The others are the descendants of the Zhao clan.
After all, this time it was a sacrifice to the Taimiao, which was considered a sacrifice to ancestors, so quite a few people came.
A little further away, there were more than a dozen middle-aged men wearing Confucian robes, some wearing glasses, and some holding pencils and notebooks. At first glance, they looked like some kind of intellectual.
Ouyang Xiu, who was among the officials, seemed to be very familiar with them and even went over to greet them before the event started.
The schedule for this event is also very simple.
Sacrifices will be held in the Taimiao on the 24th, grand celebrations will be held on the 28th, a grand military review and awarding of military titles will be held on the 29th, and New Year celebrations will be held from the 30th to the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The original location of the Taimiao was on Taimiao Street, east of the Secretariat in the southeast corner of the imperial city.
But later, the imperial city was expanded to include Taimiao Street. Zhao Zhen proposed to rebuild the Taimiao, so a magnificent building complex was built in the southeast corner of the imperial city, probably in the area of the original Panlou in Bianliang.
The specific location is on the east side of the current Changqing Palace.
Soon, as the last quarter of the morning hour arrived, the gates of the three palaces at Xuande Gate opened, and Wang Shouzhong, standing on the gate tower, announced the decree: "Your Majesty has ordered sacrifices to be offered at the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"
"Let's go."
Zhao Jun, who was at the front of the procession of officials, lifted up his loose purple official uniform of the first rank. The lack of wings on the crown of his court uniform made him look even more heroic.
In the cold winter wind, all the officials and members of the diplomatic corps did not feel cold.
The thick cotton clothes inside blocked the cold wind.
All the officials lined up in a row and slowly entered the palace gate under the proud leadership of the prime ministers of the Constitutional Council.
At this moment, Zhao Zhen's convoy was already waiting for them in the palace.
After everyone arrived, Zhao Zhen and Queen Cao sat in a large carriage pulled by eight horses. The carriage was bigger than several beds, magnificent and splendid, full of nobility and splendor.
Under the envious gazes of the kings of some neighboring countries, the carriage took everyone through the Changqing Palace and arrived at the Taimiao in the southeast corner of the imperial city.
This is still a larger square.
The square is paved with marble, with a monument in the center that reads: In memory of the national heroes and warriors who fought and shed blood for the Han Chinese.
Originally it should have been written "Great Song Dynasty", but Zhao Jun firmly opposed it, and it was finally changed to "Monument to the Heroes of the Chinese Nation".
When they reached the monument, the team stopped.
Zhao Zhen got off the car, and the ceremonial guards on both sides immediately walked to the front of the monument.
The Minister of Rites stood aside with flowers in his hands.
In front of the stele were placed grains, livestock, incense burners and other sacrificial items.
Zhao Zhen walked to the front of the monument, took the flowers, and followed by Prime Minister Zhao Jun and others, walked towards the monument step by step.
Then the band next to them began to play a grand piece of music, and the surrounding civil and military officials as well as more than 60 kings and envoys from all over the world watched this scene.
When the middle-aged men in Confucian robes saw Zhao Zhen holding flowers and walking towards the monument, they all took out notebooks from their pockets and began to write words on them with pencils:
"On December 24, the 12th year of the Qingli calendar, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty laid flowers at the Monument to the Heroes of the Chinese Nation in the square in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
"The monument tower is about five meters high and consists of five parts: the base, the pedestal, the tower, the tower body, and the bronze statue."
"The bronze statue is 17 feet tall and about 8 feet wide. It consists of a young general holding a ring-handled sword and a warhorse, representing an ancient general in battle. Some say it was based on the champion, Huo Qubing."
Those people moved their pens across the paper, quickly writing down a draft. A few experts even managed to sketch on the spot, depicting Zhao Zhen holding flowers and offering them to the monument.
Zhao Jun walked over to take a look out of curiosity, then walked back to his own prime minister's formation and said to Fan Zhongyan beside him: "These newspaper people are really talented."
“You’ve selected all of them.”
Fan Zhongyan smiled.
Zhao Jun also smiled but said nothing.
In order to control public opinion, the Song Dynasty court still exercised strict control over this aspect.
First, we must grasp the direction of public opinion and make public opinion a sharp arrow in the hands of the Song Dynasty, providing the people and intellectuals with correct guidance.
Secondly, it is also to prevent some people from inciting. It would be bad if domestic rebels used public opinion to deal with the court.
So over the years, these newspaper staff have developed a set of skills and know what to write and what not to write when writing newspapers.
Soon, with the sound of two salutes, Zhao Zhen's flower-presenting ceremony ended and the music also came to an end.
Zhao Zhen returned to the carriage, and it set off again towards the Taimiao.
The entire Taimiao is divided into three parts: the monument square, the Taimiao and the altar.
The morning sacrificial activities naturally start with the monument, then the Taimiao, and finally the sacrifices to God and the heaven and earth.
After about half a quarter of an hour, the group arrived in front of the Taimiao.
Zhao Zhen got off the carriage again. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Rites, everyone filed in. However, no matter how big the Taimiao was, it could not accommodate so many people, so only some people were allowed in.
Even among the Zhao clan, only some close relatives were allowed to enter.
There were about fifty or sixty people. Although Zhao Jun was from a very distant ethnic group a thousand years later, as the prime minister, he was naturally qualified to enter.
This was his first time to visit the Taimiao after its completion. He saw that it was magnificent and tall. There were shelves on both sides filled with incense and candles. In the middle was a huge tripod filled with sandalwood.
And right in the center of the hall, there is actually a statue. It is a statue of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuang. It is an old man with a wealthy face and a goatee on his chin. His eyes are lowered like the Buddha, looking down, full of sacredness.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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