Facing Yuan Tan's question, he responded with the sound of drawing swords in a uniform manner. All three thousand troops drew their swords, and the bright blades reflected the sunlight from the sky, which was dazzling and penetrating.
Zhang Liao Hengdao immediately looked at Yuan Tan coldly and said, "Son of Heaven the edict, dare anyone to disobey--"
"Cut!"
As soon as the voice fell, the three thousand troops stepped forward together!
A surge of murderous intent burst out!
A group of Remnant Troops under Taishi Ci stood in front of such an army of Elite Troops. Even though they knew that this murderous intention was not coming towards them, they were still so frightened that their faces turned pale. They fought with each other and almost wanted to leave first.
They were like this, not to mention Yuan Tan and many Qing Province Army who were regarded as enemies. The moment three thousand Xu Province Army burst out with murderous intent, even at noon, they couldn't help but feel chills on their backs.
A thought emerged in everyone's mind - they are no match for this army, even if their number is doubled, it will be useless!
Yuan Tan also felt frightened. Only then did he notice that Xu Province Army was wearing all black armor and the standard Hengdao. The equipment of Elite Troops was far superior to his Qing Province Army!
"Lü Bu Where did you get the money to arm such an army!"
"Where did they get such sophisticated equipment?"
Yuan Tan was shocked and confused.
It would be understandable if there were only 3,000 people equipped with Elite Troops in front of us, but if there were 10,000 people... a total of 10,000 armored men, it makes me shudder just thinking about it. How many people in the world can have such an army!
Enough to sweep the entire Ji Province!
Shock, Yuan Tan, who suppressed their hearts, took a deep look at Zhang Liao, and finally reluctantly looked away from Taishi Ci, and ordered, "Since it is Son of Heaven's order, how can I disrespect it and withdraw the troops!"
He was not sure of defeating Zhang Liao. His intuition told him that if a war started, he would definitely be defeated. The difference in quality of Weapons and Equipment and soldiers on both sides was too big. The number of Weapons and Equipment and soldiers on both sides would have to be at least three times greater to be able to defeat them, and that would be under the premise of heavy losses!
Yuan Tan could only lead Qing Province Army to retreat unwillingly.
After Yuan Tan's army retreated, Zhang Liao then ordered to put away his sword, rode his horse to Kong Rong Carriage, and said, "Last time we were able to pass through Qing Province safely, thanks to Chancellor's help."
Kong Rong also breathed a sigh of relief at this time, waved his hand, pointed at Taishi Ci and said, "I am not helping you, it is Ziyi who is leading the army."
He just gave the order to raise troops, but Taishi Ci was responsible for actually leading the troops and fighting. He had always stayed in Beihai Commandery, so the whole thing actually had little to do with him.
He doesn't want to take credit, he just wants Zhang Liao to remember Taishi Ci's favor.
"Thank you." Zhang Liao saluted Taishi Ci again, and then said, "It's getting late. Let's set off as soon as possible. We must return to Ye City as soon as possible."
Taishi Ci nodded. Before arriving at Ye City, you must not relax your vigilance. No one knows if other accidents will occur.
After everyone organized themselves a little, they embarked on the road to Ye City.
With the escort of Zhang Liao, Kong Rong encountered no accidents along the way. He arrived at Ye City safely and was then summoned by Liu Xie.
"We said goodbye last year. Is your beloved okay?"
Kong Rong, who was standing among the Great Hall, heard this familiar voice and couldn't help but look up. When he saw the smiling face of Liu Xie, he felt extremely complicated.
More than half a year has passed since the last time we met, but in such a short period of time, Son of Heaven has completed the change from Puppet to truly taking power, not only driving away Yuan Shao, but also taking control of the entire Ye City!
Now with Lü Bu's allegiance, as Son of Heaven said that day, we can gradually acquire the land of Four Provinces in the north, and use this as a basis to imitate Emperor Guangwu and sweep the world.
Kong Rong was filled with admiration, and immediately Liu Xie saluted and paid homage, saying respectfully, "Congratulations to Your Majesty for returning to power. I hope you are well..."
Liu Xie smiled slightly and said, "I hope you're all right. I heard that Aiqing was being hunted by Yuan Tan, so General Zhang immediately went to rescue her. Finally, the rescue was in time, otherwise I would have lost one Grand Minister of Ceremonies."
"This time Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, I still need to trouble my beloved to take responsibility."
Kong Rong was shocked, Grand Minister of Ceremonies, Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony!
Calculating the time, shouldn't it be Heaven-Worship Rite Imperial Ancestral Temple?
But soon, he reacted.
Son of Heaven This is to take advantage of the opportunity of Heaven-Worship Rite Imperial Ancestral Temple to carry out Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, in order to announce to the world and let the world know that Son of Heaven is out of trouble.
While frightening the princes from all walks of life, it also enhances its own prestige, so that All Under Heaven Yearns for the Throne and people with lofty ideals rush to join us.
I thought I would have a weekend break today, but I didn't want to have to go to court. I wrote 4,500 words during Court Assembly. I have returned to the palace and continue to work hard on typing.
Chapter 171 It's better to let our old Liu Family sit on this throne.
Grand Marshal Old Thief strong!
"Your Majesty Do you want me to preside over the ceremony?"
Kong Rong asked hesitantly.
"That's right." Liu Xie nodded and said, "Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony is complicated after all. I fled to Ye City alone, and Ritual Officials who is good at this is not around."
"Ai Qing is great Confucian of the world and is proficient in the ways of Rites and Music. She is suitable for taking on the position of Minister of Ceremonies. She will preside over this Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony for me and promote my Great Han national destiny."
Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony is different from the ordinary Heaven-Worship Rite. It is more grand and complicated. It is the highest national ceremony. It is generally not held easily. It will only be held when the new emperor ascends the throne or when there is a major event celebrated by the whole country.
However, there are too few people who are proficient in Rites and Music. Guo Jia has searched Ye City Famous Scholars for this period of time and has not found anyone who is good at this.
But Kong Rong, as a member of the Descendant of Confucius and Confucianism family, should not know much about Five Classics. In terms of etiquette, there are few people in the world who can compare with him.
That's why Liu Xie wanted him to host the ceremony.
"I can host the ceremony for Your Majesty, but I cannot accept the position of Grand Minister of Ceremonies. I would like to ask Your Majesty to take it back." Kong Rong bowed deeply.
Liu Xie frowned and said, "Why?"
Grand Minister of Ceremonies is the head of Nine Ministers, in charge of education, Heaven-Worship Rite, etiquette, etc. Although he does not have any prominent real power, he is distinguished by his high status and nobility.
This position still doesn't satisfy Kong Rong?
Kong Rong shook his head and said nothing.
Liu Xie understood instantly when he saw this. This old man was still entangled with True and False Son of Heaven. Once he accepted his canonized position of Grand Minister of Ceremonies, he would have recognized his identity as the orthodox Son of Heaven.
"What a stubborn old man."
Liu Xie was not angry at all, but admired Kong Rong very much.
Now he no longer needs Kong Rong's approval.
Of course it's nice to have it, but it doesn't matter if you don't have it, it's just the icing on the cake.
Anyway, Kong Rong only needs to be willing to help him host Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony.
Ignoring this matter, Liu Xie thought of another person who followed Kong Rong, and asked, "I heard that there is a strong man named Taishi Ziyi under Aiqing's command. Where is this person?"
The reputation of Taishi Ci is still famous more than a thousand years later.
Beihai started an uprising not long ago, and Liu Xie also heard about his record.
He led thousands of troops to delay Yuan Tan's tens of thousands of troops for several days and bought precious opportunities for Zhang Liao to cross the border, which was a great contribution.
Kong Rong replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Ziyi is arranging the remaining troops."
Taishi Ci did not have the official status granted by Imperial Court, nor was he summoned by Liu Xie, so he was naturally not qualified to enter the palace, so he went to settle the remnants of Beihai Commandery's soldiers who had fled with him.
Liu Xie said, "I want to canonize him as General Who Soars Like an Eagle to show his merits. Please accept the decree on his behalf."
It was related to Taishi Ci's future. Kong Rong did not refuse this time. He accepted the decree and thanked him and resigned.
Liu Xie watched him leave, and couldn't help but smile. He thought to himself, "Only hosting the ceremony without Official Post, is it useful to deceive yourself and others like this?"
Kong Rong still seems unwilling to acknowledge him.
In fact, my heart has been completely shaken.
Regardless of whether he accepts Official Post or not, as long as he helps host Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, then everyone in the world will feel that Kong Rong has recognized him as Son of Heaven.
The arrival of Kong Rong accelerated the progress of the ceremony.
With this great Confucian who is proficient in etiquette taking charge of presiding over the ceremony, everything became orderly, and all the personnel, items, ritual vessels, venues, livestock, etc. needed by Heaven-Worship Rite were quickly prepared.
All Great Aristocratic Clanss spared no effort for this Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, giving whatever they asked for, and being very cooperative, for fear of delaying the progress and making Son of Heaven unhappy.
Just like that, with the cooperation of many parties and great expectations.
Ten days passed quickly.
The date of Heaven-Worship Rite Imperial Ancestral Temple has arrived, and the day to hold Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony has also arrived.
This grand ceremony is a rare event with extraordinary significance, so not only the people of Ye City, but also the people of Ye City Surrounding Commanderies and Counties Cities also came to join in the fun.
In order to maintain public security in Ye City and ensure the smooth holding of the ceremony, the entire Ye City's defense force has been strengthened a lot, and patrolling City Defense Army can be seen everywhere on the streets.
In the past, there were some gangsters who made trouble on the streets, but during this time period, absolutely no one dared to cause trouble, otherwise City Defense Army would not be a decoration placed there.
Therefore, even though the flow of people in Ye City has more than doubled than before, the public security is unprecedentedly good. Pedestrians coming and going in Ye City have expressions of excitement and expectation. Everyone is looking forward to this Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony.
Imperial Palace.
Liu Xie woke up as early as dawn. Under the service of several palace ladies, he put on the heavy Son of Heaven crown clothes and the rarely worn crown.
The Mianfu is composed of a mysterious upper garment and a vermilion lower garment, with seals painted on the top and bottom. In addition, there are knee coverings, ribbons, red waistcoats, etc. - Son of Heaven costumes in the Han Dynasty have not yet developed into the bright yellow dragon robes of later dynasties. Because Earth Virtue and Fire Virtue are admired, the main color of the Mianfu is black with red.
The patterns on the crown clothes are also mostly mountain birds, fish and insects, sun and moon, mountains and rivers.
The crown is mainly black, with a hole on each side of the crown for inserting jade hairpins and tying the hair into a bun. Ribbons are tied on both sides of the hairpins and tied under the jaw. On each ear of the ribbon, there is a pearl and jade, named "Yun'er".
It is not inserted into the ear, but hung next to the ear to remind the wearer not to listen to slander.
This is where the "turn a deaf ear" in later generations comes from.
After the whole set of clothes was put on, half an hour had passed. Liu Xie, who had put on a solemn Son of Heaven crown dress, was even more Son of Heaven's majesty, Zhen Mi, big Xiao Qiao, Lü Lingqi and other Imperial Consortss can be seen with brilliant eyes.
Liu Xie looked at himself wearing Son of Heaven's ceremonial robes and crown in Bronze Mirror, looking particularly majestic, and felt a little strange.
"Sure enough, people rely on their clothes."
Liu Xie sighed, who would have thought that the majestic Son of Heaven of Great Han in Bronze Mirror was just a Displaced People who was about to starve to death two years ago?
At that time, he never expected that he could get to where he is now with just one face.
Seeing Liu Xie looking at the mirror in a daze, Zhen Mi on the side reminded him in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's almost time, it's time to leave for Imperial Ancestral Temple."