Little Jeanne clicked her tongue, while Zhu Wenkui just smiled bitterly. He has been here for many years and is used to this kind of thing...
After the second group also entered the square, a large group of musicians followed.
"Just these two teams?" Little Jeanne was still confused.
"We can't have the whole regiment come." Guo Kang said helplessly: "The vanguard doesn't need so many people. And if they all come in at once, other armies won't be happy either."
The musicians were playing, and the sounds of suonas and gongs and drums were so penetrating that it was inconvenient for everyone to chat, so they had to pause and wait for the follow-up.
Amid the music, a group of people entered the square from the other side. The leader, Tuo Huan, jumped off his horse first, waved to the people on the viewing platform, and then walked forward into the square. From the carriage behind, the Queen, Theodora and several ladies also filed out.
The audience cheered again, and when they stood still, the band stopped temporarily.
"I only know Ke Dun and Princess." Zhu Wenkui said, "Who are the others?"
"My aunt, the wife of Prime Minister Mr. Wang, Uncle Zhang's wife..." Guo Kang took a look and replied: "They are the family members of the generals who went to war."
"This way..." Zhu Wenkui looked back and forth curiously for a while. He was the most familiar with Guo Kang, so he didn't care so much and whispered directly: "I always feel that your uncle looks more like a Greek, and your aunt looks like a Han."
"Because it is." Guo Kang also replied: "The fifth uncle was adopted by my uncle Xian Gong, and he is indeed a local. My aunt is the daughter of the Wu family, and his family does not marry many locals, so it is obvious that They look like people from the Central Plains."
"so……"
"Uncle Yang next to you." Guo Kang pointed to the group leader who had just taken the lead: "He may be a Bulgarian - of course he may be a Serbian. Anyway, the descendants of the refugees here often don't know where their ancestors are. Come."
"No wonder, I think they have different naming styles." Zhu Wenkui thought for a while and said.
"Actually, the name is not too accurate." Guo Kang laughed again: "Although Uncle Yang has a rustic name, he is a graduate of the Institute of Water Conservancy of Junba University and was the top graduate of the year. Among this group of people, he may be the only one with the highest level of education. Highest."
"After graduation, he worked in the Ministry of Water Resources for a few years. When he felt he had nothing to do, he joined the battle group. Because his engineering skills were so good and he was very hardworking, he stood out within a few years. His improved detection methods are now used by the entire army. use."
"We all feel that when he becomes general, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Water will probably be his."
"As for my fifth uncle..." Guo Kang said euphemistically: "His cultural level may be slightly inferior to that of my father..."
"..." Zhu Wenkui was speechless for a moment.
After the band came two more rows of riders. After they entered, all the musicians played their instruments simultaneously again.
This time there is no need for Guo Kang to explain, because the audience has already shouted. As the victor, Baisai Khan finally arrived at the square.
John IX was a tall man, and he looked like a father and son at first glance. It's just that the long-term battle has made his face look thinner.
He stood on a chariot pulled by four white horses, his slender face covered with red paint. Wearing a traditional Eastern Roman dress inlaid with beads and jade to form a mosaic pattern, and also wearing a purple cloak. On the chariot, there is also a yellow umbrella cover.
Twelve foot attendants walked around the chariot.
The three people on the left front are wearing robes with five-color patterns and black boots. They carry large axes on their shoulders and sticks tied with blue belts. In front of the three people is a flag bearer, wearing a green robe and holding a red sun flag with a green background.
The three people on the rear left are wearing the same robes and soap boots, carrying large axes on their shoulders, and sticks tied with red belts. Before the three of them, there was also a flag bearer, wearing a red robe and holding a sweat room flag with gold characters on a red background and four "X"s painted on it.
The three people in the front right were dressed in similar ceremonial attires, except that they were carrying sticks tied with black belts. The flag bearer in front of the three people was wearing a black robe and holding a national flag with the Chinese character for "Da Qin" written on a black background.
There are three attendants at the rear right, their staffs tied up with white ribbons. The leading flag bearer wears a white robe and holds a red moon flag on a white background.
Following this group of ceremonial guards is the Great Khan's Nordic guard. They also wore armor and entered on foot. They also carried a large number of flags, banners, banners and banners. From a distance, they looked densely packed and very lively.
"Is this also a Roman ceremony?" Zhu Wenkui asked confused.
"It may have been... moderate modifications." Guo Kang didn't know how to describe it: "I remember that it was a mixture of driving records from the Tang Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. But I don't know exactly what was mixed in. What's in it? There should be quite a few original parts, and I even suspect that when it was first formulated, everyone might not be very clear about it..."
"Look at those flags of mysterious and strange beasts." Guo Kang pointed to the big flags carried by everyone in Varyag: "If I remember correctly, those flags should have things like warding off evil spirits, dragons and horses, and golden oxen, each with its own characteristics. meaning."
"It's a pity that our craftsmen don't understand these at all. I suspect that those patterns were painted casually. Otherwise, why do you want to draw a chimera in the ceremonial guard..."
"Uh..." Zhu Wenkui was also a little embarrassed: "It should just be regarded as a monster flag. You also said that in Rome, you should do as the Romans do. Maybe even the monsters do as the Romans do..."
Guo Kang was speechless for a moment.
"Brother Kang." Little Jeanne immediately answered: "Why is Bai Saihan wearing red face?"
"This is really an ancient Roman custom." Guo Kang said: "One theory is that the victor gained divinity on that day, so he had to dress like a god. In response, a specially arranged person would remind him, Remind him that he is only a human being."
"Huh? All gods have red faces? Why?" Zhu Wenkui asked strangely: "Are they all the same as Guan Gong?"
"I don't know." Guo Kang gave up the explanation directly: "There is another saying that the victorious people will be too proud, so they need to use paint to cover up their expressions to prevent everyone from seeing their smug look. You can judge for yourself which one is more proud. reason."
"I'm curious, why do they think that triumph will bring divinity? Is this divinity granted by their gods, or by the Senate, or is it brought about by the victory itself?" Little Jeanne seemed to want to of more.
"Mars is red, right?" Zhu Wenkui objected: "I think it was the God of War who came down to earth and descended on this person. Therefore, like the God of War, he also has to wear red face."
"In that case, the paint used in this ceremony should be changed - what color did Heavenly Father come to earth with?" he thought.
"Didn't Mars often lose battles? Why did he come down to earth?" Little Jeanne disagreed.
"That's why he clings to the victorious general." Zhu Wenkui defended forcefully: "As the saying goes, if you lack something, think about it. He is a god of war, but he still suffers defeat every day. He must especially like to take advantage of others who can win..."
"You're still perfect..." Guo Kang said in surprise.
Little Jeanne was also speechless.
Fortunately, the small dispute did not last long, and the ceremony moved on to the next stage. The queen walked over with a group of greeters, preparing to recite a welcome speech. The soldiers maintaining order urged everyone to quiet down and wait for her to speak.
But Bai Saihan jumped out of the car and strode over.
"Stop reading, what those old scholars taught you is all nonsense, my dear Anna!" He hugged his wife and pressed her directly against her: "We are going home!"
Queen Anna was obviously still in a dumbfounded state, and after reacting, she still looked at a loss. She tried to push him away and adjust her dress, but ended up getting a lot of paint on her face.
The queen has always been thoughtful and thoughtful. This is the first time Guo Kang has seen her so at a loss. The oil paint did indeed have the effect of concealing his expression as he explained. At least from this distance, it was indeed impossible to see her expression clearly, which would not embarrass the queen too much.
Someone in the team following Bai Saihan also shouted: "Great Khan, you have seen your wife, we want to see your wife too!"
"Yes, we want to see our wives too!"
"See my wife, see my wife!"
the soldiers shouted.
John Khan put down the queen, turned around, stretched out his arms, and shouted: "Okay! When the triumph is over, everyone should go home!"
"I'm very happy to see my wife today. Give each of you 5 - no, 10 Nomisma, as a gift from me to your family. Anyone who has a wife, please go home and coax your wife, let this group Happy dragon-like greedy bitch!"
"If you don't have a wife, use this money to find yourself a temporary wife - find me a good-looking one. You are soldiers of Rome. Don't lead the sheep like a barbarian and let me pay the bride price! Do you understand!"
"Old Zhang, pay me, take it from my trophies!" He waved his hand and shouted to Nanya Marshal Zhang Gongliang who was following the team.
The soldiers shouted in unison, a cheer that surpassed all previous sounds.
Taking advantage of this moment, John Khan walked up to Tuohuan and slapped him hard twice, making both of them laugh. He walked over to Theodora again and said a few words to her.
Just after the cheers, Lama Wang walked out of the temple wearing a patriarchal attire and leading a few assistants.
"The main event has begun." Guo Kang reminded.
"What's the highlight?" asked little Jeanne.
"Sacrifice." Guo Kang said.
A group of servants brought over a set of wooden boards and began to assemble them on site, quickly forming a disc-mounted wooden platform. John Khan waved his hand and shouted: "Bring the Poles and the loot!"
The team moved to both sides, and a large group of prisoners was escorted up from the end of the team. There were disdainful taunts and curses from the soldiers and citizens on both sides.
After the prisoners came several more carts. There is a long pole inserted in the car. The pole is surrounded by many layers of horizontal branches like a tree, and each "branch" is covered with densely packed heads. The soldiers pushed the prisoners into the square and put the carts in front.
Finally, several servants came and a cow, a sheep, and a pig also stayed in the square.
"According to Roman tradition, some of the prisoners will be executed in front of the temple, and the rest will be spared death." Guo Kang explained: "We usually execute Poles and release or sell others depending on the situation."
"Oh, this is the meaning of dedicating prisoners to the ancestral temple." Zhu Wenkui understood.
"How many should be executed?" Jeanne asked.
"I don't know either." Guo Kang said helplessly: "When we first researched the triumphal ceremony, the information found was relatively limited, and we couldn't figure it out clearly. So we can only refer to records such as "Spring and Autumn" to give everyone a rough idea. number."
"According to everyone's understanding, the more the better. After all, the triumphal ceremony commemorates the victory of the battle. The more prisoners there are, the greater the victory. But on the other hand, we cannot kill all the prisoners, otherwise we will Who dares to surrender to you this time?"
"Thinking about it in the end, the result is to kill only the Poles. Because they never surrendered in the first place, and they deliberately killed our people every time. Even if they are put back, it will not help. They are just used to sacrifice Brother Tian, which is also considered a gift. Use it to its best advantage.”
"That's it..."
Guo Kang nodded.
When he first learned about these rituals, he always felt they were too cruel. But later when he saw the remains of Guo's relatives, he no longer cared about the heads and sacrificial rituals.
"Where's Makris? Let him come over." John Khan greeted.
Not long after, a huge man with a sturdy back and strong waist walked out of the crowd and bowed to him.
This man was extremely tall. John, who was already considered a tall and strong man, was elbowed next to him. He moved his body, then unbuttoned his shirt, took it off and made a muscle-flexing gesture towards the crowd.
Many Greeks, both men and women, screamed.
"Bring out the Polish nobles," the Khan ordered.
The soldiers untied several Poles who were chained together and untied others. The five men were tied together and rushed to the middle of the field.
"Kill them!" the citizens shouted.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The crowd shouted, and some soldiers also joined them.
John Khan stretched out his hand and pressed it down to signal everyone to be quiet.
"Citizens, I know you hate these people. But we have our own laws and moral rules. If we violate them arbitrarily, we will be no different from them." He said in a deep voice: "So, I need you to control your anger. Judge them not based on momentary emotions, but by rules.”
"This time, we captured five Polish nobles. According to tradition, we cannot let these nobles retain their blood. Of course, warriors will receive higher-level treatment, so I will give them a chance to choose."
"Either, get into this bag." He pointed to a sack that the servants unfolded beside the round platform behind him, and turned to several Polish nobles: "I will stuff you under this wooden platform, following the old example of Sain Khan, Give you a decent home."
"Either, wrestle with my little rabbit, Johannes Makris." He pointed to the giant man next to him: "If you can defeat him, you will gain my respect for the warrior and be cast unconditionally. Even if you cannot defeat, Nor will I execute you with the sword."
"That's the limit of my mercy - my citizens may not be happy with it already. Take your pick," he said.
(End of chapter)
