In ancient China, especially during the Tang and Song dynasties, the Lantern Festival may not be the most important festival of the year, but it is an extremely special festival.
First of all, it is after the New Year and before spring ploughing. It is not the busy farming season yet, but the weather has warmed up and is not as cold as during the New Year, so it is a good time to go out.
At the same time, perhaps as a common characteristic of human beings, spring festivals have always been lenient towards women. In the Song Dynasty and before, although women have always had a status, women of all ages were allowed to go out and play, but this was limited to two spring festivals...For the countryside, the most appropriate day is undoubtedly the Shangsi Festival (March 3) after spring ploughing. This day is a good day for outing, bathing, and getting rid of evil spirits. In the city, it is undoubtedly the Lantern Festival, and lanterns and praying are also eternal themes.
In fact, the extra respect and leniency shown to women during spring festivals is most likely the product of a compromise and combination of basic human desires, reproductive worship, and free love with agricultural society.
This can be clearly seen in some specific development contexts of many primitive tribes and early civilized civilizations...It doesn't matter whether it is good or bad, but this is indeed inevitable in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.
It can only be said that even a gradually conservative and continuously repressive China cannot stop this most basic human desire and need.
After all, foreign monks also steal lamp oil, and the Central Asian warlords who integrate politics and religion also like to keep male prostitutes. We are all human beings and are essentially the same.
Of course, in the Song Dynasty, the Shangsi Festival, which was recorded in the "Book of Zhou" and was doubly recognized by the Confucian ancestors but was more unrestrained, suddenly disappeared in the north and the Central Plains, while the Shangyuan Festival, which had a more restrained theme, was further promoted by the official authorities... From this perspective, it seems to be a victory for feudal ethics.
It also seems to be a fact that sexual repression in traditional Chinese society has further deepened and the actual social status of women has weakened.
However, in this way, for five days before and after the Lantern Festival, it was said that "women strolled in the streets from night to dawn, and men and women mixed together", and "all four gates were wide open, day and night", so that even prison institutions could take the opportunity to display torture instruments, and it almost became the Song Dynasty version of Carnival, which was also another result of release.
Among them, it is generally recognized that the Lantern Festival pattern in Tokyo City has always been different from other places.
For five consecutive days, from the 14th to the 18th of the first lunar month, millions of people came out of the city, inside and outside the city, and in the countryside. Colorful lanterns were all over the city, even extending to Yuetai and Qingcheng outside the city. The whole city almost became a sea of ​​lights at night.
Among them, the unique light scene in the west of the city, the dense sea of ​​lights in the south of the city, the luxurious light market in the east of the city, and the vast light field in the north of the city have always been famous.
But none of these can compare to the mountain of lanterns in the middle of Imperial Street opposite the Xuande Building.
The so-called lantern sheds and lantern mountains are large-scale colorful shed-style lamps that were built by royal order to craftsmen during the New Year. Their shapes and sizes vary every year. The taller ones are almost as high as the Xuande Tower, and the wider ones are almost level with the Imperial Street.
In fact, on the second day of the Lantern Festival holiday every year, which is the evening of Lantern Festival, the common people of Tokyo would often gather on both sides of the Imperial Street from broad daylight to reserve seats, waiting for the lighting of the mountain of lights and the lantern sheds in the evening... This is just like the Spring Festival Gala in later generations. No matter whether it is good or not, it is always a specific reserved program, and it is the main show.
However, if one counts carefully, it has been seven years since the Jurchens besieged the city in the second year of the Jing Kang period (the first year of the Jian Yan period), and there hasn’t been a proper lantern shed in the city of Tokyo.
But this time, during the New Year, there were vague rumors that the emperor was very pleased and had allocated special funds to summon craftsmen to make lamps... Taking into account that there had been no major wars last year and the emperor's authority had reached a point where it could not be shaken at all, plus there was the excuse of Empress Dowager Yuanyou returning to the capital, so people tended to believe it.
Most of the senior officials had no intention of refuting the rumors because they had heard the conversation between the Minister of Revenue Lin Jingmo and Emperor Zhao with their own ears, so they knew that last year's financial construction plan had actually been exceeded.
Well, in this case, it might be a good idea to make tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of strings of cash just to show off... and it could also make the Lantern Festival market more lively, collect more commercial taxes, sell more lottery tickets, and recover some costs... It might not be a bad idea!
However, rumors were just rumors. Until the beginning of the Lantern Festival in the eighth year of Jianyan, no one saw any lantern shed in front of Xuande Gate. Only lantern riddles were set up in the corridors on both sides of the Imperial Street. Then, as usual, vegetarian food from Xiangguo Temple was given to important officials above the level of Secret Council. Everyone could not help but feel a little disappointed with the court and the government.
But although you are disappointed, it is destined that no one will bring up this excuse... If someone really wants to bring it up, there is no need for the government to say anything, as other officials will use the excuse of "the country is not yet stable and we should be frugal" to embarrass you.
Of course, as mentioned before, with no major military operations in the country for a whole year, the economy fully recovered, and the court exceptionally stable, although this year's Lantern Festival in Tokyo City did not have the large-scale participation of the royal family and officials, its scale was still close to that of previous years.
In fact, perhaps because they have been suppressed for a long time, the level of activity among the people seems to be even higher.
For five consecutive days, not to mention the lantern market and lantern riddles in the evening, even during the day, the Cuju field in the north of the city held five consecutive days of performance matches. The lottery shops near the gates of the inner city even added special lottery tickets with Shangyuan movable type. Every day, prizes of ten cents and a hundred strings of cash were drawn on the spot. It is said that the prizes for the five days were personally sealed by the three empress dowagers and two imperial concubines on the same day... The first day was opened at the Suzaku Gate, the second day at the Xuanqiu Gate, the third day at the Wangchun Gate, and on the fourth day, many people flocked to the Lijing Gate, Luhe Gate, and Chongming Gate. The whole family bought dozens or hundreds of prize tickets, but unexpectedly, the prize was still drawn at the Wangchun Gate!
On the fifth day, which was the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, before dusk, the eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened the imperially sealed small box in public at the same time in front of various doors. Unexpectedly, in addition to a movable type string of one hundred strings designated by the Queen Mother Zheng, there was also a movable type string of one thousand strings designated by the emperor!
So far, who still doesn't understand that this is the government's way of compensating the private sector for not having a lantern shed? You must know that even if you don't know how to do the math, you can roughly understand that this kind of six-character lottery with six categories is not very large in scale. The court only sells out 600 to 700 strings of cash every day, and basically all of them are awarded prizes.
For Emperor Zhao, who was always stingy, this one thousand strings of cash was really a loss, but it could also be considered a kind of sincerity.
Without further ado, the 100-guan prize was awarded at Chongming Gate, while the 1,000-guan prize was awarded outside Luhe Gate...and then it turned out that a soldier of foreign descent, who spent only 80 wen and bought eight small Northern Expedition lucky movable type paper tickets, won the prize!
There was no telling how many people were cursing in private around them, but this kind of lottery ticket printed in six movable type, distributed at six gates, was clean and tidy, not too big or too small in scale, and everyone bought it randomly, so even the officials could hardly cheat. After cursing at Fanzi, they could only envy him in their hearts.
After all, for those people below the middle class who were willing to buy lottery tickets, one thousand strings of cash was enough to buy a family mansion and a family shop in the city, and still have a few hundred strings of cash left for their funeral.
This is roughly what the so-called financial freedom of the urban middle class in the feudal era meant.
But no matter what, with the arrival of the 18th night of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival begins for the last time, and the carnival seems to be finally coming to an end.
However, so to speak, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, early in the morning, Emperor Zhao, accompanied by two imperial concubines, as well as several princes and princesses, appeared on the still relatively deserted Xuande Tower.
Not only that, soon, the three empresses dowager, whether it was Empress Dowager Meng, commonly known as Yuanyou, who had just returned, or Empress Dowager Zheng, commonly known as Ningde, and Empress Dowager Wei, commonly known as Chengping, who enjoyed themselves in the harem and seldom appeared in public, were all brought in by the emperor and ascended the Xuande Tower.
That’s not all. Minister Lü Haowen and other ministers in the capital also showed up one after another… Lü Haowen was picked up from Jingyuan by the empress dowager at the same time. The other ministers were about to start their official duties today, so they basically ran into each other head-on… And the emperor has issued an order, ordering the ministers and the important officials of the secret cabinet to go up to the tower to accompany the emperor. If the officials of the secret cabinet happen to be there, they may go up to the tower. The rest of the officials, whether they are in office or retired, will sit quietly along the corridors on both sides of the Imperial Street according to their final rank.
Since the emperor was going to put on such a show to meet his subjects, who wouldn't come? Not to mention the important officials of the secret cabinet went up to the building, even the monks and Taoists in the public cabinet, regardless of the incense and oil that had not been cleaned up in their temples, all hurriedly changed into brand new monk and Taoist robes and gathered in a hurry.
When he came, he was so breathless, but after he arrived, he looked so dignified and had a Taoist and immortal demeanor.
After this group of people arrived, changes occurred in front of the Xuande Tower on the frighteningly wide Imperial Street. Countless craftsmen had already poured out of the Xuande Gate from the palace with all kinds of tools and materials, and began to assemble a strange, huge thing that looked a bit like a headlight in public... but they were not quite sure?
At the same time, the imperial guards were fully armed and lined up around the object, strictly prohibiting others from approaching.
Soon, with Emperor Zhao's unethical surprise attack, the entire Tokyo city seemed to come alive. Countless people gathered together regardless of how long they had stayed up last night, so that the front of Xuande Tower was soon crowded with people, no less than the scene at the gates of the inner city in the past few days.
The craftsmen were still working hard on something, but the noise was gradually getting louder.
Frankly speaking, at this moment, whether it was the important officials on the Xuande Tower or the common people watching the fun below, 80% of their attention was not on the thing on the Imperial Street... After all, there was a 'precedent' for this kind of thing, no matter if it was to do something fancy to have fun with the people, or to learn from the last time when Marat pulled the hemisphere to attract attention to the original school, anyway, everyone was just there to watch the fun... Everyone's eyes were more on Emperor Zhao and the three empresses dowagers, two imperial concubines, two princes, and three princesses.
There are so many things worth mentioning in this combination:
Needless to say, Emperor Zhao himself was dressed in a bright red robe and a stiff-winged hat.
However, Empress Dowager Yuanyou, who had the greatest contribution to Emperor Zhao's enthronement and was the source of his legitimacy to the throne, was the one with the longest relationship with Emperor Zhao. Moreover, the incident of transferring documents on behalf of the two emperors had just happened, which completely ended the seven or eight years of peace between the two sides.
In theory, Empress Dowager Wei was the one closest to Emperor Zhao, but according to gossip, this Empress Dowager was the most, the most difficult to describe, almost the same as Concubine Pan... Whether it was the big candle or the big parrot, they were both real stupid things that could be found out by those who were interested... But it was not her fault. If Emperor Zhao himself had not stood out, she would have been a nobody in the harem of Emperor Taishang Daojun, just like if Concubine Pan had not slipped through the net and became pregnant at the beginning, she would not have had such good fortune today.
Queen Mother Zheng is the most well-known, and is recognized to have the highest prestige among the people and the highest level of harem, but she is the most silent one at the moment and was the quietest one before.
As for the two imperial concubines, there is no need to say anything. The reality that there is no queen and there may never be one in the future is enough to make these two sing rival songs for the rest of their lives... However, today Imperial Concubine Pan is dressed extremely gorgeously, which complements the emperor's bright red robe. If the ignorant people saw her from afar, they might think she was the queen!
As for Concubine Wu, maybe it’s because she’s already showing her pregnancy, so it’s difficult for her to wear those kind of fitted and luxurious clothes?
The two princes were both still in their infancy this year, and their true appearance could not be seen. After only showing their appearance for a moment, they were taken back safely by older palace maids. However, it was these two who had the shortest "appearances" that received the most attention... Some people certainly knew what was going on, but some people, in their low-level reality, could not help but be confused, and this was almost inevitable.
As for the three princesses, one was promised to Yue Pengju's son, one was promised to Wu Jinqing's son, and one was promised to Han Liangchen's son... Of course, they were princesses after all, so it didn't matter even if there were three princesses sitting next to the emperor at this time.
The wait is long and boring, and it will become so after looking at it for a long time. However, Xuande Building is destined to be a troubled place.
Not to mention other things, just the fact that the emperor sits there for several hours makes it a rare opportunity for him to be at a distance from the common people that is actually very far away but looks very close, and in public... Therefore, in history, countless people have taken the opportunity to come forward here to file complaints to the emperor, submit letters of advice, and offer treasures.
Among them, of course, there were special people who would directly handle the complaints to the emperor, just like the one in front of the Imperial College before. As for the latter two, most of them were rewarded and dismissed casually. However, there were also negative examples, such as Song Huizong, who was in high spirits but was advised to be frugal, so he personally ordered torture and execution.
"Sir, I offer you a divine gift!"
Sure enough, after the city wall gradually quieted down, in the corridors on both sides of the Imperial Street below, an idle official who was obviously a prefect or governor-level official saw that this was a rare opportunity and finally couldn't bear it anymore. He raised the thing in his arms high and walked out of the crowd... Then, of course, he was stopped by the imperial guards who were on high alert.
Zhao Jiu glanced at the man. Although he had very good eyesight, he did not recognize who he was, and was not familiar with his voice, so he was about to turn away.
But at this moment, Concubine Pan, who was standing at the side, suddenly grabbed Zhao Jiu with both hands and interrupted: "Your Majesty, that man is a former prime minister, you can't treat him lightly..."
Not only Zhao Jiu, but many people in the quiet Xuande Building instinctively came to see the imperial concubine, and then most of them turned back together.
Only Emperor Zhao continued to look at the red silk dress on Concubine Pan, and then smiled and said, "Since it is what the Concubine said , there is no harm in seeing her..."
Since the government has given the order, someone from upstairs will wave their hand to signal them to go through.
Taking advantage of this moment, Zhao Jiu turned his head to Lv Benzhong standing behind him and asked, "Lv Qing, do you recognize this person?"
"How can I not recognize him?" Lü Benzhong smiled and nodded, twirling his beard, not caring that his father was not far away. "Let the emperor know that this man is called Cai Mao, and he is indeed a former prime minister, and he is from a prime minister family. His father is called Cai Que, and his father-in-law is called Feng Jing... I know this man very well."
These words were spoken so lightly that Ren Baozhong on the side couldn't help but glance at Lu Benzhong... He really had no idea about the ability of reincarnation.
"When did he become a prime minister?" Zhao Jiu didn't pay attention to Ren Baozhong's look. He was just slightly startled and asked again. As soon as he finished asking, he suddenly realized. "But he was one of the twenty-six prime ministers of Jing Kang?"
Lu Benzhong smiled and nodded again: "The emperor will understand."
But Zhao Jiu was puzzled again: "The twenty-six ministers of the Jingkang period were either captured and died for their country; among those who were alive, those who advocated peace or surrender were all demoted, and I never pardoned them; and those who advocated war and defense, I have no reason not to use them?"
Concubine Pan was a little nervous, and at this moment, the man hurriedly climbed up the stairs, panting, but he had actually climbed up the stairs quickly... In response, although most of the officials upstairs had strange expressions when they saw this person, they still stood up and greeted him with a little courtesy.
Seeing this, Lu Benzhong laughed even harder: "The emperor is absolutely right!"
Zhao Jiu was confused for a moment, but as soon as he turned around, he suddenly realized it - it turned out that this Mr. Cai did not fight, make peace, surrender or defend when the Jin army besieged the city? !
Of course, he escaped in the end!
And most likely he was fired by Li Gang for this! Maybe because he didn't have the initiative or the surrender, he couldn't be fired all the way, so he could only be fired to the level of prefecture affairs, so he could get away with it and become an idle person, and then this time he followed Empress Dowager Yuanyou back and sat there openly.
When he thought of this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but look back at Concubine Pan who was beside him with a fragrant smell... He was speechless, but he also felt a sense of understanding.
"His Majesty!"
Just as Emperor Zhao was thinking about this, the former Prime Minister Cai Mao finished greeting the Empress Dowagers in the middle, and then hurried over with a box in his hand, and then bowed down with a happy look on his face. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is very happy! This time when I was returning north from Yangzhou, I was sailing on the Huai River. When I was sailing, I saw a red light shining in the water. I asked people to salvage it carefully, and actually found an ancient seal from the river bank! The Huai River is where the emperor rose to power. Isn't this God's will?"
Zhao Jiu was hesitant to speak. The three princesses and two of the three empress dowagers all looked curious, but Empress Dowager Zheng was no different from the important officials around her, including Li Guang, and she didn't look sideways... or rather, she was too lazy to look sideways. The pregnant Concubine Wu frowned slightly, but forced herself not to look.
As for Concubine Pan, she was so nervous that she strangled the official's arm, causing it to hurt.
Although Zhao Jiu was in pain from being strangled, he still hesitated to speak to the former prime minister in front of him... There was no other way, this job was too rough! He didn't want to take it!
Only this kind of prime minister's son who has never escaped and has been hiding in Yangzhou for seven years dares to do such low-grade rough work in front of him! Only a fool like Concubine Pan beside him would be desperate to seek help from such a down-to-earth prime minister!
But then again, Concubine Pan at least knows that matters of the court must be handled by someone of the prime minister level, which is also considered progress, right? I wonder if his uncle has given any advice from a distance?
Just when Emperor Zhao was in a dilemma, Lü Benzhong on the side could no longer bear it and blurted out from upstairs: "Emperor, kick this villain out! He was as famous as the prodigal prime minister Li Bangyan back then, nicknamed the Flatterer! He relied on flattering Emperor Zhezong to overturn his own father's case, and relied on flattering Cai Jing and his son to become an official. Finally, he relied on flattering Liang Shicheng to become the prime minister when Emperor Taishang Daojun fled south at the end of Xuanhe, and then he was promoted to the position of prime minister during the Jingkang period... Even Emperor Taishang Yuansheng looked down on him!"
Lü Benzhong spoke out loudly, but the ministers around him pretended not to know. Even the two queen dowagers turned away immediately after feeling a little embarrassed... Only Concubine Pan was still holding onto Emperor Zhao and refused to let go.
But what's interesting is that Prime Minister Cai Mao didn't care about Lü Benzhong at all. He just listened to what he said quietly, and then continued to respectfully present the wooden box in his hand, which can be said to be spitting in his face: "Your Majesty, Lü Benzhong's intention is nothing more than to accuse me of fraud and bringing in fake things without permission, but please think about it, your Majesty, I came here because Empress Dowager Yuanyou returned from Yangzhou and Yangzhou no longer needed garrisons, and there was only a difference of one day... Then I dare to ask how I could fake an ancient object in just one day? Your Majesty, this jade seal was indeed swept out by the waves in the Huai River where you were about to fight."
Zhao Jiu finally became a little annoyed and turned his head to signal.
Ren Baozhong understood and immediately went over Lieutenant General Lu Ben to take the wooden box. After checking it, he respectfully held the jade seal in his hand, which looked like a real antique, and presented it to Emperor Zhao.
Zhao Jiu took the jade seal, flipped it casually, was stunned for a moment, but turned it back directly, holding the jade seal for a long time without saying a word. After a long while, he opened it again and took a glance, but turned it back again, and then fell into a long silence again.
At this point, if the hard wings on both sides of the official's hat had not been shaking, proving that his strange movements just now were real, everyone would probably have thought it was a static picture.
But then again, seeing Emperor Zhao's attitude, the atmosphere around them gradually reversed. Concubine Pan was excited for a moment, and the ministers around her gradually became uneasy, so much so that a few people who were not focused on their own strength also gradually turned their heads to look - to put it bluntly, this emperor should not be controlled by such a thing, right?
Especially since Concubine Pan was so obvious about this, I'm afraid she had asked her family to communicate with her in advance for the sake of her own son.
"Cai Qing." After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Jiu finally smiled and held the imperial seal in his hand. "You really gave me a surprise!"
Almost everyone around was stunned, except Cai Mao, who could not help but bowed and kowtowed in public.
As for Concubine Pan, she became obviously nervous with anticipation.
"Give Cai Qing a seat." Zhao Jiu turned around and told the stunned Lu Benzhong, then looked at the others and responded slowly. "It's just a little thing, let's wait and see what happens."
Having said that, the official pointed his hand forward, then sat upright and did not move. Everyone upstairs, no matter who they were, did not dare to neglect them. Even Cai Mao, who had hurriedly retreated to the edge of the tower and sat down, also sat upright and stared at the strange things in front of Xuande Tower.
At this time, the people watching below were still in a daze due to the perspective problem, but they forced themselves to suppress their thoughts and focus on the Xuande Building on the Imperial Street. Many of the imperial elites were stunned, and then suddenly realized - it turned out that Emperor Zhao was really making a lantern, a giant lantern that was not displayed at night for the entertainment of the people, but in broad daylight.
However, this headlight was not covered with a paper cage, but a frameless cage made of precious thick silk. It had been spread out on the Imperial Street, stretching over ten feet square. But no one knew how to cover it. Should a temporary frame be built?
The bottom was not an ordinary tray, but a huge basket surrounded by sandbags, which could accommodate several soldiers standing in it and blowing air.
As for why a blower is needed, it is because the basket does not contain a small candle, but a huge simple stove with its own blower, and the stove is filled with high-quality coal and charcoal soaked in precious oil wax... There is also a chimney on top as a finishing touch.
The stove was lit, and with the strenuous assistance of the soldiers, the artificially tilted chimney was directly aimed at the boneless satin cover that was stretched out over a certain area.
The next moment, when the crowd was still watching the excitement, many people on the Xuande Building had already stood up out of control... just like when they watched Marat's Hemisphere.
It’s simple. Some smart people have already realized what this thing is. It’s just a big Kongming lantern!
However, Kongming lanterns can fly into the sky.
That’s right, it’s one of the time travelers’ weapons, the hot air balloon... After Emperor Zhao fell ill, he finally realized that he couldn’t be busy with the official business of an official all day long, but should do the time travelers’ official business and the official’s idle business.
So he picked up his science and technology revitalization plan again.
Actually, Zhao Jiu had wanted to make a hot air balloon when he was in Nanyang, but he always failed even in small experiments... The reason was simple, he was an engineering student majoring in signals and systems, not materials, chemistry, or welding, and he really had no idea how to make fireproof materials, so almost every experiment ended with the silk getting burned.
As for the so-called fire-resistant cloth, which is asbestos cloth, it is too expensive and too rare these days. Once it is enlarged, it seems a little out of touch with reality.
Of course, Zhao Jiu put a lot of effort into this time. On the one hand, he was preparing to make a big news as a tribute to the Lantern Festival in the eighth year of Jianyan, so he prepared to use ceramic chimney appliances to protect the flames. On the other hand, he asked people to carefully investigate the rumors about fire-proof materials other than "fire-proof cloth" while he was "sick".
Progress was made in both of them almost at the same time. The former was considered feasible with careful operation, but the latter occasionally received many explanations. One of them told of a fire in a family in Shaoxing, but surprisingly a wooden barrel survived. Later on, it was discovered that this was a special barrel used for purifying water... Later, when people were asked about this, it was discovered that similar things had happened in many places. The older the wooden barrel for purifying water, the more likely it was to survive a fire.
In those days, the chemical used by ordinary people to purify water was very simple, that is, alum, which was sold exclusively by the imperial court, which is the "Fan" in the name of Fanlou.
After all, Zhao Guanjia was an engineering student. Although he didn't know what alum was made of, it didn't stop him from soaking silk in extremely concentrated alum water for experiments... The result was that it really was fireproof.
This is why this experiment has been delayed for four or five years.
It also brings shame to the time travelers.
In a trance, with the exclamations of the surrounding scholars and people, the silk was quickly inflated by the hot air flow, and soon formed a large ball, standing upright in the middle of the Imperial Street, and then gradually floated upwards.
A moment later, the important officials and royal family members on the Xuande Tower were even more stunned... Because they saw with their own eyes that after many sandbags were carefully thrown into the huge basket in sequence, it gradually became shaky, like Kunpeng in Zhuangzi's "Xiao Yao You", ready to soar up to 90,000 miles.
Finally, as another sandbag was thrown down, a huge shadow covered the Xuande Building, and this number one Kongming lantern slowly but firmly flew up in a manner that all smart people could "understand the principle".
But the more this happens, the more shocking it is.
This time, it was even more shocking than the Mara Hemisphere that year because it was more direct and obvious!
It can only be said that Emperor Zhao really tried his best for the original school.
The huge hot air balloon had flown to the same level as everyone on the Xuande Building. Almost everyone on the building was shocked and speechless. Emperor Zhao did not say a word either. However, unlike the others who leaned over to look, he was the only one who did not look away and sat upright as usual. The hard-winged fu hat on top of his bright red robe did not even tremble this time.
"Don't panic, Bedouin!"
Yang Yizhong, whose figure could not be seen from below, shouted at the basket above. "There is a rope below, so drill as before. Don't throw sandbags for now. Just increase and decrease the fire and slowly move upwards... When we are unhooked, you can also use the sandbags to operate and let them float away with the wind. The cavalry will find you."
There was a response from the basket, but the voice was trembling and a little distorted.
But at this moment, the soldiers above had no choice but to think about what to do. Even the man nicknamed "One-handed Dragon" with a very steady hand could only follow the wind and clouds at this moment... This huge Kongming lantern continued to rise with a resolute attitude, dragging the rope below, until the rope of dozens of feet was used up, and then it temporarily stopped at a position more than ten feet above Xuande Tower.
This situation lasted for less than an incense stick of time, and the rope broke directly. Then the huge hot air balloon flew farther and farther, higher and higher, amid the surprise and panic of the whole city. Finally, it slowly went to the northwest along with the slight southeast breeze.
The imperial guards, led by several captains, had already galloped out on horseback to chase after them.
At this moment, unlike the panic in other parts of the city, the Xuande Tower was surprisingly quiet. As people who had witnessed the entire process of the hot air balloon taking off, they had some idea of ​​what was going on... and the result of having an idea was that most people were still stunned, just staring at the black spot in the distant sky. Although a few people were whispering, they did not dare to discuss loudly. From the imperial prime minister to the famous monks and scholars, they were all afraid that a louder voice would alarm someone or something.
Zhao Jiu looked at it for a while, but suddenly stood up, holding the ancient seal and left calmly.
Emperor Zhao left in a hurry and suddenly, so all the ministers could only hurriedly stand up to see him off. Not to mention the empress dowagers had their own ceremonial guards, and even Concubine Wu was a little pregnant, so it was not easy for her to catch up... Only Concubine Pan hurriedly caught up and was considered to have kept up with his footsteps.
The two men walked without any ceremonial procession and in a hurry. Zhao Jiu said nothing the whole time. He just walked forward with his hands behind his back, surrounded by soldiers, eunuchs, and palace maids. He entered the Yiyou Gate and then suddenly stopped.
Concubine Pan looked at Zhao Jiu with a hint of anticipation, while Zhao Jiu looked at the woman in front of him and wanted to slap her face with the imperial seal in his hand to wake her up several times. But for some reason, he held back at first. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the woman in front of him was quite pitiful... This woman was so stupid that she was harmless, and instead made people feel pity for her.
In the end, Zhao Jiu's feelings of pity took , and he suppressed his dissatisfaction and smiled: "Go and have a rest! I have my own considerations for the affairs of the outer court... But this dress is too conspicuous, don't wear it when you go out in the future."
Concubine Pan finally felt relieved, and with a little unnecessary expectation, she went into the harem through the side door with several eunuchs and palace maids. However, Zhao Jiu, holding the jade seal, continued to pace northward, all the way to Linhua Gate and into the Sangji Fish Pond area. Only then did he sit down in the stone pavilion where he had not been for a long time.
At this time, he finally opened the ancient seal in his hand for the third time, and then read the words on it clearly for the third time.
The four large characters were simple yet outstanding in form, yet they did not prevent Zhao Jiu from easily understanding them after living in this world for seven years - Yuan Zuo Mian Chang.
That's right, the seal says '原祚漫長', not '德祚漫延'. Concubine Wu gave birth to her own eldest son, Zhao Yuanzuo, how fucking lucky! At such a young age, a baby jumped out of the Huai River as a gift, saying that he was the true master!
To be honest, if it really was about 'long-lasting virtue' or something like that, he would probably just let that sycophant go!