When the emperor's imperial chariot passed by on the street, the people along the way bowed down one after another. They respect the emperor and the Yang family from the bottom of their hearts. If it weren't for the Yang family who unified the Central Plains and established a stable and powerful empire more than a hundred years ago, the lives of the people would not be as leisurely and content as they are now. A powerful empire is not only a symbol of the glory of the royal family, but for the people, the stronger the country, the more stable their lives will be.
The emperor seemed to enjoy the visits of the people, and the feeling of being regarded as a god made him satisfied and gratified. Their Yang family has done a lot of things to make this empire last for ten thousand years. On the basis of not touching the fundamental interests of those families, they have tried their best to take care of the people. This is something that the previous dynasties and even the rulers of the previous dynasties of the Central Plains have never done, and it is precisely because of this that the emperor also firmly believes that the country of the Sui Dynasty will last forever.
The oppression suffered by the common people is undoubtedly the lowest in the history of civilization for thousands of years.
The people's shouts of long live are very sincere, and they love all the emperors of the Sui Dynasty. Even when the treasury was unable to make ends meet due to the militarism during Taizong's reign and had to increase taxes, they were just complaining.
The emperor looked at those people, at those his subjects.
He subconsciously raised his hand to straighten his crown, and his eyes became more and more determined.
No matter who it is, don't try to snatch these people from my hands!
no matter who!
The gong that cleared the way was very loud, and the people knelt on the ground as the procession passed by. The 108 flying fish robes at the Ouchi guards in front moved forward majestically. The big red cloak was blown up, looking very imposing. Behind them are gourd warriors holding various ceremonial guards, all of whom are burly and strong. Behind them are five hundred soldiers of the imperial army, wearing bright cotton armor, which is even more solemn. Behind the Forbidden Army is His Majesty's imperial chariot, surrounded by officers above the captain of the Imperial Army, and guards from the Ouchi Guards Office.
Behind the imperial chariot are the accompanying palace ladies and eunuchs, and behind them are the civil and military officials. At the end, there are one hundred and eight cavalry.
The strong red national flag of the Sui Dynasty and the dragon flag representing the royal family fluttered on both sides of the imperial chariot, and court musicians walked in front of the imperial chariot while playing and beating.
Tianyou Emperor Yang Yi is a very low-key person, and can even be said to be the most low-key among the successive emperors of the Sui Dynasty. This is the first time he has taken such a ostentatious trip since he became the throne more than ten years ago. Even if he goes out of the palace on weekdays, his entourage is very simple. So this was the first time that the people saw the emperor on such an occasion, and everyone was a little excited.
There were at least tens of thousands of people gathered around the square, and they did not take a step beyond the rules. Compared with the dense crowd, the huge square seemed even more empty. After His Majesty was on the general platform, the army of Zuo Wuwei would come from a distance, walk around the square and then stop to form a phalanx to receive the emperor's review and lectures.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites have been busy with this matter for a long time, and now is the time when they are most nervous, fearing that something will go wrong, everyone knows that if today's grand ceremony is ruined because of a mistake, there will be no good fruit. In order not to be unexpected, even the Minister of Rites, Duke Huaiqiu, came out to preside over the affairs in person.
A member of the Ministry of Rites, Wai Lang, hurried to Zuo Wuwei's troops with a few of his subordinates. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Zuo Wuwei's General Yu Manlou, "General, don't think that the officials talk too much. May I ask how to walk, how to stop, and how to line up when passing through the square in a while, are you ready?"
General Yu Manlou smiled and said, "Do you think this general can mess up today's affairs?"
Wai Lang, a member of the Ministry of Rites, immediately apologized and said with a smile: "Your official didn't mean that, it's just that even Mr. Huai didn't feel at ease, so he specifically asked me to ask the general again."
Yu Manlou said: "Then you just go back and tell Huai Lao, everything has been arranged."
"oh."
Member of the Ministry of Rituals Wailang promised to leave, looking at the majestic team, he felt a lot of emotion in his heart. This was the first time he saw so many people gathered together, and the awe-inspiring military might made him feel very small.
After he said goodbye, he rushed back to report to Duke Huaiqiu. Although it was only February and the weather was still cold, his body was already drenched in sweat. He just found a place where no one was around and sat down to kick his breath. Before he stretched his hands, someone strangled his neck from behind, and a narrow knife swept across his neck. It sprayed out all at once.
Soon, his body was dragged away. Not long after, a man wearing Yuanwailang's official uniform just like him came out from his lazy place with a few followers, and quickly blended into the busy officials. No one noticed that there seemed to be a lot of new faces in the staff of the Ministry of Rites today.
Hongxiu recruited them for these singing and dancing performances, and naturally assigned the stage according to the command of the officials of the Ministry of Rites. Facing the stage, a dozen stages are lined up in sequence, and the stage of Hongxiu Zhao is in the center. There is no doubt that no one can shake the status of the leader of the red-sleeve singing and dancing.
Several young ceremonial officials directed the dancers to stop beside their stage. Today is definitely a golden opportunity for the girls of the dancers. They have never performed on such an open-air stage, and one of the audience is the current emperor. At this time, there are probably no less than one hundred thousand people surrounding him, and there are still so many high-ranking officials and nobles. Especially the girls from other singing and dancing shops, all holding back their energy to compare themselves with the red-sleeved recruits. Even if it can't compare, I hope it can attract the ideas of those big shots.
Those of them who are singers and dancers, the best ending is to become concubines for some big man. So today they all dressed up beautifully, thinking in their hearts that if they were lucky, they might be selected by His Majesty to enter the palace.
Naturally, they would not have noticed that the eyes of those officials from the Ministry of Rituals were always aimed at the Dianjiangtai opposite.
…
…
The emperor's chariot stopped outside the square, and the emperor in full costume waved to the people when he got off the chariot. The smile on the corner of his mouth is very charming, it is the charm of a man who holds the supreme power in the world. He was the emperor of the Sui Dynasty and the most powerful person in the entire Central Plains. Except for Meng Yuan, the emperors of other countries also had to behave like courtiers when they saw him.
Under the guidance of Su Buwei, the eunuch of the imperial study room, the emperor strode towards Dianjiangtai. Hundreds of officials are divided into two columns according to their civil and military ranks, standing on the left and right sides of the Dianjiang platform. And those nobles of royal blood and important officials of the court followed the emperor to board the general's platform.
On the stage, the dragon chair symbolizing imperial power is placed in the middle.
In terms of rank, the two closest to the emperor were Prince Yi Yang Yin sitting on the left, and Zhou Banchuan, the president of the Academy of Martial Arts sitting on the right. But for some reason, Prince Yi and Dean Zhou haven't arrived yet. The emperor on the platform didn't seem to care at all, he just glanced at the chair on the left of the dragon chair, and the corner of his mouth was slightly raised.
Before sitting down on the dragon chair, the emperor stretched out his hand and pressed down twice, the cheers of the people stopped immediately, and the square with no less than 100,000 people became very quiet.
Duke Huaiqiu, Minister of Rites who personally presided over today's ceremony, went to the front and reported today's program to the emperor. The emperor nodded, indicating that it was time to start.
Huaiqiu justified and obeyed the order, then walked to the front of Dianjiangtai and shouted loudly: "The ceremony begins!"
As these words were uttered, an official of the Ministry of Rites standing on a high place immediately waved the flag in his hand. On the street on the north side of the square, officials from the Ministry of Etiquette waved the flag one after another like a relay. Soon, the general Yu Manlou who saw the flag waving took a deep breath, then raised his hand and pointed forward.
"Go forward, bring out the spirit of Zuo Wuwei!"
The three thousand cavalry were the first to start, and the sound of horseshoes stepping on the bluestone slabs was dense and coherent, just like the sound of heavy rain beating on lotus leaves. Three thousand cavalry, just looking at this number is not big. But only by seeing it with your own eyes can you feel the momentum of the army beating the drums. Three thousand people marched along the street, and the tail of the team could not be seen from the front to the back. The cavalry set off, and followed closely, and the large infantry marched forward in a square of every thousand people.
Zuo Wuwei belongs to one of the six armies of the Son of Heaven, and belongs to the elite among the elite. If nearly 40,000 troops were to line up and walk, it would take a lot of time to go around the square and then line up. Therefore, in order to reduce the time spent on the ceremony, only 3,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry participated in the review this time. Most of the people have already left the city and waited.
The emperor saw the cavalry team appearing in sight from a distance, and his face was calm. But no one will see that his fists are clenched in the cuffs.
According to the regulations, the team did not pass in front of the emperor when entering the arena, and only after the team left the city after taking oath did they walk on the avenue in front of the emperor to accept His Majesty's review. Therefore, the cavalry entered from the side of the square, entered the square after going around half a circle, and lined up on the square, and the same was true for the infantry.
When the soldiers of Zuo Wuwei appeared, the surrounding people burst into cheers. It is not easy for the people in Chang'an City to see the army go out, because since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, no country's army can threaten Chang'an. If it weren't for the fact that the enemy this time was from the Mongol Yuan, the emperor would not have called the Sixth Army of the Son of Heaven to go out.
The cheers of the common people were deafening, and they were all excited seeing Zuo Wuwei's majestic military posture. A sense of pride from the heart immediately permeated the whole body.
A white-haired old man trembled with excitement, he took his wife's hand and said in a trembling voice: "Did you see it! Did you see it! This is our great soldier of the Sui Dynasty! I was a soldier in Zuo Wuwei back then , I have achieved brigade rate! I told you that even if a large group of people passes by, you will have a murderous look. You just don’t believe it. Look, look...the long spears are like a forest, and the horizontal swords are like a sea!"
His wife has already lost her front teeth, and she is a little awkward to speak: "I see, I see... Who says I don't believe it, I know you were a hero when you were young. But don't say it, looking at those soldiers, my two Legs are weak."
The old man proudly said: "That's natural, every soldier in the Sui Dynasty is a hero."
He pointed to the team and introduced to his wife: "Have you seen the weapons in the cavalry's hands? It's the long lance. The long lance used by the cavalry is generally made of composite materials, with precision workmanship and excellent toughness. And the infantry used Most of the long lances are hard lances. Have you seen the bows on the backs of those infantry and cavalry? They are also different. The cavalry bow is smaller than the infantry bow, but the shooting speed is faster. The infantry bow is powerful and has a long range …”
When he said this, the old man stopped suddenly. I don't know what I thought of, and suddenly frowned.
…
…
A carriage stopped at the gate of Yanwuyuan, and the sky was just getting bright at this time. The emperor's guard of honor hadn't left the palace yet, because the common people had gone to the square, so the street seemed even more deserted. A few Taoists got off the carriage, helped an older Taoist down, and after paying the fare, they walked slowly towards the gate of the Martial Arts Academy.
At this time, the gate of the Martial Arts Institute suddenly opened.
Professor Yan Qing and another professor named Min Xu walked out side by side. When he looked at the Taoists, his expression was extraordinarily solemn.
In front of the library building of Yanwu Academy.
Dean Zhou sat beside the stone table in front of the library, staring at the chessboard in front of him in a daze. He seemed to be very confused about what to do next, and his brows were deeply frowned.
At this time, someone suddenly said to him lightly: "It's so boring to play alone, how about you and I playing a game of chess?"
Dean Zhou raised his head to look at the speaker, nodded and said flatly, "You are barely qualified, sit down."