On the day of the winter solstice, the Biangong Palace, which has been quiet for a long time, is rarely lively, especially the main hall of the Han Palace, the Chongyuan Palace, and the inner palaces of the various departments and bureaus in the palace are busy in the meantime, making the final preparations and arrangements.

The Son of Heaven has already issued an edict to hold a palace banquet on the day of the winter solstice, and the harem concubines, ministers, two generals, noble ministers and ministers of the wheel, and the feudal towns and towns that enter Beijing to meet are all invited to the banquet.

This is probably the most "extravagant" activity since Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne. Although he advocated frugality, it was also necessary to simply organize a grand event to connect feelings and inspire people's hearts when the country was initially settled and there was still little grain in the country.

There are many ups and downs in the founding of the Han Dynasty, and Liu Chengyou's succession to the throne has been bumpy in less than a year, and the illusion of singing and dancing is sometimes necessary to be maintained.

Liu Chengyou said before that the purpose was to have fun with the subjects, so he issued an edict that the curfew and closing time in Tokyo would be extended to the time of the child for the citizens to enjoy. Kaifeng is not closed at night, there is still a long distance, although the market system is gradually broken, but in order to facilitate the management of the city, it is still strictly implemented.

The enthusiasm of the people of Tokyo for the festival is far beyond Liu Chengyou's imagination, whether it is a noble bureaucrat or an ordinary rich and poor people, they all celebrate the solar terms, wear new clothes, and eat dumplings. The winter solstice is as big as a year.

To the north of the imperial city, on the side of Xuanwu Gate, there is a wide military camp, with school grounds, barracks, dining rooms, armories and other building facilities neat and complete, and heavy troops are stationed.

More than 8,000 cavalry members of the new iron cavalry under the front division of the palace were stationed here, and together with the guard Long Jiejun on the northwest side, they jointly defended the palace city.

Originally, the establishment of the Iron Cavalry Army was 10,000 cavalry, but due to the shortage of generals, non-commissioned officers, especially the shortage of war horses, and the scruples of dismantling the guard horse army, in the end it could not be in full.

At this time, less than half of the soldiers in the army, except for the officers on duty, those who were alone, and those whose families were not in Tokyo, were allowed to return home. However, in the camp, there are also colorful flags, and the atmosphere of solemn and strict prohibition on weekdays has diluted a lot.

A cartload of wine and meat was escorted to the camp and piled up in the school yard, and all the troops stationed in the camp were sent out and collected in a centralized manner under the leadership of their respective officers. This is Liu Chengyou's edict, which is to be purchased by the treasury and the two forbidden armies, and unswervingly buy the hearts of the army, hoping to achieve the effect of the monarch, the ministers, the army and the people.

The reward materials for tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp are another expenditure that is enough to make Wang Zhang feel painful.

On the school ground, although the atmosphere was warm, the orderly scene completely reflected the training quality of the new iron cavalry sergeants. Yang Ye was dressed in an energetic military robe, the armor embedded in his body was polished, and he stood with his sword in his hand, personally supervising the distribution of wine and meat. The efficiency is very high, but it takes an hour to get it in place.

Yang Ye stepped down from the Tong'an Army, returned to Beijing with Liu Chengyou, and was named after the whole army was named the Marquis of Yu in the left wing of the Iron Cavalry Army, and assisted Han Tong in charge of the Iron Cavalry Left Wing Horse Army.

The reward materials were obviously calculated according to the number of people, and after the armies and battalions received them, only a small and half cart of things remained. Seeing the remaining mess in the school field, Yang Ye immediately instructed the left and right: "Clean it up, and enter the remaining goods and materials into the camp warehouse." In addition, the order was sent down, His Majesty rewarded the three armies, and all the sergeants celebrated, but they should not forget the violation of discipline and desecration, and the commanders of the armies should supervise them well. ”

"Yes!" The military officials who followed him said in an emotional tone about Yang Ye's arrangement: "Marquis Yu is loyal to his duties, so that the lowly rank is respected!" ”

The remaining half of the carload of goods, Yang Ye has never looked at it more, with the atmosphere in the army for three generations, it is very rare.

Saying that, the military officer looked at Yang Ye curiously: "Your Majesty held a banquet in Chongyuan Palace, why didn't Marquis Yu go?" ”

The senior officers above Yu Hou on both sides of the Iron Cavalry Army, Yang Ye was the only one who stayed in the camp.

Arching his hand in the direction of Miyagi, Yang Ye said: "Your Majesty's grace will be remembered in the five." However, there must be no one in charge of the army, and besides, it is enough to celebrate with the brothers! ”

Looking at the sky and hearing the festive hustle and bustle from the battalions, Yang Ye beckoned: "Go, follow me to inspect the armies!" ”

The situation is similar to that of the Iron Cavalry, inside and outside Kaifeng City, the barracks of the Tokyo Forbidden Army are lively. A festival and a reward are enough to continue to eliminate the depression and dissent caused by the separation of power in the whole army.

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In the palace city, Chongyuan Palace, before the evening approaches, it is already densely covered with colorful silk and decorated with candles. Inside and outside the palace, inside and outside, there were thousands of people and their families who should be feasted, and they entered the palace early one after another.

With the space of the Chongyuan Palace, of course, it could not accommodate so many people, so it simply came in handy for the two halls, and then temporarily built a large tent outside the hall. Even so, it is still crowded, but on the other hand, in winter, it is possible to gather people to keep warm.

Since Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, the palace of the Han Dynasty has never been so noisy and lively.

Zhe Congruan and his granddaughter also entered the palace and banquet early, and under the guidance of the waiter, he took a seat, and his seat was naturally in the palace, and it was relatively forward. For this winter feast, those eunuchs and palace maids in the Han Palace were not enough, and Liu Chengyou also transferred a thousand palace guards to serve them.

"Is this the main hall of the palace? It's spectacular! Zhe Saihua followed Zhi Congruan's side, this little lady from Fuzhou was dazzled by the magnificent landscape in the palace, swept the busy scene around her, and exclaimed: "It's so lively!" ”

"This is Kaifeng, the place where the essence of the world gathers!" Of course, Zhe Congruan was stable, although he had never experienced such a grand scene in his life.

However, the little lady couldn't help muttering: "Isn't it rumored that the Son of Heaven admires thrift and simplicity, how much food does such a feast cost?" ”

Although the surroundings were noisy and the voice of Zhi Saihua was small, Zhi Congruan still heard it clearly, and quickly stopped the little granddaughter and taught her that in this palace, she should be cautious.

Zhe Congruan has a lot of qualifications, but he grew up in Fuzhou, and among the ministers in the palace, he didn't know much, and even fewer had friendships. However, while others were sitting there, many people who knew him took the initiative to come forward to say hello. After all, the Son of Heaven's emphasis on Captain Zhe has already spread.

As the weather gets late, the more people there are, and the scene changes more and more towards the atmosphere of the palace banquet. Seeing that the time was almost the same, and the people were almost there, Liu Chengyou, the Empress Dowager Li, and the Empress Fu entered the palace together. The noble concubine Gao was not in the small group of people in the finale.

With the arrival of the emperor and the two queens, inside and outside the hall, the originally warm atmosphere suddenly disappeared, but the festive atmosphere was still there. Liu Chengyou only glanced at the grand scene in the palace slightly, everything was in order, this banquet was prepared by Li Ye, the envoy of the Xuanhui Southern Academy, Liu Chengyou found that his brother-in-law still seems to have some ability in this regard.

Wait for the royal steps, sit on the dragon bed, and together with the two queens, accept the worship and congratulations of the internal and external ministers, and officially start this palace banquet.