Li Shimin couldn't help but look at the little Taoist priest's hand, and saw that the little Taoist priest was dragging a mutton-fat jade gourd inlaid with a golden dragon.
Xiaoyao Gong first bowed to His Majesty and everyone, then took the gourd from the little Taoist priest and said with a smile:
"This gourd was made by chance from a piece of high-quality mutton-fat jade from Khotan that Pindao obtained from a merchant in his early years.
The gourd is one of the eight treasures of Taoism. It can bring blessings and eliminate disasters, ward off evil and turn evil into evil. Jade can also nourish qi and protect the body.
Therefore, this jade gourd is a treasure among treasures. A few days ago, Pindao went out to find a skilled craftsman and set a golden dragon on this gourd.
The golden dragon is coiled on the gourd, which means that your majesty should climb up like a golden dragon and have continuous blessings.
Today, I am going to give this gift to Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty will be blessed with good fortune, seek good luck, avoid bad luck, and get rid of illness and misfortune!
I also hope that your Majesty will not accept this gift because he is a poor man. "
After saying that, Fan Ji bowed and offered the gourd with both hands, and whispered:
"Your Majesty, I have put a lot of thought into this, just to give you face in front of the ministers.
This thing is the most precious treasure that I have at the bottom of my box. For your good friend, I will risk my life..."
When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes wandered for a while, and then he forced himself to remain solemn and took the gourd with a smile.
"Ahem! Mr. Xiaoyao is interested. As a Qing cultivator from outside the country, I am extremely honored to give you such a gift with immeasurable value and meaning!"
After taking the gourd, Li Shimin also whispered:
"I already know Mr. Xiaoyao's intentions, and today I will definitely let Mr. Xiaoyao show his authority at this banquet."
Fan Ji couldn't help but secretly smile bitterly when he heard the words, and thought to himself, Your Majesty said it nicely, but who knows if this "prestige" is another way for him to "make full use of his talents"?
After the two had finished greeting each other, Fan Ji followed His Majesty's instructions and took his seat behind the dining table on His Majesty's right.
Everyone was shocked when they saw that Fan Ji was so respectful to His Majesty and did not hesitate to give His Majesty Taoist treasures.
At this time, Tuo Azhe, the lord of Gouching Kingdom in Xianggao County, seeing Fan Ji like this, also came out of the queue and bowed to His Majesty:
"Your Majesty, King Tuo Azhe of Xiaowanggu Town has also prepared a New Year gift to give to Your Majesty."
After saying that, Tuo Azhe nodded to his son who was attending the banquet with him.
Next to Tuo Azhe's seat, a tall and thin young man who looked to be in his late thirties understood and immediately stood up and came to his father's side.
"Your Majesty, Prince Awu of the Kingdom of Gomachi, is here to see you!"
When Li Shimin saw that it was the King of Puyi in Cangzhou who was presenting the gift, he smiled and nodded to Huang Hao beside him.
Huang Hao understood and hurried to Tuo Azhe's side and said loudly:
"Please give me a gift from the King of Gomachi!"
Seeing His Majesty looking at him with a smile, Ah Wu quickly took something out of the gift box he was carrying, and then held it in front of Huang Hao with both hands.
"Your Majesty, I present you with a silver chiseled flower cap and hoop, wishing me many generations of great men and many children and good fortune! In addition, tribute items such as lacquerware, medicinal materials and other tributes have been handed over to the deacon of the Shaofu."
Huang Hao held up his silver chiseled hatband and bowed to thank King Gouding, then quickly returned to His Majesty and handed the treasure to His Majesty.
Li Shimin was very satisfied. After watching it for a while, he smiled and said:
"King Gouching is interested. I will take note of your loyalty to the court."
After seeing His Majesty's compliments, the two people in the hall thanked him and returned to their seats.
Someone started the gift-giving thing, and it got out of hand.
Everyone originally thought that the ordinary tributes would be handed over directly to the treasury, and a treasure of outstanding value would be specially left to be presented to His Majesty at the banquet, so as to show off in front of His Majesty.
Unexpectedly, everyone had almost the same idea, and all the princes in the palace were rushing to present gifts to His Majesty.
The whole hall instantly became lively. Li Shimin originally wanted to ask everyone to just announce the names of the gifts, and then hand them over to the young master for disposal.
But he couldn't resist the kindness of the officials, so he had to be patient and look at the treasures one by one.
After this delay, the time soon came for the banquet.
Seeing that there were still people waiting to present gifts, Li Shimin sat upright and said majestically:
"Today, New Year's Eve, all the gentlemen are here to celebrate the New Year.
The moment has come, and the gift-giving has come to an end. Regardless of whether the gift has been given or not, I would like to thank you all in advance!
Huang Hao, let’s have a banquet. "
Upon hearing this, Huang Hao took a step forward, stood beside His Majesty, and said loudly:
"The New Year's Eve banquet is about to begin! All the ministers are having a banquet in the main hall of Xiyuan, and the female relatives of all the princes are having a banquet in the harem!"
Then Xiao Huangmen passed the message one by one, spreading Huang Hao's words to all parts of the palace.
After a while, the Chinese lanterns in the palace, the palaces and government offices also lit up the lights one after another.
In the main hall, a waiter lit a charcoal fire and lit a lamp.
Huangmen and maids, who were dragging plates and drinks, also filed in, placing drinks and food in front of everyone.
All the waiters had finished their work, and the queen came in from the inner door of the hall and sat behind the dragon table with her majesty.
When Li Shimin saw the queen arriving, he stretched out his hand to press her down, and the hall suddenly became quiet.
"My lords, the Queen Mother has been feeling unwell recently and will not come to see you.
The queen came here, and after drinking with everyone, she went back to the harem and dined with all the women at home.
When the New Year comes, the Queen will lead all the family members of the princes and their families to the Queen Mother to congratulate her.
No need to worry about this matter. "
As he spoke, Li Shimin looked at the queen and said softly:
"My dear, let's begin."
The Queen smiled and nodded towards His Majesty, picked up the golden bottle in front of her, and then stood up.
"I have been in charge of the harem for more than ten years since I was granted the title of Empress in the first year of Jianxing of the Han Dynasty.
In the past, when Prime Minister Zhuge was here, I never worried about the fate of the great man.
Now that all the people who were entrusted by the late emperor are gone, Your Majesty is in charge of the court alone.
I often worry about the fate of the big man.
Today I see that all the princes in the hall are in harmony and are loyal to the great man and your Majesty.
I am very relieved, and here I propose a toast to you all.
I wish you a prosperous military career and a prosperous official career.
I hope that all the princes can work together with the great Han Dynasty and Your Majesty to strengthen our great Han Dynasty and conquer the Central Plains as soon as possible, so as to comfort the spirits of the late emperor, prime minister and others in heaven! "
After saying this, the queen drank the wine in one gulp.
All the officials in the hall shouted "Long live the great man!"
Then he stood up and drank the wine in one gulp.
When the queen saw that everyone was drinking, she put down the wine glass, bowed to His Majesty first, and then said to everyone:
"Everyone, you must enjoy yourself to the fullest today. I am here to accompany you and your family members."
After saying that, he turned around and left the hall through the inner door.
All the princes in the hall bowed and paid respects to see the queen off.
Li Shimin first asked everyone to return to their seats, then picked up the wine glasses and clinked glasses with everyone from afar.
"Today's banquet, you all can enjoy the banquet. During the banquet, I will put forward some ideas, and you can speak freely about my ideas.
I will take this wine to pay tribute to you all. I hope you will prosper like me, a great man! "
Hearing that His Majesty wanted to put forward his ideas at the banquet, all the gentlemen in the hall couldn't help but have a meal, and then they calmed down their emotions.
"We wish His Majesty happiness, longevity and health, and wish my great man prosperity!"
The king and his ministers all drank the wine in their glasses.
After His Majesty's toast, the New Year's Eve banquet officially started.
Li Shimin was not in a hurry to express his thoughts. He had to let the princes eat and drink first no matter what.
If you directly express your thoughts, I am afraid that not many of the gentlemen in the hall will be able to bear it.
As time went by, everyone in the hall gradually let down their guard when they saw that His Majesty was still silent.
The banquet gradually became lively, and for a while everyone was toasting, talking and laughing to each other, and wishing each other a happy new year.
His Majesty's closest ministers came together to toast His Majesty.
For a moment, everyone forgot about the factional struggle and the sorrow in their hearts, and everyone walked through the hall with drunken faces.
In the entire hall, only Chen Zhong and Zhang Yan had never drank. They just stood beside His Majesty and stared at everyone in the hall with vigilance.
When Li Shimin saw the two of them like this, he couldn't help but feel distressed and said:
"The security here is fully responsible for the security of the Baiqi Division. You two don't need to be so cautious. Eat and drink at least, and don't starve your stomach."
Zhang Yan turned her head and glanced at His Majesty, then quickly turned her gaze back to the main hall.
"Brother Adou, please don't take it lightly. There are many Yizhou nobles and barbarian leaders in this palace.
These people are not as close to His Majesty as Shao Xian and Jiang Wan.
Who knows if any of them will suddenly attack His Majesty! "
Li Shimin couldn't help but became speechless after hearing this, and turned to look at Chen Zhong.
Before Li Shimin could speak, Chen Zhong said mysteriously:
"Your Majesty may not have noticed that there is a faint murderous atmosphere in this hall. I will not let down my guard."
Li Shimin followed Chen Zhong's gaze and looked into the main hall, but he did not feel any "chilling air".
Thinking that "Admiral Tiance" who has been on the battlefield for decades, can he perceive danger worse than a young guard?
Just as she was thinking about it, Zhang Yan curled her lips and said:
"Guard Chen, you have changed..."
Chen Zhong said doubtfully:
"Where do you start talking about this?"
"You are no longer as honest as you used to be, and you actually used a nihilistic gimmick like 'chilling air' to try to deal with Brother Adou..."
Li Shimin saw that the two of them seemed quite happy and felt much better. Just as he was about to tease them, He Zong came with a wine glass.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. On this festive occasion, I also come to offer a toast to Your Majesty. I hope that Your Majesty will fulfill his great ambition of the Northern Expedition as soon as possible!"
After saying that, He Zong raised his glass and looked at His Majesty, waiting for His Majesty to express his position.
Hearing this, Li Shimin quickly turned to look at He Zong, picked up his wine glass and was about to clink it with He Zong.
As soon as he stretched out the hand holding the cup, he heard a "ding" sound next to him.
Then I heard Zhang Yan and Chen Zhong saying in unison:
"Hey! Where did the madman come from? Why don't you catch him without restraint!"
