The next morning, the weather was gloomy with dark clouds piled up like ink. The dim light was shining through the gaps between the clouds, and the air was humid.
A winter rain is brewing silently, making people feel inexplicably depressed!
It's early January and the coldness in the south is like a ghost's knife, always able to get in through the neck or ankle and give you a severe knife!
People on the street were wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, with their hands clasped in their sleeves and their backs hunched, and they rushed towards the Tianji Tower with serious expressions.
Today is the day of the imperial court's ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heaven. The three hundred boys and girls selected by drawing lots from the capital will be burned to ashes in the holy fire and offered to the Lord of Heaven!
Perhaps even God couldn't stand it, so the sky was covered with haze. Wang Beiwang was wearing a thin light outfit and his weapon was wrapped in cloth and carried on his back.
He followed the crowd to Tianji Tower to watch the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven!
This is the intention of the imperial court. The imperial court hopes that people from all walks of life will come to watch the ceremony, believing that this is a sign of respect and worship for the Lord of Heaven!
"I heard that Yang Er sneaked out of the city yesterday and joined the Northern Dynasty army!" Wang Beiwang heard two men in front of him whispering to each other!
The person who spoke was a tall and thin young man!
Another shorter man was silent for a moment and muttered, "If my son is chosen to be sacrificed to the heaven and burned in the square, I will join the Northern Dynasty army even if I die!"
The tall, thin young man gnashed his teeth and cursed: "Using a boy to sacrifice to heaven is against human ethics. The tyrant will be punished sooner or later."
The shorter young man sneered: "It's retribution. The Southern Dynasty will be over sooner or later. When Linxia City falls, it will be the turn of the capital. We poor people can only wait for the butcher knives of the Northern Dynasty barbarians!"
The tall and thin young man gnashed his teeth again and said: "I am unwilling to die for this tyrant and the court. I also plan to go to the front line to join the Northern Dynasty Army!"
"Well~~wait a few more days~~wait until you finish watching this ceremony of offering sacrifice to the heaven"
He seemed to need this ritual of burning boys and girls to make up his mind!
Alas, the building is about to collapse!
Walking behind the two, Wang Beiwang sighed in his heart!
He remembered that when he was a child, the people of the Southern Dynasty, especially those in the capital, were all proud and had a strong sense of belonging and national responsibility.
The biggest dream of the government and the people is to lead the army north to retake the homeland. The king's army is looking north!!
In just over a decade, the people's hearts have withered. This generation of young people no longer has the integrity and ambition. Every day, apart from working hard, they curse the court and the tyrant!
Once Linxia is lost, the Northern Dynasty will not need to recruit soldiers at all. If the Southern Dynasty recruits ethnic soldiers, refugees will flock to it!
The Southern Dynasty has reached a precarious state, and it is unknown whether the incompetent ruler can turn the tide.
He walked in silence and saw more and more people appearing in front of him, including peddlers wearing thick cotton coats and women wearing simple cotton skirts. They walked from various streets like streams, and finally merged into a surging crowd at Tianjilou Square!
Finally, Wang Beiwang saw the towering Tianji Tower and saw 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. Three hundred young children were sitting cross-legged on the platform with dull expressions, neither sad nor happy, as motionless as sculptures.
Below the stage, two rows of civil and military officials dressed in tattered official robes, holding ivory tablets, stood upright and waited quietly.
One third of the court officials came, and the remaining officials who were firmly opposed to the ceremony refused to participate in order to express their protest.
Cabinet Grand Secretaries Zheng Wenhan and Yang Zhengli stood at the heads of two rows of ministers, one on the left and the other on the right.
Yang Zhengzao looked around and said calmly, "Your Majesty, why did you claim to be sick and not come when you mobilized so many troops to hold the Heavenly Sacrifice? Aren't you afraid of being blamed by the Heavenly God?"
He did not look at Zheng Wenhan who was two meters away, but the latter seemed to know that he was talking to him and responded in a faint tone.
"The Imperial Master knows everything about astronomy and geography, and has the world under his control. He can connect heaven and earth, so it is enough for him to come forward. Your Majesty is worried about the front line and has become ill, and the poison has not yet completely subsided, so it is better for him to recuperate in the palace."
Yang Zheng snorted with obvious sarcasm, but he didn't say anything else!
Zheng Wenhan also stopped talking and turned his head to search the huge crowd. He was looking for the possible tyrant Zhao Shun and the remnants of the Shenrui Army.
In order to prepare for this ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven, Zheng Wenhan and his trusted aides deduced and prepared over and over again and formulated a comprehensive plan.
As long as the tyrant dares to show up and hide in the crowd, the remnants of the Divine Sharp Army will assassinate him, and the city defense troops on the scene will block the streets on the pretext of protecting the emperor to prevent the Yang family from entering, and then secretly release water to create chaos to ensure that the tyrant dies in the assassination!
To ensure that nothing could go wrong, Zheng Wenhan also arranged for many military experts to disguise themselves as assassins and hide in the crowd!
If the incompetent ruler does not appear, that would be the best. After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven, the Zheng family would purge the emperor as planned. In the worst case scenario, Zheng Wenhan also considered that the Zheng family's rebellion and assassination of the emperor would be exposed. He would kill Zhao Shun on the spot and stop the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven. Then he would make an impassioned speech in front of the people and get the support of the national teacher to rebel directly!
Zheng Wenhan was unwilling to take this path unless he was forced to. After all, no matter how incompetent Zhao Shun was, people in the court and the country hated him and still recognized the Zhao family. The rebels were traitors from the beginning to now.
Those who are loyal to the Zhao family and have ulterior motives will take advantage of the situation. Once the Zheng family is depleted too much, 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 Chang stood by the window, looking out at the crowded square!
Xu Chang said with a smile: "Boss, you booked a private room so early in the morning. It seems that you have a special wish for the tyrant!"
Gang Leader Duan said calmly: "I just came to take a look."
Let's see if Nan Chao can still be treated. I hope so, he added in his heart, outside the crowd in the square, a carriage was parked on the side of the street ~ Guan Ya stood where the carriage was, staring at the crowd calmly.
"Empress, you are a princess, don't stand in such a conspicuous place, it's easy to attract assassins!" Xie Lingxi came out of the carriage and pulled Guan Ya worriedly!
"There are guards all around the carriage, so what is there to worry about?" Guan Ya replied calmly, "I'm not afraid if an assassin comes."
Xie Lingzaoxi murmured quietly: "But I'm afraid, I'm only a first-level extraordinary!"
Guan Wei simply ignored her!
The lazy voice of the Palace Master of Stop Killing came from the carriage.
"How about it, has our great swordsman seen any enemies?"
Guan Ya also ignored her and continued searching the crowd for possible assassins.
Once Yuanshi shows up, he will be in danger of being killed. She needs to observe the assassins hidden in the crowd in advance to be prepared.
In addition, Yuanshi did not tell them the plan in detail, because Master Xin would observe the changes in the Destiny River from the "supporting characters" and thus see through their actions.
Therefore, Guan Ya and others did not know whether Yuanshi could succeed. If Yuanshi failed, they would immediately kill Zheng Wenhan to capture the leader first.
At that time, the national master will surely take action, but there is no one in control. If the national master takes action, the situation will be out of control.
Time passed by minute by minute, the people and the ministers were silent, but beneath the calm appearance, the waves were surging, and everyone was waiting for that moment to come.
Finally, a middle-aged Taoist priest came out of the towering Tianji Tower. He was wearing a Taoist robe and holding a whisk. He glanced at the dark crowd and shouted, "The auspicious time has arrived!"
The imperial teacher still had great prestige among the people, and the people outside the square and the officials inside the square bowed to him one after another.
Zheng Wenhan said loudly: "Please ask the Imperial Master."
Because of his prestige, the people unconsciously echoed and shouted, "Please invite the national teacher."
After much anticipation, a bright and soft golden light burst out from the observation deck on the top floor of the Tianji Tower and slowly floated out and hung over the square.
The golden light was shining brightly, and the people below could clearly see that the golden light was the halo hanging behind the head of the old Taoist priest with an immortal look.
The old Taoist priest had a fluttering beard and a Taoist robe that flowed around his face. He had a clean-cut face and a dust-free hair, and he looked like an otherworldly immortal.
Hundreds of people began to worship him, treating him as an immortal!
The two rows of civil and military officials were also in awe. As high-ranking officials in the court, they knew that the Imperial Master was not a deity but a cultivator. However, it was not an exaggeration to call the Imperial Master a celestial being whose cultivation was so profound that it was not too much to call him an immortal!
In the spacious carriage, Sun Miaomiao leaned out of the carriage, stared at the national teacher, then retracted his head in fear.
"Level eight?" Xiaoyuan, Xie Lingxi in the carriage, Guan Ya who was looking out from a high place, and Brother Hongji who was disguised as a guard outside the car all felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.
It feels tricky but also makes sense!
After all, there are two master-level spirit realm walkers among the teammates on the capital side. It would be too bad if the big boss didn't have a level 8 road!
"If Yuanshi fails this time, we'll all be dead. I've already completed my main mission. I should have returned earlier!" Brother Red Chicken said angrily!
His main quest ended this morning. Because it was a large-scale plot-oriented dungeon, Lingjing gave him a choice: one was to leave the dungeon and return to reality! The other was to stay and complete the side quest.
The two brothers who make the soup are always "loyalty first, life and death aside"
So, I chose the latter, but now I feel like running away.
The women in the carriage ignored him, and he stared intently at the imperial teacher who looked like an immortal.
The state teacher's majestic voice replied: "The Emperor created Yin and Yang, the God of creation gave birth to the seven political systems, the essence of the light is round and covers the square, all things are healthy and the ministers dare to report, I worship the Emperor and call him the Emperor!!! The descendants of the Zhao family are so beautiful! God has ordered Hou Gan and Shun to obey."
Brother Hongji was confused and looked towards the carriage: "What do you mean? You are speaking human language, but I can't understand a single word."
The woman in the car still ignored him. She really didn't understand, and whoever paid attention to her would be embarrassed.
Xie Lingxi whispered, "I just understood the meaning behind it. It's probably that the Zhao family has thousands of descendants, but God only gave the throne to his son Shun. Shun refers to Zhao Shun!"
After graduating from high school, you are at the age with the richest knowledge reserves!
The Imperial Master Chang spoke at length for a while before saying, "Presenting three hundred boys to the Nine Emperors to protect the Southern Dynasty for five hundred years."
It was over, and suddenly there was a loud shout from the crowd!
"Master, you must not do this. This is against human morality and justice. A foolish monarch will be punished for his rebellious behavior! You are the master of a country, how can you help the tyrant to commit atrocities?" The speaker was a young scholar, who was extremely emotional and looked like he didn't care about life or death!
With this opening, the people of the capital city, full of scholarly spirit, responded one after another!
"It is not permissible to offer sacrifices to the heavens. The tyrant's evil deeds will be punished. Imperial Master, you must make the decision for us!"
"Shiguo, three hundred lives, three hundred children!"
"Please, Master, save the child!"
"Please, Master, save the child!"
The huge crowd began to kneel down. In their eyes, there was no emperor but only the national master. It was clear who the people's hearts were with and what the public opinion was.
The Imperial Master, looking down from above, sighed with great resignation and said slowly: "Since God has commanded the Marquis to serve Shun, Shun's words as the Son of Heaven are law."
What this sentence means is that I can't do anything the emperor wants to do, so you should blame him if you want to.
The Imperial Master continued to read the few remaining sacrificial texts, and then said loudly: "The auspicious time has arrived, and the sacrifice to heaven has begun!"
After saying that, a golden light popped out and fell on the dry firewood piled up on the platform, and it immediately turned into a blazing flame!
The crowd suddenly surged. Some people cursed the tyrant, some wailed in pain, and some desperately rushed towards the city defense troops, trying to enter the square.
Zheng Wenhan could no longer hold back and turned around to search the crowd.
“Found it!!!”
It was at this moment that Guan Ya finally found the hidden assassin among the faces of those pets who could not control their emotions!
When the time came, a loud shout rang out.
"stop."
A figure rushed to the platform and waved his sleeves with great energy, sweeping the burning wood into pieces!
Zheng Wenhan, who was expecting the emperor to show up, froze and looked at his side in astonishment.
It’s Yang Zheng.
Zheng Wenhan was furious: "Master Yang, you dare to disobey the emperor's order and stop the ceremony of offering sacrifice to the heaven? Take him down!"