After being bound to the learning system in my mother's womb, I became the empress

Chapter 331: I beat the Dragon Scale Guard and won the first place
Beside Jinming Lake, there is Penglai Hall.

The Emperor and Empress's sage came to the Penglai Hall and gave a banquet to the ministers and their families in the hall.

At the top sat the emperor's family of four. The emperor was holding the little princess, and the queen was holding the little prince. They looked like a warm and ordinary family.

Below, the royal family members, civil and military officials are arranged in descending order according to their rank and official position.

In the Yong Dynasty, the right was respected, so the person sitting in the lower right position was Li Xuelin, who was the Secretary of the Central Committee and the right prime minister at that time.

Then came Wei Jiusi, the left prime minister, ministers of various ministries, etc.

The old Duke Lin Jian, who was the general manager of Jiangnan, sat in the middle with his grandson Lin Wushang, not far or close to the emperor.

Sitting opposite were the royal family members, noble marquises, etc. As the emperor's brother, King Rui sat at the bottom left.

He was accompanied by a stunning beauty with a lotus-like appearance, who was his concubine Pang.

Pang Zi has an elegant temperament. She wears a white dress that looks simple but is actually luxurious. The hem of the skirt is like fish scales. It shines brightly in the sun and reflects brilliant light.

"Dong dong dong!" A continuous sound of drums came from outside the hall.

Everyone looked outside.

Penglai Hall is located on a high and broad terrain. Looking out from the hall, you can clearly see the performances on the water outside.

There are four colorful boats on the water, which act as a stage.

The performers on the stage are not ordinary dancers, but soldiers.

Soldiers who are tall, long-legged, and have heroic looks are dressed in colorful clothes on this special day.

They performed a variety of performances, including dancing with big flags, dressing up as beasts, playing with spears, doing military boxing and so on.

The nature of entertainment is mixed with the purpose of showing military appearance and strength.

There are two smaller boats next to the colorful boat, with the band on them.

The music played by the band is different from the usual songs and dances, but military music. The instruments used are gongs, drums, cymbals (sounds the same as Nao, a copper percussion instrument in the ancient army), and Duo, which are open and closed percussions. musical instrument.

The sound of the drums is like thunder, and the clang sounds are filled with a chilling atmosphere of thousands of horses galloping.

Listening to this can make people's blood boil with excitement and passion.

I wish I could just get on my horse and rush to the front line to fight.

Yet these performances are only an appetizer.

After the banquet was over, the real highlight came.

A huge dragon boat was pulled to the front of Penglai Hall. The emperor and empress took the lead and led everyone on board.

There is a two-story grandstand built on the ship, with a throne in the middle of the grandstand.

The view from the throne was obviously the best. The emperor and his family of four sat down on the spacious throne.

Those with distinguished status and high rank, such as Zhongshu Ling, Prime Minister, King Rui, etc., were able to sit in the second-level stands with the emperor.

The rest of the people can only stay in the first-level stands, and the view is not that good in comparison.

At this time, dozens of small dragon boats were lined up neatly on the lake.

The first competitive event of this military exercise is dragon boat racing.

The dozens of dragon boats were decorated with flags representing their respective military services.

For example, the Black Dragon Flag represents the Dragon Scale Guard (who protects the emperor).

The Qinglong flag represents the Longquan Guard (protecting the imperial city).

The white tiger flag represents the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division (protecting the capital).

There are also Gyeonggi camps, garrison troops from local areas, etc.

Soldiers from different forces, different regions, and different services all gathered here today, hoping to show their military appearance to the emperor.

The person who presided over this military exercise was Huo Yutang, the Minister of War, one of the generals who once followed the emperor to conquer the world.

He stood on the dragon head of the dragon boat, wearing a black brocade robe, and at the beginning of Sishi (9 o'clock), he waved the bright red flag in his hand.

At the same time, the soldier beside him who was responsible for delivering the order sounded the gong.The dozens of dragon boats that were ready to go rushed out in an instant, like arrows leaving the string, rowing fast and fiercely.

The little princess felt that she was not standing high enough and could not see far enough, so she climbed onto the emperor's back and sat on his neck.

Queen: "Wanwan, come down."

Then he scolded the emperor: "That's enough in normal times. How could Wanwan be allowed to act recklessly on an occasion like today? How can it be disrespectful for the ministers to see this?"

The little princess obediently wanted to come down, but the emperor held her legs and smiled at the queen: "An Niang, the ministers are busy watching the dragon boat race. How could they notice this?"

Ministers: "..."

In view of the slave nature of the emperor's daughter, the ministers wisely pretended not to see it.

The queen also had nothing to do with the father and daughter.

Forget it, she wasn't the one whose daughter was riding on her neck. The emperor himself didn't mind being embarrassed, so why should she save his respect for him?

The little princess held the emperor's head with one hand and waved a small flag with the other, shouting excitedly:

"Wow! It's so fast! There's a big brother rushing in! The Dragon Scale Guard is number one!"

Among the people who represented the Dragon Scale Guards in the dragon boat race this time, Lin Dayou was among them, and he was also the captain.

The little princess's two fat legs kept jumping up and down, hitting the emperor's chest like drumsticks.

Not to mention, the little princess's legs were really strong, which made the emperor, an old father, feel a pain in his chest.

However, he was not willing to scold his daughter, so he could only try his best to catch her rebellious little chubby legs to prevent her from causing harm to him.

The queen glanced at the emperor in a funny way and secretly scolded him that he deserved it.

At this time, Zheng Juncai, the Minister of Household Affairs, came over with a tray, a white and plump face and a very kind smile.

"Your Highness, you support the Dragon Scale Guard so much, why don't you place a bet that they can take first place?"

The emperor laughed and scolded: "You Zheng Juncai, a dignified minister of household affairs, openly opened a casino. What crime do you think you deserve?"

Zheng Juncai looked aggrieved: "Your Majesty, I can't help it. The national treasury has never been full, but there are many places to spend money. Today the Ministry of War needs food and salary, and tomorrow the Ministry of Industry needs money to build roads and bridges...

"There is also the Dragon Boat Festival celebration held today. Money is needed everywhere. Seeing the money in the treasury flowing out like water, I feel very uncomfortable. Can't I think of some way to get some money back? "

The emperor was speechless and a little guilty.

He changed his words on the spot: "Ahem, it's a little gambling. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose by betting."

Zheng Juncai looked at him expectantly, "Then does the emperor want to take a gamble?"

The emperor felt the queen's warning gaze, and said with a serious face: "I am the king of a country. Betting on whoever wins would be biased, so I'd better not bet."

So Zheng Juncai continued to target the little princess.

Her Royal Highness, the princess, seems to be stupid and easy to cheat with money.

Sure enough, the little princess proudly pulled out a hairpin from her head and said, "I won the first place against the Dragon Scale Guard."

After collecting a sum of money from the little princess as he wished, Zheng Juncai left with the tray satisfied and went to look for the next fat sheep.

The matter of opening a gambling market has been cleared up in front of the emperor, and he can now free up his hands and feet to gather the wool.

All the ministers and nobles in the court are extremely rich.

If he doesn't take advantage of this great opportunity to make a fortune, he will be unqualified as the Minister of Household Affairs.

A qualified Minister of Household Affairs must always think about making money!

Zheng Juncai walked around on and off the boat. The tray in his hand was quickly full, and all kinds of gold, silver, jewelry, and hairpins were piled up into a small mountain.

Wow, it’s amazing.

The expenses incurred in hosting the Dragon Boat Festival this time can be recovered.

While Zheng Juncai was happily counting money on the tray, the dragon boat race on the lake had come to an end.

(End of this chapter)