Amid the roar of the mountains and the tsunami of worshipers, what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking was that at this time thirty years ago, the same grand ceremony must have been performed in the palace of Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty, right?
The emperors and ministers of Meng Yuan certainly did not know or care about the tragedy of this peasant family named Zhu.
And now, will the same tragedy be happening?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt on pins and needles, and even felt the slightest disgust towards such a grand and expensive ceremony.
‘Dong Dong Qiang, Dong Dong Qiang’, it was not until the familiar sound of flower drums sounded that the haze in his heart was dispelled.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked for the sound and saw an additional Fengyang Flower Drum Troupe in red and green on the square in front of him.
This was a repertoire of the Hongwu Dynasty. Every year when villagers came to Beijing to celebrate the New Year, they would play a piece of his favorite Fengyang flower drum for the emperor at the court meeting.
After the prelude, the flower drum troupe started singing and dancing. The flower drummers all had golden voices picked out by Quan Fengyang, and they caught everyone's ears as soon as they started singing:
"Speaking of Fengyang and talking about Fengyang, the flower drums are beating with hands. Fengyang is really a good place. The red dragon rises to the sky and the golden phoenix flies. Count the stars in the sky and how many generals there are in Fengyang.
Talking about Fengyang, talking about Fengyang, the hand-made flower drums are banging. Fengyang is really a good place, and the emperor's favor is great all year round. If you don't accept the corvee and don't pay for food, both sides of the Huaihe River will be filled with joy!"
"Okay, okay, really good!" The newly composed flower drum opera was being sung to the heart of a group of Huaixi nobles, and they cheered again and again.
Even Zhu Yuanzhang smiled again and asked these fellow villagers to stay and have lunch with him.
~~
After the morning meeting, it was almost noon, and a group of Fengyang fellow villagers were led into the Huagai Hall.
In the Huagai Hall, several long tables were filled with chicken, duck, fish, and all kinds of fine wine. Before the villagers could sit down, the emperor arrived.
The panicked villagers quickly knelt down and shouted long live.
Zhu Yuanzhang came out of the back hall with a smile on his face and helped the fellow villagers up with his own hands.
"Everyone, get up. There's no need to be formal. You don't understand the rules anyway. Just do as you did back home and do whatever you want."
After Boss Zhu finished speaking, he did not return to his dragon chair. He took the hands of the two old men and sat down directly among the villagers, drinking and chatting with them.
The villagers were a little reserved at first, but after three glasses of wine, the atmosphere gradually became lively. They began to toast to Zhu Yuanzhang. Lao Zhu had gained a lot of skills in the army, so he naturally welcomed all comers. When the wine was full of wine, he started chatting with them.
Homely.
"How are you guys doing now?"
"Thanks to the great blessing of the emperor, we in Fengyang have had good weather year after year since the founding of the Ming Dynasty." An old man said with gratitude: "The emperor has exempted us from taxes and corvee, so we are not living in a honey pot!" "Yes, yes." All the villagers quickly agreed.
"Hahaha, okay." Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled happily. "When we become the emperor, we must let the fellow villagers also get the glory. Otherwise, the emperor will be in vain?"
"Hahaha! Your Majesty is so nostalgic!" The villagers laughed and flattered Lao Zhu. Even though they all came from the countryside, there were endless words of praise.
"I heard before that our old Huaixi brothers sent their families back to enclose land and build manors, which was very disturbing to the people. We have already punished them and set up iron notices in Fengtianmen Square to warn them to restrain their families and not disturb the local area.
"Zhu Yuanzhang asked again:
"The past few years have passed. I wonder if they have committed the crime again?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" The fellow villagers shook their heads together, and an old man smiled and said:
"Who dares not to listen to the emperor's words? Besides, isn't there the Korean father-in-law watching over him? Whoever dares to mess around and embarrass the emperor will have his legs broken without the government taking action!"
"Oh haha, good." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with his beard. The prince who was drinking with him heard that his father's laughter was a little uncomfortable.
But Zhu Yuanzhang would not show off to the fellow villagers, and asked them how the construction of Zhongdu was progressing and whether it would disturb the people?
The villagers all said that the progress was very fast, one day at a time. South Korea's public administration was very good, and the peasants and the common people did not disturb each other.
"Well, okay, when the Imperial City of Zhongdu is repaired, I will go back to see you." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and asked: "And those rich immigrants who moved from Jiangnan, how are you getting along with them?
Huh? Is there anyone running away?"
"Being able to settle in Zhongdu is a blessing they have earned over eight lifetimes. They can't even drive them away!" The villagers smiled and wiped their sweat, and they all woke up from the alcohol.
The emperor also asked so many questions that their pants got wet.
Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang did not break the casserole and asked a few more questions. He just drank with them and chatted with them, and the atmosphere quickly became relaxed again.
After drinking until the sun set, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the prince to see the fellow villagers off for him. Before leaving, he did not forget to have the remaining dishes packed and given to the fellow villagers for dinner in the post house.
By the time the prince came back from seeing off his guests, Zhu Yuanzhang had already drank a pot of strong tea and had basically sobered up.
"What do you think?" He said, pointing to his back, asking the prince to scratch it quickly. "I got really itchy after drinking just now, but it really hurts us."
"I can't tell." Zhu Biao shook his head as his father scratched his back. "It seems a bit unreal."
"Yes, they perform it year after year, and each of them has learned well. They have also learned to report good news and not bad news." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "It seems that we have to change people every year before we can hear something useful."<
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"But the lives of the villagers are definitely getting better year by year." Zhu Biao said with a smile: "I see that they only drink and don't use chopsticks much."
"Haha, yes. Are you remembering the time in the first year of Hongwu when they devoured us to death?" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "That's right, as long as the fellow villagers live a good life, there is nothing else to do.
It’s not their place to worry about.”
"Dad, just stare for a while, there is another show tonight." Zhu Biao said softly.
"That's fine." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He was still a little tired after all the hard work. He stood up with the help of his son and said, "Stay energetic enough to sing the highlight of the evening."
~~
The Fengtian Hall was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and a huge banquet was held. The scale was much larger than the one at noon!
Zhu Yuanzhang is going to host a banquet to celebrate the New Year with his old brothers.
Spending New Year's Eve with his family and New Year's Eve with his brothers have been Zhu Yuanzhang's habit for many years. It has been exactly twenty years since he conquered Hezhou and got his first territory. It has been like this for twenty years.<
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As soon as the Youshi hour arrived, the nobles in Beijing came to the banquet one after another.
Because it was in the nature of a family banquet, all those greeting guests at the entrance of Fengtian Hall were Zhu Yuanzhang’s sons.
Zhu Zhen also volunteered and stood at the door with his brothers. It was not for anything else, but mainly to take the opportunity to meet celebrities who had only seen them in TV series.
The most famous one is of course the general who conquered the captives, the Duke of Wei, Xu Da. He has a slim face, a tall figure, three long beards, his eyes are restrained, and his behavior is calm and measured. He looks more like a scholar. But from the fanatical looks in the eyes of the second brother and the fourth brother, who were circling around him like a dog-legger, one knew that General Xu no longer needed any external proof.
He is one of the top ten or even top five players in history.
But Xu Da is just an example. Most of the nobles look very casual and their behavior is even more unrestrained. Some even hugged him and gave him a kiss...
Damn it, this king is so innocent... Zhu Zhen regrets to death that he came to be this welcome guest.
