Chapter 379 Banquet of Heroes
The ninth day of June.
On the emperor's birthday, all officials take a day off to take a bath.
The city of God is decorated with lights and colorful decorations everywhere, and the royal family holds various activities to enjoy this special time with the people.
In the imperial city, the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The main hall has become lively since Shen Shi.
First, a group of maids fiddled with the tables and futons placed in the palace, and then a group of maids kept bringing drinks and fruits and arranged them on the tables covered with golden brocade.
They come and go, busy, but well-trained, light-footed, unhurried, and don't even make loud noises when walking.
Today is the emperor's birthday, and he will have a grand banquet for all the ministers here.
No one dares to be careless about the preparations before the banquet.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is spacious, with a long table facing north and south. That is the emperor's seat, but it is still empty.
In the two columns of the long tables, there are long tables side by side, with three columns on the left and right, and thirty or forty short tables are placed in each column.
Each table can seat four people, and when the whole hall is full, there will be six to seven hundred people.
According to the rules of previous years, there were civil servants on the left and military generals on the right. It was a gathering of talents and a lively atmosphere.
Of course, because the Hall of Supreme Harmony is too big and long, the ministers sitting outside may not even be able to see the emperor's face clearly.
Only important ministers could sit close to the emperor, and those short tables represented their glory and status.
Near the end of Shenshi, hundreds of officials arrived one after another. Some were waiting outside the palace, while others were led by the palace maids into the palace gate and sat near the door.
Generally speaking, the greater the official title and the higher the status, the later it will come.
Most of the people who come to wait in advance are some unimportant characters.
Of course, to say it is not important is to say that in relative terms, the officials who can enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony today are not lower than the third rank. They are also high-ranking officials in other places, and they are higher than the prefect of a county.
When it came to Youshi, some officials who came had a much higher status. When they came in, those near the door stood up to greet them and called them sir.
And these people just responded and did not dare to make any noise.
Feng Jianqi arrived at the gate of Taihe Hall when it was nearly halfway through the Youshi period.
Looking at the lively scene inside, he couldn't help but sigh: "This is the emperor's birthday banquet! It's so majestic!"
In fact, with Feng Jianqi's status, he is not qualified to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but he has a good uncle!
He was brought by Feng Kaijing.
And with Feng Kaijing's status, it is not difficult to get a place to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Of course, with Feng's status in the capital, he would definitely sit next to the emperor. As for Feng Jianqi, he could only accompany him in the last seat.
At this time, Feng Kaijing was standing next to Feng Jianqi. After hearing Feng Jianqi's words, he couldn't help but warn: "All civil and military officials are gathering here, don't make any trouble for me. I brought you here today, It’s just to show you the power of the Emperor.”
Feng Jianqi said quickly: "Second uncle, don't worry, I will definitely listen to your explanation. Listen more, watch more and talk less."
Feng Jianqi sighed. He brought Feng Jianqi to this occasion with the intention of broadening his horizons.
The current situation in the city of God is complicated. Even he, the commander-in-chief of the Yiyi Guards, feels that there is a fog in front of him, and he can't see the road and people in front of him clearly.
For the sake of the Feng family, he could only speed up the training of successors.
Feng Jianqi was the mantle he wanted to pass on in the Zhenyiwei. However, his nephew had been living in the local area for the past few years and was unfamiliar with the situation in the divine capital.
Today, taking advantage of the emperor's birthday banquet, he can allow his nephew to have some dealings with the big guys in the capital in advance.
After gathering his mood, Feng Kaijing pointed at an old man walking from outside the hall and said, "That's Gu Wen."
"Is it him?" Feng Jianqi was surprised. He saw that the old man didn't look amazing. Except for the fact that he was dressed in purple and looked noble, he really wasn't very eye-catching.
However, this person is the head of the civil service and the prime minister of the dynasty!
It is said that this person also practiced martial arts when he was young, but his talent was not good enough and he has not yet developed his strength.
However, he had a prosperous official career after abandoning the military and becoming a civil servant. After being promoted by the local police and entering the officialdom, he first served as a local county magistrate, then successively served as county governor, prefecture governor, and prefecture governor, and then entered the central government from the governor of a prefecture. He can be called Yun Wen Yunwu.
He worked as a minister in the center of the imperial court for several years, and was finally appointed as prime minister by the emperor, commanding hundreds of officials. He has been in this position for fifteen years.
Although he is already a seventy-year-old man, Gu Wen has developed a special temperament as the head of a hundred officials for fifteen years, and he has the aura of calmness and self-power.
No, outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, as he walked, officials from all walks of life stopped to greet him.
Sometimes he returned the greeting, and sometimes he nodded slightly in response.
When he passed by Feng Kaijing, he just glanced at him, looked at Feng Jianqi, and walked straight into the hall without saying hello.
Feng Jianqi was very surprised when he saw this. Just when he was about to ask, he heard Feng Kaijing say quietly: "This person surnamed Gu has always despised us."
Qi Feng suddenly realized.
Their guards had too much power, and they only followed the emperor's orders and did not listen to the instructions of the imperial government.
And their guards often went beyond the court's prohibitions and did things that were not quite in compliance with the laws.
In fact, sometimes the court official was used to perform the surgery.
For civil servants who always pay attention to their reputation, this is no different than soaking their faces with urine.
As the head of the hundred officials, Gu Wen must have had a lot of dealings with Feng Kaijing - he may have suffered a lot, so it's strange that he has a good face when meeting Feng Kaijing.
Feng Jianqi even suspected that if today was not the emperor's birthday, Gu Wen would have to argue with his second uncle.
At this time, Feng Jianqi saw his second uncle pointing to a burly man in brocade robes coming up from the steps outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and saying, "That's Su Kangfei, the Taiwei of the dynasty."
Feng Jianqi suddenly looked sideways.
If Gu Wen, as prime minister, was the head of the civil service, then Su Kangfei, as the lieutenant, was the head of the military generals.
This man was born as a general, had great literary and military skills, was proficient in the art of war, and had repeatedly made military exploits. Five years ago, when he was fifty years old, he was promoted to the rank of Taiwei by the emperor.
The Taiwei is in charge of the military power of the world. Among the officials, he can rival the prime minister. He is the boss among the courtiers.
This man has a rich family background, practiced martial arts in the military, and entered the Upper Three Realms at the age of forty. He is a genuine master of the Seventh Realm.
Now that more than ten years have passed, he may have broken through to the eighth level.
Soon, Feng Jianqi saw Su Kangfei walking past Feng Kaijing without looking back, also without saying hello.
"Second uncle, he...you..." Feng Jianqi realized something.
Feng Kaijing said leisurely: "A few years ago, I caught him as a general who was greedy for military pay. He came to ask me to entertain that guy well, and I did have someone treat him well like a guard."
Feng Jianqi was speechless.
When people say you entertain them well, they mean don't mess with them, but their "entertainment" by the guards is done by any means.
No wonder people don’t even look at you, Commander Feng!
Next, what made Feng Jianqi even more distressed was that all the officials who came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony either ignored his second uncle, glared at him or avoided him like the plague.
Dozens of officials came in one after another, and his second uncle seemed to be alone, without a single friend!
Feng Jianqi couldn't help but feel bleak about his future. This boss of the Guards... didn't seem to be easy to take on.
Seeing that it was getting late and the people who should be introduced had already been given preliminary guidance, Feng Kaijing said: "Let's go in too, the emperor is coming soon."
With that said, he took the lead into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Feng Jianqi caught up with him and watched his second uncle walk into the hall until he sat down in the second lower room on the right in front.
Above him was Lieutenant Su Kangfei. The two of them sat close to each other, but they didn't talk much to each other.
Opposite them were Gu Wen and the other big guys.
Feng Jianqi found a seat behind the palace door and sat down.
Unlike the others, he had no interest in meeting the emperor.
Because of Feng Kaijing, he had met the emperor several times since he was a child, and he was not a stranger.
However, in the middle of Youshi, when Tianzi came in from the side door at the back of the palace, Feng Jianqi was still startled.
With his profound skills and sharp eyesight, he immediately saw the fold-like wrinkles on the emperor's face, which were the same as those of ordinary people in their seventies or eighties!
Even the emperor had to be supported by his chamberlain when he walked. Although he was not trembling, he was still very old.
At this time, he was not like an emperor who dominated the world, but an old lion.
"No wonder the second uncle said that when the emperor is old, people's thoughts are moved..." Feng Jianqi felt cold in his heart.
He also saw several princes who followed the emperor into the palace.
The prince is in his forties, with a calm face and twinkling eyes.
There were also a few princes with incomprehensible expressions.
When the emperor arrived, the ministers shouted long live, and everything fell silent.
The emperor weakly said the usual remarks every year until he asked everyone to sit down, and the maids began to serve the dishes one after another.
In this situation, who can really calm down and drink and eat?
Probably don't even think about it.
Feng Jianqi looked out of the hall with leisurely eyes.
The sky outside is still bright in the summer evening, and the wind is hot, which is very different from the cold atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Chu Tang, you have also been to the Heroes' Banquet, right? It should be more lively there than here?" Inexplicably, Feng Jianqi had such an idea in his mind.
…
The princess's residence in Xincheng is far outside the palace.
Similarly, the west side hall of the mansion was equally lively, with many people congratulating the emperor on his birthday and wishing him long life.
The unitary hour had not yet arrived, and the princess of Xincheng, dressed in bright palace clothes, began to welcome guests at the banquet of heroes.
At this time, the setting sun moved to the west, and the bright sunlight shone on the house, making everything bright.
Princess Xincheng looked even more dazzling in the sunlight, attracting the attention of many guests.
And she had long been accustomed to such looks, and greeted many people with a smile.
The guests were male and female, mostly young.
Here, there are many fewer rules than in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Young people love to be lively. They will shout hello to familiar people and even chat together.
Among these people, there are the sons of important ministers, young masters from aristocratic families, and people from the martial arts world.
In Yao's world, everyone who had the qualifications had practiced martial arts. Civilization and martial arts were not clearly distinguished, and there was no saying that the literati could not clearly see the martial arts.
On the contrary, only warriors with a high level of martial arts can stand on high and look down on those scholars who are powerless.
When Chu Tang and Feng Huang arrived at the banquet venue, people hadn't arrived yet, but they saw it was bustling with excitement.
The banquet hall was outdoors, and Chu Tang was no stranger to this place. He had seen Xincheng draw a bow and shoot arrows here.
But now it has been remodeled, with blankets spread out and more flowers and plants arranged around it.
In the distance is a small lake with ditches to divert water, and the flowing water is very elegant.
Because Fenghuang was very familiar with Princess Xincheng, she did not go over to greet her, but instead exchanged pleasantries with acquaintances she met on the way.
Chu Tang felt uncomfortable because he found that although those people were talking to Feng Huang, they looked at him from time to time, as if he was a monkey playing on the street.
In fact, he didn't want Feng Huang to come to the banquet of heroes together, but for some reason, Feng Huang seemed to have made up his mind to go with him. He listened to Feng Xuan blocking his way half an hour in advance, waiting for him to come together.
Before coming, Chu Tang had thought about it. Feng Huang was a celebrity in the divine capital, and it would be difficult not to attract attention around him.
As expected, now he, Chu Tang, has become the target of others' attention.
When several young men gave him hostile looks and Feng Huang dismissed them, Chu Tang finally realized Feng Huang's intention - this bitch was using him as a shield!
Feng Huangyan smiled at Yan Yan and even introduced Chu Tang's identity in front of everyone.
At this time, Chu Tang even heard a lot of whispers:
"Is he Chu Tang? That boy from Liangzhou?"
"He looks pretty good, but he doesn't look like anything special. Everyone in Feng Mansion is blind. Are you going to betroth Feng Phoenix to him?"
"If a toad wants to eat swan meat, he won't be afraid of choking to death!"
"A flower stuck in cow dung..."
Chu Tang's face turned dark when he heard this, but he found that these people were deliberately trying to intimidate him, because they seemed to be talking secretly, but in fact their voices were not quiet, as if they were afraid that he would not hear.
Soon, Chu Tang heard something worthy of attention:
"Every year there are some interesting programs at the Heroes' Banquet, and the prizes are quite good. Let's wait and see if anyone will try to get involved with this guy named Chu."
"Miss Feng San is very charming. There will always be people who will be unhappy. Just wait and see the good show."
"Have you heard that Mr. Wushuang often goes to Fenghuang recently? You said...hehe!"
"That Tianyan Sect's Wushuang Sword? Mr. Wushuang?"
"it's him!"
"He has gained a lot of prestige in the city of Gods recently. He has defeated more than a dozen masters from the sixth realm in a row. It is said that people from the seventh realm have tried to attack him, but there is nothing they can do against him."
"As expected of the Tianyan Sect's current generation, he has the same demeanor as his elder brother did back then."
"The style is nothing! The Tianyan Sect is just like that! What kind of contemporary walking, if there are no guardians by their side, they will die many times! This Xiao Feng has killed more than ten people in a row, and some people don't like him!"
"This is also the rule of Tianyan Sect. Before walking in the seventh realm, there will be guardians by your side to protect you."
"No matter how beautiful the flowers and plants in the pot are, what's the use! Just watch, sooner or later Xiao Feng will look good!"
"You are so brave, why don't you challenge him? I remember you are also in the Sixth Realm."
"I……"
"Hush! Just stop saying a few words, that Wushuang Sword is here!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Many people turned their heads and looked outside the field.
Not far away, under the guidance of the maid, a handsome young man dressed in white walked over quickly. (End of chapter)