red wheel

It's late at night, Tianqi Imperial Capital, offering sacrifices to the Temple of Heaven.

Every large-scale sacrificial ceremony during the Tianqi Dynasty will be held at the Temple of Sacrifice to Heaven, to inform heaven and earth from above and the common people below.It is a symbol of the Apocalypse imperial power, and every brick and tile shows the prosperity of the Apocalypse Dynasty!
Here, even when there are no sacrifices, it is still heavily guarded. To the people, this is the place where the emperor upholds his destiny, and it is a sacred place that dare not be violated.

In the middle of the altar for worshiping heaven, there is a bronze four-legged square tripod. On the stone table in front of the bronze tripod, there is a large bronze box. The four corners of the bronze box are locked on the stone table, and the bronze box is also locked. .

What is stored in this bronze box is Emperor Mingxi’s Zhengui!

Zhengui, a jade ritual vessel held by the emperor, is decorated with the mountains of the four towns. The king holds Zhengui, which means stability in all directions.

After the emperors of the Apocalypse Dynasty ascended the throne, they would present their statues in front of the bronze four-legged square tripod to express their wishes to heaven and earth and to be carried by heaven.

Three years later, on a day when the country was peaceful and the people were safe and had a good harvest, Emperor Zhengui just invited him to the Shouhuang Palace to tell the Ancestral Temple that the country was stable and the people were healthy.

After that, for every large-scale sacrifice, Zhengui would be invited from the Shouhuang Palace. The emperor must hold Zhengui in hand and lead the courtiers to complete the sacrifice.

When the emperor died, his Zhengui was also buried in the imperial mausoleum with the emperor.

At this moment, under the Temple of Sacrifice to Heaven, Deputy Commander Liu of the Royal Forest Army led a team of people to inspect and asked, "Is there anything unusual?"

A captain of the Royal Forest Army bowed and replied: "Deputy Commander, everything is normal."

Deputy Commander Liu of the Royal Forest Army nodded and said, "Well, open your eyes and look carefully. Those sacrificial objects are very important. You must not take them lightly."

The squad leader hurriedly replied: "Yes, deputy commander, my subordinates understand."

Deputy Commander Liu of the Royal Forest Army nodded with satisfaction, turned and left.

When the news of the great victory in the north came, Prince Yu, who was in the imperial mausoleum, ordered people to start preparing sacrifices to sacrifice heaven and earth. Every day, boxes of sacrificial objects were gradually transported into the altar of sacrifice to heaven.

Nowadays, a temporary tent has been set up under the altar of sacrifice to heaven, specially used to place sacrificial supplies.

In previous years, this kind of preparation of sacrificial items was quite normal during large-scale sacrifices. What's more, not only was the victory in the north this time, Dai Viet also submitted a letter of surrender and paid a lot of supplies.This is a rare happy event for Tianqi court in a hundred years!
Therefore, this time the sacrifice to heaven and earth was more grand, and the sacrificial supplies were well prepared. These were all prepared by Prince Yu in the imperial mausoleum and handed over to Prime Minister Jiang Peiyuan for preparation.

There are also three large wooden boxes placed next to the railing on the upper side of the altar.This is the wooden box that was just delivered this evening.It is also the most important item in this ceremony, the three pillars of incense used by the emperor to sacrifice heaven and earth.

At this moment, it happens to be the time for the Royal Guards to change their shifts:

"You are finally here, starving us to death."

"Look at your character, you're waiting to eat before your shift ends."

"Let me tell you, today's midnight snack is really good."

"Really, what's good for supper tonight?"

"Today's stewed duck was really good, so delicious."

"By the way, there are also crystal elbows with tight elastic teeth. That's really a nice touch!"

"Really, what else? Tell me quickly."

"There are plenty. You can find out when you go to eat after your shift." A group of people were talking and laughing.

at the same time.

The box on the altar of sacrifice to heaven was opened from the inside, but the movement was silent. Three small figures came out of it very quickly. One person held the wind, and the other two quickly came to the bronze box and took out a handful from their bodies. The key quickly opens the lock of the bronze box.

Lying in the bronze box was Emperor Mingxi's Zhen Gui.

A small figure quickly took out Zhengui from the bronze box, and another small figure quickly took out a delicate knife from his body. This was no ordinary knife. It was a small one, but it was used for sharpening iron. Like mud!I saw a small figure holding a knife and lightly scratching Zhen Gui between the front and back. Yes, it was just two scratches!Not a single sound was made!
After marking, they put Zhengui back into the bronze box again and locked the bronze box again.

And all this was completed in only a dozen breaths.

After finishing, the three small black figures sneaked into the big wooden box again, closed the wooden box quietly, and everything on the altar of sacrifice to heaven returned to its original state.

The imperial guards who took over the shift were still joking.Soon, the handover of guards from the Royal Forest Army was completed, the people who were on duty left, and silence returned to the surroundings of the Temple of Sacrifice to Heaven.

Time passes by little by little...
There was a glimmer of light in the sky. Soon, the sun rose, and the sunlight shone on the Temple of Heaven. There was joy on the faces of the imperial guards:

"It's finally dawn."

"Yes, I can finally go home after work and have a good sleep."

Soon, the guards who took over came, one after another. The handover during the day was more disciplined. The guards who had left their posts quietly turned around and left. However, they had only taken a few steps.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang...bang...on the Yuxiu Peak northeast of the Temple of Heaven, and a lot of gravel instantly rolled down from the peak!

In an instant, the northeastern side of the Temple of Sacrifice to Heaven was filled with rubble, and a lot of rubble was scattered to other places, including the bronze tripod and around the table!
All the imperial guards were shocked:
"My God!"

"Quick...quickly inform the deputy commander."

"Oh my god, how could this happen? What should we do now?"

"This is not something we can solve. Let's wait until the deputy commander comes."

"Yes, yes, this matter is no small matter."

"Fortunately, the shift has just been handed over, there are many people, and there are so many pairs of eyes watching. If this had happened last night, our lives would have been at risk!"

"That's right, that's right. Let's keep a close eye on the surrounding area and don't let anyone in or out. The rest is beyond our control."

"Yes, yes, that's right!"······

In the Royal Forest Army Office, Deputy Commander Liu had a face full of astonishment and exclaimed: "What!"

Then he hurriedly ordered: "Now Prime Minister Jiang is acting in charge of the government. At this time, all civil and military officials are still in court. Come on, you two should go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony immediately to find Prime Minister Jiang and inform him of this matter."

"Yes, deputy commander." The two forest guards hurriedly took the order and left.

The captain next to him said: "Deputy Commander, the matter of worshiping the Temple of Heaven can be big or small. Now that the emperor is in the north, the highest-ranking royal family in the imperial capital is Prince Yu. Should we send someone to inform Prince Yu?"

After hearing this, Vice Commander Liu pondered for a moment and then said: "Prime Minister Jiang was ordered to supervise the country. But when the emperor left, he ordered Prince Yu to pray at the imperial mausoleum until he returned from the expedition. Now that the emperor has not returned, We are not qualified to ask Prince Yu to leave the imperial mausoleum to handle this matter. We should wait until Prime Minister Jiang arrives before making a decision."

The squad leader nodded in response: "Yes, yes, what the deputy commander said makes sense."

Deputy Commander Liu's face was dark and he said: "We can't take care of the matters of the Temple of Heaven, but we have to take care of the matters of Yuxiu Peak. You should immediately bring two teams of imperial guards and let me search Yuxiu Peak."

The squad leader hurriedly said: "Deputy Commander, aren't there guards at the entrance to Yuxiu Peak? The guards are in charge of the City Patrol Department. Is it appropriate for us to go to search the mountain so rashly?"

Deputy Commander Liu shouted angrily: "Now that such a big thing has happened, their city patrol department can't escape the blame. If the matter is not investigated, it will be difficult for the city patrol department to explain it. Now they still hope that we can intervene and work together. Take responsibility for this."

"But now such a big thing has happened at the Temple of Heaven, and we have to intervene, otherwise we won't be able to explain it. Hurry, hurry up."

"Yes, deputy commander." The team leader hurriedly took the order and left.

······
At the same time, inside the imperial capital city.