The sixth day of September in the second year of Longtai was the day of autumn hunting in Pinglin.
Qi Ning had never been able to figure out how many officials were accompanying him this time and who would be accompanying them. Only after setting off did he realize that there seemed to be many more officials accompanying him than he had expected.
Except for some elderly civil servants, such as Yuan Lao Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, who were really inconvenient to hunt on horseback, more than half of the officials who could go to the palace accompanied them.
Qin Ning thought about it carefully and felt relieved.
This Autumn Hunting in Pinglin was certainly an opportunity to boost morale, but it was also an opportunity to demonstrate the imperial power. After Longtai ascended the throne, there was no opportunity to truly demonstrate the Imperial power to the officials. Since there was an opportunity for an Autumn Hunting, he would not miss it.
When the emperor went hunting in autumn, he naturally flew the dragon flag.
On the extremely wide street, flags were fluttering, blocking out the sky and the sun.
At the front is a group of Royal Guards Cavalry, all with cold steel armor and extremely majestic. At the front is Chi Fengdian, the commander of the Guards, with thick armor. A cavalryman next to him is holding a dragon flag high. Behind the Guards Cavalry, there is another team carrying a long sword. The cavalry with bows also come from the Guards.
Although the Guards are not large in number, they are divided into cavalry and archers. In fact, the Guards are all good at riding and archery. The cavalry can shoot arrows, while the archers can also ride horses.
This time the emperor went hunting and mobilized 500 elites from the Guards, and 500 cavalry each from Hushen Camp and Xuanwu Camp, plus accompanying officials and serving eunuchs, forming a vast and powerful team. There were no less than two thousand people, and they were walking through the streets in groups, but they were also majestic. The soldiers and horses of the Tiger God Camp had already formed a human wall on both sides. The people were waiting in two rows to watch the emperor. The dragon flag passed by, and the people on both sides The people fell to their knees.
The team marched quite slowly, which was also Longtai's intention, to show the majesty of the emperor in front of the people.
Longtai was surrounded by a group of cavalry, wearing a golden battle armor, a golden helmet on his head, and an Emperor's Sword on his waist. Although he was young, he was still heroic and majestic while riding on a tall horse.
The emperor went hunting to show off his martial prowess, so naturally he would not go there in a dragon chariot.
Qi Ning was riding on the horse, looking at the people kneeling on the ground respectfully on both sides. The sun was shining brightly, shining on the emperor's golden armor, shining with golden light, like a god descending to earth. Through the golden light, Qi Ning saw Longtai's tall and straight figure, and felt in his heart I can't help but sigh.
Under the awed eyes of the people, the team finally left the capital and headed southwest.
Pinglin is a royal hunting ground, only a few dozen miles away from the capital. It is usually guarded by officers and soldiers. For this reason, there is a special military town next to Pinglin, and the officers and soldiers guarding Pinglin are stationed in the town.
It was already autumn, the sky was high and the air was crisp. Everyone from the emperor to the soldiers were riding horses, so the journey to Pinglin did not take too long. At noon, Qining could see the endless hunting ground in the distance. , it is not yet late autumn, the trees are lush and green, which makes people feel relaxed when looking at it.
Before Qi Ning set off, he inquired about it and found out that the emperor's autumn hunting was not just a hunting trip with a group of courtiers.
The emperor has his own way of hunting.
According to the rules, the first two days were actually led by the ministers for hunting, and the emperor was in charge. The winner would be judged based on the prey harvested by the ministers, and the emperor would personally issue a decree to award the winner.
Generally speaking, if the emperor has a prince, the prince will go hunting on the first day. If there is no prince, he will go hunting with a military commander.
However, on the day of arrival, sacrifices must be made first. All things have spirits, and heaven and earth follow their normal order. From the emperor to the common people, they must be in awe of all things in the world.
When the emperor arrived, the Pinglin garrison had already set up sentries around Pinglin. The emperor's hunting was no small matter, so no one else could approach. Moreover, Pinglin's autumn hunt was not a secret matter. The streets and alleys of the capital were all crowded. As we all know, no one can guarantee that someone will take the opportunity to sneak into Pinglin with the intention of doing evil to the emperor and his ministers. Therefore, after the date of Pinglin's autumn hunting was determined, Pinglin's guards had already carpet-cleaned Pinglin several times to ensure that everything was safe in the hunting area. Sentries were set up around Ping Lin, and cavalry patrolled Ping Lin almost all the time.
As a hunting place for the royal family, Pinglin is naturally large in area and has deep and dense forests. It houses many animals for the emperor to use when hunting. After all, no matter what purpose the emperor comes to Pinglin for hunting, the more prey he will naturally kill. The better, so the prey in Pinglin are not only numerous, but also because they are released into the wild, they are naturally wild.
However, in order to protect the safety of the emperor, the wild animals raised in the plain forest are also very particular. Under normal circumstances, without the emperor's special order, there are no large prey such as tigers and leopards in the plain forest. Most of them are wolves, deer, roe deer and storks. kind.
Before the team arrived, Ping Lin had already set up a tent. The emperor's tent was splendid under the sun and surrounded by the guards' barracks. The courtiers' tents were several miles away from the emperor's tent. Unless summoned by the emperor, otherwise No one can approach the emperor's tent easily.
A sacrificial place had long been set up on the east side of Pinglin. Longtai led the officials to perform the sacrificial ceremony. It was already dusk. The emperor issued an order for the officials to return to camp to rest and gather at the hunting ground the next day.
As soon as it got light the next day, the trumpet sounded, and the ministers had already gathered on the open grass outside Pinglin. Longtai came to the open space wearing a golden armor, swept past the ministers, and sat down directly. After the ministers paid their respects, they stood on both sides. , Longtai issued an order to give Sima Lan a seat, and then he smiled and said: "Today I am going to hunt with all my dear friends in the evening forest. You all know that this is to show the military power of our great Chu. This autumn hunt in the forest is to protect the country. Everything requested by the Duke was personally handled by the Duke of Zhen. I am very relieved to have the old Duke arrange all this."
The ministers thought that the emperor was smiling and his tone was very cheerful, but they didn't know whether the emperor was really happy or not. His holy will was unpredictable, so naturally no one dared to speak.
Most of the important ministers of the court came with them this time. However, the Yiguo Gong Tan Taihuang was weak and naturally could not make the trip. Although Wuhen, the west gate of the Shenhou Mansion, would go to court, as a unique yamen, there were many rituals in the court. The Shenhou Mansion was not involved in the activities, and Ximen Wuhen rarely walked with the ministers of the court.
In fact, all the ministers knew very well that the yamen that Ximen Wuhen was responsible for mainly dealt with Jianghu affairs, and was also responsible for gathering all kinds of intelligence. Although the ministers stayed away from the Shenhou Mansion and were unwilling to provoke those plague gods, the Shenhou Mansion's People have always drawn a clear line between themselves and their ministers, and tried their best not to have any contact with them.
"Old Duke, what kind of activities should be arranged today?" Longtai seemed to be in a good mood. It seemed that he had been in the palace for a long time, and coming out for some fresh air also made the young emperor feel happy.
Sima Lan immediately stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, today the Emperor should select a few ministers to lead a hunting team, with a limit of three hours. After three hours, he will return here with the prey. If there is more prey, The one who wins will be rewarded by the emperor according to past practice. When he demonstrates his martial power, it will also make our country, Chu, a martial country."
Longtai said with a smile: "Let them go hunting, and I and all of you will have to wait here for three hours. Wouldn't that be boring?"
All the ministers were startled, and Sima Lan was also stunned, but he immediately said: "All the previous emperors of Chu were like this."
"Old Duke, I have an idea, do you agree with it?" Longtai said with a smile: "When I was practicing riding and shooting in the palace a few days ago, I personally went to the Royal Horse Prison to select horses and found that there were many good horses in the Royal Horse Prison. , two of the horses are quite weird, I heard that more than a dozen horse trainers could not tame them, and the other horses in the Horse Guards did not dare to share the same trough with them."
Sima Lan smiled and said: "The emperor is talking about the two horses Jinghong and Heishan?"
"It turns out that the Duke knows about those two horses."
Sima Lan said: "Reporting to the emperor, those two horses were brought as tribute. One was presented by Xichuan, that is Black Flash. When Black Flash was still young, he was very fast, and most horses are good at plains. , but that Black Flash can walk on the plains in the mountains. He is really a good horse. Where exactly the Black Flash comes from, no one knows yet, but some people often see the Black Flash galloping in the mountains. , and it all passed by in a flash, and no one could touch its fur. Later, the local officials in Xichuan spent hundreds of people and several months to capture it, and then presented it to the palace."
Longtai smiled and said: "That is a wild horse. It has been in the palace for many years, and it is still wild and untamed."
"As for the Jinghong horse, we got it from Chen County when Da Chu conquered Chen County." Sima Lan said: "When the city of Chen County was broken, Jinghong appeared in the city, as fast as lightning, and the soldiers wasted no time. It took a lot of effort to catch it, and several people were dodged by Jinghong. After it was presented to the palace, the late emperor wanted to tame the horse, but an old official advised him that the horse was too violent and should not be taken lightly to avoid damaging the dragon's body. The late emperor ordered him to be admitted to the Royal Horse Prison. However, after Jinghong was admitted to the Royal Horse Prison, he still had no peace and injured several good horses, and was finally separated alone."
Longtai nodded and said: "I saw that these two horses are both wild and difficult to tame. It's just a pity if these two rare horses are kept in the Royal Horse Prison, so I took those two horses with me this time. Come, let's not rush to hunt today. I would like to see if any of you, dear friends, can tame these two fierce horses? A hero deserves a steed. Both of them are unparalleled horses. I am here to give my decree today. , as long as anyone can tame any of them, I will not only reward you with a hundred taels of gold, but also a horse."
There was a lot of discussion on both sides, including civil servants, but many generals who followed showed excitement.
For warriors, swords and good horses are always attractive to them. Everyone knows that the more difficult to tame a horse, the more rare it is. And since these two horses were originally presented to the palace, it is natural that It was a one-of-a-kind BMW, and many generals were eager to try it out later. If they could tame the BMW in public, they would not only get the BMW, but also be able to show their faces in front of the emperor, which would naturally be of great benefit to their future.