On August 12, Zhao Hongrun and the tribal chiefs from Gong and Luo made a blood alliance by the Luoshui River.
On this day, the banks of the Luoshui River were crowded with people. There were both the Li and Jie tribesmen who wanted to witness this scene with their own eyes, as well as the Chenggao army to maintain order.
Yes, although the two sides have reached an agreement now, the Yi and Yi tribes still hold relative resistance and hatred towards the Dangshan Army. There is no way, because the Dangshan Army caused several ugly things in this land of Sanchuan a while ago.
What about the massacre and genocide? Zhao Hongrun can only hope that time will gradually dilute this hatred.
Logically speaking, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Jiejiao tribe are about to arrive in Luocheng, and they should not distract themselves from doing things unrelated to preparing for this war.
The patriarchs made strong demands, but Zhao Hongrun could only "reluctantly" express his approval.
But deep down in his heart, Zhao Hongrun is very enthusiastic about this matter. After all, adding icing on the cake is far less important than giving help when the time is right. Only by formally reaching an alliance and correcting their stance before the war between the Wei army and the Jiejiao tribe can the tribal chiefs get the support he led.
The trust of the Wei people.
In fact, I am afraid that the tribal chiefs also took this into consideration, so they hurried to confirm the alliance with Zhao Hongrun before the war broke out between the Wei army and the Jiejiao tribe's army.
But no matter what the intentions are, once today's alliance is formed, the "Luoshui Alliance" will seem to be twisted into a rope in the future, advancing and retreating together from now on.
Since the alliance was based on blood, it was natural to hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heavens, to announce the agreement reached by both parties in the sky, and to ask for God's protection. In this regard, the Wei state and the Sanchuan tribe were consistent in this custom.
The only difference is that the "Heaven" that Wei people believe in is "Heavenly Father", which is the sky above everyone's heads and the only "god" in Wei. "Note: The "Earth Mother" that Wei people believe in,
The god who belongs to the earth is the god who protects farming and reduces water damage.』
As for the people of Sanchuan, they believe in the "Plateau God" with the head of a sheep and the body of a human in their mythological culture.
But this difference does not hinder the smooth progress of the heaven-sacrifice ceremony. It is nothing more than the Sheng and Sheang tribes worshiping their gods, while the Wei people worship the Heavenly Father of Wei. The two sides are near two altar tables not far apart.
Carry out simultaneously.
But the trouble is, the Sheng and Huang tribes have "觋" who is specifically responsible for such things, and they are naturally very familiar with each other, but what about Wei Jun? There is no one with relevant experience. "Note: 觋 (xi) refers to
The people in the tribe who play the role of communicating with the gods or gods are usually elderly people, and they refer specifically to men. The shamans, on the other hand, specifically refer to women."
It’s no wonder, after all, in the Wei State, the worship of heaven and earth was the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, and during this expedition to Sanchuan, there were no officials from the Ministry of Rites accompanying the army. If anything, Zhao Hongrun did have a qualified "Witch" beside him, that is, Mi
Jiang, but the problem is that she is a Chu girl who learned the knowledge of Ba witchcraft from Ba, so she is not compatible with Wei at all.
This problem gave Zhao Hongrun a deep headache.
He originally thought that the signing of the covenant was just a matter of both parties signing their names, but who would have thought that the chiefs of the tribes of the Yi and Yi tribes would actually mobilize troops and mobilize people like this.
"you go!"
In desperation, Zhao Hongrun pushed out Qiu Yu, the supplementary official of the imperial censor.
After all, in his opinion, Yu Shibu Guan Qiu Yuna came from a well-known family in Daliang and a decent scholarly family. Generally, the family of such a famous family would have a very grand ceremony to worship their ancestors. On this basis, if you upgrade it a few levels, it should not be a problem.
There will be mistakes.
But this decision almost scared Qiu Yu to death.
Think about it, you have to know that today's sacrifice to heaven is a major event that tens of thousands of people from the Yi and Yi tribes are watching. It is related to the majesty of the Wei State. If this is messed up, let alone his appointment as an official.
His future will be completely ruined, and he may even be accused of "corrupting the majesty of the Wei Dynasty" and be questioned by the court afterwards. This is no joke.
Considering this, Qiu Yu shook his head repeatedly and refused to serve as a priest.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun pulled him aside and whispered to him: "Here, apart from you, I am the only one who is suitable. You will not let me serve as the priest myself, right?"
Qiu Yu looked left and right, and sighed helplessly.
He had no choice, because when he looked around, all he saw were the generals of the Dangshan Army, Chenggao Army, and Shangshui Army. These people did not look like candidates capable of hosting heavenly sacrifices.
The situation had no choice, Qiu Yu could only grit his teeth and accept it, but he made a request: "In this case, I will do my best. However, I hope that Master Mi Jiang can help."
"Lord Mi Jiang" is an eclectic name given to Mi Jiang by those who gradually learn about her identity. After all, the relationship between this woman and Zhao Hongrun has always been unclear. In fact, it seems that Shen Yu and other clan guards sometimes feel like calling her "Mr. Mi Jiang".
"Mrs. Mi Jiang" may be more suitable, but the problem is that neither of the two parties has really expressed their stance so far, so the people below do not dare to change their words rashly.
But it seems a little inappropriate to call Mi Jiang directly, or Miss Mi Jiang. God knows whether this person will become the wife of King Su in the future? Therefore, relevant insiders took the compromise title of "Ms. Mi Jiang"
, anyway, in this era where women can also be called "(female) master", calling a woman "sir" is not a big deal.
However, after listening to Qiu Yu's request, Zhao Hongrun showed a strange expression on his face. After all, although Mi Jiang is a qualified witch, the question is, she studied Ba witch culture, can she help?
?
"Don't cause any trouble..."
After praying secretly in his heart, Zhao Hongrun finally decided to ask Mi Jiang to assist Qiu Yu. After all, Qiu Yu alone would not be able to complete the complicated ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.
"Please, Mi Jiang."
"Hmm." Mi Jiang nodded and said calmly: "In short, let's frighten the onlookers and let them appreciate the great dignity of Wei, right?"
Her expression was as calm as ever, as if this matter was nothing to her.
Yes, her profession is that of a witch, although in Zhao Hongrun's opinion, assassin may be this woman's main profession.
"Prince Su, are you ready?"
After a while, Halegoh, the leader of the Aries tribe, came over to ask about the progress. After all, it was for the alliance's sacrifice to heaven, so naturally both parties had to start it together.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun turned his head and glanced at Mi Jiang. Seeing the latter nodding slightly, he said to Halegoch: "Let's get started."
Hearing this, Halegoh waved to the person in charge of offering sacrifices to the sky. Immediately, he saw two Sheang people holding a huge ram's horn flute, puffing their cheeks and blowing hard, blowing out "Wuwuwu".
The long flute sound.
On the side of the Wei army, several soldiers of the Chenggao army used military horns made of ox horns instead. Zhao Hongrun couldn't bear to watch that scene.
After the "announcement to the sky" with the sound of the flute, the old men of the Shen and Shen tribes, the old men who were selected to be the sacrificers, began to dance around a bonfire, dancing slowly and not knowing what to call it.
Dancing, in Zhao Hongrun's opinion, is just a bunch of old men circling around a campfire on crutches, kicking their legs from time to time, raising their arms, and then talking a lot of gibberish.
Even Zhao Hongrun, who understands the Yi language, was confused by those obscure words.
"It's okay, the opponent is not strong..."
Secretly breathing a sigh of relief, Zhao Hongrun turned to look at them.
On their side, Mi Jiang was standing next to another bonfire, holding a sword and not knowing what he was doing with his eyes closed.
Speaking of which, at this time, Mi Jiang had returned to the red and white clothes that the sisters had originally worn. The ferocious, flaming beasts on her clothes gave her a somewhat mysterious aura.
Suddenly, as Mi Jiang suddenly opened her eyes, the bonfire in front of her spread instantly, and the fire suddenly became several times more violent. The people of the Sheang and Sheang ethnic groups who were watching nearby were frightened and backed away.
, looking at the pile of confusion that didn’t know what happened with a horrified look on his face.
"(In Shen language) What's going on? Why did the fire in the Wei people's campfire suddenly become so fierce?"
"(In the language of the Yi people) could it be the god who has communicated with the people of Wei?"
As the people of Zhu Sanchuan watched in stunned silence, Mi Jiang finally took action.
I saw her taking a deep breath, holding a sharp sword and slowly turning her body, sometimes raising the sword and sometimes jumping around the bonfire. Her behavior seemed to have an indescribable charm that made it difficult for people to divert their attention.
"(In Shen language) So...so beautiful...like a fire spirit..."
Beside Zhao Hongrun, Oona looked at Mi Jiang in the distance with fascination and murmured.
"..." Zhao Hongrun curled his lips somewhat gloomily. He didn't want to admit it, but deep down in his heart, he had to admit that Mi Jiang's dancing posture - let's consider it a kind of dance - did have something that was difficult to transfer.
The mysterious charm of sight.
Perhaps it is because this dance originated from the mysterious country of Pakistan.
At this time, Mi Jiang took a second breath, and at the same time, her movements became faster and faster. In the end, Zhao Hongrun could even vaguely see that her body was so fast that a virtual shadow appeared.
situation.
"Is it an illusion caused by staring at the fire for a long time? Or...is this the true purpose of the sword dance?"
Zhao Hongrun rubbed his eyes and looked carefully at Mi Jiang in the distance.
Once upon a time, he could not understand that Mi Jiang classified her "sword dance", which was obviously an incredible skill, as a sacrificial dance. Until this moment, he finally understood. The Mi Jiang who appeared in front of everyone at this moment,
It's like a fire spirit jumping between flames, and the phantoms printed by the firelight are really beautiful.
"(In the language of the Yi people) So...so powerful...the witch sacrificial ritual of the Wei people..."
"(In the language of the Yi people) It is worthy of being called Wei..."
"..."
Looking at the horrified, awed, and longing eyes of the nearby Sheang tribesmen, Zhao Hongrun really didn't know what to say.
He secretly glanced at the old men at the bonfire next door, and it was really funny, because the respected Jin men might have been disturbed by Mi Jiang's sacrificial dance, and now they were all sweating profusely, and from time to time
He looked at Mi Jiang with a strange look, as if he wanted to compete with Mi Jiang at all costs.
"Just...speechless!"
Zhao Hongrun shook his head.
At this moment, the nearby Yi and Yi tribes, including the soldiers of the Wei State, all let out a cry of surprise.
Zhao Hongrun turned his head and took a look, only to find that Mi Jiang suddenly crossed over from the bonfire to the other side and stood there with her sword put away. However, the bonfire was burning vigorously, as if it was about to ignite the entire sky.
"..."
Zhao Hongrun opened his mouth. Although he didn't know what happened, he was sure that Mi Jiang must have done something.
"You've gone too far, you stupid woman!"
Glancing at the stunned people around him, Zhao Hongrun rubbed his forehead speechlessly.