The weather is overcast, with dark clouds piled up like splashes of ink, dim skylight shining through the gaps in the clouds, the air humid, and a winter rain brewing silently, making people feel depressed for no reason.
It's early January, and the coldness in the south is like a sneaky knife that can always get in through your neck or ankles and give you a severe blow.
The people on the street were wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, with their hands folded in their sleeves, their backs bent, and they were rushing towards the Tianji Tower with solemn expressions.
Today is the day of the imperial court's heaven-sacrifice ceremony. The three hundred boys and girls gathered by drawing lots from the capital will be burned to ashes in the holy fire and dedicated to God Haotian.
Maybe even God can't stand it, so the sky is full of haze.
Wang Beiwang was wearing thin clothes, his weapons were wrapped in cloth and carried on his back. He followed the crowd to the Tianji Tower to visit the heaven-sacrifice ceremony.
This is the meaning of the imperial court.
The imperial court hoped that both the government and the public would come to visit the heaven-sacrifice ceremony, thinking that this was a sign of respect and worship for God Haotian.
"I heard that Yang Er sneaked out of the city yesterday and joined the Northern Dynasty army." Wang Bei glanced at his ears and heard two men in front of him whispering to each other.
The speaker was a tall, thin young man.
The other shorter man was silent for a moment and muttered: "If my son is selected to sacrifice to heaven and dragged to the square and burned to death, I will also defect to the Northern Dynasty army."
The tall and thin young man gnashed his teeth and cursed: "Sacrificing a boy to heaven is contrary to human ethics, and you will be punished sooner or later."
The shorter young man sneered: "We have already suffered retribution. The Southern Dynasty will end sooner or later. The rich people have fled south. When Linxia City falls, it will be the capital's turn. We poor people can only wait for the butcher's knife of the barbarians of the Northern Dynasty."
.”
The tall and thin young man gritted his teeth again and said: "I am not willing to die for such a foolish king and the imperial court. I also plan to go to the front line to join the Northern Dynasty army. Hmm, wait a few more days until I finish watching this heaven-sacrifice ceremony."
He seemed to need this ritual of burning boys and girls to sacrifice to heaven to make up his mind.
Alas, the building is about to collapse. Wang Beiwang, who was walking behind the two of them, sighed in his heart.
He remembered that when he was a child, people in the Southern Dynasties, especially those in the capital, were very proud and had a strong sense of belonging and national responsibility. The biggest dream of the government and the public was to launch an expedition to the north and regain their homeland.
Wang Shi looks north, Wang Shi looks north.
In just over ten years, the people's morale has declined. The young people of this generation no longer have the integrity and ambition. In addition to working hard every day, they curse the court and the foolish emperor.
Once Linxia was lost, the Northern Dynasty did not need to replenish its troops. When the Southern Dynasty recruited troops, refugees would flock to it.
The Southern Dynasty has reached a critical point.
I wonder if Hunjun can turn the tide!
As he walked in silence, he saw more and more people appearing in front of him, including vendors and footmen in thick cotton coats, and women in simple cotton skirts. They were walking from various streets, like streams, and finally ended up at Tianji Tower Square.
formed a surging crowd.
Finally, Wang Beiwang saw the towering Tianji Tower and hundreds of armored soldiers forming a fence to keep the people out of the square.
I saw a high platform built, with dry firewood piled underneath, and three hundred young children sitting cross-legged on the platform. Their expressions were dull, without sadness or joy, and they were as motionless as sculptures.
Under the stage, two rows of civil and military ministers, wearing official robes and holding tooth wats, stood upright, waiting quietly.
Two-thirds of the DPRK and Chinese officials came, and the remaining officials were firmly opposed to the heaven-sacrifice ceremony and expressed their protest by refusing to participate in the heaven-sacrifice ceremony.
Cabinet bachelors Zheng Wenhan and Yang Zheng stand at the head of the two ranks of ministers, one on the left and one on the right.
Yang Zheng looked around and said calmly:
"Your Majesty mobilized all the troops to hold a ceremony to worship the heaven, but why did he not come back even though he was sick? Aren't you afraid that God Haotian will blame you?"
He did not look at Zheng Wenhan, who was a few meters away, but the latter seemed to know that he was talking to him, and responded in a calm tone:
"The Imperial Master is well versed in astronomy and geography, and the general trend of the world is under his control. He can communicate with heaven and earth, and it is enough for him to come forward. Your Majesty is concerned about the front line, is sick with worry, and the remaining poison is not exhausted, so naturally it is best to cultivate in the palace
.”
Yang Zheng snorted, the sarcasm was very obvious, but he didn't say anything else.
Zheng Wenhan also stopped talking. He turned his head and searched the huge crowd with his eyes, not only looking for the possible existence of the faint king Zhao Shun, but also looking for the remnants of the Shen Rui Army.
For this heaven-sacrifice ceremony, Zheng Wenhan and his close aides worked on deduction after deduction, preparation after preparation, and formulated a perfect plan.
As long as the Hunjun dares to appear, the remnants of the Shen Rui Army hidden in the crowd will assassinate him, and the city defense troops on the scene will block the streets on the pretext of escorting him, preventing the Yang family's forces from entering.
Then secretly release the water, create chaos, and ensure that the faint king dies in the assassination.
——In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, Zheng Wenhan also arranged for many military masters to disguise themselves as assassins and hide in the crowd.
If the Hunjun does not appear, it would be best. After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is over, the Zheng family will clear the Emperor as planned.
Zheng Wenhan also considered the worst plan. Once the Zheng family's rebellion against the emperor was exposed, he would kill Zhao Shun on the spot, stop the ceremony of worshiping heaven, and then make an impassioned speech in front of the people, and then get the support of the imperial adviser.
Direct rebellion.
Zheng Wenhan was unwilling to take this road unless forced to do so. After all, no matter how stupid Zhao Shun was, the government and the public would only hate him, and they still recognized Zhao in their hearts.
Rebels have been rebellious officials and traitors since ancient times. Those who are loyal to the Zhao family and those with wolfish ambitions will take advantage of the situation. Once the Zheng family is too severely consumed, Tuoba Rentu may take the opportunity to tear up the agreement.
In a private room on the third floor of a restaurant a hundred meters away from Tianji Building, Gang Leader Duan and Elder Xu stood by the window, looking at the crowded square.
Elder Xu smiled and said: "Gang leader, you booked a private room so early in the morning. It seems that you have high expectations for Hunjun."
Gang leader Duan said calmly: "I just came over to take a look."
Let's see if there is any hope of treatment in Nanchao! He added in his heart.
Outside the crowd in the square, a carriage stopped on the street. Guan Ya stood in the position of the driver, staring at the crowd calmly.
"Empress, you are a noble person. Don't stand in such a conspicuous place, as you may easily attract assassins." Xie Lingxi got out of the carriage and tugged at Guan Ya worriedly.
"There are guards around the carriage, so there is nothing to worry about." Guan Ya replied calmly: "You are not afraid even if the assassin comes."
Xie Lingxi whispered: "But I'm afraid, I'm only a level 1 extraordinary."
Guan Ya simply ignored her.
The lazy voice of the Master of the Killing Palace came from the carriage, "How is it, our great swordsman, have you seen the enemy?"
Guan Ya also ignored her and continued to search the crowd for possible assassins.
Once Yuan Shi appears, he will definitely be killed. She needs to detect the assassin hidden in the crowd in advance, just in case.
In addition, Yuanshi did not inform them of the plan in detail because he was worried that the Imperial Master would observe the changes in fate from the "supporting characters" and thus spy on their actions.
Therefore, Guan Ya and others did not know whether Yuan Shi could succeed. If Yuan Shi failed, they would immediately kill Zheng Wenhan and capture the thief first.
The National Preceptor will definitely take action at that time, but since we have no master, if the National Preceptor takes action, the situation will be out of control.
Time passed by, the people and ministers were silent, and the waves were turbulent under the calm appearance. Everyone was waiting for that moment to arrive.
Finally, a middle-aged Taoist priest walked out of the towering Tianji Tower. He was wearing a Taoist robe, holding a fly whisk, his eyes swept across the dark crowd, and said loudly:
"The auspicious time has come, please invite the national master!!"
The Imperial Master is still very prestigious among the people. The people outside the square and the ministers inside the square bowed one after another.
Zheng Wenhan said loudly:
"Please invite the Imperial Master!"
The people in the rear unconsciously echoed and shouted "please invite the national teacher".
Amidst the endless calls, a bright and soft golden light rushed out from the observation deck on the highest floor of the Tianji Building, slowly floated out, and hung over the square.
The golden light was bright but not dazzling, and the people below could clearly see that the golden light was the halo hanging on the back of the head of an old Taoist with an immortal spirit.
The old Taoist priest has a long beard, elegant robes, and a pale face. He holds a fly whisk and looks like a monk who has been banished from the world.
The people worshiped him one after another and regarded him as an immortal.
The two ranks of civil and military officials were also in awe from the bottom of their hearts. As high officials in the court, of course they knew that the Imperial Preceptor was not an immortal, but a practitioner. However, a terrestrial immortal like the Imperial Preceptor, whose cultivation reached the heavens and the earth, could not be called an immortal.
Too much.
In the spacious carriage, Sun Miaomiao stuck out her head, stared at the Imperial Master, then retracted her head in fear, and said:
"The soul leaves the body and transforms the void into reality. The national master is an 8th level day travel god."
Eighth grade?
Xiao Yuan and Xie Lingxi in the carriage, as well as Guan Ya looking up from a height, and Brother Hongji disguised as a guard outside the carriage, all felt their hearts sinking. While they felt it was difficult, they felt it was reasonable at the same time.
After all, there are two master-level teammates among the teammates here in the capital.
If the big boss wasn't level eight, it would be too stretched.
"If Yuanshi messes up this time, we will all die. My main mission has been completed. Alas, I would have returned if I had known." Brother Hongji said angrily.
His main mission ended this morning. Because it was a large plot-oriented dungeon, the spirit realm gave him a choice. One was to leave the dungeon and return to reality.
The second is to stay and complete side tasks.
Brother Hongji, the pretty boy who makes soup, has always put "righteousness first and life and death aside", so he chose the latter.
Now I feel like running away.
None of the women in the carriage paid any attention to him, and all their attention was focused on the immortal-like Imperial Master.
The majestic voice of the Imperial Master echoed:
"The emperor established the yin and yang, created the universe, and the gods gave birth to the seven political affairs. The essence of light spreads over the square, and it is a sign of good things. I dare to report only to you, and I recommend you to the emperor. The descendants of the Zhao family are countless in beauty. God has
Order, Hou Yu Shun obeyed"
Brother Hongji was confused when he heard this, and looked towards the carriage: "What do you mean? It's all human language, and I can't even understand a word of it."
The woman in the carriage still ignored him. She really didn't understand him and it would be embarrassing for anyone who did.
Xie Lingxi whispered: "I understood the last sentence, which probably means: There are thousands of descendants of the Zhao family, and God has only given the throne to 'Shun'. Shun refers to Zhao Shun."
After all, you have just graduated from high school and are in the years when you have the most abundant knowledge.
The Imperial Preceptor spoke at length for a while, and then ended with the sentence "Three hundred boys were offered to God to protect the Southern Dynasty for five hundred years." Suddenly, the crowd shouted:
"Master, you must not do this! This is against human nature and cannot be tolerated by nature. If you are a foolish king, you will be punished for your rebellious behavior. You are the master of a country, how can you help Zhou to commit evil?"
The person who spoke was a young scholar who was extremely emotional and seemed to have no regard for life or death.
With this beginning, the angry people of the capital responded one after another.
"You are not allowed to sacrifice humans to heaven! If you act rebelliously, you will be punished. Imperial Master, you have to make the decision for us."
"National Master, three hundred lives, three hundred children."
"Please ask the Imperial Master to save the child."
"Please ask the Imperial Master to save the child."
The huge crowd began to kneel down. There was no emperor in their eyes, only the national master.
It is clear at a glance who the people's support is, and it is clear how their public opinion is.
The Imperial Master was high up, overlooking the whole place, he let out a huge and helpless sigh, and said slowly:
"God has decreed that he should submit to Shun. Shun is the Son of Heaven, and he will keep his promise."
The meaning of this sentence is that I can't do anything about what the emperor wants to do. If you want to blame me, blame him.
The Imperial Master continued to read the few following memorial inscriptions, and then said loudly:
"The auspicious time has arrived, and the sacrifice to heaven begins!"
After saying that, a golden light popped up and fell on the pile of dry firewood under the high platform.
The dry sticks burned with desire turned into blazing flames.
The crowd suddenly surged. Some of the people cursed the foolish emperor, some wailed in pain, and some desperately rushed against the city defense troops, trying to enter the square.
Zheng Wenhan could no longer hold back, turned around, and searched the crowd.
"Found it" It was at this moment that Guan Ya finally found the hidden assassin in the faces that were unable to control their emotions.
At that moment, a sharp shout sounded: "Stop!"
A figure rushed towards the high platform, waving his long sleeves with great energy, sweeping the burning firewood into pieces.
Zheng Wenhan, who was expecting the Hunjun to appear, his expression froze and he looked to his side in astonishment.
It's Yang Zheng!
Zheng Wenhan was furious:
"Master Yang, do you dare to disobey the holy order and block the heaven-sacrifice ceremony? Come and capture him."