Since the Han Dynasty, there has been a saying that the winter solstice is as big as the year.

The day before the winter solstice, Bianliang City is extremely lively, with lights everywhere and beaming.

On the day of the winter solstice, everyone wears new clothes, arranges family feasts, and the big fish and meat that are usually reluctant to eat are on the table, the small ones want to salute their parents, and the daughters-in-law want to offer socks to their in-laws, and they are happy.

On the day of the winter solstice in later generations, it is not as delicious as dumplings, and it is not as good as fun...... In the winter solstice of the Song Dynasty, dumplings are not eaten, but chaos must be eaten, and wontons are indispensable for worshipping ancestors, and there is a proverb of "winter wonton year". The rich and noble families are even more curious, they make the wontons into various colors, and there are dozens of different fillings, put them in gold and silverware, called Baiwei wontons.

In addition to wontons, rice is also used to make rice cakes to worship ancestors. In addition, the Kaifeng people of the Northern Song Dynasty also have customs such as welcoming the sun, wearing a yang scarf, recommending millet cakes, and offering winter solstice plates during the winter solstice.

It is the feast and carnival on the day of the winter solstice that almost consumes a year's savings, and when it comes to the real New Year, it is shy in the pocket, and it can only be simplified, so there is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as the year...... This is just like the days of the Chinese New Year, you can see tens of thousands of mahjong wins and losses everywhere, and people don't play with you at all, but when it comes to the May Day poetry meeting, many people can only afford to play mahjong for 20 yuan.

If the winter solstice is the most lively time of the year in Bianliang City, and the most lively activity on the day of the winter solstice is the ancestor worship of the Son of Heaven.

Since the Han Dynasty, "heaven and man induction" has become one of the important logics to confirm the legitimacy of imperial power. For this reason, the sacrifice to the "Haotian God" is regarded as one of the important rituals of the regime, and the time of worship to the sky has been stipulated on the day of the winter solstice since the Song Dynasty.

The day before the winter solstice, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu personally performed the sacrifice, and the official family was gracious.

The sacrificial procession is led by the cavalry of silver-armored iron horses, followed by seven elephants draped in gorgeous brocade, the back of the elephant is placed on a gilded lotus throne, the elephant's head is decorated with gold wire, gold bridle and gold bridle The elephant rider also wears beautiful brocade clothes, looking like a fairy riding an elephant down to earth from a distance.

The guard of honor following behind the elephant team, respectively holding a high flag, a big fan, a halberd, a spear, the flag is painted with dragons and tigers, mountains and rivers, the long soldiers are decorated with leopard tails, ribbons, the guard of honor is dressed in colorful armor, and the distance looks like auspicious clouds.

Later, there were many warriors carrying axes and shields, swords and sticks, dressed in blue, soap, red, and ochre costumes, escorting the holy chariot and the ministers and officials to the Taimiao. The scene can be described as thousands of rides, carriages and horses.

At the third watch of the night, the emperor changed into a green dragon costume, wore a crown of Pingtian decorated with twenty-four pieces, stepped on red shoes, and was supported to the altar by two attendants. The altar is three layers high, a total of seventy-two steps, the top of the altar is three zhang in a square circle, sit in the north and face the south to set up the "Haotian God" yellow mattress, set up the "Emperor Taizu" yellow mattress on one side, place the sacrifice to the sky and the ancestor juxtaposition.

The Taoist priests gathered under the altar, the ceremonial music and singing and dancing were endless, and hundreds of thousands of people outside the altar worshipped, and the mountain shouted long live.

That scene, that magnificence, what Song Dandan said, "three layers inside and three layers outside, red flags are displayed, gongs and drums are noisy" or something is simply weak.

Following the procession of the emperor's ancestors, first the clan, then the hundred officials.

According to the practice of previous years, the clans that are eligible to participate in this kind of occasion are all within the three official uniforms, but there are thirty or forty people, King Yan and King Yue are in the front, and then the prince Zhao Huan, King Yun Zhao Kai and other princes, and then Zhao Xiaoqian and other county kings, and the one who is dragged at the end is also at the national public level.

However, this year's ancestor worship had a little accident.

Following behind the clan, at the top of the line were Cai Jing, Wang Hao and others, Cai Jing, who was 73 years old, was a little dizzy, because he suddenly saw that in the queue of the clan, there was an inexplicable sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, dressed in a vermilion official robe...... It's not even three grades.

At Cai Jing's age, he no longer trusts his eyesight, although he wiped his eyes a few times, it was still the same, and it was inconvenient to ask, so he had to give up.

In addition to Cai Jing's doubts, Zhao Xiaoqian in the front clan team was the most depressed, because Zhao Hao didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, he followed behind him, and stepped on his heel from time to time, so angry that he gritted his teeth and was inconvenient.

God knows what the official family has in mind, and he actually let the children of the clan outside the seven clothes, and the young man who is not as weak as the crown to participate in the great gift of worshipping the ancestors, you must know that Zhao Zhongshu did not have this treatment back then.

Look at this kid, just like a wolf in the middle mountains, he is rampant, and he has stepped on his heels seven or eight times along the way, obviously demonstrating, why did this kind of immoral child participate in the ancestor worship ceremony out of the ordinary?

Zhao Xiaoqian was depressed, Zhao Hao was actually depressed in his heart, he originally thought that he could show his face and pretend to be forced, but now he found out that this is a chore.

Along the way, all kinds of three kneeling and nine knocking, all kinds of ceremonies, after reading the sacrificial text, sacrifice, incense, offering rice soup, serving tea, offering silk, offering wine, offering food box, offering meat, offering blessings, burning blessings, bowing to the gods, etc.

Although the winter sun is good for health, but from morning to midday, there is no play for two hours, it is simply a crime, and I was not so tired of military training back then.

But thinking about Zhao Ji in front of him, he was also very tired, and the three or four hours of going up and down the steps, walking, and kowtowing and kneeling were simply triathlons.

No wonder after the winter solstice, the official family wants to give hundreds of officials a seven-day holiday, which is equivalent to a small long holiday on National Day...... After such high-intensity labor as ancestor worship, where can you recover your spirit without resting for seven days?

Zhao Ji, who was carrying out the tedious ancestor worship ceremony in front, was already sweating profusely and panting under the sun.

In recent years, there has been a lot of health care, but the amount of exercise has been less, unlike before, he often kicked and kicked to keep fit, and since Lin Lingsu entered the palace, he has eaten a lot of various pills full of heavy metals, and his body is not as good as before, although Zhao Hao restored him to 5 points of health value, he still has a feeling of unbearable bearing, and his hands and feet are a little weak.

Just when the Taichang Temple Qing was still chanting words, Zhao Ji took advantage of no one's attention, suddenly took out a milky white pill from his sleeve and secretly stuffed it into his mouth.

The pill melted in his mouth, Zhao Ji only felt a cool and comfortable feeling instantly surging into his heart, and in an instant, his waist was no longer sore, his legs were no longer painful, his breath was no longer panting, and his hands were also strong, and he was ...... in one breath Energetic and floating.

"My nephew is really my protector god, this little pill seems to be much more mysterious than Mr. Yuan Miao's Dragon and Tiger Pill, God gives my nephew Yu Zhenna......"

Zhao Ji secretly admired in his heart, and became more and more determined in his idea of secretly supporting Zhao Hao.

Of course, Zhao Ji was not completely stunned by Zhao Hao's immortal arts and pills, but had his own ideas.

As an emperor, Zhao Ji has no strategy for governing the country, but he is extremely good at the art of imperial balance. Now in the court, Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, and Wang Hao are one party, Cai Jing's husband for many years, and Gao Yu and others have been enveloped, which is considered a faction, he favors Wang Wenqing and Lin Lingsu, in fact, it is a force, plus the martial artists led by the Western Army and others, it is also a faction, these Zhao Ji don't know in his heart, in fact, what he subconsciously wants is this kind of result.

No matter which faction you are, you have to follow Zhao Ji's balancing technique.

Cai Jing has been the prime minister for many years, and the power is tilted towards the government and the opposition, so he asked Cai Jing to go up and down a few times, suppressed him, and even used a little power to make Cai Jing's own son Cai You oppose him; The group of warriors of the Western Army, in recent years, has made meritorious contributions to Pingxi Xia, and his tail is high, so he let Tong Guan be the supervisor of the army and suppressed the Western Army to death...... Therefore, in Zhao Ji's dynasty, no matter how the six thieves and other traitorous ministers were in power, they were all suppressed by Zhao Ji to death.

But Zhao Ji still felt that it was not enough, because what the real strength of the DPRK and China now is only the party led by Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, and Wang Hao and the party headed by Cai Jing are wrestling, and the two parties themselves have a broken relationship. You must know that Tong Guan and Wang Huangke both took refuge in Cai Jing in the past, but they were just pawns of Cai Jing before and after the saddle, and then because Zhao Ji saw that Cai Jing was powerful, he suppressed him, and they were differentiated.

Therefore, some people say that the Northern Song Dynasty died in party strife, but in fact, Zhao Ji knew this kind of party strife, not only did not solve it, but added fuel to the fire. It used party struggle as the way to balance the emperor, and made the prosperous and wealthy Song Dynasty into a miasma and decay, and finally was lightly hit by the Jin people, and it was smashed like a glass wall.

The appearance of Zhao Hao made Zhao Ji have a whim, and secretly had the heart of cultivation.

If it is another clan, Zhao Ji naturally has to take precautions, especially the two younger brothers of King Yan and King Yue, it is simply a thief-proof, otherwise how can Zhao Hao, a distant disciple of the clan, be wild in front of the dignified King Yan?

But Zhao Hao proved with practical actions that he was indeed the protector of the Dharma and made a special trip to protect himself, which made Zhao Ji much less guarded, and he was a clan outside the seven suits, so there would be no threat at all.

Although it is said that the story of Taizong's candle shadow axe is a lesson from the past, but over the years, Zhao Ji's balancing technique has been played with thieves, and the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military affairs have been played by him in applause, which has made him extremely confident in his imperial technique, and he has enough confidence to control any powerful minister. What's more, the protagonist of the candle shadow axe is Taizu's younger brother, and the focus is only on guarding against his younger brothers King Yan and King Yue, like Zhao Hao, a clan outside the seven suits, even if there is no aura of "protector god", in Zhao Ji's opinion, as long as he does not control the military power, it is impossible to pose any threat.

Of course, this is just Zhao Ji's initial idea, after all, Zhao Hao is too young, and he has no foundation in the court, and it is still very early to become a pawn he uses to balance the power of the court...... Nowadays, a Jilu official does not go to the court, among the hundreds of officials, who knows who Zhao Hao is, I am afraid that he can count it with two palms.

So, Zhao Ji had the idea of letting Zhao Hao participate in the ancestor worship ceremony.

First, in order to keep the "Dharma Protector" by his side, he felt a little more secure; The second is also to let Zhao Hao show his face among the hundred officials, and if he is promoted in the future, he will not be too rusty.