The sun never sets in America

Chapter 355 Dahan Games: Opening Ceremony

Xijing Stadium was built in the 6th year of Longwu's reign. In the 15th and 16th years of Longwu's reign, it underwent two intermittent expansions. It is considered the most iconic stadium in Xijing city after the Empire State Building and the Imperial Bank Bell Tower. architecture.

Just like the folk song sung by Xijing people:

"In the first year of junior high, I went to visit Dasha, in the second year of junior high, I visited relatives, and in the third year of junior high, I went to watch football."

Yes, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, wealthy families will go to the Xijing Stadium to watch the polo league. In the first game, most people will spend a little money to buy a lottery ticket, which is euphemistically called: "Botou" color".

In mid-August of the 1860th year of Longwu, that is, August , , Xijing Stadium received its fourth renovation. As the largest stadium in Han Dynasty, the renovation of Xijing Stadium, which can accommodate people, was a A typical large project, even for a country like Han with very fast decision-making efficiency, is a big "project".

For the entire Xijing Stadium, Xijing City basically follows a three-step strategy, among which the repair of those seats that may need repair and the repair of the stadium itself are the most important.

The second step is decoration. As the first national sports meeting in Han Dynasty, the decoration of Xijing Stadium is said by Zhao Wenxiang, the mayor of Xijing who is in charge of this matter, to be "novelty with simplicity, simplicity with novelty."

The third is security, which is also the most important step, even more advanced than the first two combined.

For this Han Kingdom Games, the entire Xijing garrison was mobilized, with a total of more than 15,000 people, of which 3,000 were Imperial Guards, and the rest were garrisons from towns around Xijing. In Zhao Wenxiang’s words To put it simply, "If something goes wrong at this level, not only their heads will be saved, but mine will be saved too!!"

Although there is still a week before the opening of the conference, the entire Xijing has been under martial law since yesterday, and all trains and flights to Xijing must undergo strict review.

Of course, for those who sincerely face the Holy Spirit, Xijing still opens the door, but it must be reviewed.

Lao Han was obviously shocked by the "four digits". You must know that the annual polo finals are only three digits or four digits. Looking at the opening ceremony with nothing, in Lao Han's opinion, it is as good as Fools make no difference.

Liu Peng's words made Liu Yu breathless and even a little "frightened".

"I do not watch!!"

"I understand, I am wrong!!"

…………

"Who says it's not the case? Do you want to watch such an expensive opening ceremony??"

"As the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and the king of all people, if I am murdered in the territory of the Han Dynasty, or in a most benign place like Xijing, then what does it mean? Is the country doomed??"

“When looking at people, be sure to spot them!!”

As the opening ceremony approaches, Xijing City seems to be covered in "color". Colorful ribbons are everywhere, tied to trees and hung in the wind in front of stores, making people feel what "atmosphere" is.

As for what festival to celebrate, it is self-evident.

.........

"Nonsense!!"

"Or am I the Second Emperor of Qin??"

Passing by on the street, the national flag of the Han Dynasty is hung in front of every store, and even some private houses are also hoisted with the national flag. Even those foreigners who have just arrived in Xijing understand how lively Xijing is.

Lao Zhou ate the peach cakes he often ate, drank a cup of tea, and used the tea to put the peach cakes that tasted good but were too dry into his throat.

With that said, he was about to kowtow to Liu Peng, but was stopped by a scolding.

"Prince, you have to understand that you can only believe half of what those ministers say, and beware of the other half, because they say they are loyal, but behind their backs they are male thieves and female prostitutes!!"

Looking at the list handed over by the prince, Liu Peng nodded noncommittally, then seemed to remember something and asked:

“Where are the veterans from Longwu’s early years??”

"Go ahead and don't let me down!!"

Until the moment he walked out, he didn't see Liu Peng shaking his head.

Liu Yu frowned after hearing this, and then replied: "Father, for the sake of safety, we should stay away. As for the people, just listen to the holy music!!"

Liu Peng's words woke up Liu Yu, and he quickly replied: "Father, I will make arrangements right away. I will go right now..."

As well as other small European countries, there are arrangements. If it is Liu Peng's previous character, he will have to make some troubles, but on such a "grand" occasion, it is better not to cause trouble.

In addition to these, there are also ministers from various countries. For these foreign envoys, special cars and specific boxes are also arranged.

"How about the seat? Can the people see me??"

On these lists, there are mostly veterans like "Li Zhaowu" and "Yan Jun".

"I said, His Majesty is going to attend the opening ceremony in person. Do you think it is necessary to go to the opening ceremony?"

"By the way, I don't watch either, whoever watches is a fool!!"

Liu Peng's words were like a "boulder" that made Liu Yu feel heavy and unable to refute him.

"Four digits, so much??"

Liu Yu fell to his knees with a bang and replied in a trembling tone:

Don't underestimate a box. For example, Liu Peng arranged to separate the French minister from the British minister, such as the Ottomans and Russia, and Prussia and Austria.

"Who knows, besides, even if you want to buy tickets now, you can't. Tickets for the entire opening ceremony have already reached four figures. If you can buy them, I admire you!!"

Lao Han had a cigarette in his mouth and black tea from China in his hand. He had recently become obsessed with drinking black tea. The black tea that he originally regarded as the norm has also been thrown aside.

In the teahouse, there were Lao Han and Lao Zhou again. As for the richest Lao Jiang, he had already left. In his words:

"The stock market has been going up pretty well recently. I want to sell it all and save money for the holidays."

Liu Peng's words were like a "release order" of relief, which made Liu Yu relieved and made him energetic.

"The so-called look at people, words and deeds, among which actions are the most important. Don't look at what a person says but look at what he does. The so-called listening to his words and watching his actions is like this."

"Father, this is the personnel list."

Liu Peng nodded, and then said:

Liu Peng looked at the prince in front of him and said with some disappointment: "Prince, you have to understand the importance of the opening ceremony. Don't play with your scheming. You must know that people's hearts are numb. Who knows who is not sure yet!!"

In the palace, Liu Yu took a list of "candidates" and handed it to Liu Peng.

When Lao Han heard this, his expression changed slightly, and then he started chatting with Lao Zhou about some idle matters.

After chatting for a while, Lao Zhou excused himself because he had something to do at home and left.

Looking at Lao Zhou's leaving figure, Lao Han took out four "admission tickets" with a complex expression and muttered to himself: "To sell or not to sell!!"

After struggling for a long time, I heard a shout of "Sell newspapers, sell newspapers" outside. I made up my mind and put the tickets back in my pocket.

He decided, "Look"! !

.............................................

Outside Xijing City, Rong Qi, who had just entered the city, looked at the news in his hand that "Pseudo Emperor Long Wu" was going to Xijing Stadium tomorrow, and felt very "excited". His mind instantly thought of "Jing Ke, the assassin of Qin". But before he could think about it for long, he was interrupted by enthusiastic "complaints" from around him.

"Alas, the ticket price for this opening ceremony is too high now. It costs two thousand yuan a ticket. Who can afford it? Do we have so many rich people in Han?"

"Who knows, maybe there are really so many!!"

"Oh, I want to see His Majesty's true appearance, but I'm afraid I won't be able to see it!!"

“Just look at the money!!”

A Huanglong ten-yuan note with Liu Peng's face on it came into view.

Attracting the attention of everyone around.

(The largest denomination of banknotes is ten yuan, and five yuan is issued in a specific period)

Rong Qi touched the smooth "money" in his pocket, and felt a sense of security that he had never felt before.

Looking at the people discussing the "opening ceremony", Rong Qi pretended to be familiar and asked:

“Everyone, who knows what this opening ceremony will be like??”

With one sentence, everyone's eyes were drawn to this person who had just walked into the teahouse.

"I do know some details. It is said that there is some kind of torch."

"Torch, what is that??"

"For starting fire!!"

"What's so good about starting a fire!!"

After hearing the news about the torch, Rong Qi pretended:

“How can I be that torchbearer??”

"Hey, if you want to be a candidate, I know you have to live in Han for ten years before you can participate in the selection." Rong Qi was stunned by a sentence that came out of the teahouse. Only then did he remember that he didn't have "ten years" , or not even a month.

After awkwardly exchanging a few words in the teahouse and gathering some useful "information," Rong Qi crawled into the streets of Xijing like a mouse.

He planned to write down all his experiences in Xijing and hand them over to Emperor Xianfeng when he returned later. By then, the first achievement of "exploring the den of thieves" would be absolutely indispensable. Who knows, he could also be awarded the title of "Batulu". A title.

In the power center of Xijing City, final preparations are being made for the opening ceremony.

Hu Junding personally lectured:

"I'm tired of talking about being foolproof. Now I just want to say, don't lose anything. If you lose it, we will go to hell together, and we will have a companion in the end!!"

Following Hu Junding's statement, the people below him became very busy. They traveled to and from the Yamen and the city every day. Even if a small "faucet" broke, they would attract the attention of the ministry officials.

.............................................

The French Legation, Medellin looked at the luxurious carriage with the royal emblem engraved outside, and got on the carriage with a solemn expression. Today will represent the face of the French Empire.

Compared to the solemn French minister, the British minister was much more arrogant. When the car arrived, he was still chatting with his friends. He continued chatting until the opening ceremony was about to start, and then slowly got on the car.

If not, because of the importance of today, the street cleaning had already been carried out, maybe what would have happened.

In the Xijing Stadium, the venue of more than 50,000 people was already packed, and there was constant noise from the venue, like a "warm-up in advance."

Rong Qi went through the black market and spent a lot of money to get in, and is currently looking for a seat.

Boom! ! !

At two o'clock in the afternoon, fireworks were everywhere over the Xijing Stadium.

Rong Qi, who was sitting in the seventh row, rolled her eyes. In their opinion, how much would it cost to have so many fireworks? I think the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty only ate seven or eight dishes per meal, and these Han bandits set off fireworks. It’s much more expensive than food.

When the fireworks ended, there was another burst of melodious music, and hundreds of boys and girls slowly unfolded a map of Han Dynasty, which made the whole audience cheer.

Only Rong Qi looked at the map in the upper part of Liaodong and fell into deep thought, feeling a little "uncomfortable".

For him, the border between the Han invaders and the Qing Dynasty is by no means a good thing. On the contrary, it is the worst of bad things. With the strength of the Han invaders, if they have the idea of ​​​​taking over the Central Plains, these Eight Banners disciples can really stop them. Live? ?

Just when Rong Qi fell into "panic" while listening to the cheers, even bigger cheers sounded.

That Emperor Longwu entered the scene! !

Looking up at Liu Peng, who was on the top floor and wearing a short, well-fitting dragon robe, Rong Qi found it difficult to associate him with the so-called "saint king" because he was too "ordinary".

Although he looks taller than the average person, Rong Qi still doesn't think he is any better than Emperor Xianfeng. Although he has never seen Xianfeng, his inner pride does not allow him to praise this "false emperor" and "rebellious minister". .

Liu Peng felt the gazes of tens of thousands of people around him gathered on Rong, and smiled and waved his arms.

"Oh my god, His Majesty is waving to us!!"

"what!!"

"Is this not a dream??"

As soon as Liu Peng waved his hand, there was a huge "discussion" sound, followed by a burst of "Long live".

Liu Peng neither made any speech nor took any action. Just sitting there was the "focus" of the audience.

Liu Yu looked at his father who was still calm in the "whirlpool", waving and smiling from time to time. For the first time, he felt the charm of a king.

Charm is not the so-called "grand ambition" or the so-called "million-strong army", but calmness, being able to behave calmly and calmly when encountering anything.

In the foreign diplomatic area on the other side, the French Minister Medellin was communicating with the British Minister Bertnow.

The object of communication was none other than the magical Emperor Longwu.

"God, when he waved to his subjects just now, I even saw in him the shadow of Emperor Napoleon when he was in Paris."

The Napoleon Medellin refers to is actually the highest praise he can give a monarch.

Compared to the enthusiastic Medellin, Bertino was obviously much colder. He first turned to look at Liu Peng, who showed smiles and gestures from time to time, with disdain in the corners of his mouth:

"Minister Medellin, I think you are wrong. He is just acting in front of 50,000 people!!"

"In fact, this guy is a conspirator. What the conspirator says and does is actually not credible."

Berteno's words were full of prejudice against Liu Peng, which made Medellin, the French minister opposite, frown slightly. He didn't understand what it would do to belittle an emperor who had made great achievements in such an important diplomatic occasion. What benefits did the British Empire bring? ?

Compared to the British and French ministers who were at odds with each other, Prussia was much quieter. As the minister personally recommended by Bismarck, Richard von Apolit was obviously more sensible than the British and French ministers.

In his opinion, this Emperor Longwu was exactly what Prime Minister Bismarck said, a real "iron-blooded" figure.

Looking at the wars he launched and the increasingly tense situation in America in the past two years, Richard believed that Emperor Longwu would never give up their pace of expansion in the Americas, just like Prussia would not give up unifying Germany.

Looking at Liu Peng, who was still exercising his royal rights and gesturing to his subjects with a smile on his face, it took Richard a long time to say something in German: "A real lion, the master of America!!"

On the field, the opening ceremony performances continued, especially the scene of hundreds of people beating the military drum, which is still vivid in people's minds and exciting.

"Your Majesty, would you like to meet those veterans?"

Hu Junding stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

Liu Peng nodded slightly, and then Hu Junding began to notify people to come up.

"The in-laws are becoming more and more powerful!!"

When Liu Peng and Li Zhaowu shook hands, they felt the strong hands and said "scene words" with a smile.

"My humble body is nothing compared to Your Majesty. Your Majesty's healthy body is the blessing for us ministers."

Li Zhaowu also said something flattering that everyone tacitly understood.

On such a solemn occasion, they were not allowed to talk about slightly sensitive topics.

Liu Peng then continued to shake hands with others. When he shook hands with a veteran with gray hair and an excited expression, he said cordially:

"Old sir, are you okay at home??"

"Okay, okay!!"

The veteran stuttered a little, obviously excited.

"How many people are there??"

"Take me one, seven people."

"Is there any difficulty at home??"

"No, no, thanks to His Majesty's kindness, our family is living a good life!!"

The veteran replied with an excited expression. He had never thought that the legendary "powerful" Emperor Long Wu could be so approachable.

“Do you have any grandchildren??”

"Yes, two!!"

"Okay, this year during the Chinese New Year, I asked the palace to send red envelopes to the two of them, as a token of my gratitude."

After Liu Peng finished speaking, the veteran was so excited that he knelt down and kowtowed, but Liu Peng pulled him up.

"Remember, you are the heroes of my Han Empire. Without you, there would be no Han Dynasty today!!"

Liu Peng was not only saying this to the veterans, but also to all the veterans who had contributed a lot, telling them that he, Liu Peng, the emperor, still remembers your contributions to the Han Dynasty.

Rong Qi looked at Liu Peng, who was shaking hands and helping people up, and cursed in a low voice with disdain: "Huh, inviting people to buy people's hearts is no different from Cao Cao!!"

But he soon fell into complicated "memories". In his memory, the Qing Emperor had never been as approachable as Liu Peng, who came out to have fun with fifty thousand people.

But soon Rong Qi fell into self-explanation, that is, the aloof Qing Emperor was more like the aloof emperor than the market-like Liu Peng.

So this time, I, the Qing Dynasty, won completely! !

After the three-and-a-half-hour opening ceremony ended, Liu Peng looked at Liu Yu who was following behind and suddenly asked:

"Prince, do you understand??"

Liu Yu's mind turned and he nodded vigorously.

(End of this chapter)