Chapter 70: Disaster and Fortune, Unforeseen Events (2)
Wang Qi's hopes were dashed.
Starting from the evening of June 14th, it started to rain continuously. In the afternoon of June 16th, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear up.
On June 17, everyone in Lequn Court got instructions and got up early because they had to travel with the Crown Prince.[]
It was just after midnight, and the sky was still full of stars. Everyone had already eaten the morning meal, put on the dark clothes with lead white background made in the palace, and followed everyone to gather in front of the palace.
The open space in front of the palace was brightly lit.
The sound of banging was heard in the distance, and it was the fourth watch (one o'clock in the morning).
More and more people gathered in the open space in front of the palace, but it still didn't look chaotic at all.
At the beginning of the fifth watch (three o'clock in the morning), the sky was still dark. The palace guard of honor had been assembled. Prince Xing and the Crown Prince were waiting for the chariot and the procession set off.
The accompanying officers were led by officials from the Department of Ceremony and Guards, and together with the Crown Prince's bodyguards, they followed the Crown Prince's chariot on horseback.
The last time he went out of the city, the prince did not put on a full set of ceremonial guards, which was considered a "light carriage and simple obedience".
This time it was the Liang Wang Sheng Festival, and Xing Wang was ordered to preside over the ceremony. Naturally, the father and son were in full ceremony.
According to the Ming Dynasty etiquette, the prince and the prince have the same ceremonial guard. There are more than 600 people in the whole set of ceremonial guards, and the two sets of ceremonial guards are nearly 1,300 people. In addition to the ceremonial guard, there are also accompanying palace guards. The prince is accompanied by 800 palace guards, and the prince is accompanied by six palace guards.
One hundred, this is another one thousand four hundred people.
The rest of the palace is staffed by officials, guards, companions, chamberlains, etc., totaling hundreds and dozens of people.
There were nearly 3,000 people in the procession leaving the city. There was no one on either side of the road to worship, because your government had been cleaning the streets since last night.
Because it was at least black, even if there were guards holding torches on both sides of the honor guard, everyone could only see the front, back, left, and right, and they wouldn't think anything of it.
After the team had marched for more than half an hour, dawn broke in the east and the sky gradually turned white. Looking at the barely visible ceremonial guard in front of them, all the companions opened their eyes wide.
The Taoist idiot looked at the scene in front of him and remembered the "Qing Emperor Sacrifice" he saw at the Ditan Temple Fair in his previous life, as well as the "Yuan Chun Provincial Prospect" in the Grand View Garden. At that time, he thought the ceremonial guard of dozens of people was quite impressive, but now he compares it with what he sees in front of him.
, those have all become child’s play.
He originally thought that if nothing happened on the way, maybe King Xing would think of Wang Qi, his default son-in-law, and summon one or two. Looking at this grand ceremonial guard, the distance between the prince's elephant and the prince's elephant was only a few miles. Because the prince
Treating people gently and treating him as an ordinary parent would be too much to underestimate him.
Wang Qi swallowed and whispered to Dao Chi: "Erlang, I am not disrespectful to His Highness, am I?"
Dao Chi smiled and said, "Brother Qi is scared?"
Wang Qi shrank his neck and said, "They say it is the style of the Tian family, but now I have really seen it."
After being shocked by the grandeur of the prince's ceremonial guard, Dao Chi also discovered a problem. The speed of the team was too slow. Not only could the companions ride on the horse, they could not run. They also had to hold the reins to make the horse move slowly.
After an hour, they had only walked a quarter of the way, and their speed was half that of when they went to the tomb of King Liang in May.
If we continue walking at this speed, it would be good to arrive at the Tomb of King Liang before noon...
As the sun rises in the east, the sky becomes hotter and hotter, and with the dense mist in the air, the sky and the earth become a big steamer.
By the time the team reached the halfway point, all the companions were already as if they had been fished out of the water, and their faces were sunburned.
The sun above our heads was getting stronger and stronger. Under the exposure, the companions who were traveling with horses felt uncomfortable, not to mention the honor guards holding flags and fans.
At the beginning of the afternoon, when we finally arrived outside the tomb of King Liang, there were already dozens of people who had died from heatstroke at the crown prince's honor guard.
Since we have to pay tribute to the tombs every year at this time, the Department of Ceremony and Welfare is obviously prepared to deal with the heatstroke of the officials, and has brought a lot of ready-made mung bean and licorice soup. If anyone falls down, he will carry it aside and drink two bowls first. It is simple.
Rough, but very effective.
During the reading, Chen Chizhong and Dao Chi were still fine, Wang Qi was bloated, and Lu Bing was the youngest, and they looked the worst.
If they hadn't been supported by someone, the two people would have almost collapsed on the ground after dismounting. Seeing that their hands and feet were weak, their heads were covered in cold sweat, and their eyes were straight, it was obvious that they were suffering from heat stroke.
Everyone hurriedly helped the two of them to the shade, and called people to go to the Yiwei Department to get the heat-relieving soup.
After the prince got the news, he walked over after getting off the car. After seeing the appearance of the two of them, he was quite worried: "It seems like he has suffered from heatstroke. Just rest here. There is no need to go to the ceremony with him." After that, he ordered others to follow him.
The doctor examined the two of them.
After the doctor looked at them, they found that these two people had indeed suffered from heat stroke.
The prince felt a little guilty. After all, Lu Bing was still young, and Wang Qi and the others were raised by rich families. Riding horses for several hours in the scorching sun was enough to endure.
He thought for a while and then ordered the others: "Wang Qi and Lu Bing, who you left behind to take care of them, come over next time and watch the ceremony with me."
Everyone was overjoyed and agreed in unison.
Since the sacrifice had to be held before noon and time was tight, the crown prince took his people and went to the king's tomb.
Lu Wenzhao stopped talking about being "gentle" or not, sat down on the ground, picked up a water bag, and started drinking.
Liu Congyun also took a few steps back, leaned against a big tree, and closed his eyes.
Chen Chizhong glanced at Dao Chi, who was in no serious condition, and said with some surprise: "Erlang is in good health?"
Dao Chi smiled bitterly and said: "It's just a reluctance. If I go back and be exposed to the sun for another four hours, I'm afraid I will be crippled."
Wang Qi was "humming", but after hearing what the two said, she lamented: "I can't stand the sun anymore. I feel like my body is on fire. I have a headache and nausea."
Lu Bing's face turned pale, and there was sweat on his forehead. He looked towards the direction of the king's tomb and said worriedly: "His Royal Highness is wearing a crown uniform. His Highness said that the clothes are heavy and stuffy."
Dao Chi threw a wet wipe, knelt down and applied it on Lu Bing's head, saying: "You should take care of yourself first. There are so many people following His Highness, so it's your turn to worry. His Highness came over just now, and you saw it. Your Highness is taking good care of himself."
If there's anything wrong with me, I'm just worried about you."
Lu Bing exhaled comfortably and said harshly: "Second brother started to speak like an adult, as if I was an ignorant child."
After resting for a while, I heard the sound of ritual music coming from the king's tomb, and the grand ceremony began.
The companions read and looked at me, and I looked at you, all feeling a little bored. They followed them eagerly, but they were found outside the king's tomb. Not only did they feel that they were losing face, but they also lost the face of the prince.
I wonder if the officials in the palace would think they are useless snacks.
Dao Chi looked around and was a little surprised. He thought he would see Wang Qinghong. After all, Wang Qinghong was stationed near Xintai. It was normal for the prince to come over and report on errands while the prince was out of the city to offer sacrifices.
But now Wang Qinghong is nowhere to be seen.
On the other hand, there were several other officials dressed in official uniforms, waiting outside the king's tomb, talking to several subordinate officials of the palace.
After half an hour, the ceremony and music ended, and the prince and his son exited the tomb of King Liang.
The team of three thousand men and horses, unlike the Crown Prince and his four hundred men last month, did not go to Xiaozhuang to rest temporarily, but rested on the spot and returned after an hour.
The prince accompanied the prince, and the officials who were outside, under the guidance of the palace officials, came forward one after another, and they really reported back to the river embankment fortifications.
King Xing was surprised when he didn't see Wang Qinghong. He asked about it and found out that Wang Qinghong had been caught in the rain while patrolling the embankment a few days ago. He had been ill for the past two days and had not come here.
King Xing could not help but give a few words of praise, and he also encouraged several other officials.
At noon (two o'clock in the afternoon), the honor guard army set off on its return journey.
Wang Qi and Lu Bing were called by the Crown Prince to get on the chariot. The other four people were also ordered not to follow the Crown Prince in front of the chariot, but to follow behind the ceremonial guard.
You don't have to worry about your manners here, but you feel much more at ease.
Although Dao Chi said he couldn't bear the sun for a few more hours on his way back, the actual situation was not bad. On the other hand, Lu Wenzhao and Liu Congyun were both weaker.
Dao Chi then begged Lu Dian to let the two of them get into the carriage of the Yiwei Department.
Dao Chi and Chen Chizhong both took off their hats, knitted tree canopies to provide shade, put wet towels around their necks, rolled up their sleeves, and relieved a lot of the heat.
The afternoon sun is stronger than that in the morning.
The entire honor guard lost their energy under the intense sun.
Lu Wenzhao sat in the car with a sunshade on his head, feeling more energetic. He pointed at the two people on the horse and said with a smile: "I have become an old farmer."
The flush on Liu Congyun's face faded, and he regained his calmness and elegance. He looked at Chen Chizhong and Dao Chi, who were still full of energy on the horse, with brilliant eyes.
Dao Chi felt that the clothes on his body were dry and wet, wet and dry again, and the palace guard of honor also stopped again and again.
Finally, after sunset, the team's progress accelerated.
The forty-five mile journey took three and a half hours to go and four hours to return. It was already the end of the second watch when we arrived at the palace.
The prince took Lu Bing back, and the companions read back to Lequn Hall.
Back at Lequn Hall, after everyone drank a lot of tea, they didn't even have the energy to change their clothes, so they went to Dongyuan and jumped out of the bathhouse with their clothes on.
Sitting in the water makes everyone feel more comfortable.
Wang Qi breathed heavily and said: "The king of Yejing sacrifices in the fifth month of his life and the eleventh month in death; the king of Liangzhuang sacrifices in the sixth month and in the first month of his life. The prince has to go to the ceremony in person. It is not easy."
Everyone felt a headache when they thought about the speed at which the prince and his son traveled with full ceremonial guards today.
The life and death sacrifices of the two late lords are fixed. The prince is the one who is officiating now, and it is not easy for the prince. In the future, when the prince inherits the throne, the person who is officiating is the prince, and the one who is not easy is the prince. Whether they are companions or in the future, they will be the accomplices.
Officials will also follow.
Lu Wenzhao couldn't help but cry out.
Wang Qi has a muddle-headed temperament. Although he mentioned this matter, he was the one who was least worried.
He moved his arms and legs in the water, took a few breaths to feel comfortable, and said: "I thought I was going to survive, but finally I survived... I'm going to soak for an hour..."
He was not the only one who felt comfortable. For a while, everyone was too lazy to talk and just soaked in the water.
The sound of clappers could be heard in the distance, it was already midnight (eleven o'clock in the evening).
The night wind blew, and there was finally a hint of coolness in the air.
The heat in Dao Chi's body subsided, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and there were already bursts of snoring in his ears.
Wang Qi fell asleep in the pool.
Just as Dao Chi was about to push him awake, he heard a "dang-dang" sound coming from the distance, and his expression changed...