I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 401 The emperor works hard

After the British and French missions achieved their goals, they did not go back immediately.

Instead, they each walked around Nanjing as businessmen.It is not only a private reselling of some Chinese goods to make a fortune, but also a chance to appreciate the scenery of the Chinese capital.

"The Chinese emperor really hates religion so much that there is not a single church in Nanjing." Henry walked on the streets of Nanjing and couldn't help but sigh.

On both sides of the streets, there were occasionally curious people watching.However, most of them are still running around for a living.

The members of the envoy following Henry also smiled and said: "No wonder the Pope in Rome dislikes China so much. It seems that it is not without reason."

The Holy See may be very influential in Europe, but the British absolutely hate it.

There is no other reason than that the Holy See openly supports the restoration of the deposed British king and provides political endorsement and financial support.Parliament couldn't bear it anymore and finally promulgated the "Succession of the Throne Act" 20 years ago, abolishing the orthodoxy of Catholicism in the British monarchy.

In fact, it was Henry and the others who thought too much. Even if Zhu Yijiong did not ban religion, Catholicism would not be able to develop in China.

Because the values ​​​​of the two sides are too different, to put it simply, the land of China does not cultivate idle gods.

For example, if the Dragon King in the temple enjoys incense, it must rain. If it doesn't rain, he will be whipped and exposed to the sun. If it doesn't rain, he will be replaced by the Dragon King... In Europe, you would have to be sent to the Inquisition.

……

From the end of the ten nights of Lantern Festival, February will come in a few days.

Officials of the third rank and above must start fasting, and the emperor must come to the Fengtian Hall to attend court on the first day of February and read out a personal plowing ritual with all the officials.

Taichang Temple has been restored since last year, and various sacrificial systems have been re-established.

On February [-], the dragon looked up.

The emperor plowed the land and encouraged farmers to cultivate mulberry trees.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three bells and drums rang at the Meridian Gate, and the emperor set off on his journey.

Zhu Yijiong basically restored the pre-Ming dynasty's farming ritual, in which the emperor plowed the fields and the emperor personally went to the fields to do farm work, expressing the court's attitude of attaching importance to agriculture and encouraging mulberry farming.

The sacrificial team was extremely large. Although Zhu Yijiong further eliminated unnecessary officials, many people gathered around him out of curiosity as soon as they left the Forbidden City.

I wonder what the emperor wants to do when he suddenly leaves the palace?
Henry and his delegation were also aware of this and did not understand why the Chinese emperor suddenly started such a big battle.

Is it possible that there is another holiday celebration?Or is the Chinese emperor going to have a royal banquet outdoors?

The sacrificial procession of monarchs and ministers went all the way to the southeast outside Nanjing City. This is where the Nanjing Great Sacrifice Altar is located and the original Nanjing Temple of Heaven.

However, Zhu Yijiong carried out sacrificial simplification reforms, restored the old Zhu system in the early Ming Dynasty, and the large sacrificial altar was reused as a unified sacrificial altar for heaven and earth.

Among the large sacrificial altars is the Xiannong Altar: the people who first taught people to farm and received sacrifices to become gods.

The general process of the field ceremony is that the emperor led the civil and military officials to first offer sacrifices to the ancestors, and then personally plowed the fields and prayed for the country.

According to ancient rituals, Tailao must be used to sacrifice ancestors, that is, pigs, cows, and sheep.

This is not a waste, because the complete sacrificial ceremony of the three animals requires the emperor, officials, and people to eat them together to complete the sacrificial ceremony.

In fact, with so many people, it may not be enough to eat, so a piece of meat for each person is not bad.

After the sacrifice, the minister of Taichang Temple led the emperor to the Guangeng Platform and stood facing south.

There is one-third of an acre of cultivated land here, which was the land that the emperor personally cultivated during the field ceremony. This is also the origin of the allusion of one-third of an acre of land.

Xue Yingcheng, the minister of Honglu Temple, sang in praise: "The ceremony begins!"

The Minister of Hubu and the Yin of Yingtian respectively presented the prime minister and the bullwhip to the emperor, and then the minister of Taichang Temple and his subordinate officials stepped forward to guide the emperor in plowing.

Ying Tianfu Cheng also held a green box containing seeds, and the Minister of Household Affairs followed the emperor to sow the seeds.

Around the altar, officials stood solemnly, showing great importance. Further away, the onlookers who followed were shouting.

"Your Majesty is farming!"

"There are just a lot of people, so I'm not familiar with the technique!" "Li San, what are you talking about? It's great that the emperor is willing to come out to plow the land."

"What I'm saying is that if the emperor is willing to plow the land, then he is a good emperor, and he will be able to live a good life in the future."

"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"

"..."

These people don't understand what it means for the emperor to work hard in the fields and encourage farmers to grow mulberry trees. They only know that the emperor is willing to condescend to others and not use gold hoes to work in the fields. That means he is at least considerate of the people.

As long as we are considerate of the people, we can continue to live the good life we ​​have now.

In this way, the days will naturally become more and more promising.

Henry and others who followed were already stunned by the scene before them. Although Britain had experienced a bourgeois revolution, the bourgeoisie was still an "aristocracy" in essence, just an emerging "aristocracy."

To them, it was simply unimaginable that the great emperor, who was like the emperor in China, would work in the fields himself.

It's almost like asking their British king to go to the countryside to farm, even if he gives up his work in a minute.

A member of the British mission was surprised: "Are those Chinese people laughing at their emperor?"

Henry shook his head: "Although I can't speak their Chinese language, I can still understand some basic vocabulary. They are shouting long live the emperor!"

The man was a little confused: "Long live the emperor?"

Henry reluctantly explained with his own understanding: "It is a blessing to the emperor. Only a truly supported emperor can receive such a blessing. You see, many of them knelt down. Even the emperor's face could not be seen from such a distance." Can’t see clearly.”

The man was surprised again: "It's true! How can such despicable behavior attract such support from the Chinese people?"

Henry seemed to grasp something vaguely, and then shook his head and said: "I don't know, this should be regarded as China's own culture!"

Not only was the British mission watching, but so was the French mission.

The emperor does not need to finish all the plowing. The emperor usually only needs to go through the formalities as usual.

In fact, this is the first time in more than 300 years that Nanjing has restarted farming.

Because after Yongle moved the capital, the emperor Gonggeng was in Beijing.

The emperor's work is over.

"Get up and play "36 He Ci"!"

The palace band began to play music, which was ancient music and meant to pray for stability in farming.

The Minister of Hubu and the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture knelt to receive the grass and the bullwhip, while the emperor climbed up to the viewing platform and watched the three ministers and nine ministers working on the fields.

The new Ming Dynasty definitely did not have the Three Gongs and Nine Ministers, so when the cabinet and the chief officials of various ministries came to Yutian, they would go through the formalities according to the ceremony.

After the entire land-grazing ceremony was over, the emperor came to Qingcheng Palace and listened to Lin Jingyu, the minister of etiquette, kneeling down to report the number of acres tilled: "Your Majesty, this land-grazing ceremony totals one-third of an acre."

According to the old system, there are also a series of activities such as giving tea, hosting banquets, singing and dancing, and performing arts.These activities are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and unnecessary, and were all simplified by Zhu Yijiong.

All processes are completed.

Xue Yingcheng, the minister of Honglu Temple, immediately shouted: "The ceremony is completed in Yutian!"

"The emperor is driving back to the palace!"

Zhu Yijiong returned to the palace by chariot.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The bell at the Meridian Gate rang again, announcing the official end of the Yutian ceremony.

　Xiannongtan was first built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It covered a large area during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but was continuously encroached upon and now covers less than 200 acres.There are Qingcheng Palace, Taisui Palace (including the Worship Hall and the silk burning stove in front of it), the Divine Kitchen God Storehouse, the Divine Cang, and the Jufu Hall and other buildings.There are also four altars including Guangeng Platform, Xiannong Altar, Tianshen Altar and Dizhi Altar.These buildings are divided into palace buildings and functional buildings according to the different requirements of sacrificial activities. Palace buildings are mainly places for emperors to change clothes before and after sacrificial ceremonies, places to celebrate achievements after sacrificial ceremonies, reward officials, and temples to worship Tai Sui. Functions The traditional buildings are mainly used to prepare and store sacrificial supplies, farming supplies, grain courtyards harvested from the fields, and the shrines of the agricultural gods, such as the divine warehouse, the divine kitchen, and the divine storehouse.There is one-third of an acre of cultivated land in front of the viewing platform. It was the land that the emperor personally cultivated when he performed the "field ceremony". This is where the popular folk allusion of "one-third of an acre of land" comes from.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)