Zheng Anping got up early the next day, had breakfast, finished neatly, and appeared at Nanmu Field with a halberd in hand.
His four companions also finished neatly. They brought over a vat of water, which was the main prop for today's ceremony.
The city lord also appeared with his four sons. The city lord bowed his hands in greeting to Zheng Anping. Two of his four sons each held a small cup containing millet and beetroot, while the other two were dedicated to farming.
Finally, there were three middle-ranking officers who rarely appeared. They and Mr. Meng Yu were carrying a door panel with a piglet firmly tied to it. The piglet obviously understood his fate and screamed at the top of his lungs.
According to the agreement, Mr. Meng Yu is the sacrificial minister and presides over the entire process of the sacrificial ceremony.
However, the most important person has not yet appeared: Lord Xinling who is watching the ceremony. So everyone is still waiting at the head of the field.
Lord Xinling and Wei Qi were arranging formations of divine soldiers and warriors in the city. They were preparing for the afternoon sacrificial activities. It wasn't until the magic soldiers began to set off to the other side of the river that Lord Xinling and Wei Qi led a few of their men out of the city and headed towards Nanmu.
The little pig, who was shouting at the top of his lungs, was tired and panting on the door panel. Lord Xinling and others walked through the crowd watching the ceremony and came to the side of the officiant. Zheng Anping and the city lord all bowed and said hello, and Lord Xinling also returned the bow one by one; then they stood up at the viewing position. He and Wei Qi stood in front, and their respective entourages stood behind.
Mr. Meng Yu came forward and asked for instructions to start the sacrifice. Lord Xinling signaled that it was okay to start.
Mr. Meng Yu came back and recounted the entire process of the sacrifice to the two officiants, and they both expressed their understanding.
So Mr. Meng Yu asked everyone to return, stood in his position, and sang loudly: "First Presentation!"
The city lord stepped forward, took a cup from the urn, scooped out a cup of wine, and held it to Zheng Anping. Zheng Anping took it and laid a libation on the ground.
Mr. Meng Yu sang again: "Again!"
Zheng Anping scooped wine from the jar and handed it to the city lord, who laid a libation on the ground.
Meng Yu sang: "Three offerings!"
The city lord scooped out a cup of wine and offered it to Zheng Anping. This time, Zheng Anping did not offer a libation, but drank it all in one gulp.
Meng Yu sang: "Sacrifice!"
Three lieutenants carried the door panel over and placed it next to the field ridge. Zheng Anping held the halberd in his hand and raised the board with one hand. The halberd pierced the piggy's throat like lightning. The entire spearhead was completely submerged. The piggy just whimpered and died. As the halberd was pulled out, blood flowed out from the broken throat. Zheng Anping and the city lord raised the door panel and poured blood into the urn.
Mr. Xinling, who was watching the ceremony, sang beside him: "There are many millets and many grains, and there are also high grains, trillions and grains. For wine and sweet wine, the rice is given to the ancestors. In exchange for hundreds of gifts, blessings will be brought to everyone." Sing it three times before the pig's blood runs out. Three lieutenants carried the dead piggy down.
Mr. Meng Yu sang again: "Four offerings!"
Zheng Anping scooped up the bloody wine and handed it to the city lord, who laid it on the ground. Wu Xian, Zheng Anping laid the foundation on the ground. On the sixth day, the city lord and Zheng Anping each took a sip of blood wine.
Cao Bao came up and carried the urn down. Zheng Anping and the city lord each took a piece of grass and dug up a deep pit at the head of their respective ridges. The two sons of the city lord poured two cups of millet or bean sprouts into the bowl. Zheng Anping and the city lord buried them separately.
At this time, the stewards who were watching the ceremony on the other side of the field began to sing: "There are many crops in the field. Once they are planted, they will be guarded, and once they are prepared, it will be a matter of business. I am a farmer, and I will set up the southern acres. I will sow hundreds of grains, and the garden will be fruitful." , the great-grandson is Ruo."
Several women ran over from the ridge with their children and peed on the ground where the seeds had just been sown. This special program made Lord Xinling and Wei Qi laugh out loud when they were watching the ceremony at the head of the field.
Amid the laughter of everyone, Mr. Meng Yu sang loudly: "The ceremony is completed!"
The spectators left first. Several officiants and assistants carried the wine and pigs and then returned to the city. The two sides said goodbye and went back to rest. There was a community ceremony at noon, with the city chief presiding over the ceremony and Zheng Anping assisting.
Back at Nili, the old man also came out and praised Zheng Anping for killing the animal cleanly and without any pain. This also makes Cao Bao, Brother Su and others very proud.
While the officiant was resting, the parents of each family who had returned to the city were already preparing to place sacrifices under the social tree outside the city. The two guis for each family had been arranged and they were just waiting for the big cauldron to be carried out before moving them under the tree.
Soon after the city lord came to the city, his four sons took out the big cauldron and placed it in the middle of the tree. Taking the appearance of the cauldron as a signal, each family laid out the sacrifices they had prepared. The two elders sat quietly under the tree and watched.
But there is one obvious difference between placing sacrifices this year and before. In the past, the sacrifices of each family were placed in all directions with the big cauldron as the center; but today, the elders requested that all the sacrifices be placed behind the cauldron. Ding was isolated.
It was almost noon, and adults, children, men and women from each family were coming out one after another. The parents of each family had already been informed that they would not enter the city lord's mansion and would only gather upstairs in the west city. Zheng Anping did not stand in the most conspicuous position, but mixed in among the elders, chatting casually with them.
What Mr. Meng Kun and the three lieutenant officers carried out this time was a lamb, which was still tied to a door panel.
Suddenly a drum sound was heard in the city, and everyone who was talking immediately fell silent; some people who were sitting also stood up, the children quickly found their parents, and each family returned to their "turf" and stood up in order.
Under the leadership of the city lord, the parents of each family came down from the city tower, passed through the crowd, and came to the big tripod.
A group of elders stood in front of the cauldron. Seeing the parents arriving, the eldest elder shouted loudly: "Please, sir!"
Zheng Anping and five others walked out of the crowd and went to the elder team to greet the elders; the elders returned the gift. The five people stood on the other side of the cauldron.
The elder shouted again: "The city lord offers sacrifices!"
The city lord took out a bamboo slip from his arms and read to it: "On the festival day of the Lord and Ministers, I would like to offer three animals, five grains and five fruits in front of the shrine. Wiz is here, it grows, and it is the foundation of the shrine. The hills and fields are supported by grass and trees, and the birds are supported by them. When you are alive, you depend on them, and when you die, you rely on them. Life after life, do not be separated from each other."
After the city lord finished reciting, the elder shouted: "Kneel down!"
The elders and Zheng Anping who were facing the crowd all turned around and knelt down facing the big cypress tree.
The elder praised: “One bow!… Two bows!… Three bows!… Get up!”
Everyone stood up again. At this time, a cry suddenly came from the other side of the river, saying: "Are you going to perform community sacrifices?"
Everyone looked intently and saw a group of Korean soldiers with halberds on the other side of the river. The social sacrifice attracted Korean soldiers, which had never happened before. The city lord led several parents and Zheng Anping to greet him. The two sides faced each other across the river. The city lord asked: "Brothers, where are you? Dare you cross the river to talk!"
The uncle of the Korean soldiers in that team said: "Nothing else. We are Han soldiers from Huayang. We heard that someone is offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, so we came to investigate."
The city lord said: "If you don't dare to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, you should offer sacrifices to the people of the city."
Uncle Han from that team asked, "Are there any outsiders coming?"
The city lord said: "No, they are all from this city."
Han Bo said: "Since we are the people of this city, we will return the favor."
The city lord said: "Come and let the blessings go before you go."
Han Bo said, "I'll come back to trouble you someday!" He led the people away.
When the city lord saw them walking away, he came back and started the community sacrifice again. The elder continued: "Sacrifice!"
Three lieutenants and Mr. Meng Yu carried the door panel over. The city lord seemed to be an experienced expert. He only held an iron vertebrae in his hand and pierced it with one vertebra, killing the lamb cleanly. The city lord and Mr. Meng Yu cooperated and drained the sheep's blood into the cauldron. Now everyone understood why the cauldron was separated from the sacrifice this time, because it was to collect the sheep's blood. After draining the sheep's blood, the door panels were put aside. Each family gathered firewood, lit it in the square, and placed the cauldron on the fire. The offerings from each family were poured into the cauldron one by one, and water was added until it was full. All the people in the city sat around the tripod, preparing to spread blessings.
Cao Bao suddenly found Mr. Zhang Yu waving to him inside the city gate, so he quickly avoided everyone's attention and slipped into the city. Zhang He asked: "There are Koreans by the Shihe River, why are you here?"
Cao Baodao said: "He said he was a soldier of Huayang. He heard that someone was offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, so he came to explore him. The city lord responded with the words 'Naiyi Minshe Sacrifice' and left."
Zhang Ye said: "If the people of the city offer sacrifices, there is no warning. If someone offers sacrifices to the heaven and the earth...will it be forbidden?"
Lord Xinling said: "I didn't expect such a section to exist in Korea!"
Zhang He said: "Guanyi was at the crossroads of Han and Wei, and was outside the Great Wall. It is also conceivable that Han had such an event."
Lord Xinling said: "What should we do?"
Zhang He said: "I would like to go to your place with you for fifty seconds. You will not be disturbed by the Han soldiers!"
Lord Xinling said: "A mere hundred soldiers can do no harm by themselves. However, Han is close to the control and is always causing harm. What can be done? I will trouble you sir to take care of this matter temporarily and make sure that the sacrifice is safe." Zhang Noi agreed and took five people with him. Ten gentlemen crossed the bridge and explained the situation. Two gentlemen were sent to follow them first. If they went back to Huayang directly, forget it this time. If you want to come back, you must report it in advance and be prepared for a head-on attack.
Zhang Ye's actions did not disturb the people who were sitting around the tripod, waiting for the blessings to be scattered. Mr. Guo arranged the magic soldiers and warriors to form a tight concentric circle with Fangqiu as the center.
Just as the people in the city began to take food from the tripod, Lord Xinling and Wei Qi set out on their way to Fangqiu.
Every citizen present received a roughly equal share of the sacrifices in the cauldron, and the cauldron was exhausted. At this time, everyone heard shouts from the other side of the river: "No sacrifice! No sacrifice!" The group of Korean soldiers came back again. When they followed the river to the edge of the abandoned city, there was a whistle in the city, and fifty gentlemen rushed out at once. Without much fighting, they took down the halberds of these Han soldiers, and then quickly controlled Uncle Han. .
This scene of fighting taking place before their eyes shocked the people. Everyone seemed to have just remembered that there was another sacrifice on the other side of the river. When they looked across the river, all the magic soldiers shouted, and they seemed to hear a faint whimper. Along with that whimper, the gloomy sky suddenly opened a crack in the middle, and the rare sunlight shone through the clouds, bathing the square hill in the sunshine.
The magical scene lifted everyone's hearts. First, the magic soldiers shouted: "Long live! Long live! Long live!" Then came the warriors, and then the people who were watching the fun and enjoying the blessings on the other side of the river. Even the Han soldiers who had just been captured actually shouted. stand up!
