Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 445 6.16 Pilgrimage to other countries?Ryukyu royal family?
Volume VI

6.16 Pilgrimage to other countries?Ryukyu royal family?
As a traditional Chinese festival, the "Lantern Festival" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has always been more lively, not to mention that the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty has just experienced a low ebb, and the eldest prince Guo Kai is about to ascend the throne. It is very necessary to reopen the situation, but it is the New Year. At that time, Emperor Yonghe had not yet come out of the period of filial piety. Now that the Lantern Festival has arrived, it is natural to do something special.

At [-] o'clock in the morning, in the huge open space in front of Chengtian Gate, there were all the "Salute Team" specially drawn from the Shenji Battalion, except for the three hundred households who were no less than the modern conventional "honor guard" in goose step, and the entire "Salute Team" of one hundred artillery households. In place, the imperial guards who were supposed to be responsible for defense were now only responsible for peripheral protection.

Lantern Festival activities have always been about "having fun with the people". The number of people watching around the entire open space exceeds [-], and the number on the outside is several times that. On the central field, the officials in Beijing are arranged by official position or rank. Basically, everyone who can come is here. Even Chen Ruiwen, Ma Shang, and Jiang Zining, who had been dismissed and demoted, were all looking eagerly at the middle area.

On the "Golden Road" facing Chengtian Gate, a group of people under the banner of "Ryukyu" paid homage and saluted Guo Kai who was sitting on the top of the city gate. All the etiquette and procedures were impeccable, stretching for two days. The tribute convoy inside was all open, and the jewels and jewels made the surrounding officials and citizens marvel in amazement. The most eye-catching thing was the transparent glass cover and seven-foot coral tree that were as tall as one person on the two carriages side by side, which simply broke the common people's perception. .

Of course, there are other problems
"Master Lin, you must know the 'King of Ryukyu' in front of you, right?" Yu Chong, the Minister of Rites, asked with a cold face to Lin Ruhai, the Minister of Personnel beside him, "What's more, it has always been the duty of subordinates of the Ministry of Rites to pay tribute to other countries. The vassal court is responsible, and foreign vassals should also stay at the Sifang Pavilion when they come to court. How can there be any etiquette like what these people are doing?"

"Master Yu is joking. Lin has been a citizen of the Zhou Dynasty for generations. Apart from Suzhou, Yangzhou, Jinling and the capital, he has never lived in any other permanent place. How can he know foreign barbarians from other countries?" Lin Ruhai replied very coldly, "Instead, I heard that Mr. Yu's clan lived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for generations, and maritime trade has always been indispensable, so he should be more familiar with it.

As for the reception, Mr. Yu was indeed right, but this time the Ryukyu royal family came to Beijing to pay tribute. There was something different. They had submitted their credentials in advance and explicitly paid homage to the Holy Emperor. This became an internal matter for the Tian family, and there was nothing wrong with it being handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ; Even the tributes in front of you were specifically stated to be presented to the royal family, and the Queen even specially sent a message that the rewards and receptions involved this time did not require any money from the user.

Your Excellency, what are the traditional rules for this matter of state worship?The tribute is divided equally between the royal family and the Ministry of Household Affairs, but the reward in return is not less than the value of the tribute and is allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs. The empress's behavior of treating state affairs as a family matter is comparable to that of ancient sages and empresses, so why is there anything wrong with it?Mr. Yu's question left Lin confused. "

"Humph, if Mr. Lin said you don't know him, then you don't know him!" Yu Chong's face turned cold, knowing that he would no longer be embarrassed if he didn't ask questions, "It's just that Yu really doesn't agree with this so-called 'Fanbang worship'. Don't ask!"

"Master Yu, please take a moment to speak." Lin Ruhai looked at the other officials slowly surrounding him with a complicated expression, pulled Yu Chong back to a slightly secluded place, and then asked in confusion, "Minzhong Brother, I really don’t understand, what are you doing? There are rules for inheritance after the death of the late emperor. Your Highness is the only son of the late emperor. Is it possible that you still have any questions?"

"Huh, what Yu is dissatisfied about is not the royal inheritance, but the etiquette and rules." Yu Chong stared at Lin Ruhai and said, "The world is not as big as morality and justice. The late emperor had two sons. The second prince came from a family of poets and writers. He studied under the great Confucian scholar and was always highly praised by various schools, but now he died in unknown circumstances, and even the whole Wu family was wiped out.

On the contrary, this man on the tower has always been close to those vulgar warriors and has never liked people like us who are educated. How much does he know about the righteousness of saints?Originally, Liu Yantao (the former Minister of Rites, Liu Lun) had a headache because of this, and Yu was too lazy to say more, but now even he is dead in an unknown way, and the Liu family has also been wiped out. Brother Ruhai really doesn't know the reason? "

"Brother Minzhong might as well turn around and take a look." Lin Ruhai sighed softly, pointing to the noisy worship site and said, "Look at the attitude of the people around you, look at the attitude of most of the officials, and then look at the attitude of the royal family. What do you want Lin to understand? The general trend of the world is never complicated. It is the so-called "Heaven's heart is the people's heart, and God's will is the public opinion." What is the public opinion now, do you really not see it?

Your Highness has not yet ascended the throne, but has already made pilgrimages from other countries. How could any king from ancient times to the present allow anyone to interfere with such a grand event?Brother Minzhong, we scholars are first of all the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty and serve the great Zhou Zhengshuo. Do we need to consider anything else?What's more, above the Jade Butterfly of the Tian Family, how could the late emperor be the so-called 'second prince'? "

"You——" Yu Chong's expression was stiff, and he struggled for a long time before suddenly waving his hand, "It's not enough to make plans, and Yu has to take responsibility!"

"Brother Minzhong, now that the late emperor has passed away, he has only one son. Although the Supreme Emperor is here and the late emperor has many brothers, who is qualified to inherit the throne? The only one with some value is Prince Zhongshun, who is now presiding over the tower. Here!" Lin Ruhai looked seriously, stared at Yu Chong and said, "Remember, you must not make a mistake!"

"Humph, so what, as the saying goes." Yu Chong was about to continue but was interrupted by an order not far away.

"His Royal Highness receives - fire the cannon!" This is Zhou Yang's roar.

"Bang -" a neat row of cannons rang out, half of the infantry cannons of the "Salute Team" fired at the same time, and the other half fired after a while. However, because this front-loading smoothbore cannon was slow to load, it could only use "two-stage" "To ensure that it will not be interrupted for too long.

"My lord, I am very happy to be able to bring my prince here today -"

"The Holy King of the Kingdom of Heaven will come to court today, and the foreign vassals will be honored -" Not mentioning these useless scenes, Zhou Yang didn't notice until today that Xue Xun came alone this time, probably that person The wife of the second wife was not in good health and could not accompany her, but Xue Biao was accompanied by a beautiful young woman. Although her appearance was only equivalent to the second-tier level of a group of golden hairpins, and her appearance was quite different from that of the people in the Central Plains, she was dressed in the same clothes as a child. The nobility cultivated is slightly inferior to that of Guo Kai.

"Brother Zhou, that is my brother Xina's concubine. She is the daughter of the original Ryukyu Shang family." Next to Zhou Yang, who had retreated to the temporary tent, there was the slightly petite Xue Baoqin dressed as a soldier. He introduced softly, "This is to win over the old and young of the original Shang family, but in the future the position of the princess will definitely only be reserved for"

"This is your family matter, I won't get involved." Zhou Yang smiled and waved his hand, understanding the identity of this girl's "contact person", "Okay, look over there, the second uncle has already discussed with His Highness After that, the next step is to enter the palace and give a banquet. According to the procedures I have received, you will all be together when the time comes, and I will appear as a guest."

"Hee hee, does Brother Zhou actually have today?" Xue Baoqin said with a face full of ridicule, "Don't forget to pour wine for me when the time comes. If you don't serve me well, be careful of the punishment from this princess!"

"Little girl, you must have forgotten the king." Zhou Yang stared at a certain princess with a "ferocious" look on his face and said, "Of course I will be honest during the banquet, but if I wait until the drink is over."

"General Zhou, how are you preparing?" A cold female voice interrupted him, but Princess Yongchang had already arrived.

"I've seen it." Xue Baoqin quickly stepped forward and saluted, not to mention the depressed person.

"Well, now that you are also a powerful person in the palace, why do you need these troubles?" Princess Yongchang's expressionless face suddenly bloomed like a flower. She grabbed Xue Baoqin to stop her from saluting, turned around and pulled her away. , "There is still some time before the luncheon. The emperor's sister-in-law has arranged refreshments at Fengzao Palace. Let us sisters talk together - so and so, your people can evacuate. Don't forget to wait at Daming Palace."

Her Royal Highness the Princess shook her head speechlessly at the "who" question, turned around and began to give instructions to Yuan Xiu who was following behind her. Soon, three infantrymen and one artillery battalion from the Shenji Battalion quickly evacuated as a team, in neat formations and well-trained The training impressed the surrounding people so much that he got on the horse and went to the Daming Palace as planned to attend the luncheon.

At the same time, Dragon Head Palace.

"Fanbang worships? The Ryukyu royal family? Who did it?" The Emperor, who had only abdicated for more than a month, but seemed to be ten years older, asked weakly, "Logically speaking, such matters should be received by the feudal court, right? Why didn't I? Received the news?"

"Father, it was arranged by Brother Zhou. In fact, the so-called 'Ryukyu King' this time is the second wife of the Xue family in Jinling, and Xue Xun is the leader." "Princess Yongjing, who came to visit, said softly, "The Shang family of the original royal family has already taken the Zen throne, and now Xue Biao, the only son of the Xue family's second wife, is surrounded by the daughter of the Shang family."

"Really?" The Supreme Emperor, who was already a little depressed, stiffened his expression, and then said nonchalantly, "You girl, you are hiding such a big thing from me, but seeing that I am old and useless now, you just don't care. ?”

"Father!" Princess Yongjing coquettishly leaned against the Supreme Emperor and introduced in detail the arrangement of events that she had already received from Princess Yongchang. Finally, she said softly, "Brother Huang left in such a hurry. After all, Kai'er didn't have much preparation. There is some restlessness in the imperial court, and even among the royal brothers, there are quite a few people who are too aggressive."

"Okay, I still don't understand?" The Supreme Emperor gently waved his hand to interrupt him, and said in a helpless tone, "This girl Rong'er really has good eyesight. With such a grand event paving the way, I'm afraid those royal brothers of yours will be in vain. I'm busy; but the boy named Zhou, I pride myself on my eyesight, but I can't see clearly, so you girl can only be careful."

"Father, Brother Zhou has been loyal to Kai'er from the beginning to the end. Why are there such problems?" Princess Yongjing said dissatisfiedly.

"Your Highness, there was a message from Fengzao Palace just now." Just as he was saying this, the young eunuch reported.

"Okay, let's go!" The Supreme Emperor's tone was extremely lonely.

(End of this chapter)