Following Tao Zhongwen's actions, dark clouds rolled in and the wind around him gradually picked up. It really looked like the mountains and rivers were about to rain!
The people around him naturally noticed it. They raised their heads one by one and looked at the figure on the altar with excited eyes. Looking at the sky full of dark clouds, some people were already bending their knees, waiting for the heavy rain to fall. The earth sings praises.
Emperor Jiajing stood at the front of the team, his eyes also shining with excitement.
Behind the emperor, the ministers of the cabinet looked at each other in disbelief. Some of the ministers who had been grim-faced throughout the whole process were now a little moved.
The most important thing for the country is to sacrifice the soldiers. Every generation of emperors in the Ming Dynasty will perform sacrifices. But everyone knows that it is just symbolic to show the legitimacy of the emperor's orders from heaven. There cannot be any real heaven and earth. Enjoy them. to worship and give shelter.
Otherwise, there should be no dynasty changes starting from the Xia Dynasty.
However, even these courtiers, who had always been firm, were wavering at this time. If it weren't for the ethics of the Confucian disciples and if the Taoist priests hadn't seriously affected the situation of the court, they might not have fallen into a carnival like the people around them.
Everyone raised their heads and looked up at the sky with different moods, waiting for the heavy rain to come.
Tao Zhongwen did not disappoint them. At this time, dark clouds rolled in the sky, covering the entire Gyeonggi sky. Rich rain was brewing in it, as if waiting for a command!
At this time, Tao Zhenren's loud shout on the altar was like a signal. Everyone was shocked and raised their heads in unison.
Rain is coming! This is what everyone is thinking at this time. Tao Zhongwen has done this several times and has never made a mistake.
One breath, two breaths...
Emperor Jiajing lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. He was dazzled by the dazzling sunshine.
Tao Zhongwen's loud shout was indeed like a signal. Just when the loud shout came out from his mouth, the dark clouds dissipated like ice and snow in an instant, revealing the blazing sun that was covered by it. Dissipated, the bright sunshine blurred the eyes of everyone present.
Jiajing blinked and regained his vision, then looked at Tao Zhongwen with doubtful eyes - what does this mean? Isn't it asking for rain?
His long-term trust in Tao Zhongwen and other Taoist priests made him not doubt Tao Zhongwen's failure. He even thought that this was Tao Zhongwen showing off his skills and roaring to the sky.
So at his suggestion, the eunuch beside him clapped his hands and said in a sharp voice:
"What a great trick!"
After hearing the eunuch's words, everyone who was already hesitant immediately realized - yes, how could the real person be wrong? Applause even harder.
The scene was filled with joy, except for Tao Zhongwen standing on the altar, sweating.
impossible! According to the observation of celestial phenomena, it must rain at noon! The dark clouds have already arrived, what's going on, what's going on...
Tao Zhongwen was extremely panicked at this time.
Yes, this is his method of praying for rain. Whether it is him or the previous Shao Yuanjie, it is not so much that he can pray for rain, but rather that he arranges sacrifices according to the time of rain.
They are all masters of meteorology. They can calculate the time of rain through celestial phenomena and other natural things, and then arrange sacrifices before it rains, making it look like the natural rain comes from themselves.
They did succeed. For twenty years, Emperor Jiajing was deceived by them. The reason why Zhu Houcong was so determined to practice Taoism was indispensable for his ability to call upon the wind and rain.
But this time, I don’t know what happened, but it failed. Tao Zhongwen thought about his derivation, and he was right!
At this time, Emperor Jiajing also said below:
"The real-life magic is really an eye-opener for us, but can we show off our ability to control wind and rain next?"
This was urging him.
There is no other way, now that the emperor is watching from below, he has no choice but to go up!
Tao Zhongwen gritted his teeth and simply pretended that he had done it on purpose, and started the sacrifice again.
So, on this altar, the figure danced again, making various strange postures.
However, the clear sky no longer looked like the gathering of dark clouds before. Tao Zhongwen was also a ruthless person, so he kept practicing on the altar from noon until sunset.
At this time, even a fool could tell that something was wrong. Even Tao Taoist's arms were trembling slightly from waving for a long time, and his steps were extremely stiff. How could he still have the immortal spirit from before?
Under the altar, the respectful expressions of the people gradually disappeared, humming could be heard from time to time, and Emperor Jiajing's brows became more and more frowned.
After all, he is also an emperor, and he has many things to do. He has left so many things behind to come here to support, isn't it just to watch a rain show?
Result, that's it?
Wasn't it smooth before? What about this time?
He finally said impatiently:
"Ma'am, why hasn't the rain come yet?"
Hearing this, Tao Zhongwen stopped what he was doing. He took one last look at the sky, which showed no sign of rain, and walked down the altar with confusion. At this time, he had calmed down, and during the delay, he had already thought of his words.
"Your Majesty, it's not because I am praying for rain. The Dragon Prince has already left to spread clouds and rain elsewhere, but he can't come back in time, so his prayer cannot be successful."
Jiajing was also pious, and Tao Zhongwen had indeed succeeded in praying for rain before, so he had no doubts and just nodded and asked:
"It's unfortunate... Can you guess the next time to pray for rain?"
"This..." After hearing this, Tao Zhongwen hesitated and looked at the sky again, but at this time he was far less confident than before and said vaguely:
"Probably in more than a month..."
Emperor Jiajing was a little anxious when he saw this.
The entire northern part of Beizhi has been experiencing severe drought for dozens of days, and the rivers have stopped flowing. If it takes more than a month, farming will be greatly delayed! By then, there will be many more refugees in the Gyeonggi area!
But at this moment, a sneer came from behind the emperor:
"A real person's art of praying for rain is nothing more than that!"
Hearing this, the ministers were all shocked, and then looked at the source of the voice - it was the chief minister of the cabinet, Yan Song!
What a courage!
Even if Tao Zhenren fails to pray for rain, he is still a popular person in front of His Majesty, and not everyone can question it!
Sure enough, when Emperor Jiajing heard these words, he immediately turned around and glared at him, obviously thinking that he was in the same group as those who had previously opposed his cultivation of immortality.
He had even dismissed people like Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. Although Yan Song was the chief assistant, in his eyes... was there any difference? They are all puppets!
Emperor Jiajing pursed his lips and was about to speak angrily, but Yan Song spoke first:
"How can a person who pretends to be a ghost and disrespects the immortals get the favor of the immortals and get that sweet rain? If he can ask for rain, then he really has no eyes in the sky!"
(End of chapter)
