Zhai Yuan took his tribe and people from other tribes to live in Tongwen Hall. Everything about the Ming Dynasty shocked them so much that they could not express it in words.
The vast land, the densely packed tribesmen, the magnificent city crawling between heaven and earth like giant beasts. The armor on the soldiers who defended the city, the weapons in their hands, even the clothes of the people of the Ming Dynasty, and countless various delicacies
, which made Zhai Yuan and others extremely surprised.
In their view, this is no different from their ancient kingdom of gods. It is even more perfect than the kingdom of gods in their legends. After all, according to their oral tradition, the kingdom of gods is just a kingdom made of tall boulders.
The temples they built contained indescribably beautiful women, but nothing else. After all, their imaginations were very limited. Apart from temples and women, they didn't know what else should be in the kingdom of gods.
On the contrary, everything they saw in Daming made them unable to take their eyes away. Take the Huitong Hall where they live now as an example. The three-story pavilion, both the door and the windows, are all exquisitely decorated with carved beams and paintings. This way
Although their houses are also made of wood, they are not as good as those in their tribe.
"Well, there's no way the clan can compare with these." Zhai Yuan shook his head.
When he was learning Chinese with Fang Xiaoru, he once curiously asked what kind of country Ming Dynasty was. But at that time, Fang Xiaoru just smiled and told him that he wouldn't understand just by telling him.
If you want to understand the Ming Dynasty, go and see it yourself.
Originally, Zhai Yuan thought that Fang Xiaoru didn't want to tell him, but now he realized that even if Fang Xiaoru told him about the Ming Dynasty, he might not believe it.
Since Han Du came back, except for going into the palace to see Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao, he has not even left the house, like a homebody.
On this day, Fang Xiaoru found Han Du.
Han Du invited Fang Xiaoru to the inner hall, poured him tea with his own hands, and asked with a smile: "I heard that you have been studying those pieces of jade these past few days, how come you have time to come to my place?"
Fang Xiaoru took a sip of tea, closed her eyes and enjoyed the aromatic taste of the best tribute tea. After a while, she opened her eyes and said, "Well, in the past few days, the emperor has invited several great scholars to work with me to research the origins of those pieces of jade.
After our discussion, we all agreed that it was indeed an ancient artifact from the Yin Shang Dynasty. Therefore, everyone now believes that those Yin Di'an people do have a connection with us."
Han Du glanced at Fang Xiaoru in surprise. If those Yin Di'an people were really related to the Ming Dynasty, it would be a great good thing for the Ming Dynasty.
He quickly asked again: "It's only been a few days, and you can be sure?"
Fang Xiaoru shook his head and said: "This is just the opinion of a few people outside, but if we want the world to agree, just a few of us are not enough. We cannot rush this matter, we have to take our time."
Han Du nodded. It was not an easy task to research the Yin Shang Dynasty thousands of years ago. After all, although the Chinese inheritance had not been cut off, the understanding of the Yin Shang Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty was limited to some descriptions in history books.
If you want to verify it, the best thing is to find objects from the Yin and Shang Dynasties and compare them one by one. Of course, if you can find the corresponding words, that would be the best. This is why Fang Xiaoru wanted to make rubbings of the words from the Zhaiyuan tribe.
I came down just to make it easier to go back to Ming Dynasty for comparison.
These are just methods for verification. This also includes everyone’s opinions on this matter. Some people think it is, and naturally some people think it is not. I want to wait for them to discuss a result. I’m afraid I don’t know.
How much time has passed.
"I came to see you today because of another matter." Fang Xiaoru continued.
Han Du didn't think too much, nodded casually and responded: "Why are we so polite? If you have anything, please tell me.
.”
Seeing that Han Du had said this, Fang Xiaoru made a request directly, "Zhai Yuan has almost learned Chinese in the past few days, and there is no problem in reading and writing. They also wanted to know more about our history, so they put forward their ideas.
I want to go into the academy library and have a look."
The academy library was something that Han Du had been preparing since he started building the academy. Up to now, the academy library has completely surpassed the name of the Imperial College and has become the place with the largest collection of books in the world.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Lao Zhu also attached great importance to books. At first, he only hid books in the Imperial College, but as the number of books increased, Lao Zhu built a secret pavilion in the palace specifically for collecting books, and hid the books from the Imperial College.
Move them all to the Secret Pavilion for safekeeping.
After Han Du built a library in the academy, he set his sights on Lao Zhu's collection of books. He encouraged Zhu Biao many times to ask for books from Lao Zhu, until he made a copy of the entire secret pavilion's collection and placed it in the library.
In addition, people in the academy are accustomed to printing the research results into books and putting them in the library.
As a result, the academy library became the place with the largest collection of books in the world.
Moreover, Han Du also knew that it was true that Zhai Yuan and others wanted to know the history of China. After all, they were also curious about whether they were from the same lineage as China. However, Fang Xiaoru said that Zhai Yuan and others asked to go to the library to take a look.
, Han Du didn’t believe it.
This is probably Fang Xiaoru's suggestion to Zhai Yuan and others. After all, Zhai Yuan and others don't even know about the library. How could they think of asking the library to verify historical materials?
However, this is a good thing. If Zhai Yuan can be conquered by China's thousands of years of culture, then it doesn't matter whether he is a survivor of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Maybe he himself was assimilated by the culture and stood there.
Ming's position is not necessarily certain either.
Han Du nodded and agreed to let Zhai Yuan and others enter the library. "However, they can enter the library, and there is no problem in checking historical materials. But books on mathematics, physics and chemistry are absolutely not allowed to be seen by them."
"Why is this?" Fang Xiaoru was a little confused.
Moreover, the books in the library are not specially separated. They are all mixed together in a disorderly manner. Now if we want to prevent Zhai Yuan and others from seeing the mathematics, physics and chemistry books, we need to sort out these books and separate them, which will cost a lot of money.
Only the energy will do.
Han Du smiled, looked at Fang Xiaoru and said: "Those who are not from our race must have different minds. Regardless of whether Zhai Yuan and others are from the Yin and Shang lineage, we cannot treat them equally. Mathematics, physics and chemistry knowledge and historical materials are different.
Likewise, once leaked, the consequences will be endless."
Mathematics, physics, and chemistry can open the door to natural science. It has only been a few years since the academy taught this knowledge, and it has already begun to follow the mechanical path. If it is obtained by outsiders, it may not be the same. Han Du does not want to take any risks, right?
Naturally, this knowledge must be guarded tightly.
"Okay." Fang Xiaoru saw that Han Du said so solemnly and realized the importance of mathematics and physics.
With Han Du's nod, Zhai Yuan and others walked into the academy. The books in the library were being rearranged, and all the books on mathematics, physics and chemistry were placed on the third floor.
As soon as Zhai Yuan and others walked into the door of the library, they saw wooden bookshelves taller than one person, neatly filled with various books. One wooden shelf can hold hundreds of books on the left and right sides.
Books, and there are dozens of rows of wooden shelves on this level, hundreds of them.
The winter solstice is approaching, and Lao Zhu is preparing to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth this year. Although Lao Zhu makes sacrifices at Zhongshan Yuanqiu every winter solstice, this year's sacrifice is particularly different.
This year, there is magical food brought back by Han Du, which can benefit all people
The food he received was considered to be the most auspicious thing in history. For such an unprecedented achievement, Lao Zhu naturally wanted to solemnly offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
Moreover, people from across the sea come to worship, which is also a very important event. As mentioned before, Lao Zhu is a very face-saving person. He is very happy that Ming Dynasty has not been able to replace him as the veritable common master of the world.
It's not a taste. But now that Zhai Yuan and others traveled thousands of miles to come to the Ming Dynasty, it is equivalent to the affirmation of the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
After all, even the powerful Yuan Dynasty in the past could not even conquer a small Japanese country, let alone the mainland across the sea?
As long as Lao Zhu takes this winter solstice to pray to heaven and earth and tell the world about these things, it will be a unique and huge improvement to the emperor's prestige.
Therefore, more than two months in advance, the Ministry of Rites began to be busy. Lao Zhu attached great importance to this sacrifice. Not only did he strictly supervise the Ministry of Rites, but he also personally intervened from time to time. The standard and scale of this sacrifice were raised to the same level as when he was the emperor.
The time is generally the same.
Ten days in advance before the sacrifice, Lao Zhu ordered three people, namely, the Minister of Libu, the Minister of Libu, and the Minister of Hubu, to go to the Circular Qiu Sacrifice to see the sacrifices. In addition, Lao Zhu also had to go to the sacrifice site in person and to enter the Taichang Temple to observe the bronze statue.
Then Lao Zhu would go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to report that he would worship heaven on the winter solstice, and ask the emperor to accompany the emperor and the gods; he would gather all the officials in the Fengtian Hall to receive the oaths and pass on the oaths; he would prepare the blessing tablets and jade silk with the royal name filled in by himself during the sacrifice, and they would be handed down by Taichang.
Temple sent to the Temple of Heaven.
As the Marquis of Zhenhai, Han Du was naturally one of the sacrificial attendants. As required, he went through various rituals presided over by the Ministry of Etiquette for a whole day in Fengtian Hall. When Han Du returned to the house, he still felt a wave of headache.
Confused.
The day before the sacrifice, Lao Zhu had to report to the Ancestral Temple again, meaning to tell the ancestors of the Lao Zhu family that the Ming Dynasty had another prosperous year, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the world was peaceful. Anyway, these are grand and good words. But this year is different.
This year the Ming Dynasty has received auspiciousness and received congratulations from countries thousands of miles away, so there will naturally be more happy events.
Then Lao Zhu took the royal chariot to the Circular Mound of Dazhong Mountain, inspected the various altars on the circular mound, and looked at the God, Pei Emperor, Ming Dynasty, Night Ming, Stars, and Clouds displayed on the circular mound.
, the gods of rain, wind, and thunder and the divine tablets. In front of the divine tablets of each deity, calves, sheep, hogs, jade, silk, and various utensils are placed according to the corresponding levels.
When the winter solstice arrives, the formal sacrifice begins.
On that day, drums were beaten three times at midnight to welcome the emperor. Therefore, on the day of the official sacrifice, Han Du was taken to Yuanqiu in the middle of the night to follow the etiquette of the sacrifice ceremony.
The whole sacrificial ceremony is divided into nine ritual stages, namely welcoming the gods, laying jade and silk fabrics, entering the altar, first offering, sub-offering, final offering, removing the food, sending off the gods, looking at the fire, etc. Each ritual stage plays different music, dances, and martial arts.
The "Eight Yi" dance has 480 students in the arts, martial arts, music and dance, and 90 deacons. This shows how huge the music and dance team is.
Every time a ritual was performed, the emperor had to kneel three times and kowtow nine times, kneeling three times and kowtowing at each position. From welcoming the gods to seeing off the gods, he had to kneel more than 70 times and kowtow more than 200 times, which lasted for a long time.
An hour long.
Since Lao Zhu was kowtowing, all the officials were naturally unavoidable. Han Du didn't know how others felt, but he felt dizzy and his forehead was swollen and painful after being kowtowed. Han Du deeply doubted that the ancients made such complicated sacrifices.
It's completely intentional to make people suffer.
Just think about it, since the ancients wanted to sacrifice the emperor, if the sacrifice was simply completed, how could the majesty of heaven and earth be reflected? Everyone laughed and held their hands, and after casually placing incense sticks, they could share it. Each of us
I happily went home carrying several kilograms of meat. Such a sacrifice may have to be entertainment rather than its original intention.
You must know that the rituals of this sacrifice were formulated by officials of the Ministry of Rites of the past dynasties and were left behind. Han Du could not help but think maliciously
, maybe these officials wanted to see the emperor's embarrassment, so they deliberately made the ritual process so complicated.
The discipline requirements at the sacrificial site are extremely strict. The accompanying officials must be pious and tidy. They are not allowed to arrive late or leave early, they are not allowed to cough or spit, they are not allowed to move around and make noise, they are not allowed to look around randomly, and they are not allowed to mess up the order.
In short, the meaning is that once you enter the sacrificial team, it is best to treat yourself as a robot, and you will do what others do.
Lao Zhu stood on the circular hill and read the prepared memorial text. The memorial text was difficult to understand and extremely difficult to pronounce. Anyway, Han Du didn't understand a single word from the beginning to the end. He felt confident that Lao Zhu could swallow it in one breath.
I read it smoothly and was deeply impressed.
But thinking with his toes, Han Du also knew what Lao Zhu was talking about. It was nothing more than reporting to God, thanking God for the auspiciousness that had descended on Ming Dynasty, etc.
This year Lao Zhu obviously had a lot to report to God, and he didn't finish reciting it until the sun went down in the morning.
And in the sacrificial team, there is also this special group of people, that is, Zhai Yuan and the Yin Di'an people. This heaven and earth sacrifice is not only a sacrifice to heaven and earth, but also for Zhai Yuan and others to see.
Zhai Yuan was shocked after seeing the sacrificial ceremony. Only then did he understand why Han Du showed such surprise when he saw his people sacrificing to the Sun God.
Because the two kinds of sacrifices are so similar. The place where other tribes worship the sun god is a mound specially built with soil, while in the Ming Dynasty, it is a specially built circular mound. The specifications of the circular mound are,
It is very similar to the mounds in his clan, both have three floors, but the surface of the mound is paved with a layer of stone slabs and has finely carved white jade railings.
To put it simply, a round mound is a more luxurious sacrificial mound.
There is also a dance used for sacrificial rituals, the name is "Bayi" dance. What is "Bayi" dance? It means that there are eight people vertically and horizontally, and 8,864 people dance collectively. The dance slows down step by step.
The ups and downs give people a solemn feeling. Such dance steps are also similar in Zhai Yuan's clan, and they have been passed down from generation to generation.
Finally, there was sacrifice. Not only did the emperors offer sacrifices to heaven and earth in a similar manner to their chiefs offering sacrifices to the sun god, they both stood alone on the highest platform to offer sacrifices. However, in the Ming Dynasty, they reported their achievements to the heaven in long and lengthy letters, while the chiefs worshiped the sun god.
Pray to the sun god.
Even the objects placed there are very similar. Perhaps the only difference is that Zhai Yuan and the others worshiped their ancestors, while the Ming Dynasty worshiped gods and tablets.
These days, Zhai Yuan also found many records about the Yin and Shang Dynasties in the academy library. He was extremely curious about the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and even once suspected that his tribe was really separated from the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Now
Seeing such similar sacrifices again, Zhai Yuan couldn't help but feel a little convinced.
At the end of the sacrifice, all the blessing tablets and silks must be sent to the burning place for burning. Only wisps of green smoke can bring the achievements of the world to the heaven.
Then Lao Zhu would take hundreds of officials to the Ancestral Temple to report the completion of the ceremony to the ancestors again. The officials followed Lao Zhu back to Fengtian Hall to celebrate the ceremony.
After the sacrifice, meat must be distributed to the relevant officials according to the system. Han Du, the marquis, received ten kilograms of beef and went home happily.
Other officials, according to their rank and the department they belong to, will also be allocated various meats ranging from ten kilograms, seven kilograms, five kilograms, and four kilograms.
The meat distributed this time was nothing to Han Du, but for some poor officials, it was a rare opportunity for them to eat meat. Therefore, among the officials, some people were looking forward to this final portion of meat.