Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 145: Heaven Sacrifice Conference ([-])

It was still pitch black outside, but Shao Shude woke up very early.

Stretching out his hand to touch the left and right, Zhao Yu was not by his side, and then he remembered that today was the day of the Heaven Worship Conference, and he had already slept by the bank of Wushui.

I got up and went to the camp to inspect a circle, and then returned to the tent to have breakfast.

The meal is relatively simple, pork, fish, chicken three flavors, physalis, milk, corn porridge, Shao Shude finished quickly.

He went to the bank of Wushui to hold a ceremony to worship heaven, and he brought [-] soldiers of the Jinglue Army.This is not only for their own safety, but also to show their prestige.The ethos of party members advocates bravery. If you don't show some hard power at such an important gathering, it is easy to make them feel contemptuous.

Outside the camp of the Jinglue Army, there are still many tents set up by party members.At this time, a statue of the King of Medicine has been erected on the ground, which was prepared in advance and used for sacrifice.

Several wizards and shamans danced under the statue with the head of a sheep, muttering: "The light shines on the universe, trying to drive away all the demons, and in charge of blessing and disaster."

They took turns to fight, and they didn't stop all night.

But it's no wonder that they have to sing and dance at night, because this is a prayer for party members to worship the stars, and it won't work well after dawn.

Magic stick is also a hard job!
"Commander, all the chieftains have arrived." Li Yixian walked into the tent and reported.

"Let's go!" Shao Shude in military uniform got up, and surrounded by his own soldiers, strode into the sacrificial scene.

Weicai Sudu, Yeli Jingchen, Wuzang Qingxiang and other big chiefs, plus dozens of small chiefs, came to pay their respects.

"Please enter the sword gate!" A masked wizard shouted.

The sword gate is used for the oath of alliance, that is to say, the sword is bound to the gate, and everyone passes under it, and entering is the meeting place.

The ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven has never been a simple sacrifice to God. Since the time of the Xiongnu and Xianbei, it has a strong political color, and this time is no exception.

The sacrificial activity of the wizard has reached a climax.

Under the guidance of others, Shao Shude drew out a dagger, inserted it into the neck of a tied sheep, and spurted out hot blood.

After drinking all the blood on the tip of the sword, Wei Cai Sudu stepped forward with a solemn expression, also drew out his short sword and stabbed it into the sheep, drinking all the blood.

"Poor sheep, and cattle!" Shao Shude stood aside, watching one tribal chieftain after another pass under the sword gate, stabbing the cattle and sheep again and again.

After this step of the ceremony, several people stepped forward, carried a wooden statue of a woman, and threw it into a pit.

This step was originally to use a real person, but Shao Shude felt that it would hurt the harmony of nature, so he ordered wood carvings to be used instead.The wizards didn't agree at first, but when they saw the [-] pawns Shao brought over, they were speechless and agreed while pinching their noses.

The female statue was covered with thorns. At this time, everyone picked up a stone, hit it hard, and finally dug the soil to bury it.

"Master." A wizard reminded softly.

Shao Shude nodded, took three steps forward, stood beside the pit, and said: "You are all citizens of the Tang Dynasty, under the rule of this commander, in the future, we will work together as one, not to attack and kill each other, and obey my orders."

"We only obey the command of the commander-in-chief." Under the leadership of Weicai Sudu, Yeli Jingchen, and Meizang Qingxiang, all the chieftains bowed down one after another and said loudly.

The sorcerer stepped forward at the right time, took out a sheep face bone that had been scorched by flames, and hissed: "Those who break their oaths should be treated like this."

This is a wizard's curse. In this age of superstition, and the target is a relatively ignorant party tribe, the effect is still there.

After the covenant oath ceremony was completed, Shao Shude sent someone to bring over his senior chair, and all the chieftains were ranked left and right according to their strength.Well, it was a little chaotic because some people were glaring and jostling for positions.The closer you are to Marshal Shao, the higher your status is, which is very clear.

The following ceremony is a serious sacrifice to heaven.

The wizards took out props again, killed cattle and sheep for divination, and finally came to the conclusion that the pasture will be prosperous next year.

Another sorcerer observed the clouds in the sky and came to the conclusion: next year, there will be peace, but there will be soldiers.

Shao Shude watched carefully from the sidelines, thinking in his heart: the growth and decline of pastures and the stability of the situation, can wizards control them?There are always times when their predictions are wrong, right?If you make mistakes a few times, isn't your credit bankrupt?Why do people still believe it?I'm afraid it's not like stock critics, it doesn't matter if the prediction is wrong countless times, but if it is correct a few times, it will immediately blow up, and the fans will selectively forget the things that were wrong in the previous prediction, and shouted awesome.

Probably like this.

At the same time, someone from Shao also felt that the prairie's magician was really upright, giving conclusions directly, without ambiguous words, and had more professional ethics than the charlatans of later generations.

After the ceremony, it is natural to cook cattle and slaughter sheep, and eat and drink.There are also dancers, but they are not dancers from the prairie girls that often appear in film and television dramas, but dancers from various parts.

Shao Shude watched all this with a smile.Datang's Jieshuai, there should be no one who "condescends" like himself, and is so integrated with the grassland people, right?If you want to rule them, you must convince them that you are your own, even if it is only superficially your own.

A stable rule will inevitably fail by fighting alone.

Weicai Sudu, Yeli Jingchen, Wuzang Qingxiang and others performed dances one after another, and they danced well, I really underestimated them.Perhaps, next time you can dance to see who is not convinced by yourself.

"A Guda, why don't you perform the dance? Is there any objection?" Shao Shude thought it was very interesting because it was probably such a routine.

After the ceremony is over, it is the reward and dedication ceremony.

Weicai Sudu was the first to come forward and offered a pair of golden carvings, fifty pieces of sand fox skins, a hundred pieces of deer skins, and two hundred pieces of yellow sheepskins.This is not a small gesture, and generally speaking, it would not be like this, but it may be the first time to participate in the conference in Xiazhou, so it must be bleeding a lot.

Wuzang Qingxiang had quick eyes and quick hands, and was the second to present presents before Yeli Jingchen: two tiger skins, six leopard skins, honey, wax, some medicinal materials, er, why is there a tiger whip.

The gift presented by Nori Keitomi was similar to that of Muzang Qingxiang. After all, they were both members of the Hengshan party, and their living environment was almost the same.

After the three great chiefs presented their gifts, it was the turn of the Xiaohaos.Some offered horses, some leather, some medicinal herbs, no matter what, Shao Shude accepted it with a smile and comforted him.Several shogunate officials stood behind him, keeping pens in their hands, recording the gifts from various ministries, and at the same time quickly appraised the value, and agreed on how much gifts to give these chiefs in return.

According to Shao Dashuai's intention, the value of the two should be equal, a little more, but not less.The gifts in return are mainly the top-grade brocades and tea leaves in central Sichuan bought by Marshal Zhuge, which are very suitable for the nobles of various tribes. After all, they have enough daily expenses and are beginning to pursue a more luxurious life.

"Everyone, Shao will keep those who can come today in mind." After the ceremony of presenting gifts and rewards was over, and the meal was about the same, Shao Shude got up and stood in the middle of the field, and said loudly: "In the future, if there are disputes among the ministries, you can come to Xiazhou If you are looking for someone, you must not attack and kill each other. If there are foreign enemies invading, report to someone immediately and set up a large army to fight against them, and all the ministries will also send troops to help each other."

"On the other hand, each ministry selects 4000 warriors to serve in the righteous army for a period of two years. After two years, each will return to the headquarters, and another group of people will take over." Shao Shude said.

There are currently 800 people in the Yi Congjun Army, and all of these people have been listed in the register of the Yamen Army.After the 800 warriors selected by the grassland and Hengshan party ministries arrived in Xiazhou, these [-] people were the backbone of the rebel army, ensuring that the army could play its due role in the battle.

800 people, including [-] cavalry.If there is a large-scale war and there is a shortage of troops, the possibility of further recruitment and expanding it to [-] people cannot be ruled out.

Controlling the grassland by myself is not for eating, drinking, dancing and offering sacrifices with them. With more than 20 Pingxia party items, it is too wasteful to collect only cattle and sheep tributes, and there is still a lot of potential to be squeezed.

After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, the scene automatically turned into a trade fair.Merchants from Xiazhou and even other towns, who had long seen the opportunity, drove over in carts and carts to trade goods with the followers of various chieftains and exchanges.

Cao Si, the governor of the shogunate, has long been prepared to charge tax on transactions.

Trade is one of the important means to deepen control over the grassland.The construction of Suizhou East City is about to be completed, and Xiazhou South City is also under construction. These are two trade wholesale markets that are open all year round.But it is not enough. Shao Shude feels that the commercial potential of the grassland needs to be further developed, which is a matter of mutual benefit to both parties.Not only can it improve the lives of grassland herdsmen, but it can also reduce the possibility of rebellion. Why not do it?

(End of this chapter)