Autumn hunting is not held every year, but only in good harvest years. It not only means to show the peace of the country and the people, but also means to celebrate the harvest. The most important thing is to give the courtiers a holiday so that everyone can relax and have fun. It can also be regarded as a reward for the hard work of the courtiers for a year.
All officials of the sixth rank and above in Kyoto can participate, and those above the fourth rank who have been sent abroad can also return to the capital to participate. Therefore, the autumn hunt is purely a grand gathering of court officials.
The last autumn hunting was three years ago, so this time's autumn hunting was huge, and all the officials who could come back came back, such as the famous frontier beauty, Wei Ziyuan.
"Hey, is Wei Ziyuan really that handsome?" Meng Qinglian poked Zhang Jingyi with her elbow.
Zhang Jingyi spent three years in Mobei when she was a child. She lived next door to the Wei family and was an old acquaintance of Wei Ziyuan.
Zhang Jingyi, who had always kept her face straight when gossiping, felt a rare embarrassment and said a little coyly:
"When I recognized him, he was still young. A little carrot head who was less than eight years old, it was impossible to tell whether he was good-looking or not."
"Tsk, your face is so red, and you still say you can't tell whether it looks good or not." Xiao Yushu scoffed lightly.
"Tell me quickly, who is more handsome, Wei Ziyuan or the Seventh Prince?" Lu Waner pulled Zhang Jingyi straight.
Zhang Jingyi pouted: "Although the seventh prince is known as the most beautiful man in Tiansheng, that's not because he is a prince."
"Pfft~" After a few sounds, everyone collapsed into a ball of laughter. Zhang Jingyi's smile was so wide that her eyes were tilted as she pleased.
These people grew up in the wealthy family circle in Kyoto. Which handsome men have not seen them before? To say that there is no one with better looks than Xiao Yi, there is really no one. The title of Tiansheng's most handsome man is definitely not because he is a prince.
"I really have to go take a closer look at this autumn hunt." Wen Mingyun smiled and fell on Meng Qinglian.
"Go together, go together." Lu Waner clapped her hands and smiled.
Zhang Jingyi's face turned red and she said angrily: "Just go, will he make you look ugly?"
Meng Qinglian looked at her nails painted pink and said softly, "It seems it's time to make some new clothes and trim my nails."
In the previous life, Shen Zhuo was unable to go this autumn hunting.
Two days before the autumn hunting, Shen Wei made an appointment with a friend to go boating and fishing in Qingyu Lake. Shen Zhuo insisted on going with him, but the fish was not caught, but the man fell into the lake. After returning home, I developed a high fever and successfully missed the autumn hunting.
In this life, Shen Zhuo didn't make any fuss about going fishing with Shen Wei. She stayed at home and waited obediently to go hunting in autumn.
Emperor Zhengyuan decided that the autumn hunt would be held in Liyuan on September 18th. Liyuan is a royal forbidden garden more than a hundred miles away from Kyoto.
There is a huge pasture and two forests in Liyuan, where many livestock and small animals are kept for hunting and recreation. Normal princes and ministers are not allowed to enter without being summoned, and ordinary people are not even allowed to get close.
A few days before the autumn hunting, Yubu went to Liyuan to circle the scope of the hunt, measured the site, marked out each piece of territory, and planted the flags of each ministry. The colorful flags made the paddock, which had been silent for three years, suddenly become lively.
On September 18th, after Emperor Zhengyuan offered sacrifices to heaven, he led hundreds of officials to Liyuan. He was accompanied by a hundred thousand guards from the Feihu Camp who guarded the capital. The family members of each official were at the back of the team.
The Autumn Hunting team is so vast that you can’t see the head when you look up, and you can’t see the tail when you turn around. Their momentum is really spectacular.
When they arrived at Liyuan, each tribe followed Yu Bu's instructions and flags of different colors to find their own territory, quickly set up their tents and settled down.
As soon as night falls, bonfires are lit in the paddock, scattered on the grassland, echoing the stars that have just risen in the sky, and there is a kind of broad-minded beauty.
Xiao Tao was sitting in the prince's tent wearing casual clothes.
"Have the arrangements been made on the mountain?" he asked.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, all arrangements are in place. As long as he enters the mountain, he will be unable to escape."
In Xiao Tao's tent, officials from the East Palace were sitting. The one who answered was a middle-aged man wearing an azure robe under Xiao Tao's left hand. Deng Hua, the official of the Prince's Mansion.
"Where is the deer we are going to use tomorrow? Is it suitable?" Xiao Tao continued to ask.
Deng Hua said: "Back to Your Highness, I have prepared two deer, one large and one small. They are both very strong and have bright coats. I started taking medicine two days ago, and my movements will be slow, but it will not be too obvious. Tomorrow, Your Highness will only look at the little one. That shot will definitely hit the mark with every shot."
Xiao Tao snorted disdainfully: "I don't need to make these fakes. It's just that my father is old and has a good reputation, so it's not good to spoil his fun."
"Your Highness is extremely filial."
"Your Highness is sincere."
There was a sound of compliments in the big tent.
Xiao Tao slightly raised the corners of his mouth, with a hint of joy on his face.
"Your Highness, Wei Zijian has been in Kyoto for some time, but he has never come to see him. I'm afraid something has happened." The speaker was Su Mingzheng, the Young Master of the East Palace.
Xiao Tao pondered for a while and said: "The marriage between Prince Qing and Dasu failed, so it's normal for him to be dissatisfied. Kang Ning's character is too bad, and Gu Zhen doesn't want to force Ah Wei."
Deng Hua said: "Although Dasu Country is small and remote, they have iron mines and Tengjia Army. Your Highness, we cannot let go of this ally."
Xiao Tao frowned slightly, feeling unhappy in his heart. He suppressed it and said slowly: "What Mr. Deng said makes sense. I will leave this matter to you. During the autumn hunting period, find a time to meet with him."
In the early morning of the next day, when the sun had just emerged and the sky was dark, the sound of a loud horn broke through the silence. Everyone woke up from their sleep and hurriedly dressed up and solemnly, preparing to participate in the grand hunting ceremony.
There were two large drums outside Emperor Zhengyuan's royal tent, one on the left and one on the left. At Chen time, "Dong! Dong! Dong!" Taichangqing, who was in charge of the sacrifice, beat the drum. Emperor Zhengyuan led hundreds of officials into the paddock one by one with the sound of drums.
The so-called enclosure means that the Ministry of War sets up fences according to the boundaries determined by the Ministry of Yu, but only surrounds the east, west and north sides, leaving an opening on the south side to show the virtue of good life. Then thousands of rabbits, deer, roe deer, foxes, and pheasants were driven into the field, and countless eagles, finches, and geese were also released.
Emperor Zhengyuan was riding a horse with a bow, chasing the prey one man at a time. He held the bow in his hand, nocked the arrow, and then with a "whoosh" sound, the arrow left the string, streaking across the sky like a shooting star, towards the running sika deer ahead. .
The sika deer fell down at the sound, with a golden arrow on its body that represented the supreme being, the arrow of the emperor.
A deafening shout of "Long live" suddenly sounded in the paddock. All the officials knelt down and worshiped, and the sound became louder and louder. The hunting atmosphere was instantly ignited.
"Ah, I really didn't expect that His Majesty is so powerful! Don't they say that he likes literature but dislikes martial arts?" Lu Waner admired.
"Our dynasty is a country conquered on horseback. The princes and grandsons of all dynasties have required that they must be good at riding and shooting. They like literature and hate martial arts. That is just a relative term. Your Majesty is a benevolent king and does not like fighting." Wen Mingyun explained.
Emperor Zhengyuan shot the first arrow, which marked the official start of the autumn hunting.
Prince Xiao Tao then shot a second arrow, and he also shot a sika deer, but this one was smaller than the one of Emperor Zhengyuan, and it was a young deer.
In the previous life, this was passed down as a legend, and there were even rumors in the market that this was a celestial phenomenon, which meant that Xiao Tao was the authentic descendant of Emperor Zhengyuan and was destined by destiny.
Is it destiny? Shen Zhuo snorted softly. Later, he was either deposed, imprisoned, or sentenced to death.
In the previous life, Qiu Lie had an accident this time, which laid the foundation for a huge disaster and led to a bloody storm ten years later. This is also the real reason why Shen Zhuo came to Qiu Lie. If she can't avoid it by herself, it would be good to remind the other party.
Suddenly, she heard Lu Waner shouting excitedly: "Look, look, the one standing next to His Royal Highness is Wei Ziyuan?"
