The sky has darkened, the bright moon is hanging sideways, the Forbidden City is decorated with lights and colorful decorations as if it were daytime, eunuchs and palace ladies are constantly coming and going, and after clearing the court officials outside the gate, most of them sit down and whisper something to the people around them.
Talking about Wu Sangui in the Qianqing Sect.
Some people think that why is he in there, he is just a chief military officer! There are many nobles outside who are not qualified, why should he! There are many people with this kind of thinking, and most of them are nobles.
Some people think that he takes it for granted. Although he has not been awarded the title of Zhuguo, his military achievements are outstanding, and he is qualified to sit in the battle of Ningyuan.
But inside the Qianqing Gate, it's a different scene. No one cares about what the officials are talking and gossiping outside. They don't care and are not curious. They don't care about who is qualified to sit here, as long as they can sit here. The explanation is sufficient!
But the atmosphere was very different from outside. There were more than ten people sitting in this 180-square-meter place, but they were divided into two groups, or two and a half groups, each talking about his own thing.
The civil and military discord that has existed since ancient times has been vividly displayed here. Zhou Yuji and others huddled together and frowned to discuss the military situation. Apart from being polite when they first came in, Li Banghua and his group had no communication. The three princes were like social butterflies. We chatted for a while with the military general, and then went to the cabinet to be arty.
Why is it called arty? It's because these cabinet elders are not discussing any national affairs, people's livelihood, etc. At this time, their attention is focused on the incense burner on the rostrum.
The emperor's seat in the Qianqing Gate faces north and south, and there are two deputy seats on the left and right. Then there are civil and military seats facing east and west. The candlelight in the room is as bright as day, and all the lamps used are horn lamps. These are made of rhinoceros horns, which are precious. Incomparable.
But the most eye-catching thing is not these horn lamps, but the incense burner on the emperor's seat.
The ancients liked to burn incense when drinking and drinking tea at night banquets. This incense burner has become a must-have item at home. The royal appliance is extraordinary, but it can attract the attention of many elders and make them unintentional. Other incense burners are even more divine among the divine products. Pin, yes, it is Xuande stove!
It goes without saying how precious the Xuande stove is. It was a copper incense burner that Zhu Di’s eldest grandson, Emperor Xuanzong, Zhu Zhanji personally participated in the design and manufacture of in the third year of Xuande. Because the emperor personally participated in the design and manufacture, it was the first in history. For the first time, it was cast from brass. The beauty and refinement of the forging process reached an unprecedented peak, making this incense burner a top-quality product in the world. It made many literati and scholars rush to make pilgrimages. However, only a few people can get a glimpse of the real thing, and most of them have only heard of its name. See its shape.
It is said that a total of 3,000 incense burners were made. Except for a small number of them distributed to relatives of the emperor and prominent ministers or to some large-scale temples where incense was abundant, the rest were for personal use and placed throughout the palace.
But hundreds of years later, there are very few genuine ones that can be seen. Later generations even said that there is no authentic Xuande stove. Why? Because this stove is so exquisite and precious that there have been imitations since it was born!
Yes, there have been high imitations since the Xuande year of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that some people found the craftsmen who were involved in casting Xuande furnaces at that time and even obtained some scraps to imitate. Subsequently, hundreds of companies had imitations of Xuande furnaces until the Republic of China, so It is said that there are Xuande stoves from the Ming Dynasty on the market now, but they are not real Xuande stoves!
He is just an imitation from the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention later generations, even in the late Ming Dynasty, a genuine Xuande furnace was hard to find and hard to see.
But it was real in the palace.
And even in the palace, after hundreds of years of ups and downs, some were stolen, some were dropped, and some were damaged. There are not many genuine items left, and they are no longer scattered around the palace as in the past. The palaces were arranged randomly, leaving only the harem, which became the emperor's treasure and would not be taken out to see others at will.
Today at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the emperor placed his favorite things in the Palace of Qianqing, which naturally attracted Li Banghua and many civil servants to rush to appreciate and comment on them. There is still no shortage of such treasures after hundreds of times. If you have a camera, you must not forget about it. Full of photos.
On the other hand, Zhou Yuji and other generals were not interested in this thing at all. They really couldn't understand what those civil servants were looking at with their big eyes. Isn't it just an incense burner?
The emperor arrives
Wang Cheng'en made an announcement, and all the officials inside and outside the Qianqing Gate quickly stood up and came out. Both civil and military officials bowed to the left and right and shouted "Long Live" (we usually kneel when going to court). Emperor Chongzhen and his queen and prince slowly walked from the inner court to the Qianqing Gate to sit down. , spread your hands, all the ministers are exempt from courtesy
The officials outside the door took their seats, but they didn't know who the emperor's family was inside.
The elder inside the door saw clearly. In addition to the emperor, queen, prince and Princess Kunxing, there were six concubines. However, Emperor Chongzhen's two other sons and youngest daughter were not present, perhaps because they were too young. .
In addition, there was Queen Yi'an mentioned above, who was Emperor Chongzhen's sister-in-law.
In addition, there is Zhu Youjue, the king of virtue who traveled thousands of miles non-stop and almost burned his crotch to come to Beijing overnight. As the only vassal king summoned by the emperor to Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhu Youjue stole the show, and everyone in the government and the public knew about him. He was the only one favored by the emperor. Some people say that it was because of his great efforts for the court that he was so favored by the emperor.
Some people also say that because of their great efforts, they are the same family as the emperor. In the past, when there were vassal kings everywhere, the emperor treated them equally, but now that the vassal kings have died, the emperor's attitude is different, and he cherishes this family relationship very much.
Why is it said that King De and the emperor are members of the same family, but aren't the other princes the same?
Others are, but also are not.
To be precise, the other vassal princes and Emperor Chongzhen can only be said to be relatives, but King De's lineage is just a cousin.
If you don’t believe it, take a look at the seniority of King De and Emperor Chongzhen. Yes, they are both: "Yu"
Lao Zhu gave birth to twenty-six sons at that time, and arranged the seniority of all twenty-six sons before his death. (One of the seventh and eighth sons died young and the other died early and was not arranged. Adding nephews and grandchildren, twenty-six were arranged.) For example The boss Zhu Biao is: Yun Wen follows the instructions of his ancestors, the Qinwu King wins, it is good luck to follow the road, and he is a good teacher and makes good use of it.
The fourth son of Zhu Di's family is: Gao Zhan Qi Jianyou, Hou Zai Yi Chang You, Ci He Yi Bo Zhong, Jian Jing Di Xian You. Therefore, King De and Emperor Chongzhen are both from Zhu Di's lineage. If the other three generations are close to each other, these are all More than two hundred years have passed, and we have long been dignified and dignified... We are cousins who are eighteen poles away, and it's a piece of cake to kiss them.
If Emperor Chongzhen was determined to succeed him as emperor, King De would be the first in line. Historically, he did not become Emperor of Nanming because Jiangbei fell, and he surrendered and was killed.
Therefore, both public and private, King De was considered a family member of Emperor Chongzhen. They contributed money and efforts to the same family, and it was reasonable for him to win the favor of the emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou are in the middle chair, with Yi'an, Kunxing and the concubines sitting on the left side, and the prince and King De on the right. In ancient times, the right was the top, so the prince and prince sat on the right seat, and the concubines were on the left. But arrange the civil servants on the left and the generals on the right...
This meaning is too obvious!
But how could Li Banghua and others not know about this? Since last year, the emperor's intention to restrain his civility and promote his military power has become more and more obvious, and it has become more and more obvious and unbridled. However, although the civil servants are unwilling to accept it, they are powerless to do anything. It was just because the situation at that time was too chaotic and dangerous. When the building was about to collapse, it was all those generals who led the troops and fought desperately to fight in the south and north. If it weren't for them, the Ming Dynasty would have collapsed long ago.
And what can these civil servants do in that situation?
There is nothing you can do but spit.
Therefore, even if you are not convinced, you can only endure it and watch helplessly as the emperor gradually pushes the status of the military generals to the same level as they want. When he goes to court on weekdays, although the etiquette is still civil and military, he actually has the right to speak. It has long been a little inferior, but today, during the big festival and the royal banquet, the generals are directly arranged on the right and on top!
Some people are indignant, while others are comforting themselves. Now that the war has not ended, the court needs these generals to work hard. The emperor's move is just to win people's hearts... When the world is at peace... Hey, hum!
So much so that after Li Banghua and others entered the Qianqing Gate, they found that after the seating arrangement, they were all old foxes who had the inner qualities, so they would rather criticize the Xuande stove than complain about the seats, at least not. I'll be nagging here.
The eyes and thoughts of the old fox are different from those of ordinary people. If you are low-achieving, your attention will usually be on the concubines or the prince and Prince De. However, the eyes of the old foxes invariably glanced behind Emperor Chongzhen intentionally or unintentionally.
Behind Emperor Chongzhen stood Wang Dehua, Wang Chengen and other eunuchs from the Supervisor of Ceremonies, who came specially to serve this banquet, but the old fox's gaze was not directed at them, but at Chang Yu.
The expressionless Chang Yu stood with his hands tied behind Emperor Chongzhen. With his eyebrows lowered and his eyes lowered, he seemed to be looking intently, but he could feel several eyes scanning him non-stop. He couldn't help but sneer in his heart, and the corners of his mouth also sneered. Tilted slightly.
Hey, the eunuch who usually only wears casual clothes has changed his clothes today and is wearing a python suit!
No, it’s a bullfight uniform!
Good guy!
All the elders were thinking about everything, and their expressions were changing. Emperor Chongzhen took all of this into consideration, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
This is the first signal he has sent out. Yes, I do favor him!