There are many interesting things about the lantern festival.
In the past two years, as Chang'an restarted the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, many local cities followed suit.
Of course, ordinary cities will not take this kind of effort, which requires financial and material support. If you waste a lot here, you will have to make up for it from other places.
The imperial court wanted to show that peace had arrived, but it would not support such wasteful behavior. With the current national power of the Tang Dynasty, it could not afford to waste it.
Therefore, the list of cities that can hold the Shangyuan Lantern Festival is only those big cities, such as Luoyang, Jinyang, Jiangling, Yangzhou, Chengdu and other places.
As the capital city of Chang'an, the Shangyuan Lantern Festival must be second to none in all aspects.
After doing it twice, because the court had a relaxed attitude towards it, there were more and more tricks.
For example, this year's Lantern Festival, more and more vendors appeared on both sides of the street. Some sell food and pickles, while others sell small lanterns for people to carry while walking, as well as some unique gadgets, etc.
wait wait wait.
The opinions of the people outside are correct. Those who sell these things are poor people. People with a little wealth will not suffer such hardships in the winter.
People in this world don't have that bright business acumen. Only those who are struggling to survive will be willing to bear this shame and endure this hardship.
…………
There are now some families living in the imperial city, and there are still many abandoned mansions.
During the Lantern Festival this year, the government vacated the vacant mansions on both sides of the street for people to rest and avoid the cold. It was a very thoughtful thing to do.
For example, the brothel in Caiyufang received permission from the government to participate in the lantern festival this year.
They were not short of money, so they got together to discuss and select the lantern leader. The style of the lanterns must have taken a lot of thought, and the ladies' talent show was also the highlight.
It was a cold season, and we couldn't freeze the lady in the building, so we thought of some ways.
Raise funds to rent the abandoned mansion facing the street, so that the wife and the servants can take turns to go in and drink some hot soup to warm themselves up.
In view of this, the government set up a special place for them in the west of the imperial city.
In order to avoid attracting too many people and causing a stampede, the Chang'an magistrate's office sent servants to maintain order. The cost was naturally paid by the brothel and did not need to be borne by the government.
This is mainly due to the fact that business has become more and more prosperous in the past year, and the government's decrees have been issued one after another. Even if they do not explicitly encourage business, everyone can see that the control over businessmen is getting looser.
Therefore, the merchants in Caiyufang received some preferential treatment.
Moreover, when the imperial court hosted the lantern festival, it also wanted to make the lantern festival more lively. This was not only the intention of the imperial court, but also endorsed by the emperor. The purpose was so clear that the people below did not have to worry too much when doing things.
…………
Nowadays, most of the families in the Imperial City live on the east side of Zhuque Street, while there are only three families on the west side. The residence of King Wu Du Fuwei is on the west side of the Imperial City near the city wall, facing Mrs. Chengguo's residence to the east and west.
The left is noble and the right is humble. People care about this. Taking Tai Chi Palace as the standard, there are more people living on the east side and fewer people living on the west side.
It's just that tonight the west side is more lively than the east side.
The young lady from Caiyufang is performing on the long street. Doesn’t even a man have to take a look at her?
Of course, the east side was more expensive, so the government considered it and could not favor one over the other, so they organized some programs such as lantern riddles, pot throwing, juggling, wrestling, etc. in the east, just like a ring.
On the Zhuque Street in the middle, there are lanterns made by various ministries of the capital.
Because we had done this once last year, the people in each yamen were familiar with it, and the lanterns were renovated and all had the obvious marks of each yamen on them.
For example, in front of the Chengtian Gate of Taiji Palace, there are lanterns from Zhongshu, which are spread out for more than two miles. On them are densely written the laws and regulations of the Tang Dynasty. There are also two heavenly officials on both sides of the Chengtian Gate.
In one fell swoop, the Shangshu Province and the Menxia Province were completely crowded.
…………
The three brothers Li Yichen were walking on Zhuque Street and heard some words, and soon they had differences.
Li Yichen wanted to go all the way to Chengtianmen along Zhuque Street. He was rotating among various officials in Chang'an County and was getting familiar with various imperial laws. Naturally, he was more interested in the lanterns of various ministries and offices in Chang'an. He wanted to talk to his colleagues about it later.
It's impossible to talk.
Li Yiyan wanted to go to the east, where there were poems and songs waiting for him. He heard that he could also visit high-end houses, which was an extremely rare opportunity.
Li Shangde dragged his two brothers. He wanted to go west to watch the young lady perform...
Well, the three brothers each have their own aspirations, but they are completely incompatible with each other.
Li Yichen said helplessly: "The lantern festival has just started, so I'm not in a hurry. How about... go to the west to have a look first?"
Li Shangde nodded happily, and Li Yiyan glared at his brother, "The eldest brother is always looking out for Erlang, and his obscene words over there are enough to irritate our ears. Master Kong knows this, and he will definitely teach us a lesson."
Li Shangde was dissatisfied, and said in his heart that he was not sincere. Among the three brothers, Li Yiyan was already married and had children. But when he was in Hebei, it was not like he had not attended literary gatherings. He even wrote poems to a woman.
Why are you pretending to be serious?
Of course, he only dared to say these words in his heart and did not dare to say them out loud in front of his two brothers.
He just muttered, "As long as brother doesn't complain, how will Master Kong know? Besides, if we had gone later, those people would have been frozen back, what a pity that would be?"
Li Yiyan clasped his hands, feeling that what his brother said made sense, but in a second thought, he pinned the little pink person in his heart to the ground.
"Don't act recklessly, only then can you be open-minded. And my brother is not married yet, how can he be so indulgent? Just follow me and do some elegant things."
Li Shangde shook his head again, "Brother, what you said is wrong. I think it's very elegant. If you can get one or two of the introductory poems and stage poems, you will be the best choice."
Especially my cousin, who will soon be leaving the capital to serve as an official, how can we not see the wonderful features of Chang'an as soon as possible?"
Li Yichen nodded in his heart, feeling that his cousin was right. This opportunity was indeed rare. It would not be easy for them to get involved in a place like Caiyufang...
But like Li Yiyan, he said without meaning, "Since we all have our own needs, it's better to separate. I think it's like this. If we separate, we won't be able to find each other. After the fun is over, we can go back separately. There's no need to wait. You see
Is this good?"
At the end of the democratic meeting, it turned out to be a separation.
Li Shangde said goodbye to his two brothers happily, without concealing his longing for beautiful things at all, and walked straight through the streets, admiring the lanterns along the road, and followed the flow of people to the most crowded place.
Soon I heard the faint sound of music...
Please remember the first domain name of this book: ._