Crowned the New Han Dynasty

Chapter 376 The Son of Heaven officiates!

The arrival of the grand ceremony seemed to bring everything inside and outside Luoyang to a standstill. Everyone's eyes were focused on the ruler of this country.

With its brilliant voice and majestic charm, the emperor climbed up the steps and prayed above.

On the majestic and solemn altar, Liu Dai walked forward slowly. His every move was in accordance with the patriarchal etiquette. This emperor, who usually acted quite eccentrically, was solemn and serious at this moment. His eyes Very focused, as if he had forgotten all kinds of joy, his steps were steady and powerful, as if he was trying his best to pursue something.

This young emperor showed his ability to be in charge of a huge empire, and the ministers below him couldn't help but bow their heads.

The emperor can be absurd, immoral, and even bloodthirsty and tyrannical, but he must be cautious about two things, otherwise it will not last long.

Liu Dai also clearly remembered that when he was dying, his father, who had suffered for half his life, took his hand and wrote the word "ritual" on his palm with his trembling fingers.

This is what the emperor must master.

The major events of the country lie in sacrifice and Rong.

"Book of Rites" says: "The earth contains all things, the sky hangs down the images, materials are taken from the earth, and laws are taken from the sky. This is to respect the sky and be close to the earth."

Sacrifice has been an important part of the ritual system since ancient times, and can even be said to be the core.

The sacrificial offerings to the state have important spiritual significance and symbols for the prosperity of the country and the safety of the people, for the harvest of the grain, for the victory of conquests, and for the eternal prolongation of the country, and the right to sacrifice is one of the important manifestations of the legitimacy of the regime.

In the distant West, divine power even overrode monarchy for a time. In the Central Plains, from ancient times to the present, conducting sacrifices has been an important part of the monarch's authority and a powerful tool to demonstrate majesty and establish orthodoxy.

Among the crowd, envoys from the four tribes were also watching the ceremony.

The Xiongnu Han Kingdom, the Xiongnu Tiefu tribe, Tuoba Xianbei, Yuwen Xianbei, Murong Xianbei, Duanbu Xianbei, etc. are all located in the crowd, mainly the tribes in the north, covering many races, although standing very close to each other , but you can see the distinct taste.

In name, these tribes were all vassals and ministers of the New Han Dynasty. They were ennobled by the Han court and were subordinates of ministers. Therefore, the status of envoys was not much different from that of ordinary ministers of the Han Dynasty. If anything, it was different. What's more, they can't see such a grand scene in their own country, tribe, or clan.

"To this day in China, you can only know who you are!" Tuoba Yulu looked at the figure that was slowly moving forward, listening to the surrounding rituals and music like the whispers of gods, his eyes shone with longing, and his whole heart It seemed that they were all shaken and washed, and some of the original thoughts in my heart dimmed, buried deep in my heart, and covered with dust.

"The land of the Central Plains is indeed extremely rich. Even if I plunder all the frontier lands, I still can't build such an altar and create such a sacred scene!" Liu Yi looked at the splendid building with twinkling eyes. But he was full of greed, wanting to take everything for himself and squander it at will. At this moment, he even forgot about his original ridicule, about the so-called sacrifice of prisoners, and was completely immersed in the surging momentum. among.

Many other envoys also had various appearances, different expressions, and different thoughts.

At the end of the envoys' team, among the accompanying officials, there was a big man. He was looking at the figure on the high platform with a greedy look on his face, and said in his heart: "The emperor's dignity is like this! A man should hold such power. , It’s not a waste of time to live in this world! Even if hundreds of thousands or millions of people die because of this, what’s the harm?” His eyes were like a knife, piercing the figure, wishing to replace him.

Each of these envoys had their own thoughts, and their perceptions and thoughts about the New Han Dynasty had undergone drastic changes.

Originally, after the defeat of the Xinhan army, they all had other thoughts. Although they did not try to meddle in the Central Plains, they somewhat had the idea of ​​imitating the Huns to dominate one side, and they did not pay much attention to this grand ceremony of combining sacrifice and offering prisoners. , but it’s different now.

"Such etiquette may look solemn, but behind it is a reflection of financial resources and human heart!"

Jin Zhun did not show Liu Yi's greed, nor did he show Shi Le's ambition. What he saw was something behind the grand ceremony.

Zhou Li is the source.

The patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty was even more strict. The emperor offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, four directions, mountains and rivers, five sacrifices, every year [Note]; princes offered sacrifices to mountains and rivers, five sacrifices, every year; officials offered sacrifices to five sacrifices, every year. ; Scholars offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

It can be seen that at the beginning, there was a strict hierarchy in the sacrifice, which should not be easily broken. What kind of personality and what kind of existence is sacrificed are the means to show dignity.

This is like a world of great controversy in later generations, where there are many countries, but they also compete for the holding of some grand events and wonders, so as to gather the attention of the world and reveal the country's heritage. The role of the human heart.

"This peace negotiation must be won, otherwise there will be endless troubles. Our clan's foundation is still shallow, and there are still internal troubles. If we can't have some time to breathe, I'm afraid the collapse of the clan is not far away! However, today, let me I see a glimmer of hope. If we want to unite the nation, perhaps we should vigorously promote etiquette! If the clan leader can be as majestic as the Han Emperor, how can other tribes dare to have different intentions?"

Thinking of this, Jin Zhun looked around and saw the many figures and musical instruments on and off the altar, and couldn't help feeling: "The Han people are Han people after all. Such a scene, even if the heroes of our clan have racked their brains, it is hard to imagine it!" But they didn't know that the Han ministers standing on both sides with solemn faces were also surprised and even more surprised.

The layout and music used in this sacrificial ceremony are still different from those in the past, but they do not exceed the rules. Instead, they connect the scattered links in the past, especially the surrounding strange arrangements, which cover the edges and block the instruments and musicians. The sound of music was intensified.

Taichang, Da Honglu and others who were responsible for the etiquette and reception were even more happy and expressed satisfaction with Chen Zhi's arrangements.

You must know that the sacrifices in the past were sometimes quite loose and unsystematic. Most of the time, they only showed the due procedures and processes. How could it be like this one, which is closely linked and mobilizes people's hearts.

"Sure enough, what Chen Zhi said was concise and condensed, as well as what he said about speeding up the pace, are very accurate! Sacrifice is more important than ceremony!"

Wei Hong of the Han Dynasty once said: "The Han system, below the heaven and the earth, the ministers sacrificed 540 [-]."

Let’s not talk about heaven and earth. The number of gods passed down since the pre-Qin Dynasty is really huge. However, with the establishment of the unified dynasty, the emperor can move the gods with his thoughts, so some of the many gods are prosperous and some are declining. But in the final analysis, they are actually for human beings. Service, even if it is a high-altitude god, no matter how vast its will is, but it falls on the mortal dynasty, it is only what it needs.

Not to mention a dynasty, even ordinary people have something to ask for when worshiping gods. They have to worship Tai Sui when moving and getting married;

Because there are many gods and complex sacrifices, most of the time the rituals and sacrifices are comprehensive, or in other words, in order to add all the imaginary processes into the ceremony, the entire ceremony develops into a bloated and cumbersome situation.

Today's grand ceremony should have been like this.

The northern Xinjiang army was defeated, and the news came, not to mention elsewhere, but in Luoyang, no matter the officials or the common people, they were unwilling to accept it.

If there is no catharsis for this movement of people's hearts, it will become a hidden danger. The court adopts the opinions of all the princes, announces the merits of Chen Zhi, and adds Liu Yuan's death to it. This is to alleviate public grievances, but it is not enough to consolidate authority. After all Being defeated in martial arts, and because of various considerations, he does not intend to send additional counterattacks, and even has peace talks, the most fearful thing is to be misunderstood by the surrounding countries, which will lead to disobedience.

Based on this consideration, today's ceremony was created.

This grand ceremony had a lot of sustenance and all parties involved, so it was held by several bureaucracies together. In addition to the original ceremonial officials, Taichang Mansion, Dahonglu, and even Zong Zhengguan were all involved and said they wanted to coordinate the ceremony.

But in this way, it is necessary to take care of all parties, which will inevitably lead to more confusion. This is why Chen Zhi and Ji Fa contacted the two sides. If something goes wrong, you will have to take the blame, so no one is willing to come forward. The choice comes and goes, and finally it falls on Chen Zhi's shoulders.

But Chen Zhi did not disappoint them in the end. He actually made overall plans, divided many personnel into responsibilities, and also made a project list based on time for them to follow in order. He also eliminated many links, saying that he wanted to highlight focus.

Originally, such behavior would inevitably be criticized, but Chen Zhi gained momentum through the Xunmeilou Banquet and literary criticism, and also had contacts with many people, which dispelled some people's ideas.

Later, he ordered the arrest of the Huns' envoys. By mistake, the Huns' envoys were put under house arrest for several days. It was said that Chen Zhi was so well connected that even the envoys could be detained, which made many people fearful and less opinionated. many.

Immediately afterwards, the effect gradually appeared, and with the support of the two Jiuqing, he successfully managed the ceremony!

After the sacrifice, the emperor ordered the captives to be sacrificed to the Taimiao. There were only a few of them, but no one in the group of officials or foreign envoys thought it was absurd. Even Liu Yi put away his contempt and ridicule and treated it seriously.

In the end, the ceremony came to a perfect conclusion, and the majesty of the New Han Dynasty spread throughout Luoyang, and was deeply engraved in the hearts of many envoys, making them unforgettable for a long time.

Later, the people in Luoyang City also talked about it, and many ministers also praised it. Chen Zhi, who had worked hard, was also praised by others, which made his reputation unparalleled for a while and made his reputation soar.

At this time, Huang Si, the secretary supervisor of the Secretary's Ministry, wrote a letter, saying that Chen Zhizhi's merits, saying that he can be a political party, asked him to be a prefect of the Northland.

His move was like dropping a big rock on the calm water!
Suddenly, there were ripples.

Immediately, many officials seconded the proposal, saying that Chen Zhi's deeds could serve as the governor of a county. It seemed that at this moment, they all ignored Chen Zhi's age, and they seemed to have the intention of not avoiding age in their promotion of talents.

Note: There are also records of "year deviation", just pick one and write it down, don't study it.

(End of this chapter)