Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 499 Chapter 6.70 All the ministers are safe
Volume VI

6.70 All the nobles live together
Emperor Changxing's funeral was very low-key. There was really nothing we could do about it. It was just that he had been on the throne for too short a time, and he was still very young. What was even more distressing was that his father, Emperor Yonghe, did not die peacefully. Even his grandfather, the Supreme Emperor, died. They are still there, how can they make it bigger?Therefore, even though Zhou Yang specifically emphasized that it should not be too shabby, in fact, as an imperial funeral, this one was still shabby.

On April [-]th, which was the day after Zhou Yang's first small court meeting, Li Mian completed the funeral step by step according to the procedures he had prepared after receiving the news of Emperor Changxing's death, and it only lasted three days—— This was decided after he discussed with his younger sister and the Queen Mother Li Hong, and also obtained the consent of the Supreme Emperor. There is no way, the royal family really does not need such "showcase".

Even regarding the news of his death and funeral, the imperial court only issued an imperial edict to inform the world and that was the end of the matter. It did not mention the requirement of "officials and people to observe mourning" at all, and basically tried to minimize the impact, because after the death of Emperor Yonghe, the people were required to observe mourning. Although in the past, the government's mourning has not yet ended, is it possible that this kind of thing can also be "postponed for some reason"?

Regarding his violent death, apart from the fact that Queen Mother Li Hong, Princess Yongchang Guo Rong and Princess Yongjing Guo Xuan were really sad and painful, even the Supreme Emperor could hardly say how he felt. The reaction of the court was all-important, and it didn't matter anyway, civil servants There were even a lot of unpleasant rumors, such as "recruiting military force and accidentally injuring one's own body", for which Princess Yongchang had to deal with many people.

April 22, Fengzao Palace, main hall.

Princess Yongchang looked at the clothes that someone had just put on with interest, and she said "tsk tsk" from time to time. Compared to her relaxation, Princess Yongjing, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai were all obviously nervous - the other girls had no right at this time Intervene - Xue Baochai was even more hesitant to speak. He wanted to speak but was afraid that he shouldn't, so he had to keep winking at Princess Yongjing.

"Are you really planning to wear this outfit to appear at today's enthronement ceremony?" Princess Yongchang saw the worries of the other three girls. Although she did not object and was even happy to see it happen, she still asked as a representative, "I didn't ask for the dragon robe. I didn’t even let Xuan’er change into a phoenix crown and harem, and just got this set of things, are you really okay?”

"What questions can there be? Who dares to ask questions?" Zhou Yang looked at the changed image in the dressing mirror and nodded with satisfaction, "This is a sample of the new military uniforms that I plan to put on the entire army - of course, it's just me. I can only make this set like this, generals can order it at their own expense, and the standard version for ordinary officers and soldiers is only made of cotton and linen blended fabric."

At this time, if a modern person sees someone's dress, they will definitely recognize it at a glance. This is the modern red iron army-style military dress coat, simple military green, the best thick brocade appearance, with nine numbers on it. An exquisite and eye-catching bright yellow five-clawed dragon embroidery pattern. The design includes lining, shoulder pads, waist and other designs. It comes standard with an armed belt, but there are no rank symbols such as epaulettes and collar flowers, because this is exclusive to the emperor. !
As for the Queen and Princess Yongjing who will appear together, she wears a bright red modern windbreaker style, which mixes the characteristics of Hanfu women's clothing of this era. It also has golden phoenix patterns, golden phoenix buttons, shoulder pads, waist tightening and other modifications. Sister Lin and Sister Bao The styles are the same, but one is water red and the other is pink, which can be regarded as a distinction.

Originally, this outfit was very popular among the girls, but as soon as they put it on, they were all annoyed because the hem of the dress only reached the middle of the calf. Even if it was paired with trousers of the same color and style and high-waisted leather boots, it still did not suit the ladies of this era. The three girls were still reluctant to change into the different dressing styles. In the end, they were almost forced to change by someone. At this time, they were still not used to it.

"So, you mobilized Prince Jinghai's troops to take over the ceremony's guard of honor?" Princess Yongchang's tone was still relaxed, "No, you let the guards of honor this time change into Ryukyu military uniforms. I really don't worry about causing any sensation. ?”

"Actually, their set of clothes did not fully meet my expectations. It was just because the new military uniforms I planned to put on the army could not be delivered in a short time, so I asked them to bring a few more sets of clothes to make do with their own people. , If you really wait until the new military uniforms I designed are completed, you will know what the so-called 'military uniforms' are now." Zhou Yang said angrily.

"Okay, you are the emperor and you have the final say - prepare a few sets of their clothes for me, the colors are the same as Xuan'er." Princess Yongchang has been a girl since she was a child, but she has been enthusiastic about martial arts. This outfit obviously has a military style. I like the dresses very much, not to mention that these clothes are made of the best materials and the best craftsmanship - of course, there are other problems.

"When it comes to clothes, I actually don't care too much, but it's another matter. I'm not in a beautiful mood right now." After saying this, Zhou Yang walked up to Princess Yongchang, hugged her and asked, "Why don't you want to Living in a palace? It’s not like you don’t know about the palaces and courtyards here. Do you think it’s uncomfortable to live there?”

"I'm not yours, so why are you living in the palace?" A certain princess said in a harsh tone.

"Oh?" Zhou Yang sneered, "What about this?"

"It's not that women are unnecessary. I saw that you were using it well, so I let you come here a few times at night when I wanted to feel comfortable. Why, what did you think?" Her Highness the Princess continued to be harsh, but the other three girls all covered her. Mouth suppressing a smile.

"Guo Rong!" Zhou Yang angrily turned her over and gave her a symbolic butt crack, but seeing her attitude of being a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, he finally said helplessly, "You really don't want to come?"

"It's not like you are useless to women, so what if I come?" Princess Yongchang pushed him away angrily, stood up and sat down next to Princess Yongjing, "You just need to treat her well. Anyway, there are so many things going on outside, and you have to Someone will help you take care of it; and another one, that girl from Dongfang didn’t even want to come in. Let me also tell you that she is currently on official business in Henan Province and won’t be able to come back for the time being.”

"You!" Zhou Yang was speechless. What about "helping you manage it"? To put it bluntly, he still couldn't let go of the power in his hands, or he was worried about the guarantee that someone's next generation emperor would have half the blood of the Guo family. Holding the power just in case, it is not difficult for Dongfang Bing to understand that her biggest concern is the inheritance of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion. Once she becomes the imperial concubine, how can she give her child the surname Dongfang?

"Okay, you guys get busy." Just in time to see Xue Baoqin pulling Qingwen over with a smile, Princess Yongchang said no more, stood up and walked out of the main hall gracefully, "By the way, there are many rumors related to the capital and even the Gyeonggi area. I can only suppress most of your unfavorable rumors, and there are still many hidden ones that have not been discovered, but they won’t last long, so you don’t have to worry.”

"I can rest assured that you are doing the work." Zhou Yang nodded and looked at Qingwen.

"Young Master. Well, Your Majesty, everything is ready. The enthronement ceremony will start at this hour. It's less than two-quarters of an hour now. Isn't it time to get over?" Although Qingwen wears the title of concubine, she has been doing it. As for the work of the head of female officials, "The Queen Mother also sent someone to inquire and wanted to know when she would come forward."

"You have someone send the soft sedan over and take it to Baohe Hall to rest first. Remember to invite the Supreme Emperor as well. This will save them the trouble when they come out." Zhou Yang waved his hand with a smile, turned to Princess Yongchang and said, "Xuan'er , Do you still want to see me? The Emperor has not been in a good mood these days, and he is getting older, so why don’t you bring the imperial doctor?"

"Hmph!" Princess Yongjing rolled her eyes at him and said with a sad tone, "Father didn't expect that Da Zhou would reach such a state. Kai'er was obviously pretty good, but who would have thought that he would end up like this? It's all Qiu Shi'an's fault. How can that slave dog let his master do whatever he wants?"

"So, I'm not going to use these eggless things anymore." Zhou Yang was also speechless about this. He never expected that Emperor Changxing, who had the demeanor of a wise king and a martial emperor, would actually use this method. He exited in an almost comical manner, "Didn't he like to be served as a slave? When the late emperor was buried the day before yesterday, I asked him to enter the mausoleum together. Let's continue to serve him."

It was only after Niu Jizong and others came back that he learned that the "hunting" was originally going to be a formality. Unexpectedly, Emperor Changxing got angry and insisted on playing it real. A group of important civil and military officials pressed down hard, but did not prevent them from reaching the back of the hunting ground. , Qiu Shi'an came forward to send away the Imperial Guards guards, and finally gave Aixinjueluo Yongyan a chance.

"It's a shame to take advantage of this dog slave. It's a pity that he is a eunuch, has no children and no relatives. Otherwise, he must be buried with his family!" Princess Yongjing said bitterly.

"That can only be like this." Zhou Yang shook his head, looked at Xue Baoqin and asked, "Girl Qin, is the second uncle here?"

"Here he comes." Xue Baoqin stared at a pair of beautiful eyes and threw himself into someone's arms. He waved his small fist and punched him. After he was done, he said, "The eldest brother is also here. Although he is the only one in the family, there is no one in the position of the heir apparent. If you can snatch it away, you still have to ask the court to give you a gold book or something, which is just a formality. Unfortunately, time is too urgent. The marriage between the eldest brother and the sister of the Li family has not been done yet, so the aunt of the Ryukyu Shang family can only come over. , Fortunately, although she knows little about the etiquette and culture of the Great Zhou Dynasty, she still has a good image and will not lose anyone. However, my father is here with representatives of the Goryeo and Fuso royal families this time, which sounds like this."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang's heart moved, "Goryeo has always surrendered. Basically, since the Tang Dynasty, no matter which dynasty or royal family changed in China, they would submit letters of credence, ask for canonization, and take the initiative to recognize the status of a vassal state. Fusang Na I remember that I was disconnected from tomorrow, right? How could you be so honest this time?"

"It wasn't originally." Xue Baoqin looked at someone with a straight face, "My father sailed the warship to their Edo port a few days ago and bombarded it for half a morning. The firearms infantry had just fought a battle after they went up. They expressed their surrender; when my father took action, he used the title of 'Prince Jinghai of the Great Zhou Dynasty', and they thought it was the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty who took action."

"Sister Qin, it won't be so fast, right?" Princess Yongjing said worriedly, "Although I have never been to Fusang, I also know that the sea is very far away. The news of Brother Zhou's accession to the throne has just passed, and at most it will bother Prince Jinghai. Come here, how come it’s only been a few days before even representatives from the Fuso royal family are here?”

"It's okay to say it's false, or it's true." Facing the Queen, Xue Baoqin instantly turned from cloudy to clear, "Ever since my father attacked Edo, the Fuso people have been sending people over almost every month to say that it's true. To learn the advanced knowledge of the previous country.”

"Second uncle didn't agree, did he?" Zhou Yang quickly interrupted her.

"My father agreed because he was stupid. Those little dwarfs thought they were pretending to be similar. How could they escape from my father's eyes? They are not big in stature, but they are big in heart. They don't want to find their way back after learning. Come? To dream of their Spring and Autumn Dream." Xue Baoqin curled his lips disdainfully, "Just a few days ago, a young master from their royal family came over, so my father asked him to come and pay homage on behalf of Fusang."

"Why, are you still angry?" Zhou Yang held back his laughter and hugged Xue Baoqin.

"Who is angry?" Xue Baoqin said "No", but pushed someone away with his backhand, ran to Xue Baochai and sat down, angrily leaning into his cousin's arms, "People are not so ashamed anymore, you still... hum !”

"Fucking hoof, what nonsense are you talking about!" Xue Baochai blushed and gave her a hammer.

However, Xue Baoqin saw that most of the girls in the Zhou family had inherited Enlu, except for the youngest she and Xichun. Xichun had no shortage of various "opportunities" because of her three sisters, and she was the only "outsider". So she "bribed" Wang Shuying and looked for "opportunities" with the Xue family. However, three times in a row they were all "playing, playing and singing", but they couldn't enjoy real treatment, which made them completely annoyed.

"Okay, can I still want you?" Zhou Yang went up and hugged the two sisters and said with a smile, "You are still young, give it a year or two. Don't forget, you are my 'De Fei', even though I am the fourth concubine. Ranked last in the middle, after all, he is ranked lower than one person and higher than many others!"

"Humph!" Xue Baoqin's cheeks turned red and he lowered his head without saying anything more.

"Young Master——" Seeing that she finally finished speaking, Qingwen quickly urged her.

"Xuan'er, Sister Lin, Sister Bao, let's go!" Zhou Yang stood up and bowed to Princess Yongjing as a "please".

Princess Yongjing immediately blushed, but in the end she stood up honestly and let someone hold her arm; Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai also followed the pre-arranged agreement, standing on the left and right beside the two of them, but they were one step behind, and the four of them strolled out. At the gate of Fengzao Palace, escorted by the honor guard who had been waiting for a long time, they walked together to the ceremony site.

"Salute -" Finally, the four people passed through the Baohe Hall and the Zhonghe Hall, and finally came out from the front door of the Taihe Hall. The leader of the honor guard who stood like a javelin shouted loudly, extending to the Jinshui Bridge on both sides and throughout the whole The honor guard in the open space in front of the palace raised their guns in salute and "fired the cannon——"

The roaring infantry artillery began to fire, and 56 salutes were fired in two batches, making the sound of gunfire in the entire ceremony venue seem to be uninterrupted. These people put on navy blue military uniforms similar to modern cotton coats, full leather outfits, and hats. The soldiers in iron helmets gave Zhou Yang a familiar feeling for the first time.

"Long live, long live, long live our emperor!" When he finally reached the front of the steps, the "well-trained" civil and military officials lined up on both sides immediately knelt down and shouted the slogan together.

Zhou Yang knew that among these people, the generals were fine, but the civil servants were all very unhappy with the obviously changed ceremony. Even Li Mian, who was on his side because of Queen Mother Li Hong, tried to persuade him several times, but Zhou Yang ignored them all. Not to mention that he made his position clear in his military uniform, how could the big turbans in front of him like him?
He also knew that rumors were rife in the capital these days, and all kinds of conspiracy theories were rampant. There were several theories that he did not save Emperor Yonghe when he died, or that he had prepared an "alibi" in advance when Emperor Changxing died. The people who created these statements are among the "subjects" who shouted "Long live" in front of them.

He also knew that few people actually believed the conspiracy theories about his role in the violent deaths of two emperors, so there were still a lot of tidbits about him on the market. The core one was that he had no grudge and took over the property of his benefactor Jia's family. The relationship between the three young mistresses and the two princesses is unclear, and there are even rumors about Wang Shuying and Xue Baochai.

He also knows that many people in Tianjing are desperately trying to send the news, most of them are sent to the south of the Yangtze River, even if he repeatedly threatened and emphasized at the last Xiaochao meeting, he also knows that what he said has been sent to the past , This is actually intentional, he just wants to force those undead things back.

He has even found out that most of the royal branches in the capital who still bear the title of prince or county king have people coming to trick them, trying to get them to cause trouble. These behind-the-scenes masterminds include almost all the "factions" of the big turban, Yongchang The princess wanted to clean up, but he stopped her because it was too early and the matter was too small.

Because these soldiers wearing new military uniforms and holding mass-produced flintlock guns are his greatest confidence. The [-] elite soldiers of the Shenji Battalion are enough to absolutely guarantee the stability of Gyeonggi and the north; The largest and most advanced steel plant and arsenal, as long as it takes half a year, he can completely submerge the bullshit "people's hearts" with steel!
What's more, he has created the first batch of nearly [-] graduates in the "teaching camp". These new generation officers, who have undergone half a year of training and practice and whose cultural level is equivalent to that of modern primary school students, will gradually spread throughout the army. The only Unfortunately, he didn't expect Emperor Changxing's death to be so sudden, which caught him off guard.

But he was not prepared to procrastinate any longer. Even if it made the reform more difficult and caused considerable losses, he still did not want to procrastinate any longer, because it was all worth it. Facing the picturesque landscape, he did not feel that he was We can still retreat or compromise. Maybe China has been ahead of the world for thousands of years, but it is no longer the case.

Whether comparing it with real history or the news brought back by the Xue family fleet, he understood that the West had initially completed the first generation of industrialization, and third-level or even second-level sailing battleships loaded with 32-pound naval guns had arrived in Nanyang. Appeared next to the Xue family caravan, and his industrialization had just begun!
He really doesn't have the energy to waste time with these old antiques who are destined to be eliminated. Today's unique enthronement ceremony is actually a declaration and a beginning. It is also a salute for him to declare war on these people, and it is also the foundation for his future governance. Therefore, He walked generously in front of thousands of people and slowly raised his hands——

"Everyone is flat!"

(End of this chapter)