"What do I see? Is that a cow? ”

On the square in front of the Daqing Palace, thousands of officials gathered here. In addition, there are also the guards of the squad guarding the palace and the soldiers and horses of the Fourth Army, with a total of tens of thousands. But so many people, placed on the Daqingdian Square, are not too crowded at all. Huayin Marquis Zhao Shijiang was one of them, he looked at the jade chariot under the front desk of the Daqing Palace, and frowned deeply.

The place where his gaze landed was not the jade chariot embellished with golden treasures, but a few horses riding in front of the car. To be exact, the tall horse in the center with a pale golden fur like satin. The head of the horse racing headquarters,Tokyo Castle is known as the most horse-savvy clan.。 When he looked at what was supposed to be the tallest horse in Tokyo, his eyes were as disapproving as his words.

"Sanyi, you can't be quiet." The companions around him, who are also relatives of the same clan, heard Zhao Shijiang's voice, and their hearts jumped in shock, "That's obviously floating light?" ”

"Floating light is a great species, light and good at running, and the gods are incomparable. Raising Fuguang like a fat buffalo, is this to raise it to eat meat? Zhao Shijiang's lowered voice was full of heartache. The floating light is still a smooth fur that reflects the light like silk, but the outline of the muscles is completely visible, and the body full of oil does look like a cow.

"I'm going to get fat right away in the fall."

"It's fat lifting, not fat nourishment. If you don't slip for more than ten miles a day, which horse can be raised well? The less you move, the more you get sick. People are the same as Mark. ”

"Stop talking." Another General Jin Wuwei whispered beside him, "If you want to take the bullet stamp, don't choose it at this time!" ”

Hearing such a reprimand, Zhao Shijiang also closed his mouth. It's just that the eyes are still glancing at the floating light in front of the Daqing Palace, and it is difficult to give up.

It's just a sacrifice to the sky. Zhao Shijiang didn't say this, but the corners of his mouth were already very straightforward. That reward, Zhao Shijiang, who served as the head of the horse racing society, is now not in his eyes. If he didn't want to attract attention, he would have called himself sick.

Zhao Shijiang, as a close branch of the Taizu lineage, in addition to the title of Marquis of Huayin, also has the official position of General Jin Wuwei. was originally supposed to be the sanitation officer of the Winged Prince, but now it is an idle errand arranged for the white-collar workers of the clan. But today, when it comes to such court ceremonies, such work that only takes money and does not work has become a hard errand to stand guard.

Zhao Shijiang was holding a big Yue, wearing fish scale gold armor, a golden helmet on his head, and a bright red cloak tied behind him. He was dressed brightly, but he couldn't stand the cold wind and poured it into the cracks in his armor, so cold that he just wanted to stomp his feet.

Zhao Shijiang is wide and fat, and it is likely that because of the relationship between presiding over the horse race, he wanders around the banquets of various families every day, and he has grown more than 20 catties of meat within a year, and he can't fit into the armor when he wears a slightly thicker silk cotton robe. I had to change into thin clothes, but even so, the armor that originally fitted me was still supported by my belly full of oil and water, and even the ties had to be loosened.

Sniffling vigorously, Zhao Shijiang secretly thought, this time when he goes back to worship the sky, he may have a serious illness, and it is really better to ask for leave. Calling the illness early, I can't afford to avoid the pain of the cold now.

At this time, the sky was not clear, and under the dark and dreary sky, there was only the beating light of the fire in the square. The sky is dotted with stars, and the Milky Way is crystal clear today.

From the storm moon where the sky and the earth were white, it only took half a day to change to a clear and clear sky. Seeing such drastic changes, who can say that this is not the result of celestial induction?

Naturally, that's what Zhao Ji thinks. is sitting in the jade chariot that leaks on all sides, and the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is also in a good mood. However, as the accompanying procession gradually moved south, the high mood gradually subsided. The feeling of getting colder and colder made Zhao Ji feel that almost all his internal organs were going to be frozen.

The jade chariot used by the Son of Heaven to worship the heavens, from Tang Gaozong to the present, hundreds of years of old antiques, although well maintained, is far less comfortable to sit in than an ordinary carriage. Zhao Ji once wanted to change this jade chariot to a new car, but unfortunately the new jade chariot that had just been built was damaged by an accident when it was displayed for the first time.

The jade chariot shook slightly, and Zhao Ji thought about the changes after today. There is nothing to worship the heavens, and since it is once every three years, it is not a big deal. After going back, it will be a palace banquet, and then let the sixth brother come out to serve wine, and make a public appearance on a formal occasion, and the big stone that has been pressed on his heart for many years can also be put away.

Han Gang lowered his eyes, blended in with the crowd, and walked south along the royal street.

This time, the blizzard came too quickly, but before the sacrifice, Kaifeng Mansion organized people to spend half a day to clean up the center of the royal street. The Son of Heaven's car drove on the central lane raised with loess, while the Ma Bujun walking on both sides of the royal street was very hard to walk through the snow. With what Han Gang saw, there should be more than one person scolding his mother in his stomach. Although the situation is excusable, coupled with the matter of the Qingcheng military camp, Qian Zao's Kaifeng prefect may have done it.

At noon, the Son of Heaven was already standing at the top of the upper and lower three layers of the mound. The courtiers surrounded the mound, and on the outskirts, thousands of troops stood silently and solemnly. In addition to the music of the music class, only the flags were cheering in the wind.

The thin winter sun doesn't seem to have any warmth, but rather makes people feel even colder. Under the high clear sky, the cold wind swept in unstoppable, taking away every bit of warmth on the body. Maybe today is the coldest day of the year in the three years of Yuanfeng, and it is estimated that the bottom of the Bianhe River will be frozen. The pampered officials, who were pampered on weekdays, all looked blue and white when they enjoyed the invasion of the cold snap, and many of them became staggering, as if they could fall to the ground in the next moment, and never again.

Han Gang's situation is good among civil and military officials. Growing up in the northwest in the cold winter since he was a child, he is not afraid of the cold, although he is also very cold, but the attack of the wind sword and frost sword, Han Gang has long become very accustomed to it in his past military career. He stood in his place, waiting for the ceremony to end.

The official rank is from the right counselor of the fourth rank, and the shogun, where Han Gang is located, actually belongs to the ranks of the officials. I still remember the ceremony of sacrificing to the heavens six years ago, at that time, it seemed to belong to a wave of officials, and it was the right Zhengyan of the seven products.

Fortunately, they are all serious Taiwanese officials, and their official ranks are basically seven or eight rank doctors, temple officials, and Zhongyun, but they don't need to listen to the crows' noise, but the position where he is standing now is very close to Leban. Musical instruments such as chimes, jade chimes, shengs, and pipes rang in unison, and within a moment, they shook people dizzy. More than half an hour passed, and Han Gang only felt that his right ear seemed to be deaf.

The music is one after another, matching the actions of the Son of Heaven on the high platform. "Gao An" at the time of séance is high-pitched and loud; "Long An" when the Son of Heaven ascended the altar was solemn. "Jia'an" is accompanied by jade coins, "Feng'an" and "Xi'an", offering and offering wine. The second dedication, the final dedication, the tune of "Zheng'an" played repeatedly.

After getting used to it, the music gradually faded away, and it was deaf. Han Gang moved his frozen fingers in the big sleeves of his wide robe, calculating how long it would be before this hellish suburban ceremony ended.

Although Han Gang's time in Taichang Temple was not long, etiquette is the core of Confucianism, and music is an indispensable and important part of etiquette. He was already familiar with the lyrics of the music on the outskirts. Just listen to that piece of music, and you will know which part of the ceremony has been carried out. This talent comes in handy today. After being bombarded by the music for an hour, Han Gang could no longer hear the voice of Zhang Qi, a scholar of Hanlin who was in charge of the salute, and he was secretly glad that he had not saved the time to understand the heavenly sacrifice ceremony, otherwise he might not be able to deal with it in time.

After a moment of pause, the light and distant sound of the chime bell sounded in Han Gang's ears again, leading the music class to play "Gao An" again, accompanied by the lyrics of "Coming suddenly, returning suddenly, the clouds are driving and the door of heaven is open", sending the gods home.

The officials who were familiar with the rites and music were shocked, and after "Gao'an" sent the gods, the next thing was the descending of the Son of Heaven. When the emperor came down from the mound, this long and difficult ceremony naturally came to an end.

Along the stage, Zhao Ji walked down slowly. On the top of the mound, the heaven and earth were worshipped, and then the Taizu Taizong who had accompanied the worship, the core ceremony of the heaven sacrifice ceremony has been announced. The officials looked down at their feet and watched the Son of Heaven return to the tabernacle called Daiji out of the corner of their eyes.

The Son of Heaven returned to the tent, and the courtiers also returned to their respective rooms in the palace, changed out of the Xuanyi and silk clothes that were only worn when worshipping the heavens, and put on normal court clothes.

Changing clothes is also a break, from the dripping and icy outdoors to the warm indoors. Although it is not good for the body to be cold and warm at first, it is even worse for the body to be freezing, and after resting by the brazier for a while, Han Gang can be regarded as relieved. However, this was only an intermission, and soon the chamberlains came over, and everyone was notified room by room, so that the courtiers could return to the square under the mound. There are also a few miles of the return journey, and the remaining third.

Relining the line and standing back at Fang Cai's post, tens of thousands of officials and soldiers waited for Zhao Ji to appear. Time passed minute by minute, but Zhao Ji's figure did not appear.

Han Gang faintly felt that something was wrong. Every link in the suburban ceremony has strict time regulations, and when the time comes, the Son of Heaven should come out but does not come out, then there must be some accident. Looking around, everyone was standing in their place. Wang Qi at the front was also motionless.

After another moment, the Son of Heaven still did not appear, and the atmosphere in the field became more and more solemn. Just thinking about whether Wang Qi would leave his position to inquire, Daji's tent curtain finally moved, and Zhao Ji walked out of the tent very calmly.

Seeing the appearance of the Son of Heaven, more than one person breathed a sigh of relief, and Han Gang also sighed lightly, it seemed that he was too careful. Although he thought so, he didn't know why, his heart had been quietly clouded, as if something was about to happen.

The Son of Heaven's car drove all the way back to the imperial city from the Qingcheng Palace in the southern suburbs. Half a day ago, more than 10,000 people gathered in the square of the Daqing Palace, and stood in front of the Daqing Hall again.

The emperor has returned to the Daqing Palace, but the ceremony of the suburbs is not over. As the head of the hundred officials, Wang Qi set off into the hall, while the other officials still stood in place, waiting for the next step of the ceremony.

A moment later, when Wang Jue came out, he held a pardon edict in his hands. Under the escort of Jin Wuwei, he ascended the Xuande Gate Tower and promulgated the Son of Heaven Deyin to the world.

Wang Jue went down to the city to pay the decree, and then the middle door of the Daqing Hall was opened, and the court officials rushed in. The banquet of the palace banquet has been arranged in the Daqing Palace. From high to low, according to the grade and shift, sit in your own position.

As the palace banquet that ended today's ceremony, Wang Jue got up, held the golden cup, led the ministers, and toasted to the Son of Heaven.

Zhao Ji also raised the golden cup full of wine, and was about to take a sip, when suddenly his face changed suddenly. The golden cup, decorated with a five-clawed dragon, came out of his hand.

When there was a crisp sound, it shook the entire hall.