Chapter 340
Since then, Li Ke has devoted all his passion to investigating corruption and abuse of power, and basically to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep.
Not long after that, Changsun Wuji submitted a petition to Li Chengqian to hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heaven according to custom.
According to the Zhou Li sacrificial rituals, a suburban sacrifice is held every three years. The first year is to go to the suburbs to offer sacrifices to the heaven, the second year is to offer sacrifices to the earth, and the third year is to offer sacrifices to the five gods, and it rotates every three years.
The time for the sacrifice is set in winter, and the location is set in the suburbs south of the capital, so it is also called a suburban sacrifice.
The ancients believed that the major affairs of the country were sacrifices and military affairs, and sacrifices became the top priority of a dynasty. It was held every year and presided over by the emperor himself.
Offering sacrifices to heaven is the most important of all sacrifices, and must be presided over by the emperor himself. This is also a way for the emperor to show his diligence to heaven and his subjects.
He should thank the gods for their mercy and benefit the people, and pray for good weather and good harvests in the coming year.
In the later period of a dynasty, the emperor would be lazy and would let officials take his place in offering sacrifices, and a set of complicated rituals would be simplified a lot.
After all, many rituals need to be performed by the emperor himself, and officials cannot replace them. Often at this time, it also indicates that the dynasty is about to fall.
Although this is an absurd statement, the ancients believed it.
After all, worshiping heaven and offering sacrifices to ancestors are the most basic values in ancient society. Disrespecting heaven and ancestors will lead to heaven's punishment.
What is an emperor?
The official explanation is that they are appointed by heaven, and are the representatives of heaven on earth, obeying the will of heaven and ruling the world.
One of the important theories of the ancient ruling class to consolidate their own status and promote "divine right of kings" is that he became emperor by obeying the will of heaven and accepting the mandate of heaven.
When the emperor no longer worships heaven, the dynasty is basically over. God will not get used to people who do not worship heaven.
Heaven will re-select a spokesperson in the world. Anyway, there are so many people in the world, and the right spokesperson will always be selected.
The new dynasty will replace the old dynasty and continue to rule the world on behalf of heaven.
Therefore, sacrifice is the top priority of a dynasty.
Offering sacrifices to heaven is a complicated and time-consuming activity. Fortunately, these are handled by officials from the Ministry of Rites.
"How are the preparations for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven going?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Everything is ready. We just need to wait for a few days before we go to the southern suburbs and preside over the heaven sacrifice in person!" Wang Quan said.
In addition to various preparations, the emperor and all officials must fast and examine the sacrifices and sacrificial vessels offered to the gods before the sacrifice.
On the day of the sacrifice, the emperor led all officials to the suburbs early in the morning.
The Grand Chariot Guard is the highest specification and largest scale chariot guard used by the emperor when he travels.
Such chariot guards are used in all the three major sacrifices, namely the Circular Mound, the Prayer for Good Harvests, and the Changyu Suburban Sacrifice, and the Grand Review of the Arms.
The Grand Chariot Guard of the Tang Dynasty emperors consisted of several parts, including the guide, the driver, the chariot driver, the rear drummer, and the rear guard.
The leading procession is the ceremonial procession, whose main responsibility is to clear the way and ensure the smooth travel of the emperor.
Behind the ceremonial procession is the leading procession, which is different from the leading procession. It is mainly composed of music and weapons, and the civil and military officials accompanying the emperor are also among them.
The leading procession is led by a guard composed of 12 rows of cavalrymen holding swords and bows and arrows, arranged in intervals.
Behind it is a large drum and trumpet band, with two drum and trumpet commanders in front of the band responsible for directing the performance. The band has a wide variety of musical instruments, and the entire band consists of more than 750 people.
Behind the band is a flag formation composed of various banners, flags, and pennants. Some accompanying officials and the emperor's 24 guard horses were also mixed in the flag formation.
Behind the flag formation, there were the blue dragon flag and the white tiger flag on the left and right. Behind the two flags was the accompanying team of court officials.
In the middle of this team, there were also cavalry and infantry soldiers holding weapons.
Next was the carriage, which was also the emperor's special carriage, the Jade Carriage.
The emperor's carriage was the core of the entire ceremonial team, so the guards were also extremely strict.
The Jade Carriage was driven by the Minister of the Imperial Household himself, surrounded by 41 drivers in front and behind, and escorted by the left and right generals on both sides.
Following behind the Jade Carriage were the senior generals and eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty's imperial guards.
Outside these guards were many teams of imperial guards, wearing helmets and armor and holding sharp blades, mainly to deal with any possible emergencies.
Following behind the imperial guards were ceremonial guards consisting of peacock fans, small round fans, square fans, yellow banners, crimson banners, and black tortoise banners.
Then there was a "rear drum and whistle" band behind the emperor's carriage. The instruments of the band were similar to those of the drum and whistle band in front of the jade carriage, but the scale was relatively small and the number of people was not as many as in the front.
Behind the "rear drum and whistle" were various carriages used exclusively by the emperor, which were the so-called ten carriages of the emperor.
Behind the carriages, there was also a team of left and right guards following the leopard-tail carriage to cover the rear.
In this team of carriages, there were also some officials from the court offices riding horses and following the carriages.
Finally, there was the rear guard, led by two generals, the left and right infantry teams, a total of 48 teams, divided into two square formations, front and back, with 30 people in each team, led by a flag.
The soldiers all wore helmets, armor, and held bows or swords and shields. Each team's attire was the same color, with a total of 5 colors, arranged alternately.
Finally, there was the flag formation composed of 24 cavalry teams and 12 flag teams.
The flags held by each flag team were painted with the same legendary gods and monsters, such as evil spirits, jade horses, yellow dragons, unicorns, etc.
Behind the flag formation was the yellow banner composed of infantry soldiers, and guarded by cavalry.
The total number of people in the entire ceremonial guard was about 5,000 or more.
The mighty procession of ceremonial guards arrived at the altar for offering sacrifices to the heaven in the southern suburbs.
The altar for offering sacrifices to the heaven is generally round, also known as the Circular Mound, which symbolizes the roundness of the heaven and the squareness of the earth.
First, the charlatans began to dance to welcome the gods to the earth, and then the emperor led all the officials to pay tribute.
Then there was a set of procedures such as offering sacrifices, the first offering, the second offering, and the final offering.
The whole set of procedures for offering sacrifices to the heaven was over, and the time of the day was basically over!
After the sacrifice, the worshippers also had to share the wine used in the sacrifice, which was called "嘏", and later generations also called "飲福".
The emperor also gave the meat used for the sacrifice to his clan members and ministers, commonly known as "giving sacrificial meat".
This was considered the real completion of the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. The emperor led all the officials back to the capital under the escort of a large number of guards.
Not long after returning, Li Chengqian found that officials from the capital and other states presented him with some dogs, horses, eagles and falcons. He thought this was very bad.
So he issued an edict: "From now on, officials in the court and other states who present dogs, horses, eagles and falcons will be convicted."
First, his legs were inconvenient, and he couldn't ride the best thousand-mile horse. It would be better to give it to the cavalry, which would also enhance the strength of the cavalry.
Second, he was not the kind of person who would spend his time walking his dog and eagle. It was a waste to present him with these, not to mention that it would cost money to transport them all the way.
It would be better to save this money and use it in other places where it is needed.
Giving it to him personally is a waste, it would be better to use the good steel for the blade.