The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

"Young man, how old are you this year? Are you married?" An aunt standing behind Zhao Yao had strange thoughts when she saw how handsome he was.

Although Zhao Yao was wearing coarse clothes and deliberately darkened his face, his outstanding facial features and hard-to-conceal nobility attracted the attention of many aunts.

"I'm seventeen this year and I'm not married yet."

When the aunt heard that they were not married yet, a light shone in her eyes and her expression became excited.

"Oh, young man, let me tell you, my girl is the same age as you, and she is not married yet. I am not bragging to you. My girl is very handsome and matches you very well..."

Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by another aunt: "Young man, don't listen to her nonsense. Her girl is not good-looking at all. She is dark and short. My daughter is pretty..."

"Young man, none of their daughters are good-looking, but my girl is beautiful..."

Several aunts started arguing over each other, and Zhao Yao tried to break up the fight with laughter and tears.

"Aunts, I haven't finished what I just said. Although I haven't gotten married yet, my family has arranged the marriage."

When they heard that Zhao Yao was getting married, the aunts were a little disappointed, but they were not angry with Zhao Yao and continued to chat with him.

When the aunts learned that Zhao Yao was a descendant of a criminal who was wrongly accused in the previous dynasty, they had a better impression of him. You must know that those people who were exiled to them in the previous dynasty were all high-ranking officials, and their families were particularly rich and powerful. Unfortunately, they offended the emperor and the family was exiled to their poor place. Fortunately, God has eyes. Last year, the King of Han Dynasty came and gave them the status of good citizens to the descendants of criminals. From now on, they are no longer the descendants of criminals, but ordinary people of the Zhou Dynasty, able to live with their heads held high.

Zhao Yao deliberately asked the people waiting in line what they thought of His Highness the King of Han.

Hearing Zhao Yao's question, the aunts and uncles became excited and scrambled to answer the question. They all praised His Highness the King of Han as a good man, a living Bodhisattva, and a god who came to save them from the heat of water life.

Even though Zhao Yao was thick-skinned, he was a little embarrassed to hear the uncles and aunts praising him so much.

The uncles and aunties continued to talk about what Zhao Yao did after coming to Marsh Mansion. At first, they thought that His Highness the King of Han was just like those dog officials in the past, deliberately torturing the common people, but they did not expect that His Highness the King of Han did all these things for their own good.

"Oh, His Highness the King of Han wanted to divert the water from the swamp lake to the city. We all thought that His Highness the King of Han was going to destroy the water of our life-saving lake. Unexpectedly, His Highness the King of Han wanted to let us eat good water." said a gray-haired aunt. , “The water we drink every day is very clean and very sweet, with no bitter taste at all.”

"Since drinking the water from Swamp Lake, my stomach doesn't hurt as often as it used to."

"I'm also not as sick as I used to be."

"We used to get sick often. It didn't hurt here, but it hurt there. It turned out to be caused by drinking unclean water and eating bad salt."

"I'm fine now. We drink clean water every day, eat the best salt, and have enough to eat. I feel like my health has improved."

"No, I feel like I'm stronger now than before."

"I feel like I'm much younger than before."

"I used to find it annoying that His Highness the King of Han told us to pay attention to personal hygiene, but now I feel that His Highness the King of Han has foresight. You see, no strange disease has occurred in our place so far, nor has there been any plague like in previous years."

“I used to hate washing my hands, but now I have to wash my hands several times every day.”

"These are nothing. Look at how lively and prosperous our Marsh Mansion is now. This has never been seen before."

"I never thought in my life that we would see so many people from out of town visiting us."

"Oh, there are also those foreigners. They all look weird and their words are incomprehensible, but they are all so rich."

"Since these outsiders and foreigners came, we have made a lot of money."

"Isn't that right? What I sell at the stall these days are all humble things made at home, but I end up selling them for a lot of money. It's more money than my family has made in decades."

"Me too, I didn't expect these outsiders and foreigners to even buy the pickles I made, and they said they were delicious."

"All the medicinal wine I brewed at home has been sold out."

"The purses, handkerchiefs, and fans I embroidered are also sold out."

"The fruits I grow at home also sell for a lot of money."

Zhao Yao felt happy when he heard the uncles and aunts say that they had made money and their lives were better than before.

"I heard that His Highness the King of Han held a trade conference and invited foreigners and foreigners to come to our place. I thought that just like those dog officials in the past, they came to harm us. I didn't expect that His Highness did these things to help us make money. "

"Didn't His Highness say that the purpose of holding a trade conference is to make us live a good life? Look, our lives are getting better now."

"His Royal Highness the King of Han is a god who comes to save people in trouble. I will support whatever he does in the future."

The uncles and aunties were talking very enthusiastically, and other people nearby also joined in, praising Zhao Yao, His Royal Highness, the King of Han. They also said they looked forward to better days ahead.

Zhao Yao just listened to the people's praise for him and didn't take it to heart. However, what he is most happy about is that people have expectations for their future life.

After a while, it was Zhao Yao's turn to receive the rice dumplings.

The uncles and aunties urged Zhao Yao to eat the rice dumplings quickly to see if he could get some copper coins.

Zhao Yao was lucky and got a copper coin as soon as he took a bite.

When the uncles and aunties saw him getting copper coins in his first bite, they all congratulated him and said he would have good luck this year.

Zhao Yao handed the copper coins he had eaten to the aunt standing behind him, saying that he would give her this year's good luck and wish her family a prosperous life this year and good health to her family.

The aunt refused to accept it at first, saying that this good luck cannot be given away, because if it is given away, there will be no good luck. Zhao Yao said that he has always had good luck, and even if he gave this good luck to others, his good luck would not diminish.

Seeing that Zhao Yao insisted on giving the copper coins to her, the aunt had no choice but to accept it. She gave the rice dumplings she received to Zhao Yao, but unfortunately there was nothing in the rice dumplings she received.

Later, Zhao Yao will receive foreign dignitaries who come to congratulate and send gifts at the Han Palace. At noon, the Han Palace will hold a Dragon Boat Festival luncheon and invite members of foreign royal families as guests. As for foreign merchants and foreign merchants, they will be entertained by people from the Ministry of Etiquette.

As soon as I returned to Prince Han's Mansion, I heard Tong Xi say that someone had come to the Mansion to congratulate him.

Zhao Yao quickly changed his clothes and went to the living room to meet the distinguished guests.

A few days before the Dragon Boat Festival, more than a dozen countries including Annam, Johor, and Siam sent royal representatives to Marsh House to participate in the Dragon Boat Festival and trade conferences. The kings, queens, and crown princes of these dozen countries did not come, but princes and princesses were sent. The princes and princesses of these countries were very respectful to Zhao Yao and did not show any contempt. They came here very sincerely and brought many valuable gifts to Zhao Yao.

Before they came, their father and brother repeatedly told them that they must have a good relationship with His Highness the King of Han and must not offend His Highness the King of Han. If you offend His Highness the King of Han, they are the only ones to ask.

The royal representatives sent this time will all speak the official dialect of Zhou Dynasty. This is very attentive.

When these foreign princes and princesses saw Zhao Yao coming, they stood up and saluted him.

Zhao Yao raised his hand and motioned for them to sit down. Then, let Tongxi and others bring a fruit plate with characteristics of Dragon Boat Festival. The fruit plate includes various flavors of rice dumplings and Lingnan-specific fruits, dried fruits, and jams.

Next, everyone sat together, drank tea, had snacks, and chatted about some delicious and fun things in Lingnan.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Yao invited these guests to watch a play in the garden. The plays were all related to the Dragon Boat Festival, and they were all unique to Lingnan, not the common plays in the capital.

The guests could understand the Mandarin of Zhou Dynasty, but not the Lingnan dialect. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand what is being sung, as long as the tune is good.

These foreigners were curious about everything about Dazhou, especially the culture of Dazhou. They admired and yearned for the culture of the Zhou Dynasty very much, and felt that the culture of the Zhou Dynasty was very mysterious and powerful.

Since their country surrendered to the Great Zhou Dynasty, there has been a craze in their country to learn from the Great Zhou Dynasty, learning how to dress, eat, drink tea, read and entertain, and many other aspects.

Before Zhao Yao came to Marsh Mansion, didn't the officials of Marsh Mansion build several flower boats. These flower boats were very popular in countries such as Annan and Johor. The main reason was that the girls on the flower boats were from Dazhou.

In countries like Siam and Johor, girls from the Zhou Dynasty are most fond of, and their scholars are even more respected.

They not only sent people to Dazhou to study, but also sent people to Dazhou to learn singing and dancing. When these people return to China after completing their studies, they will be very popular.

The princes and princesses who came to Marsh Mansion to participate in the Dragon Boat Festival and the trade conference had been to the capital and listened to the opera in the capital, but the opera in the capital was different from the opera in Lingnan. Maybe it’s because they don’t understand Lingnan operas, and they feel that Lingnan operas have a different flavor.

Zhao Yao watched the play with these foreign distinguished guests for a while and then left, turning to go to the Ministry of Rites to meet with foreign and foreign businessmen.

At noon, Zhao Yao entertained foreign dignitaries for lunch at the Han Dynasty Palace. Businessmen from other places and foreign countries had lunch in the Ministry of Ceremonies.

During lunch, there will naturally be a singing and dancing performance. The people who performed the songs and dances used to be the girls on the flower boats. These girls have no relatives and are unwilling to return to their hometown, so they stay in Marsh Mansion.

Zhao Yao originally planned to arrange for these girls to work and let them support themselves. Later, I thought that there should be singing and dancing performances during the Dragon Boat Festival and trade fairs. When he came to Marsh Mansion, he forgot to bring singers and musicians from the capital. So, he came up with an idea to invite these girls to perform and let them officially become the dancers and musicians of the Han Dynasty Palace.

For these girls, becoming a dancer and musician in the Han Palace is the best choice. Not only do they get a monthly salary, but they don’t have to accept customers.

They originally thought that their fate would be to be assigned or sold, but they did not expect that His Highness the King of Han would take them in. They have been sold to the Marsh Mansion and on the flower boat since they were young. Apart from being able to wait on people, they can only sing and dance, and they know nothing else. If His Highness the King of Han doesn't hire them to sing and dance, they really don't know how they can survive in the Marsh Mansion.

In order to repay Zhao Yao's kindness of rebirth, these girls used their special skills and performed desperately.

At the Dragon Boat Festival luncheon, these girls performed very well, which was praised by the foreign guests.

After the luncheon, Zhao Yao took the foreign guests to the dock.

In the afternoon, there will be a dragon boat race at the pier.

Before the dragon boat race started, Zhao Yao led the military and civil ministers to worship Qu Yuan at the pier. After paying homage to Qu Yuan, Zhao Yao personally beat the drum for the dragon boat race.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat competition was held. Many dragon boat teams participated. The ten winning dragon boat teams will compete today.

People from the entire Marsh Mansion came to the pier to watch the dragon boat race.

These foreign guests had never seen the dragon boat race in Dazhou. This was their first time watching the dragon boat race, and they were very interested.

Like the people of Marsh Mansion, they cheered for the teams participating in the dragon boat race as hard as they could. The atmosphere at the scene was very lively and fiery.

Among the ten dragon boat teams, the most outstanding teams are the guards of the Han Palace, the Imperial Guards of the Han Palace, and the Lingnan Camp.

In these three teams, foreigners saw the power of the Zhou soldiers. It was obviously a dragon boat race, but for some reason they saw murderous intent in these soldiers. These dragon boating soldiers are like swords that have been unsheathed and have seen blood. They are extremely sharp and frightening.

The foreigners were shocked by the power emanating from the dragon boat soldiers, which reminded them of the defeat of their soldiers by the Zhou soldiers many years ago.

The soldiers who were lucky enough to survive at that time said that the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty were very powerful and terrifying, and they were no match for the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Nowadays, those soldiers who were lucky enough to survive will be afraid when they hear about the Zhou generals.

Zhao Yao saw the expressions of fear and awe on the foreigners' faces, and was very satisfied. The initial shock effect had been achieved. The military parade two days later is the big show, and it will make these foreigners fear Zhou from the bottom of their hearts.

The team that came out on top was the Lingnan Camp Dragon Boat Team. This is the default champion. It is impossible for Zhao Yao to let his bodyguard dragon boat team or imperial guard dragon boat team win first place, otherwise everyone will think that Lingnan Camp is not as good as Hanwang's bodyguard or imperial guard army.

Although Lingnan Camp has long been Zhao Yao's military camp, others do not know this. Everyone thought that Lingnan Camp belonged to the imperial court, so Lingnan Camp could not lose to Zhao Yao's personal guards.

After the dragon boat race, Zhao Yao continued to entertain foreign guests at the Han Palace. Foreign and foreign merchants could move freely. The soldiers of the Lingnan Battalion who won the Dragon Boat Race were invited to attend a dinner at the Han Palace.

Various festive activities will be held in Marsh City, and everyone can participate.

At the dinner at the Han Palace, Zhao Yao proposed that the soldiers of the Lingnan Camp compete with the personal guards brought by the foreign guests.

The foreign guests also wanted to know who was more powerful in the competition between their personal guards and the soldiers of the Lingnan camp. They originally thought that their personal guards were no worse than the soldiers of the Lingnan Camp, but they did not expect that their personal guards were crushed by the soldiers of the Lingnan Camp and had no ability to fight back. After losing to the Lingnan camp general, the foreign dignitaries proposed to compete with Zhao Yao's personal guards, but they still lost miserably.

No matter it was the soldiers of the Lingnan Camp or the personal guards of His Highness the King of Han, they could not compare. A prince's personal guards were so powerful, they couldn't imagine how strong the imperial guards in the capital would be.

Not an opponent, not an opponent at all. It was not unfair for them to lose to Da Zhou.

Marsh Mansion is celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival lively, but the capital city is not celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival as usual. A few days ago, smallpox appeared in the capital, leaving the people in no mood to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. There was no Dragon Boat Festival celebrated in the palace.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the emperor did not summon the ministers to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival together, and let the ministers celebrate it at their own homes. He went to Zhaoyang Palace and briefly spent the Dragon Boat Festival with Queen Xie.

At noon, after having lunch in Zhaoyang Palace, the emperor returned to the imperial study.

"I really want to go to Marsh Mansion to see what kind of Dragon Boat Festival activities organized by that brat Xiao Shi."

Sun Kui on the side said: "It must be very lively."

"This brat said in his secret book before that there will be some kind of military parade, and he doesn't know what it will be like." The emperor was very curious about this. "He also boasted in front of me about the military parade that Haikou said he held. It will make those foreigners in Annam fearful."