As early as when Sun Ci took Lu Qingping to the capital, Lu Qi had already informed the emperor that his son would come to the capital in advance.
The emperor immediately passed down a note with a stroke of his pen, asking the Ministry of Rites to advance the state banquet according to Lu Qingping's schedule.
If the Jie Feng state banquet was not for Jie Feng and was delayed by ten days and a half, what would be the point?
Therefore, after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stayed in the courtyard for only two days, today was the day of the state banquet.
The people from Prince Lu's Mansion went out,
A team of soldiers and horses surrounded two carriages.
King Lu Qi is in front, and His Royal Highness is behind.
In Lu Qingping's carriage, Guo Xiaoren, a counselor and civil servant in the palace, was also sitting. He mainly told Lu Qingping about the arrangements and various procedures for the upcoming state banquet:
"This banquet was held to entertain the people. It was set up in the main hall outside Ziwei City. We also invited the common people in the capital and all the famous families to celebrate the cleansing of the dust for you, the crown prince. This means that all the officials from the top to the middle are
Celebrities from every household, down to ordinary people, are happy to welcome the return of the "young hero of the country.""
Hear the words.
Lu Qingping thought in his heart. Along the way, he had many experiences and he analyzed it himself.
I know that this state banquet is not as simple as just welcoming him.
So the young man asked: "What else is hidden behind the so-called having fun with the people at this state banquet? Now Mr. Guo can tell me."
Guo Xiaoren looked at His Highness the young man and couldn't help but smile helplessly, "Your Majesty is smart, so naturally I can't hide it from you..."
Next, from the mouth of the palace counselor, the young man learned the true purpose of the banquet...
"This emperor is really good at playing with people's hearts and taking advantage of the power of the emperor."
Lu Qingping thought after hearing this.
…………
"It's the chariot of King Wucheng and the Crown Prince!"
"The prince is in that carriage..."
After walking all the way from Prince Lu's Mansion for less than half a quarter of an hour, Lu Qingping suddenly heard the noise of the crowds of people outside in the carriage, as well as the enthusiastic slogans, which were actually mentioning him.
He opened the car curtain with a calm expression, only to see people running around outside.
A street five to six feet wide was lined with people on both sides.
I saw the young man opening the carriage curtain.
The people immediately became more excited and finally saw the man who had been promoted by the dynasty these days as the hero of the country and the savior of the people for ten years.
"My little prince is a thousand years old!"
"Your Highness, you are back..."
"Thanks to you..."
"You suffered in Beitang..."
Men and women, young and old, poor and humble, all rushed towards this side excitedly, shouting all kinds of words of gratitude.
Ten years of peace were hard-won.
The past ten years have been peaceful, the country's strength has doubled, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and no one will freeze to death or starve to death.
These did not come out of thin air, it was because two children who were only four or five years old held back the burden of ten years of war for the entire Southern Sui Dynasty.
They were only four or five years old at the time, but they bought ten years of happy life for the common people of the Southern Sui Dynasty, as officers and soldiers, and as members of all three religions and professions.
Lu Qingping was a little stunned by this scene.
He closed the carriage curtain, looked at Guo Xiaoren, and asked, "These people who are shouting are shills, right?"
Guo Xiaoren smiled and shook his head, saying: "Yes, not entirely. The imperial court probably only sent less than one-tenth."
Lu Qingping's heart was shocked.
That is to say, at least 90% of the people were sincerely grateful to "Lu Qingping", cheered for "Lu Qingping", and warmly welcomed the return of this young hero who exchanged his ten years of suffering for ten years of happiness for the people of the Southern Sui Dynasty.
Guo Xiaoren listened to the thunderous human voices on both sides.
He looked at the young man and said happily: "The lamb kneels down to breastfeed, and the crow feeds back. Animals are grateful, not to mention humans. The ten years that the prince and princess devoted themselves to the people of the Southern Sui Dynasty will be remembered by everyone."
This generation of Southern Sui people all experienced the wars of the Spring and Autumn Period.
They are deeply afraid of the chaotic world where war is raging.
Only those born in troubled times can understand how difficult it is to live in peace. Therefore, as a common people who know where the peace of the past ten years comes from, how can we not be grateful to two children who were only four or five years old ten years ago?
pay.
They spent ten years of their youth suffering hardships and cold looks in other countries in exchange for this for the people of the Southern Sui Dynasty.
Now that the hero is back, how can the people be ungrateful?
The shouts of the crowd on both sides of the carriage lasted for half an hour, all the way from East Street to the entrance to Ziwei City.
In King Lu Qi's carriage, King Wu Cheng listened to the cheers of the people on both sides for his son. He did not feel proud or happy at all, only his heart surged after closing his eyes deeply.
The ten-mile long street, with shouts from both sides, tortured him for half an hour.
Any voice that cheers Lu Qingping for bringing ten years of peace to the Southern Sui Dynasty is a kind of torture to Lu Qi.
He endured the humiliation for a while and endured the hardship in exchange for ten years.
Ten years ago, if there was a fight.
He wanted to save his son's life, but Lu Qi didn't even have 10% confidence. The country was destroyed, how could he still have a family?
Ten years later, the time gained was used to reform the dynasty and make the Sui Dynasty stronger. Only when the country is strong can it not be afraid of foreign invasion and truly save the life of its son.
Finally, we passed East Street and entered Ziwei City.
…………
"We have arrived at Wanhua Palace. Please ask the prince to get off the sedan chair. The ministers, celebrities and three thousand people have been waiting for a long time."
A soft voice.
Lu Qingping sounded like a eunuch.
He and Lu Qi got off the sedan one after another.
In front of you is the Wanhua Palace, which is magnificent and magnificent. You can faintly hear the roar of people inside.
At this time, the two six-foot-high vermilion doors slowly opened.
People from Prince Lu's Mansion began to enter Wanhua Palace.
Wanhua Palace is very large, with eighteen large and small palaces. Lu Qingping and others entered through the main entrance, Chengyang Gate.
And when the vermilion door opened, all the officials, celebrities and common people who had been waiting in the main square of Wanhua Palace looked up.
In an instant, thousands of eyes looked at Lu Qingping.
Lu Qingping followed Lu Qi and looked at them one by one without fear. Immediately, he stared closely at a young man in white who was sitting on a table in the square of the main hall.
"Ye Canghai, she is actually here today..."
In an instant, a ray of light flashed in Lu Qingping's eyes.
The same goes for the young man in white, his eyes glaring like cold lightning.
The two looked at each other, as if two sparks were colliding in the air.
Lu Qingping quickly withdrew her gaze and asked Guo Xiaoren, "Why is Ye Canghai here?"
Although Guo Xiaoren was a civil servant, he knew very well what his eldest son had experienced in the world, and he knew the duel agreed between the two young men.
The current descendants of the Ye family, one of the top ten ancient aristocratic families, are as talented as the saints and saints in the Holy Land of the Three Religions.
When Ye Taibai set the time for the two to fight, Ye Canghai was at the martial arts foundation level. Now, she has passed the level and entered the third level of heaven and human in one breath. Although His Highness the Crown Prince has made rapid progress in cultivation, he is still not good enough after all.
Ye Canghai is in a great realm.
But fortunately, there is still a month before the two of them make an appointment.
It is expected that with the prince teaching this month, with the talent shown by the prince, it will not be a problem to break through to the realm of heaven and man.
These thoughts flashed across Guo Xiaoren's mind, then he looked at Ye Canghai's seat and began to introduce to His Highness seriously:
"Didn't I tell the prince before that not only officials and common people were invited to this banquet, but also celebrities from the three religions and ten families were invited to celebrate with the country."
"Your Majesty, have you seen the more than ten tables on Ye Canghai's side? There are not only the Ye family, but also the Wen family, the Li family, and the Zhou family, which are among the top ten ancient aristocratic families like the Ye family."
The ten most ancient families in the world have been passed down for thousands of years.
There are six families in the Northern Tang Dynasty and four families in the Southern Sui Dynasty.
Among these four, there were two that Lu Qingping had already dealt with, namely the Zhou family and the Ye family.
Among these four ancient families, except for the Ye family, which is mainly engaged in swordsmanship and has been active in the arena for thousands of years, the other three literary families, the Li family and the Zhou family, have had an inseparable relationship with the temple for thousands of years. The three families were deeply rooted in the temple and were the three leaders among the aristocratic families in the Southern Sui Dynasty.
"His Majesty had already asked the Ministry of Rites to hold state banquets when the crown prince was in Wudang Mountain. Therefore, in addition to people from the four great families, there were also people from the three religious holy places in our Southern Sui Dynasty, because Xiangshan Academy has a deep relationship with the Sui Dynasty. , and because some students and real people from Danxia Paradise happened to come to the capital recently, they were also invited to the scene. There were several scholars from Xiangshan Academy, and people from Danxia Paradise should also be here. They seemed to be arranged in other places. In the palace, he will appear in a moment."
Lu Qingping's heart moved slightly when she heard this.
Senior Sister Meng is actually here today.
He didn't expect that even Senior Sister Meng would show up at the state banquet held for him this time. It must be said that it was quite a surprise.
While Lu Qingping and Guo Xiaoren were talking, some officials immediately walked over with smiling faces to greet today's protagonist and King Wu Cheng of the country.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please come quickly. Today is a reception banquet held by Your Majesty specially for His Majesty. Please come and take a seat."
…………
Among the seats where the four major families are.
The heads of the four major aristocratic families, including the younger generations of their families, all looked with deep eyes at the father and son who were introduced to the throne today.
"Our emperor has good calculations, but it depends on who is more skilled."
Everyone in the Zhou family felt gloomy.
As an old man who has been in the world of temples for nearly a hundred years, his eyebrows are all empty. From the moment Zhao Jian proposed to help Lu Qingping clean up the dust, they could smell the medicine in the emperor's gourd.
In order to implement his own decrees, the emperor often came to confront officials in the court. This has been a common scene in temples for thousands of years.
This state banquet is just another game to see who has the best move.
But what depresses the hearts of several major families is that in recent years, with King Wu Cheng and Han Shang as his right-hand men, the emperor has won more and more times in the court.
Not long after Lu Qingping took her seat, she suddenly saw seven or eight Taoist priests coming towards the direction of the Danxia Paradise seat she had been staring at.
One of the women in Taoist robes, with bright eyes, white teeth, and a blue temperament, also looked over and smiled sweetly, with a deep smile and joking in her eyes, as if to say, "I didn't expect that, right?"
Just when Lu Qingping was about to go over and say hello.
A high-pitched and powerful shout came from outside the palace: