The hand of time is gradually approaching September, and the fifth year of Yuande will also come to an end.?

On the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, there will be an eclipse of the sun!

Solar eclipse is one of the most recorded astronomical phenomena in Chinese history books.

As early as when the ancient and immemorial Xia Hou clan was in power, in ancient times that were nearly 1,800 years away from now.

When Xia Zhongkang was in power, the first solar eclipse in human history was recorded.

That solar eclipse even appeared in "Shangshu" and has been passed down to this day.

The book says: Zhongkang ascended the throne all over the world, and Marquis Yin ordered six divisions to be in charge.

.Xihe, the official of Shijue, ignored the news and was unconscious in the celestial phenomena, in order to carry out the execution of the previous king.

The "Bamboo Book Annals" that has been compiled recently also records this total solar eclipse, which is basically consistent with the records of Shangshu.

For today's Chinese people, the deepest and first impression of the solar eclipse comes from "The Book of Songs. Xiaoya. The Turn of October".

Ancient poetry, with beautiful words and deep humanistic concern, connects astronomy and political affairs, and uses a sad tone to tell the shamelessness of those in power and the innocence of the people.

Readers all resonate deeply with it.

However, in the Han Dynasty, the impact of the solar eclipse was not as great as imagined.

On the day of the solar eclipse, Liu Che ordered himself to "dress plainly and avoid the main hall", and at the same time ordered all officials to "no singing, dancing and banquets".

Let this matter be over.

The reason is very simple.

Things are rare and valuable.

In recent years, solar eclipses have occurred too frequently.

The year before last, the Han family had just experienced a solar eclipse.

Moreover, there are countless records of solar eclipses in history books.

Today's Han people really don't care about partial solar eclipses other than total solar eclipses.

But for the Huns, this may not be the case.

Western Region.

The army led by military ministers is crossing a river (Sir Darya River) and preparing to head to the mountain pass in the west to open a road further afield.

A huge army passed by the ruins of the old Dawan city.

Under the ruins, there was faint purple-black blood stain.

One after another, skulls and dead bones scattered among the bricks and tiles seem to tell the horrors these cities once encountered.

At this moment, above the sky, the sun was always emitting light and heat. In an instant, the light dimmed, and a shadow blocked the sun's light, leaving this great source of life with only an edge of light.

visible!

The partial solar eclipse observed in Chang'an turned out to be an annular solar eclipse in this Western Kingdom!

If you know a little bit about astronomy, then the Huns will know.

This is because the distance between the Earth and the Moon is at the far end, and the Moon's umbral cone cannot reach the Earth, only the artifact cone does. Therefore, the diameter of the Moon appears smaller than that of the Sun from the perspective of the Earth.

Therefore, an annular solar eclipse is caused.

But the Huns don’t know!

The Huns believed in primitive shamanism. In their religious outlook, the sun and moon symbolized the supreme ruler of heaven and earth.

The supreme god is the incarnation of the sun and moon.

Even the Chanyu had to promote himself as the son of the sun and moon and the agent of the gods.

When the solar eclipse comes.

All Huns, regardless of slaves or nobles, whether they are marching on horseback or discussing affairs in their tents.

They were all trembling, kneeling on the ground with all their bodies prostrated, crawling on the turf, and confessing their sins to the sun.

The shamans were even more shocked.

They pulled out dozens or even hundreds of slaves and livestock and slaughtered them.

They used the blood of livestock and slaves to offer sacrifices to the gods in the dark, hoping to receive instructions from the gods.

After about half a quarter of an hour of such noise and annoyance, the moon finally began to leave its orbit, and the sun's light reappeared.

The Huns then stood up tremblingly, looking at the terror in the sky and lowering their heads.

"Da Chanyu, the high priest is here..." The military minister who was standing on a hillside and had just gotten up from the ground immediately heard the voice of his attendant.

"Bring it here..." the military minister said with lingering fear.

The last solar eclipse was more than two years ago.

Half a year after the solar eclipse, the Xiongnu suffered the bitter consequences of the Mayi War.

Yin Zhixie, the right virtuous king, died in battle.

The Zhelan tribe, known as the backbone of the Xiongnu, was defeated. Loufan and Baiyang were surrendered and captured.

The Hun Empire suffered a heavy blow!

Even his position as a Chanyu was shaky.

After two years, the solar eclipse occurred again.

What bad luck will this time bring?

The military officials did not know.

He only knows that this is indeed a warning from the gods of heaven and earth, and must be taken seriously!

After a while, an old man, supported by several disciples, walked up to the military officials with a slight trembling, knelt down and worshiped: "Old slave, pay homage to the Great Chanyu!"

"High Priest, please get up..." The military officials quickly helped him up.

High Priest!

The highest-level religious priest among the Xiongnu shamans.

Even if it is a Chanyu, you must respect him.

What's more, this high priest has always been a supporter of military ministers.

"High Priest, is there any oracle from the gods?" After helping the old man up, the military minister couldn't wait to ask.

Gods and ancestors together constitute the religious outlook of the Xiongnu.

The Huns, like the Chinese in the Han Dynasty, believed that their ancestors would look down on their descendants under the nine springs and above the sky.

But at the same time, because of the cruel living environment and fierce competition on the grasslands, human life has become extremely fragile.

Therefore, the Xiongnu believed that the power of gods could indeed protect and save them.

The special environment of the grassland further enhances the persuasiveness of religion.

There was no shortage of examples of shamans trying to overwhelm and intimidate the Huns.

"This solar eclipse is a warning from the gods!" the high priest said tremblingly: "A great disaster and great terror will come!"

He said with certainty: "I saw the stone statues of our ancestors shed tears of blood..."

When the military officials heard this, their expressions finally changed.

In the history of the Xiongnu, the high priest told Shan Yu that blood and tears were shed in the stone statues of the ancestors.

This is almost a harbinger of disaster!

The most typical example is when the high priest of Touman Da Chanyu told him that blood and tears flowed from the eyes of the stone statues of his ancestors.

Then Touman Chanyu was shot dead by Modun Da Chanyu Mingdi.

The Xiongnu then entered a civil war, and the dead were everywhere.

"Could it be the Han Dynasty?" the military officials murmured to themselves.

The appearance of a solar eclipse and the bleeding of ancestors' stone statues are all ominous and ominous signs.

So……

The military minister turned his attention back to the south: "Do I need to return to the army?"

Immediately, another thought emerged: "Even if I return to the teacher, I'm afraid it will be too late..."

How can it be that simple to turn around the army?

What's more, during this Western expedition, not even a single hair was harvested!

If we return to the army at this point, let alone whether the Han Dynasty will go northward.

Even if the Han Dynasty really went north, what would happen if his exhausted army, which had already traveled thousands of miles, returned?

Also, for this western expedition, each tribe mobilized a large number of slaves, warriors and livestock to follow.
To be continued...