The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 452 New Year's Eve Family Dinner
On the 29th day of the 12th lunar month in the first year of Wuding, as the New Year was approaching, a heavy snow fell in Dongzhili (formerly Jinan Prefecture). The snow flakes drifted all night long, and the entire Dongdu was covered in silver. The accumulated snow buried the shins of pedestrians, and all construction projects were suspended.

Although the heavy snow affected Da Qi's preparations for war, it was good for farming.

Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, and heavy snow indicates that the dry and cold Little Glacier climate may come to a temporary end. Next year should be a good year.

On New Year's Eve, Emperor Wu Ding ended his inspection of the military settlements, chambers of commerce, and barracks in northern Shandong, and hurried back to the imperial palace in Dongdu to reunite with his family.

Inspections of factories, mines, salt fields and shipyards were forced to be postponed until after the third day of the first lunar month.

A short absence is better than a new marriage. The emperor has been on tour for a month and now he has finally returned. Yang Qing'er and Chen Yuanyuan are overjoyed. Even the two beauties, Amber and Dujuan, are waiting impatiently in the palace.

Several women served the emperor attentively, and were deeply in love with him. Needless to say, they were very affectionate and affectionate.

Early in the morning on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Zhaosun woke up from his dream and heard the eunuchs outside the palace shouting "auspicious sign". He lay on the bed for a nap and did not get up immediately.

Turning around, I saw that the queen and the imperial concubine were both awake.

The two beauties, with sleepy eyes, nestled in the emperor's arms, one on the left and the other on the right. Their hair was disheveled, their hairpins were messy, and their eyes were filled with clouds of sorrow.

Chen Yuanyuan asked:
"Your Majesty, what are the eunuchs saying outside?"

"It's the young eunuch announcing a good omen. It must have been arranged by Dongfang Zhu. Dongfang Zhu is a careful person. It's time for us to get up and wash up."

When the three of them had finished washing up, the emperor took Empress Xi and Concubine Chen to various places inside and outside the palace to burn incense and worship Buddha, set up offerings to worship their ancestors, and pray for the protection of the gods.

At this time, the palace was bustling with activity inside and outside... The door gods, couplets, and plaques were replaced at the gates of each palace, and the peach charms were newly oiled, making it look brand new.

The palace gates were adorned with large, brightly lit corner lanterns, two rows high, and streetlights were everywhere. Inside, everyone, from top to bottom, was decked out in gorgeous attire, and the atmosphere was filled with a cacophony of voices, laughter, and the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks.

I just had breakfast at Chonghua Palace and it’s already noon.

Emperor Wuding followed the New Year's Eve customs of his hometown Junzhou and had the New Year's Eve dinner at noon.

Although it was a family dinner, there were no strict etiquette. In addition to his family, the emperor also entertained single ministers and invited them to celebrate the festival together.

The ministers invited to the banquet were:

Meng Jinbao, deputy commander of the Qi Navy Fleet, Lv Demin, the Australian Envoy, Li Sanguang, deputy commander of the northern expedition team, Sister Daphne, a nun and member of the Assassin Brotherhood, and Old Song, the imperial physician.

Several subordinates were flattered and did not dare to refuse the emperor's invitation.

The emperor's emotions were invisible, and his actions became increasingly sinister and ruthless, causing not only his enemies but also his own people to shudder. In just one month, more than 500 plane trees had been planted along Daming Lake, and under each tree was buried one or two enemies of the empire...

At the beginning of noon, the sound of He Shao music started, and the Emperor of Da Qi ascended the throne. The chief eunuch Dongfang Zhu stepped out of the hall and announced the start of the family banquet in a shrill voice.

The empress, imperial concubines and ministers entered the banquet in turn. Amid the music, the eunuchs began to serve hot soup and presented the emperor with a pair of soup boxes. On the left were a dish each of red and white duck soup and glutinous rice soup, while on the right were a dish each of bird's nest pounded chicken soup and tofu soup.

The emperor asked the eunuch Dongfang Zhu to pick up some food for Li Sanguang and pour him some wine.

Li Sanguang only had one right arm left. Like Yang Tong, he also wore an iron hook, which he usually hid in his sleeve. He was frail and the trip to Sakhalin Island was a huge blow to him. After returning to Shandong, Old Li became even thinner and gradually lost his human form.

After listening to Li Sanguang's account of what happened on Sakhalin Island, Emperor Wuding did not blame the commander for his final choice of retreat. What surprised the emperor was that the large-scale winter invasion of the Cossacks actually occurred three to fifty years earlier than in history.

According to the battle experience of the northern expedition team with the Cossacks, the Russians are extremely powerful and are like wild beasts.

Historically, Kangxi fought back and forth with the Cossacks at Yaxica. The fully armed regular Qing army was even torn apart by the Cossacks, who were just an expeditionary force. Due to geographical and transportation reasons, the Qing Dynasty was unable to effectively deploy troops to this barren land. Finally, after besieging the city for several months, it was able to repel the out-of-ammunition and food-rich Tsarist Russia.

Emperor Wu Ding felt a headache when he thought about the decisive battle with the Cossacks and the need to attack the bastions on Sakhalin Island one by one regardless of the rivers of blood.

Li Sanguang currently serves as the Chief Technical Advisor for the Daqi Mine. Drawing on the mineral knowledge he learned from his mentor Xu Xiake and the missionary Ginniger, he guides the miners during their work. In preparation for the Liaodong campaign, the workshop needs more iron ore for casting cannons and muskets, as well as finer steel for armor and stirrups. With Ginniger, Song Yingxing, and Mao Yuanyi all absent, all responsibilities fall to Li Sanguang.

The family dinner continued. After drinking the hot soup, Liu Jingting commented on the classic piece "General Xuanwu's Battle with Jin Bayala" for everyone.

When Chen Yuanyuan heard this storytelling for the first time, she couldn't help but burst into laughter when she heard General Xuanwu say "behead Amin five times".

Liu Jingting was originally a storyteller under Zuo Liangyu's army. It was said that he was very famous in Jiangnan. When the four Jiangbei camps were defeated in Linqing, he was captured by the Qi army. Now he has become the royal storyteller.

"Who is sitting in the military tent? Ningnan Chehou and Kunshan Duke. With a snap of his fingers, lions and elephants can pop out; with a breath of his nose, they become tigers and bears. In front of the tent, Liu Mazi is sitting, the best storyteller in the country. His long bow can shock Emperor Han, and he shakes his head to refuse to tell about the death of the Prime Minister of Chu." These lines of poetry describe the scene of Liu Mazi telling stories to Zuo Liangyu.

The emperor and his concubines were served milk tea and various dim sum snacks, all of which started from the emperor.

First turn the soup bowl, then turn the side dishes, desserts, fruit bowls, Su cakes, abalone, conch, golden soup spoon, etc.

Then the main banquet began. Before the emperor, there were 40 dishes of cold, hot and mixed dishes, 20 dishes each of wine and tea, and 108 dishes of steamed buns, side dishes, soups, porridge, candied fruits, etc.

The Queen's first-class banquet table was reduced to sixty-four items;
The second-class meals for Concubine Chen and the ministers consisted of 32 items.

There is no need to elaborate on the banquet.

That day, the emperor was drunk and left the banquet, returning to the palace, and his ministers also dispersed.

From then on, the New Year’s Eve family dinner in the first year of Wuding finally came to an end.

Returning to his bedroom, Emperor Wu Ding said to Dongfang Zhu, who was busy running around:

"Eunuch Dongfang, you did a great job on New Year's Eve this year,"

Eunuch Dongfang was flattered and said with a flattering smile: "It is my duty to do this."

Emperor Wu Ding suddenly stared into Dongfang Zhu's eyes and said word by word:

"Eunuch Dongfang, have you ever resented me?"

Dongfang Zhu, who was preparing tea for the emperor, heard this and immediately knelt on the ground, saying in a panic, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty has treated me with such kindness, how dare I harbor any resentment?"

Liu Zhaosun took the teacup, took a sip, smiled slightly, and tried to make himself look less ferocious:

"When I arranged for you to enter the palace, it was not out of prank. Although I am cruel, I am not absurd. I am saving you, do you know that?"

Dongfang Zhu kowtowed quickly and echoed, "I know this minister knows. Your Majesty gave me this life. If the emperor hadn't saved me, my family would have been confiscated and exterminated in Linqing. How could I have the happy life I have now? Your Majesty has given me a new life."

"Reshape your body?" Liu Zhaosun whispered silently in his heart. Of course, he would not believe Dongfang Zhu's nonsense, but he still nodded generously.

"You can see the situation in Linqing. If I want to establish my authority, I must kill people. What's the difference between killing one person and killing a thousand? Besides, those corrupt businessmen and clerks are seeking death! How can I feel at ease if I don't kill them all? How can the army concentrate on conquering other prefectures and counties? But since I have killed others, I must kill you too. Otherwise, it would not be fair."

Dongfang Zhu nodded repeatedly.

Emperor Wu Ding patted the eunuch on the shoulder and said in a low voice:

"You've been taking aphrodisiacs to cope with your one wife and six concubines. Old Song sees that your forehead is black, and you don't have much time left. The medicine is good, but don't overdo it. If you take too much, you'll die."

When Liu Zhaosun said this, he thought of the final ending of the male protagonist in "Jin Ping Mei", who died from an overdose of medicine.

It is said that excessive nature leads to disasters, and cutting off can cure it permanently.

"I ordered Liu Yidao to castrate you because I couldn't bear to see you die in Linqing, your property taken away by outsiders, and your wife and concubines taken away by others. That's why I resorted to this desperate measure. This will not only save your life and property, but also silence Youyou and ensure fairness and justice for the Great Qi."

When Dongfang Zhu heard that the emperor took such good care of him, he burst into tears of gratitude and knelt down for a long time.

"Our emperor's thoughts are far-reaching, beyond the reach of ordinary people. I bow down to the emperor's grace and will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Early in the morning on the first day of the first lunar month, the emperor got up early to have his meal.

According to the Qi Palace Dietary Records, on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month in the second year of Wuding:

"Emperor Wu Ding had dumplings cooked in the Cunxin Hall. The first time he had 62 dumplings stuffed with pork and longevity vegetables. The second time he had 102 dumplings stuffed with spinach." (Yes, this is the emperor's actual appetite.)

Emperor Wuding led the Kaiyuan army in bloody battles year after year, resulting in countless casualties. After the bloody battle of Hunhe, Liu Zhaosun, in repentance, swore to heaven that he would make vegetarian dumplings every New Year's Eve to honor the dead.

From then on, an unwritten rule was established in the palace of Da Qi:
Only vegetarian dumplings are eaten during the Spring Festival.

(End of this chapter)