The team continued to move along the royal street, and the North Palace could already be seen, and the crowd was getting denser and denser, and the color sheds were also next to each other like a company camp. In his previous life, Zhao Yu knew how magnificent the Ao Mountain of the Song Dynasty was from the legends of the history books, and he had seen the large-scale lantern festivals held in modern cities, and he had also seen the Ao Mountain in front of the palace in Qiongzhou, but today he only saw it from afar, and he was shocked before it was close.

Aoshan originally means the high mountains in the sea in ancient myths and legends, according to the record of "Liezi Tangwen": there is a big gully in the east of the Bohai Sea, which is a bottomless valley, there are five mountains, often go up and down with the waves, and the emperor of heaven ordered the fifteen giant turtles to raise their heads and wear them, and the five mountains do not move. The shape of the Aoshan lanterns in the Song Dynasty is usually based on this, and the legend is transferred to the real world.

This Ao Mountain is compared with what Zhao Yu saw in Qiongzhou, which can only be described by the word shabby, and the modern copy of Ao Mountain can be said to have a name left. The Ao Mountain in front of him is not less than six or seven zhang high, almost the same height as the palace wall, the whole work is composed of countless colored lanterns, the giant ao carries the mountain, and there are mountains and rocks and trees, pavilions and pavilions, various gods, Buddha sculptures and so on. There is also a stage on the mountain, which is played and performed by musicians and officials, which shows how big the whole Aoshan lantern is, the grandeur of the momentum can not be expressed in words, and the various lanterns that are lit exude dazzling light.

Think about the current technical conditions, I only left the palace for more than ten days, such a high Ao Mountain was built and decorated, and the lantern can be paid tribute to the front of the emperor, naturally it will not be ordinary, this has to spend a lot of manpower and material resources day and night to work, to be able to complete, but all this is just to win the emperor's pleasure and satisfy his personal hobbies.

Zhao Hao sighed, but he was distressed, even if not to mention how much manpower and materials were used to build this huge Aoshan lantern, just lighting the lantern was a huge expense. You must know that in the Great Song Dynasty, and even hundreds of years later, there were no cheap and easy oil candles, but insect wax was used. Even if candles at this time were not as rare as those in the Han and Tang dynasties, the price of one hundred and fifty wen per piece was not consumed by ordinary people.

At present, the candles lit on this Ao Mountain are as big as the rafters, and the small ones are like children's arms, and the number is even more than 10,000, and the lights must be placed everywhere in the city, and the lighting of the public area is also responsible for the Lin'an Mansion, and the lamp oil consumed overnight is measured in thousands of catties. It is customary to put the lights on for five days, and with a little calculation, you can see how much money is spent. And the lanterns made by Dengshan cost ten yuan for the cheap ones, and the more expensive ones cost more than a hundred dollars.

A rough calculation of the cost of a lamp will reach hundreds of thousands, and Zhao Yu is used to saving, and this is really meaningless to him, how can he not be distressed to death. You must know that when the Shuaifu army first arrived in Qiongzhou, the money could support their needs for a year, and they could fight a few battles, but it was wasted for a lot, which was really like cutting meat......

"Your Majesty!" Moving forward again, the matter of approaching the North Palace suddenly became clear, and the officers and soldiers of the Guardian Brigade had opened up a vacant space in front of him, and Wen Tianxiang led the ministers to give a salute.

"Ministers are exempt!" Zhao Yu squeezed out a smile and raised his hand.

"Please take advantage of the pre-reward, and let all the people see the dragon's face!" At this time, Xu Zongren, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward to give a salute, and while he spoke, four small yellow doors had already come to the front with a chariot and respectfully asked His Majesty to come up.

"No need, I and the generals can ride on horseback!" Zhao Yu shook his head and rejected the suggestion of the ride, beckoning people to lead the horse.

"Your Majesty, this is not in accordance with the rules, is it?" Xu Zongren was stunned.

"Rules?! Aren't the rules all the rules regulated by the emperors of the past dynasties, and now I can't change the rules? Zhao Yu smiled at Xu Zongren and said.

"This ...... That's a no-brainer! Xu Zongren listened for a moment and nodded hesitantly.

"Very good!" Zhao Yu nodded, at this time Chen Dun had already brought the horse, he turned over and jumped on the war horse and nodded at Xu Zongren and smiled.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" Xu Zongren bowed and saluted.

"The generals will listen to the order, and follow me to preview the mountain of lights!" As soon as Zhao Yu lifted the reins, the front hooves of the war horse took off, and the horse's head was turned on the spot, and he raised his right hand and clenched his fist and ordered.

"Obey the Imperial Order!" Zhao Mengjin and the other generals immediately stood up and saluted, turned over their horses, immediately adjusted their formation, and discharged two columns.

"Forward!" Zhao Yu took out his war knife, slammed down and gave an order, then turned his horse's head to support the war knife and marched forward, and the generals immediately urged the horse to follow.

"My emperor is mighty, long live, long live, long live!" As soon as the war horse moved, cheers rang out, and the surrounding people knelt down to salute, and the mountain shouted long live.

"Salute!" Zhao Yu immediately shouted on his horse, and the generals also drew their swords in their hands, slashed downward, and saluted the cavalry.

"Mighty, mighty, long live my emperor!" The soldiers in charge of the surrounding guards, as well as the escorts who came with them, also immediately stood upright with their guns, saluted with their guns, and shouted long live.

"Our army is mighty!" After participating in several ceremonies a few days ago, it is already clear that there is no difference between modern and ancient times, whether it is kneeling and saluting, or shouting long live the mountain, it is all arranged, and the slogan has already been set, and the people of the teaching department are entrusted, just like the assistant director who is in charge of mobilizing the emotions of the audience in the evening party leads the crowd to chant, and the others even if they don't know what to do, they will follow along with the salute and shout. And he could hear that the shouts of these soldiers were from their hearts, and they did not need the guidance of those people.

If Zhao Yu was alone, he would just be a fool of himself, but it would be different to lead the generals, first, because these generals were either stationed in the local area or low-level officers earlier, they had no chance to enter Beijing to watch the lanterns; The two were accompanied by the generals, and he also wanted to show his trust in the martial arts, and at the same time, he also secretly put pressure on those literati.

However, Zhao Yu still felt that the opportunity was rare, and was attracted by the colorful lanterns, and there were teachers and servants sent by the palace to play new songs on the colorful buildings and mountaineering, or melodious or cheerful tunes floating in the noisy world. On the palace gate, the five-color glazed pavilion has been built, the curtain made of crystal is hung between the windows, after refraction exudes colorful streamers, the reflection is bright, the palace also has a throne, obviously prepared for him, plus the cigarette smoke is like a colorful auspicious cloud, so that he suddenly has a feeling of being in the heavenly palace.

Walking in the tassel treasure belt, between the bright lights of the lamp mountain, the sound of silk and bamboo lingers in the ears, and the sound of the mountain calling long live is endless. It makes Zhao Hao have a sense of self-supremacy in heaven and earth, which is intoxicating, and people's vanity is extremely satisfied, and it also makes him understand why the emperors of previous dynasties have not hesitated to spend huge sums of money to hold lantern festivals.

Think about how embarrassing it is to have a foreign race who has taken away his inheritance and has to take a corner of the south of the Yangtze River, and is unable to launch a counteroffensive, restore the Central Plains, worship the ancestral tomb, and have to be called a minister. It can only satisfy the pride of the subordinate king through such a vain form, get some 'comfort' from it, get some pleasure, and get some fun.

"Long live the Emperor!" In the middle of the balcony, there was a picture of the emperor composed of five-colored jade mountains with four big characters, and the hundred artists on the terrace saw that they were driving by and were more diligent. Zhao Yuran's face showed a wry smile, and the prosperity and enthusiasm in front of him were more like a kind of mental anesthesia, covering up the crisis-ridden and devastated reality, making people intoxicated with this illusion. And when the world is lost in it, how far is the country from defeat......

"Lu Xiang, what does Your Majesty want to bring troops into Beijing?" Seeing the little emperor riding a horse to enjoy the lanterns, Wen Tianxiang and others gathered around and inquired.

"Alas, Your Majesty stayed in Wuxue, and it was only because Meng Yuan was suspected of transferring troops across the Yangtze River that he discussed countermeasures with the generals, and had no other intentions." Lu Xiufu sighed and said, "But when I asked Your Majesty to go back to the palace to enjoy the lanterns, Your Majesty was furious, thinking that this was a move to whitewash the peace and waste the people and money." I also knew that it was the queen's mother who presided over the event, and there was no anger, so I immediately ordered the troops to go out of the camp and return to the palace. ”

"When you were in Qiongzhou, Your Majesty had a clear will, it is not appropriate to be extravagant when the country is in trouble, all rituals should be simple, and the Shangyuan Lantern Festival is only a hundred lanterns at the palace gate. If the queen is like this, it is inevitable that His Majesty will be angry. I also made it clear to the ministers, but Niangniang said that the emperor should celebrate the whole country at this time, and the queen mother was aiming to go forward, so she only complained that we did not play and advise again. Wen Tianxiang shook his head and sighed.

"Wen Xiang, don't complain anymore, how to calm His Majesty's anger at the moment is the right reason." Lu Xiufu frowned and said, he couldn't persuade him in martial arts, so he sent his relatives to quickly turn around and inform the ministers to try to stop him, but what he didn't expect to hear was Wen Tianxiang's irresponsible complaint, and he couldn't help but be a little annoyed.

"It is indeed inappropriate to hold the Shangyuan Lantern Festival at this time, but the queen mother has the permission of the queen mother to handle this matter, and it is not appropriate for Your Majesty to blame the queen alone, just say it clearly, it will not come to the point of being abolished, is it a bit alarmist for Lu Xiang to say this." Liu Di said with some displeasure when he heard this. He thought that the little emperor had just been married for less than a month, and it should be the time for honey to mix oil, and even if the queen did, it would not reach the point of dethronement.

"Governor Liu, if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, I wouldn't dare to ask you to come to discuss. His Majesty had just taken over the government affairs again, but he received a secret report that Meng Yuan had built a large number of warships from Goryeo to go south, and recruited tens of thousands of people who were good at water to train sailors. At present, it is the dry season, which is the best time to cross the river, but there have been many accidents in the DPRK and China, and no one has played such a major event, let alone a countermeasure, which has already annoyed His Majesty. And the queen did not obey the instructions, moved places without authorization, and spent a huge amount of food to hold a lantern festival, didn't it make His Majesty angry. Lu Xiufu said with a wry smile.

"This is all our incompetence as courtiers, think about how many things have happened to Your Majesty who has not managed the government for only half a year. The ministers of the DPRK and China formed a party and appointed private individuals; In the local area, government decrees are also blocked, and there are endless cases of private enrichment. If we can't be stable inside, and there are strong enemies outside, how can we not worry Your Majesty, but what have we done? His mind is all spent on infighting, thinking about how to install cronies, how to limit His Majesty's power, so that political affairs are wasted and armaments are wasted! Ying Jie Yan said angrily, "Your Majesty has been away from the palace for a few days to convene the generals to discuss the matter, and you will be suspicious, worried that Your Majesty is not good for you, and you have been running in tandem, how can you worry about state affairs!" ”

"The governor should not talk about this anymore. His Majesty's wedding is only a month away, and he is about to be abolished, and such a thing has never happened in my dynasty, which not only damages His Majesty's prestige, but also makes the political situation even more chaotic. And Your Majesty has always listened to the governor the most, please persuade me a lot, don't act impulsively! Lu Xiufu is also a lawsuit, and these people are coming at him, as if he caused everything.

"I'm afraid it's hard for me to take on this task. At the beginning of the draft, I made it clear that Your Majesty has been in power since childhood, and you should not interfere in future affairs, so as not to displease Your Majesty. But instead of listening to the dissuasion, you and the others have made suggestions to the Queen Mother, forcibly interfering, coercing and enticing, so that Your Majesty's mother and son almost lost harmony, this is where the evil cause lies, how can I eliminate it in a few words. Ying Jieyan is also a complaint, and he is even more reluctant to participate in it.

"Colleagues, this matter is extraordinary, it is not difficult to abolish it, once it is not handled well, it will lead to confrontation between the imperial court and Jiangnan scholars, you can imagine the consequences!" Seeing that the elders felt alarmist about their warnings, they were a little anxious.

"Oh, could it be that serious?" Wen Tianxiang asked in surprise when he saw this.

"Well, look over there!" Wen Tianxiang raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the palace gate, and then sighed.

"Governor Cai, why did you bring the prisoners to the palace to show the public?" Everyone looked in the direction of Lu Hidefu's finger, and saw that the officials of Lin'an Mansion had brought flails to more than a dozen prisoners, and lined up in front of the palace gate to show the public, Wen Tianxiang frowned and asked.

"The right minister, the Marquis of Xianping led the crowd to collide with the holy driver, and said a lot of disrespectful words, and he should be beheaded for his crimes. Your Majesty considered that it was the Shangyuan Festival, and he was afraid that the Fa-rectification on the street would cause the people to be uneasy, so they were put in front of the palace to be beheaded! Cai replied after giving the salute.

"Xianping Hou?! But Wu Shuo, the Marquis of Xianping, in the queen family? Liu Huang asked anxiously.

"Exactly!" Cai Wan said righteously.

"Your Majesty wants to behead the Marquis of Xianping, is it just because he collided with the holy car and said disrespectful?" Liu Huang knew that the little emperor had always been gentle, never treated those palace maids and chamberlains harshly in the palace, and often joked with the soldiers in the army, but he never punished them for speaking disrespectfully. But today he wanted to kill someone for this, and it was his brother-in-law who was killed, which surprised him, so he asked.

"The Marquis of Xianping is really dead, he not only provoked and intercepted the marching brigade returning to the palace, but also despised Commander Ni and made him kowtow in public to ask for guilt. He even spoke wildly, saying that without the assistance of the Wu family, it would be difficult for His Majesty to gain a foothold in Jiangnan and be pro-political and pro-government. Lu Xiufu said, "But if Your Majesty beheads the Marquis of Xianping, this time it will be equivalent to a complete confrontation with the Wu family, and it will be impossible to abolish it." ”

"In this way, it has touched His Majesty's taboo, and it is difficult to have room for maneuver, but I am afraid that it will be followed by a bloody storm!" Liu Di listened to the reason, and looked at the people who were extremely depressed......