Three Kingdoms, at the beginning of the game, recognize the thief as the father, hit the spectacle,

"If what is said in this letter is correct, presumably what Zhang Yan needs is only a geographer who can preside over sacrifices, rather than requiring too high attainments in qi-watching."

"And if it's just simple sacrificial knowledge and etiquette regulations, my Kuai family randomly pulls out a son or nephew, as long as they are not weaned, which one can't be easily competent?"

Talking to Kuai Liang with joy, Kuai Yue already had a good candidate in his mind to take the blame.When he heard what he said, Kuai Liang couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat, naturally he understood the meaning of his brother's words.

"If so, then in Luoyang City, there is indeed a good candidate who can meet the requirements of the Marquis of Wan..."

After stroking the beard on his chin, Kuai Liang's eyes became brighter.

Chapter No.17 Liu Hong: Let me do it!

His eyes turned back to Zhang Yan.

At this moment, everyone has already walked out of the construction site.Except for Wei Xian's lack of status and not following Hanling Emperor Liu Hong, the remaining Zhang Rang, Zhang Yan and his son, as well as the general He Jin, have accompanied Liu Hong into a nearby wine house to rest. They are also waiting for candidates related to the sacrificial ceremony prepared by He Jin.

Since it has not yet reached the heyday of feudal autocracy like the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emperor's travel is only in accordance with the standards of the Book of Rites, and the six horses drag the carriage forward in parallel, and there is no such thing as the emperor's micro-service travel that Zhang Yan expected. bloody drama.And after entering the wine house under his name with Liu Hong, Zhang Yan just waved his hand to let the servants prepare the meals, and then he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest in peace.

Sacrificing sacrifices is definitely not a trivial matter strictly speaking.Even if he had a whim today and planned to sacrifice directly, some of the materials needed for normal sacrifices need to be prepared temporarily. At the same time, depending on the level of sacrifice, some of them need to calculate the good and bad according to the almanac.

For example, when the emperor sacrificed to the heaven and the earth, the Qin Tianjian had to calculate in advance, and the sacrifice could only be performed on auspicious days.While sacrificing to the gods of the five sacrifices and the mountains and rivers, although you don't need to pay too much attention to the good and bad dates, you also need to do enough etiquette to be effective.

As recorded in Zuo Zhuan:

"The major event of the country lies in the sacrificial and military affairs. The sacrificial ceremony has the honor of holding on, and the military has the acceptance of the funeral. It is also the great festival of the gods."

It can be seen that the ancients' emphasis on sacrifices has been comparable to military operations.And since Wei Xian had already said that this sacrifice should at least be at the level of the five priests, and at the same time the higher the level of sacrifice, the better, then Zhang Yan would naturally act according to the other party's request.

Now that he is a vassal prince of the state of Anhui, the highest level of ceremony that can be held naturally is the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods of the country and mountains and rivers.And because Zhang Yan didn't want to be too sloppy in the last step of the completion of this spectacle, he also sent people to prepare materials according to the specifications for offering sacrifices to the country.

According to the most basic requirements, three animals, five grains, and six animals need to be prepared as sacrifices for offering sacrifices to the country.In the early Shang and Zhou dynasties, the head of the three animals was not even the simple sacrifice of the heads of the three animals "cow, sheep, and horse" as people imagined now, but "cow, sheep, and human" as the three animals. Sacrifice.

Even now that the Han Dynasty no longer conducts large-scale human sacrifices, it still takes a lot of time to prepare these animals and grains.

Wait until the sun is more westward, and Zhang Yan's servants who want to come can prepare all these materials when it reaches three or four o'clock in the afternoon and it is close to dusk.But while everyone was waiting silently, Liu Hong, who had been silent before, stood up suddenly, remembering when he had seen a scene very similar to the black cloud over the sundial.

"Marquis of the Kingdom of Wan, when the sacrificial ceremony is held, how about letting me be the chief sacrificial person?"

Looking at Zhang Yan with a slightly surprised expression in his eyes, Hanling Emperor Liu Hong's thoughts have returned to 20 years ago, when he had just ascended the throne and became the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

……

I still remember that it was 20 years ago, Liu Hong was only twelve or thirteen years old, and he had just waited for the throne of the emperor of the Han Dynasty.At the time of the enthronement ceremony, Liu Hong remembered that he had seen this kind of weird cloud on the Luoyang Palace at that time, which did not directly affect the surrounding environment and the weather.

Although the dark clouds that time were not as obvious as those created by Zhang Yan this time, Liu Hong remembered that when he led all the civil and military officials to sacrifice to the sky, he saw wisps of white mist connecting all the officials. cloud body.

After the sacrificial offering was completed, the cloud body split into pieces as if it had received some attraction, and entered the body of Sangong Jiuqing who was present at that time. As soon as the dark cloud dissipated, a faint ray of sunlight shone directly on him through the cloud layer, giving him Bring a warm touch.

Although when I asked all the officials later, none of them had ever seen the vision that I saw at that time.But after seeing the black cloud today, Liu Hong still tried his best to retrieve the memories of 20 years ago from the depths of his mind.

In recent years, especially after his second prince Liu Xie was born, Liu Hong always felt that his body was getting worse day by day.Not only does he feel out of breath at every turn, but he also occasionally suffers from cold hands and feet in summer.

Therefore, thinking of the warm sunshine after the sacrifice was completed today, Liu Hong suddenly had the idea of ​​replacing Zhang Yan as the officiant.

……

"Son, do you want to hold a sacrifice for this sundial yourself?"

Looking at Liu Hong who was acting on a whim in quite a bit of surprise, Zhang Yan's expression was naturally extremely surprised.

If you want to hold a sacrificial ceremony, at most it will be a little bigger than ordinary people's celebration, but it's just a trivial matter.And if the emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty personally participated in the sacrifice, it would be no small matter, it would be a big event that could be known to all the people of the Han Dynasty.

Not to mention anything else, just in terms of staffing, all sacrifices to the emperor need to be performed by Tai Changqing, one of the Nine Ministers, and all the officials under his command, and there are countless procedures such as bathing and burning incense.And if it's just Zhang Yan, a prince and king who is not a member of the clan, then it's better if the ceremony is more complicated, and if it's simpler, no outsiders will gossip.

If Liu Hong really wants to go into battle by himself today, it is inevitable that the time of the sacrifice will be moved back again, and it will even be delayed until five or six o'clock in the afternoon.And considering that the sacrificial ceremony should have been carried out at noon, it would be inappropriate to delay until the afternoon, so after some persuasion from everyone, Liu Hongcai finally gave up on this whim.

"It's just that the Marquis of the Kingdom of Wan, I have to be on the sidelines of this sacrificial ceremony. This is absolutely non-negotiable."

Complaining in the direction of Zhang Yan, Emperor Ling of Han Dynasty Liu Hong seemed a little displeased that everyone prevented him from participating in this sacrifice.However, after arguing with He Jin and Zhang Rang, Liu Hong, who was on the sidelines, did not regress anyway.

When the person selected by He Jin to preside over the sacrificial ceremony came to the north of the city, what he saw was the angry appearance of Liu Hong, the current emperor of the Han Dynasty.

……

"This... is this today?"

Looking at the middle-aged man wearing a dragon robe on the main seat in disbelief, the young boy only felt a little hot-blooded at the moment, and the awe and dignity that he had previously imagined for the emperor of the Han family had completely dissipated.

"Ahem...that's right, you are the best person called by the general to preside over the sacrifice?"

Chapter 18 The best candidate: Refers to various aspects

"Are you the best candidate for General He to call to preside over the sacrificial ceremony?"

Just as the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy was surprised, a young and powerful voice came from behind him, which immediately broke the boy's trance state.Hearing this voice, the young man realized that there was still someone standing behind him looking at him at this moment.

He quickly turned his head and looked in the direction behind him. The young man didn't expect that his soliloquy just now would be heard by others, and the expression on his face inevitably became a little embarrassed.But when he looked back hesitantly, he suddenly realized that the person standing behind him at this moment was actually a prince of a place with a somewhat youthful face but wearing a gold seal and purple ribbon on his waist.

"Nanjun Kuaiqi, I have seen this...er, I have seen this lieutenant."

Kuai Qi's brows twitched slightly, and he quickly saluted Zhang Yan respectfully behind him. Now he is still young, and he has not been an official, so he can't help but feel a little nervous when he sees him.It wasn't until his voice got stuck that Kuai Qi realized that he didn't know the young man in front of him, and he didn't even know how to address him.

"Um, your Excellency is the Marquis of Wan Kingdom?"

He asked with some hesitation, Kuai Qi was temporarily arrested by his cousin today to deal with He Jin, and at the same time helped Zhang Yan to host the sacrifice.Due to the rush of time, Kuai Liang only told the general situation to Kuai Qi, who came to Luoyang for a tour recently, without saying too many details.

So far, Kuai Qi only knew that there was a newly promoted marquis who needed to hold a sacrifice. As for the specific content, he was not too clear at all.

At this moment, seeing that although all the people present were very imposing, only Zhang Yan was wearing a gold seal. Kuai Qi thought that this person was the newly promoted prince who needed his help to preside over the sacrifice.And since he had never seen what Zhang Yan, the Marquis of Wan, looked like, he could only guess and ask.

Fortunately, the young man on the opposite side nodded quickly, confirming Kuai Qi's conjecture.

"It's the Marquis."

Slightly nodded towards Kuai Qi, Zhang Yan was also sizing up this young man who was wearing a blue robe and had not tied his hair into a crown before.

After he heard that He Jin planned to recommend someone from his subordinates to help him hold the sacrifice, he had been curious about the selection of this person.But now the person who saw the other party coming was only a boy who was sixteen or seventeen years old and had not yet performed the crowning ceremony. Zhang Yan naturally guessed the other party's true identity in his heart.

Due to the obvious strengthening of the social class in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the transmission of relevant knowledge was monopolized by the children of the aristocratic family into their own hands.And to be able to make great achievements in the "side door" such as "watching the breath and observing the pulse" at such a young age, and even to independently preside over a prince-level sacrifice, then the other party is obviously a must for a scholar like Shi Shu Li Yi. His talents are also very accomplished.

The Xun family?Or the Kuai family?

Not a moment later, Zhang Yan roughly screened out two possible origins of the other party in his mind:

The young man on the other side was either from the lineage of the Xun family in Yingchuan, Yuzhou, or the lineage of the Kuai family in Nanjun, Jingzhou.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, both the Xun family and the Kuai family were well-known families throughout the Han Dynasty. At the same time, both families had considerable attainments and achievements in Feng Shui planning.Among them, Xun Shuang, a famous scholar of the Xun family, once served in the general's mansion, and the later head of the family, Xun You, was recommended by He Jin to be the servant of the Huangmen.

As for the Kuai family, Kuai Yue, the most famous and known for his military strategy, is now serving as a counselor in the General's Mansion.If He Jin really has this idea, it is not impossible to recommend a child of the Kuai family to help him.

"Nanjun Kuaiqi, I met the Marquis of Wan."

Respectfully bowing to Zhang Yan, Kuai Qi confirmed Zhang Yan's previous guess.And when he heard the boy claiming to be Kuai Qi from the Kuai family in Jingzhou, Zhang Yan immediately had a strong desire to attract him.

Speaking of the Kuai family, the most famous ones during the entire Three Kingdoms period were the pair of "chopstick brothers" Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue.

Among them, Kuai Liang, the older brother, has a strong view on the overall situation. It only took a few short years after Liu Biao took control of Jingzhou to twist the whole Jingzhou into a single rope, and let Liu Biao, who is alone, sit firmly in the south of the Yangtze River. Leaped into Liu Jingzhou with a hundred thousand armor.

As the younger brother Kuai Yue, although he is slightly inferior to his elder brother Kuai Liang in terms of the general situation of the world, he is better than Kuai Liang in terms of marching formations and battlefield strategies.Not only did the princes seek Dong later, but Sun Jian personally led the team to attack and kill Sun Jian when he returned with the jade seal. While breaking his army, he forced the two brothers Sun Ce and Zhou Yu to join Yuan Shu, and even used tricks to transfer Zhao Yun when Liu Bei joined Liu Biao. Let Cai Mao almost succeed in killing Liu Bei.

It can be said that no matter which of the two brothers, Kuailiang and Kuaiyue, they were top-level counselors who were rarely seen in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

As for Kuai Qi, the nephew of the two, although the records in the history books are not as good as the two uncles Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, but judging from the evaluation of his wisdom and benevolence in later generations, we can know that he was an official in the peak period and even served as the prefect of Fangling. Kuai Qi is obviously by no means a vulgar person.

Although in the later battle with Liu Bei's army, Kuai Qi died tragically in the battle between the two armies because he lost to Meng Da.But as a young scholar from such an aristocratic family, Kuai Qi still made Zhang Yan feel a little jealous.

Unlike the two brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, who have already entered the official position and came from the main line of the Kuai family, who disdain Zhang Yan's status, Kuai Qi, who was born in a branch of the Kuai family, is still only a young man of sixteen or seventeen.

Being born in a wealthy family means that Kuai Qi has more knowledge reserves than ordinary people, and at the same time can better understand the meaning of Zhang Yan's future decrees and advance progress.

And being young means that Kuai Qi's temperament is not as mature as Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, and he is more likely to be captured by Zhang Yan's sugarcoating, and he will pour out his heart and lungs for Zhang Yan.

If he said something nice and promised some official positions, Zhang Yan always felt that Kuai Qi might not have a chance to be tied to his carriage by him.

……

Group: 6

"It turned out to be the son of the Kuai family, I'm so polite."

Secretly made up his mind, Zhang Yan did not get the title like other people in this era, so he showed a rather disdainful attitude towards those ordinary people.On the contrary, with the intention of recruiting Kuai Qi, he kept his stance very low, and made Kuai Qi, who had been somewhat reluctant to come here at the order of his uncle, obviously panicked.

"The Marquis of the Kingdom of Wan should just say his name directly. Qi is still young and has not yet been crowned and saluted. I really dare not be a son."

Hurriedly waving in Zhang Yan's direction, Kuai Qi hurriedly said that Zhang Yan didn't need to be so polite to him.But what Zhang Yan didn't know was that at this time, Kuai Qi already had a trace of awe towards himself in his heart.

When he was first sent by Kuai Liang to help, Kuai Qi thought that today it was just an ordinary marquis who was conferred with great joy and wanted to perform sacrifices with great fanfare.But when he came to the north of Luoyang City and saw Zhang Yan, who was fair and handsome, and although he was 26 years old, he was still similar to those young people who were 22 or [-] years old, he realized that this newly awarded Marquis was just a man without A young man much older than him.

In addition, Zhang Yan just led his army back from outside the city of Luoyang today, and he has not taken off his backbone general uniform. Therefore, in Kuai Qi's eyes, he has become a young man who marched and fought on the battlefield at a young age. A generation of heroes who made princes.

"At such an age, he was awarded the title of Marquis by virtue of his military exploits, so this general must be a very remarkable person, right?"

"If I remember correctly, even Sun Wentai, the fierce tiger known for his bravery in the Jiangdong generation, was already 32 years old when he was awarded the Marquis of Wu Cheng two years ago."

"Now that I'm a little old, I have eight or nine out of ten of my collection of books at home."

"When I come to Luoyang this time, if I can find a suitable place to settle down, I can save my parents from worrying."

Looking hopefully at Zhang Yan, Marquis of the Kingdom of Wan in front of him, Kuai Qi silently planned to have a good chat with Zhang Yan after this sacrifice.

If it is said that he is marching and leading troops to fight, he is naturally inferior to the two uncles who are currently serving in the general's mansion.

But in other aspects, Kuai Qi may not have his own specialties.

Chapter 19 The Master of Feng Shui

"So, Kuai Qi, you are very good at presiding over large-scale architectural design, as well as the construction of cities?"

After a while, Zhang Yan and Kuai Qi had gradually become acquainted, and the atmosphere was no longer as cold as before.And considering that the two are still waiting for the preparation of the tools needed for the sacrifice, so there is nothing to do for the time being, Kuai Qi offered to go to the spectacle of the construction site before the sacrifice, intending to take a general look at Zhang The vision of heaven and earth at the sundial in Yankou.

As for this, Zhang Yan naturally readily agreed, and the two left the wine house where Emperor Lingdi Liu Hong was resting, and Zhang Yan led the way into the construction site of the sundial.

Walking on the small road in the construction site, Zhang Yan was also idle, and it was inevitable that he had a few conversations with this aristocratic child whom he first came into contact with in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

What Zhang Yan didn't expect was that after he had a rough chat with Kuai Qi, he discovered that the other party had quite different views on architectural design, even in the design of large-scale palace complexes, as if General knowledge in this area.

"You actually have such deep insights into Feng Shui?"

Asked Kuai Qi a little surprised, Zhang Yan looked at Kuai Qi full of surprises.When Kuai Qi heard this at this time, he just smiled and showed off to Zhang Yan's figure with some pride.

"Why, my Kuai family's old men ranging from fifty to five-year-old children are all good at finding the dragon's pulse and building a city."

"As early as the pre-Zhou period, my ancestors of the Kuai family participated in the construction of the mausoleums of several generations of Chu kings, and were later conscripted by that tyrant to build the incomparably splendid emperor's mausoleum for himself."