Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 129 Chapter 3.36 I also attended the Qionglin Banquet
Volume Three

3.36 I also went to the Qionglin Banquet
Early the next morning, when it was just dawn, Zhou Yang set off from home on a sweaty horse, because today was Wu Jinshi's "Qionglin Banquet", and it was probably the only chance for most people to see the emperor in the same year. No matter what, It cannot be overemphasized, and of course it is not without other problems.
"This emperor is really serious. The day is still long. He insists on setting the time to start at Mao o'clock, and he doesn't let people have a good rest." Qingwen, who also got up early to help clean up, sent her young master to the second gate, not forgetting He kept complaining, "If I'm afraid of exhausting everyone, who else will work for him!"

"Okay, lazy girl!" Looking at the sleepiness on her face, Zhou Yang smiled and bent down to knock her, "I'm not asking you to go out. Go back and sleep now. Besides, I'm afraid I won't be able to How much time can I rest at home, entertainment is annoying, but it is also essential!"

"Master, be careful!" Qingwen nodded and knelt softly, "This slave will send the young master to court for the first time. I wish the young master a prosperous career and a bright future!"

"Silly girl!" Zhou Yang simply smiled and jumped off the horse, picked her up and touched her head, "Go back, don't be tired!"

The Great Court Meeting starts at Mao hour (five o'clock in the morning). Even if Zhou Yang's house is not far from the palace, and there is time to clean up, wash and even put some food on the stomach, you still have to get up at least half an hour in advance, so as to cross the horse. The whole capital was generally quiet. Except for a few people who got up early to work, most of them were officials of the court. Most of them were in sedan chairs and carriages, and those on horseback were really rare.

However, being rare does not mean that there is none. At least most of the Wu Jinshis of the same year chose to come on horseback, wearing the Wu Jin sergeant uniforms they had already received, and even wore a military attache's saber on the left waist - turned it in before the saint - a They all seemed to be in high spirits, and they never forgot to say hello to each other when they met, and most of them took the initiative to say hello when they saw Zhou Yang. It seemed that yesterday's "information dissemination" had taken effect.

"I've met my mentor!" After arriving at the palace gate, I deposited the horses, entered the palace in order, bypassed the three main halls, and reached the "Daming Gate" in front of the Daming Palace. They stood in line in the middle, and on both sides were the civil and military officials who went to court today. When the emperor showed up, Zhou Yang did not expect that Chen Ruiwen would take the initiative to say hello, so he naturally saluted and said hello quickly.

"Not bad!" Chen Ruiwen looked at him and nodded with satisfaction, patted his shoulder again before turning and entering the queue of military attachés - this place is not suitable for chatting. The only reason he can say hello is because he has a high enough status. No one could do anything about this small mistake. For a moment, everyone on the scene looked at him with suspicion. What was even more surprising was what he said before leaving, "In two days, your senior brother will organize a drinking party to get together with other brothers. Don't forget come over!"

"Yes, mentor!" Zhou Yang quickly bowed to answer, and this answer also officially "announced" his future "side". A group of new martial arts scholars all had complicated expressions, and the civil servants had obviously changed from "neutral" to "neutral". Became "indifferent".

Fortunately, his residence is on Hanlin Street, not far from the imperial palace, so he can "get stuck" to work with basic accuracy. After all the officials got ready, he waited for about a stick of incense and only heard three whips. The general of the Han Dynasty took his place, and Dai Quan, the eunuch in charge of the Daming Palace, stood under the imperial steps and shouted "Shangchao".

Immediately afterwards comes the normal procedure of going to court, with civil and military reports on both sides, basically all New Year topics. Then again, real events don't need to be so complicated at all. Usually, the elders and important ministers are in the Daming Palace. It was decided at the "small court meeting" that this "imperial gate listening to politics" with hundreds of people participating was actually just a decoration.

On the other hand, the more than 100 Xinkewu Jinshi who stood in the middle stood there for a long time without saying a word. Although they stood in the middle, they were actually more "feeling the atmosphere". At least until the end of the meeting, they were not there. There was no room for them to talk, and no time for them to talk.

Don't think this is "abuse". Being able to go to court is the pursuit of every official. Of course, the highest pursuit is to participate in the Xiaochao meeting, but this is not something that a group of newly recruited Wu Jinshi should consider. If you want to enter the "Xiaochao meeting", you must first To be qualified to show up at the "Great Court Meeting", it is not the kind of "friendship standing on the street", but to leave a deep impression on the person on the dragon throne.

In fact, regardless of civil or military affairs, most of the Jinshi were able to go to court this time throughout their lives. Most of them had no chance to enter the palace after the Qionglin Banquet. Whether they participated in the "Qionglin Banquet" or the "Great Court Meeting", In fact, it is just another kind of whipping and guidance for new scholars. Of course, it can also be said to be "happy" from a theological point of view.

Finally, with the sound of "If there is something to do, we will leave the court if there is nothing", the court meeting that lasted for more than half an hour came to an end. Seeing a eunuch coming up with an imperial edict, a group of new Kewu Jinshi looked excited and listened to themselves excitedly. The names were read out one by one for the "Roll Call", which was basically everyone's most glorious moment.

After the roll call was completed, each "background board" was gradually withdrawn until there were only about twenty people left on both sides, that is, on the civil service side, the five ministers, ministers, and the chief and deputy bosses of the Supervisory Council and other important officials. On the general side, only the military department remained. The "Martial Arts Qionglin Banquet" officially begins when the chief and deputy officers meet with the senior generals of each battalion in Beijing. Yes, it is roughly the time for breakfast - well, the ancient ritual of "eating in the morning"!
In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the banquet of the martial arts examination should be called the "Martial Arts Banquet". However, as the dynasty continued, public opinion gradually returned to the hands of the big turban, and the Ying Yang Banquet of the martial arts examination was The theory of martial arts banquets and military banquets gradually disappeared, and these two banquets basically became replicas of similar events in the imperial examination.After entering the banquet set up in the Imperial Garden and taking his seats, Zhou Yang thought to himself, "I have also been to the Qionglin Banquet." He looked helplessly at the dishes assigned to the table in front of him. He couldn't help it. In March, The capital was really not warm. No one heated the banquet, which was placed directly in the open air. Except for the emperor, even the civil and military leaders had to eat cold food.

In this era, all the expensive dishes were basically made of animal oil, such as the most common lard. After such a long period of "cooling", a snow-white "oil film" has already formed on the surface. You can imagine the taste, but Not only do you have to eat this meal, but you also have to eat it with a "gratitude" attitude, which is really embarrassing.

In addition, there is the restriction of "big scene", that is, His Majesty the Emperor on the throne is actually very far away. Fortunately for Zhou Yang, although he is only ranked 20nd and [-]th, the total number of the first and second rankings is only [-], even if the distance is It's already [-] meters away, so you can still see it; the remaining over a hundred people are all "from the same Jinshi" ranking list, so it's basically a lonely sight.

A tasteless banquet lasted for nearly half an hour, interspersed with more than a dozen speeches from the emperor's voice, encouragement from the elders, training from military commanders, and rewards based on rank, which made Zhou Yang finally feel All that was left was "I'm still a little hungry." Of course, he didn't dare to say this clearly. Looking at the grateful expressions of those people from the top three to the last place on the third list, he dared to say that it was literally "seeking death."

Fortunately, no matter how boring the process is, it comes to an end. After Emperor Yonghe left the stage, everyone could finally leave in order. Zhou Yang breathed a long sigh of relief and watched the big guys leave. Then he straightened up and turned around to greet his contemporaries. A few words, and then under the guidance of the eunuchs, in the eyes of everyone with envy or jealousy, they left, just...
"I have met Her Royal Highness, the eldest princess!" When a group of people were walking away in silence, the eunuch leading the way suddenly heard the respectful sound of worship in front of him. Zhou Yang paused and quietly looked not far away from the corner of his eye. Two extremely familiar words came from the front. The figure was standing inside the entrance of the Royal Garden, which also gave him an ominous premonition.

"Everyone, please go down!" The person who spoke was naturally Dongfang Bing. His familiar voice was calm and tinged with alienation and arrogance. The martial artists who had received etiquette training didn't even dare to raise their heads. They just saluted respectfully and passed by one after another, until they heard a Everyone was stunned and shouted coldly, "You stay."

"I don't know, Your Highness -" Looking at the very familiar palace guard's sword lying in front of him, and the very familiar cold figure in front of him, Zhou Yang knew that this was not the point. He raised his head slightly and glanced at Yongchang, whose expression was indifferent and arrogant. The princess quickly lowered her head, feeling that the smile on her face must be uglier than crying, "What are your orders, Wei Chen?"

"Follow me!" The gorgeous and graceful princess uniform turned away with the fragrant breeze, leaving only a beautiful back. Zhou Yang did not have the courage to say anything at all. He hurriedly lowered his head without caring about the shocked expressions of others of the same age. He turned his head away, leaving Dongfang Bing behind him shouting with murderous intent, "If even a word of what happened today is spread, you won't have to live anymore!"

Not to mention the three people who had already walked away, all the new martial arts scholars were completely dumbfounded. No one even considered the strict etiquette anymore. Everyone couldn't help but look at each other for a moment, but saw that all the top three people lowered their heads and said nothing. After a while, someone finally stood with gritted teeth. He came out, took out a banknote from his arms and stuffed it into the hand of the eunuch who was leading the way.

"Eunuch, I am Zhao Guang, named Yongye, and I am the tenth Jinshi in the martial arts department today. I would like to ask who the noble man is and why he stopped him here - well, in short, I just want to ask one more question. Of course, if I can't tell you,"

"There's nothing that can't be said." The eunuch who led the way glanced at the banknote, stuffed it into his pocket with satisfaction, and then looked at everyone and said, "Since His Highness showed up here, he made it clear that he is not afraid of revealing his identity. The person who was standing there just now was Her Royal Highness Princess Yongchang, the person speaking was the guard of the princess's palace who commanded Dongfang Qianhu.

Your Highness is the younger sister of the current saint, and she has always been close to you. The emperor's knees were full of breath for a long time, but there are only two princesses left behind. Therefore, the royal princess can speak in front of the two saints. Just now, Dongfang Qianhu gave you the final instructions. I have heard them all. If you are not afraid of death, you can talk nonsense after you go out. Do you hear me clearly? "

Everyone present looked stiff, but no one said anything.

(End of this chapter)