Zhao Mengqi didn't want to pretend to be a ghost, but after careful consideration, he found that in order to unite people's hearts and boost morale, this sacrifice to heaven and earth seemed to be the fastest and most effective way.
Since it is a useful method, there is no reason to refuse it. Anyway, he is not an anti-feudal and superstitious fighter.
It is natural to choose a high place to build an altar. Songling Town, where Wujiang County is located, is the highest place nearby. The highest place in the city also happens to be in the east city, which is probably the Songling Park area in later generations.
More than 3,000 soldiers and craftsmen braved the storm and built a three-foot-high altar with wooden beams overnight.
Looking at the high platform rising from the ground in front of him, shaped like a Mayan pyramid, Zhao Mengqi deeply admired the skills of the craftsmen.
Although it is hasty and seems a bit crude, it does not reduce the majesty and majesty at all. Looking up, it is awe-inspiring.
Zhao Mengqi was used to seeing skyscrapers, so he didn't feel anything special. He just had some doubts about the sturdiness of the high platform. After all, he didn't think he would survive if he fell from a height of ten meters.
After checking it myself, I couldn't help but marvel again. The entire high platform didn't even have a single iron nail, and it was actually stable.
The top of the high platform is one foot square, bare, without any cover, and does not have any gods set up. It only offers sacrifices to the sky.
The wind and rain have not stopped, and the thunder and lightning have stopped long ago, but who knows if God will get interested and suddenly strike down a thunder. As the highest altar within ten miles, it will definitely win the prize.
Considering this, Zhao Mengqi, who was worried that he would become a roasted pig, had four iron spears cast and placed at the four corners of the platform. The materials came from the weapons destroyed on the battlefield yesterday and the broken bronze bell fragments.
The tip of the spear pointed directly at the sky, which seemed to be very disrespectful to God, making the sacrifice to heaven more like threatening God.
Wu Qian originally disapproved of it, but Zhao Mengqi persisted, saying that he was using human iron and blood to show sincerity to the gods.
In desperation, thinking that it was not a serious sacrifice anyway, Wu Qian had no choice but to leave it to King Yan. He did not interfere too much with other specific matters and allowed King Yan to arrange it himself.
The news that King Yan was going to pray to heaven to eliminate disasters soon spread throughout the city. Even though it was windy and rainy, nearly ten thousand people still came to watch the ceremony.
The wealthy people waited in nearby houses or built awnings, but most people could only wear raincoats or even wait in the open air in the rain.
Zhenze Building is a private restaurant, but the decoration is a bit more luxurious than the government-run Wu Building. It is located not far to the north of the altar. You don’t need to raise your head too much on the third floor to view the items on the altar. The sight came into view.
On weekdays, a meal here costs at least a few guan, but buying a seat today starts with 10 guan.
Ever since, this place has become a gathering place for wealthy people in Wujiang, and there is constant chatter.
"Hey, Mr. Hong, why are you still in the city?"
"Isn't this the opening of the Lugang sluice? The water is rising, and the dam surrounding my fence is not high. I can't risk my life to fish, so I have no choice but to come to the county to hide."
"Then why don't you just go to Lin'an? It's really not possible. Anjizhou is not far away. Once you get to the county, you won't be able to soak in the water in the future? Those of us who are originally in the county can't leave even if we want to, Yan The king has issued a ban, not allowing any wealthy family to leave privately.”
This resentful tone was obviously dissatisfied with King Yan, but he did not have the courage to fight.
"Since it is the order from His Highness King Yan, there must be some truth to it."
"Haha, what's the point? He is just afraid that we will all run away and be unable to raise money and food, so he tied us all here. Originally, if the lake was just swollen, it would be over after just one hit, but this hurricane came again. I'm afraid we'll have to be like those mud-legged people and risk our lives here."
"That's not the case. King Yan is going to sacrifice to the sky. As long as the hurricane doesn't come, the water will recede in seven or eight days at most."
"Hahaha, can offering sacrifices to the sky be useful? Do you really think he is Zhuge Kongming, the one who can control wind and rain?"
"This thing is just to fool those ordinary people. We have all read the books of sages. Confucius said, respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them. King Yan is so good, he still wants to control the celestial phenomena!"
"hey-hey
, it’s boring to be idle anyway, let’s see what tricks our Prince Yan can come up with..."
These wealthy landlords simply don't believe that offering sacrifices to heaven can solve disasters and solve problems. The reason why they are willing to spend money to come here is purely to watch a show, and they are even waiting for King Yan to make a fool of himself.
Speaking of which, the Song Dynasty officials had a tradition that once a disaster occurred, they would forcefully send donations to local wealthy households and ask them to provide money and food to the victims.
This approach may be seen by future generations as an infringement of private property rights, but from another perspective, many wealthy households became rich because they exploited ordinary people.
Of course, when it comes to specific implementation, who should send donations and how much should be sent depends on the character of the officials in power. There are also some tricks in this.
Those with bad character will naturally be distinguished from those close to others, bullying the weak and afraid of the strong, while those who are more upright will be treated equally, and even the powerful will inevitably be sent to donate.
For example, a few years later in history, there was a famine in Lin'an and there was no rice available on the market. Ma Guangzu, then the prefect of Lin'an, approached Zhao Mengqi's biological father, Prince Rong, and "knocked" 30,000 shi of grain from his hands to save Zhao Mengqi's life. many people.
Compared with the late Ming Dynasty, when Chongzhen wanted to send donations but could not get a few hundred taels of silver, although the powerful people in this era were also selfish, the atmosphere may be slightly better.
Compared with other officials, King Yan's donations were much more ruthless. The grain reserves of all the larger landlords were "borrowed", and these wealthy people were naturally dissatisfied with him.
As for the ordinary people, their thoughts were much simpler. Knowing that King Yan wanted to pray to God for them, regardless of whether it was useless or not, the simple heart of caring for the people could move them.
"His Royal Highness the King of Yan is not only brave, but also benevolent. When he takes over the throne, life for us little people will definitely get better."
"Speaking of prowess, our Highness is really amazing. My aunt's second cousin's son was in the city that day. He saw with his own eyes that His Highness was carrying an eighty-pound sword and chopped down a man with one move with one hand. A large number of iron-armored rebels were about to rush to the city. His Highness waved his hand and exploded a thunder, and thousands of rebels were wiped out..."
"Ah! His Highness set that thunder!? I heard it too, tsk tsk, it was a hundred times louder than the thunder in the sky. It turns out that His Highness has this magical power, so if he goes to the altar today, he will definitely be able to drive away the hurricane, hahaha, Then we’ll be at ease.”
"This is still false. It is said that the emperor is destined to be an official. His Highness, King Yan, will also be an official in the future. Of course, he is also an emperor. It is not uncommon to have supernatural powers. God must give him some face. When His Highness ascends the throne, this The hurricane is definitely not coming."
"But isn't His Highness the son of the official family? The official family is the emperor, and your highness is also the emperor. They are all sons of God. How should we discuss this generation?"
"Let's stop asking about this... heavenly matter!"
"Hey, look, look, His Highness is out..."
"Eh? Aren't you supposed to wear court clothes when worshiping heaven? Why is your Highness wearing military uniform and armor?"
Around the altar, there are a thousand soldiers on each side lined up in the rain, and an awning has been built thirty feet south of the altar. Officials will watch the ceremony here, and Zhao Mengqi is also here to make preparations for the sacrifice.
Four girls were arranging his clothes and armor, and Wanwan was holding a phoenix-winged bag to put on for him.
"Forget it, I won't wear this thing anymore, it will affect my hairstyle..."
Zhao Mengqi saw that Wanwan's face seemed worried, so he deliberately used a relaxed tone.
Wanwan understood what Zhao Mengqi was thinking, so she just smiled and put Douchun aside.
While Qian Duo tied the sword to his waist, he muttered, "Actually, you shouldn't wear armor. How can any priest wear armor?"
"What's wrong with the armor? Fourth brother has such a heroic look on his body. Later, Jian Niang will also buy herself a suit of armor." Zhao Jian's eyes flashed with little stars.
Zhao Fei still had doubts about the role of Zhao Mengqi's sacrifice to the sky, "Fourth brother, can you really drive away the hurricane? Then you are much more powerful than my father."
Logically speaking, Zhao Mengqi really shouldn't wear this kind of clothes to sacrifice to heaven. It is not in line with the etiquette and is easy to be struck by lightning. But he didn't bring his court clothes with him when he went out, and he had different ideas about this sacrifice, so he chose military clothes. .
If you don’t wear a pocket
, should be able to reduce the probability of being struck by lightning.
Zhao Mengqi thought wishfully, and then asked Wanwan to untie his bun and simply tie it into a ponytail with a ribbon.
After cleaning up, Zhao Mengqi pressed his sword to where he stood. His golden armor shone coldly and his ponytail flew high in the wind. He was indeed handsome.
He slowly glanced at the crowd and saw that many people still had uneasiness on their faces, "My ministers, if you go alone, you will definitely succeed. Just wait and see for the good news!"
After saying that, he turned around and stepped into the rain, his cloak fluttering up like a flame.
"I wish your highness a triumphant return!"
Since King Yan made a sacrifice the same as going out on an expedition, the officials could only pray in this way.
Zhao Mengqi walked up the wooden ladder, one level at a time. There were soldiers standing guard on each level. From a distance, there was an aura of iron-blooded killing.
At this time, Wu Qian also led the officials and generals out of the shed and went on duty in the rain. Everyone's eyes gradually followed Zhao Mengqi's figure upwards. .z.br>
Looking at such an unusual altar, Wu Qian couldn't help but shake his head in his heart. He had been an official for decades and had participated in countless sacrifices. Most of them were strict and solemn, but he had never seen such a murderous one. This King of Yan , I don’t know if it’s a joke or something new.
There were still some elderly people left in the awning, looking at the increasingly fiery red with very complicated eyes.
The head of the Lu family murmured, "Returning after a victory is called a triumph. If King Yan succeeds this time, the world will undergo great changes..."
"Then it must be successful..." An old man next to him had disdain hidden in his wrinkled face.
"Trying to defy nature with human power is just a dream." Another old man also disapproved of King Yan.
"I always feel that if His Highness really succeeds to the throne, it will not be a good thing for us."
"I think so too. Let's see how he steps down..."
