Chapter 284 Qinglu
In order to get married, Su Ze even got a purple follower from the system——
【Old-fashioned ceremonial officer】
Grade: Purple;
Effect: Able to organize various ceremonies;
Comment: "Only when you are polite can you know the value of being superior."
Price: 500 wen tai and 10 baht coins, and a maintenance fee of wen tai and baht coins is required every month.
Weddings in ancient times were important ceremonies, and Su Ze married a princess. If he hadn't gotten this follower, the task of organizing the wedding would have been left to Su Liang alone, which might have really exhausted Su Liang to death.
Thanks to Su Yi (a conservative ceremonial official), the entire wedding went smoothly.
The place Su Ze chose to get married was the newly built Yongle City.
After he received the news that Yu Jin had received Princess Chenliu's message, he finally felt relieved and had time to go out of the city to check out his wedding arrangements.
Yes, the custom in the Northern Dynasties was to hold open-air weddings.
Under the protection of his close guards including [Daxia Dragon Bird], Su Ze walked out of the south gate of Yongle City and came to a gentle dark green hill.
The entire dark green hills were covered with tents.
Su Yi brought his men to greet Su Ze, pointing to the largest tent in the center and said:
"My Lord, the Qinglu for the ceremony of holding the same prison and the same tomb has been completed. Please take a look."
Su Ze was also curious about the wedding customs of the Northern Dynasty, so he came to the large tent in the center.
This tent was different from the temporary tent he usually used during marches and battles. It seemed to be a semi-fixed tent set up by nomadic people who lived by following the grass.
When the northern herdsmen are grazing, they are not always on the move. They will set up tents in one place to graze, and then move to other places after they have eaten all the grass.
Therefore, many herders’ tents are just like Han people’s houses and are actually quite comfortable to live in.
This Qinglu is just like that.
The tent is made of a large number of branches and wood twisted into a circle, intertwined with ropes, and interlocked. The inner wall is made of branches and wood staggered into a diamond shape, and the outside is covered with green silk and green cloth.
Su Yi said:
"The Qinglu should be made of one hundred branches intertwined together. It is called 'Baizhizhang', which is also homophonic to 'Baizizhang', which means that the master will have many children and good fortune."
It seems that the ancients also loved to play with homophonic puns.
It was the first time that Su Ze had seen such a qinglu. Although the wedding was held in a tent, the ceremonial utensils prepared in the tent were all Han style. The Northern Wei Dynasty was indeed an era with a mixture of ethnic customs.
Su Yi took Su Ze to visit the tents outside.
One of the tents was opposite to Qinglu, and was larger than the other tents. Moreover, it was different from the other tents in that it was an open tent without curtains. Su Yi pointed at it and said:
"My Lord, this is a tent where the wedding ceremony will be held. There are no curtains on the four sides so that guests can watch the ceremony."
Surrounding the green pavilion and the curtains are circles of ordinary tents. These are the tents where guests watch the ceremony during the banquet.
The wedding is of great significance to Su Ze's group. Except for some subordinates who have military missions, most of the military officers and generals in Su Ze's group will come to Yongle City to attend the wedding.
Confirming the identity of the mistress and giving birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible are of great significance to Su Ze's group.
Also attending the wedding banquet were representatives of the gentry from five states and one county. Since it was a royal wedding, there could not be any problems with etiquette, otherwise these gentry would look down on Su Ze.
Although Su Ze disliked these nobles, he had no choice. He could not bypass them in this era.
Su Yi frowned and said:
"I have a disagreement with Su Jijiu. According to the etiquette, 'When marrying a wife, no music is played for three days, because one is thinking of having an heir. No music is played at the wedding ceremony, because it represents the yin and the yang.' However, Su Jijiu believes that the master's wedding is a big happy event for the five states and one county, so how can there be no banquet and music? He insists on using dance and music."
There was indeed no music in weddings during the Han Dynasty.
Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty believed that "there is no celebration for a wedding, it is the order of life". A wedding is a wedding, and in ancient times weddings were very serious matters.
However, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, China has lost its ruling power politically. As the world was extravagant during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it also absorbed the customs of wedding celebrations from the northern Hu people. Marriage is a happy event in life, and it is human nature to use music and dance to increase the festive atmosphere. Therefore, music and dance to celebrate weddings began to appear.
There was dancing and music when Su Liang got married, and even at the wedding of Xiao Baoyin and Princess Nanyang there was banquet and music.
Su Ze thought about it and said:
"A wedding is a happy event, how can there be no joy? A wedding must follow etiquette and customs. Let's do it according to Su Jijiu's wishes."
Su Yi was a little unhappy, but this was Su Ze's wedding, so since he had made the decision, she had no choice but to do it.
But Su Yi said again:
"But if we want to play music and dance, we also need formal music and ceremonial music. What about the Lord's orchestra?"
Su Ze thought about it and realized that there was still some time before the wedding, so it seemed that he would have to specifically summon a band.
He said comfortingly:
"The orchestra will have it."
Then Su Yi introduced to Su Ze some taboos and etiquette and customs of the wedding, which made Su Ze feel overwhelmed again.
What kind of wedding is it to avoid evil spirits? The Three Evil Spirits are the Green Sheep, the Crow and the Green Ox. Sacrifices to the Three Evil Spirits must be made at a special place far away from the Qinglu to prevent them from causing trouble at the wedding.
Also, newlyweds should not enter the house, otherwise it will be bad for the parents and they will not have children.
They have to live in the Qinglu for three days after the marriage, and can only return to their house in the city after three days.
In addition, there is the ceremony of offering sacrifice to the wild geese. In Confucianism, the wild geese are auspicious birds with a very high status. As migratory birds, they never lose time or integrity. When migrating, they form a team, which shows respect for human relations and order of seniority.
Fortunately, the goose ceremony was simplified during the Northern Dynasties, and only geese were used during the ceremony. In addition, from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Northern Dynasties, because women often ruled the country, the status of women in the upper aristocracy was improved (limited to the upper class), so in wedding customs, men were required to worship women on the wedding day.
It is a custom that men kneel while women do not kneel when the groom performs the bowing ceremony. When the groom prostrates himself on the ground and kowtows, the bride bows and puts her hands together on the side.
Although Su Ze had some complaints, he had to hold it back when he heard that Su Liang and the others had also gone through the same thing.
In addition to Su Ze, Su Liang, who was planning the wedding, was also in a good mood.
This time, Princess Chenliu not only brought the dowry team, but also brought his wife who was left in Luoyang.
Just when Su Ze was busy preparing for the wedding.
-
Huaishuo City.
Gao Huan and other military leaders of Huaishuo finally decided to surrender and submit to Wei Kegu.
There is nothing that can be done about it. Even if Gao Huan and his men wanted to be loyal to the Wei Dynasty, they no longer have any loyalty to show.
His family and tribe had all fallen into Wei Kegu's hands, and there was nothing he could do but surrender.
After Gao Huan surrendered, they were quickly released from prison, but their treatment was much worse than that of the Wuchuan people who were the first to surrender in Kaesong.
Wuchuan could lead the army on his own, their families and tribes could live together, and Wei Kegu also gave him a bunch of messy positions.
However, the Huaishuo people would be disbanded and absorbed by other legions, and Gao Huan's family and friends would be held hostage in the city.
When Gao Huan saw his wife again after a month, he realized that time had changed and he had become a thief. He couldn't help but want to cry.
Lou Zhaojun had also lost a lot of weight. Although Gao Huan's family was not attacked by the rebels thanks to Yuwen Tai's care, there was a food shortage in the city and Lou Zhaojun had not had a full meal for a long time.
Seeing Gao Huan's red eyes, Lou Zhaojun said:
"He Liuhun, do you still remember what you said to me in Qinglu that day?"
Gao Huan was stunned for a moment. He had made so many promises on the wedding day that he couldn't even remember which one Lou Zhaojun had said.
Lou Zhaojun pushed him and said:
"You said you would let me never go hungry for the rest of my life! Now I'm hungry!"
When Gao Huan heard this, all the sadness he had just felt disappeared, and he immediately said:
"Don't worry, my lady. I'll go get you something to eat!"
Gao Huan had given up his home to help others in Huaishuo City many times, and had held on to Huaishuo for such a long time that he had a high prestige in the city, so it was easy for him to get some food back home.
After his wife finished eating, Lou Zhaojun said:
"He Liuhun, what are your plans?"
Gao Huan said:
"It's been so long since Huaishuo City was captured, but the city is still in chaos. Outside the city, the rebels are robbing each other. Wei Kegu doesn't look like someone who can accomplish anything."
Lou Zhaojun nodded. In the entire Huaishuo City, she was the only one who believed most in her husband's abilities.
Gao Huan was very good at judging people and things, and he was strategic and opinionated. Lou Zhaojun married him because of his looks, and supported him wholeheartedly because of his abilities.
"So what's He Liuhun's plan?"
"We still have to find an opportunity to join the government army."
Lou Zhaojun was a descendant of the Pingcheng nobility. She was well aware of the policies of the Northern Wei Dynasty. She frowned and said:
"But you have surrendered to the bandits now. If you join the government army again, won't you have to start all over again?"
Gao Huan said:
"So you have to make meritorious contributions before joining the government army."
"How to achieve merit?"
"Kill Wei Kegu!"
Hearing Gao Huan's thrilling plan, Lou Zhaojun was not as frightened as ordinary women. Instead, she said:
"Since you have already made a plan, just go ahead and do it. Don't worry about the things at home."
Gao Huan felt touched. The people of Wuchuan betrayed Huaishuo, but only his wife always supported him.
He held his wife in his arms and said:
"I need to discuss this matter carefully with Brother Ziru and Brother Doutai."
Gao Huan added:
"Zhaojun, don't you have a younger sister in Pingcheng?"
Lou Zhaojun glanced at Gao Huan and said:
"You're actually thinking about my sister?"
Gao Huan said quickly:
"I mean, Dou Tai is unmarried, can we talk to him about this marriage?"
Lou Zhaojun thought for a moment and said:
"The Dou family has been in Huaishuo for generations, and their status is much higher than yours, so it's not impossible. My sister is just like me back then, she has high standards and will not marry anyone but a hero. Dou Tai is a good candidate for her husband."
Gao Huan said happily:
"If you can escape, please be a matchmaker for Dou Tai."
While the Huaishuo people were planning their surrender, the Wuchuan people were already ready to take action.
In April of the first year of Xiaochang, the leaders of the Wuchuan Army, Heba Duba and Yuwen Gong, attacked and killed the rebel leader Wei Kegu.
(End of this chapter)