Back to Tang Dynasty to be Emperor

This is the first time for Li Ke to celebrate the New Year in the Tang Dynasty.Therefore, he was full of curiosity about the ancient Spring Festival.

First of all, he learned that in the early Tang Dynasty, there was no festival custom of posting Spring Festival couplets. During the Chinese New Year, every household hung "peach charms", and the two door gods Shen Tu and Yu Lei were painted on peach wood boards. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Zhong Kui was painted as the door god.

However, Zhong Kui was actually a real man who failed the Jinshi exam and died after touching the ranks. The Emperor of Heaven ordered him to be in charge of catching ghosts.One day, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji dreamed that Zhong Kui was catching ghosts in the palace and eating them. After waking up, he asked the famous painter Wu Daozi to draw a picture of Zhong Kui, which was exactly the same as what he saw in the dream.Since then, the emperor often gave the almanac and Zhong Kui's portrait to the ministers every New Year's day.

As for the Spring Festival couplets, the earliest one was written by Meng Chang, the lord of Later Shu during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, on New Year's Eve in 964 AD.

In the Tang Dynasty, the first month of the first month must be called New Year's Day, and various institutions of the imperial court had a holiday on New Year's Day, and they were not open, but there were court greetings.On New Year's Eve, the Nuo Dance (also known as "Dan Nuo") ceremony in the court of the Tang Dynasty was quite grand, and all members of the clan had to participate.

Therefore, on the night of New Year's Eve, when every household hangs peach charms, it means that it will be over in the Tang Dynasty.At this moment, Li Ke was meditating with his eyes closed in the frame. He couldn't figure out what was going on with the Nuo dance on New Year's Eve?

In this way, it is estimated that after a stick of incense, Li Ke's carriage stopped at the Xuanwu Gate.Li Ke got out of the car, explained a few words to Chen Qi, and went to the Tai Chi Hall where the Nuo dance was held.

The Tai Chi Hall was already crowded with people, although the Nuo dance was only held in the palace.However, Li Shimin still invited the ministers of the DPRK and China to participate together. Including the children of the clan, the number of people was several times larger than when he participated in the DPRK meeting.Therefore, the Tai Chi Hall was surrounded tightly.

When Li Ke came to the place where the disciples of the clan were, he saw that Li Tai and Li You were already seated, while Li Jing, Li Rong and Li were also sitting in the seats under the service of the maids, looking around, apparently looking for Own.Li Ke first greeted Li Tai and Li You, and then walked to the seats where Li and the other three were seated.

"Third brother, we have been waiting for you, you are finally here, you don't know that Rong'er misses you so much." Li Rong said coquettishly.

And Li Jing and Li also rushed to express their miss to Li Ke to Li Ke, which made Li Ke flustered for a while.After finally calming down the three children, Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji walked over.Li Ke hurriedly saluted the two of them, and they also returned the salute to him.Although Li Chengqian loved Li Ke very much, but Changsun Wuji was on the sidelines, and he didn't dare to show too much in his words.Then, Li Ke comforted the little guys with good words, and then returned to the position arranged for him.

Li Ke's seat is right next to Li Tai, so as soon as Li Ke came back, Li Tai smiled and said, "Third brother is very busy, and he has been staying behind closed doors in the mansion recently, so we brothers miss him so much." Li Ke was obviously satirizing Li Ke, but he was actually telling Li Ke on the sidelines, don't do anything wrong in the house, we are all paying attention to you.

"Third brother, worry too much. Brother Wei just wants to stay in the mansion for a few days. In fact, brother Wei is also waiting in the mansion for a few younger brothers to come. It may be that everyone is very busy, and I have never seen the younger brothers come to the door. Visit me as a brother." Li Ke also shot back, I am also paying attention to you in the mansion, don't do things that are not good for me.

And Li You watched Li Ke and Li Tai start to pinch each other as soon as they came up, and was happy to watch the show, smiling at the side without saying a word.However, before the two of them could say a few words, they saw Li Shimin walking in. Behind him were naturally Empress Changsun, Concubine Yang and other harem beauties.

After the ministers saw Li Shimin shouting long live, Li Shimin took the throne and announced the Nuo dance.

A group of people dressed up as Zhong Kui started dancing in the middle of the arena.However, the dancing and dressing up in the court was to cater to Li Shimin's taste.Therefore, props such as knives, guns and swords are mixed in, and the dance is not as weak as Tang Xuanzong likes. Every movement and every posture of the dance is full of the atmosphere of fighting on the battlefield.

Even Li Ke, who doesn't like watching dances very much, also enjoys this kind of Nuo dance.

After the Nuo dance, the officials began to leave, and went back to their homes to celebrate the new year with their families.And Li Shimin also held a family banquet in Ganquan Palace to celebrate the reunion with his family on New Year's Eve.

First, the princes prepared gifts for Li Shimin, the queen and the concubines, and then Li Shimin rewarded them with gifts.

Everyone offered something different, but Li You gave Li Shimin a sword.Because Li Shimin is an emperor on horseback, he still prefers swords and swords.Therefore, I am very satisfied with Li You's gift.What Li Tai gave Li Shimin was an inkstone, which was used by Zheng Daozhao, a calligrapher in the Northern Wei Dynasty.Li Shimin loves writing, so he also likes Li Tai's inkstone.When Li Ke offered the gift, Li Kecong handed a long box to Li Shimin.Li Shimin and everyone who sat down were stunned for a moment. They didn't know what it was, it was so mysterious, "Li Ke, what kind of gift did you offer? It's so mysterious?"

"Father, the gift presented by my son is in the box, why don't you open it and have a look?" Li Ke bought a key for Li Shimin.

Concubine Yang who was beside her looked at Li Ke and said with a smile, "Look at this kid, he's still playing charades with your father, the truth is getting more and more presumptuous."

"Hehe, Concubine Ai doesn't need to blame him, since he wants me to open it myself, then I'll see what it is." Li Shimin said to Concubine Yang with a smile in a good mood.

"Yes, sister, don't reprimand Ke'er. Your Majesty, just open it and let the concubines see what such a mysterious gift is?" Empress Changsun also said expectantly beside her.

Li Shimin immediately opened the box, and saw a long sword coming out of the box.Li Shimin suddenly felt strange, why a sword should be so mysterious, the gift Li You gave him was also a sword, and it was not so mysterious.Immediately, the sword in the box made Li Shimin and the concubines present look disappointed, Li Tai, Li You and Li Chengqian gloated, and Concubine Yang showed concern for Li Ke.

"Father, why don't you take a closer look?" Li Ke suggested.

As soon as Li Ke said, Li Shimin understood, took out the long sword, grabbed the hilt and pulled it out.The candlelight at night shone on the sword, reflecting a ray of light, which pierced Li Chengqian's eyes, making it difficult for him to open them for a while.And Li Shimin said in surprise, "It looks like a sword but not a sword, and it looks like a sword but not a sword, but it looks like a sharp weapon. It is suitable for slashing farts, and it is more suitable for soldiers on horseback. Moreover, the blade has pick tendons, which increases the hardness of the sword." And slashing and lethality. It is indeed a sharp weapon!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, when everyone looked at the weapon in Li Shimin's hand, they realized that what he was holding was not a sword, but more like a knife. The Arabic numeral "7" is the same, and the body of the knife has a ridge (steel pick) near the blade. The body and the handle are two in one. It looks like a knife is not a knife, and a sword is not a sword.Everyone was also shocked by the knife presented by Li Ke, especially Li Shimin, after seeing the military value of this knife, he couldn't put it down and fondled it.

"Li Ke, is this your design?" Li Shimin looked at it for a moment before asking, "Is it famous?"

"Returning to my father, I have seen that the guards in the palace usually use guns and knives in training, and the weapons they use on horseback are long. However, I also discovered a problem, that is, in cavalry battles The biggest characteristic of the light cavalry is mobility. Just like the Turkic iron cavalry, they are all light cavalry, and they all use scimitars in their hands. When confronting the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty, the mobility of their cavalry will be lower. It is taller, and weapons that are too long in high-efficiency mobility, such as spears and spears, lose their own lethality. Short weapons are more suitable for slashing on the battlefield. So, after thinking about it, I came up with such a weapon A sharp weapon, it can chop, cut, and stab. If the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty were also equipped with it, at least the maneuverability on the battlefield would not be inferior to that of the Turks. In addition, the lethality of this knife is also extremely strong. He is the best cavalry weapon, but I am sure how useful he will be in the future war with the Turks." Li Ke said, "As for the name, I want my father to take it."

Listening to Li Ke's words, Li Shimin couldn't help but nodded and said, "Indeed, as you said, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty used long spears as weapons on horseback. These long weapons would make the cavalry less flexible when fighting. If the knights If the technique is not good, it will weaken their lethality within a certain range, and they will not be able to play a role in infantry combat, but this knife really solves this problem." Li Shimin said here, stopped, and the only thing he thought about was, "Just Call him Tang Dao!"

"Thank you, father, for the name." Li Ke saluted quickly.

Li Shimin said with a smile, "Li Ke, this is the best gift I have received this year. You have solved another problem for me, giving the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty more confidence in fighting against the cavalry of the Turks. , how can you ask Father to thank you?"

"As a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, the son of the emperor, it is the duty of the minister to contribute to the Tang Dynasty and share the worries of the emperor. The minister dare not take credit for it." Li Ke replied solemnly.

"Father and son, you said that national affairs are up. Tonight is New Year's Eve. It's better not to talk about the country, war and other topics. Let's eat first!" Empress Changsun reminded Li Shimin in a timely manner.

Only then did Li Shimin come to his senses, and smiled slightly, "It's my fault, don't be offended, Queen."

Then, it was Li Chengqian's turn to offer a gift.However, with Li Ke's gift in front, the gift he presented paled a lot, which made him hate Li Ke in his heart.In addition, the princes also gave gifts to the concubines in the palace, which changed their influence on the prince.

After finally finishing Li Shimin's family banquet, Li Ke returned to the mansion.I saw Su Dingfang, Ma Zhou and others waiting for him, and they haven't had dinner yet.Li Ke was moved in his heart, sat with everyone, and told everyone about the Nuo dance he saw in the palace, which made everyone sigh.

Then, Li Ke smiled and said to everyone, "Tonight is