Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

What a solemn scene it was. The prime minister, the royal doctor and the officials in the court all put on leather bows.Liu Che's leather bezel is decorated with twelve multicolored jade stones in its seams, and it shines like a sky full of stars when walking in the sun.The officials accompanying the sacrificial ceremony are also equipped with different numbers of ornaments according to the size of their official positions, each of which is "Qiong Bianyuying". In order to show the importance attached to the sacrifice, Liu Che personally shot and killed the cow used as a "sacrifice".

Liangfu Mountain was originally a small hill in front of Mount Tai, but because of the magnificence and extravagance of this ceremony, drums and music blared and cigarettes curled up.The sealed altar standing at the foot of the mountain is two feet wide and nine feet high, not only surpassing the sealed altar of Qin Shihuang, but also the most majestic among the sealed altars of all dynasties since the Zhou Dynasty.Buried under the altar is a jade ultimatum that can only be seen by the gods of heaven and earth, with secret words written on it, which are used to communicate with the gods. After playing the drum music and offering the "sacrifice", Liu Che personally led hundreds of officials to worship the earth god. The god of "landlord" enjoyed the highest courtesy since Qin Dynasty in a grand atmosphere.

But Liu Che was still a little dissatisfied, because Sima Tan, who was in charge of the calendar and drafting specific procedures, fell ill in Luoyang. Although he had "low rank and low salary", many things others could not replace.Liu Che was also worried that he would offend the heavens due to a flaw in a certain link. No, there was lightning, thunder and torrential rain that night, and when it came to the scene in his dream, he began to worry about Sima who was stranded in Luoyang. "When it rains in the morning, I will send people to Luoyang to visit Taishi Ling to express my sympathy." Liu Che said to Bao Sang.

After a night of heavy rain, Mount Tai stands on the East Sea with its new and clean majesty. The sun after the rain shines on the peaks and sea of ​​clouds, which is very spectacular.And the palace located in Fenggao City, after several hours of tremors, has returned to its former majesty and tranquility. Just after breakfast, Shi Qing, Er Kuan, Dongfang Shuo and Taishan Taishou Bujun rushed to the palace to report, saying that it rained heavily last night and the mountain stream poured down, so they can go up the mountain another day. Liu Che shook his head and said: "The timing of the sacrifice is based on the law and the calendar. How can it be changed without authorization? The prime minister, doctor Yushi, and Tai Chang stayed at the foot of the mountain to prepare for the Zen. Huo Guang, Huo Shan, Dongfang Shuo and others followed me up the mountain."

Liu Che looked at Bu Jun, the prefect of Mount Tai who was standing aside, and said, "Bu Aiqing has been an official here for several years, and is familiar with local customs, so come with me." After driving to the front of the mountain, transfer to a sedan chair arranged by Bu Jun to go up the mountain.Although it rained heavily overnight, the stone steps up the mountain are still solid. Along the stone path, you climb up the steps. Every time you walk a certain distance, someone will replace the sedan chair. There are many ancient and famous trees along the way, which are lush and green. After the heavy rain, they become greener and greener.Everywhere he went, Bu Jun always introduced the scenery attentively, and his witty language often made Liu Che spread hearty laughter to Cangshan and Yunhai.

Under the five pines, Liu Che's eyes quickly focused on a giant pine in the middle.The pine dragon body is covered with curled branches, and the huge tree crown is shaded. The tree body leans forward, so that a thick trunk on the right reaches down the mountain, like an old man who has experienced vicissitudes of life, welcoming people who come to worship. Liu Che said thoughtfully: "This pine tree looks like a giant dragon, and it seems to be quite old." Dongfang Shuo explained from the side: "Your Majesty's insightful eyes, I arrived at Mount Tai yesterday and went to Lantai to check, only to find out that the tree was planted by Xuanyuan Huangdi himself, with the breath of dragons; The ancestor, after defeating Chiyou, took the dragon as the ancestor."

"In this way, I am the descendant of the dragon, and it is inevitable to enshrine Chan Taishan." Bu Jun said regretfully: "Actually, the most spectacular thing about Mount Tai is the sunrise, but it rained heavily all night..." Liu Che, who was in high spirits, didn't seem to care that he didn't see the sunrise.Along the way, I saw the mountains and ravines after the rain: Sometimes white clouds roll like waves like snow; Sometimes dark clouds churned, turning rivers and seas; Sometimes it is like thousands of miles of cotton wool, graceful and soft; Sometimes it is like a vast ocean, with waves and valleys and crests;

The peaks and ridges are like fairy islands in the sea. Due to the high mountain and the steep road, and the weather in April, when we reached the top of the mountain, the monarchs and ministers were a little out of breath. Standing on the top of the mountain, overlooking the four directions, you will feel as if you are on the Qiongge in the fairy mountain.Liu Che couldn't help his heart fluttering, and immediately said to Bu Jun beside him: "I want to erect a stone monument on the top of this mountain as a memorial." Bu Jun hurriedly said: "I will do it right now, it's just this word..."

Liu Che smiled and said, "I will write this word." Bu Jun was overjoyed: "The emperor's inscription will be handed down forever, and it is really a blessing for the people of this county!" Dongfang Shuo corrected him from the side: "My lord's words are wrong. Mount Tai is the Taishan of the Han Dynasty; the world is the world of the Han Dynasty. The emperor's monument is for the well-being of the people of the world." Huo Shan listened to these twisted words, opened his eyes and asked curiously: "What kind of welfare, the world's? I'm confused."

Liu Che said with a smile: "You are still young, you will know when you grow up." After speaking, he handed Huo Shan to Bao Sang, turned to Huo Guang and asked, "How does Aiqing compare my Feng Chan with Qin Shihuang?" All the ministers said one after another, how can Qin Shihuang compare with the emperor? The fifth generation of Han Xing, who lived in Jianyuan, practiced the law internally, fought against the barbarians and divas outside, bowed handsomely, unparalleled, prospered Zen, and all people cheered. When Qin unified the world, the territory was only as far as Jiuyuan in the north, Baiyue in the south, North Korea in the east, and Qilian Mountain in the west.And my great Han regained Henan and Hexi; drove Monan and Mobei; destroyed Dian, took Yelang, and pacified Liangyue.The emperor's great cause shines through the ages, and it is the right time to enshrine Zen and Mount Tai, to receive orders, to achieve merit, to be in harmony, and to be auspicious.

However, Liu Che waved his hands disapprovingly and said: "What you said is not unreasonable. However, I think it is not surprising that the first emperor ruled the country according to the law, and when he enshrined Zen, the Confucianists used to say, 'I don't know its rituals, and it is not the same as the ancients' instead of discussing it. It is not surprising; and since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, I have Respecting Confucianism, why do you talk about enshrining Zen? Confucian scholars still find it difficult to say, "use the grandeur, but don't know the etiquette". Please tell me, is the first emperor wrong, or I am wrong?" Everyone didn't expect the emperor to ask such a question, and they didn't know how to answer it for a while. Dongfang Shuo, who is usually humorous and humorous, said something thought-provoking at this time: "Xunzi said: 'Equal distribution is inconvenient, and equal power is not uniform'. Harmony and reality grow, sameness does not continue, only harmony but difference can flourish. .” Dongfang Shuo stopped talking at this point, and gently waved his feather fan to watch the mountain scenery.Liu Che was very surprised. How could Dongfang Shuo, who is not amazing but talented, figured out what I was thinking all of a sudden? Now it seems that deposing Baijia is a bit too much.However, these were Liu Che's secret thoughts, so he smiled at the ministers. Looking at Dongfang Shuo's laid-back look, Liu Che couldn't help but think he was cute.He is not like Sima Xiangru who is always bookish, but has a bit of humor and humor in his talent. That night, Liu Che spent the night on the mountain as a group.That night, when they talked about Huo Qubing's untimely death, both grandparents and grandchildren shed tears, and Liu Che said with emotion: "After your father passed away, it was my arm that was broken!" Maybe Huo Shan still couldn't fully understand Liu Che's emotions, but his cry of "kill" in his dream gave Liu Che great comfort. "After all, after being a general, he will be another general in the future." The next day, when Liu Che and others went down the mountain, when they were halfway, he suddenly remembered the regret that Taishan went to the East China Sea to find immortals, so he said to the accompanying ministers: "After the ceremony of conferring Zen, I plan to go to Penglai Xianshan to seek immortals. , what do you think?" Huo Guang then persuaded: "The so-called gods are all from alchemists' mouths, and even Luan Da said that he has never seen it with his own eyes. Besides, the emperor is a nine-five-year-old, the proud son of heaven, how can he go deep into the sea?" Although there are many alchemists in Bu Jun's jurisdiction, they have never verified the truth of his words, and advised Liu Che to act cautiously. "I have repeatedly worshiped the gods but never met them. It is because I am not sincere. I will definitely touch the gods when I go to Penglai this time. Is there any reason not to see them? How about Gongsun Aiqing to accompany me?" Gongsunqing's face was very uncomfortable, and he hesitated and couldn't speak. He could feel the weight of the emperor's words, if he still couldn't see the shadow of the gods in the sea, then only Li Shaoweng and Luan Da's fate was waiting for him. Gongsunqing didn't know how to answer, but Dongfang Shuo, who was troublesome, took the initiative to stand up. "Can the emperor listen to my minister's statement?" He put the feather fan loosely into his belt, and bowed to Liu Che, "I believe that immortals will get it naturally, and they should not be rushed. If they have the way, don't worry about it." No; if it does not have the way, even if you go to Penglai to see the immortals, it will be useless." "Hehe! According to Aiqing, I have never had the chance to meet an immortal?" "No! As long as the emperor returns to the palace and waits quietly, the immortal will come." What Liu Che likes is Dongfang Shuo. He is neither flattering nor stubborn. When the same words come out of his mouth, it always makes people feel comfortable. "Okay! I'll just listen to you once and build a platform in Ganquan Palace to welcome the immortals." As soon as the emperor said these words, Gongsunqing breathed a sigh of relief. He was very glad that he had escaped a disaster, but his heart did not relax because of this. He knew that the emperor never gave up looking for immortals. He needed to find a way to avoid Luan Da. Disaster countermeasures. After going down the mountain, Yousi had already prepared everything for the grand ceremony—this was the second act of the Fengchan Grand Ceremony, a solemn ceremony to sacrifice to the Emperor of Heaven.After completing this ceremony, Feng Chan is truly complete. On the morning of the third day, when the rising sun in the East China Sea heralds the beginning of a new day, the grand ceremony of enshrining Zen reached its climax. The ceremony was held at Suran Mountain in the northeast of Mount Tai, and the scale was the same as that of offering sacrifices to Houtu at Liangfu Mountain, to show that heaven and earth are one ritual. Liu Che, who was walking in the front, was wearing apricot-yellow sacrificial attire today, holding a Lingmao he had brought from Jianghuai in his hand.He looked straight ahead and walked steadily.The ministers following him imitated the posture of the emperor, holding the five-color soil in their hands, and followed suit.The holiness on that face and the solemnity in his heart made the whole ceremony shrouded in a mysterious and hazy atmosphere. After offering the "sacrifice", Liu Che led the officials to bow three times and nine times to the sky, and then Taichang read the article "Feng Taishan" written by Dongfang Shuo.When they stood up, the drummer played "Wei Taiyuan", and more than 300 kabuki wearing crowns sang and danced to the music: Only Tai Yuanzun is the god of worship. The latitude and longitude of heaven and earth are made into four seasons. The sun and the moon are healthy, and the stars are rational. Yin-yang and five elements go round and round. Clouds, wind, thunder and lightning, rain of nectar. The common people thrive, and follow Juexu salty. Bells, drums, sheng, and clouds dance. Waving the spiritual flag, the nine barbarians will be generals. Accompanied by the singing, the grand ceremony came to an end, but Liu Che's heart was full of waves.With the ups and downs of thoughts, in the haze, a wind and rain mottled road is paved from afar, isn't that a majestic man galloping the road?In the middle of the road, there are police guards, tall cars and huge chariots, and six people are competing. The sixteen-year-old boy sitting in the car is the emperor. Who is on both sides? It is Wei Wan who is always gentle and refined; Dou Ying who is always vigorous and resolute; Tian Fu who is good at observing words and demeanor, Gong Sunhong who is a vegetarian quilt, Dong Zhongshu who is knowledgeable and knowledgeable, Zhang Qian who is virtuous, Ji An who is outspoken, and silver with white hair. The bearded Li Guang, the imposing Huo Qubing, and the suave Sima Xiangru. Behind them are Yan Zhu, Zhang Tang... They left me one by one, but today they all flocked to the foot of Mount Tai. Are they going to worship the heaven and the earth with me? Oh!Some of them are chatting and laughing happily, some are depressed and silent, and some are tearful... well!I am no longer what I used to be, I am getting old... I will go to the Mingtang located in the southwest of Fenggao City to receive the congratulations from the courtiers, will they follow me? Liu Che stood by the Zen altar, looking for their shadows among the crowd, but only Shi Qing, Er Kuan, ministers and Bu Jun's entourage were busy in a hurry, and he couldn't help but feel a little lost. Yes, for more than 30 years, people have left one after another, and courtiers have changed round after round. They pass by me like passers-by.In this way, life is divided into fragments of memory by time, which jump out from the deepest part of his heart from time to time, bringing him a bit of helplessness and anxiety. The solemnity and excitement that had been lingering in Liu Che's emotions suddenly became chaotic and lost his mind. At this moment, Huo Guang hurried to his side, bringing him a shocking and depressing news: "Your Majesty, Shan'er fell off a cliff and died." "What? What did you say?" "Shan'er fell off a cliff and died." "Ah!" Liu Che let out a long roar, and passed out... When he woke up again, he was already lying in the palace in Fenggao City, surrounded by the accompanying ministers.Liu Che scanned the crowd, then struggled to get up.Bao Sang quickly stepped forward to support him and said: "The emperor's dragon body is important, absolutely not." Liu Che shook off Bao Sang, and roared at the ministers, "If you don't look for Shan'er, what are you doing around me?" He pointed at Huo Guang's nose and reprimanded: "I handed Shan'er over to you, but you let him fall off a cliff, what should you do?" "Your Majesty!" Huo Guang knelt down in front of Liu Che, holding the blood-stained clothes in his hands, "I deserve death for my crimes! I searched all over the ravines, and finally found this deep robe on a cliff. Please, Your Majesty, give me a death sentence!" Shi Qing and Er Kuan also knelt down: "Your Majesty! If you can relieve the emperor from crying, I would rather die!" "I would rather die!" Bu Jun also knelt down. The ministers immediately fell to their knees. Liu Che was stunned, do I want to execute them all to death?If this is the case, why did I come to Taishan to enshrine Zen?Liu Che stared blankly at the hall, remained silent for a while, and let out a heartbroken cry from his chest: "Qubing! It's my spirit who is sorry for you!" "Rui'er! I shouldn't have violated your wish and brought Shan'er to Mount Tai!" All the ministers present burst into tears when they heard the words. Bao Sang's heart never fell to the ground.When the emperor was staying overnight on the mountain last night, he felt uneasy in his heart, and felt that something would happen. Unexpectedly, this happened to Huo Shan. He also found that one person was missing—Gongsun Qing, who had been around the emperor since leaving Luoyang.At this time, he should be present the most, but he... Hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, Bao Sang couldn't help but look back, only to see Gongsunqing rushing in, and the wind fluttering on the skirt of his clothes brought his delighted voice: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" The voice immediately attracted the attention of the ministers to him. Huo Guang jumped up from the ground, stepped forward and grabbed Gongsunqing by the collar, and roared: "What a hateful alchemist, we are mourning the loss of Huo Shan, but you say such words that are worse than beasts. The officer will kill you with one knife!" Then, the sword was placed on Gongsunqing's neck. But no one thought that Huo Guang's sword in the air stopped when Gongsunqing said it. "Huo Shan turned into a fairy, isn't it a blessing for me?" Gongsunqing broke free from Huo Guang, came to Liu Che, and solemnly played to Liu Che: "When the emperor and ministers were paying homage to the Emperor of Heaven, I suddenly saw colorful auspicious clouds flying from the valley in the northeast corner. It is the Penglai fairy that the emperor longs to see day and night. The fairy held down the cloud head and said to the minister, when the emperor fell asleep last night, he saw the rays of light on the top of Mount Tai in the East China Sea, and he knew that there must be people from the fairy world accompanying the emperor.He calculated with his fingers, and he found that Huo Shan was really extraordinary.He came here today to bring Captain Huo back to Penglai Fairy Mountain. In the future, he will protect me, a big man, and enjoy the country forever.After saying that, he dragged Xiao Duwei Tengyun away. " "Nonsense!" Shi Qing interrupted Gongsunqing, "If you are a fairy, why did you leave behind the blood-stained dark clothes?" "This prime minister doesn't understand. Anyone who wants to become a fairy must be reborn before he can reach the fairy world." Gongsunqing's cloudy words caused the ministers to fall into confusion for a moment.Some believe it to be true, some are full of suspicion, and some even sneer. Er Kuan said angrily: "Gongsun Qing messed up the Zen ceremony, you should abandon the market!" Shi Qing raised the wat board in his hand and said: "From Li Shaojun to Gongsunqing, these alchemists are all deceiving the emperor and ignoring his superiors, trying to please the emperor with false statements. Your Majesty, please order this madman to be cut in half at the foot of Mount Tai, so as to comfort the chariot The spirit of the Captain." The courtiers in the court demanded that Sun Qing be punished one after another, and there was a lot of shouting and killing.Huo Guang took the lead in anger, pointed the sword in his hand at Gongsunqing's throat, and waited for the emperor to speak. Liu Che's pain came to an abrupt end. Following Gongsunqing's words, he quickly connected Huo Shan's death with offering sacrifices to heaven and earth.He believed that his piety moved the gods, but he lost the opportunity to meet the gods again because of his concentration on worship. "Huo Shan went to meet the gods on my behalf. When he came to the gods, what he brought to him and the big man was the blessings of all eternity." Thinking of this, Liu Che's tone became unexpectedly calm. "Mr.'s words are very reasonable. It is his good fortune that Shan'er really went away. Since he is a fairy boy, even I can't keep him. Maybe I brought him here this time because of the enlightenment of the gods. " No one thought that things would end like this, no one thought that the emperor who was holding a sword and asking the heavens would use such self-deception to face a passing little life. For a moment, the minds of the ministers went blank. After a long time, Er Kuan asked in a probing tone: "Your Majesty! I will congratulate you tomorrow..." "I am the Son of Heaven, how can I break my trust with heaven and earth and the common people? Tomorrow, the court will be celebrated as scheduled!" "Promise!" Er Kuan bid farewell to Liu Che and was about to leave when he was stopped, "Tomorrow Ming Hall will enshrine Huo Shan's god." Huo Guang will always remember this day, and his suspicious eyes did not move away from Gongsun Qing until he walked out of the palace.