Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 564 Guo Kang’s first team of veterans
The sacrificial ceremony did not take too long.

Entering the door of the chapel, there is the seated statue of Brother Tian.

Guo Kang heard someone explain that according to the rules of etiquette, ordinary people were not allowed to directly offer sacrifices to the Heavenly Father. Even the Pai Sai Khan who performs the highest sacrifice only performs sacrifices to the Heavenly Father on specific festivals every year to highlight the supremacy of the Heavenly Father and ensure the dignity and grandness of the ceremony.

Moreover, these sacrifices were not held in the Empress Temple, which is the country's highest-level chapel, but in the first church established by the great Khan Boyantemur in Romania, commissioned by Patriarch Zhang. If the Great Khan goes on an expedition, he will imitate the arrangements there and perform sacrifices in the army; but if there is no war, in accordance with the traditional Roman principle of "sacrifice and war are the most important", the Great Khan will go there and hold ceremonies. .

This is also because, compared to other churches, it has special significance for the God-Worship Cult and the Purple Horde Khanate. Before Patriarch Zhang came here, Romanian beliefs were quite confusing. The Great Khan and the nobles brought Eastern beliefs, and some influence of Tianfang Sect also came from the Golden Horde. Coupled with the Roman Catholic Church spread by the North and West, Poland and Hungary, and the Greek Orthodox Church in the East and South, the local area is basically a hodgepodge.

At that time, the leaders of the Purple Horde Khanate lacked sufficient religious knowledge. Guo Gai, who presided over daily affairs, realized the importance of religious orders here and supported everyone in establishing independent churches. But he would only teach everyone the Four Books and Five Classics, and then try to forcefully integrate those principles with various popular local teachings.

Later, Patriarch Zhang came here and after several days of detailed talks with Guo Gai and others, he persuaded them to take over the church. When we first took over, the internal teachings of the church were very confusing. There were even claims that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother would reincarnate and descend to earth to save all sentient beings. In this environment, Patriarch Zhang single-handedly established a new management organization, reorganized a set of doctrines, and standardized all matters. As a result, he gained a status far higher than other patriarchs in the past dynasties and was widely respected. Various systems he left behind have also been inherited.

Although he is not the actual founder of the church, after Patriarch Zhang, the church has a completely different style, whether compared with various local churches in Western Thailand or compared with the chaotic era of the early Khanate. Therefore, to this day, the Romanian Church refers to the inauguration of Patriarch Zhang as the "return of the real person" rather than an ordinary inauguration of a teaching position.

After the death of Chief Patriarch Zhang, this inauguration date also became a memorial day. The church will hold some activities on this day to recall history, review internal personnel, and warn everyone to maintain their faith.

According to the rules handed down at that time, in addition to offering sacrifices to heaven, Baisai Khan would also preside over the offering of sacrifices to the ancestors of Rome. These ceremonies were held in the Niangniang Temple. As for the worship of Brother Tian, ​​it is more relaxed and can be found in many churches.

Of course, ordinary people have no problem with this. Folks don't really like to worship their heavenly father and brothers. They usually worship saints from their own region or industry. So, there isn’t much conflict.

"I really don't know what to do, and I didn't think about the follow-up goals at that time..." Guo Ru nodded and admitted, and then said with some doubts: "How about I kill another circle? If I add 108 more, the merit should be higher, right? "

The reason why I went there specifically was because the Guo family also had a symbolic property in the village. Theoretically, including their adoptive father and Guo Kang, their household registration belongs to this village next to their ancestral graves and family temple, and they are citizens of hundreds of local households. Usually when I am in Dadu, I just take up my post in a different place to fulfill my official duties.

Here, they also maintain an empty residence. However, people will come to live basically only during festivals and sacrifices. The fields next to it were distributed to the surrounding villagers by Guo Di on the grounds that he could not use them himself, leaving only the house itself.

These two things, the one on the left is called "valve" and the one on the right is called "yue", which are symbols of family status. According to custom, if there are meritorious deeds, they will be written in a list and posted on these two pillars for everyone to see. The so-called "gate valve" is named after this. And without them, even if you are like those big Greek businessmen, you are wealthy, no matter how luxurious your house is, and no matter how extravagant your life is, your status will not be considered high.

Others around him agreed, but they may have been accustomed to it and didn't take it to heart. They immediately went to the nearest farm nearby. There, the Guo family would hold banquets to entertain nearby folks.

"Last year, your third uncle made up the numbers. I was not as good as him in fighting, so I was two years late and only got it together this year." He sighed and said, "But in this way, I can finally complete my revenge. ”

"How do you feel? How do you feel after completing your revenge?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

The residence is not too big, and the inside has been modified to serve as a temporary hostel. Because of the ancestral motto of the Guo family, it has always maintained a simple appearance without much decoration. Except for a few extra rows of guest rooms, it doesn't look much different from a wealthy family's home in the countryside. The only thing used to mark the difference are the two pillars at the gate.

Guo Kang is familiar with these steps. But today, the old priest who presided over the ceremony looked a little tired. I wonder if he was too tired to prepare for this event. However, these processes are not complicated, and by noon, everyone has completed the sacrifice.

After saying that, he turned around, saw Guo Kang's curious expression, and explained: "Oh, my eldest nephew hasn't come with me before, right? This, after the Poles killed your brother-in-law, your third uncle and I , a vow made in front of Brother Tian. We said at that time that we would each kill 108 Polish soldiers and sacrifice their heads to him, hoping to appease his soul and let Heavenly Father and Brother Tian bless him for this sake. Peaceful life in heaven.”

"Little brother, Fifth Brother has collected it for you this time." He muttered: "You can rest assured in heaven."

Therefore, the Guo family, even if they are vain and face-saving people, do not pay much attention to the decoration itself. After all, the essence of this residence lies in these two pillars.

"Now that the goal of revenge has been achieved, will there be any sense of emptiness? What are you going to do in the future?" Guo Kang wanted to see what they thought on a whim.

Everyone bowed twice in this room, praying to Heavenly Father and Brother Heavenly Brother to bless the country and family, and then continued to the next room, where they worshiped the portraits and tablets of Guo Gai and other ancestors.

Before leaving, Guo Ru took a bag from his entourage, walked to a spiritual altar nearby, took out two withered heads, and carefully placed them on the altar table.

"It feels very comfortable." Guo Ru said with a smile, "I feel like the burden on my shoulders has been lifted a lot."

"Uh... you'd better ask the priests." Guo Kang didn't know how to answer.

The chefs hired in advance had been prepared, and the Guo family immediately set up a banquet at the door of the house to entertain all the guests. In addition to the officials, local elders, priests, gentlemen, and even ordinary villagers came one after another to send blessings, and the host also brought food to entertain him.

It was so lively all afternoon, and everyone was very happy.

"Remember, all the bells and whistles in the city are fake. Don't take it too seriously. These people in the countryside are the foundation of Rome." The adoptive father even gave special advice to several of his children and nephews. After the banquet, the villagers invited them to take advantage of the opportunity to visit.

There is a courtyard at the end of the village. On one side are the offices of hundreds of families, on the other side is the village school, and the tall main house is used as a church, with various souvenirs from them displayed inside. The current Zhang Baihu, retired Yang Lao Baihu and others, as well as representatives from nearby Baihu, were all waiting at the door.

Yang Baihu is Yang Wenxian's grandfather. He is now sixty years old, and he is still energetic and looks very energetic. When Guo Di led two centurions north to Novgorod, he was the youngest captain among them. Later Guo Di established a new war group and he was the second chief hundred households.

Basil III and Guo Di hoped to promote him, and when they conquered Hungary, they ordered him to lead a large and a half troops to fight alone and annihilate the local aristocratic armed forces. But Yang Baihu was only good at leading a few people to kill people and commanding a larger army, so he couldn't take care of it anymore.

After receiving the order, he thought about it all afternoon, selected more than a hundred brave soldiers from his men, and set out that night to sneak attack the camp of the noble army, but the remaining people were left alone. Two days later, when other soldiers still had no news, they reported it to the legion. The legion quickly sent people to investigate, only to find that he had directly destroyed the enemy's camp and chased the deserters for more than a hundred miles until he captured the escaped soldiers. The nobles caught up and killed him before they remembered to come back.

The legion was quite dissatisfied with this, so even though he had made some gains, he could not continue to improve. After that, he served as a cavalry instructor among various regiments until his retirement. However, he was quite satisfied with his situation. After retiring, he simply returned to his hometown to teach, where he has been until now.

This time, he was the one who took the lead to greet them, and the current Zhang Baihu just followed behind. After the routine greetings, the adoptive father told them to stop being polite, then pulled Guo Kang out and said, "Come on, kid, say hello to Grandpa Yang."

Guo Kang bowed and greeted him honestly. Yang Baihu quickly supported him, saying that he couldn't bear the responsibility, and then praised him a few times and praised him. Others are not surprised because it is also tradition. Theoretically speaking, according to Zhou etiquette, even if you are having sex, you should greet the elders politely when you see them. However, later generations of Central Plains people basically don’t pay attention to this. The environment here is closer to ancient times, and these customs are still continuing.

"This is your Uncle Zhang. I have to ask him to help me get some help this time," the foster father continued.

"It's all what one should do in a humble position." Zhang Baihu replied politely.

Guo Kang didn't care so much and went to say hello.

In this way, when he and everyone met, Yang Laobaihu took the initiative and said: "We have heard the news that there is another war before, and everyone is very happy. This time, it is the good boy of the You family who is going to fight, and we are more Can't wait."

"Those villagers near us, if we put them all together, can still save eight hundred men who have fought in the war." He said, turning to call to the hundreds of households: "The young general is also a descendant of our Henan, everyone. Let’s go into battle together and protect him.”

Everyone agreed.

"I'm old and frail, so going there will only hold you back. This time, let Lu Laosan lead the team." Yang Laobaihu suggested again: "Didn't he come back from the front line last year? He should have had enough rest. Right. Lao Lu, do you agree?"

"Okay, Brother Yang." A strong man with gray hair replied with a smile: "After this naughty kid comes back, he will be idle every day, so send him away quickly."

Everyone also laughed.

"Eight hundred people are too many. There is no need to work so hard." The foster father waved his hand: "Three hundred people are enough."

"How about that? That's too little. People from Hebei will look down on us when they look back and say that we don't dare to fight anymore." Yang Laobaihu shook his head: "I have already agreed with everyone, even if it depends on me For the sake of this old face, let’s bring everyone here and give them a chance to make a contribution.”

However, the adoptive father did feel that this was too much. The two parties bargained for a while, and finally decided to send 500 people there. Hundreds of households were very happy and cheered loudly.

"Then, I don't care who doesn't go." Yang Laobaihu reminded: "You organize a competition yourself and select the best young people."

Everyone agreed and invited the Guo family to sit inside. They dispersed to both sides, surrounded Guo Kang and others, and entered the church door.

There is a quite large hall here, and one wall is covered with wolf skins, some are generally complete, and some are incomplete. Guo Kang counted them and found that there were fifteen.

"Our Zhuangzi has produced fifteen legion flagbearers in the past few decades. Those on the wall are what they obtained." Yang Laobaihu introduced: "Oh, the last one is Lu Laosan's. But he Like me, he is not a commanding person, so I will tell him that he will listen to you when the time comes."

Guo Kang actually started to feel guilty, but he nodded quickly and said thank you.

On the opposite wall, there are also proofs of various achievements and awards. There is a special tax-free sign hanging at the top. According to Mr. Yang, it is because there are too many people joining the army, and the court has specially approved that they no longer need to pay land tax. In addition, below are some commendation documents for people from the village who were rewarded for their military exploits. Guo Kang took a look and found that there was at least one chapter leader and a lot of military officials.

"We are not the biggest in this aspect. There are more people in Majia Zhuang in the west than us. This time they have the most people." Yang Laobaihu introduced: "But that's what it is. This time, we must get it back. "

Everyone laughed again.

(End of this chapter)