Chapter 65 Great Righteousness
On the first day of October, the long-prepared parade finally officially started.
In the evening of the previous day, Li Tai and other government guards left Fangcheng and were busy preparing for the guard of honor to participate in the Grand Parade in the camp designated outside the city.
Although Gao Zhongmi lacked power, he had a high official position. Therefore, the size of the ceremonial guard in Taiwei's palace was also quite large. There were ten armored men in front, thirty swordsmen, a large banner, and one fan in the rear, and left and right guards. From fourteen people.
Li Tai, who joined the army as the official secretary of the Taiwei Mansion, was the leader of this honor guard team. It was his first time to participate in such a high-standard ancient ceremony, and he was quite nervous. He counted the cultural relics and personnel over and over again.
When he first received these cultural relics, he was quite excited to see the beautifully crafted and powerful armor.
Previously, he had a fine armor passed down from his family, but it was seized in front of Tongguan Pass. Although he received some protection from Hui after that, the original armor had long been confiscated by unknown soldiers to reward him, and he could not be recovered.
After the Battle of Mangshan, the army of the Western Wei Dynasty was so poor that no compensation was given. After all, Li Tai did not go into battle to kill the enemy, so giving him a pair of armor was a waste.
This time, Daxingtai allocated the armored defense force to the Taiwei Mansion to participate in the Grand Parade. Li Tai wanted to try what it felt like to wear armor all over his body.
But when his hands touched the actual armor, he couldn't help but be disappointed. These armors look mighty and handsome on the outside, but they are not iron armors at all, but simple lacquer armors. They make a clanking sound and have almost no protection. You can pick up a few of them with one hand.
Although there is no practicality at all, these armors are very powerful when worn on the upper body. With the help of his subordinates, Li Tai put the armor on his body and bound it. He suddenly felt that he was only one roaring dog away from Erlang Shen. , walking with great vigor.
This is no joke. There are indeed dogs participating in the parade this time. There are hundreds of hounds. However, they do not belong to the princes' mansions, but to the Sixth Army directly under Daxingtai.
Without the important props of COS Erlangshen, Li Tai has an extra dog-beating stick. This wooden stick is more than ten feet long, with copper rings inlaid on both ends. Its real name is Shu.
The so-called "Bo Ye Zhi Shu" and "Pioneer for the King" refers to this kind of weapon. It means that I will use the stick to clear the way, and you, the King, can walk behind safely.
When Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty was young, he lamented that the officials were regarded as King Wu, and he lamented that the young men holding sticks to clear the way were so handsome. The Jinwu Guards were the emperor's guard of honor, but Li Tai still had little interest as a public guard.
In addition to this pole and the armor on his body, he also has a ban sword and a small bow. The ban sword is a piece of wood with lacquered carvings, and it is not even edged. The bow is not stringed at all, and is all inserted into the leather bag at the waist.
In other words, none of the ritual utensils and cultural relics issued were of practical use. Even if he wanted to take advantage of the ceremony to assassinate Yu Wentai or anyone else, he would not be able to do so.
At dawn, the three drums sounded in the city. Li Tai and Chang Shi Nianhua quickly directed the honor guard team to set up at the prescribed place, and then checked the honor guard display from beginning to end to see if there were any omissions.
After working nervously for half an hour, the sound of drums and horns sounded like thunder inside and outside the city.
The majestic sound made people's eardrums itchy. Li Tai led the horse and stood in the honor guard. Even though the equipment was a bit flashy and funny, his mood couldn't help but surge. This vigorous and solemn atmosphere was really contagious.
As the city gate opened, the six armies marched first, leading the advance with halberds and halberds. They formed a team of a hundred people, each holding a banner. The night wind made the flags rustle, becoming a soul-stirring harmony to the sound of drums and horns.
After the Sixth Army's honor guard departed, a large cart drove out of the city gate, with a large drum pulled on it and drummers beating the drum. The gaps between the drum beats were filled with the sound of long blasts, horizontal blows and other musical instruments. This is the king's ritual. There were more than 600 musicians of all kinds at the front of the car.
As the drums passed by, the soldiers of the Sixth Square came out in a cart. There was no one on the cart, except for a carved royal desk, on which were placed the emperor's edict and the memorial inscriptions from the Ancestral Temple.
The empty carriage representing the emperor passed by, and two large carriages came out parallel from the rear, carrying the Western Wei Crown Prince Yuan Qin and the Prime Minister Daxingtai Yuwentai respectively. As the two vehicles drove out, the trumpets from the front became louder and more exciting, and the soldiers of the Imperial Guard guarding them from all directions also began to sing loudly.
It's not like Li Tai has never seen big scenes, but seeing such a majestic ceremonial scene with his own eyes, his palms were still soaked with sweat unknowingly.
This kind of ceremony full of ritual feeling is indeed very powerful in shocking and infecting people's hearts, so much so that Li Tai repeatedly recited "I can take his place" silently in his heart, and the tension in his heart subsided.
Finally, when the buses were driving out, they heard the official chanting in front of the city gate and called out to Gao Zhongmi. Li Tai quickly got on his horse, looked back and ordered the honor guard to come in and take his place. He followed Gao Zhongmi's driver and walked slowly in the honor guard procession. .
The entire honor guard marched eastwards for several miles and arrived at a plateau several feet above the ground, which was the main venue of the parade.
The imperial guards and Chinese troops who arrived at the plateau first had already surrounded the plateau, and the plateau was also filled with various ceremonial relics. Li Tai and other officials' honor guards were arrayed on the left side of Piyuan, and on the south side were the military units of various states, which were already well-organized.
In the morning light that was about to break, there were many flags, and the dark formations filled the space here, and it was almost impossible to see the end.
As the dawn broke through the clouds in the east, drums and horns sounded loudly around the square again. Lu Bian, Taichang Qing of the Western Wei Dynasty, and other ceremonial officials took the stage one by one. They first offered a prayer and then began to read out the edict of the Western Wei Emperor.
Li Tai stood on the side of the high platform and listened carefully. He could only barely hear some words through the slight tones blown by the morning wind. He expected that the soldiers further away in the array could only see a high-ranking official station. I was shouting hoarsely on the high platform, but I didn’t know what I was shouting.
However, after the reading on the stage was completed, there were ceremonial officers from various places in the school who read out the contents of the edict again. When Li Tai saw this, he couldn't help but consider whether to get a loudspeaker. However, based on his physical and mechanical skills, he could only roll up a microphone to shout.
The content of the edict is classical and obscure. Although people can hear it, there are few people who can interpret it. Li Tai also sounded like he knew little about it, and the general idea was "Brothers, I am in too much trouble", "There are always unscrupulous people who want to harm me", "Everyone kill He Liuhun for me, and divide money, power, women" and the like.
By the time the edict was read out, more than half an hour had passed, and the rest of the ceremony accelerated. Prince Yuan Qin of the Western Wei Dynasty came on stage and delivered the various axes representing power to Daxingtai Yuwentai one by one. This was done both internally and externally. In front of the armies, Daxingtai's authority was once again reiterated as unshakable.
Li Tai and other government officials also dismounted and escorted the princes to watch the ceremony. However, they stood too close and were blocked by the high platform, so they couldn't really see anything. Originally, he wanted to take a closer look at Yuwentai's style and see what the person he wanted to defeat looked like, but in the end he only saw a row of soldiers' legs.
After Yu Wentai accepted the ritual utensils, Prince Yuan Qin was guided off the stage by the ceremony officer and sat down in the tent at the rear. His obedient appearance like a puppet made the audience feel even more deeply about the weakness of the imperial power of the Western Wei Dynasty.
After Yuwentai took over the main court, the etiquette officer called the names again, and the princes and kaifus came on stage one after another and received the ritual vessels representing their respective authority and status from Yuwentai.
Li Tai also took advantage of Gao Zhongmi's appearance on the stage and stood on the edge of the land to take a look at the powerful official of the Western Wei Dynasty from a distance. Yu Wentai was wearing a black armor cloak and sitting at the desk with his sword in hand. Compared to a really tall and tall general, Yu Wentai was only about average in stature, but his arms were indeed very long.
In addition to the honorary generals, the highest-ranking military officials in the Western Wei Dynasty are the Dakaifu, and most of the six-pillar states in later generations are also at the Kaifu level.
This authorization and decentralization of power, in addition to the solemn ceremony of the scene, also reflects the power essence of the Western Wei regime: Although Yuwentai evaded the royal family and embraced hegemony, he could not be arbitrary and still needed to The power in their hands was delegated to the generals of the Kaifu to jointly maintain the rule of the Western Wei Dynasty.
After the ceremony, the princes who were not responsible for commanding the army all retreated behind the scenes, sat beside Prince Yuan Qin, and watched the ensuing parade process in the tent.
However, after being given authority, the various Kaifus led their own troops back to their headquarters, with drums and drums to cheer them forward and retreat. The majesty displayed in front of the armies was far beyond that of the princes sitting high in the curtains.
The sun was gradually rising, and Li Taizhi stood outside the tent, feeling that it was gradually getting hotter in this late October autumn.
One is that my heart is affected by this atmosphere, as if I am down there and don’t want to be up there. Secondly, although the lacquer armor on the body is not heavy, it is also airtight. In particular, the surface of the armor is dark and absorbs heat. The front and rear tents cover it so that the wind cannot be heard. You can imagine the feeling of being exposed to the sun.
The time soon reached noon, and the various Kaifus returned to their formations. After the lengthy etiquette, it was finally time for the exciting and exciting military parade.
Accompanied by the sound of vigorous drums, three thousand armored cavalry were the first to appear. Several generals led the teams and rode out of the camp from the assembly area. Like a huge steel fortress, they slowly moved towards the center of the field.
Along with the rhythm of the drums, this heavy armored team was also changing its formation. Especially when the drums beat loudly and the heavy armors charged, the majestic sound of horse hooves overwhelmed all the noise in Jingyuan, and the only thing in the world was This sound echoed through the sky!
After the Battle of Mangshan, there was a pessimistic atmosphere throughout Kansai, both in office and in public. However, with the appearance of this heavy armored cavalry, some negative shadows in the hearts of the spectators were gradually dispelled.
As the heavy-armored knights walked to the high platform, Yu Wentai stood up from his seat, walked to the front of the plateau, looked down at these heavy-armored elites, and suddenly raised his arms and shouted: "Great justice, no need to fear thieves!"
This was obviously not an established etiquette. When Yu Wentai shouted this, there was some confusion on and off the stage. After a while, a general from the array below knocked on his armor and shouted in response: "Fight for Daxingtai!"
The sound was uneven at first, and it took a while before it became uniform.
Li Tai, who was standing in front of the rear tent, heard this shouting conversation and suddenly felt happy: Emperor Xiaowu was so awkward with Gao Huan, and Gao Huan even treated him as a little treasure, but you killed him when he came to Guanxi. Why do you have the nerve to shout like that?