Ten li south of Luoyang City stood an altar, nine zhang and five chi high. A hall named Ask Heaven stood atop it. Around the altar rose an extensive complex of towering palaces, complete with waterways and landscaped grounds. Soldiers stood guard here, but there were no high walls. These buildings were for sacrifices to the Vast Heaven and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; the ancestral temple of the Wang imperial clan was also located here. They offered sacrifices to Heaven and comforted their forebears.
Ten li east of the city likewise stood an altar, surrounded by another vast palace complex. This was where they worshipped the Earth and the Five Grains, praying for favorable weather, abundant harvests, peace and prosperity, freedom from every kind of disaster, and blessings for the people of this land.
The agricultural scholars researching seeds and cultivation worked here, and all the land in this area was planted by them. Worshipping and studying seeds, improving cultivation methods, and raising grain yields were naturally not in conflict; rather, they complemented one another.
Construction on these two sites had begun long ago, after renovations within Luoyang City were largely complete and manpower had been freed up. As Wang Yan's subordinates, no one doubted that Wang Yan could defeat Cao Cao.
In the first month of China Year 2907, or 210 CE, the proper calendar was established.
The altar south of the city teemed with people. Wang Yan wore a black dragon-embroidered robe, a longsword at his waist, and an imperial crown upon his head, his feet shod in square-toed shoes. Amid ancient, solemn ritual music that lost none of its splendor, he climbed the steps one by one.
In 184, beginning with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he gathered the scattered Yellow Turban troops and fled far