Chapter 70 Section sixty-ninth

The Dalai Lama was given a banquet at Ziguang Pavilion on the sixth day of October, but the emperor did not arrive, and on the ninth day of October, the Empress Dowager Cixi did not summon him for the tribute birthday ceremony at the Hall of Qinzheng.Just when the Dalai Lama was full of displeasure and decided to order his servants to pack his luggage and intend to leave Beijing as soon as possible, Dalai Lama, Minister of Lifan Department, came to issue the edict in person, but the Dalai Lama refused to kneel down to accept it.Until it was explained that it was an edict of grace, the Dalai Lama reluctantly saluted and listened to the announcement: "I respectfully present Empress Dowager Chongxi's decree from Cixi Duanyou Kangyi Zhaoyu Zhuang Chengshou: The Dalai Lama came to Beijing last month to see his majesty. To express our sincerity is worthy of praise, and it is appropriate to grant a special title to show its excellence. The Dalai Lama's business scriptures followed the old system, and he was named the Great Good and Free Buddha of the Western Heaven. On the Fengyi Festival, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Li and Fan will discuss and implement it quickly. And give the house 10,000 taels of silver on an annual basis, and distribute it quarterly from the Sichuan Fan Treasury. After the Dalai Lama was granted the title, he returned to Tibet immediately. Local officials should send personnel to escort them from station to station and take good care of them. After arriving in Tibet, they must strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the host country, uphold the faith of China and North Korea, and guide the people to abide by the law and practice goodness. All affairs, According to the law, report to the Minister of the Ming Dynasty stationed in Tibet, and play it at any time, waiting for a decision. It is hoped that the border will always maintain law and order, and the monks and laymen will be removed from the borders. With no burden on the imperial court to protect the Yellow Sect, and to appease the border areas. And the Dalai Lama was informed by the Fan Department Take Qin Zun!"

There is also a Manchu translation of this Enclave. The Dalai Lama does not know Chinese characters, but he is fluent in Manchu. After reading it carefully, he thinks that it does not imply the intention of dividing Tibet with the Panchen Lama. Finally, the grievances he has suffered for many days Dissipated a lot. So he said: "Tomorrow, when I enter the palace to pay respects to my birthday, I still have a statue of Buddha for the empress dowager. On this statue of Buddha, there are 200,000 volumes of sutras that I have recited. The merit is very great. The empress dowager worships it devoutly, and it will surely bless her to eliminate disasters and prolong her life." .”

"The Empress Dowager will be very happy." Dashou replied, "But tomorrow I will salute with the class, so I'm afraid I won't have the chance to present it." "If you can't present it in person tomorrow, please ask your minister to present it on your behalf, but there must also be some etiquette to welcome the Buddha." "Of course, of course!" "May I ask all the civil and military officials to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday tomorrow, will it be led by the Emperor?" "This," Dashou said apologetically, "I really can't give you an answer. Your Majesty hasn't gotten up since the first day of October. Otherwise, he will definitely come to give wine to you at the Ziguang Pavilion banquet on the sixth day."

"According to this, the emperor will not be able to celebrate the queen mother's birthday tomorrow?" "Probably." "Then who will lead the salute?" This time Dashou was tested.In his memory, there has never been a story about the longevity of the empress dowager, and the emperor failed to lead the princes and ministers to congratulate him, so he could not answer, but said vaguely: "It depends on the situation at the time, and there is no way to know in advance. I'll be there to take care of you tomorrow, so you don't have to worry about it, Master."

Having said that, Dashou himself was very worried, because the situation in Tibet was turbulent, and the imperial court hoped that after the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa, he would be able to appease the Tibetans and resist foreign aggression. He was forced to kneel and worship, but he still couldn't see the emperor, and his heart was extremely resentful.If the emperor can lead hundreds of officials to celebrate his birthday tomorrow, the Dalai Lama will inevitably ask, why can't the emperor come to Ziguang Pavilion to give a banquet in five days?It is difficult to answer this question. You have to carefully look at the situation at the time and try to find a reason that can be prevaricated.

Therefore, Dashou got up in the middle of the night and rushed to Xiyuan. It was not yet dawn, but the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were already busy preparing for the celebration of the day.He grabbed Jing Feng, the new minister of internal affairs, and asked quietly: "Will the emperor come?" "I don't know about this meeting yet, but I heard that the 'Four Deacons' have been said to serve the dragon robes." The eunuch who is in charge of royal clothing, hats, shoes and socks, is commonly known as the "Four Deacons", who are ordered to serve in the dragon robes, so naturally they will come to congratulate .Dashou rushed to Zhonghai, and as soon as he entered the Baoguang Gate facing east, he saw that in front of the Laixun Gate outside Yiluan Hall, there was already a Hanlin in charge of the "Daily Notes" on duty.

One of them was Dashou's acquaintance, that is, Yun Yuding who was famous at home and abroad for his participation in Qu Hongji, and he called his number and asked: "Weisun, will the emperor come to salute the empress dowager today?" "Why not? Of course." "Isn't the emperor very ill?" "Then I don't know!" Yun Yuding said indifferently: "However, the Hanlin Tan Zuan in the South Study Room saw the Emperor walking around the Yingxun Pavilion in front of Yingtai yesterday." At this time, the officer of the Lili Fan Department came to inform that the Dalai Lama had arrived.Dashou hastily rushed to greet him, settled down a bit, and when he turned back, he heard that the emperor had come on foot from Yingtai, and he only waited for the auspicious time to salute.

At the same time, Dashou found that the access door was not closed tightly, and there were many people looking in the gap, so he also squeezed in and peeped in quietly, only to see the emperor in the dragon robe, holding the eunuch's shoulders with both hands, The feet are constantly rising and falling, of course, to relax the muscles and bones, so as to perform the big ceremony of kneeling three times and knocking nine times. Soon, the door of Lai Xun opened, and a eunuch with chest and belly came out. It was Cui Yugui who was going to replace Li Lianying. Standing on the white marble steps, he tilted his neck and raised his face. The left voice shouted: "Listen to Xuan, the official of the Ministry of Rites!"

Pu Liang, Shang Shu of the Ministry of Rites, Jing Hou, the left servant, and Guo Zengxin, the right servant, rushed forward and knelt to the north with their heads half down. All the princes and ministers also stood with their hands down, listening to the announcement. "Following Yi's decree: The emperor is sick in bed, and all officials are exempted from saluting." Cui Yugui's voice was so high that no one felt that he hadn't heard it clearly.But why is there such a purpose?Everyone was surprised, looked at each other in astonishment, and kept silent.And in this frosty wind and dawn, which was as silent as death, suddenly there was a groaning sound from inside the Xunmen, which was extremely shrill and creepy.

Lai Xun's door was quickly closed.But the emperor's cries were intermittent, but still faintly audible.