Carrying AK into Ming Dynasty

Chapter 38 Bloody Night in the Imperial Capital ([-])

The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is said to be the birthday of Buddha Sakyamuni.

The Huangji Palace in the Imperial City began to prepare for the annual Buddha Bathing Festival banquet from early in the morning. The eunuchs and palace maids came in and out with various utensils, and the foreman eunuch yelled to direct his subordinates to place tables and other things.

Since Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne 17 years ago, in order to save domestic expenses, he canceled the feast of the Buddha Bathing Festival a few years ago, but this time, for some reason, he suddenly announced the reopening of the feast to celebrate the Bathing Buddha Festival.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty entertained his ministers, divided into small banquets, medium banquets, and large banquets. Because large banquets cost a lot of money, they were only held during important festivals such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, and sacrifices.

The emperor feasted his ministers and eunuchs should not talk too much, but the always frugal Emperor Chongzhen not only held a banquet on a festival that he did not care much about such as the Bathing Buddha Festival, but also entertained all the officials in Beijing with a rank of seven or more. This surprised the people in the palace.

You must know that officials of the seventh rank and above in Beijing have eight hundred if not one thousand. This is not a small amount of expenses. Outside Huangji Gate, there are also banquets.

At [-]:[-] p.m. on April [-], all the officials who received the imperial edict arrived one after another. After exchanging greetings, they were all talking to each other about what happened to the emperor. It is not rumored that the emperor invited them to a banquet on such an unimportant festival. Is your internal money already empty?

Even though the ministers were full of doubts, they still chatted happily with their colleagues. Although the emperor's royal banquet may not be as rich as the banquet at home, only ministers in important positions are eligible to participate. It was an event with a sense of honor, and all the ministers had smiles on their faces.

Only the two tables at the head of the Huangji Hall were a bit chilly. On the table near the emperor in the Huangji Hall, there were Wei Zaode, the former chief assistant of the cabinet and the current right servant of the Ministry of Rites, Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of the Soldiers Department of Wuyingdian University, Chen Yan, the Minister of Rites, and the right servant of the Ministry of Rites. Servant Zhang Qi...

Several people looked at each other, but they couldn't see any clues from their eyes. Chongzhen was an emperor who didn't have too much scheming.

But this time... On the contrary, it made them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles, although everything was so normal and everything was so reasonable.

The small yellow door of Chuanshan comes from the direction of Shangshan Department with dishes. Two plates of wine are served on the table, one plate of non-falling pods, one plate of cold cakes, one plate of small snacks, and four colors of dishes (all vegetarian dishes). One bowl of soup and six cups of wine.

The court ladies in plain clothes also walked between the halls and poured wine for the ministers.

In addition to pastries, the four-color dishes are easy to identify, one is fried radish, one is fried leek, another is fried cabbage, and the last is fried spinach, which is bland and tasteless.

All the ministers looked at the dishes on the table in a daze. They were all vegetarian dishes without any meaty taste. Although they knew that Chongzhen was poor, they were not so reluctant to buy even a chicken!Most people shook their heads without knowing it to show the shabbyness of the banquet.

Only Ni Yuanlu, the Secretary of the Ministry of Households on the right back, saw some clues, and he approached Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, who was already aging.

"Old Zheng, do you think the emperor is different today?" In the past, if the queen was not present at the imperial banquet, the emperor would usually sit at the same table with the cabinet members, ministers and other pillars of the court.

But this time Chongzhen just sat on the throne, although his expression was normal, he didn't say a word, which made Ni Yuanlu very surprised.

"Well, something is not right, Ruyu (Ni Yuanlu's name is Ruyu), do you still remember the time in the history books that Emperor Taizu Gao gave a banquet to his officials?" Zheng Sanjun narrowed his eyes slightly, and said something to Ni Yuanlu in a low voice.

Emperor Taizu Gao was Zhu Chongba, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He had the most difficult background among all the emperors.

After becoming emperor, Zhu Chongba saw the prevalence of corruption in the whole country, and the dignitaries and dignitaries were full of extravagance, so he held a special palace banquet in the palace. The dishes were all vegetarian, and the soup was also It is no different from the green onion tofu soup in front of you.

The four dishes and one soup passed down from generation to generation are all done here.

Cabbage and spinach are likened to clean and honest officials, not to mention tofu soup with chopped green onions, tofu mixed with shallots-clean and white.

Waiting for Ni Yuanlu to say something, Chongzhen coughed and motioned the officials to silence. He took the wine glass from Bingbi eunuch Wang Chengen, stepped down from the throne with a stern expression.

"It has been 270 years since Emperor Taizu Gao raised the flag of righteousness, expelled the Tartars, and established the Ming Dynasty. As descendants, the ministers and I must not forget the countless soldiers who sacrificed for our Ming Dynasty."

Chongzhen's face was calm, and he raised his wine glass high, and all the ministers quickly picked up their wine glasses and stood up, facing Chongzhen.

"This first glass of wine is a toast to those warriors who have shed blood for thousands of miles of rivers and mountains!"

After Chongzhen finished speaking, he drank it all in one gulp, and all the ministers also bowed to toast.

"At the beginning of the establishment of our dynasty, there was a lot of waste waiting for prosperity, and the whole country was starved to death. Thanks to the dedication of all the civil servants around Emperor Gao, who dedicated themselves to the country, the Ming Dynasty was peaceful and the people were safe, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Bingbi eunuch Wang Chengen filled Chongzhen with wine, and the maids also poured wine for the ministers at the table. Chongzhen glanced at these so-called ministers who were sincerely serving the country in front of him, and suddenly looked back.

"This second glass of wine is to respect those civil servants who have made the Ming Dynasty prosperous with loyalty and blood!"

Chongzhen drank it down again, all the ministers didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Chongzhen's gourd, so they looked at each other and had no choice but to raise their wine glasses.

"Now this country has passed into my hands. There are internal and external troubles, natural and man-made disasters, and the people are in dire straits. With Liangde, I have sinned against myself six times. I am a remnant of my ancestors. I want to renew the world. I don't touch meat every day. , with all my heart and soul, fearing the collapse of the country."

Chongzhen's speech slowed down, and his eyes were faintly red.

"However, what makes me sad is that some officials who I rely on as the pillars of the dynasty deceive the king, take bribes and pervert the law, live in arrogance and luxury every day, fish and meat the common people, and even collude with the Jianlu, intending to overthrow our century-old Ming dynasty!"

Chongzhen gritted his teeth when he said this, and his eyes that were about to spurt blood swept over Li Jiantai, Wei Zaode, Chen Yan and others in front of him, their eyes were extremely cold and stern, and the hands of the few people holding their wine glasses began to tremble.

Quite a few of the ministers below also felt guilty and lost their sense of propriety, breaking out in a cold sweat frightened by Chongzhen's words.

"My heart hurts so much, I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood to comfort the spirits of the ancestors!" Chongzhen burst into tears, and every word was like a knife, piercing the hearts of these well-dressed pillars of the country in front of him.

Pa——Chongzhen threw the wine glass on the stone pillar of Huangji Hall, and the cracked fragments scattered all over the ground.

"Come here, capture the country's thieves and eradicate the traitors!"

　Ask for a reward!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)