The short video shows the ancient times, and the emperors cried with envy!

Chapter 703: Eight thousand elderly people attended the banquet, a grand event that shocked the world! Kou Zhun: An old fool!
Confucius' favorite student Yan Hui came to report: "Master, what appeared in the sky today is truly a marvelous sight! Shenzhou is carrying people, the magpie bridge is delivering messages, and the wild geese will never lose contact. This feat has never been seen before!"

Confucius nodded and said: "Hui, what do you think of this view of the sky?"

Yan Hui replied respectfully, "Master, I think what I saw today is exactly what you said, 'If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening.' I am satisfied with my life because I can explore the mysteries of the universe and spread Chinese civilization. What else can I ask for?"

After hearing this, Confucius couldn't help but smile with relief.

On the sky screen, the next video slowly appeared.

[Many people say that the Banquet for Thousand Old Men held by Emperor Qianlong led to the unfortunate deaths of many elderly guests. What is going on? ]

[It is said that the elderly people who were invited to the feast had prepared for the worst before leaving.]

[After all, being able to share such a grand banquet with the emperor is probably a disaster. ]

[In 1795, in order to avoid surpassing his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi's 61-year reign, Emperor Qianlong decided to pass the throne to his fifteenth son, Yongyan, and he himself stepped back and became the emperor emeritus.]

[On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Jiaqing reign, Emperor Qianlong, who had just abdicated three days ago, held an unprecedented banquet for thousands of elders in the Forbidden City.]

[The banquet was held in Ningshou Palace and Huangji Hall. Elderly people from all over the country were invited to dine at the same table with the emperor. The entire palace was almost full.]

【At the banquet, many elders gathered together and drank. 】

【The Emperor Qianlong personally gave wine and recited poems, and the atmosphere was even more lively. 】

[However, to Qianlong's surprise, this banquet for thousands of old men actually led to the death of many of them! ]

[In fact, these elderly people died one after another after attending the Banquet for Thousand Old Men, mainly because of Qianlong’s excessive arrangements and cumbersome ritual procedures.]

【The tradition of the Banquet for a Thousand Old Men can be traced back to the reign of Emperor Kangxi. 】

[The so-called Banquet for Thousand Old Men was to invite senior officials and celebrities over 70 years old to the palace to have a feast with the emperor and have fun together.]

【Emperor Kangxi pioneered the Banquet for Thousands of Elders.】

[In March of the 52nd year of Kangxi's reign, Kangxi held the first banquet for thousands of elders in Changchun Garden to celebrate his 60th birthday.]

[In the first month of the 69st year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, the -year-old Emperor Kangxi held the ceremony for the second time.]

[When the third Thousand Old Men Banquet was held, the 12-year-old grandson of the emperor, Hongli, was fortunate enough to participate.]

[Hongli was very fond of the grand occasion of the Banquet for Thousands of Old Men. Since Hongli admired and even imitated his grandfather Kangxi in many aspects, he would naturally not miss such a feat when he entered his old age.]

[The first Banquet for a Thousand Old Men was held by Emperor Qianlong in the first month of his fiftieth year.]

[To commemorate the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne, the 75-year-old Qianlong held his first ceremony in the Qianqing Palace. ]

[On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the first year of Jiaqing, the 86-year-old Qianlong officially became the Supreme Emperor.]

[To celebrate this important moment, he once again held his own Banquet for a Thousand Old Men in Ningshou Palace and Huangji Hall, but this time it became the final chapter of the Banquet for a Thousand Old Men in history.]

[However, since Qianlong was already over 80 years old, if he still invited people over 60 years old as usual, the age gap between him and Qianlong would be too big.]

【Therefore, the age limit for participating in this banquet has been raised to seventy years old. 】

[In order to host this banquet for thousands of elders, the interior decoration of the palace is very gorgeous. 】

[The scale of the Banquet for Thousand Old Men in the first year of Jiaqing was unprecedented, with as many as 800 tables set up in the palace. Its scale and huge cost were jaw-dropping.]

[The invited princes and ministers must be over 60 years old, while ordinary militiamen must be over 70 years old.]

[The Huangji Hall was well decorated in advance. In addition to the imperial banquet in front of the emperor's throne, a total of 800 banquet tables were set up.]

During the Daguan period of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Kou Zhun sat in the palace, gazing at the miraculous scene on the sky. Eight hundred long tables were filled with elderly people with white hair and beards, and they saw an emperor over 80 years old, full of vigor and vitality amid the birthday wishes of the elderly.

He was extremely astonished and could not imagine that an emperor could hold such a grand birthday banquet at such an old age.

Questions flashed through Kou Zhun's mind.

Why did the emperor hold a banquet for a thousand elders at this time?

Did he summon so many elderly people to the palace for a banquet in order to demonstrate his own majesty or to satisfy his vanity?

As more details appeared on the sky, he couldn't help but be amazed at the exquisite decorations and exquisite utensils at the banquet.

Although this emperor claimed to have abdicated, he still controlled the government and was still indulging in extravagance and waste. Isn't this contrary to the frugality that a monarch should have?
Really, what a confused old man!
[At the beginning of the grand banquet, the young Emperor Jiaqing personally helped his father, the abdicated Emperor Qianlong, to ascend the throne.]

[Afterwards, Jiaqing led a group of white-haired elders to kneel down and shout "Long live the emperor". There were 3,000 people seated at the banquet, and 5,000 people watched from the sidelines.]

【Attendees received valuable gifts, including rare furs and antiques. 】

[This banquet for 8,000 seniors, hosted by Emperor Qianlong, was undoubtedly an unprecedented and extremely rare gathering of seniors from multiple ethnic groups.]

【The whole banquet was filled with a peaceful and joyful atmosphere, which was both solemn and lively. 】

[Among them, more than a dozen centenarians were particularly eye-catching. ]

[The Emperor Qianlong would even personally toast these people.]

[In recognition of these long-lived elders, Emperor Qianlong also bestowed special gifts. ]

[Xiong Guopei, Qiu Chenglong and other centenarians were given the rank of the sixth rank, while those over 90 were given the rank of the seventh rank.]

【These actions fully demonstrate the emperor's respect and care for the elderly. 】

[At the end of the banquet, many scholars and literati improvised poems to praise the great achievements of Emperor Qianlong. ]

The Great Song Dynasty plane.

Huizong Zhao Ji looked at the sky and couldn't help but widen his eyes. The voice and appearance of the previous emperor Song Shenzong suddenly appeared in his mind.

"At that time, my father also held a banquet to entertain the elderly people in the world."

“But it’s nowhere near that scale.”

"It is hard to accept that Emperor Qianlong could do such a thing. Although I am old, I should not have to endure such suffering!"

The true appearance of the prosperous era thousands of years later is still vivid in our minds.

Zhao Ji couldn't help but sigh at the fate that played tricks on him.

[The original intention of Qianlong to hold the Banquet for Thousand Old Men was to kill two birds with one stone. ]

[On the one hand, it shows the court's respect for the elderly and advocates the virtue of respecting the elderly and loving the young in the whole society. ]

[On the other hand, this grand event was also a display of the achievements of Emperor Qianlong's sixty years of rule, intended to demonstrate a peaceful and prosperous era in which the country was peaceful and the people lived long and prosperous lives.]

[This banquet for a thousand elders was supposed to further consolidate the reputation of the Qianlong era and make its prestige more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.]

[However, soon after the banquet, a series of unexpected events occurred, which Qianlong had not expected and was deeply worried about.]

[Shockingly, many elderly people who came from far away to attend the Thousand Old Men Banquet suddenly became seriously ill on their way back home or shortly after returning home, and passed away one after another.]

[So many elderly people passed away after attending the banquet. What is the reason behind this? It is thought-provoking. ]

(End of this chapter)