Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 172 It is better to let our Liu family sit on the throne than to let the old thief Sima sit on it!
"Your Majesty, do you want me to preside over the ceremony?"

Kong Rong asked hesitantly.

"That's right." Liu Xie nodded and said, "After all, the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony is complicated. I fled to Yecheng alone, and none of the ceremonial officials who are good at this were around."

"My dear minister, you are a great scholar in the world, well versed in rituals and music. You are just right for the post of Grand Master of Ceremonies. You will preside over this ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heavens and help revive the fortunes of the Han Dynasty."

The Grand Ceremony of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven is different from ordinary sacrifices. It is more grand and complicated. It is the highest national sacrificial ceremony and is not usually held easily. It is only held when a new emperor ascends the throne or when there is a major event that the whole country celebrates.

However, there are too few people who are proficient in rituals and music. Guo Jia has been searching for famous people in Yecheng for a while, but has not found anyone who is good at this.

However, as a descendant of Confucius and a member of a Confucian family, Kong Rong did not know too much about the Five Classics. In terms of ritual studies, few people in the world today can match him.

That's why Liu Xie wanted him to preside over the ceremony.

"I can preside over the ceremony for Your Majesty, but I cannot accept the position of Minister of Rites. Your Majesty, please take it back." Kong Rong bowed deeply.

Liu Xie frowned and asked, "Why?"

The Minister of Rites was the head of the Nine Ministers, in charge of education, sacrifices, rituals, etc. Although he had no real power, he had a high status and was noble.

Isn’t this position enough to satisfy Kong Rong?

Kong Rong shook his head and said nothing.

When Liu Xie saw this, he understood instantly that this old man was still obsessed with the issue of whether he was the real emperor or a fake one. Once he accepted the position of Taichang Qing bestowed by him, it would be tantamount to acknowledging his identity as the legitimate emperor.

"What a stubborn old man."

Liu Xie was not angry, but admired Kong Rong very much.

Now he no longer needs Kong Rong's approval.

Of course it’s good to have it, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it. It’s just icing on the cake.

Anyway, as long as Kong Rong is willing to help him preside over the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, it will be fine.

Leaving this matter aside, Liu Xie thought of another person who came with Kong Rong, and asked, "I heard that there is a warrior under your command named Taishi Ziyi. Where is this person?"

Taishi Ci's reputation is still well-known even more than a thousand years later.

Not long ago, an uprising broke out in Beihai, and Liu Xie also heard about his achievements.

He led a few thousand troops to delay Yuan Tan's army of tens of thousands for several days, buying precious time for Zhang Liao to cross the border, and his contribution was great.

Kong Rong replied: "Your Majesty, Ziyi is currently settling the remaining troops."

Taishi Ci did not have an official position granted by the court, nor was he summoned by Liu Xie, so he was naturally not qualified to enter the palace. Therefore, he went to settle the remnants of the Beihai County soldiers who had fled with him.

Liu Xie said: "I want to confer the title of General Yingyang on him to honor his merits. You, my dear, please accept the decree on his behalf."

Since it concerned Taishi Ci's future, Kong Rong did not refuse this time. He accepted the imperial edict, thanked him and left.

Liu Xie watched him leave, and couldn't help but smile. He thought to himself, "Just presiding over the ceremony without accepting the official position, is it useful to deceive yourself like this?"

Kong Rong still seemed unwilling to acknowledge him.

In fact, my heart has been completely shaken.

Regardless of whether he accepted the official position or not, as long as he helped preside over the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, people all over the world would think that Kong Rong had recognized him as the emperor.

……

Kong Rong's arrival accelerated the progress of the ceremony.

With this great scholar who was well versed in etiquette and laws in charge of presiding over the ceremony, everything became orderly, and the personnel, items, ritual vessels, venues, livestock, etc. required for various sacrifices were quickly prepared.

All the noble families spared no effort for this grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. They gave whatever was asked for and cooperated very well, for fear that delaying the progress would displease the emperor.

And just like that, with the cooperation of many parties and the high expectations of everyone.

Ten days passed quickly.

The date for offering sacrifices to the Taimiao has arrived, and the day for holding a grand ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven has also arrived.

This grand ceremony was a rare event with extraordinary significance, so not only the people of Yecheng, but also many people from the counties and cities surrounding Yecheng came to join in the fun.

In order to maintain public order in Yecheng and ensure the smooth conduct of the ceremony, the defense capabilities of the entire Yecheng were greatly strengthened, and patrolling city defense troops could be seen everywhere on the streets.

In the past, there were still some hooligans causing trouble on the streets, but during this period of time, no one would dare to cause trouble, otherwise the city defense forces would not be there just for show.

Therefore, even though the flow of people in Yecheng has more than doubled than before, the public security is better than ever before. The pedestrians coming and going in Yecheng are all excited and expectant, and everyone is looking forward to this grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky.

……

royal palace.

Liu Xie woke up early in the morning, and with the help of several palace maids, he put on the heavy imperial robes and the crown which he rarely wore.

The crown and robes consist of a dark upper garment and a red lower skirt, with patterns painted on the top and bottom. In addition, there are knee-guards, a sash, red shoes, etc. - the emperor's clothing at this time in the Han Dynasty had not yet developed into the bright yellow dragon robes of later dynasties. Because they respected the virtues of earth and fire, the main color of the crown and robes was black with red.

The patterns on the crown and robes are mostly mountain birds, fish and insects, the sun and the moon, and mountains and rivers.

The crown is mainly black, with a hole on each side for inserting a jade hairpin to tie with the hair bun, and a ribbon is tied on both sides of the hairpin and tied under the jaw. There is also a pearl and jade hanging on each ear on the ribbon, called "Yun Er".

It is not inserted into the ear, but just hung beside the ear to remind the wearer not to listen to slander.

The later saying "turn a deaf ear" comes from this.

By the time he had put on the whole set of clothes, half an hour had passed. Liu Xie, wearing the solemn emperor's crown and robes, looked even more majestic, which made Zhen Mi, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao, Lu Lingqi and other concubines all look amazed.

Liu Xie looked at himself in the bronze mirror, wearing the emperor's imperial robes and looking particularly majestic, and he also felt a little strange. "It is true that clothes make the man."

Liu Xie was filled with emotion. Who could have imagined that the majestic Han emperor in the bronze mirror was just a refugee who was about to starve to death two years ago?
At that time, he never thought that he could get to where he is today just by relying on his looks.

Seeing Liu Xie staring at the mirror in a trance, Zhen Mi beside him whispered, "Your Majesty, it's almost time to set off for the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"it is good."

Liu Xie withdrew his gaze, smiled at Zhen Mi and other concubines, then stood up and walked out of the bedroom, and went to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices under the guidance of the ritual officer.

"His Majesty."

Kong Rong had been waiting in the Taimiao early. When he saw Liu Xie, he bowed to him and then motioned Liu Xie to go forward and worship the ancestors.

Liu Xie knelt on the cushion, looking at the dozens of spirit tablets placed in front of him, feeling somewhat uneasy.

He was not worried about making any mistakes in etiquette. He went over various etiquette with Kong Rong under the pretext of review, and he remembered everything he should do.

What really worried him was his own identity.

"My dear ancestors of the Liu family, although I am only a fake emperor, I am still a descendant of the Liu family. I have no choice but to pretend to be an emperor. I hope you ancestors in heaven will bless me."

"It is better for our Liu family to sit on the throne than for the thieves Cao, Yuan, and Sima to steal it. I will definitely work hard to make our Han Dynasty great again!"

Liu Xie bowed and recited silently in his heart.

I don’t know if his prayers worked, but during the entire sacrificial process, there were no accidents such as the spirit tablet falling down, and there was no sudden bad weather with dark clouds. The worship was completed smoothly, and various offerings were offered.

After doing all this, Liu Xie stood up and walked out of the Taimiao.

And just as he stepped out of the Taimiao, a breeze blew from behind him, blowing up the ribbons on his temples and falling on his head, as if gently caressing it.

Liu Xie couldn't help but look back.

In the smoke-filled Taimiao, he seemed to vaguely see many figures emerging and standing, but when he rubbed his eyes, they all disappeared.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

When Kong Rong saw Liu Xie stop, he couldn't help but ask.

"nothing."

Liu Xie shook his head and continued to stride out of the Taimiao, with Kong Rong following closely behind him.

Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, dozens of spirit tablets seemed to be watching the great Han emperor go away.

……

Today's sacrifice is divided into two steps.

The first step is to offer sacrifices to the ancestors in the Taimiao, and the second step is to walk to the Temple of Heaven in the northern suburbs to offer sacrifices to the heavens - yes, just walk.

On such an important day as the Ceremony of Offering Sacrifice to Heaven, even a noble person like an emperor must walk there in person to show respect to Heaven, and there is no room for laziness.

Of course, Liu Xie was not the only one who walked there.

All the major families have sent representatives to accompany him. Guo Jia and Xun Chen will also come, and Zhang He and Gao Lan will lead many guards in an orderly manner, all waiting for his arrival at the east gate of the imperial palace.

When they saw Liu Xie wearing the emperor's crown and robes and looking awe-inspiring without even getting angry, they couldn't help but be dazzled by his presence. This was the true demeanor of an emperor!

"Departure."

Facing everyone, Liu Xie put on the airs of an emperor and spoke lightly.

Everyone nodded respectfully.

Liu Xie went ahead and headed to the Temple of Heaven in the northern suburbs under the heavy protection of the imperial guards led by Zhang He and Gao Lan, while officials, generals and representatives of aristocratic families followed closely behind.

After the group left the palace, the huge ceremonial procession went out of the city along the official road of Yecheng. The roads they needed to pass through had already been cleared by the imperial guards, and the streets were closed and guarded by many soldiers to prevent any accidents.

But even so, there were still many people watching.

There was incomparable excitement on the faces of these people. Each of them looked at Liu Xie walking on the official road with sincere enthusiasm and respect on their faces!

This is the most supreme emperor of their Han Dynasty!
"Your Majesty! It's Your Majesty!"

"It is such a great honor to see your Majesty. This trip to Yecheng was not in vain!"

"I heard that Your Majesty has the appearance of Emperor Gaozu. Today I see that it is true."

"I really don't know what the fake emperor in Xu County has to compare with Your Majesty. He is obviously the real emperor. It's ridiculous that there are still people who believe that the one in Xu County is the real one."

"What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true. Your Majesty will surely lead his troops to Xu County one day and capture that fake emperor!"

"Your Majesty will live forever and ever in happiness!"

……

The people were extremely excited. Wherever Liu Xie passed, many of them bowed their heads in worship. Their enthusiasm was so great that even Liu Xie could not help but be shocked.

This is the centripetal force of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years. "Han" is no longer just a word or a name, but also a belief, the soul of a nation, and a synonym for a spirit.

As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, he became the god in the hearts of all the people!
Soon, the group walked out of Yecheng, went out from the north gate, and arrived at the Temple of Heaven in the northern suburbs.

The ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)