November 29th, the winter solstice. This year, the Tang Dynasty had a bumper harvest of new grain, the treasury was full, and there was no fear of famine in the world. In the foreign wars, the Northwest was pacified in three wars, Tubo was destroyed, and many alien races in the Western Regions were regarded as tigers. Even Li Er, an emperor with high self-esteem, felt that he had done a good job this year, and had reached the realm of the Confucian legend of inner sage and outer king. He intends to go to Mt. Tai to worship Zen, but winter is approaching, and the Western Regions have not yet been completely calmed down. Therefore, Li Er chose the next best thing, and decided to hold a grand ceremony in the southern suburbs on the day of the winter solstice. The dynasties in the land of Zhuxia have always paid attention to sacrifices. Since the Han Dynasty, they have established the saying that "there are two out of twenty regular sacrifices at every age". The winter solstice sacrifices to heaven, ranked first among the twenty-two sacrifices, are originally the most important sacrifice activities of the year. When Li Yuan was in power, he determined the sacrificial place of the Tang Dynasty, which was in the southern suburb of Chang'an City, Huanqiu. This day is one of the most important festivals in Yintang apart from the New Year.
From the high officials of the emperor to the common people, everyone pays attention to it. In addition to the emperor's banquet, ordinary people also had family reunions and visited relatives and friends. Early in the morning, civil and military officials came to Yuanqiu under the leadership of Li Er. In the early morning of early winter, the climate in Chang'an was still very cold. On the high platform, Li Er was dressed in a dragon robe, and under the guidance of Yuan Tiangang, he read the letter written to God Emperor Hao Tian. On his left and right sides, from the perspective of this era, there are several middle-aged men in strange clothes, pretending to be Heavenly Court guards, as well as Feng Bo, Yu Shi, Duke of Thunder, etc. These people are holding big flags and waving them constantly. Under the blowing of the cold wind, the colorful flags made the sound of hunting. Even those few strong and strong men couldn't bear it, and were swayed left and right by the flag. After Li Er finished reading the form, some disciples and grandchildren of Yuan Tiangang stepped forward. A group of people waved magic swords, chanted incantations with unknown meanings, and danced weird dances. Su Li was wearing an official uniform, with a padded waistcoat sewn by Chang Le himself, standing among a group of generals. This is the first time he participated in the sacrificial activities of the Tang Dynasty, and he is quite new to these things. He poked Li Jing who was standing in front of him, and asked in a low voice, "Is this always the case for sacrificial activities?" Li Jing stood upright with her head held high and her chest upright. Without squinting, Li Jing replied in a low voice: "This procedure has been handed down since the Han Dynasty. Qin Qiong next to him also came up and said: "It's a pity that you didn't lead the army back. This time when the army from the Western Regions returns, the scene will be even more lively than this." Su Li blinked, expressing doubts about Qin Qiong's aesthetics. A group of people gossip about dancing, do you call this lively?
He glanced sympathetically at the stage. Poor Wang Gui, the heavenly official of the Ministry of Rites, an old man in his sixties, with a snow-white beard and hair, and under the guidance of several young Taoist priests, he kept kowtowing to God and the emperor for Ji Tu. "Madam Su thinks it's boring? Don't worry, there will be an interesting show later." Changsun Wuji also came over at some point, and said to Su Li with a smile. Su Li pouted, but didn't answer. In the past few days after returning, countless important officials in the court sent invitations to the princess' mansion, wanting to see Su Li, a new nobleman of the Tang Dynasty. However, Su Li was busy with Chang Le, so she ignored everything. That is to say, I met the eldest grandson Wuji a few times. For no other reason. Changsun Wuji is the prime minister of the current dynasty, Zhong Shuling, and Li Er's most trusted minister. Li Er's imperial edict to reward Su Li was drafted by him. Under this guise, Changsun Wuji went to the princess mansion several times. At the beginning, it was normal to ask Su Li's birthplace and other questions. But then his thoughts became more complicated, and he was even interested in whether Su Dingfang had any plans to marry another wife. Obviously, being a political creature through and through. In Changsun Wuji's eyes, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. What's more, in the eyes of Changsun Wuji, the conflict between Changsun Chong and Su Li was nothing more than a child's play. Even so, he insisted on dragging his eldest grandson to the princess mansion to apologize, and also sent a lot of congratulatory gifts. The so-called reaching out and not hitting people with smiling faces, Changsun Wuji lowered his face and frantically showed his favor, Su Li had no choice. After all, in terms of seniority, he is still Changle's uncle. As soon as Changsun Wuji finished speaking, there was a new program on stage. A group of aliens dressed in obvious exotic styles rushed to the stage, singing and dancing around Li Er. The lead dancer was tall and fat, but he danced Hu Xuanwu surprisingly dexterously.... With a flattering smile on his face, he kept making pilgrimages to Li Er. Su Li was extremely curious and couldn't help asking, "Which clan's envoy is this?" Standing behind him, Duan Xuanzhi said disdainfully: "This is the Turkic Jieli Khan back then." After finishing speaking, Duan Xuanzhi pawed his lips, and said with some unfinished thoughts: "It's a pity that the Western Regions have not been completely settled, otherwise today's scene would be much bigger. Su Li couldn't help laughing.
It is undeniable that Li is a little overjoyed. But this kind of thing does look really cool. The sacrifice soon ended, and the civil and military officials followed Li Er back to the palace to attend the court meeting. Today's court meeting, the process of discussion is very short. In less than half an hour, it ended in a hurry, followed by Li Er's banquet for the officials. According to the requirements of the etiquette officials, all civil and military officials drank wine twelve times, and then took their seats one by one. Next, it was eating, drinking and drinking, and at the same time Li Er announced the rewards to the officials. All officials who are qualified to serve on the table are rewarded with some food and drink expenses. Most of them are leather boots, cotton socks and the like. Things are not worth much, but what is important is to reflect an emperor's friendship with his courtiers. After rewarding the officials, Li Er has not moved his chopsticks. The gazes of all civil and military officials all converged on Su Li who was sitting at the front. Everyone knows that this Southern Suburb Sacrifice, is mainly to celebrate Su Li. These people, if they are exhausted, they are just a foil. In the past few days, there has been a rumor circulating on the streets of Chang'an that this time Su Li will be crowned king. Rumors circulated all over the place, saying that this reward came from a promise made to him by Ji Er before Su Li set off on the expedition. But saying so, most officials do not believe it. After all, there is no precedent for a king with a different surname in the Tang Dynasty! At this time, Wang Gui came out with a scroll of imperial decree. He glanced at Su Li, then cleared his throat and read aloud. Su Li didn't understand the cloudy words in the imperial decree. But there was only one sentence that he could hear clearly. "Su Li, the general, destroyed Tubo and pacified the Western Regions. He made great achievements. He was named King Yongle..." After the imperial decree was read, the officials were in an uproar, and they all looked at Su Li in shock. .