It was the end of summer, and the autumn harvest was in full swing in the fields.

This year's wind and rain are smooth, and there is no flood of demons and monsters like last year, and the summer harvest is already a bumper harvest. Now that the autumn harvest is in full swing, it is foreseeable that this year's autumn harvest will inevitably be a bumper harvest.

A good harvest means that the people can finally be at peace.

On this day, outside the city of Jinan, Kong Rong and some officials had been waiting for a long time.

After Hao Meng became the king, the Jiaozhou scholars took the lead in investing, and Hao Meng, the king of Jin, and the hundred officials under his command could not be said to have paid attention to it.

After Shihui entered Jiangdong with the tributary team, there were pavilions along the way to provide accommodation, and the formation of the Shihui mission and the flying eagle were transmitted to Jinan City in time.

According to the itinerary, today is the day when the Shijia delegation arrives in Jinan City.

Therefore, early in the morning, the Jin Palace was dressed up, and Hao Meng took some important ministers and waited for them to come to the court with the emblem in the Jin Palace. And Kong Rong, as the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, was also sent by Hao Meng to the outside of Jinan City to welcome the arrival of the Shijia mission.

This is to show the importance attached to the scholars' coming to the court.

……

Outside the city of Jinan, Kong Rong waited for a long time.

When the day was about to go up, the Shijia mission was finally late.

The size of the scholar's mission was not large, only more than 100 people. Shi Hui led the team, followed by two cousins, as well as several staff, plus a team of more than 100 generals, this is the composition of the Shi family's mission to Jinan City.

The reason why he brought a team of more than 100 generals was for the safety of the journey.

It's not that there will be people who are unfavorable to the Shi family, but to guard against and strangle the demons and monsters that may suddenly refresh along the way.

"Jiaozhou Shihui, meet Kong Shilang!"

Seeing Kong Rong, who was the leader, Shi Hui immediately turned over and dismounted, bowed down and bowed to greet him.

Shi Hui knew that most of the tasks of his trip could be successfully completed, but he did not expect to receive such courtesy.

Hao Meng, the king of Jin, ordered the buildings along the way to provide high-quality food and lodging, not to mention, outside the city of Jinan, he let his important minister Kong Rong welcome.

Who is Kong Rong?

He is the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites in the Jin Dynasty!

According to the official system of King Jin, the left and right servants are already high-ranking officials.

That's it, what deeply moved Shihui was that Kong Rong's other identity: a descendant of Confucius, a great Confucian in the world!

The scholars came to smoke, and the courtesy specifications received were very high.

"The prince is very polite!" Kong Rong gave his hand, which can be regarded as a return gift.

The Shi family is a prince, even if he submits to Hao Meng, the king of Jin, today, his family will not lose the position of a prince. Yes, Shihui is still the son of the Jiaozhou Shi family. In the case that Shihui has no official position, Kong Rong can only call him "Shizi".

It can't be, Kong Rong calls Shihui "virtuous nephew", right?

Although, with Kong Rong's age and status, there is no big problem with calling it so. However, Kong Rong and Jiaozhou Shijia have no friendship, so where does this "virtuous nephew" start?

"The king is very happy that the Jiaozhou scholar family can come to the court, and he is a special official who came to greet him."

"The prince, please, the king has been waiting in the palace for a long time!"

As he spoke, Kong Rong took a false lead with his left hand and signaled Shihui to go first.

"Kong Shilang is an elder and a high-ranking official under the Great Throne, or is Kong Shilang invited first?" Shi Hui politely resigned.

Shihui is an envoy to the court, and when he enters the city, he takes the first step, which is nothing wrong with etiquette.

However, if he walked with a great Confucian like Kong Rong, Shihui would never dare to take the first step.

Although this is only a small section, it is also a matter of etiquette.

"How about we go together?"

Kong Rong also knew that Shihui would not dare to enter the city one step ahead of him. However, as a welcoming official, he could not walk in front of the Shihui. Therefore, Kong Rong could only make such a suggestion.

"That's very good, Kong Shilang, please!"

At the suggestion of his peers, Shihui also agreed.

……

In the Jin Palace, Hao Meng waited for a long time.

However, during this waiting time, Hao Meng was not idle, but took time to deal with some government affairs. Hao Meng had just seen that when Wei Yan was sitting in Shangyong's performance during this time, Kong Rong led the Shi family delegation into the palace hall.

"Minister, Jiaozhou Shijia Shihui, meet the king!"

From the moment he entered the main hall, Shihui knelt on the ground and bowed, bowing three times; After standing up, he took three steps forward, then knelt down and bowed again, and bowed three times. If this is the case three times, it is the so-called three kneeling and nine knocking.

This is the highest etiquette that must be used by foreign ministers when they meet the Son of Heaven under the centralized system of the empire since ancient times.

The foreign minister here does not mean a foreign envoy or a courtier, but a courtier who is released and used to guard a place.

Of course, when foreign forces are submissive, the vast majority of them will also use the set of big gifts of three kneels and nine bows.

In the romance, when Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, he also performed the great gift of kneeling three times and bowing nine times in the face of the young Son of Heaven. Even Cao Cao, when he greeted the young Son of Heaven from Luoyang, he also performed three kneels and nine bows.

Before Hao Meng entered the throne, such a big gift, even if someone wanted to kneel and lick it like this, he Hao Meng couldn't afford it. But now, Hao Meng is already the king of Jin, and he can also enjoy the gift of three kneels and nine knocks from foreign ministers in front of him!

The Shi family is sitting in Jiaozhou, and now they are losing their sincerity to him Hao Meng, who is a foreign minister under the Jin kingdom.

When they met the king of Jin for the first time, the scholars also had to use this set of gifts.

Shihui also understands this.

……

"Shijia Shizi, please get up!"

sat down and accepted Shihui's bowing, and then, Hao Meng got up, led with one hand, and asked Shihui to get up.

Under normal circumstances, the emperor can sit back and enjoy the bowing of his courtiers with peace of mind.

After all, in the Qin and Han dynasties and the era before the Qin and Han dynasties, courtiers did not necessarily bow down to the emperor several times a year.

However, after the courtiers knelt down, the emperor had to get up and ask the courtiers to "calm down".

This is also the etiquette that an emperor should have.

Even, if the imperial court sets up a prime minister, every time the prime minister enters the palace to participate in the court meeting and disperses the court out of the main hall, the emperor has to get up to show welcome and gift, which is also to show the importance of the prime minister.

In the Han Dynasty, these were particularly prominent.

The interaction etiquette between these emperors and courtiers is not like that after the Tang and Song dynasties in this era.

In this era, and before the Qin and Han dynasties, the number of times courtiers knelt down to worship the emperor was only a handful in their lifetime. And the emperor treats his courtiers not only to show due courtesy, but also to the harshness of "the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die" in later generations.

Hao Meng was made up for this knowledge by his father-in-law before he entered the king, and during the period after he entered the king. At this point, there is nothing wrong with it.

As for why Hao Meng didn't call "Aiqing, please get up" like the court dramas of later generations?

In the same way, before the Sui and Tang dynasties, the emperor's address to his courtiers was either directly called by his name or his official position, and he basically did not call him "Aiqing", and even the title of "Lord XX" was not available.

Adults are generally addressed by direct elders such as fathers and ancestors.

How did this word become the name of officials?

This has to be verified in those eras after the Sui and Tang dynasties!

Anyway, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and in the era before the Sui and Tang dynasties, basically no one called officials "so-and-so".