He Shilang from the Ministry of Rites was relieved when he saw that the sixth prince had returned.
The first errand at the beginning of the year is just so terrifying.
He Shilang slandered, he didn't want to see Liu Dan, a warrior, and he also had a lot of opinions on the sixth prince who was running around, but what could he do? He was not a grandmaster, the emperor's son could not be beaten or scolded, even if he made a big mistake, it would not be his turn to teach him a lesson.
With a straight face, He Shilang bowed to the brocade-clothed young man, and persuaded sternly, "Your Highness, this area is a bit desolate. Recently, some strongmen and bandits have flocked to the county town, and Xiguan and others have encountered several fights on the way. His Highness also saw the fighting. If the son of a thousand gold is not sitting in the hall, if His Highness is injured by these lawless people, how will your Highness return to the capital to give orders to His Majesty?"
"He Shilang is thinking too much. If the gangsters in Jianghu arrest me, they will ask for some money at most. Even if you leave it alone, it will be fine." The sixth prince's tone was tougher than his, and the corners of his mouth were even more sarcastic. laugh.
The atmosphere became subtle.
Liu Dan looked at the sixth prince, and then at the pale-faced He Shilang, and felt that there was something he didn't know.
The sacrificial ceremony in the ancestral temple continued. The sixth prince took the incense and bowed to his grandfather's tablet according to the etiquette. Under the guidance of several Taoist priests who lowered their heads and did not even lift their heads, they burned the paper with the words of sacrifice to heaven.
Then it's rain.
Of course, there is no goddess jumping around here in the imperial mausoleum, and Taoist priests dancing peach wood swords, but they still have to go through the process of begging for rain.
In front of the censer stood a golden toad and a jar of well water.
The shapes of tigers and dragons are drawn with paper, and ochre, azurite and garcinia are drawn, and the paintings are very bright.
Then, in a situation of fighting between dragons and tigers, it was lifted by someone, walked slowly around the offering table, walked seven full circles, and then threw it into the fire.
Then hold the big urn, which contains the four-legged snake (lizard) caught in advance, take it out and hand it over to the person presiding over the prayer for the rain with a whip to whip the four-legged snake.
The last item is called Whip Dragon.
Because there is a saying that the dragon is too lazy if it doesn't rain.
When praying for rain, in addition to going to rivers and other water sources to fetch water and "invite the dragon", it is also necessary to "scare the dragon", which is to lead the dragon out and let it compete with the tiger.
Naturally, there are no tigers, and even the price of tiger bones and skins is very high, so people killed livestock instead, and then slowly changed into paper tie to make dragon-shaped tiger-shaped fights. Folk dances with dragons to grab pearls, and there are special rituals and music for "stunning dragons" in grand festivals.
But where it doesn't rain, it doesn't rain, and it's useless to do this, so I don't know when to start, and when I pray for rain, there is an extra whip dragon. The so-called please do not move, can not lead, then fight! Whip with a whip!
Even the dragon has been beaten, and if it doesn't rain, there will be no way.
Tigers are not necessarily found, where to find dragons? Besides, the significance of the dragon is extraordinary, and it is not a casual fight.
No one dares to whip the stone carvings of dragons, even dragon-shaped objects. Generally, snakes are used, and those who are more particular use four-legged snakes. In the previous dynasty, someone wrote a poem saying that the whip dragon turns into sweet rain, and that was the case.
Liu Dan has seen many times praying for rain, and he doesn't know why he always feels a little chilly on his back today.
Should not be! The money bags were given away, and the evil star was also sent away!
Halfway through the sacrificial ceremony, General Liu couldn't look around, he could only glance around from the corner of his eyes, and then winked at his own guards to make them pay more attention.
Qiong County is in the southeast of Yongzhou. It can be said that it is the hinterland of the dynasty.
What can happen? Liu Dan was puzzled.
On the ridge behind the ancestral temple, Mo Li looked at the "whip dragon" below with a sullen face.
He has excellent ears and can understand dialects of various places, and he can hear all the words of the Taoist priests clearly.
There has been no drought in Zhushan County in the past 20 years, but there have been torrents. There is no shortage of water in the area. The rain festival has become a temple fair. Everyone also worships the Dragon King and eats spring cakes. You can't even use it, let alone a whip.
This is the first time that ink carp has seen it, asking for rain to be able to do this.
Those alchemists took the talismans and asked this god or the other gods to obey the orders to store the wind and remove the rain, and they could watch it as a lively scene; burning the talismans sternly scolded the Dragon King for rain, because it was not the Dragon King of the four seas and could not walk clouds and rain, so it was nothing to listen to; Facing a four-legged snake, he said that he wanted to whip the dragon, and it would not rain unless it hit the dragon, and the dragon veins were very unhappy.
"Is this the sacrificial ceremony set by the Qi Dynasty?" Mo Li asked with a frown.
"... No, there are many places, and this custom has been around for hundreds of years."
Meng Qi used to think that this was because the alchemist was begging for rain, and he broke the pot and smashed it.
- Even the dragon dares to fight, yet still scare people
In this way, the alchemist who cheated the money and did not ask for the rain can successfully slip away.
I don't know why, but this practice has spread, and it has spread more and more widely, so that it has become a fixed custom.
Meng Qi was also a little unhappy, but he didn't mind as much as Mo Li, Meng Guoshi thought he was a mountain spirit. Shan Ling is what people call a dragon vein, but he is not a real dragon, so turn a blind eye to this kind of thing.
"Doctor, the more water is scarce, the more ways to pray for rain."
Praying for rain is a long process. The two of them were in Qiong County before, and the people were still asking the dragon to frighten the dragon. They would not whip the dragon until after noon, so the ink carp didn't realize that something was wrong until this time.
"What kind of trick is this? If it doesn't rain, they will beat the dragon, and they will beat the soil if the fields are not harvested?"
Mo Li almost wanted to turn around and leave, and there was no clue from the emperor's mausoleum, and the thick smoky smell made him dizzy.
Then something happened below.
The Taoist priest originally wanted to give the whip to He Shilang, but the sixth prince came back, so the whip was in the hands of the young man.
According to the etiquette, it is enough to hit the ground with a whip and hit the side of the four-legged snake.
But the sixth prince raised his hand, and the four-legged snake was pulled straight and flew out, and lay down on the hem of He Shilang's robe.
He Shilang was caught off guard and saw something flying, and then something was crawling on his robe. He was so frightened that he hurriedly shook his clothes, but in a panic, he stepped on the four-legged snake to death.
"… "
The Taoist priest was so shocked that the dust fell off.
"Dragon" is dead, how can we fight
This isn't a sacrifice, it's just a symbol of the dragon. Isn't it bad luck to die? What more rain do you want
Several Taoist priests looked at each other in dismay, while He Shilang stared at the sixth prince and almost fainted.
If this is not Qiong County, but the capital, if such a thing happens in the sacrifice, it will cause a big mess. After all, it was an ominous omen, and He Shilang had to kneel down immediately to plead guilty, and then wrote the guilt to go home and wait for the emperor's decision.
He Shilang shook his hands and pointed at the sixth prince like a stroke. His lips were trembling for a long time, but he couldn't make a sound.
Just when Liu Dan thought he was going to stand upright and fall down, He Shilang suddenly let out a howl.
"Your Majesty!"
The voice was so high and fluttering, and so poignant, that Liu Dan, who was watching the play leisurely beside him, almost bit his tongue.
The expression of the sixth prince also froze on his face, watching He Shilang threw himself down at the entrance of the ancestral temple, gushing about the etiquette and morals of Confucius and Mencius.
"He Shilang, isn't it inappropriate for you to say these things now? Zibuyu is strange and confused, we are all praying for rain, what kind of Confucius are you asking for?" Liu Dan reminded.
Then he received the approval of the sixth prince, as well as the different looks from Mo Li and Meng Qi on the roof.
"Liu Qiandai's head is quite handy." Meng Qi casually played with the small piece of silver in his hand.
This is the money that Mo Li took out of the money bag and threw it to Meng Guoshi to buy chestnuts.
Doctor Mo believed that if he didn't care about the money, when he arrived in Taijing, all the money would be turned into sweet-smelling candied chestnuts without knowing it, and then all disappeared.
Liu Dan didn't get promoted so quickly, and he couldn't force the sheep too tightly.
Forget it, look at the purse!
"I think this sixth prince is a little strange."
The whip of the young man in brocade clothes just now was clearly aimed at He Shilang, and he did it on purpose.
The whip was still clever, and it rolled the four-legged snake over without hurting it in the slightest, so the four-legged snake would crawl up quickly after it fell.
He Shilang was slapped by Liu Dan, his face was blue and white, and he couldn't get off the stage immediately.
He gritted his teeth and said, "You are not a scholar, how dare you mention Confucius?"
The Taoist originally wanted to rack his brains to come up with an excuse to obfuscate the death of the "dragon".
However, the four-legged snake is commonly known as the Dragon Son, and He Shilang trampled it to death in front of the prince.
These Taoist priests are not idiots. They know that they can't open their mouths at this moment. If they want to smooth things out, they may offend anyone.
Mo Li stared at them for a long time, and had to be sure that these Taoist priests had no martial arts at all.
"Strange." Doctor Mo said to himself.
Tibetan Fengguan really gave up the Fengshui treasure land of Qiongxian Emperor Mausoleum? Why is there no one here who looks like the confidant of Qingwu ancestors
Is it really necessary to let Meng Qi appear among the people of Jianghu as the national teacher of the Chu Dynasty and attract the attention of the ancestors of Qingwu
Even if this is a good solution, Doctor Mo is not happy.
Can't take care of the patient, and have to clean up the mess behind the patient - like
"Throughout the ages, emperors have always called themselves dragons. I don't understand, how can this dragon be able to fight? Since He Shilang told me the way of Confucius and Mencius, how can I remember that Yasheng Mencius also said a word, 'Wen Zhu Yifu' Zhou, I have never heard of slaughtering a lord. Look at He Shilang, Mencius has never heard of such a thing as slaying a lord. He only heard that people killed a man named Zhou. If this dragon refuses to rain, it is Can't you just whip it? Anyway, it wasn't a dragon, but a lazy and useless four-legged snake."
The sixth prince said with a smile, and deliberately glanced at Liu Dan.
General Liu's heart skipped a beat, and finally realized what was wrong with the sixth prince.
This prince seems to be always causing trouble. He seems to be stubborn, but in fact he has a strong dissatisfaction in his heart that he can't hold back.
I don't know if this kind of sharp hostility is towards the courtiers or towards his father, but in short, the sixth prince is like a hedgehog, stabbing anyone he sees.
Because it won't rain, the black carp that was beaten into a four-legged snake inexplicably: "..."
The author has something to say:
Today's doctor is also laying a gun
It is said that there is a custom of whipping a dragon to make it rain.
Although the doctor was not happy, this custom actually reflects the way our country treats gods and ghosts. It is very in line with the thinking of our country, worship if it is useful, and get out of it if it is not.
——
Flying three hundred zhang, the secret spirit of the cave is Qiu. Xiadi opened the thunder axe, and the sky was empty and the moon hooked. When the shape is transformed, try the bowl, exhale or form a building. I want to whip the dragon up and spread all over Kyushu for Lin.
- "Viewing Jiuhua Longtan" Wang Shouren