As the sun sets in the west, the sky gradually darkens. The lanterns in every house and on the streets are lit one after another. Lanterns are decorated everywhere, and the city is full of fireworks. For a time, Taichang, the capital, is like the Milky Way in the sky, with stars dotted and bright.
bright.
The common people put on new clothes, the girls wore bright makeup, and went out to watch the gorgeous lanterns with their relatives and friends.
"On the platform of burning trees and silver flowers, the iron locks of the star bridge are opened, the dark dust follows the horses, and the bright moon follows people."
A full moon rises slowly in the sky, and thousands of lights on the ground are brightly lit. The streets are crowded with people. There are various stalls on both sides of the street, selling candied haws, glutinous rice balls, peanut candies and other delicacies, as well as various
Toys and trinkets. There are also artists performing juggling, juggling, opera and other programs on the street, attracting people to stop and watch, and cheers.
"The lights and candles are gorgeous, there are hundreds of opera displays, the ladies are vying for beauty, and they are dyed in pink and white."
The royal banquet started in the Youshi period, and the interior and exterior of the palace were decorated with various lanterns, with the themes of dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, lions and other auspicious animals being spectacular.
Zuo Feng, the sixth prince, put on his rich clothes under the service of his maid, and drove to the imperial city. When the sun completely set and night fell, he arrived at Yongning Gate, the south gate of the imperial city.
Looking up, Zuo Feng could not help but squint his eyes as he was illuminated by the lights. Then, with the help of a servant, he couldn't buy it.
Get off the carriage.
At this moment, two carriages stopped in front of the imperial city. Zuo Feng stopped and looked. One carriage came from the second prince Zuo Yi, and the other carriage came from the right prime minister Zhang Wentian.
Zuo Feng sneered a few times in his heart, but with a flattering smile on his face, he trotted up to the two of them and saluted Zuo Yi and Zhang Wentian respectfully:
"Hey, hello, Second Emperor, hello, Prime Minister Zhang. When I went out, the magpie was chirping on the branch of the tree. It turned out to be a reminder that I would meet you two here."
Zuo Yi's somewhat round face showed a look of impatience. He curled his lips and let out a cold snort:
"Humph, it turns out it's the sixth one. You're quite slippery. This is the Lantern Festival royal banquet. Not only will you meet me and the right minister, but you'll also meet the eldest prince and the others. Who knows about your chirping magpie?
, I’m not reminding you again that you will meet the two of me.”
Listening to the sarcastic remarks, Zuo Feng's face did not turn red, nor did his heart beat. He was not even a little angry. Instead, his attitude became more respectful and flattering:
"Looking at what you said, among our brothers, I admire the second brother the most. He is both civil and military, resourceful, has a strategic mind, is lenient towards others, is courteous to the virtuous, courageous and resourceful..."
"Okay, okay, stop it." Zuo Yi interrupted impatiently, then glanced sideways and said coldly and disdainfully, "I heard that you have been very close to the eldest prince recently? Are you trying to flatter me?
, aren’t you afraid that Zuo Li will be unhappy?”
Zuo Feng was stunned for a moment, then put on a brighter smile and said:
"Second brother, don't get me wrong. You also know that sixth brother, I have no ambitions and just like to eat, drink and have fun. Recently, my eldest brother has been confined to the house, so he occasionally calls me to drink and listen to music. As long as there is wine to drink, I will always be the one to come.
I won’t refuse, haha, if second brother is free, sixth brother, I will also go to your house to ask for a drink, how about it?"
The disdain and disgust in Zuo Li's heart grew stronger, and just as he was about to utter a few more words of ridicule, the Right Prime Minister Zhang Wentian came out to smooth things over:
"Haha, since the Sixth Prince likes to drink, I will be the host and invite the two highnesses to my house in a few days. I just happened to have some jars of good bamboo leaves and green tea for the two highnesses to taste together."
"That's great. My mouth is watering when I heard what the right minister said. I will definitely go, I will definitely go."
Zuo Feng nodded and bowed. Zhang Wentian cupped his hands and said, "It's a deal."
When Zuo Li saw Zhang Wentian interrupting his taunting, his face did not change at all. When he heard the two of them finishing their conversation, he said to Zuo Feng:
"Sixth brother, you go in first, the right minister and I have to wait for someone else."
Hearing this, Zuo Feng nodded and bowed before leaving. Looking at his back, Zuo Li asked in a low voice with some confusion:
"Right Minister, why are you so polite to him? The sixth man is just a loser and a loser. Don't pay too much attention to him."
Zhang Wentian had a serious look on his chubby face and said in a deep voice:
"Although the Sixth Prince failed, he managed to take care of the Crown Prince under the Emperor's instruction during this period. Even if he didn't take the initiative to help His Highness, he was still on our side."
Then, he continued with a smile on his face, "However, His Highness did the right thing just now. After all, the matter has not been made clear yet. It is normal for you to have a bad attitude towards him, but it should be done in moderation and just show it to outsiders. And
I have been up and down in the officialdom for decades, and in the eyes of others, I am a sophisticated and tactful person, so I must come forward to smooth things over. After tonight's incident, and His Highness is established as the prince, I still need to make good friends.
The Sixth Prince should not be too cold."
"The right minister is right, I didn't think carefully."
At this time, Zuo Feng had already entered the imperial city, and saw that both sides of the main road were already decorated with lanterns. Two auspicious dragons soared in the air and faced each other with majestic momentum. The Jade Rabbit with its arms wrapped in silk was carrying flowers under the osmanthus, which was fairy-like.
Floating; lamp groups of various shapes are lined up one after another, stretching for hundreds of feet, and the momentum is like a rainbow; drums and music are beating in the square in front of Xuande Hall, and a band of hundreds of people is playing to enhance the atmosphere.
The most eye-catching thing is a lantern tower with an area of 20 rooms and a height of 150 feet. It is filled with tens of thousands of lanterns. The lights are as bright as the lantern tree decorated with gold and jade.
There are also pearls, jade, gold and silver spikes hanging on the lantern tower. When the breeze blows, the gold and jade jingle jingles; dragons, phoenixes, tigers and leopards are also depicted on the lanterns, which are vivid, as if they are galloping and jumping.
The stars, moon, lights and candles complement each other, there are singing, dancing, music, pearls and green orchestra, creating a magnificent atmosphere.
…
In Beihuang, Demon Slaying Pass, teams of soldiers are patrolling on the tall city wall. Recently, the demon-barbarian coalition forces have been gathering continuously and are approaching Demon Slaying Pass, so the security inside the pass has been strengthened.
Today is the Lantern Festival. Except for the soldiers on duty, most of the soldiers are in the barracks, eating steaming Yuanxiao. Each person is even allowed to drink two taels of wine, which is considered a holiday benefit.
Outside the Demon Slaying Pass, it was pitch black and dead silent.
Suddenly, thousands of firelights bloomed in the darkness, like stars falling to the ground. Before the soldiers on the city wall could react, the tens of thousands of firelights shot out like meteors.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
The soldiers on the city wall finally reacted. Some shouted loudly, and some rang the alarm bell on the city wall, making a crisp "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding."
When the soldiers in the barracks heard the alarm bell, they hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks, dropped their wine bags, picked up their weapons, and under the leadership of their immediate superiors, they started running towards the city wall.
Although everyone was panicking, this group of soldiers was well-trained after all. They behaved without panicking and followed the trained standard procedures for encountering the enemy in an orderly manner.
At this time, the tens of thousands of rockets hit the light shield of the city defense formation, making a dense "bang bang bang" sound like falling rain.
Fortunately, the formation was stable enough and remained motionless except for slight shaking.
However, the second round of arrow rain came again, and along with it came hundreds of boulders three to four feet in size, which were also burning with blazing flames.
These huge boulders hit the protective shield heavily, like falling meteorites hitting the ground, making a dull and deafening explosion.
The protective shield was shaking violently, looking a little overwhelmed.
A general on the city wall said at a loss:
"Why did these monsters suddenly appear? The enemy is coming fiercely. Hurry, ask for help from Yaoguang Palace!".