The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 834: Empress Dowager Cisheng’s Birthday Ceremony
In October of the eighth year of Guangde, as Empress Dowager Cisi's 69th birthday was approaching, Annan was conquered and Jiaozhi returned to China.

Liu Zhaosun announced a general amnesty:
With the exception of the ten crimes of rebellion against superiors, burning down ancestral temples, mausoleums, and palaces, desertion, murder, poison and witchcraft, stealing ritual objects and items used for sacrificial ceremonies, killing grandparents and parents, brother selling brother, wife falsely accusing husband, civil strife, and forming a gang to rob people in broad daylight, all of which are unpardonable. Other crimes include fleeing, returning lost property to its owner upon recognition, and being pardoned. Borrowings must be repaid as usual. Those found in custody, as well as all minor offenses such as false pretenses, theft, and concealment, are pardoned.

The retired emperor once promised to abdicate after forty years of reign. Now that the Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak and Japan has not yet been conquered, the retired emperor still has ten years to live.

In this peaceful and prosperous era, Liu Zhaosun prepared to hold a grand birthday ceremony for Jin Yu Ji.

Guangde appointed Ruan Dacheng and Zhang Bingwen, the Minister of Works, to be responsible for preparing the celebration of the 69th birthday of Empress Dowager Cisi.

On the third day of October, the Emperor summoned two ministers to the Qianqing Palace and repeatedly instructed them:
"The Great Qi has been established for thirty years, and it has been turbulent and treacherous. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager Cisheng's assistance and counsel, who knows how many disasters would have occurred and how many people would have died. The Empress Dowager Cisheng has made great contributions to the Great Qi. Although she is Korean, her prestige in our country is extremely high, so her birthday celebration must be grand."

Minister of Rites Nguyen Dai Cheng had just returned from the front line in Annan. He had made great contributions in the peace talks with the King of Annan, and the emperor had promoted him to a higher position.

Ruan Dacheng is confident that he can complete this celebration successfully.

"Your Majesty has been busy with military campaigns, achieving remarkable military feats. You have worked tirelessly for the country day and night, and today our great Qi nation is prosperous and strong, with its people living in peace. All the people in the country are in submission. Korea and Annan have abolished their vassal states and established county systems. Japan and Russia have ceded territory and become its subjects. Even Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Wu of Han could not match your achievements."

"Today is the birthday of the Empress Dowager Cisheng. She has made great contributions to the restoration of the Great Qi. Of course, a grand celebration should be held to share the joy with the people. The Emperor Emeritus is diligent in his work and loves his people, and he laments the hardships of life. But Your Majesty, do not worry. All expenses for this ceremony will be raised by me, Scholar Ma, and Minister Zhang, without costing a single penny from the national treasury."

Liu Zhaosun nodded slightly. He knew that Ruan Dacheng had his own way of making money. His nephew had shares in the Beihai Trading Company and received more than 100,000 taels of dividends every year. For this expedition to Annan, the Ruan family donated 30,000 taels of silver as military funds.

The Great Qi prohibited officials from engaging in business, but like most dynasties, it only prohibited immediate family members. The government gradually lost interest in more distant relatives.

Internal and external troubles are inevitable.

Liu Zhaosun hoped that his successor Liu Kan would have better ways to deal with these difficulties, such as punishing corruption and confronting aggressive European powers such as Britain and France.

Liu Kan had to get past his brothers first.

"You ministers are all so rich." Liu Zhaosun said with a smile.

Ruan Dacheng banged his head on the ground, and Zhang Bingwen was so scared that he knelt down and kowtowed.

"No matter how much money I have, it is all kept by the Emperor. I am just the Emperor's purse. Just like this time when I was conquering Annan, I was willing to sacrifice my family property to help the soldiers on the front line."

Liu Zhaosun asked the two men to stand up.

"I just said it casually. How could I not know your loyalty?"

The Emperor thought for a moment and continued, "After the celebration of Empress Dowager Cisheng's birthday, there are two more important things to do. I'll leave it to you two to do."

"One is to build warehouses in the south of Korea in preparation for the expedition against Japan. This task will be assigned to Minister Nguyen and Governor Hong. Military supplies and equipment must be prepared two years in advance."

"Secondly, the Prince of Han is about to be made a vassal. The former Ming Dynasty Qin Palace in Xi'an was burned down by bandits more than ten years ago. I wanted to save money and never repaired it. The Prince of Han is my own son after all. Building a palace for him shouldn't be a waste of money and manpower, right? I'll leave this task to Minister Zhang and the Grand Secretary."

Ruan Dacheng and Zhang Bingwen knelt down to express their gratitude.

Zhang Bingwen continued, "Your Majesty, when merchants from various provinces heard that a birthday celebration was going to be held for the Empress Dowager, many of them enthusiastically donated money and goods to honor the Empress Dowager Cisheng."

Liu Zhaosun was overjoyed, then thought again and said:

"Don't publicize this matter, and certainly don't distribute it. Not everyone is loyal to Great Qi, and not everyone has me in their hearts. If some are willing to donate, there will certainly be others who are unwilling. Immediately issue an edict to local county and prefectural officials: if anyone donates more than three thousand taels, the county magistrate will be dismissed and not reappointed." Zhang Bingwen wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked nervously, "Your Majesty, what if no one in the jurisdiction donates?"

"They will all be punished. The recently annexed Annan and Korea will be exempted. Guangxi, which suffered from war two years ago, is also exempted."

Ruan Dacheng whispered, "Your Majesty, after Korea was incorporated into the prefectures and counties, Prince Zhaoxian treated Daqi with great respect. The Korean provinces should have made considerable donations."

"Then there's no need to apportion the money. The wool comes from the sheep. Every ounce of silver they hand over to me will eventually be extorted from the people. My energy is limited, and I can't manage so many people. If they gain the benefits, the Empress Dowager Cisheng will bear the blame. Wouldn't that be counterproductive?"

Ruan Dacheng and Zhang Bingwen said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise and virtuous, and we are aware of this."

Ruan Dacheng continued, "In addition to the contributions from merchants, a small amount should be deducted from the salaries of the nobles, princes, and officials of various ministries and agencies. One-tenth to two-tenths of the salary of the provincial governors and governors-general should be deducted. The Director of the Grain Transport Bureau, the Governor of the River, the Provincial Education Commissioner, the Minister of Granaries, the General, the Deputy Governor-General, the Salt Commissioner, the Textile Commissioner, the Minister of Grain, the local tax collectors, the city garrison commanders, and so on should all pay different amounts of silver according to their rank."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it, let it be. It is also a small token of my gratitude. I still have to be reasonable."

The retired emperor has been on the throne for thirty years, but he is still as unreasonable as he was before he ascended the throne, and always says things that leave his subjects dumbfounded.

On the tenth day of October, the emperor arrived in Beijing.

Envoys from Japan, Russia, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and other countries all arrived. Crown Prince Li, Mongolian princes, taijis, and the King of Ryukyu came in person to offer congratulations. Chen Zizhuang and Ruan Dacheng met with Emperor Guangde one by one on behalf of the retired emperor.

The gifts presented to Empress Dowager Cisheng by envoys from Britain, France and other European countries included:

Large solar system orrery, celestial globe, terrestrial globe, moon phase display, weather meter, air vacuum pump, mechanical frame, and several large focusing mirrors
Glass lighting fixtures, carriages, saddles, automatic rifles, two-piece air guns, jade-inlaid leather sheath waist swords, copperplate engravings, iron-inlaid Western porcelain soft belts, Herschel reflecting telescopes, several copper "watermelon cannons", Mauser rifles, repeating rifles, steel knives, howitzers, carbines, rifles, automatic pistols, etc.

A large globe, a chime clock, a telescope, two yellow cars, a complete set of golden horse harnesses, various Western silk fabrics, wool fabrics, cotton fabrics, large carpets (gold thread carpets, wool felt), iron and steel products, tapestries, wall hangings,
Portraits of the King of England and members of the royal family, images of famous cities, churches, parks, castles, bridges, lakes, volcanoes, docks, historical sites, as well as scenes of land battles, naval battles, horse racing, and bullfighting, etc.

The gifts presented by the Japanese Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu were:
Mother-of-pearl sandalwood five-string pipa, Yaobian Tianmoku tea bowl, gold seal of the King of Wa in the Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty painting "Xiaoxiang Woyou Tu" by Li Shi, Wang Xizhi's cursive calligraphy "Sangluan Tie", Master Muxi's painting "Guanyin Monkey Crane", Shang and Zhou Dynasty bronze vessel "Tiger Eating Man Jar", Song Dynasty painting "Portrait of Wuzhun Shifan", Southern Song Dynasty painting "Red and White Hibiscus", and five scrolls of "Bodhisattva Birth Sutra" from the Western Wei Dynasty.

List of gifts presented by King Liu Ze of Yan:

Buddhas of Infinite Longevity, the Golden Lotus Sutra, the South Pole Star of Longevity, the Peach Offering of Longevity, the Immortals Holding the Sun, the Jade Cup of Longevity, etc.

King Liu Xuan of Chu presented: Longevity Jade Rhinoceros Furnace, Longevity Ruyi Jade Cup, Longevity Jade Bottle, Ten Complete Longevity Fans, Eight Immortals Offering Longevity Bowl (Wanli Kiln), Longevity Bowl (Wanli Kiln)

Princess Liu Yufei presented: a natural pine root pen holder, a jade pot, a longevity dragon and phoenix plate (Wanli kiln), a fortune, wealth and longevity vase (Jia kiln), a sea house longevity bowl (Xuan kiln), a evergreen brush washer (Jun kiln), a Jiuru furnace, a longevity jade lotus pot, a Guanyin five-color vase (Hongzhi kiln), a longevity amber paperweight, a screen of Hundred Blessings from Heaven, famous paintings of ten thousand years, a picture of fairy deer, a picture of a hundred cranes, a picture of immortals celebrating a birthday, and a silver crystal water container of peaches.

The list of gifts presented by King Liu Qian of Han includes: Ruyi Jade Longevity Star, Wanshou Ancient Bronze Tripod, Bamboo Longevity Star, Immortal Offering Peach and Amethyst, Immortal Jade Water, and Jade Ink Separator of Peace and Prosperity.

~~~~~
In the second half of the 17th century, rare treasures from all over the East and handicrafts from various Western countries poured into the imperial capital Tianxin City like a tide in mid-October of the eighth year of Guangde.

Ruan Dacheng and Chen Zizhuang looked over the gift list one by one until they were completely dazzled.

On the way, Ruan Dacheng used an excuse to send Chen Zizhuang away and asked him to receive envoys from various countries. When he encountered a priceless gift, Ruan Dacheng secretly took it away and sent it back to his mansion.

Later, when Ruan Dacheng's house was raided, Emperor Guangde unexpectedly found two authentic works of Mi Fu and Wang Xizhi in his house...

(End of this chapter)