Chapter 116 Chapter 25 Guessing Lantern Riddles Saying that the Spirit of the Dragon and the Horse Presents Poems to Save the Common People from Owing to Fu

In a blink of an eye, it is the Lantern Festival of the tenth year of Wanli.In order to celebrate the tenth year of Zhu Yijun's ascension to the throne, Empress Dowager Li issued a decree to hold a grand Aoshan Lantern Festival in the Forbidden City. But the Aoshan Lantern Festival in the imperial city was originally an annual routine.There is no customization of its scale, it depends entirely on the emperor's preferences and the quality of the annual income.In the late Jiajing period, because Emperor Sejong believed in fasting and sacrificial offerings, he moved out of the Qianqing Palace to find another place to live for the convenience of making alchemy. Not to mention ministers, even the empress and concubines refused to meet.Therefore, the Aoshan Lantern Festival, which was supposed to be enjoyed by the monarch and his ministers in the harem, was strictly avoided by him.In the Longqing period, Emperor Mu Zong wanted to enjoy lantern viewing due to the lack of financial resources in the national treasury, but he was unable to do so because of financial constraints.If there is a small amount of regulation, it seems that it is not interesting, so it is suddenly stopped and stopped, and finally can't arouse interest.In the first year after Zhu Yijun ascended to the throne, the lively Empress Dowager Li intended to restore the Aoshan Lantern Festival, but Zhang Juzheng believed that the emperor was in financial constraints and the emperor should take the lead in frugality.It was not until the sixth year of Wanli that the situation of the imperial court's inability to make ends meet was reversed, and the accumulation of silver in Taicang gradually increased, so that the first lantern festival since the Wanli era was held in the imperial city.It stopped for a few years after that.Only this year, the Aoshan Lantern Festival, which highlighted the peaceful and prosperous times to review the strength of the imperial court, scored twice.

Folk lantern festivals usually start on the eighth day of the first lunar month and last ten days.However, the Lantern Festival in the Imperial City will always start on time on the 15th day of the first lunar month after the Lantern Festival turns over the Youshi card. However, on the night of the Lantern Festival, around the end of the Shen Dynasty, the sky was not yet completely dark, but the tall and majestic Meridian Gate Tower and the Wufeng Tower on the Duanmen Gate were already brightly lit. Spraying pear blossoms, Feidan flowing purple brocade clusters of flowers.Lantern couplets and lampposts, lamp eaves and beams, lamp curtains and walls, lamp curtains and decorations, the two towers towering in mid-air, seem like palaces and crystal worlds in the sky.The relatives of the princes and noble families in Beijing, the six ministers and nine ministers of the cabinet, as well as the six departments of the Imperial Academy and other low-ranking but noble ministers and officials were allowed to go to the morning gate tower to accompany the emperor to watch the lanterns.Their wives and family members also wore official uniforms and were invited to the Wufeng Tower to accompany the two empress dowagers and queens to enjoy the lights of Aoshan.In addition, next to the wall of the Meridian Gate, a long row of temporary stands was built to accommodate all Beijing officials who came to appreciate the lanterns.This is a grand event that hasn't happened in many years. Therefore, as soon as the time passed, invited officials came here in an endless stream.All of a sudden, there were BMW fragrant cars on East and West Chang'an Avenue, and the saddle cage shouted, except for officials above Da Jiuqing who can enter the Meridian Gate Square in sedan chairs, which is a heavily forbidden place, the rest of the officials will all get off the sedan chairs outside the Jinshui Bridge and enter the Duanmen on foot. .

As soon as they entered the unitary unit, everyone saw a long line of ceremonial guards of brocade clothes, embroidered chests, and gold halberds, surrounded by three large sedan chairs and carried across the Jinshui Bridge.Everyone knows it, and it is Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair that leads the way.In the other two sedan chairs, his mother, Mrs. Zhao Tai, was in one, and his wife, Mrs. Wang, was in the other.As soon as the three sedan chairs arrived, the Meridian Gate Square, which was originally bustling with people, suddenly became quiet as if there was no one there.Zhang Ju was getting off his sedan chair in front of the Meridian Gate, all the officials stayed away, only the official from Honglu Temple knelt down to greet him.At the same time, his mother and wife got off the sedan chair in front of Wufeng Tower, a group of eunuchs had already been waiting there to help them upstairs.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng went up to the Meridian Gate Tower, the princes and ministers who arrived first all showed flattering smiles on their faces, and rushed forward to greet him one after another, the order upstairs was a bit chaotic.When Zhang Juzheng was answering the greetings one by one, he suddenly heard nine cannons on the square.Immediately, a eunuch shouted loudly: "Queen, the emperor has arrived—" As soon as the voice fell, they heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Everyone followed the prestige, and saw Zhu Yijun wearing a brand new dragon robe, surrounded by a large group of eunuchs such as Feng Bao, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Jing. Come upstairs with a spring breeze on your face.Everyone on the floor, including Zhu Yijun's grandfather Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing, knelt down together.

Zhu Yijun first saw Zhang Juzheng among the kneeling princes and ministers in the black crows. He hurriedly walked a few steps to Zhang Juzheng, helped him up with his own hands, and then said: "Everyone is in peace!" Under the guidance of Feng Bao, Zhu Yijun sat on the imperial couch specially prepared for him. All the princes and ministers who were kneeling also thanked each other and climbed up to sit in the pre-arranged seats. The brocade chair on the left of the emperor was Zhang Juzheng's seat. On the right is Zhang Rong, the British prince, and next to Zhang Rong is Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing.Sitting beside Zhang Juzheng were cabinet ministers Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing, and the six ministries and nine ministers. The internal ministers originally had Ma Ziqiang, who also suffered from illness less than a month after Lu Tiaoyang died in the autumn of the sixth year of Wanli. After his death, no new ministers have been added since then.All the ministers sat down, and the floor of Wuying was crowded. Zhu Yijun turned his body sideways to Zhang Juzheng, and asked respectfully:

"When did sir arrive?" "It's only a little while ahead of the emperor." Zhang Juzheng replied. "I heard from Eunuch Feng that this year's Aoshan Lantern Festival is well arranged, and the patterns are refurbished, surpassing previous years." Zhu Yijun looked very excited.Zhang Juzheng looked at the two exquisitely crafted lotus lanterns hanging on the pillars on both sides of the gate, and also happily replied: "I heard that the Lantern Festival at Dengshikou outside the Donghua Gate is also very lively. The emperor and all the officials and people have fun together, and everyone in the world is happy."

While speaking, another eunuch ran to the front of the building and leaned on the railing, shouting sharply towards the square: "Turn on the lights—" In an instant, firecrackers blared and drums rang out.The originally pitch-dark square was suddenly filled with fiery trees, jagged stars and thousands of wells.Zhu Yijun and the princes and ministers gathered in front of the railing to watch. The first thing that caught people's eyes was the majestic Aoshan Lantern in the middle of the square.Dengshan is seven floors high, and the top floor is directly shoulder to shoulder with the two city towers.This lantern mountain is full of jewels, sparkling, emerald green, engraved with gold and jade, and the colorful lights dazzle everyone's eyes.This lamp mountain is so big that people can't speak, and there are roads from bottom to top. When you enter it, under the layer upon layer of lights, you will have the feeling of climbing to the sky city and enjoying the glow.

On both sides of the Aoshan Lantern, there are two lantern streets with fragrance like a dream, silver flowers and phantoms. They twist and turn like two radiant galaxies.The waves in the river are countless flower lanterns, bird lanterns, animal lanterns, insect lanterns, swimming fish lanterns, revolving horse lanterns; Tenglong lanterns, fire-breathing unicorn lanterns, Eight Immortals crossing the sea lanterns, twelve zodiac lanterns; Hangzhou leather silk lanterns, southern Yunnan colored lacquer lanterns, Fujian pearl lanterns, white corner lanterns... Hundreds of lanterns with different shapes and styles are called People feel refreshed and dizzying.

There are signboards at the entrance of these two lamp streets.At the entrance of Dengjie Street on the left, there are five octagonal exquisite palace lanterns with a big character written on each, which together are "Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern".As the name suggests, this lamp street is very long, like the Yellow River with its nine bends.As soon as you enter the street, there are many fences and beautifully decorated lanterns. Everyone is among them, and they often get dizzy and can't find the exit.At the entrance of Lantern Street on the right, there are seven Zouma palace lanterns, with the words "Twenty-Four Flower Letters" written on them.In the Aoshan Lantern Festival in the sixth year of Wanli, the "Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern" was adorned. Zhu Yijun even walked in with great interest. If it weren't for the light-manager to lead the way, he might not be able to come out after wandering around all night. .Tonight, Zhu Yijun still wanted to go in for a try, but he didn't believe that he had no ability to get out.However, the "Twenty-Four Flower Letter Lantern" on the right was not present in the Lantern Festival in the sixth year of Wanli. Zhu Yijun called Feng Bao and said curiously:

"What is the meaning of the twenty-four flower lanterns?" Feng Bao replied with a smile: "This is an idea of ​​the old slave. The ancients said that in spring there are twenty-four blooms and three thousand Revlon. We thought, why not move these beautiful spring scenes to the Aoshan Lantern Festival." "This is indeed a good idea." Zhu Yijun praised, "What is the twenty-four flower letters?" "Well," Feng Bao pointed to Shen Shixing standing beside Zhang Juzheng, and said with a smile, "This old servant only found out after asking Mr. Shen for advice. Let Mr. Shen tell Long Live Lord directly."

Shen Shixing was the No. 1 scholar in the 42nd year of Jiajing. He stayed in the Imperial Academy for many years and was a well-known talented scholar. Zhang Juzheng always valued him and made him one of Zhu Yijun's six ministers.But he is deep and sophisticated, and he never shows off when doing things for others. In such a big scene where everyone is watching, he has always been willing to stay behind and keep his mouth shut.At this moment Feng Bao called his name, knowing that he couldn't avoid it, so he squeezed forward and said: "My Majesty, these twenty flower trade winds correspond to the seasons. We often say the word climate, and Qi refers to the twenty-four solar terms in a year; climate is the schedule in the weather. A breath is fifteen days. One season is five days, and each season contains three seasons. The twenty-four flower letters refer to the four months from Xiaohan to Grain Rain. These four months have a total of eight weathers and twenty-four seasons. In each season, There is a kind of flower that corresponds to the wind signal, indicating the passage and change of the season." "So it's like this." Zhu Yijun felt that it was very fresh, so he said to Shen Shixing with great interest: "Twenty-Four Fanhua Letters, you should explain each of them carefully to me now." Shen Shixing looked at Zhang Juzheng habitually, saw that Zhang Juzheng was also looking at him with a smile on his face, he pondered for a while, and replied: "From the end of November to the beginning of December, it is the day when the minor cold comes. The third period of minor cold is the first period of plum blossom, the second period of camellia, and the third period of narcissus. The ancients said that plum blossoms herald the spring, because it is the twenty-four flowers. The first place in the letter. After the minor cold comes the great cold. The first time of the great cold is Daphne, the second is orchid, and the third is alum; The second is the cherry, the third is the spring; after the beginning of spring is the rain, the first is the cauliflower, the second is the apricot flower, the third is the plum blossom; the third is the Jingzhe three, the first is the peach blossom, the second is the peach blossom. It is Tangdi, the third is rose; the vernal equinox is after the sting, the first is crabapple, the second is pear blossom, and the third is magnolia; besides Qingming, the first is tung flower, the second is wheat flower, and the third is willow flower ;The last solar term is grain rain, the first season is peony, the second season is feng, the third season is neem flower, after the neem flower wind letter, the season will come to the beginning of summer." Zhu Yijun listened intently to Shen Shixing's narration, and suddenly saw the princes and ministers crowding around him listening to their conversation, and then suddenly realized that tonight was not a sutra feast but a lantern feast, so he hurriedly called Feng Bao to arrange it. Everyone went to admire the lights.Seeing the ministers disperse with a bang, Feng Bao said again: "Long Live Lord, there are twenty-four flower lanterns, ten lanterns of different styles are attached to each kind of flower, there are a total of two hundred and forty lanterns on that street, and a lantern riddle is pasted on each lantern. " "Lantern riddles? Well, buddy, come and guess lantern riddles with me!" Zhu Yijun suddenly became excited, and then said to Zhang Juzheng beside him, "Mr. Zhang, let's go and guess lantern riddles together, shall we?" "Good!" Zhang Juzheng was rarely so happy. The three of them went downstairs together, and after only two steps, Zhu Yijun seemed to remember something, stopped and looked around again, and saw Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing, sitting in the corner of the hall, eating some fruit and talking with his assistant. The minister Zhang Siwei whispered, and then ordered the personal servant: "Zhou Tong, go and call Marquis Wuqing here, and ask him to go downstairs with us to see the twenty-four flower lanterns." Zhu Yijun and his entourage went downstairs to the entrance of the twenty-four flower lanterns, only to see the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces and the Queen Wang coming here, Zhu Yijun took a step forward and shouted: "Queen, we invited Mr. Zhang to guess lantern riddles." "Okay, let's see if there are any lantern riddles that can confuse Mr. Zhang." Empress Dowager Li pursed her lips and said with a smile.She caught a glimpse of her father caught in the crowd, gave him a slight bow, and asked, "How was the Spring Festival at home?" "Okay." Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing, suddenly looked cautious, and said with a naive smile, "Good girl, this year's Aoshan Lantern has opened your father's eyes." "Jun'er has been on the throne for ten years. We think we should celebrate it. Thanks to the dedication of Mr. Zhang and Mr. Feng, this lantern festival is so brilliant." "How much does it cost!" Li Wei touched a gold leaf-wrapped lamp post beside him and sighed. "Look at what you said, you're still an old lady Li from the countryside." Queen Mother Li giggled as she spoke. Feng Bao jokingly said: "Marquis Wuqing, are you worried that the Long Live Lord can't afford the money? The current Long Live Lord is not what your son-in-law Emperor Longqing was like at that time. Now, the Long Live Lord doesn't have much money, just Sweep the corners of the box, this kind of Aoshan Lantern Festival is held once a month, which is more than enough." As soon as money was mentioned, Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng sensitively. Seeing that the teacher was looking at the palace lantern above his head in a daze, and seemed to be thinking of something else, he interrupted everyone's conversation and took the lead into the twenty-four flowers letter Street of lamps. One entrance is a dazzling array of plum blossom lanterns. The first lantern at the beginning is about eight feet high, and the five-petal wintersweet made of crepe is transparent.A delicate yellow silk scroll was inserted between the stamens. Feng Baoming took it off and sent it to Zhu Yijun respectfully. Zhu Yijun shook it and saw that there was a poem on it: Breaking through the gates and stepping on the pass to swallow Wu, Gallop to the Central Plains Bailuoshu. Loaded with heroes and emperors, Loyalty is willing to be a red dragon alone. There are three neat small characters under the poem: type one character. "Ah, so this is an anagram." Zhu Yijun immediately became interested and read the poem scroll several times.Ask, "Is this an anagram?" "It must be," Feng Bao replied. "There is no trace of this crossword puzzle. Who came up with it?" "It's the Ci officials in the Imperial Academy. The two hundred and forty lantern riddles here are all made up by them." Zhu Yijun took the poem scroll and looked left and right, but couldn't see the clue, so he put the poem scroll in the hand of the eunuch on duty under the lamp, and said: "It's hard to guess, let's go, let's move on." Empress Dowager Li was standing next to her son, and when she saw that he was about to leave, she quickly stopped him and said: "Jun'er, this is the first lantern riddle, you must figure it out." "Why?" Zhu Yijun's eyes widened. "Since it is the first place, it must be a good omen. If you leave, the good omen will disappear?" Queen Mother Li said with a smile. Zhu Yijun didn't dare to disobey his mother's order, so he had to pick up the poem scroll again, but still couldn't see the mystery, so he pointed to Feng Bao and said: "Big companion, tell me, what word is this?" Feng Bao replied with a smile: "This old slave already knows the answers to the 240 lantern riddles. If we tell them, it will be cheating." "Where is Mr. Zhang, do you know the answer to the riddle?" "I don't know." Zhang Juzheng replied. "Then you guess." As soon as he saw the poem scroll, Zhang Juzheng began to think about it, and now he calmly replied: "This crossword puzzle, if you think about it from the structure of the characters, it must be in the fog. This is a crossword puzzle that you understand." "Knowing? What's that word?" "The word horse, the horse of a fine horse." Zhang Juzheng explained, pointing to the poem scroll in Zhu Yijun's hand, "Crossing the pass and stepping through the pass, galloping to the Central Plains, all tell the story of BMW. The meaning of the three or four sentences is clearer, and the strong horse carries the heroes of the world." As the emperor, assist the emperor to create a prosperous world for thousands of years." "What does Yulong Gu say?" Zhu Yijun followed up and asked. "The jade dragon refers to the emperor." Zhang Juzheng said, looking at the Empress Dowager Li, and said, "The emperor was destined to come to the world in the 41st year of Jiajing. This year is the year of Renxu, and the five elements of Renxu belong to water, jade and Gold pairing, belongs to gold, gold produces water, and the jade dragon is the symbol of the emperor's destiny. Now that the horse is coming to court, the emperor will not be alone." "I'm not alone." Zhu Yijun still felt puzzled. "Has the emperor forgotten the year of this year?" "The genus of the year?" Zhu Yijun slapped his head and suddenly realized, and said with a smile, "This year is the year of Renwu, which is a year of horse. No wonder the first lantern riddle has the word horse." "The combination of a horse and a dragon is the spirit of the dragon and the horse. The emperor has this auspicious omen, and he will ride the wind to control the poor and the poor. He should be pro-government, love the people and work hard to govern." "Good omen, good omen!" Empress Dowager Li praised repeatedly, and both Queen Mother Chen and Empress Dowager were delighted from ear to ear. "This crossword puzzle is good, and Mr. Zhang can explain it better." Zhu Yijun called his personal servant, "Zhou Tong!" "The servant is here." Zhou Tong stepped forward. "Give Mr. Zhang a reward..." Zhu Yijun wanted to say "five taels of silver", but when he thought that Mr. Zhang was not a slave in the palace, he changed his words, "Mr. Pass down the decree and reward her with five pieces of Hangzhou silk." Zhang Juzheng originally wanted to decline, but he thought that the recipient of the award was his mother, so he had no choice but to express his gratitude sincerely. It took Zhu Yijun more than an hour to accompany the Empress Dowagers to go shopping in Lantern Street and guess lantern riddles. At this time, the Aoshan Lantern Festival in the square had reached its peak.On the two towers.It is also the sound of the orchestra and the delicate sound, the embroidered banquet and the golden cup are reopened; the imperial tea and wine are fragrant, and the delicacies are rewarded to make people feel happy.Zhu Yijun went to the gate tower in the morning, happily had a few glasses of wine with the princes and ministers, and then asked Zhang Juzheng: "Mr. Zhang, with such a beautiful night, according to the rules, the officials of the Imperial Academy should present poems to commemorate its prosperity." "The emperor's words are very good, and the courtiers must have prepared it long ago." Zhang Juzheng told Shen Shixing to go to the next seat and invite Yu Shenxing, the head of the Imperial Academy, to come over. Zhang Juzheng said to him: "The emperor invited you to compose the ode for the Aoshan Lantern Festival. You must have prepared the drafts and presented your masterpieces soon." "It's only half a stick of incense time, whoever is late will be punished with wine." Zhang Siwei added jokingly. Yu Shenxing knew that it was difficult to deal with the scene tonight, so he hadn't even touched a drop of wine. At this time, he bowed his body and said with a smile: "The ministers and others have given some consideration to the meaning that should be in the title of the Aoshan Lantern Festival in the Chengzhi Poetry Book. But according to the rules, the first assistant is talented, and he should be the first to open the rhyme. Mr. Zhang Ge and Mr. Shen Ge talked about the splendor, and you have not written a great article, how dare the ministers wait for you to be the first?" When Zhu Yijun heard this, it made sense, so he said to Zhang Juzheng: "Mr. Zhang, if you don't write, they will feel uneasy." Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing, and a group of princes and ministers, such as the British prince Zhang Rong, pushed together. Zhang Juzheng knew that he couldn't push it, so he got up and walked to the desk that had already been covered with paper and ink. While thinking about it, I wrote it down: Tonight, may the evening spring lights be on, The Taiping emperor stepped on the moon. The lamp shakes the pearls and colors Zhang Huawu, The moon is scattered and the Yaoguang is full of the Forbidden City. The forbidden city is far away from Qili, In the light of thousands of households in Jiuqu. Flowers shy of spring and frigid fire bloom, The horse rushed to the incense and the mist rose from the clouds. String pipes lined the roadside, No matter where you swim. The lace dew washes the carved saddle wet, The wind on Moshang returns to the fragrance of pearls and emerald greens. The lace street is filled with smoke and clouds, The head of the city did not return when the moon fell. The common Tao Jinwu is wide this night, Then I worry about the jade leakage and the spring night is short. The willows in the imperial ditch beat the copper camel, Miscellaneous laughing songs on Liuwai Tower and Terrace. The luxury of the five tombs should be difficult to imitate, What a night of fun. Time flies by, Passionate prosperity and empty self-love. Don't you see, the elders and fathers of Shenzhou are happy to tell each other, Tens of thousands of new lights bloom towards spring! Zhang Juzheng wrote this poem "Following the Royal Chengzhi Yuan Xi Xing", which attracted applause as soon as he finished writing.He made a good start, Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing, two great scholars, and ten ministers of the Hanlin Academy who were waiting for an edict all performed their skills at once.You are all talented and suave national scholars, and all of you write like a ball and a jade.When the poems were hung up, many people stopped to appreciate them.Among them, "Viewing Lanterns" written by Feng Qi, compiled by the Imperial Academy, is particularly noticeable: The emperor holds the Qianqiu calendar, The sky is open and the nations are happy. Orioles thicken the first month, Han Chang'an with lights. The first month of Chang'an is Xuanji, Thousands of households issued orders in Yangchun. The new year's scenery belongs to Shangyuan, The material resources of the Central Plains are in full bloom. Wudu Wanbaoji Yantai, Nautical Ladder Mountain paid tribute back. The silver urn with the white ring arrives in a special place, Emerald pearls come from thousands of miles. In the twilight, thousands of gates are condensed with auspicious mist, The moon was shining that day. On the twelfth floor, it's never night, Three thousand worlds are like the sea in spring. Looking at Cuihua in front of Long Live Mountain, There are clusters of bright clouds in the nine lights. The six palaces are full of fish and dragon games, Thousands of torches compete to open the Han Ou flowers. The six palaces and thousands of torches are similar, Starbridge starts directly from the Milky Way. The red emperor really rides the fire talisman, The Jade Emperor bows in the red cloud. The lamp smoke scattered into Wuhou's house, Cooking gold and eating jade are arrogant and extravagant. Osmanthus embers orchid ointment nine small fires, Bead curtain embroidered with seven incense carts. Chang'an youth welcome guests, Going to the east city and resuming the south road. Millions of Zongbo lose no hesitation, What a pity that ten thousand wines are poor. In the middle of the night, drunkenness revives the song, There was no drunk Weihe on the way home. The bright moon on the Sixth Street plays the sheng pipe, Ten miles of fragrant wind scattered Qiluo. Qi Luosheng pipes spring and embroiders, Poor eaves and leaky houses are as cold as before. Whose home is quiet and smoke-free, Whose night is as bright as day. Every night the city looks at the new moon, Every year, states and counties report frequent disasters. May the Holy Lord be a bright candle, And according to the people of Guihai in the ice sky. This poem with profound skills and imaginative soaring was copied on four pieces of four-foot rice paper sprinkled with gold and dark flowers specially used by Ouchi.The servant hung the poem in a conspicuous place at the entrance of the building, and many people rushed to read it, and there was a sound of praise.Under Zhang Juzheng's recommendation, Zhu Yijun moved over to read it carefully. Most of the time, he applauded again and again, but when he finished reading, he fell silent. "Why doesn't the emperor speak?" Zhang Juzheng asked aside. "I think this Feng Qi is too late." Zhu Yijun frowned. Zhang Juzheng was surprised: "Why did the emperor say that?" "Most of Feng Qi's "Watching the Lanterns" is well written, such as 'Thousands of doors in the evening are condensed with auspicious mist, the moon is shining brightly that day, the sky is never dark on the twelfth floor, and the spring in the three thousand worlds is like the sea'. I wrote about the grandeur of Aoshan lanterns. However, when I read that "the smoke from the lanterns scattered into the homes of the five princes, cooking gold and eating jade to compete with arrogance and extravagance", I became suspicious. Is this Feng Qi referring to Sang Huai? Said that the princes and ministers took advantage of the lantern festival Extravagant, obviously scolding princes, and secretly pointing to the fact that I should not hold the Aoshan Lantern Festival. In the last few sentences, Feng Qi is showing his tail, what's "there are frequent disasters in the state and counties every year", what is "willing to light up the Holy Lord, And according to the Bingtian Guihai people', listen, isn't this scolding me for only caring about my own happiness, but completely ignoring the suffering of the people?" As Zhu Yijun spoke, he stomped his feet angrily.Zhang Juzheng hurriedly said: "The emperor please calm down, according to my ministers, Feng Qi did not mean to ridicule the emperor." Zhu Yijun pointed at the sprinkled golden rice paper with his finger, and replied angrily: "Written in black and white, do I still accuse him?" "Feng Qi wants the Holy Lord's light to illuminate the world. This should be the greatest wish of a subject: Your Majesty, you should be happy." Zhu Yijun still felt uncomfortable with Zhang Juzheng's euphemistic persuasion, and said to Feng Bao: "Eunuch Feng, go and find this Feng Qi." "Don't look for it, the humble minister is here." Following this answer, a sixth-rank official ran over from under the opposite pillar and knelt down towards Zhu Yijun.This person was Feng Qi. After his poem was written and hung up, he had been standing nearby to observe the movement.He could clearly hear every word of the conversation between the emperor and Shoufu. At this time, the princes and ministers who gathered together in groups of three, five, and five on the tower to chat, taste the moon, and appreciate the lanterns stopped talking and laughing when they heard the noise here, and all cast their gazes over. Zhu Yijun didn't look at the faces of the people around him, but stared at Feng Qi with piercing eyes, and asked sharply: "Is there any evidence in your poem that 'there are frequent disasters in the state and county every year'?" "Have." "Tell me!" "I obey the decree," Feng Qi raised his face and played, "I am a native of Suzhou Prefecture in Nanzhili. Although our Suzhou Prefecture is a rich place in the world, the taxes are several times heavier than those of other prefectures, so farming It is difficult to pay back the debts accumulated over the years. Today, a government still owes more than 400,000 Shitian rents that cannot be paid. Suzhou government officials report to the Ministry of Households every year to request reductions, but they have not been approved." "Is this really the case?" Zhu Yijun asked. "It's true," Zhang Juzheng, who answered not Feng Qi, said, "The two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang in the south of the Yangtze River have accumulated land tax arrears of up to seven years from the first year of Longqing to the seventh year of Wanli. More than 100,000 shi. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Households, the country’s outstanding debts during this period were more than 1.5 million shi. Su and Song prefectures accounted for almost half of it. But these two prefectures have always borne more taxes and grains than other places, and the common people are unable to pay them, so they accumulate more and more. Years ago, Ying Tianxun asked Sun Guangyou to exempt the debts owed by the two prefectures. I don’t know if the emperor See?" "When is the memorial?" "It didn't arrive until the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. It must have been the annual holiday, and the emperor hasn't seen it yet." "Well," Zhu Yijun felt confident after hearing what Zhang Juzheng said.He guessed that Feng Qi chose to write poems at the Aoshan Lantern Festival under the instruction of Zhang Juzheng, so he asked Zhang Juzheng, "Mr. Zhang must have made up his mind whether the taxes and grains of the Su and Song prefectures should be reduced. " "There is an idea," Zhang Juzheng said frankly, "the people in the world, especially such small families, have very limited financial resources. They basically rely on the sky for food. If the weather is good that year, their annual income is only Can pay the taxes and grains of the year. If there is a bad year and the fields fail to harvest, and the taxes and grains of the year can’t be paid, how can they still have the ability to repay the debts of the previous year? Investigation. Some officials who collected taxes deceived the court and evaded their responsibilities. They often misappropriated the taxes and grains collected in the past year as incidental collections. Next year's debts. The government's demands are endless, how can the people bear it! The small households of the Dingmen were forced to ruin their families, but the deacons' subordinates filled their pockets. It is the suffering of the emperor: now, the national treasury is full, so I suggest that the emperor issue a decree to exempt all the debts of the whole country before the seventh year of Wanli. Such a good deed is equivalent to sending a cup of tea to every common people in the country. Great light!" Zhu Yijun, who was originally interested in watching lanterns, suddenly heard Zhang Juzheng's big talk about the suffering of the people, and felt very reasonable, but felt that this discussion was not at the right time, in order not to mistakenly appreciate Aoshan Light, he hurriedly said to Feng Qi who was kneeling: "Feng Qi, I will reward you tomorrow for your good writing of "Lantern Watching Chapter". Regarding the exemption of the land tax owed seven years ago in Wanli, we will do as Mr. Zhang said. Tomorrow, the first decree will be issued in the court. .” "Thank you, Your Majesty." Feng Qi got up from the ground, his eyes filled with tears of excitement, but Zhu Yijun was not in the mood to listen to his nagging at this moment.Downstairs in front of the Aoshan Lantern in the square, there was already the deafening sound of drums like spring thunder, and everyone squeezed to the railing to look down, only to see ninety-nine or eighty-one forked-horned boys running and jumping and beating their waist drums. Among them, there were seventy-seven forty-nine little girls carrying baskets, dancing among the pronghorn boys.Their baskets were full of brightly colored petals, and they stepped on the beat of the drum and waved their jade arms to sprinkle them as much as they wanted—there was a rain of petals in the square: Feng Bao finally squeezed in front of Zhu Yijun, and introduced with a loud voice: "Your Majesty, this program is called "Fairies Scattering Flowers Taiping Drum"." Aoshan Lantern Festival once again entered a climax.