The ninth year of God’s blessing, the first day of the lunar calendar. 樮
The emperor Zhao Zhen followed the etiquette and law, left the imperial city, and offered sacrifices to heaven at the Qingcheng Palace in the south of Bianjing City.
Just after the rooster crows, the sky is dark, the night wind is strong, and the moon is not visible at night. Only hundreds of torches, blown by the wind, light up the square in front of Daqing Hall.
In the huge square, there were a total of 22,221 people holding battalions, leading troops, and taking charge of various armies and departments.
In addition, there were thousands of civil and military officials accompanying the driver, as well as vehicles, horses, and even six elephants.
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Tens of thousands of people took their places in the square without any disorder, waiting for the emperor to come out of the main hall of the imperial city.
Civil servants of the fifth rank and above, military officers of the fourth rank and above, as well as Hanlin officials and censors all accompanied the emperor to worship the heaven.
Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai, father and son, one is the head of the Ministry of Industry of the fifth rank, and the other is the compiler of the seventh rank Hanlin, both of them are accompanying them. 樮
Now is the coldest time in Bianjing. As a southerner, Sheng Hong is standing in the cold wind wearing a thin court dress, his teeth are trembling with cold.
At this moment, Sheng Hong missed the fox fur that his wife had sewn by hand.
Although it looks a bit ugly, at least the material is solid and windproof and warm. If you can put one on now, you will definitely be much warmer.
It's a pity that Sheng Hong can only think about it. This is an annual ceremony to worship heaven, and he must wear court clothes to show his grandeur.
Compared with Sheng Hong, who is frail in middle age, Sheng Changbai's condition is much better.
The seventh-grade court uniform is not thicker than the fifth-grade court uniform, but Sheng Changbai is young enough and has strong firepower, so he can barely bear it.
The lights in the square flickered on and off, and the coldness brought by the strong wind seemed to have set a rhythm, hitting people one after another, making it difficult for people to guard against.樮
Sheng Changbai raised his sleeves, covered half of his eyes, and tried to look forward.
But I saw four people standing at the front of the line in the Hanlin Academy, namely Liu Tingxi, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and a minister of Zhan Shifu, Wu Yingyan, a bachelor of the Imperial Academy and the minister of the Ministry of War, Tao Yue, a bachelor of the imperial academy and a minister of the Ministry of War, and Ding Siquan, a bachelor of the imperial lectures.
Among the four Hanlin first-level bachelors, Liu Tingxi stood first. Wu Yingyan and Tao Yue stood behind Liu Tingxi, separated on the left and right. Behind Wu Yingyan was Ding Siquan, and behind Tao Yue, there was obviously a vacant position.
That is the position of the new lecturer Wei Chen, but Wei Chen has not yet taken up his post.
Sheng Changbai couldn't help but sigh secretly when he saw this.
It's good to be given a leave of absence and get married. You don't even have to attend the heaven-sacrifice ceremony. At this moment, Wei Chen is probably just lying at home and sleeping.
Sheng Changbai suddenly felt a little envious of Wei Chen. He didn't have to get up early or get cold. 樮
If possible, who would want to stand here like a fool blowing the wind in this cold weather?
Dispelling the random thoughts in his mind, Sheng Changbai tightened his pathetically thin court uniform, and continued to hold his breath like all his colleagues around him, silently waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After three cleansing whips, drums and music blared in front of the palace, and everyone's expressions suddenly became solemn and solemn.
The Emperor Zhao Zhen slowly walked out of the palace gate, tens of thousands of people knelt down and worshiped, shouting "Long live the mountains", the shouts echoed over the square like landslides and tsunamis.
Immediately, Zhao Zhen climbed onto the jade chariot, and after the ministers of Honglu Temple loudly praised him, the sound of drums, the sound of horse hooves, and the sound of footsteps began one after another.
First, six elephants started to lead, and more than a hundred riders from the Qingyou team walked along the road. More than 200 people from the front guard of honor, holding flags such as Suzaku and Yellow Dragon, Feng Boyu Yushi, Lei Gong and Dian Mu, followed closely behind. 樮
Then there are Taichang’s front advocates, Si Tianjian, front cavalry, six army honor guards, left and right Xiao guards, Jinwu guards, Peng Japanese army, Fengchen army...
Dozens of troops passed through Xuandemen in batches and walked south along the royal road.
On the jade chariot, Zhao Zhen is holding it like a sculpture in a temple.
Although he is the emperor of Zhou Dynasty, Zhao Zhen's situation is actually not much better than that of officials like the Sheng family and his son.
He is still very cold now.
The jade chariot under the seat is an antique handed down from the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. It has a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right. It is decorated with turtle back patterns and is decorated with gold and silver.
The decoration is extremely exquisite, and the various furnishings are full of nobility, which is very suitable for the emperor's status, but the comfort of the ride is not considered. 樮
The jade chariot is ventilated from all sides, with only one layer of gauze covering the emperor's face, but this thin gauze could not block the biting cold wind at midnight.
So, on the way south from Xuandemen, before even crossing Zhouqiao, Zhao Zhen's face turned blue from the cold and his lips turned white.
Gao Huai, who was accompanying him, quickly discovered that Zhao Zhen was abnormal, and quickly asked someone to find a small heater. When he was about to hand over the jade gown, he was stopped by Zhao Zhen softly.
In court ceremonies, everything must be done in accordance with etiquette. Even the emperor cannot act willfully. There can be no more or less jewelry and utensils carried with him.
Even if it’s just a small heater.
Zhao Zhen, who was trembling with cold, waved his hand, signaling Gao Huai to step back, then took a deep breath, straightened his waist, sat upright, and continued to maintain the majesty that an emperor should have.
This is how I managed to survive in previous years. I just need to support myself until Qingyang Palace.樮
There are palaces there that are as warm as spring, and there are also imperial doctors with superb medical skills. As long as you drink a bowl of warm and nourishing medicinal soup, after sweating, and rest for a while, your body will feel much better.
The sky is getting brighter, and the majestic ceremonial vehicles have already driven out of Nanxunmen one after another.
When the red sun completely jumped above the horizon, Zhao Zhen finally arrived at Qingcheng Palace, five miles south of the city.
Seeing that Zhao Zhen's face was terribly pale, Gao Huai and several other chamberlains hurried forward and helped Zhao Zhen get out of the jade chariot.
Gao Huai whispered: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician is already waiting at Duancheng Hall."
Zhao Zhen tried his best to open his eyes wide, looked at the palace not far away, nodded, and took steps with some difficulty.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up, extinguishing half of the lights and candlelights in the square.
The flag not far away swayed a few times in the wind, and then snapped in the middle.
Almost at the same time, Zhao Zhen staggered and fell to the ground, unconscious.
This change happened very quickly, in the flash of lightning. All the civil and military officials present were dumbfounded for a moment, and they knelt on the ground in fear.
"Your Majesty!"
"Is your Majesty's dragon body okay?"
"I waited for ten thousand years to die, but I failed to notice this strong wind, which disturbed the Holy Master. Please forgive me!"
All the officials were chattering and the scene was as noisy as a vegetable market. Officials are also mortals. When encountering such a thing all of a sudden, they would inevitably feel panicked. 樮
Officials below the third rank did not dare to leave their positions easily to inquire and inquire. They always knelt down and apologized first.
In the end, Han Zhang, the chief assistant of Longtuge, came out to take charge of the overall situation. Han Zhang first stepped forward to check on Zhao Zhen's condition, and then immediately asked the chamberlain to send the unconscious Zhao Zhen to Duancheng Hall, and invited the imperial physician for consultation and treatment.
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Except for three bachelors, six ministers, Hanlin bachelors and a few other important ministers who stayed behind, the other officials, including the two princes, were dispersed and went to their residences in the palace to rest temporarily.
In the chaos, Sheng Hong walked through the crowd and found Sheng Changbai. Seeing that his son was safe and sound, Sheng Hong felt relieved and returned to his residence with Sheng Changbai.
On the way back, I happened to see several officials with gloomy faces, as if they were mourning for their heirs, and they were mumbling something.
"The strong wind is shaking and the ritual cannot be completed. This is a sign of great disaster!"
When Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai heard this, they turned to look at each other, their eyelids twitching, unable to conceal their horror. 樮