Chapter 17 six married

When the princes and ministers were ordered by the concubines to propose to me that I have reached the age of "big marriage", if I am still interested in this matter, it is because marriage is a sign of adulthood. , others can't control me like a child. It is the old ladies who worry most about such matters.At the beginning of the tenth year of the Republic of China, that is, when I was just over fifteen years old, the concubines brought my father to discuss the matter several times, and then called ten princes to discuss this matter.It took nearly two years from the marriage proposal to the marriage.During this period, due to the passing away of Concubine Zhuang and the concubine and my mother, the masters advised them to relax due to the uneasy situation. In particular, there were quite complicated disputes.

At this time, Concubine Zhuang and Concubine Concubine Ronghui had just passed away, and Concubine Ronghui had no idea. The remaining two Concubines had a dispute over the candidate for the future "Queen". They both wanted to find someone who was closer to them to be Queen.This is not only because of the old lady's preference, but because it has a lot to do with the future status.Concubine Jingyi was originally the concubine of Tongzhi, and she will never forget the words that Cixi designated me as the successor of Tongzhi and Tao Guangxu in her will.When the Empress Dowager Longyu was alive, she paid no attention to this. Not only did she not show any respect to Tongzhi's concubine because of this sentence, but she beat Tongzhi's concubine into a limbo.After Longyu's death, although the concubine was always referred to as the emperor's wife by me, Yuan Shikai came to interfere in "internal affairs" and appointed Duankang to preside over all affairs in the palace. Therefore, Jingyi still cannot be valued for being "authentic".Her ambition is not fulfilled, and she is very dissatisfied with Duankang.Therefore, in the process of discussing marriage, the two concubines each put forward their favorite candidates and refused to give in to each other.

The most interesting thing is that my two uncles, just like the previous situation where one emphasized the navy and the other emphasized the army, and each of them worked for a toffee before the regent. The "Navy" advocated the selection of Duan Gong's daughter, and the "Army" advocated the selection of Rong Yuan's daughter.In order to do a good job as a matchmaker, the two commanders of the former Qing Dynasty spent days on the Beijing-Tianjin Road, rushing in and out of the Yonghe Palace and Taiji Hall. Who to choose, of course, has to be "emperor" to speak and "imperially appointed".The method in the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras was to ask the candidates to stand in a row, and the future bridegroom would pick them face to face, and make a mark on the ones who were selected. Yu Ruyi gave it to the girl she liked, saying that she tied a purse to the girl's button.In my time, after discussions among princes and ministers, it was considered inappropriate to pick and choose other people’s daughters in a row, so I changed to the method of picking photos: I would draw a picture on the photo with a pencil. mark.

The photos were sent to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a total of four.In my opinion, all four of them have the same appearance, and their bodies are all like paper buckets.The faces in each photo are very small, and it is really impossible to distinguish between ugly and handsome. If you have to compare, you can only compare the color of the cheongsam, which one is more special.At that time, I couldn't think of any lifelong events, and I didn't have any standards, so I drew a circle with a pencil on a photo that seemed to be more pleasing to the eye without thinking. This is the daughter of Duan Gong of the Erdete family in Manchuria, named Wen Xiu, also known as Hui Xin, three years younger than me, and was twelve years old when I saw the photo.This is the girl that Concubine Jingyi likes.The result of this selection was sent to the concubine, and the concubine Duankang was not satisfied. Regardless of Jingyi's objection, she forced the princes to persuade me to re-select the one she liked. The one she recommended was a wealthy man, and he was very beautiful.The one she recommended was the daughter of the Rongyuan family of Guo Buluo in Zhengbai Banner, Manchuria. Her name was Wanrong. Afterwards, it became Hong Qiu again), the same age as me, and I was fifteen years old when I saw the photo.After listening to the advice of the princes, I thought to myself, why didn't you tell me earlier, fortunately, drawing a circle with a pencil is easy, so I drew it on Wanrong's photo again.

But the concubines Jingyi and Ronghui were unwilling again.I don't know how the concubines argued with the princes, but Concubine Ronghui came forward and said: "Since the emperor has circled Wenxiu, she can no longer marry subjects, so she can be accepted as a concubine." I don't think it's necessary, why do I need two at once?I do not like to accept this opinion.But the princes and ministers couldn't help saying the truth that "an emperor must have a concubine and a concubine" according to the ancestral system. I thought that since this is the characteristic of the emperor, of course I must have it, so I agreed to them.

The process of choosing a concubine, to put it simply, actually took a year to settle down.After it was settled, the Zhifeng War broke out, and the wedding was postponed until December 1, 11th year of the Republic of China. At this time, Xu Shichang had stepped down, and the large-scale wedding preparations could no longer hold the bridle, so they had to be held.The princes did not trust President Li Yuanhong, who came to power for the second time, as much as they did Xu Shichang, for fear that he would interfere with the wedding ceremony, but as a result, the support promised by Li Yuanhong's government was unexpectedly good; in this way.The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of China wrote an apologetic letter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, saying that the funds were so difficult that the annual allowance for preferential treatment could not be paid in full. Ten thousand, count as a gift from the Republic of China.At the same time, the military, constitutional, and police agencies of the Republic of China government also took the initiative to send special officers and soldiers to serve as guards.Among them count open:

In addition to forty soldiers, two whole battalions were sent to stand guard along the way. Originally, according to the regulations of the Republic of China, only the Shenwu Gate belonged to the Qing Palace. This time, as an exception, "Fengyu" was specially allowed to enter the palace through the Donghua Gate. The whole ceremony of the wedding is five days: enter the palace. In addition to this ceremonial schedule, three consecutive days of drama were performed from the day after the marriage.Before this ceremony, that is, on November 10th, there are still a few things to do in advance, that is, accepting the ceremony, and enshrining the four concubines (the four concubines are called the concubine from this day onwards).Afterwards, there was another ceremony of awarding honors to princes and ministers, so I don't need to go into details.

What aroused the most distaste for this move was that after the restoration of the small imperial court for a time, it openly went outside the Forbidden City to put on a prestige.Under the protection of a large number of military and police sentries and guards in the Republic of China, the guards of honor of the Qing palace swaggered around the streets of Beijing.On the day of the official wedding, behind the two military bands of the Republic of China, there was a pair of canonized envoys (Prince Qing and Prince Zheng) in python robes and gowns riding on horseback, holding a knot in their hands (like the whip that Su Wu held in his hand when shepherding sheep. ), followed by the military band of the Republic of China and the army cavalry, police cavalry, and security cavalry.Behind them are dragon and phoenix flags and umbrellas, seventy-two pairs of ceremonial guards, four yellow pavilions (with the queen's golden treasure dress inside), thirty pairs of palace lanterns, marching towards the "hou mansion" in a mighty manner.In front of the back mansion decorated with lanterns and festoons, there was another large group of military police guarding Wanrong’s father, Rong Yuan, and her brothers—kneeling there to welcome the “imperial decree” brought by the principal and deputy envoys...

The generous gifts of the leading figures in the Republic of China are also quite eye-catching.President Li Yuanhong wrote on the red post that "President Li Yuanhong of the Republic of China presents the Emperor Xuantong", eight gifts, including four enamelware, two kinds of silk, one account, and one couplet. The couplet says: " Hanwadang script, longevity and longevity, Zhou Tongpan inscription, wealth and auspiciousness".Former President Xu Shichang sent a congratulatory gift of 20,000 yuan and many valuable gifts, including 28 pieces of porcelain and a magnificent dragon and phoenix Chinese carpet.Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu, Zhang Xun, Cao Kun and other warlords and politicians all presented cash and many other gifts.

The Republic of China sent Yin Chang, the military attache to the presidential palace, to formally congratulate the foreign monarch.After bowing to me, he suddenly announced: "A moment ago, that was representing the Republic of China, and now the servant salutes the emperor himself." After finishing speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed his head. At that time, many newspapers issued serious comments on these strange incidents, which could not stop the joy of the princes and ministers. In many places, the old people in many places were like insects after the twilight, flying to Beijing in groups, bringing their own and other people's cash. , Antiques and other congratulatory gifts.The important thing is not the property, but the momentum. This momentum is so big that even they themselves are surprised, so that they feel that things seem to be promising.

What excited the princes and ministers, the old and the young, and the concubines most were the guests from Dongjiaominxiang.This is the first time that foreign official personnel appeared in the Forbidden City after 1911.Although it is said that they came in their personal capacity, they are foreign officials after all. In order to express the importance and gratitude to the foreign guests for watching the ceremony, according to Johnston's intention, a reception reception was specially arranged in Qianqing Palace. Liang Dunyan, the "Minister of Foreign Affairs" when Zhang Xun was restored, drew up an English thank-you speech for me. The words were read to the foreign guests.The words of thanks are as follows: In the midst of this commotion, from the first day, I thought about a question over and over again: "I have a queen and a concubine, and I have a family. What is the difference between this and before?" Answer yourself: "I am an adult. If it is not a revolution, it is the time for me to 'pro-government'!" Apart from this idea, I hardly even think about it when it comes to couples, families.It was only when the queen with a piece of red satin embroidered with dragons and phoenixes on her head came into my eyes that I wanted to know what she looked like out of curiosity. According to tradition, the first night of the wedding between the emperor and the empress will be spent in a wedding room in the Kunning Palace, which is no more than ten meters square.The characteristics of this room are: there is no furnishings, the kang occupies a quarter, except for the ground, which is painted red.After the "healing ceremony" and the "children's pastry", I felt very suffocated when I entered this dark red room.The bride was sitting on the kang with her head down. I looked at the side for a while, only to feel red in front of my eyes: red curtains, red mattresses, red clothes, red skirts, red flowers, red cheeks... It seemed to have melted. red candles.I feel very uncomfortable, neither sitting nor standing.I thought Yangxindian was better, so I opened the door and came back. When I returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, I saw the list of ministers from all over the country in the Xuantong Dynasty mounted on the wall, and the question came again: "I have a queen and a concubine, and I have become a human being. How is it different from before?" How does Wanrong feel when she is thrown alone in Kunning Palace?What is Wenxiu, who is under fourteen years old, thinking?I didn't even think about it.All I want is: "If it wasn't for the revolution, I would have started to rule...I want to restore my ancestral business!"