During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperor's birthday was called the "Wanshou Festival", which was known as the three major festivals along with New Year's Day (the first day of the Lunar New Year) and the Winter Solstice. On the Wanshou Festival, the whole country had a three-day holiday, with the government and the public rejoicing together, and the whole world celebrating.
Cixi also celebrated the Longevity Festival on her 60th birthday, which was obviously an overstep, but no one dared to say anything. Not only did she hold a grand banquet in the capital, it lasted for seven days and seven nights, and even small towns in the south and northwest of the Yangtze River also celebrated.
In order to celebrate her birthday, Cixi spent 30 million taels of silver to repair the Summer Palace. At that time, the Qing government's fiscal revenue was only 40 million taels. If the funds were not enough, they would sell their offices, or if they were not enough, they would embezzle the military expenditures of the Beiyang Fleet.
Everyone knows what the outcome will be.
As the former deposed emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi was very lonely in the palace. But after he came to Tianjin, he became very popular. On his birthday last year, not only many old people and children came to celebrate his birthday, but also consular officials and family members from various countries.
As well as Zhang Zongchang, Wu Peifu and other emerging warlords gathered in Zhangyuan.
Pu Yi is so happy, Long Yan is so happy, he calls to see and appreciate it!
From foreign consular officials to various warlords and palace maids and eunuchs, everyone received large rewards.
Shortly after the Lantern Festival this year, Zhang Yuan began to put up lanterns and streamers, and the eunuchs were busy handing out birthday stickers everywhere.
On the morning of the "Wanshou Festival", Puyi put on his dragon robe early, and an altar and three animals were placed in the yard. According to the rules, the emperor should wear a dragon robe and a sacrificial hat, first offer sacrifices to his ancestors, and then accept the worship of his ministers.
Cui Huifu was equivalent to Zhang Yuan's housekeeper, running around making arrangements. When she saw Puyi wearing the dragon robe, she said happily: "The emperor is really energetic today."
Puyi seemed to be in a good mood and said with a smile: "Thank you."
"As a legacy minister of the Qing Dynasty, Huifu should do his best for the emperor," Cui Huifu said.
Wanrong stood aside silently, feeling quite depressed. She had been having a hard time in the past few months. Ever since Wenxiu and Puyi divorced, Wanrong had become a punching bag.
Puyi was in a bad mood, so he scolded Wanrong, thinking that she had forced Wenxiu away. In the past, she could go shopping, listen to plays, attend salons and dances, but now she was confined at home and was not allowed to move around at will.
In nearly half a year, Wanrong only went out once, and she accompanied Puyi to attend the birthday party of the British consul's wife.
At about ten o'clock in the morning, several old people and young people came to the manor, knelt down and kowtowed: "Long live my emperor! Long live my emperor! May your emperor live forever, and may I have the great Qing Dynasty forever!"
"Everyone is safe!" Pu Yi said with a smile on his face.
After a while, Luo Zhenyu and other "restoration bureaucrats" came to pay homage and sent their own congratulatory gifts.
Pu Yi was originally in a good mood, but as the time approached noon, his face became darker because there were very few people who came to celebrate his birthday, less than 20 at full count.
Compared with last year's bustling birthday, this was nothing! Even his biological father didn't come, only a servant was sent to deliver congratulatory gifts.
"Your Majesty, do you still have to wait?" the eunuch asked.
Pu Yi said with a gloomy face: "No wait, ancestor worship is important."
The emperor was in trouble, and the procedures for worshiping his ancestors were simplified a lot. The eunuch read the sacrificial words loudly, and Puyi, who was wearing a dragon robe with a graceful appearance, kowtowed to his ancestors, and then the elders and the young followed him and kowtowed.
After the ancestor worship was completed, Puyi sat on the "dragon chair" and accepted the "ministers"'s kneeling and congratulations. Listening to the rare "Long live", Puyi became more and more depressed. He asked the eunuch to give rewards to the guests, while he returned to
The study is suffocating.
There will be a birthday banquet at noon and a birthday party in the afternoon.
Puyi, however, was not in the mood to listen to the play. He stared blankly ahead, not knowing what he was thinking.
In the evening, when the old and young people knelt down and said goodbye, Puyi waved his hands half-heartedly without saying a word.
Cui Huifu came over with the gift list and read: "Prince Chun (Puyi's biological father, who historically opposed Puyi's defection to Japan and supported New China) sent a handwritten congratulatory message, Prince Gong (the eldest grandson of Guiziliu) sent a picture of a hundred years of longevity, and a Yushan
…”
"Okay, stop reading it!" Pu Yi said irritably.
Except for a few princes whose congratulatory gifts were decent, everyone else's gifts were very mediocre. Especially his biological father, who only sent a congratulatory message without even being present in person.
Cui Huifu stopped talking and stood there silently.
Pu Yi sighed: "No one cares about me as the emperor anymore."
Cui Huifu consoled him and said: "There are also loyal and filial ministers. Luo Zhenyu gave me a pair of colorful pre-Qin jade, which is priceless."
"I guess he is interested," Pu Yi said a little more happily, "Go and get the ancient jade."
Cui Huifu went out immediately and quickly delivered a pair of colorful ancient jade to Puyi.
The two pieces of ancient jade are round, smooth, and colorful, which is really beautiful.
Pu Yi took it in his hand and was very fond of it. He played with it and said: "It's such a good jade. I've been holding it for at least ten years. It's a treasure in the world...eh?"
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Cui Huifu asked.
Puyi's face suddenly changed, he looked at the jade carefully under the light, and suddenly became furious, smashed the jade on the ground and cursed: "God damn Luo Zhenyu, you fooled me!"
Who is Luo Zhenyu?
He is the son and daughter of Wang Guowei, a famous scholar, and the founder of oracle bone inscription research.
Oracle bone literature was originally called "the study of Luo Wang", that is, the study of Luo Zhenyu and Wang Guowei.
Luo Zhenyu once supported Puyi's restoration and invited Wang Guowei to serve as a Manchu bureaucrat, but Wang Guowei refused, and the two had a very unhappy relationship. He also had an identity as an antique dealer, specializing in collecting folk antiques and selling them to foreigners - mainly antiques.
Japanese.
Luo Zhenyu has studied oracle bone inscriptions so much, so he is naturally proficient in antique appreciation, and his counterfeiting methods are also very clever. At least half of the antiques he sold to the Japanese were fake.
But I never expected that the birthday gift this guy gave to Pu Yi was actually a fake!
Puyi is not that easy to fool, he is also proficient in this method, and he can see through it at a glance when he holds it in his hand.
Seeing Puyi getting angry, Cui Huifu quickly comforted him: "Your Majesty, please calm down and don't get angry."
Puyi was obviously irritated and became furious. He first stepped on the "ancient jade" with his foot, then lifted the table and kicked the bench, shouting: "Fake, the jade is fake, the person is fake, the emperor is fake, and the loyal ministers are fake."
Fake, all fake!”
Cui Huifu quickly pulled Puyi: "Your Majesty..."
"Get out, get out of here!" Pu Yi suddenly pushed Cui Huifu away.
Cui Huifu fell to the ground, got up and went to Wanrong: "Empress, please go and persuade the emperor."
Wanrong didn't want to worry about it, but she sighed anyway, walked into the study and said: "Your Majesty, you need to be more open-minded..."
Puyi became even more angry when he saw Wanrong. He felt that Wanrong was the culprit of all this, so he raised his arm and hit her.
"Snapped!"
There was a crisp sound.
Wanrong was a little dazed from being slapped, she covered her face and said, "You hit me?"
"You're the one I'm beating!"
Pu Yi said angrily: "If you hadn't treated Wenxiu so badly, would she have divorced me? You forced her away, made me lose face, and made me a joke in the world. Look at today, my birthday banquet was just
How many people will come? Ah! If divorce had not lost its dignity, would those foreign consuls come? Would those warlords come?"
Wanrong had been holding it in for several months, and finally burst out: "Besides taking it out on me, what else can you do? Those people didn't come because Zhang Zuolin became the commander-in-chief of the Anguo Army. Last year you held a big birthday party, and Zhang Xueliang expressed
To satisfy your dissatisfaction, I asked you to go to university and become an ordinary citizen. Look at what China is like now, how can there be an emperor? Even Yuan Shikai was overthrown, are you better than Yuan Shikai?"
These words made Pu Yi's heart bleed, his neck turned red and he shouted: "I am the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the Lord of the world, and I have the righteousness of Taoism!"
"Do you believe it yourself?" Wanrong asked.
Puyi was speechless and kicked Wanrong in the stomach: "Get out of here!"
Cui Huifu was so shocked that she didn't know what to do. She supported Wanrong and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Madam, please stop saying a few words and don't add fuel to the fire."
"I can't survive this life!" Wanrong cried and left.
"Hahahahaha..."
Puyi laughed loudly, and the more he laughed, the more lonely he became, and his laughter finally turned into tears.