A Beginner Takes the Road

Liu Mai, the King of Lianggong, Liu Ming, the King of Jichuan, Liu Pengli, the King of Jidong, Liu Ding, the King of Shanyang, and Liu Bushi, the King of Jiyin, each led their own private armies.

The five men occupied five different locations, effectively sealing off almost all the entrances to Fengze West.

Once the new emperor's entourage entered the designated area, the five people met up in their respective carriages.

Emperor Jing and the Prince of Liang had some disputes, but Emperor Jing granted the five of them the title of prince, which was an extremely rare honor. Correspondingly, the five sons of the Prince of Liang had no disloyalty to the Great Han Dynasty.

Welcome, Your Majesty!

The carriages were still two miles from Fengzexi when the caravan stopped.

When the new emperor stepped out of his carriage, all the kings bowed in greeting.

"My esteemed subjects, you may dispense with the formalities!"

The new emperor stepped onto this land, and after taking a deep breath, he waved for the kings to rise.

His trip was not only corroborated by the Grand Historian Sima Tan, but also by the five sons of the King of Liang.

The higher one's reputation, the stronger the effect of being a witness, and the higher the likelihood of success.

If everyone believes it to be true, it doesn't matter whether the sword in his hand is real or fake.

"Our ancestors swore an oath of blood by slaying a dragon in Fengze West. Now that I'm here, it's as if I see their former glory!"

The new emperor let out a long sigh.

As the birthplace of the Great Han Dynasty, this place was actually just a wilderness, overgrown with weeds that smoothed everything over, leaving only a stele erected at the spot where the dragon was slain.

The new emperor summoned everyone and ordered Li Guang and others to scan the surroundings, while Han Yan, Guo Sheren, Sang Hongyang, and others accompanied him.

"Dongfang Shuo, you come here too!"

Zhang Xuezhou had nothing to do with the new emperor's sacrifice of the Crimson Sky Sword; the other party only needed to watch from afar and join in the fun.

However, Sima Tan and Zhang Xuezhou have been getting along very well lately, and whenever Zhang Xuezhou asks Sima Tan a few questions to distract him, the new emperor thinks things will go very well.

The task wasn't too difficult, and the new emperor issued a secret order to the other party.

He called for people to accompany him, and then led the way at the front.

"Our ancestor once said, 'When the wind rises, the clouds fly high; when his might extends across the land, he returns to his homeland. Where can we find brave warriors to guard the four corners of the earth?' His lofty aspirations remain today. As we, his descendants, continue to follow in his footsteps, we also yearn for his protection, so that our nation may be safe and secure!"

Upon reaching the monument, the new emperor began to speak.

But few around the new emperor dared to respond to his words.

Ultimately, it was Zhao Zhou, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, who had no choice but to step forward.

The former Grand Master of Ceremonies was Marquis Baizhi, Xu Chang. After the dismissal of Chancellor Dou Ying and others, Xu Chang was appointed Chancellor by the Empress Dowager.

The successor to the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies was Zhao Zhou, the Marquis of Gaoling.

Zhao Zhounian was forty years old, and he was quite apprehensive about holding such a high-ranking position at such a young age.

The new emperor lacked manpower, and the Empress Dowager's side was also not wealthy. In the end, he, a small horse, had to pull a heavy cart, and even though he was not a professional priest, he had to bite the bullet and take on the task.

Zhao Zhou could only be thankful that the most important position of Taichang usually had little to do, except for handling matters such as sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestral temples.

As for rituals, they are nothing but nonsense with gods and ghosts, and there's no explanation for their meaning.

As long as he follows the procedures, it's difficult for anyone to find fault with him.

"Your Majesty, now that we have arrived at the place where our ancestor once slew the dragon and pledged allegiance, why don't we follow the sacrificial rites and seek the protection of our ancestors?" Zhao Zhou suggested.

"I'll leave everything to Grand Master Zhao!"

The new emperor spoke calmly.

If ancestors who died hundreds of years ago could provide protection, the new emperor felt that his own ancestors would have jumped out long ago to help these good-for-nothing descendants.

Emperor Gaozu's swift and eventful life is indeed hard to believe, and it will be difficult for later generations to surpass him.

At this moment, the new emperor only sought to make the fake sword real, and did not think much about anything else.

"I have brought the Crimson Sky Sword, which was once used by the late emperor, and I trouble Grand Master Zhao to allow it to revisit its former glory and reminisce with our ancestor during the sacrificial ceremony," the new emperor said.

"The Crimson Sky Sword?"

Zhao Zhou suddenly felt immense pressure.

He was forced into ancestral worship; how could he possibly perform rituals to communicate with spirits and deities on behalf of a sword?

Zhao Zhou had no choice but to bite the bullet.

He carefully accepted the red brocade box handed to him by the new emperor.

When Zhao Zhou opened the brocade box, he saw a 'lazy' longsword lying inside.

Using "lazy" to describe the longsword is somewhat inappropriate, but it is perfectly appropriate to describe the Crimson Sky Sword. This sword is not a straight sword, but rather it is crooked and twisted like a yellow snake lying in the sun, even with its scabbard retracted.

If the new emperor hadn't carefully taken and held the sword, Zhao Zhou wouldn't have believed that this was the most famous imperial sword of the Great Han Dynasty.

Zhao Zhou touched the sword and felt that the blade was still somewhat warm.

"Cough cough!"

After the new emperor coughed twice, Zhao Zhou quickly withdrew his right hand, which was touching the sword.

"Zhao Taichang, the Crimson Sky Sword doesn't like being touched. If it's touched too much, it will run away," the new emperor warned.

"Ah... don't touch it, it'll run away!"

Zhao Zhou was stunned for a moment, then quickly pressed the brocade box down tightly.

He held the brocade box and then winked at the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices around him.

Having eaten the government's food, they were now obligated to work for the government. Regardless of whether it was a wilderness or an ancestral hall, they were all required to begin worshipping their ancestors.

The crowd quickly changed into their sacrificial robes, and it was ordered that men stand on the left and women on the right, with no mistakes in the queue.

Besides the seating arrangement, burning incense is a basic ritual of sacrifice, which also involves music, sacrificial wine, animal hair and blood, and the altar.

Then, Liang Gongwang and others were arranged by Zhao Zhou to do the work, and Fengxize was bustling with noise for a time.

In the desolate place, the altar for worshipping the ancestor was lifted and placed upright by the crowd, and incense was burned.

"Burning incense is to welcome the gods in the Yang direction, while the blood and fur of livestock are to welcome the gods in the Yin direction. Our ancestors believed that after death, the spirit (魄) belongs to the Yin direction and returns to the earth, while the soul (魂) belongs to the Yang direction and is omnipresent. Therefore, sacrifices connect both the Yin and Yang aspects..."

Zhao Zhou kept the rituals and rules of the Grand Master of Ceremonies in mind, and glanced at the Imperial Sword Chixiao in his hands from time to time.

He had no choice but to respectfully place the Crimson Sky Sword in front of the altar, so that he could worship it together with the Emperor Gaozu.

"Slaughtering livestock for blood!"

After the offering of incense, Zhao Zhou also ordered people to collect the blood of the sacrificial animals and sprinkle it in front of the altar.

After everyone played music, Zhao Zhou recited the sacrificial inscription he had prepared in advance.

He was hastily appointed as Grand Master of Ceremonies, and only a few days after taking office, he was summoned by the new emperor to perform sacrifices to Emperor Gaozu. However, the rules and rituals of the sacrifices were still in accordance with ancient customs.

Regardless of whether their rituals were effective or not, at least they initiated the process correctly.

"Your Majesty, in a moment you will go to the altar to recite the sacrificial prayers and offer blessings to our ancestors for the Great Han Dynasty. Then our ceremony will be handed over to you!"

Zhao Zhou busied himself for about fifteen minutes, getting the prelude almost complete.

He remembered that the previous Grand Master of Ceremonies, Xu Chang, had a minimum of half an hour for this ritual, but Zhao Zhou couldn't figure out which step he had missed.

He's a man of action, and he acts quickly.

After the operation was completed, it was the new emperor's turn.

"Reciting sacrificial verses?" The new emperor frowned. "Shouldn't these be recited by you?"

"Your Majesty, this is for you to read aloud," Zhao Zhou insisted.

"I will read it aloud, I... So be it!"

The new emperor couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

He felt that the sacrificial ceremony in Zhao Zhou seemed to be somewhat different from the one held in Xu Chang.

Normally, it would be sufficient for him to follow the Grand Master of Ceremonies in bowing and burning incense, or perhaps conclude with a few words of summary.

But since Zhao Zhou said so, and he wanted to use this sacrificial ceremony to establish his legitimacy, the new emperor had no choice but to follow the sacrificial procedure.

"If only I had Han Yan and the others write two sacrificial verses for me, and then memorize them, it would have been better than me improvising like this!"

Zhao Zhou did not give any prior notice, and there was no way to prepare at the last minute. The new emperor had no choice but to bite the bullet and get to work.