The same night, the same Blue Moon Party, but it will become very different in different places in Jingjiu Dynasty.
For example, in the north, people like to sing and dance around a bonfire to celebrate the Blue Moon. In the south, every household is gathered in a circle, with a large pot set up in the middle, and they spend the night having hot pot.
In Jingzhong or in the east and west, there are also changes in relative customs in various places. Anyway, it is a festival, and you can spend it how you feel comfortable and accustomed to it.
Shen Hao watched the program and lottery with his subordinates in the Black Flag Camp's Yamen. After finishing the work, he went home and asked his family to gather around a few tables to eat hot pot. He, Hu Tian, the three fox girls, including Xiao Ma table, others sit around by themselves. As for Li Erfu, this guy is eating like a pig now when he eats in the kitchen, so his rice is no longer on the table.
While eating hot pot and chatting, Shen Hao suddenly wondered if he should also bring Mahjong, the quintessence of Chinese culture, with him? Otherwise, the family lacks entertainment items, so they can’t just brag and spank, right? But after thinking about it, I finally put it down for the time being. After all, mahjong can easily go astray, and one of its disadvantages is its stigma. Xiangqi and Go can be considered, but Shen Hao is only a layman in both of them, not even a good player, let alone a rank.
Shen Hao feels comfortable eating at home, but some people are also celebrating the holidays and eating in the same way, but they are not so comfortable.
Imperial City. There is no curfew tonight, and this huge city is lit up with sparks everywhere. The lanterns on the main street are gathered together and flowing in all directions, and it is really beautiful to look down from mid-air.
Walking along Junhou Street, straight to the end is the blood-red palace wall that is nearly three feet high. Directly opposite are three palace gates, two small and one large. The middle door will only be opened when the emperor comes in or out or for special celebrations. On weekdays, officials enter and exit through the side doors on both sides.
After the You hour today, the left and right palace gates opened, and a man was wearing court clothes, but without a wat, with empty hands and a smile. When they meet people they know well, they will get together and walk slowly together, without the usual tension and busyness of entering and exiting the palace.
Today is not going to court, but the emperor is having a banquet with ministers in the Wanmin Palace. All those who work in the imperial city with titles of fourth rank and above and hold actual positions are included in the emperor's invitation this time. As for those with these titles scattered throughout the country, they were not considered by the emperor. Probably because he was out there and couldn't stay away from anyone.
The square outside the Palace of the People has been set up with lighting arrays and tables arranged. The palace maids and eunuchs shuttled in teams, like hard-working bees, to present this state banquet to perfection.
It's very troublesome to have a state banquet. If you arrive early, you won't be able to enter. You can only stand outside the square, which is tiring. It doesn't matter if you come late, people from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will ask for a roll call. If you don't show up, it will be disrespectful to the emperor. If you arrive late, your name will be written down and you will be held accountable. If you can't come up with a reasonable explanation, then... big trouble.
The door opens at You hour. At You time, you have to gather and wait at the designated location according to the area where you are waiting to sit. Be seated on time as soon as Xu time arrives. Then he quickly took his seat under the leadership of the eunuch.
Eating a meal is just like a killing array, and it is completely devoid of the leisure and relaxation that eating should have. This also sets the tone of the state banquet.
When he first arrived in Xuzheng, the emperor, dressed in yellow robes, came out of the Wanmin Palace surrounded by a group of internal guards. He waved his hands and said two words: Let's have a banquet!
Immediately, everyone in the square below bowed and thanked him, and then waited for the emperor to sit down on the special seat in front of the Wanmin Palace before everyone sat down again.
"Your Majesty has ordered the banquet to begin! Serve the dishes!" The eunuch's shouts could be heard far away without the use of a loudspeaker. No special greetings were needed. Teams of eunuchs began to shuttle back and forth with trays to serve the dishes.
The dishes served are also in order. The cold dishes were served first, a total of nine dishes, followed by the hot dishes, also nine dishes, then two soups, and the staple food, and finally the fruit plate. These dishes were set for the first state banquet after the founding of the Jingji Dynasty. Even if they were changed, they would only be some changes in the selection of ingredients, and the dishes would not be changed. To be honest, these dishes were considered a feast during the difficult years of the founding of the country, and could even be called a luxury. But now...
Emperor Yang Shu sat high. Although he didn't say it, he didn't like the dishes in front of him and was tired of them. But he won’t leave any leftovers and he won’t be picky about food. Just because he doesn’t like it doesn’t mean he can’t eat it, or it doesn’t mean it tastes bad.
Looking down from the emperor's perspective, the entire state banquet scene is completely different from what it looks like from the bottom up.
That's a clear distinction between seats. Although they are all in the open air, the closer they are to the emperor, the higher the status of the person dining. For example, the four tables just one step away from the emperor are now the highest group of people in the Jingjiu Temple. Among them were not only the left and right prime ministers, but also the commanders of six ministries, the governors of the four front armies, and the eldest son of Zuo Yuliang, the general manager of the southern military line, who attended the banquet for his father.
Speaking of Zuo Yuliang, he has withdrawn from the southern front line. Now he is in Wuhu. He will officially hand over the command of the border army and return to the imperial city at the beginning of next month.
Now Zuo Yuliang was named the new General of Zhuguo, and served as Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, and then received the title of Duke of Tianfeng, stepping into the pinnacle of human affairs. However, there are no traces of real power in Zuo Yuliang yet. The only position that can be regarded as "Ministry of War Zuo Shilang" is "Gua", which shows that this position is mostly honorary and not responsible for specific affairs. Moreover, the emperor still did not take out the title of Minister of War, and still held it in his hand.
In addition to these important officials, Pang Ban was placed in the first row of seats for the first time, which had never happened before during the reign of the previous emperor. The late emperor's consistent approach to the private soldiers of the Xuanqing Guards was to "hide and tuck them in". The advantage of this was that once the Xuanqing Guards made a mistake, they would not be exploited and could easily use the word "private soldiers" internally. Dispose of it.
But being mentioned like this now has both good and bad consequences. The bad thing is that it will be easy to be stared at in the future. The good thing is that the emperor is expressing his position and also deliberately raising Xuanqingwei's status in the court.
However, Pang Ban's habit has been developed over the past few decades. He is very low-key in such "public appearances" occasions, and restrains his aura to the extreme. If it weren't for the fact that he was wearing a black robe, it would be very eye-catching, otherwise it would be easy for everyone here to ignore it. Drop him.
The most active person was Left Prime Minister Ye Lansheng, who was sitting at the table opposite Pang Ban. Everyone thought that Ye Lansheng was going to be punished by the emperor, but there has been no movement for so long. It seems that the emperor is compromising? Otherwise, why would Ye Lansheng's name be placed second among the officials at this banquet, second only to Zuo Yuliang, who had made great contributions?
Ye Lansheng himself seemed to be congratulating himself on the turn of events, with a cheerful smile on his face, and his back was straight when he pushed the cup to change the cup.
