Ju Ming rode back to the city. It was already dark, but he was not afraid that the city gate would be closed.
From today until the end of the Lantern Festival, the Tokyo city gates will be open. There is no longer a curfew in the city, and you can play all night long - Tokyo has a curfew system, but the time is postponed to the second half of the night, and citizens are allowed to play as much as they want in the first half of the night
.
As night falls, the lights shine brightly.
Lanterns from all over the country will be put on trial starting today. Especially the circle around the Imperial City is full of large Aoshan lanterns, donated by various prefectures.
"I have also seen the lantern festival in Xixiang County. Compared with Tokyo, it is really a rural place." Bai Sheng sighed from the bottom of his heart. He had really gained a lot of experience at this moment.
Shi Biao was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He kept his mouth half open all the way, looking at everything in wonder.
Ju Ming led his horse forward, his eyes reflected the lights of the city, but in his mind were the stretches of shacks on both sides of the Cao River.
Comparing the two, the impact is too strong!
Adjacent to the south wall of the inner city, that area is full of tiled houses with hooked railings, and it looks particularly lively tonight.
Many Wazis do not need to pay tickets, so you can watch performances when you enter. They mainly make money from stall fees inside the venue. Vendors rent stalls to sell various goods, and their business nature is more like a large comprehensive shopping mall.
But during the Lantern Festival, the highlight is not the tile houses, but the setting up of a stage in front of Xuande Tower. A four to five hundred meter long stage is set up on the wide Imperial Street, extending from the outside of the imperial city to the inner city wall. Kaifeng citizens can stand on
Watch the performance on both sides of Royal Street.
Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival and it has already started tonight.
Both sides of Imperial Street were already crowded, and there were so many people. If you couldn't squeeze in, you had to go to other streets to watch the lanterns.
"Little athlete, little athlete!"
The audience suddenly shouted wildly that the "little athlete" was a big star recorded in "Tokyo Dreams".
I saw a young man wearing shorts and somersaulting to the center of the stage, accompanied by several stars.
After a fight, the young athlete suddenly breathed out fire, and the fire was of different colors.
Then I saw him turn around and lower his head, take a deep breath, and spit out flames again. A ball floated in the flames, spinning constantly in the air, as if he was practicing elixir with Samadhi True Fire. And this flame lasted for more than half a minute.
, the star of Tokyo city is unparalleled.
"good!"
Countless spectators cheered loudly.
Even Ju Ming temporarily forgot about the bad things and applauded along with everyone.
"Li Waining, Li Waining..."
On the stage next door, there were also big stars on stage, and they seemed to be even more powerful. The audience crowded towards that side.
Zhu Ming and the others couldn't squeeze through, so they could only watch from a distance, and there seemed to be vague fireworks.
Li Waining is a puppet master who is good at using medicinal puppets, that is, using gunpowder to drive puppets.
The whole Royal Street has different programs and is packed with people, mesmerized and mesmerized.
Zhu Ming couldn't help but sigh: "Just looking at this place, it turns out that Henan University is prosperous and prosperous!"
Among the crowd, there were many people wearing foreign clothes.
Chen Dong pointed not far away: "Those are the envoys from the Liao Kingdom, and next to them are the envoys from Korea. Every New Year's Day, envoys from various countries come to Beijing to participate in the Yuanhui. During the Yuanhui, the envoys congratulate only Liao and Gaoli.
The envoys can get a banquet, and the other envoys from other countries can move on their own. On the second day, the envoys went to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. On the third day, the envoys went to Nanyuyuan to shoot arrows. The envoys of the Liao State liked to shoot crossbows, and the warriors of the Song Dynasty all used bows and arrows.
If a warrior in the Song Dynasty hits the bull's-eye, he will be rewarded heavily by the officials, and will then be paraded on horseback through the streets to be admired by the people."
Ju Ming asked: "Isn't the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom getting worse day by day?"
Chen Dong said: "But there have always been envoys between the two countries. The Aoshan lantern in front of the Xuande Tower was often lit in advance for the Liao envoys. It stayed on until the Lantern Festival, so that the Liao envoys could see the lanterns for more than half a month.
"
"Which country are those envoys from?" Zhu Ming pointed further away.
Hou Xuan said: "The envoy from Khotan from the Western Regions."
"I've heard of this." Zhu Ming nodded.
The Kingdom of Khotan is located in the Hotan area of Xinjiang.
In addition, there are Arabs, also known as food envoys. These guys don't come often, and many times they are disguised as Arab businessmen. Their main purpose is to come to Tokyo to sell goods at high prices.
Southeast Asian envoys such as Srivijaya and Chapo often came and often presented elephants, rhinoceros, peacocks, parrots and the like. This led to more and more animals in Tokyo. There were dozens of elephants alone. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty was there
A royal zoo was opened outside the city at Yujin Garden.
Foreign envoys also offered Kunlun slaves.
The Kunlun slaves offered by the three Buddhas are probably natives of Southeast Asia. But the Kunlun slaves offered by the food merchants are most likely real black slaves.
Ju Ming watched the performance for a while and then went to have a drink with his friends.
On the way, I met a blue hat selling goods at a stall. Just by looking at the pattern on his hat, I knew he was a Jew living in Tokyo.
…
The emperor was not idle tonight either. He went to the Five Mountains Temple in his royal chariot. All the attendants wore big hats with flowers on their hats. The palace guards wore red brocade lion shirts and gold-plated heavenly king belts.
, comparable to Ju Ming’s Heavenly King Armor Belt, and the pumpkin in his hand has several layers of bones.
The military attachés of the Imperial Guard and the sergeants in front of the palace were equally joyful and exaggerated, dressed like generals on the stage.
The emperor's entourage carried various gadgets, such as golden chairs, spittoons, jugs, fruit plates, etc. These were the emperor's royal possessions and were carried with them wherever he went. Even for spitting, ordinary spittoons were also used.
Not used to it.
The palm fan behind the emperor has a handle made of colored glaze and jade, and there is a wick in the colored glaze that can be lit.
The lanterns that illuminate the path ahead are all wrapped in top-quality red gauze and embellished with jewelry. There are four hundred such lanterns, all illuminated with top-quality white candles.
All kinds of things are either gold or jade, and the rest are also gems and pearls.
It embodies four words: luxury and nobility!
Before the Royal Street stage was set up, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty sat on the royal chariot, came out from Xuande Tower, joined the civil and military officials waiting there, and the huge procession headed south.
"Look at the driver!"
Following a shout from the imperial guard, the Sanya Taiwei opened the way and marched forward mightily.
Passersby along the way dodged one after another, and no one dared to speak for a moment, and the noisy streets became dead silent. To use the original text of "Tokyo Menghualu", it is "those who make loud noises will beat them to bleed." Those golden gourd guards are not decorations.
First, we passed by Jiucheng Palace, where there was the Jiuding cast by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a money shortage, and many edicts were issued to prohibit the outflow of copper coins. In the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the money shortage affected people's livelihood, and Cai Jing had to mint large amounts of copper coins.
However, Song Huizong melted the copper coins and bronze vessels and cast the Jiuding to show his destiny. The Jiuding was later snatched away by the Jin soldiers.
Next to the Jiucheng Palace where the Jiuding is placed is the Yingxiang Pond where tonight's banquet will be held.
There are willows planted beside the pool, there are water lilies in the pool, pavilions and pavilions, and the scenery is beautiful.
Under the illumination of four hundred imperial lanterns and numerous lanterns, the Yingxiang Pond at night is as bright as day. The lights are reflected in the pond water, complementing each other, which is really beautiful.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was sitting on the golden throne, music was playing, and all the ministers paid their respects.
The sound of music is over, offering auspiciousness.
Bai Shizhong, the Minister of Rites, who had just been demoted to a third official, took the list and began to read: "A white tiger and auspicious animal are presented on Jingdong Road and have been sent to Yujin Garden..."
Every time a piece of auspiciousness is recited, all the civil and military officials congratulate one after another.
After thinking about it, Bai Shizhong said: "Lizhou Road is offering 100 catties of immortal grains, corn and sweet potatoes each!"
Hearing the word "immortal", Song Huizong became more energetic and asked: "What are corn and sweet potatoes? How can it be called immortal food?"
Bai Shizhong said: "Peng Xi, the transfer envoy on Lizhou Road, said that there was a stranger who was looking for immortals overseas. He met an immortal and gave him corn and sweet potatoes, both of which could produce several stones per acre. And he did not choose the land, even the barren mountains.
Farmable.”
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty did not pay attention to the yield per mu, but only asked: "Can immortal food have miraculous effects?"
Bai Shizhong replied: "I don't know."
Liu Zhengfu left the table and handed over his hands: "If the official family can really produce several stones per acre, and can cultivate in barren land, these two things can greatly benefit the world. Your Majesty will work hard to govern, and our Song Dynasty will be unparalleled in its prosperity, and Henan Province will be prosperous all over the world.
, Now that there is immortal food, it is really the blessing of the immortal!"
As a result, the ministers rushed to congratulate each other, saying that the emperor had a destiny.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty suddenly became happy and said: "Send an order to the Lizhou Road Transfer Envoy and ask him to send strangers to Beijing. I will also ask about the overseas immortals."
Then, the Minister of Rites continued to recite auspiciousness, with various contents, including the birth of quadruplets by a folk woman.
After the auspicious ceremony was completed, the waiter began to bring the wine and food.
There were also opera troupes performing dramas, and the monarch and his ministers collaborated to share the grand occasion.
After the two dramas were performed, the imperial poets of Dasheng Mansion began to write poems praising virtues.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty personally commented and ranked the top few, and rewarded them with dozens or hundreds of dollars.
…
Ju Ming was half drunk and rode back to the inn outside the city. No one came to check for drunk driving.
Bai Sheng and Shi Biao laid on the floor. They were tired from walking today, so they lay down and fell asleep. Their snoring made it difficult for Ju Ming to fall asleep.
Get up and light the oil lamp.
Ju Ming took out his sword and started to clean it. After wiping the sword, he went to clean the iron spear and mace.
He came to the window with his mace in hand, opened the window and looked outside. Although the outside of the city was not as prosperous as the inside, there were lanterns everywhere, and a night wind blew, accompanied by the smell of burning coal.
The trees near Tokyo have long been insufficient to support the city's firewood.
Every household, including officials, uses coal to make fires for cooking.
Only the royal family and top dignitaries burn high-priced charcoal, which is shipped all the way.
From the time he traveled to the present day, Ju Ming has been clamoring to rebel, but his previous will to rebel was not as strong as it is today.
This is Tokyo, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and it already looks like this.
How miserable must the people everywhere be?
Ju Ming originally planned to launch an uprising after Jingkang, but now he wants to advance it.
How early should it be advanced?
Wait for Fang La to rebel, or will the Song army be defeated in the Liao expedition?
Anyway, it is not now. The elite of the Western Army is still there, and the rebel army will not be able to hold it back in the early stage.
Feeling extremely angry, Ju Ming waved his mace in the room, making a buzzing sound in the darkness.
Shi Biao slept deeply, but Bai Sheng was woken up, opened his eyes, looked at it, and went back to sleep.
