Diqin Designer

Chapter 327 Daqin New Year Party

When all the representatives and envoys had finished their greetings and congratulations, it was already noon, and a eunuch reported to the First Emperor at the right time: "Your Majesty, the banquet is ready and can be served at any time!"

The First Emperor nodded, looked at the people in the hall, and said, "Everyone, the banquet is ready. Come with me to celebrate the New Year today."

Normally, this kind of banquet should be held in the evening, as the atmosphere is better at night. However, today the time for the visit and congratulations was in the morning, so it was held after the visit and congratulations were over.

Everyone lined up and, under the guidance of the eunuchs and guards, followed the First Emperor to a palace.

This palace is shaped like a huge pavilion. It was built by the First Emperor specifically for holding banquets in the palace. It can accommodate thousands of people for banquets at a time. Fan Zeng and other successful candidates in the first Xianyang examination once received a banquet given by the First Emperor here.

Before reaching the palace, a rich aroma wafted over. It was a very tempting smell, a spicy smell mixed with the aroma of oil and meat, which made people very hungry.

In addition, they had not eaten or drunk anything for the whole morning and were indeed a little hungry. After smelling the fragrance, some people could not help swallowing their saliva.

What smells so good? It smells delicious!

Even before seeing or eating the food, everyone was already looking forward to the delicious food at the banquet just by smelling it.

After arriving at the palace, everyone immediately looked inside and saw that tables, chairs and tableware had been arranged inside the palace.

But it is quite strange. First of all, the food is not served separately, but people eat together at the same table with others.

Secondly, the center of these tables was hollowed out, and a large pot was placed on it. Under the pot was a stove that was heating the pot. The fragrance they smelled came from the pot.

There were many ingredients on the table, sliced ​​meat, rolled meatballs, tofu, diced fish, a slaughtered but unsliced ​​sheep, and washed vegetables...

Without exception, these ingredients were not cooked.

Does this mean they can put the ingredients in the pot, cook them, and then eat them?

A very novel way of cooking.

In fact, in this era, when food is cooked in a cauldron, it is sometimes eaten while being heated, but most of the time the ingredients are put into the pot in advance for cooking, and continued heating is to maintain the temperature of the food, rather than not putting the ingredients in and then adding the ingredients people like when they want to eat.

This novel way of eating is something that not only foreign envoys but even the ministers of the Qin Dynasty have never seen before. How could it taste good?

But the aroma coming from the pot seemed to tell everyone that their worries were unnecessary and the taste would definitely be good!
In front of the dining tables, a platform was built. It was not very high, but it was large in area and was intentionally designed so that it could be seen from every dining table in the palace.

It is obvious at first glance that this is a stage specially designed for performances. How can a banquet be complete without music, singing and dancing?
And today is a festive day, so it is even more necessary.

There are also many decorations hung in the palace, including red lanterns, Huaxia knots (Chinese knots), and various ornaments that symbolize celebration and joy.

But what attracts more attention are the lanterns, especially the eight big red lanterns hanging on each side of the platform. Each of them has a word on it, and the words on the sixteen lanterns together read: The years are glorious and the spring is as beautiful as splendid, the mountains and rivers are picturesque and the house is filled with auspicious air.

A minister who was familiar with the handwriting of the First Emperor could tell at a glance that the handwriting was written by the First Emperor.

The First Emperor said, "Please take a seat, everyone!"

Except for the First Emperor, everyone entering the palace was given a wooden calf with their seat number on it to facilitate their seating.

With a sense of novelty and freshness, everyone sat down and discovered some points they had not noticed before.

For example, their cups, plates and wine glasses are all made of the finest amber, pure and transparent, without any stains or blemishes.

This made the envoys of the Wusun Kingdom sigh at the power of the Qin Dynasty. One of these things was already a treasure, but the emperor of the Qin Dynasty could actually give out so many at a banquet. How luxurious and powerful!

Then I saw that there were seasonings next to each table, such as onions, ginger, mustard, leeks, shallots, and salt, as if they could mix the food according to their own taste.

The First Emperor sat down in his special seat and said with a smile: "Today marks the first anniversary of my reign as emperor, and also the beginning of a new year for my Great Qin. Today, I invite you all to drink and have fun together in the new year. I hope that in the new year, with your assistance, the Great Qin will become even stronger and more prosperous!"

Before a banquet, leaders always have to say a few words, and the First Emperor was no exception.

But after finishing his speech, the First Emperor changed the subject and said: "Although today is the first day of the new year, spring has not yet arrived and the weather is still cold. It is the right time to eat this pot. It can warm our bodies, and it will be more delicious to eat and drink with you."

The First Emperor was in a very good mood today, and he personally explained to everyone how to eat it: "You must have seen how to eat this pot. Choose the ingredients you like from these ingredients and put them into the pot to boil. It can be eaten when it is cooked. The pot is divided into red pot and white pot. The white pot soup is relatively light, while the red pot is a bit spicy. Boil it according to your preferences."

"As for the seasoning, you can prepare it according to your own preferences. I won't say much, just enjoy yourselves!"

After the First Emperor said, "Everyone, eat!", everyone began to prepare dipping sauces for themselves. After the dipping sauces were prepared, they immediately put the ingredients in the pot to boil.

Soon, the entire palace was filled with the aroma of various ingredients being cooked.

Wang Wan and others at the same table watched Li Nian skillfully prepare the dipping sauce, then pick up an unfamiliar ingredient and put it into the red pot to boil, then put it into the dipping sauce to wrap it, and finally put it into his mouth to eat. They all had the same idea:
Seeing how skillful his movements were, and how he knew when the ingredients were ready, he must have eaten it many times before. Perhaps it was because of this that His Majesty the Emperor gave him such a banquet today.

Seeing Wang Wan, Wei Liao and others looking at him, Li Nian asked in confusion: "Don't you know how to eat this tripe?"

After thinking for a while, he felt that these people must not be as experienced as him, a later Shu person, in eating hot pot, so he continued: "This tripe is actually the omasum of the cow. It tastes quite crispy when eaten, but it should not be boiled in the pot for too long, otherwise it will affect the taste. Of course, it should not be boiled too short, otherwise it may not kill the tiny things in it."

"The Prime Minister and you should blanch like me, not too long and not too short."

Not long after everyone started eating, two young and beautiful women dressed in festive costumes came up to the table.

Once on the stage, the two women must be performing something, but what?
Just as everyone was thinking about it, they heard the two women in unison sending them a long list of greetings and blessings, mentioning that today was the beginning of the new year for the Qin Dynasty and also the first anniversary of the First Emperor's enthronement, a holiday worthy of celebration, and then announced the start of the first New Year's Party for the Qin Dynasty.

The "Spring Festival Gala" was naturally the work of Li Nian, but this was not what Li Nian wanted to do. It was because the First Emperor asked him how to celebrate the first anniversary of his enthronement and the beginning of a new year.
After Li Nian mentioned the Spring Festival Gala of later generations, the First Emperor decided to have a Qin version of the Spring Festival Gala. In many ways, the Qin Dynasty was far inferior to later generations. What later generations could do, the Qin Dynasty could not do, but the First Emperor thought that this matter could still be done.

Li Nian did not reject the First Emperor's idea, because he expected the Qin Dynasty to be not only strong and prosperous in military and economy, but also strong in culture and spirit.

Although the fundamental purpose of Qin Shi Huang's Spring Festival Gala was to satisfy his vanity, doing so was indeed beneficial to the cultural development of Qin.

Li Nian gave a suggestion: The Daqin Spring Festival Gala should not be limited to the imperial palace, but should also be known to the public. After the Daqin Spring Festival Gala in the imperial palace ends, it should be performed outside for the people of Daqin.

The fine arts cannot be reserved for the high and mighty princes and nobles, but must also be enjoyed by the common people of Qin.

Although there was no radio or television in that era, and the Great Qin Spring Festival Gala could not be broadcast nationwide for all the people of Great Qin to hear and see, it was still great if some people could see it.

The First Emperor agreed to this request, and under Li Nian's planning, the first Qin New Year Gala was held.

The reason why it is not called a "Gala" is because it is still afternoon and not evening yet.

The two young women were naturally the hosts of the party. Under their hosting, the first program came on stage. This program was "Qin Feng. Wu Yi" performed by thirteen Qin court musicians and sung by eighteen strong soldiers selected from the Qin army!
When this poem from the Book of Songs sounded, everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to this passionate and united war song of the Qin Dynasty.

Although the envoys from Donghu, Yuezhi, Wusun and other countries could not quite understand what the Qin people were singing, they could feel the momentum and spirit contained in the songs.

They seemed to see on an ancient battlefield, the Qin soldiers entrusted their lives and deaths to their comrades, charging forward with great bravery and unity, fighting bloody battles with the enemy.

Because they believe that other comrades will be able to protect their backs, even if they die, it is definitely not because the enemy killed them from behind!

From a war song you can tell what kind of army the Qin army is.

Working together, sharing the same hatred for the enemy, and helping each other in solidarity, this is definitely a formidable and powerful army.

After the beginning of "Qin Feng. Wu Yi", it is a drama like a later skit, telling the story of when the old nobles of the six countries launched a rebellion last year and forced a originally happy family into despair, fortunately the Qin army arrived in time to save the family from the dire straits.

But this story made Wang Ben look a little strange, because it was he who led the troops to suppress the rebellion of the old nobles of the six kingdoms, so he was mentioned and praised in the drama.

Even Wang Ben, who had experienced many ups and downs, almost couldn't hold back when being praised and promoted in this way.

It really feels so weird, watching my own deeds being turned into a drama for other people to enjoy.

The third program is still a dramatic story, but this time it talks about the relationship between the Huns and the Qin Dynasty, proving that the Qin Dynasty and the Huns are both Chinese, and everyone is Chinese brothers, and they should work together to create the glory of China.

This is obviously used to promote that the Huns are the younger brothers of the Qin Dynasty. Li Nian's idea of ​​setting up this program is to lay the foundation for the legitimacy of the Qin Dynasty's annexation of the Huns in the future through this kind of propaganda.

We are all one Chinese family, but because we have been away from home for too long, Xiongnu has forgotten his origins. However, with the help of his elder brother Daqin, Xiongnu has gradually remembered.

Therefore, when the Huns surrendered to the Qin Dynasty and became Qin people, it was not called "annexation", but the Huns returned to China.

This program attracted a lot of Xiongnu student representatives and Xiongnu envoys from the Daqin National Academy, and some of them were very excited.

They worked for the Qin Dynasty and wanted to transform themselves from Xiongnu to Qin citizens. This was not a betrayal of the Xiongnu or the Chanyu, but they were following the footsteps of their ancestors.

This is called returning to one's roots, how can it be called betrayal?
Therefore, they worked for the Qin Dynasty and even occasionally sold out some of the interests of the Huns. That was not betrayal or a mistake. They were just doing it for the good of the Huns and wanted them to return to China.

This eliminated the original sense of guilt and insecurity in their hearts, making it more justified for them to betray the Huns and work for the Qin Dynasty!

The fourth program tells the story of the changes that have taken place in the life of a Qin family during the past year of reform in Daqin, thereby highlighting the impact of Daqin's reforms.

The punishments of the Qin Dynasty are no longer as harsh as they were in the past. Qin families do not have to worry about breaking the law and being caught and severely punished. The corvée and taxes of the Qin Dynasty are not as heavy as they used to be. As long as you work hard, your life will only get better and better in the future...

From living in poverty and fear all the time, the Qin family gradually gained direction and hope, although they did not live a good life right away.

This show made the First Emperor silent, because he always remembered what Li Nian said, "I am only afraid that Pei Gong will not become the King of Qin."

The fifth program was a song and dance performance, Qin Dance, and Qin Music.

The sixth program was also a song and dance performance, but this time the performers were no longer Qin people, but Huns. To be precise, they were beautiful women who were given to the First Emperor by the Huns but were not taken into his harem. They were good at singing and dancing, and they wore Hun and Qin costumes respectively, and performed a Huns song and dance.

Seeing the performance with their tribal characteristics coming on stage, the Huns present were very excited and felt very proud, because these were their songs and their dances!
Next came the performances of the Baiyue tribes, each showcasing its tribal characteristics, and several tribes even performed acrobatics.

At this time, everyone understood why His Majesty the Emperor gave such a banquet. It turned out that it was because they wanted to watch a show. If it was an ordinary banquet, the dishes would have been cold in this weather.

This "New Year Party" is indeed as its name suggests, it is a grand event for everyone to relax and have fun. The old days have gone and the new day has begun. Daqin will have a good start in the new year.

After these singing, dancing and vaudeville performances, it was back to the drama program.

This time it talks about the changes brought about by the First Emperor's new policies in the six kingdoms. A group of Zhao prisoners were arrested and imprisoned because of Qin's harsh laws, and they harbored resentment towards Qin.

However, during the New Deal, their original crimes were cancelled and they were released, and their resentment towards the Qin Dynasty was reduced. This was especially true in the last scene of the play, where a prisoner from Zhao followed his mother who came to pick him up from prison and kowtowed to the southwest, shouting "Long live the emperor!"

After this program, the First Emperor held up the wine cup in his hand and said to the crowd: "I have said that I will celebrate the New Year with you today. Gentlemen, drink this cup and celebrate the Great Qin and the New Year!"

Everyone also raised their wine glasses and said in unison: "Congratulations to the Great Qin, and to the New Year!"

(End of this chapter)