Zhao Wenhua, as the chief priest, led a group of officials and all the people present to kneel down and worship the emperor's tablet, then read out the imperial edict, and then began to read out the sacrificial text amid a burst of sacrificial music.
"My Emperor Jiajing, his blessings are long-lasting; the world is eager to unify all directions; the Kun and Peng plow the sea, and the sky is vast; the government is harmonious and the morality is evergreen; we are in a prosperous age, and the people are prosperous. However, there is a sea monster, and it helps the Japanese pirates and violates the laws of heaven.
, disturbing my coast, acting boldly; strong
The four seas, the great ocean, the blue waves, the vast sea, the dragon kings of the four seas, and the gods from all over the world, please accept my sacrifice, bless my Ming Dynasty, prosper my country, kill the sea monsters, and capsize the Japanese ships..."
On the high altar, Zhao Wenhua recited the sacrificial rites in a cadenced manner, eloquently and contentedly.
Under the altar, Zhu Ping'an was extremely nervous. He carefully looked at every corner of the altar, and his eyes almost turned into eagle eyes.
Reciting sacrificial texts, offering sacrifices to gods, offering incense and silk fabrics, Taoist priests setting up altars and performing rituals...
With each step of the ceremony, Zhu Pingan's nervousness increased, and a layer of cold sweat gradually appeared on his back.
However, until the last step of the ceremony, the ceremony was peaceful and quiet.
When the sacrifices were poured into the sea, the atmosphere of the entire sea ceremony suddenly reached its peak.
At this point, the formal ceremony of the sea sacrifice ceremony is over, and it can also be said that the sea sacrifice has been successfully completed. The next step is the informal process, which includes juggling, singing, monkey playing and other social entertainment activities with the people. In the evening, there will be
The most anticipated fireworks show.
In ancient times, entertainment activities were not as colorful as in modern times. Except for some entertainment activities during festivals and annual temple fairs, there were no entertainment programs to watch in ordinary times.
In ancient times when there was a curfew, they were reluctant to light candles. There was nothing more to their nightlife than turning off the lights, sleeping and making little figures.
Nowadays, not only are there jugglers, opera singers, monkey performers and other entertainment activities on the stage, but I heard that fireworks are also set off at night, especially when the adults say that they will also take care of the food at night. How can there be meaty meat? The people are very excited. Where can I go?
I was willing to leave, everyone applauded and applauded while watching the show.
While the common people were applauding to watch the social opera, Zhao Wenhua had already summoned the officials present to hold a celebration banquet.
In the handsome tent, there were four large tables with a dazzling array of wine and food, and more than forty officials gathered together. The officials were arranged at different tables according to their official positions and seniority.
At the main table, Zhao Wenhua was smiling and contented, Zhang Jing sat next to Zhao Wenhua with a straight face, Hu Zongxian sat on the other side of Zhao Wenhua, Yingtian Minister of Rites, Minister of War and other officials were also among them.
Zhu Ping'an sat at the end of the main table, and Linhuai Marquis, who was the deputy commander-in-chief of Jianghuai, sat at the top of Zhu Ping'an.
"Hahaha, thank you all colleagues for your help, this sea sacrifice ceremony that can be recorded in history can be successfully completed. This sea sacrifice is not the result of me, Zhao Wenhua, but everyone here is also a meritorious person. I will
According to the facts, I reported it to you for your colleagues. This is my first glass of wine. I would like to pay tribute to all my colleagues and thank you for your help."
Zhao Wenhua's face was radiant and proud, he raised his wine glass and saluted the officials in the tent.
Zhang Jing sat still and held the glass of wine perfunctorily. He came to the sea ceremony celebration banquet just for the sake of Emperor Jiajing's sake and started well and ended well.
After the sea sacrifice, even if Zhao Wenhua knelt to death in front of him, he would not attend Zhao Wenhua's banquet.
"You're welcome, Mr. Zhao, this is all my business."
Zhu Ping'an, Hu Zongxian and other officials present stood up one after another and greeted him politely with wine glasses in hand.
Of course, there are also people who are more flattering, such as the two officials who had already sided with Zhao Wenhua. When they responded, they tried their best to flatter Zhao Wenhua.
"Master Zhao is so polite. It is our great honor to be able to participate in today's sea ceremony that is destined to go down in history. The success of today's sea ceremony is all due to Master Zhao's strategic planning and well-arranged arrangements. We are all just following orders.
How dare we claim credit. The success of today’s sacrifice to the sea illustrates a truth, that is, we only need to listen to Mr. Zhao’s arrangements, act as ordered, and then wait for success.”
"This sacrificial ceremony to the sea has been successfully completed. In the future, there will be divine help in suppressing the Japanese pirates. If there is wind and rain, it will be successful in no time. The successful suppression of the Japanese pirates in the future will also delay Mr. Zhao's blessing of sacrificing the sea today."
"
Zhu Ping'an noticed that when the two of them were talking like this, Zhang Jing's face looked even worse.
There was a dazzling array of delicacies on the table, but Zhu Ping'an found it hard to swallow and had no appetite.
It's not that the food isn't delicious, it's just that I feel worried.
The Japanese pirates didn’t cause trouble at the Sea Sacrifice Ceremony, so there must be a bigger conspiracy brewing. There’s no way the Japanese pirates would venture all the way into the ceremony just to join in the fun and watch the Sea Sacrifice, right?!
I just looked at it, and the blood-red and black luck rising into the sky in the whole ceremony place was even stronger. This meant that the danger of bloody disaster and death was greater than in the morning, which showed that the conspiracy brewed by the Japanese pirates was not trivial.
No matter what the Japanese pirates' plot is, it must be for the purpose of killing, destroying, and influencing. Since they did not take action at the sea ceremony, and the officers and soldiers have left camp early tomorrow morning, then the Japanese pirates will most likely launch a surprise attack at night.
The Japanese pirates are really cunning and take things by surprise. They do not attack during the sea ceremony, but after the sea ceremony is over.
The smooth holding of the daytime sea ceremony made everyone feel paralyzed and relaxed. The Japanese pirates had a high probability of succeeding in a surprise attack at night. Moreover, when the moon was dark and the wind was high, when people were killing people and setting fires, it was easier for Japanese pirates to succeed in a surprise attack at night.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ping'an even found it hard to swallow.
"My dear nephew, why don't you eat it? Is it not to your liking? That shouldn't be the case. Today's cook comes from a family of royal chefs. This dish is cooked very deliciously. I haven't felt this comfortable eating it for a while since I came to the south.
"The Marquis of Linhuai was eating abalone with great gusto. Seeing that Zhu Ping'an next to him didn't take off his chopsticks very much, he couldn't help but asked curiously.
In his impression, Zhu Ping'an loved food very much. He would gorge on food every time. Today, he didn't even use chopsticks to prepare the top-notch delicacies cooked by the Royal Chef Family.
This is very abnormal.
"Uncle, the food and wine are indeed delicious, I just don't have the appetite." Zhu Pingan explained simply.
"Haha, my dear nephew, are you worried about the Japanese pirates? Relax, the sea sacrifice ceremony is over, the Japanese pirates have not made trouble, and it is even less likely that they will make trouble in the future. It can be seen that with our army here, the Japanese pirates do not dare to come and stroke the tiger's beard. My dear nephew,
You can rest assured to eat and drink enough, have a good night's sleep, and break camp and go home early tomorrow morning. Come, nephew, try this abalone, it's really authentic." Marquis of Linhuai patted Zhu Pingan's shoulder.
, said with a smile, and after saying that, he affectionately gave Zhu Ping'an a piece of honey-glazed abalone and warmly encouraged him to eat it.
"Thank you uncle."
Zhu Pingan forced a smile.
This was a celebration banquet, and Zhu Ping'an didn't want to ruin the scene. He planned to report to Zhao Wenhua and Zhang Jing after the celebration banquet.