The huge carriage slowly drove out of the palace gate, and then a whimpering horn sounded from above the palace.
Of course it was not a charge of battle, but a song of sacrifice to heaven.
Immediately afterwards, the guards and officials filed out, adding a sonorous color to the melodious music.
A group of soldiers in front sang loudly: "King, come out! Sacrifice, heaven and earth!"
Immediately afterwards, accompanied by the clatter of horse hooves, countless bamboo tubes were instantly thrown into the braziers prepared on both sides of the road, and the sound of firecrackers resounded in front of the palace gate!
The horses carrying Zhao Kuo had obviously gone through countless trainings. Even though there were countless firecrackers around them, they still didn't panic at all.
Obviously, Zhao Wei and others who were responsible for the escort also thought of many ways.
After the sound of firecrackers, the group of people had arrived outside the palace city. Li Mu had been waiting here with his army for a long time.
Seeing the carriage approaching, Li Mu immediately raised the command flag in his hand. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of drums standing side by side outside the royal city began to vibrate.
"Boom..."
"Dong...dong..."
From the palace to the city gate tower, it was like a command, ranging from slow to fast, from small to large. It seemed to have an overwhelming atmosphere, and even more powerful to shake the heaven and the earth. It was deafening and enlightening.
Zhao Kuo, who was sitting on the chariot, quietly admired the resonance of the drums and firecrackers in front of him through the heavy curtains. It was as if he had returned to the Chinese New Year when he was a child. The child lying on the window sill was not far away from him. The too clear glass windows, quietly watching the joyous scene of firecrackers and bright fireworks outside the window!
However, Zhao Kuo knew that he would never go back!
The carriage continued to move forward amidst the sound of drums and firecrackers, and soon reached the downtown area of Handan. Due to the sacrifice to heaven, the curfew was of course lifted in Handan City. Although it was already midnight, the downtown area was still bustling with people. , it is not an exaggeration to say that the streets are empty.
According to Pingyuan Jun's plan, in order to ensure Zhao Kuo's safety, the street must be cleaned. But Zhao Kuo naturally didn't allow it. Also because Zhao Kuo was not allowed to clean the streets, the palace guards had to clear the way before the carriage arrived.
Fortunately, the people of Handan are naturally very sensible. Listening to the beating of drums, they have consciously given up the middle of the road. People were eagerly awaiting Zhao Kuo's arrival.
As the drums got closer and louder, the crowd in Handan City became more and more excited.
In the entire city of Handan, not one of the tens of thousands of people stayed quietly at home to watch the New Year as usual.
The news of "sacrifice to heaven and earth", although no one spread it deliberately, has already spread throughout the Zhao Kingdom.
It is said that the people in Handan City, even many people from Shangdang and Daijun, who are hundreds of miles away, are rushing towards Handan City with their wives and children. The purpose is to be able to participate in the "Sacrifice to Heaven and Earth" ceremony held by their king Zhao Kuo.
The prestige of Zhao Kuo to the subjects of Zhao State can be seen.
Finally, the clatter of horse hooves accompanied the appearance of the giant carriage, pushing the lively crowd to a climax!
"My King for ten thousand years!"
"I will be king for ten thousand years!"
"Da Zhao Wannian!"
The people who poured into the streets shouted out their dreams! The high cheers even gradually suppressed the accompanying drum music.
Zhao Kuo, who was sitting in the carriage, immediately stood up and even ordered Zhao Wei to remove the complicated curtains.
Then he waved gently with one hand, greeting his subjects.
What is this? This is the support of the people, support that would not be exchanged for a thousand pieces of gold!
Although Zhao Kuo's face was as steady as an old dog, his trembling hands could not hide the passion in his heart.
Since ancient times, those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world. Those who have the hearts and minds of the people, our country, Zhao, and our country, will surely be glorious for thousands of years! ! !
As the people shouted, even Zhao Ping, who was driving the carriage, felt a different kind of atmosphere.
Involuntarily, my body became more upright while driving!
Lord Pingyuan and others following the carriage looked at this scene of jockeying and felt quite emotional in their hearts, this must be the king! Even when King Zhao Wuling was around, he had never seen such a scene of empty streets!
Accompanied by the cheers of the crowd, the carriage continued to move forward. Zhao Kuo and his entourage passed through the city. The distance was neither long nor short, but it took nearly half an hour. However, when approaching the city gate, the crowd still did not disperse, and there were even more people. More and more people are rushing to the city gate from all directions, trying to catch the last chance...
However, although the distance from the palace to the city gate is not too close, it is not too far either.
Amidst the bursts of shouts of "My King Ten Thousand Years", Zhao Kuo and his party finally slowly drove into the city gate.
In an instant, Handan City was already behind Zhao Kuo. The carnival in the city was still going on, but many people had disappeared in front of Zhao Kuo, and the three thousand troops who had been waiting began to take over and clear the way for Zhao Kuo.
For safety reasons, the roads outside the city have long been cleared by the army. There is no way, the wilderness is no better than the city, there are too many uncertainties in the darkness. If the people were allowed to come, tens of thousands of troops would probably be needed to maintain order.
Even having fun with the people needs to have a limit.
As the three thousand cavalry troops took over the marching column, the originally lively scene suddenly dissipated a lot.
Three thousand armored soldiers were all elite troops selected from various armies. Each of them was tall and powerful, and naturally they protected Zhao Kuo and the hundreds of officials accompanying him in the center.
On the outside of the queue, there are two people, one holding a blade and the other holding a torch, to eliminate all possible accidents.
It was this flame that slowly spread the excitement of Handan City to the high platform for worshiping heaven and earth!
Even though the marching queue has become terrifyingly solid, Li Mu especially feels inadequate. In that unknown darkness, Zhou Qi and Sun Gu each have more than 10,000 elite troops, and they can arrive at the large army at any time for reinforcements in the time of a cup of tea. .
In other words, for this ceremony, Li Mu mobilized more than 30,000 elite soldiers and horses to garrison Handan.
At the same time, all Zhao troops in Shangdang County, Dai County, and even the newly attached Wuyang and other places entered a state of first-level combat readiness three days ago.
If anyone dares to disrupt this ceremony, Li Mu will let him know why the flowers are so red.
It can be said that Zhao Guo has tried his best from top to bottom for this festival. And such a mobilization is almost no less than a large-scale campaign mobilization.
Being able to ensure the safety of all aspects during such a complicated maneuver, Li Mu, as the person in charge of security, obviously deserves the most credit.
Because of this, Li Mu was completely recognized by almost all the generals of Zhao State. Especially Lian Po and Tian Dan, who had been checking for deficiencies around Li Mu, praised Li Mu even more.
Everyone knows that the next general has been quietly announced during the procession of the sacrifice.
Soon, under the protection of the army, after more than half an hour of trekking, the three thousand army finally escorted Zhao Kuo and the officials to the towering altar!
It's an altar, but it's a bit crude. To put it simply, it is a not very tall mound in the northeast of Handan.
There is no other reason for choosing this place. It has a certain height and can save materials. It is not too close to Handan City, so everyone will not be tired of traveling.
Although this mound is not as majestic as Mount Tai, it is enough in Zhao Kuo's heart.
At least for the current Zhao State, it is enough. As for Mount Tai's enshrinement of Zen, that will happen later.
Of course, if you want to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, they can’t all be just a pile of soil. Under Yu Qing's supervision, it took only three short days to compact the mound of earth. Then, on top of the compacted mound, a high platform was built with loess, and copper was placed on the high platform. One each for a tripod, several cases, a drip and other objects.
Well, this is all about Zhao Guo’s altar.
Obviously, Yu Qing also followed Zhao Kuo's requirement of hardship and simplicity.
Finally, three thousand troops stopped under the altar. Then Li Mu waved the flag in his hand, and thousands of soldiers lined up to surround the altar, and then lit all the bonfires heavily. 33
Not to mention, under the raging fire, this simple mound turned out to be indescribably powerful and domineering.
After the soldiers surrounded the altar, Li Mu got off his horse and rushed to Lord Pingyuan. He said, "Sir, the altar is ready."
Immediately, Lord Pingyuan nodded calmly, then took two steps forward and reported to Zhao Kuo in the carriage: "Please invite my king to the stage."
After saying this, all the ministers, led by Lord Pingyuan, bowed their heads to the end one after another.
Afterwards, Zhao Kuo got off the carriage, glanced at the still somewhat towering altar, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, please get up and join us on the altar."
"Yes." All the ministers agreed.
Immediately, Zhao Kuo held the long sword in his left hand, with his right hand slightly behind his back, and strode toward the altar not far away.
At the same time, Lord Pingyuan was on the right and General Lian Po was on the left. They each led civil and military officials to follow closely behind Zhao Kuo and slowly walked towards the high platform.
Soon, the compacted mound of earth was gone, and naturally not everyone could go up to the remaining high platform.
Immediately, Zhao Kuo led Pingyuan Jun, Lian Po and Yu Qing up the stairs.
Needless to say, Lord Pingyuan and Lian Po were the chief civil and military officials of Zhao State, so they naturally followed Zhao Kuo on the stage.
As for Yu Qing, he was the host of the ceremony, so he had the honor to wait with Zhao Kuo.
Just this mere honor has already made countless Zhao officials envious.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Zhao Kuo waited slowly to climb the steps, taking his time. Zhao Kuo knew that as he ascended the high platform step by step, history would be completely rewritten at this moment.
What Zhao Kuo has to do is to hold on!
Steadily ascend to the high platform, steadily complete the sacrifice to heaven, steadily revolutionize the State of Zhao...
After a while, the four of them reached the top of the altar.
On the high platform, the gift of three animals had already been placed on the table, and Yu Qing on the side slowly walked in front of the bronze tripod, turned around, and faced Zhao Kuo and others.
For a time, everything was silent on the high platform, with a cool breeze blowing. Only the dripping of the copper pot counted the time for the sacrifice.
Some people died, but not completely...
