left it there and never sat on it once."
These words immediately made Qian Tao feel a little uncomfortable, "Mr. Qiu, if you don't need it, why not transfer it to me, and I'll trade it with you for the other courtyard in Geling."
Before Qiu Yue could answer, Zhao and Min were surprised, "Brother Youzhai, I remember that although your yard in Geling is not big, it is probably worth tens of thousands. Is it worth it to replace a mere carriage?"
"There are some things. If you haven't tried them, you won't be able to appreciate their goodness. In my opinion, this carriage costs not only tens of thousands of coins, but also one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand. I also think it is worth it. The key is , you can’t buy this carriage even if you have money.”
Qian Tao's words seemed to have a double meaning.
Zhao Yumin also seemed to hear something, so he smiled and stopped asking.
Qiu Yue gave Qian Tao a strange look, "Given the relationship between your family and King Yan, why is it so difficult to drive a carriage? King Yan probably didn't think of it for a moment, so you can just ask your mother Duo to mention it." Already?"
"Hey, on the day King Yan came back, the little girl came home suddenly when she came out of the palace, and she looked unhappy. It was probably the young man who quarreled with her."
Qian Tao shook his head, but he would definitely not say anything about his daughter sneaking away to become a monk yesterday.
Several people chatted at the door for a while, then they saw the middle door was wide open. King Yan stood in the door and shouted enthusiastically, "I am honored to have you all come to visit me. I cannot go out due to the lockdown. Please forgive me for not being able to welcome you from afar." sin."
