On the winter solstice, the Bian Palace, which had been quiet for a long time, became unusually lively, especially the main hall of the Han Palace and the Chongyuan Hall. The chamberlains of various departments and bureaus in the palace were busy making final preparations and arrangements.
The emperor had already issued an edict to hold a palace banquet on the winter solstice. The concubines, ministers, generals of the two yamen, noble ministers, and the governors of the vassal town who came to Beijing for an audience were all invited to the banquet.
This is probably Liu Chengyou's most "extravagant" activity since he took over. Although he advocated frugality, when the country's situation was initially determined and there was still little money left in the money, it was necessary to simply organize a grand gathering to connect people and inspire people.
There were many ups and downs in the founding of the Han Dynasty, and there were also many ups and downs in less than a year after Liu Chengyou took the throne. The illusion of peace and prosperity sometimes needs to be maintained.
Liu Chengyou said before that he wanted his subjects to have fun together, so he issued an edict and extended the curfew and closing time in Tokyo to midnight to allow the citizens to enjoy themselves. There is still a long way to go before Kaifeng has a market that does not close at night. Although the market system is gradually breaking down, it has still been strictly implemented in order to facilitate the management of the city.
The enthusiasm of the people in Tokyo for festivals far exceeded Liu Chengyou's imagination. No matter noble officials or ordinary rich and poor people, they all celebrated the festival, wore new clothes and ate dumplings. The winter solstice is as big as the new year.
To the north of the Imperial City, next to Xuanwu Gate, there is a spacious military camp. The school grounds, barracks, dining rooms, armories and other building facilities are neat and complete, and there are many troops stationed there.
More than 8,000 newly-organized iron cavalry under the Palace Front Division were stationed here, and together with the guards Long Jiejun on the northwest side, they jointly defended the palace city.
The original strength of the cavalry army was 10,000 cavalry, but due to the shortage of generals, soldiers, and especially war horses, and the fear of dismantling the guard cavalry army, it was ultimately not enough. Even so, the cavalry army was enough to equal the strength of the cavalry army. Long Jie's army resisted.
At this time, there were less than half of the soldiers left in the army. Except for officers on duty, soldiers who were alone and whose family was not in Tokyo, they were all allowed to go home on leave. However, colorful flags were also fluttering in the camp, diluting the usually solemn and strict atmosphere.
Carloads of wine and meat were brought to the camp and piled up in the school yard. All the troops stationed in the camp sent manpower to collect them under the leadership of their respective officers. This was an edict issued by Liu Chengyou, who used the money to purchase the funds and reward the imperial troops of the two yamen. He was determined to win over the morale of the army and achieve the effect of enjoying the happiness of the monarch, his subjects, the army and the people.
The reward materials for the tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp were another expenditure that was enough to make Wang Zhang feel painful for the third division commander.
Although the atmosphere on the school field was warm, the orderly scene fully reflected the training quality of the new cavalry sergeants. Yang Ye was dressed in a vigorous military robe, and the armor embedded in his body was polished. He stood with his sword in hand and personally supervised the distribution of wine and meat. The efficiency is very high, and it only takes an hour to get everything done.
Yang Ye resigned from the Tong'an Army and returned to Beijing with Liu Chengyou. For his role in suppressing the garrison and suppressing the rebellion, he was granted the title of Marquis of Yu, the capital of the left wing of the cavalry army, and the governor of Kuizhou, assisting Han Tong in taking charge of the left wing of the cavalry army. military.
The reward materials were obviously calculated based on the number of people. After the armies and battalions received them, only a small half of the cart's contents were left. Seeing the mess left in the school grounds, Yang Ye immediately ordered to the left and right: "Clean it up, and record the remaining belongings and supplies into the camp treasury. In addition, he sent an order, Your Majesty rewarded the three armies, and the sergeants celebrated, but not Those who forget the rules and violate disciplines must be well supervised by all military commanders."
"Yes!" The military officer who was following him said with emotion about Yang Ye's arrangement: "Yuhou Gong is loyal and dedicated to his duties, and he is respected by those in lower ranks!"
Yang Ye actually didn't even look at the remaining half of the cart's goods. It was very rare given the military atmosphere for three generations.
As he said that, the military officer looked at Yang Ye curiously: "Your Majesty held a banquet in Chongyuan Hall, why didn't Marquis Yu go?"
Both sides of the cavalry army were senior officers above Yuhou, except Yang Ye, who stayed in the camp.
He raised his hands in the direction of the palace and said, "Your Majesty's kindness will be greatly appreciated. However, the army cannot be left without anyone in charge. Besides, it is enough to be able to celebrate with the brothers!"
After looking at the sky and hearing the festive noises coming from each camp, Yang Ye waved his hand: "Let's go, follow me to inspect the troops!"
The situation is similar to the situation here with the Cavalry Army. Inside and outside Kaifeng City, the Tokyo Forbidden Army barracks are still lively. A festival and a reward are enough to continue to eliminate the depression and dissent caused by the decentralization of the military.
...
In the palace city, Chongyuan Hall, before dusk is approaching, is already covered with colorful silks and decorated with candles. Inside and outside the palace, there were banquets for generals, ministers and their families. There were thousands of people attending the banquet, and they entered the palace early one after another.
Of course, the space of Chongyuan Hall could not accommodate so many people, so they simply put the two verandas to use and temporarily built a large pavilion outside the hall. Even so, it's still crowded, but on the other hand, in the middle of winter, people can gather together to keep warm.
Since Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, the palace of the Han Dynasty has never been so noisy and lively.
Zhe Cong Ruan and his granddaughter also entered the palace early for the banquet. Under the guidance of the waiters, they took their seats. Naturally, his seat was in the palace, relatively far forward. For this winter feast, the eunuchs and maids in the Han Palace were simply not enough. Liu Chengyou also transferred a thousand palace guards to serve specifically.
"Is this the main hall of the palace? It's so spectacular!" Zhe Saihua followed Zhe Congruan. This young lady from Fuzhou was dazzled by the magnificent scenery in the palace. She glanced at the busy scene around her and exclaimed: " It’s so lively!”
"This is Kaifeng, the place where the best of the world gathers!" Of course Zhe Congruan could hold on, although he had never experienced such a grand scene in his life.
However, Miss Zhe couldn't help but mutter: "Isn't it said that the emperor advocates frugality and simplicity? How much food will be spent on such a banquet?"
Although the surroundings were noisy and Zhe Saihua's voice was quiet, Zhe Congruan still heard it clearly and quickly stopped the little granddaughter and taught her to be careful about what she said in this palace.
Zhe Congruan has a lot of qualifications, but he grew up in Fuzhou. Among the ministers in the palace, he doesn't know many of them, and even fewer have friendships with him. However, while he was sitting there, many people who knew him took the initiative to come forward and say hello. After all, the emperor's regard for Lieutenant Zhe had already spread.
As it gets later, the number of people increases, and the scene becomes more and more like a palace banquet. Seeing that it was almost time and people had almost arrived, Liu Chengyou, Queen Mother Li and Queen Fu entered the palace together. The noble concubine Gao was not among the small group of people in the finale.
As the emperor and the two empresses arrived, the originally warm atmosphere inside and outside the hall suddenly subsided, but the festive atmosphere remained the same. Liu Chengyou only glanced at the grand scene in the palace. Everything was in order. This banquet was prepared by Li Ye, the uncle of the state and the envoy of Xuanhui South Academy. Liu Chengyou found that his uncle seemed to be quite capable in this regard. of.
Waiting for the royal steps, sitting on the dragon bed, together with the two empresses, they accepted the worship and congratulations of the officials at home and abroad, and officially started the palace banquet.
