The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 661 Everyone celebrates
Princess Rongchang's wedding was a cause for celebration throughout the land.

Emperor Wanli was overjoyed.

He actually announced to the world that everyone who was free to attend the banquet should come to the capital to attend!

Moreover, any ordinary citizen of the capital who wants to attend a banquet only needs to put a big red "double happiness" character on their door, and they can attend the banquet right at their doorstep.

This is truly an unprecedented move.

Let alone inviting people from all over the world, there are already hundreds of thousands of people in the capital alone.

How was this banquet for over a million people organized?
If it were an ordinary person, they naturally wouldn't be able to do it.

Emperor Wanli, however, felt there was no problem at all; he could handle any number of guests attending the banquet.

The key question is, how many people will attend the banquet?

Organizing a banquet for so many people is no small task.

On the first day of the tenth month, Dingwei, the number of people to attend the banquet was finally roughly determined.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., Wanli summoned all the princes, including Zhu Changluo (Eastern Prince), Zhu Changxu (Northern Prince), Qi Zuoguo (Northern Prince), Qin Yiming (Duke of Rong), Xu Wenbi (Duke of Ding), Zhang Yuangong (Duke of Ying), Zhu Yingzhen (Duke of Cheng), and Shen Li (Grand Secretary of the Cabinet), to the golden hall of the Qianqing Palace.

After everyone was seated, he asked, "Yu Ye, how many households in the capital are attending this banquet?"

It seems like no one in the capital city doesn't attend banquets.

Minister of Revenue Li Hualong said cautiously, "Your Majesty, nearly 180,000 households in the capital city registered by the Ministry of Revenue have received red 'double happiness' characters, totaling over a million men, women, and children."

Furthermore, most of the people outside the city, belonging to Wanping County of Daxing, wanted to attend the banquet. As you wished, I have sent them to the various city gates to collect their wedding invitations.”

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's really impossible to do it outside the city. The food will be cold by the time it's sent there, and it's not good for people to eat cold food."

"Yiming, how many wedding invitations were received at each of the city gates in total?"

Duke Rongguo, Qin Yiming, is not just a groom; he has already accumulated military merits and been promoted to the rank of General of the Capital Garrison.

The soldiers of the Beijing garrison were responsible for distributing wedding invitations at various city gates and registering the number of people.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yiming said with some emotion, "Your Majesty, the original number of wedding invitations printed was 100,000, but that was far from enough. We printed another 100,000, but that still wasn't enough."

Your humble servant ordered another 100,000 copies to be printed, and they are almost all distributed now. These 300,000 wedding invitations have been distributed to at least 1.6 million people, young and old, with their families.

So many people?
Now that adds up to more than 2.6 million, if we calculate based on eight people per table, that would require more than 300,000 tables!
If we calculate based on three meals per person, that would require more than a million tables.

Moreover, not every household in Beijing has eight members.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli slowly nodded and said, "Alright, we will prepare 300,000 seats, 180,000 for residents of the capital, and another 120,000 for various streets throughout the capital."

My God, 300,000 seats!

This is a continuous banquet. If the banquet starts at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and continues for one hour at a time, it will take until Youshi (5-7 PM) to prepare enough food for 1.5 million tables.

When Grand Secretary Shen Li heard this, his jaw nearly dropped in astonishment.

His Majesty appointed him to be in charge of the dishes.

Sure enough, Wanli immediately asked, "Zhonghua, how are the dishes coming along?"

Can I just figure it out?
How are we supposed to prepare so many dishes?

Upon hearing this, Shen Li cautiously said, "Your Majesty, according to folk customs, a table with ten dishes symbolizes perfection."

As for how to decide on the ten dishes, it depends on how much money is allocated per table. Generally, it involves preparing eight dishes with chicken, duck, fish, and meat in various ways, plus a soup and a seasonal vegetable dish.

If you have plenty of money, then have one dish each of chicken, duck, and fish; one dish each of beef and lamb; one dish of mountain delicacies; one dish of seafood; one soup; and one dish of seasonal vegetables.

When I marry off my daughters, I naturally choose the one with the most money.

Emperor Wanli pondered, "The delicacies from land and sea, beef and mutton, fish and meat, soup and seasonal vegetables are all easy to obtain, but the key is chicken and duck. Where can we find so many chickens and ducks?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, eagerly replied, "Father, there are many chickens and ducks in the Liaodong Military Command. Every household in the garrison there raises chickens and ducks, and many garrisons in the Nurgan Military Command have also started raising them."

That'll do.

Wanli nodded slightly, then decisively said, "Xu'er, the chicken and duck meat is your responsibility. Prepare enough for 1.5 million tables."

"Send it to the capital before the eighth day of the month, alive. Your father will dispatch a thousand flying shuttles to retrieve it. Is that alright?"

My eldest sister is getting married.

Is there a problem with that?

If there's a problem, my older sister will definitely beat me up.

Prince Zhu Changxu of the North nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem."

Wanli nodded slightly and then instructed, "Luo'er, the delicacies from land and sea and fish are entrusted to you. Prepare enough for 1.5 million tables."

"Send these to the capital before the eighth day of the month. If there aren't enough delicacies from the mountains, send people to our vassal state, Korea, to purchase them. Seafood and fish should ideally be fresh and frozen. My father will also dispatch a thousand flying shuttle ships to transport them. Is that alright?"

Dongwang Zhu Changluo nodded without hesitation and said, "No problem."

Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Yiming, is it alright if you ask the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison to prepare the soup ingredients and seasonal vegetables?"

This one is simple.

Qin Yiming nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem."

Wanli nodded slightly, then instructed, "Zuoguo, the cattle and sheep are in your hands. Prepare enough for 1.5 million tables, and deliver them before the eighth day of the month. They must be alive. Any problems?" Of course, there was no problem. The military rewards from the campaign against the Oirat Mongols were enough to prepare several million tables.

King Qi Zuoguo of Beihai nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem."

Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Wenbi, is it alright to entrust you with all the household necessities, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea?"

This is a small thing.

Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenbi, nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem."

Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Liangyu, are there any problems with entrusting you with the procurement of 1.5 million bottles of tribute wine?"

what?
I!
Qin Liangyu hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but the tribute wine is not cheap, and this humble general does not have that much money."

What does this have to do with whether you have money or not?
Emperor Wanli said in surprise, "You can just withdraw the money from the Imperial Treasury. I didn't say you had to pay for it."

Uh, I don't have to pay?

Qin Liangyu nodded repeatedly and said, "Then there's no problem. I thought the money for the wine was considered a gift."

Should I give a gift?

Wanli was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Zuoguo, you don't think that cattle and sheep are also gifts, do you?"

King Qi Zuoguo of Beihai nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, how could we not give a gift when Her Highness the Princess is getting married?"

Wanli then looked at Shen Li.

Shen Lina nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, according to folk customs, one must give a gift when attending a banquet."

Do you have to give a gift when you attend a banquet?
I didn't say I should give a gift.

Wanli paused for a moment, then asked, "Yu Ye, do all those who registered to attend the banquet intend to give a gift?"

Li Hualong nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. According to folk customs, since they have registered to come and eat at the banquet, we must show our appreciation."

How can one refuse to give such a gift?

It doesn't seem to work.

This is a folk custom; not allowing people to give gifts is considered disrespectful.

The question is, if everyone gives gifts like crazy, how much money will that amount to?

King Qi Zuoguo of Beihai is preparing to give 1.5 million tables of cattle and sheep as gifts!
After careful consideration, Emperor Wanli solemnly said, "Giving gifts is acceptable, but not too many gifts, and certainly not in a competitive manner."

Here's the arrangement: civil and military officials with ranks can give gifts worth a maximum of nine taels of silver in gold, silver, or copper coins; commoners can give gifts worth a maximum of one tael of silver in gold, silver, or copper coins.

"Guozuo, Luo'er, Xu'er, Wenbi, the ingredients you've prepared should all be purchased at market prices. Calculate the cost carefully and withdraw them from the inner treasury."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Next, massive quantities of ingredients began to be transported to the capital.

The imperial city couldn't hold them all, so many pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish had to be temporarily stored in the drill grounds of the various units of the Beijing Garrison outside the city.

At this point, everyone couldn't help but wonder: how were 1.5 million tables managed?
Furthermore, the 180,000 tables for Beijing residents are one thing, since they all have their own tables and chairs at home.

What about the other 120,000 tables and chairs?
This is actually very simple; the meals can be prepared by the soldiers of the Beijing garrison.

When they were out on campaign and fighting, they had to cook for themselves.

The requirements for this banquet might be a bit higher, but it doesn't matter much. The imperial chef will test all the dishes beforehand and then decide how much ingredients and seasoning to use for each pot.

As for tables, chairs, and benches, people usually borrow them when they hold a banquet.

There are hundreds of thousands of households of soldiers and officers in the Beijing garrison outside the city, so gathering 120,000 sets of tables, chairs and benches would naturally be no problem at all.

On the ninth day of the tenth month, the day of Yimao, every street in the capital that was ten zhang wide was neatly lined with tables, chairs, and large cooking pots from the Beijing Garrison.

Every household in the capital was celebrating as if it were the Lunar New Year, hanging lanterns and pasting up big red "double happiness" characters.

At midnight that night, the soldiers of the Shenwu Camp lit oil lamps, lit firewood, and began to prepare the ingredients.

The entire capital city was soon filled with the aroma of food, and many people were awakened from their sleep.

Around dawn, as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, the city gates of the capital opened, and ordinary people carrying wedding invitations flocked in.

Residents of Beijing also set up their tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks at their front door, waiting.

At 6:45 AM, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion began to load food onto all the tables by pulling horse-drawn carts.

Around 7:00 AM, as the sun rose, a continuous series of firecrackers sounded throughout the imperial city. The soldiers of the Shenshu Camp also set off firecrackers in the streets, signaling the start of the feast.

That day was truly a day of universal celebration. The capital was even more lively than during the Lunar New Year. Ordinary people came in droves to eat the banquet, and the sound of firecrackers never stopped.

Around 9:00 AM, following folk custom, Emperor Wanli ordered the Chengtian Gate to be opened, with gongs, drums, and firecrackers to welcome the groom, Qin Yiming, in.

Immediately afterwards, he and Empress Wang escorted Princess Rongchang to the bridal sedan chair, accompanied by gongs and drums, and escorted Princess Rongchang to the Rongguo Mansion for the wedding ceremony.

He also ordered people to buy all the firecrackers available in the capital and send them all the way from Chengtian Gate to Rongguo Mansion.

The firecracker debris on the ground was as thick as a red carpet, and the cheers from the people on both sides were like a mountain roaring and a tsunami.

This wedding was truly unprecedented.

(End of this chapter)