By order of the Ming Son of Heaven, the New Year's Eve holiday was joined together with the Lantern Festival holiday, and two additional days were shifted from elsewhere to form a long vacation rarely seen since the founding of the Ming.
No one knew why His Majesty had suddenly changed his habits, but for the civil and military officials this was certainly something worth celebrating.
Thus, after receiving imperial approval, officials from the various ministries revived an old ritual practiced by officials during the Song dynasty.
They sealed their official seals to signify the suspension of administrative business. Officials would then return to their homes and celebrate the New Year in peace. This had been a tradition since the Song era.
During the Yuan dynasty the system had been extremely chaotic. Most of the time the central court of the Yuan had very limited control over the provinces. As for the Han officials serving locally, whether they rested or not depended entirely on the word of Mongol nobles. Naturally, the so-called seal-closing ceremony had no place in such a system.
After the founding of the Ming, the situation was even simpler. The rest periods were simply too short. Officials had neither the mood nor the leisure to conduct any seal-closing ceremony.
After all, although the Song dynasty had many frustrations and unfulfilled ambitions, during the turning of the year they could enjoy a continuous month of holiday. With such leisure they naturally had the confidence to hold ceremonies for sealing their official seals.
But what about the Ming?
From the time the seal was ceremonially closed until the seal was reopened for work, the ink on the seal stamp might not even have dried yet.
Now there was finally time to conduct the ceremony. However, the emperor also added an additional order. Although the various offices of the Ming would be on holiday, public administration could not completely cease. Each bureau must leave officials on duty. Once work resumed, those who had remained on duty would receive compensatory days of rest according to the number of days they had served.
Although this could not compare with the Song dynasty, for the officials of the Ming the first month of the fourteenth year of the Hongwu reign was indeed rather comfortable.
For more than half a month they could temporarily forget the name of Hu Weiyong.
They could also put aside thoughts of the stern emperor and the approachable crown prince.
They rode horses flamboyantly through the city for forty li. For ten li they drank wine, for another ten they composed poetry, for ten more they sang loudly, and for the last ten they raised cups with friends and relatives.
They wandered through the streets watching acrobatic performances. They climbed wine towers to watch the foreigners. They passed through narrow alleys where groups of children ran about holding sticks of malt candy while shouting and laughing. At the end of the alley they paused to listen to storytellers whose wooden clappers struck the table with a crisp sound that left lingering echoes in the air.
If one had a little spare money, one could even hire a small boat at dusk.
As thousands of lanterns lit up the river like stars in a galaxy, and the sounds of flute, xiao, pipa, qin, and zither blended together, the boatman would let the boat drift slowly along the Qinhuai River. From the pavilions with jade tiles and crimson roofs, from the temples and monasteries, waves of laughter and celebration flowed outward.
That was already the second greatest pleasure under heaven.
As for the first and greatest pleasure that could only be enjoyed inside certain establishments…
The civil and military officials still had to choose between that and the official hats on their heads.
Rumors had already begun to spread. It was said that the newly established Jinyiwei inside the palace combined several former agencies and was directly commanded by the emperor and the crown prince. Its authority extended to every aspect of Yingtian Prefecture.
Officials therefore could not truly abandon themselves to indulgence simply because of half a month of rest.
Still, even enjoying the second greatest pleasure under heaven was enough to make them forget themselves. In court they had always lived in constant anxiety. Who would have imagined such days could exist?
Thus, during the first month of the fourteenth year of Hongwu, the merging of the two holidays finally allowed this newborn empire, which had been busy since the day it was born, to enter its first rhythm of normal rest.
---
Within the rear palace of the imperial residence, the Crown Prince Zhu Biao picked up the dice from the table. As he raised his head he noticed something unusual about his father sitting nearby.
Officials throughout the empire were on leave, and aside from major matters nothing was being reported. For the first time, the true center of power of the Ming state had become idle.
The brothers had rarely gathered together like this, so at the suggestion of Zhu Di they simply brought out a game board to play a game called "Destroy Yuan."
Since the Tang dynasty there had been the leaf-card game. Later generations constantly improved it. During the Song dynasty, Yang Daye modified the gameplay further and created a variant called the Crane Grid.
Afterward the leaf-card game developed many different forms. Broadly speaking, however, the rules could still be divided into two types, with grids and without grids.
In the version without grids, each player drew leaf cards and took turns playing them, capturing smaller cards with larger ones while calculating the cards held by others. The focus was on strategy.
The version with grids required a game board. A spinning top or dice determined how many spaces a player could advance, while the leaf cards determined the gain or loss of each step. The focus was on entertainment.
After a brief discussion, the brothers decided that aside from Zhu Su none of them felt like playing something that required too much thinking. In the end they chose the grid game.
Games of this kind usually included a simple background setting. For example, the "Promotion Chart" originating in the Tang dynasty required players to begin as commoners. Dice rolls determined results such as virtue, talent, merit, or corruption, and the player who reached the highest official rank would win.
The one they were playing now was a game with strong contemporary flavor called "Destroy Yuan."
Starting as a mere soldier, players rolled the dice for results such as victory, consolidation, alliance, or defeat. Under the leadership of the Hongwu Emperor they gradually advanced step by step to become a great general and drive out the Mongol Yuan to restore China.
It was now Zhu Biao's turn to roll the dice.
Yet his attention was drawn instead to his father's restless appearance.
Zhu Yuanzhang held a scroll in his hands, but it was obvious that he had not read a single word. From time to time he glanced at the ceiling, then out the window toward the palace city outside, which seemed unusually quiet.
Nearby, Empress Ma finished the last stitch of her sewing. She skillfully bit the thread with her teeth and cut it off, then lifted the small garment and examined it with satisfaction.
Noticing her son staring at his father, she spoke bluntly.
"Your father is tired of staying with us wives and children. He's thinking about his Ming Empire again."
"That's not true!" Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly denied it.
"How is it not true?"
Empress Ma placed her hands on her hips and slapped the table.
"Two nights ago on the second day of the New Year, I thought His Majesty had worked hard enough, so I dragged him out for a walk in the snow."
"And what happened? I said the fine snow brushing our faces reminded me of the first snowfall in the year we married. His Majesty said it reminded him of the night he and Xu Da and Tang He decided to leave Haozhou and march south to capture Dingyuan. He said it had snowed just like this."
"I said it had been a long time since the two of us had spoken quietly together. His Majesty said that once the remaining Yuan forces were destroyed, the Japanese were made to submit, the South Sea was pacified, the sea routes permanently secured, and Annam pacified while Biao finished planning the strategy for Java, then he could retire halfway and live like this every day."
"I said I wanted to disguise ourselves and leave the palace for a few days. His Majesty said he feared some sudden emergency might arise and no one could find the Son of Heaven. How could he leave so lightly? After the officials reopen their seals and return to work, he said we might slowly find an opportunity to leave the palace for some enjoyment."
As Empress Ma continued listing his offenses, Zhu Yuanzhang kept retreating step by step.
Finally he simply covered his face and fled.
Yet before leaving the room he turned back and shouted at his sons, who were all staring at him.
"What are you looking at? Continue your game. After the Lantern Festival you will not be allowed to waste time like this!"
With that he hurried away without looking back.
Empress Ma stuffed the small finished garment into Zhu Biao's arms.
"Take this back for Zhu Xiongying. If it doesn't fit, bring it back and I will alter it."
Then she also hurried in the direction the emperor had gone.
"Zhu Chongba!"
The brothers looked at one another.
Zhu Biao squeezed the small garment in his hand and gave a helpless smile.
At that moment Zhu Zhen spoke quietly.
"Eldest Brother, are you still playing or not? If you're not, then it's my turn. My next move can roll merit and earn the title of general."