Song Xiance said: "Originally, the sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth days of the fourth month were all auspicious days, so the sixth day of the first month was chosen to ascend the throne. Now that the military situation has changed, it is better to change to the eighth day of the first month to ascend the throne. In these few days, while preparing to go on a military expedition, he waited for news from Wu Sangui. If Wu San hangs a congratulatory table, the military situation has eased, and the enthronement ceremony on the eighth day of the first lunar month will be held as scheduled and will not be postponed. ”

Li Zicheng was only afraid that the big event of coming to Beijing to ascend the throne would be blown, so he hesitated in his heart and turned to Niu Jinxing.

Niu Jinxing said: "What the military advisor said is quite appropriate. Since Tang Tong and the others said that Wu Sangui was discussing the surrender with his subordinates, there should be a result within two or three days, so it is better to wait for the news. ”

Li Zicheng said: "I agree to change the enthronement to the eighth day of the first lunar month, and the cabinet can send a message to the civil and military officials of the various yamen to know, only to say that the speech ceremony is not very familiar, and not to mention a word about military intelligence." ”

After all the civil and military forces kowtowed and withdrew, Wu Ruyi, who was waiting in the Wenhua Gate duty room, immediately came in, knelt down in front of the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, Luo Hu has come from Tongzhou, and now he and his soldiers are resting in the room in front of the noon gate, waiting for the summons." ”

"He's coming, good, good. You arrange for them to eat first, and you also arrange a temporary place to live. After lunch, I will take a short rest, and in a few moments, you will take Luo Hu to Wuying Hall to see me, and you must not delay. ”

Until this moment, Wu Ruyi didn't know why the emperor was in a hurry to summon Luo Hu, and he didn't know why he was told to hurry up and arrange a grand mansion for Luo Hu yesterday, the sooner the better. He wanted to ask for an understanding, but now he was no longer serving the king of the former righteous army, but the emperor of Dashun, so he didn't dare to ask more, and said: "Obey!"

After he prostrated to the ground, he was about to withdraw, when Li Zicheng ordered again: "You must prepare quickly to transport the gold and silver treasures back to Chang'an, and you must not delay." After lunch, you take Xiaohuzi to Wuyingmen, wait for the summons, and you just have to go about your business. Within a few days, the shipment of gold and silver must be ready. ”

Wu Ruyi took the opportunity to ask, "Why are you so anxious?"

Li Zicheng whispered: "I'm afraid it will inevitably be a vicious battle, and we must prepare in advance." But don't divulge that, just know for yourself. ”

Wu Ruyi didn't dare to ask again, his mood suddenly became heavy, and he respectfully withdrew.

Li Zicheng sat on the dragon chair for a while, unable to hear the faint sound of drums, and knew that the Huangjimen ceremony had already been completed. Thinking that he had not personally watched the ceremony, and that the day of his accession to the throne had been changed to the eighth day of the new year, would there be any changes on the eighth day of the new year? He sighed secretly and drove back to the Wuying Palace.

Since entering Beijing, Li Zicheng has never felt so depressed and heavy as he did this morning. On the way to Wuying Palace, he instructed Shuangxi to immediately send someone to the Ministry of Military Affairs to take the maps of the prefectures and counties in Jingdong and the area of Shanhaiguan and put them on the imperial case of the Wenhua Palace for him to read. When they arrived at the Xinuan Pavilion of Wuying Palace, they just sat down, and the palace maids immediately came in, some brought fragrant tea, and some added incense to the Boshan furnace.

Immediately, Wang Ruifen came in lightly, knelt in front of Li Zicheng and played: "Playing the emperor, the mother said that the emperor didn't sleep well last night, and he got up on the fifth watch today, and he has been busy until now." It's not yet lunchtime, so please go back to the dormitory to rest. ”

Li Zicheng asked, "Can you serve Niangniang just now to watch the performance of the hundred officials on the Youshun Gate Tower?"

Wang Ruifen raised her head and replied with a smile: "With the permission of the emperor's holy grace, the slaves and maids led the palace maids to serve the maids to watch the ceremony on the Shunmen Tower, thinking that the emperor will hold an enthronement ceremony after tomorrow, the whole country will rejoice, and the world will be renewed, so the maids and palace maids are all overjoyed, and they wish that tomorrow would be the sixth day of the fourth month." ”

Li Zicheng listened to Wang Ruifen's words, and praised Wang Ruifen in his heart for being the personal palace maid of Concubine Tian and the housekeeper of Chenggan Palace, which is really different, not only very different from the palace maids in Xi'an Qin Palace, but also a phoenix compared with many palace maids in the Ming Palace. However, listening to Wang Ruifen's beautiful words, he could only think about the unexpected changes in the situation, thinking that they didn't know that the enthronement ceremony had been rescheduled to the eighth day of the new year, and even the eighth day of the first month had become a little slim.

He refused to reveal his unhappiness, and reluctantly said with a smile: "You quickly tell the eunuchs waiting outside the palace to go to the imperial dining room and say that I want to eat mutton stewed cakes for lunch." There is also a musician who ordered Xi'an to play music at lunchtime. ”

Wang Ruifen agreed: "Obey!" kowtowed and withdrew.

After a while, he re-entered and stood in front of the emperor, waiting for other orders. Li Zicheng said again: "You sent a palace maid to Shouning Palace to send a message to Fei Zhen'e." ”

Wang Ruifen's heart moved, and asked: "Emperor, is it to pass Fei Zhen'e to bathe in smoked clothes, dress up, and go to the palace after dinner?"

"Ordered her to come to Wuying Hall after lunch. ”

"After lunch?" Wang Ruifen asked again, afraid that he would hear the wrong time.

"Come after the time is over. ”

Wang Ruifen felt strange, but she didn't dare to ask again, and said: "Fei Zhen'e is different from ordinary palace maids, the slave maid will go to Shouning Palace immediately to pass the decree." Won't the emperor go to the palace to rest?"

"Go ahead, I'm going to sit alone for a while. ”

Wang Ruifen returned to the palace of Renzhi Palace, told Concubine Dou that the emperor was going to sit in the warm pavilion of Wuying Hall for a while, and ordered her to tell Fei Zhen'e to see the emperor after lunch, and then went to Shouning Palace.

When Dou Meiyi watched the performance on the Youshun gatehouse, because she didn't see Li Zicheng ascend the Zuoshun gatehouse, and later saw Niu Jinxing and Liu Zongmin leave in a hurry, which made her suspicious and worried that something unexpected had happened. Then I saw the four imperial historians retreating step by step from the east side of the Huangji Gate, and they drove out, but they were greeted by empty chariots, and suddenly there was a sense of foresight.

She obeyed the rules of the ancestors in the palace, and the concubines did not dare to ask about state affairs, nor were they allowed to inquire casually, but she wanted to know what was going on in the court, so she ordered Wang Ruifen to go to the Wuying Hall to ask the holy driver to return to the harem to rest and watch the movement. She knew in her heart that although the emperor was born recklessly and captured the Ming Dynasty with a three-foot sword, heroes have loved beauties since ancient times, so since she received the emperor's favor and came to live in the palace of Renzhidian, the emperor always came to the harem to rest every day, in order to accompany her.

She also understands that the new emperor also loves Wang Ruifen in his heart, but the new emperor is not the kind of king who loves beautiful women when he sees one and loves another, so he refuses to summon Wang Ruifen, nor does he summon Fei Zhen'e and other palace maids, so that she can only favor the harem. Now the emperor refuses to go back to the harem to rest, and wants to sit alone in the Wuying Hall for a while, obviously because he is bored and needs to think about major matters alone. But the enthronement ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow, and suddenly something will make the emperor feel troubled?

What made Dou Meiyi even more uneasy was that the emperor wanted to summon Fei Zhen'e after lunch. Sooner or later, the emperor will accept Zhen'e as a concubine, and Fei Zhen'e will share the favor with her equally, which has long been prepared in her mind, and she has decided to be a reasonable concubine and not be jealous with Fei Zhen'e. But why didn't the emperor tell Fei Zhen'e to come to the dormitory after dinner, but preferred to summon him after lunch in the warm pavilion of Wuying Palace?

She thought about it repeatedly, and finally it suddenly dawned on her, probably the emperor would canonize her and Fei Zhen'e at the same time on the day of his accession to the throne. In order to be canonized soon, Fei Zhen'e must be told in advance so that she can prepare. Dou Meiyi is a careful person, and in her joy, she can't help but further guess what name the emperor will canonize them. If Fei Zhen'e does not become a concubine for the time being, could it be that the first step will be to be named a concubine?

After a while, Wang Ruifen came back from Shouning Palace, first went to Wuying Hall to report to the emperor, and then returned to the Renzhi Palace to report to Concubine Dou. Concubine Dou asked with a smile: "Is Fei Zhen'e very happy after receiving the order?"

Wang Ruifen replied: "Niangniang, although Fei Zhen'e is young, she is very scheming, which is different from ordinary women. She knelt down and listened to my proclamation, and then said as usual: "Slave and maid, thank you!" and she kowtowed, and there was not a hint of a smile on her face. ”

"You came back to the Wuying Hall to report to Your Majesty, what did Your Majesty say?"

"The emperor was attentively looking at a map spread out on the imperial case, but he sighed, and there was no other command. There is another map next to it that has not yet been opened, and there is a red paper bookmark on the cover of Huang Aya, with the inscription "The Ming Emperor's Map", and there is a line of small characters under it indicating the number of volumes and places, and the slave maid has never seen it clearly. ”

"In the past, there was no such book on the imperial case of the Wuying Palace......"

"In the past, the slave maid was ordered by the Tian Emperor and the concubine to send things to the Ganqing Palace, and I also saw that there was such a book on the imperial case of the Emperor Chongzhen, when Kaifeng was besieged, the war in Henan was tight, and the Emperor Chongzhen was anxious day and night, restless, and often consulted the map. Listening to Wei Qinghui, there are many copies of "Emperor Aotu of the Ming Dynasty", which are kept closely by the Ministry of War, and the emperor still returns them after being transferred to check them. Niangniang, now that the emperor is busy preparing to ascend the throne, how can he have time to check the map?"

Concubine Dou unconsciously thought that the emperor did not come to Zuoshun Gate to watch the ceremony by the window, and Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing left halfway, and she was very surprised. But she hid the uneasiness in her heart, smiled faintly at Wang Ruifen and said, "Our Emperor Dashun is the lord of the world. The ancients said that within the four seas, it is not the king's land. It is also a matter of course for him to consult the map in his busy schedule. Ah, let's just talk, it's time for the emperor to have lunch. ”

Wang Ruifen hurriedly led a few palace maids to the Wuying Hall to serve the emperor for lunch. Concubine Dou could have gone or not, but she wanted to see the emperor's expression, and second, to make the emperor happy and persuade him to work hard to eat, so she dressed up a little and took the four palace maids with her.

Li Zicheng had already come out of the Xinuan Pavilion and sat down on a dragon chair facing south next to a large case of vermilion lacquer painted gold for imperial meals. There are already more than 20 kinds of meat and vegetarian dishes on the big case, delicacies from the mountains and seas, but they continue to increase. Music began to play on the Dan Pier. In the past, the musicians of Li Zicheng's lunch clock and drum division played the royal music of the Ming court, mainly pipa, sheng, xiao, and bell plates, and the gongs and drums were almost not used, and the music was graceful and elegant.

Today, Li Zicheng ordered the musicians he brought from Xi'an to play music, not only using big gongs, drums, cymbals, cymbals, xiao, and flutes, but also using brass horns and suona. When played, the music is majestic, high-pitched and loud, making people feel like military music played in triumph on the field. Concubine Dou grew up in the palace of the Ming Dynasty and was not used to this kind of music, especially the harsh sound of suo.

But in order to make the emperor happy, she pretended to be very willing to admire, there was a smile on her peach-colored cheeks, and the dimples on her cheeks sometimes sank deeply, and her moist lips with a light smile and bright eyes and bright teeth made Li Zicheng feel particularly tempted. The concubines served the imperial meal in front of the emperor, usually standing beside them. Li Zicheng was very fond of Concubine Dou and specially ordered her to sit down to accompany the meal. Dou Meiyi bowed down to thank her, and then sat down carefully opposite the emperor. Wang Ruifen immediately glanced at the two palace maids, and the two palace maids immediately put the prepared gold-inlaid chopsticks, plum blossom-shaped silver plate and silver spoon in front of Concubine Dou.

Li Zicheng smiled and asked, "Do you like to listen to this drum music?"

"The concubine grew up in the deep palace, and today I am fortunate to listen to the musicians from Guanzhong play this music, and you can imagine that Your Majesty is heroic in a hundred battles, so I love to listen to it very much. ”

Li Zicheng said: "For some reason, I suddenly missed my hometown today, so I ordered the musicians from Xi'an to play music. ”

"Your Majesty is done, and you still can't forget your hometown, which is also human nature. After Han Gaozu was finished, he returned to his hometown and feasted for ten days. One day, he took advantage of the wine, personally built it, sang the wind and the clouds were flying, and then danced, generously sad, and wept a few lines. This matter has been passed down through the ages. Your Majesty's success in not forgetting his hometown is the true character of a hero, and it will be passed down through the ages. ”

"How do you remember the books you have read so clearly?"

"The concubine accompanied Empress Yi'an to study for a few years, and there was nothing else to do, so there are some good articles in the "Historical Records" that can almost be recited. ”

"Okay, I really need a virtuous concubine like you in Dashun Palace!"

Li Zicheng picked up a glass of Changchun dew wine made in the Ming Palace, drank it all, and asked with a smile: "Han Liu Bang returned to his hometown after his success, and the father and brother of the hometown of the conference, laughing and feasting, why did he be generous and sad and shed tears?"

"Thinking to the concubines, at that time, the Western Han Dynasty was created in a grassy state, and the four Yi were not subdued, especially the Xiongnu in the north, the army was strong, and they coerced China, which has been the case since the Zhou and Qin dynasties. Liu Bang knew that it was difficult to start a business, and it was not easy to keep it successful, so he never forgot the danger, was very happy and sad, cried a few lines, and sang the verses of Ande warriors guarding the Quartet. ”

"You understand well, you understand well. Pour wine for the mother!"

Dou Meiyi stood up and said, "Thank you!"

Li Zicheng told the story of Han Gaozu's "Song of the Great Wind" because Concubine Dou told the story of Han Gaozu's "Song of the Great Wind", and immediately remembered the warning that the Manchurian soldiers were about to invade the south, and the smile on his face disappeared. Dou Meiyi guessed from the change in the look on the emperor's face that Liaodong might have a major military situation. She suddenly understood why the emperor did not go to Zuoshunmen Tower to watch the ceremony this morning, and Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing left in a hurry while watching the ceremony. She didn't dare to ask a word, but said in her heart: "Oh my God, don't have a major accident!"

A few more dishes were served, followed by the previous royal frying pan painted with double dragons holding the sun. A palace maid lifted the lid of the frying pot, Dou Meiyi and the palace maids saw the contents inside, and they all felt novel, but they didn't know what it was.

Li Zicheng smiled again and said softly: "This is Shaanxi's mutton risotto." ”