On October 15th, the 17th year of Dachu Deqing's reign, the sky was clear and cloudless. The drum music from the imperial mausoleum in the western suburbs of the imperial city was loud, and the palace honor guard and drum band that spread for several miles played low and heavy ancient music.
The yellow curtain is overwhelming, and the figures of officials and Taoist priests from the Qintian Prison can be seen everywhere, including the sons of dragons and their grandsons.
The figure of Prince Qian naturally appeared among them, but the Prince Qian that everyone saw seemed to have aged much in a short period of time and looked very lack of energy.
Originally, Prince Qian made a ten-day appointment with the eldest princess to discuss matters in the Golden Palace. Unfortunately, recent news has spread that the eldest princess is ill, and she is seriously ill. Not to mention the theory in the Golden Palace, even leaving the palace is a bit difficult. , so Prince Qian was full of anger and went in and out of the Penal Department Yamen and Dali Temple one after another, scolding them for not doing things well. In the end, it was nothing more than that. No one immediately found the real culprit because of the Prince's rebuke.
Seeing Prince Qian's aging appearance, people with ulterior motives are naturally filled with joy. However, when most people see Prince Qian mourning his grandson in old age, they still look at this issue with a more or less sympathetic attitude.
The Temple of Heaven set up in the imperial mausoleum is full of Taoist priests with solemn expressions. The Great Chu State Master Xuanyang Zhenren has a crane-like face. He really looks like an immortal with immortal wind and Taoism. Standing in front of the sacrificial tripod, his face is a little pale. Mixed with the white beard, there are white flowers, and the top-quality Taoist robes are novel in style and look quite mysterious.
All the officials stood respectfully and solemnly under the Temple of Heaven, waiting for their emperor to come to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
A sharp scream tore through the tranquility of the Imperial Mausoleum and Temple of Heaven. The officials held their breath. Soon, they saw their emperor, the most powerful man in the continent, wearing a sacred yellow robe and wearing a symbol of power. crown, and walked majestically towards the Temple of Heaven under the guidance of the eunuchs and the imperial eunuchs.
The beaded curtains on the crown were numerous and dense, covering the face of the ninth-five-year-old man, whose face was faintly serious and gloomy.
The princes, relatives, prominent officials in Kyoto, and the Taoist priests present all shouted "Long live" and knelt on the ground, expressing the highest respect for this man and their emperor.
Although Emperor Deqing was extremely majestic, his steps were a bit vain. He accepted the obeisances of his people and slowly climbed up to the Temple of Heaven.
The national master Xuanyang Zhenren led the Taoist priests at the Temple of Heaven to perform Taoist rituals. His voice, which was not full of energy, was low and solemn: "The sacrifice to heaven begins!"
During the sacrifice at the imperial mausoleum, deep inside the palace, in an old-looking palace, a man with a long shawl was standing in front of the palace, looking at the sun in the sky with an almost malicious look.
This is Wuyan Palace, and it is also the most deserted place in Dachu Palace.
There are almost no eunuchs here, let alone maids. Everything looks very old.
Many people privately call this place the "Eaves Palace", a place where people living under the eaves live.
This place seems to have been completely forgotten. There are no visitors or passers-by. There is only endless loneliness and desolation. Perhaps the only fair thing is that here you can also enjoy the sunshine, or the moisture of the rain.
The tall man stretched out his hands and faced the sky as if praying. The muscles on his ugly face were twisted, and he cursed viciously: "You will all die, no one will be left, you will all die, no one will be left...!" "
He cursed these strange words over and over again.
In a dark corner behind him, a pair of ghostly eyes looked at him, watched him curse, watched him collapse to the ground gradually decadently, and watched him let out an almost cruel laugh.
"Do you think they will die?" After a hysterical cry, the tall man slumped on the ground, his voice suddenly became extremely calm, like a very scheming man discussing a very important matter with his subordinates.
Important things.
The owner of those ghostly eyes suddenly appeared from the corner of the room. He was wearing black clothes and black trousers, and a bamboo hat on his head. The black gauze hung down, hiding his blurry face. He looked like a ghost emerging from hell.
"Everyone will die!" The man in the hat was not only like a ghost, but his voice seemed to come from hell, slow and hoarse.
The tall man suddenly became extremely elegant, took out a white silk from his arms, wiped his mouth gently, and said calmly: "You are right, everyone will die, you will too, so will I, and of course they will too.
meeting."
The man in the bamboo hat didn't speak, he just stood in the corner like a lonely ghost.
"You are a lonely ghost, and so am I." A cold smile appeared on the corner of the long man's mouth: "For twenty-one years, while they are worshiping their ancestors like dogs, I have to endure the bone-chilling pain here.
Heartbroken."
The man in the hat is listening.
"In the dead of night, I often ask myself, since they have abandoned me, why do I shamelessly put myself with them, and why do I feel distressed because of these things that I cannot enjoy." The tall man said in a cold voice.
Ru Hanbing: "Maybe now I understand why I feel so distressed, because I care for those despicable and shameless guys passed down by my ancestors. Only I am the person chosen by my ancestors, so when I see
My heart will be broken when our wise ancestors are desecrated by these dirty guys."
The man in the bamboo hat said in a hoarse voice: "The human heart is restless and the dust is impure!"
"Yes, those dirty guys, only by burying their hearts in the ground to rot, will there be no dust in the world." The long man gritted his teeth and said, "That's why my ancestors let me live in this world.
Just to let me sweep away the dust, do you understand? Do you understand?"
"I understand." The man in the hat said slowly, "So I will help you sweep away the dust."
The long man slowly got up from the ground, turned around, his shoulders were up and down, his right leg was bent in an arc, and he walked toward the man in the hat in a deformed posture.
He turned out to be a lame!
Walking to a dark corner, the tall man stood in front of the man in the hat. He looked at the man in the hat as if he were a stunning beauty, and as affectionately as he looked at his lover. He stretched out his left hand and penetrated the black gauze of the woman in the hat.
, gently caressing the face of the man in the hat, and said softly: "In this world, you are the only one who truly understands me, and you are the only one who is truly good to me."
The man in the bamboo hat stood firmly like a stone sculpture, motionless, letting the ugly long man touch his face.
I don't know how long it took for the tall man to take back his left hand. If you look closely, you will find that this man's left hand actually has six fingers.
The tall man sighed softly and whispered: "I'm afraid my mother is already impatient."
His right leg bent in an arc, walking backward in a deformed posture, and the man in the hat followed him like a shadow.
After passing through the corridor, we came to a small courtyard. The tall man pushed open the door and entered. In the entire Wuyan Palace, this may be the cleanest place. The few flowers and plants in the courtyard also gave this lifeless Wuyan Palace a little life.
A hint of anger.
The long man's face, which had always been crazy and cold, immediately became gentle after he stepped onto the bluestone in the courtyard, like a progressive young man full of life.
He walked slowly towards the small room in the yard, opened the door gently, and a scent of sandalwood came out from inside.
The house is very simple, without too many cumbersome things. There is only a mourning hall, where three animals, five animals, melons, fruits and snacks are enshrined. The sandalwood incense from the sandalwood stove fills the whole house.
In the middle of the mourning hall, there is a spiritual tablet.
"Concubine Lan Guifei, Xiaoxian of Great Chu!"
The tall man walked slowly to the coffin, knelt down on the futon in front of the coffin, and looked at the writing on the coffin with affection. His voice was soft: "Mother, my son is here to see you."
The man in the bamboo hat lit the incense and offered it to the eldest man. The eldest man rubbed the incense on the incense burner, and the green smoke floated up.
"Mother, my son is still alive, so you don't have to worry. I will make all those dirty beasts who owe you go to the ground to apologize to you." The eldest man murmured: "Mother has always believed in her son, and his son has never let you down.
.”
He kowtowed nine times in front of the soul respectfully. His forehead was swollen and red, but he seemed very satisfied. A strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said softly: "Those dirty guys who blasphemed our ancestors, today, I will let them
To put on a good show, I want to make the old beast very angry. When you are alive, the old beast always makes you angry, so on a day like today, I also want to make him angry, make him angry, and make him appear in front of the ancestors.
Shameful."
The tall man turned out to be a prince!
The heaven-sacrifice ceremony at the imperial mausoleum went very smoothly. The Imperial Preceptor talked about the great achievements of the previous emperors of Chu. In the words of the Imperial Preceptor, it seemed that every generation of Chu emperors was a hero who descended from heaven to help mankind.
Even though the officials had long been accustomed to hearing such cliches, no one dared to show a trace of boredom or impatience. They all seemed to be intoxicated by it, as if they were listening to the wonderful music of celestial beings.
Emperor Deqing sat quietly in front of the giant cauldron in the Temple of Heaven, calm and peaceful.
The National Preceptor's prayer went smoothly. According to God's instructions, the great Chu Kingdom's national destiny will be prosperous. Heaven's blessings will come. Naturally, the country will be as solid as a mountain and the people will be as safe as a mirror.
Those tedious and complicated procedures were carried out in an orderly manner, and everything seemed beautiful under the light of the sun.
To the east of the Temple of Heaven, the three princes of the Great Chu Kingdom knelt on the ground quietly. No one could see through their thoughts, only the gorgeous appearance of the three princes.
In the middle is the second prince Liu Ziyin, on the left is the fourth prince Liu Zifu, and on the right is the third prince Liu Zizheng who is covered in armor.
Liu Zizheng is the Longyi General of the Beizhen Army. Apart from General Tianwei of the Great Chu Kingdom, he is the most powerful figure guarding the northern border. This time the royal family worshiped the sky and specially led the guards day and night from the Northern Desert.
Rush back.
The most powerful army in the Chu Kingdom is naturally the Yongzhou Northwest Army and the Beizhen Army guarding the northern front line.
The Beizhen Army's military strength was the largest in the Chu Kingdom. It was deployed along the line of the Great Wall to clamp down on the Northern Khitans from the northeastern line, all the way south to Yanmen Fortress to defend Chu's most powerful enemy Beihu, and to the northwest end, the battle line was extremely long.
, the large number of people is also the heaviest burden on the Chu Kingdom.
However, since more than ten years ago, Northern Khitan has become the resource and mineral nest of Da Chu, and many resource problems have been solved nearby. Therefore, Da Chu's national power has always been very prosperous, there are no major internal and external worries, and Da Chu's internal armaments are seriously slack.
The commander-in-chief of the Beizhen Army is naturally Tianwei General. In addition, there are six dragon-named generals. In addition to Liu Zizheng, who is the Longyi General of the Mobei Section, there are also Longteng, Longxiang, Longqin, and Longmeng.
, the five generals of Longya are in charge of various sections, and they are also rare generals in the Great Chu Kingdom.
Although General Longyi and the other five generals with the character dragon have the same rank, Liu Zizheng is the prince after all, and his rights are naturally greater than those of the other five generals with the character dragon. Therefore, in addition to General Tianwei, General Liu Zizheng has the same rank.
Undoubtedly, he is the most powerful figure in the Beizhen Army and the most powerful military figure among the princes.
Although Liu Zizheng was only twenty-six years old, he was already a six-path martial artist. He was also talented in commanding troops and was extremely brave. He had always been loved by Emperor Deqing.
Today Liu Zizheng paid homage to heaven and ancestors. He was dressed in military uniform and looked majestic, which was very different from the cold and cautious appearance of the second and fourth princes.
Liu Zizheng's skin is very dark and rough, his body is strong and tall, and he looks like a warrior. His appearance is very masculine, and he has a thick beard. At first glance, he seems to be several years older than the second prince Liu Ziyin.
Years old, but his eyes are sharp and resolute. Anyone who sees his eyes will be invisibly frightened by the power in their bones. At the same time, they also believe that there may be nothing in this world that can stump this prince general.
Closest to the Temple of Heaven, there was a man kneeling alone, wearing a beaded crown and a jade robe, his body shaking slightly.
That is of course the current crown prince of the Great Chu Kingdom, the possible future emperor, and the crown prince of all princes.
The prince seemed very uneasy. His body was always moving restlessly, and he even looked back at his three brothers from time to time. In his opinion, the three brothers behind him were like three sharp blades. He didn't know.
When will it pierce his heart from behind?
Like a ray on the back, like a fishnet on the throat!
The tedious ceremony reached its final stage, and many ministers' legs were aching. Master Xuanyang finally waved his whisk and said loudly: "The prince pays homage to his ancestors and presents the offerings!"
According to the etiquette of the Chu Kingdom, the royal family worshiped the heaven and ancestors, and the princes all had to present their own carefully prepared sacrifices to express respect for their ancestors.
Emperor Deqing of the Chu Kingdom was sitting in front of the giant cauldron, motionless, and not far behind him, the Taoist priests had set up four desks made of black fine wood, which were the places where the princes offered sacrifices.
The prince and the three princes held the gift boxes handed over by their subordinates in their hands and walked to the desk in an orderly manner. After the prince put down the ritual gifts, the other three princes placed the ritual gifts on their respective desks together.
The three princes knelt down in front of their respective cases and bowed nine times before returning to the place where they had knelt before.
The national master Xuanyang Zhenren walked slowly to the table and said loudly: "Open the sacrificial ceremony to honor the emperor!"
The four little Taoist priests filed out, carefully opened the gift boxes for the four princes, and then stepped back lightly.
Starting from the left, the Imperial Preceptor shouted loudly: "The second prince is offering a tribute of one liter of rice, which means our people will have food and the country will be safe!"
"The third prince offered a sacrificial ceremony with a war sword, which means guarding the country and ensuring peace in the world!"
"In the fourth prince's ceremony, silk is used, which means that the people have something to wear and are prosperous!"
There is nothing particularly new about these rituals, but they are just some of Anji's meaning. The ministers all know that although these are very ordinary sacrifices, they are the most suitable sacrifices. The three princes also handled them well and appropriately.
.
So everyone was looking forward to hearing what kind of sacrifice the prince was offering. After all, he was the crown prince of the country, so there was always something different.
The Imperial Preceptor walked to the Prince's desk, looked at the sacrificial box, and did not shout out immediately. He just looked at the Prince in surprise. The Prince was also looking at the Imperial Preceptor at this time, but saw the Imperial Preceptor frowning, feeling in his heart.
As soon as he tightened, an ominous premonition swept through his body.
Under the confused gazes of all the ministers, the Imperial Preceptor did not call out the Prince's sacrifice, but walked quickly to Emperor Deqing's side and whispered a few words, so everyone saw Emperor Deqing stand up slowly.
The beaded curtain of the Nine-Five-Five Master blocked his expression, and his majestic body was seen walking slowly towards the prince's desk.
The ministers immediately had an ominous premonition, the princelings were even more worried, and many courtiers were gloating about the misfortune.
The second prince Liu Ziyin and the fourth prince Liu Zifu prostrated themselves on the ground. They slowly raised their heads and saw Emperor Deqing standing quietly in front of the prince's desk with his hands behind his back. The air of the entire imperial mausoleum was suddenly chilled by the heavy power of heaven.
Come down.
The second prince and the fourth prince looked at each other with a strange smile on their lips, and this smile disappeared at the same time in the blink of an eye.
Emperor Deqing slowly raised his head, and through the bead curtain, his cold eyes were cast on the prince. After a long time, he said coldly: "What a good thing you have done!" He kicked the table, and the table suddenly stopped.
After being kicked over, the sacrificial box fell down on the table, and the contents immediately spilled onto the rooftop.
The thing was nothing special, just some scattered soil and a piece of scattered ginger.
This thing is so ordinary that ordinary people would never be able to tell what kind of mystery is hidden in it. However, the courtiers present knew it very well. The princeling officials were already pale in face, with beads of sweat running down their cheeks.
Direct flow down.
Emperor Deqing put his hands behind his back and quickly descended from the Temple of Heaven. He threw all the princes and ministers behind him and left. The eunuchs and Yulin guards hurriedly protected him around. The ministers watched helplessly as their emperor disappeared into the altar.
.
The prince collapsed on the ground, shaking all over, unable to say a word. He stared at the soil and ginger in a daze. He didn't know how long it had passed before he saw a eunuch rushing over and shouting in a sharp voice: "Your Majesty, are you here?"
Purpose, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince are summoned to the Imperial Mausoleum to have an audience!"
The prince got up from the ground in embarrassment and looked at the three imperial brothers under the Temple of Heaven. There was deep resentment in his eyes, as if he was seeing his eternal enemy, with murderous intent in his bones.
The third prince Liu Zizheng got up quickly and said in a deep voice: "Father calls us, let's go quickly." Seeing that the prince's feet were soft, he ran over quickly and whispered: "Brother prince, are you okay?" and went to help the prince.
, but was pushed away by the prince, who said coldly: "Don't be a good person in front of me."
The third prince was stunned for a moment, shook his head helplessly, and then ignored it. The armor on his body made a "chacha" sound, and he took long steps towards the imperial mausoleum courtyard not far away.
I feel that this book is getting more and more exciting. Many interesting stories will gradually appear, and many clues will gradually be revealed, so I hope everyone will support it and collect it well! dd