Xiaoyao Xiaojunhou

Chapter 480 480.Linhai
The first thing in the new year is to participate in the New Year's Day court meeting.

The New Year's Day court meeting is the first court meeting of the year, with an unprecedented scale and a large number of participants.

Chen Huang, who is usually lazy, would get up early and attend on time without daring to neglect.

The New Year's Day court meeting is like offering sacrifices to the heavens. It is very symbolic. It can wish the prosperity of the country in the new year and the people to live and work in peace and contentment. It is really a grand event!
Most of the officials in the capital need to enter the palace to participate.Zhu Xiuyuan was the uncle of Jiang Cheng, and Dong Cheng was the governor of Runzhou Prefecture. Both of them had high official positions, so they were naturally invited.

In addition, Wang, Hou, Bo and other distinguished officials stationed in other places, as well as the governor of Shangzhou, were also invited.

There are even more people in this group!

Even far more than the officials in the capital.

For example, King Poyang, who was stationed at Poyang Lake in Jiangzhou, rushed to the capital on New Year's Eve and took his eldest son Liu Xun away...

There was also King Zhenze who was stationed at Taihu Lake. He and his eldest son Liu Wencai had arrived in the capital a few days earlier and had been intoxicated in Jiangcheng Bo's mansion.

In short, whether it is for Emperor Chen or for the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, today's New Year's Day meeting is an extremely important event and must not go wrong.

As a result, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng got up before dawn.

I washed and changed my clothes, and took two hurried bites of rice.

He also gave instructions to the two sisters Dong Shuyu and Dong Shuzhen, especially Dong Shuzhen. Her actions last night really impressed Dong Cheng.

There is also the "Female Ring" to punish her a hundred times, which must be completed. Dong Cheng also said that when she returns from the New Year's Day meeting, she must personally inspect...

Dong Shuzhen was naturally pitiful and glanced at Zhu Xiuyuan from time to time, asking for help.

In this regard, Zhu Xiuyuan was helpless and helpless. He also had to attend the New Year's Day party and could not help her.

After finishing their instructions, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng left the house and got into the car. With their respective entourages, they walked through the streets in the early morning and headed straight for the imperial city.

The capital city is quiet before dawn.

Zhu Xiuyuan sat in the carriage, swaying, closing his eyes and concentrating, listening to the sound of wheels rolling across the bluestone street.

It would be wrong to say that the capital city is quiet at this moment.

Because the sound of wheels rolling across the road is too much!

It was not just the two carriages he and Dong Cheng.

Zhu Xiuyuan listened to the sound and identified his position. According to his guess, there were probably five or six carriages traveling with them at the same time in front and behind their carriage.

It should be a carriage from someone else's house, going in the same direction as them, and it is also an official rushing to the imperial city to attend the New Year's Day meeting.

Zhu Xiuyuan opened the curtain on the side of the carriage, stuck out half of his head, and looked back and forth.

The wheels were rolling, the lanterns on the carriages were connected in a line, and his carriage actually merged with other people's carriages to form a convoy!
"Emperor?"

Yan Dashan was standing guard on horseback. When he saw Zhu Xiuyuan sticking his head out, he thought he had an order.

Zhu Xiuyuan waved his hand, put down the side curtain, and continued to rest in the carriage with his eyes closed.

Staggering, the carriage soon arrived at the foot of the imperial city.

Zhu Xiuyuan jumped off the carriage and looked up at the sky.

All I saw was pitch black, a patch of stars, and a waning moon, which seemed not much different from last night.

It's just that it's still early, and there's no fish belly white yet in the east.

But it's not all dark here.

On the contrary, it was still bright, like daylight. You could probably see a pin falling on the ground.

I saw rows of torches on the walls of the imperial city, shining brightly.Countless torches were also lit in the open space below the city wall, and the flames reached a height of one foot...

Countless flames illuminated the roots of the imperial city.

Zhu Xiuyuan rubbed his hands and let out a breath, which immediately turned into white mist when it got cold.

On the morning of New Year's Day in Beijing, the weather was still quite cold.

"Xianxiang, let's go to the imperial city first. Go in early to avoid being delayed outside."

Dong Cheng also got off the carriage and was arranging his official robes and hats.

So Zhu Xiuyuan told Yan Dashan to settle his carriage and horses here, and then followed his father-in-law to the Chengtian Gate.

Zhu Xiuyuan and the others arrived not very early, and the location where they parked their car was actually more than ten feet away from Chengtian Gate.

This area of ​​more than ten feet was already filled with various carriages, which were the cars of officials who arrived earlier.

From this we can also see how many people should be attending this New Year's Day gathering.

Moreover, behind Zhu Xiuyuan's carriage, various carriages were parked one after another... and people were arriving in a steady stream.

Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng walked all the way to Chengtian Gate. Most of the officials they saw along the way were unfamiliar faces. Basically, they were all from other places, such as local officials or garrison officers.

None of these people knew each other, so they walked over without saying hello.

Even though a small number of them are Beijing officials and are considered familiar faces, these people basically side with the Prime Minister Li Zhong.

They were among the people who repeatedly targeted Zhu Xiuyuan in the court.

Everyone is on the opposite side of each other and can be regarded as political enemies. Naturally, they don't have a good look on them. They just pretend not to see it.

With great success, Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng entered the Chengtian Gate. Under the guidance of the young eunuch, they came to an open space in front of the Meridian Gate.

Many people have gathered here.

"Brother Zhu!"

Just as Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng came over, they heard someone shouting, which attracted most people's attention.

Zhu Xiuyuan quickly looked around, but it turned out to be Liu Wencai, the eldest son of Prince Zhenze.

Liu Wencai was wearing court clothes, but under the light that seemed like daylight, it could still be seen that he was lean and monkey-like, his neck was slightly tilted forward, and he was waving with a smile on his face.

The folding fan around his neck has disappeared and is no longer inserted there.

Next to Liu Wencai, there is his father, King Zhenze.

There are also King Poyang and Liu Xun, the eldest son of King Poyang.

In addition, there were a few strangers who seemed to have been met at King Poyang's fiftieth birthday banquet.

Zhu Xiuyuan recalled carefully, there was probably King Liyang, King Xuancheng, and King Linhai.

Their group of princes were all honorable officers stationed in other places.

On the other side, there was King Zhongshan and a large group of military attachés.

Prime Minister Li Zhong and six civil servants.

Finally, there are the king of Jinling, the king of Kuaiji, the king of Jiangyin and other royal relatives.

They each gathered into small groups and waited together outside the Meridian Gate.

Zhu Xiuyuan and Dong Cheng naturally went to Liu Wencai and the others.

After approaching, the two of them bowed their hands in greeting and exchanged greetings with the group of princes and honorable officials.

King Zhenze and King Poyang were naturally very enthusiastic, and Zhu Xiuyuan had a better relationship with the two princes.

As for the other kings of Liyang and Xuancheng, they were relatively indifferent.

After congratulating Xiu Yuan, they just nodded slightly and said "hmm", looking very indifferent.

Zhu Xiuyuan didn't take it seriously. He was not familiar with these people, so it didn't matter.

What surprised Zhu Xiuyuan was that the Linhai King was actually quite enthusiastic towards him, and even held his hand and had a nice chat...

In line with the principle that if a person respects me a foot, I should repay him a foot, Zhu Xiuyuan chatted with the Linhai King for a while.

During the conversation, King Linhai was particularly interested in the things he created, such as fried tea, purple clay pots, new weapons, etc., and once again invited him to take time out to Yangzhou as a guest, and said that he would personally accompany him on a tour of the West Lake...

Zhu Xiuyuan suddenly remembered that in Jiangzhou, at the [-]th birthday banquet of King Poyang, it was also the Linhai King who was very enthusiastic towards him and invited him to Yangzhou to visit the West Lake...

When he thought of this, Zhu Xiuyuan was immediately moved and chatted with him for a while longer.

In this capital city, Zhu Xiuyuan has very few well-connected families. The civil and military courts all regard him as a "disaster"... In fact, Zhu Xiuyuan still hopes to have more good families.

It seems that Linhai King is very good and can be developed.After greeting the princes, Zhu Xiuyuan mingled with Liu Wencai and Liu Xun. They were both young people and had common topics.

Dong Cheng, on the other hand, chatted with King Zhenze and the others...

Zhu Xiuyuan chatted with Liu Wencai and Liu Xun, but in fact it was mainly him and Liu Wencai who were chatting.

The things they talked about were nothing more than poems, songs, romantic affairs, and most of them were initiated by Liu Wencai.

Zhu Xiuyuan also felt very relaxed talking about these things.

Liu Xun stood beside him, just acting as a listener. He changed his posture from time to time. Sometimes his hands dropped naturally, and sometimes he crossed his chest.

Zhu Xiuyuan also noticed that every time Liu Xun changed his standing posture, he had to look at his hands...

Zhu Xiuyuan guessed that Liu Xun was not used to not having the big sword in his hand.

As time went by, hundreds of civil and military officials had gathered in the open space outside the Meridian Gate, and the number was still increasing.

All civil and military officials participating in the New Year's Day court meeting must first enter the Chengtian Gate, and then wait in the open space outside the Meridian Gate. When the time comes, the Meridian Gate opens, and the officials can go to the venue of the court meeting——

Fengtian Temple.

About a quarter of an hour later, thousands of people had gathered in the open space outside the Meridian Gate.

All of them were ministers attending the court meeting.

Zhu Xiuyuan looked at them and saw that they were all heads. He couldn't help but secretly exclaimed. With so many people, the hall would definitely not be able to stand. So when will the meeting be held?

After a while, the Meridian Gate finally opened.

So the officials passed through the Meridian Gate in order according to the prearranged order.

Under the guidance of the little eunuch, they went straight to Fengtian Palace.

Prime Minister Li Zhong and King Zhongshan, as the leaders of civil and military affairs, naturally tied for the first place to step into the Meridian Gate.

Afterwards, they were sorted according to their rank, divided into two teams, civil and military, and entered the Meridian Gate one by one.

Although Zhu Xiuyuan has an earl, he is still lower than the other princes. According to the normal ranking order, Zhu Xiuyuan would probably be ranked several hundred places away.

But in fact, Zhu Xiuyuan was ranked relatively high.

In front of him was Liu Wencai, and behind him was Liu Xun.

Although Liu Wencai and Liu Xun were princes, they had no moral character.

But the reality is so cruel, they are all ranked at the top...

Even, it is further ahead than some princes stationed in other places!

Although Zhu Xiuyuan had doubts in his heart, he did not ask them.

Because everyone has started to enter the Meridian Gate now, and the entire New Year's Day gathering has begun, no one dares to talk nonsense, not even a cough.

Zhu Xiuyuan followed the team forward, passing through the Meridian Gate, then through the Fengtian Gate, and finally entered the Fengtian Hall.

Fengtian Hall is the largest hall in the palace, several times larger than Jinshen Hall.

This was Zhu Xiuyuan's first time here. He only took a brief glance and was already surprised. This hall was really big!

No wonder the New Year's Day dynasty must be held in this hall.

Zhu Xiuyuan sighed as he followed the team across the threshold of the hall and entered the scope of the hall.

After taking only two steps forward, Liu Wencai in front suddenly stopped.

Zhu Xiuyuan also stopped quickly and raised his eyes slightly to look forward.

But it turned out that the hall was already full and could not go any further.

He, Liu Wencai, and Liu Xun actually just entered the main hall. If they were three seats further back, they would have to stay in the corridor outside the hall.

Zhu Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment and understood instantly.

I'm afraid someone had planned it in advance and arranged for Liu Wencai, him, and Liu Xun to stand in this position, just enough to enter the hall.

Although this is the end of the main hall, close to the gate, the inside is really too big, and even the dragon chair on the imperial steps can't be seen clearly.

However, it is also very good to be able to enter the main hall to participate in the New Year's Day gathering.

As everyone knows, the corridors and steps outside the hall, as well as the huge square in front of the hall, are also filled with civil and military officials.

Among them, there were many princes and other distinguished officials, but none of them could enter the main hall.

In other words, Zhu Xiuyuan, Liu Wencai, and Liu Xun were specially taken care of by someone.

Zhu Xiuyuan was thinking about these things in his mind and stood obediently without daring to move.

The New Year's Day court meeting is extraordinary. It pays special attention to the etiquette of civil and military officials and has very high requirements. When the officials pay congratulations, if there is any slight disrespect, they will be fined with a stick or demoted.

The punishment is severe.

Even Liu Wencai, who was usually carefree, stood in front of Zhu Xiuyuan and did not dare to move...

"Your Majesty is here, your concubine is here!"

When the sky turned white, Emperor Chen finally came out, accompanied by Concubine You.

Immediately, the ministers in the main hall, as well as those in the corridors outside the hall, on the steps, and in the square in front of the hall, all civil and military officials, thousands of them, all performed the royal ceremony together.

The sound of worship came in bursts without a trace of noise, but it had a sense of the majesty of the imperial court.

"Be flat!"

Zhu Xiu heard Chen Huang's voice from a distance. The hall was really too big, and he was standing very far back, so he couldn't hear Chen Huang's voice clearly.

He couldn't help but think that this might be one of the reasons why it is stipulated that there should be no noise. Only when everyone is quiet can Chen Huang's words be heard clearly.

"Be flat!"

"Be flat!"

Two young eunuchs shouted at the top of their lungs one after another. One stood on the imperial steps and the other stood on the steps outside the palace, acting as the "mouthpiece" for Emperor Chen.

Next, the New Year's Day court meeting officially began.

The eunuch with a particularly loud voice read out Emperor Chen's imperial edict first.

The writing is brilliant, but also profound and obscure.

Zhu Xiuyuan has read many ancient books in classical Chinese, but he still can't understand them well.

Then, all the ministers presented their congratulations.

They picked up some nice words to say, but they just reported the good news and not the bad news.

Zhu Xiuyuan listened carefully and found out that what each minister reported was a great joy, such as auspicious events there, and a good harvest somewhere...

Since the second half of this year, the ministers have not mentioned a word about the natural and man-made disasters that Jiangzhou has suffered, as well as the invasion of border areas by hundreds of thousands of Yan troops...

Later, Zhu Xiuyuan also came forward to report the matter of the Divine Thunder Army and the Divine Thunder Square.

Not surprisingly, he also picked up some nice things to say...

This was all written by Dong Cheng in advance, and he only had to read it according to it.

When Zhu Xiuyuan presented the congratulations, he had to go to the front of the hall, which was only a few feet away from the imperial steps where Emperor Chen was.

He could clearly see Chen Huang's facial expression.

Zhu Xiuyuan once specially observed Chen Huang, and saw that his face was expressionless, his eyes were dull, and his eyes were wandering. Although he was sitting upright on the dragon chair, Zhu Xiuyuan always felt that Chen Huang was sleeping!

I guess Emperor Chen was tired of hearing these reports.

But the entire New Year's Day meeting will not end because of Chen Huang's irritability. In fact, everyone present must continue to "act".

Zhu Xiuyuan finished his report and returned to his original position. Then he began to wander frequently, thinking wildly, wandering too much, and finally fell into drowsiness.

Last night, the house was "haunted" again, and people kept watch on the New Year's Eve. He went back to his room to rest very late, and got up early this morning... Zhu Xiuyuan had secretly yawned many times.

【Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)