Hong Shengting sat there for a long time before he slowly came back to his senses. He did not think that Ji Yuan was deliberately trying to scare him, because these were all facts. After Ji Yuan's words, he cast the hexagram according to his instructions and could figure it out easily.
Moreover, Hong Shengting could even imagine that even if he had always disagreed with Dazhen's Fengshan ceremony at Tingqiu Mountain, most of his Tingqiu Mountain was located in the center of Dazhen's territory, and only a small half was on the border of Tingliang State. As long as Dazhen performed the Fengshan ceremony, Tingqiu Mountain would also be difficult to stay out of it.
Even if Ting Qiushan and Hong Shengting could really stay out of the matter of Dazhen, Hong Shengting, with his level of cultivation, already had a vague sense and could foresee the changes in destiny, and one day he would have no way to retreat.
"Hong knows about it!"
Ji Yuan didn't say much, but reached out to the other cup.
"God of Hongshan, please drink some water."
Although it was just a glass of boiled water, Hong Shengting still picked up the teacup and drank it slowly as if he were drinking tea.
Ji Yuan on the side didn't want to say more about Fengshan and how Hong Shengting should deal with it. Since he already understood it, it was enough. It was not Ji Yuan's turn to teach him how to do it specifically. As the great god of Tingqiu Mountain, Hong Shengting would naturally have his own understanding.
As time passed, Emperor Dazhen and his accompanying civil and military officials were getting closer and closer to Tingqiu Mountain.
Fengshan in history, whether it was during the reign of Emperor Dazhen or in other countries, was always a costly and labor-intensive undertaking. It required a lot of extravagance and display of power along the way, and local officials even built temporary palaces to please the emperor. Not to mention the use of countless civilians for labor, which placed a huge burden on the country.
But this time, the officials in charge of the Dazhen Fengshan ceremony were all extremely capable people. The current Emperor Jianchang, Yang Sheng, has always had great ambitions and will not ruin his reputation due to mere extravagance. In addition, for safety reasons, there is a Heavenly Master accompanying him, so the Fengshan carriage almost never stays in various cities, but basically passes through the city, allowing the common people to line the streets to admire the holy power, but they camp in an open area outside. The immortal master casts a spell to build a small palace, which is then heavily guarded by the imperial guards.
The speed of travel was even more exaggerated. Except when passing through some important cities, the carriage would slow down when passing through the city to make it easier for the people of Dazhen to admire the "Heavenly Power". At other times, there would be heavenly masters taking turns to cast spells, making this Fengshan truly a grand event in the hearts of the people of Dazhen, rather than a burden.
Liebang City is a large city composed of new citizens of Dazhen, with a population of over 100,000. In fact, it was originally called Jubang City in the Demon Cave Heaven and was ruled by a clam monster. But after the death of the clam monster and its arrival in Dazhen, the scholars of Dazhen discussed it and thought it was a good opportunity to destroy it and then rebuild it. They proposed to change Jubang City to Liebeng City, but they thought the word "li" was not elegant, so they officially named it Liebeng City. The people in the city all understood the meaning behind it, and it was deeply loved by the people.
Nowadays, the houses have been repaired by the city residents themselves under the leadership of many skilled craftsmen in Dazhen. The streets are flat and the houses are no longer dilapidated. The city is well planned, with schools, bookstores, shops, banks, government offices and other things that a normal city should have. Moreover, not only materially but also spiritually, the people have been completely renewed and truly regard themselves as healthy people.
On this day, the street near the city gate was bustling with activity, when suddenly a farmer carrying goods into the city rushed over and shouted.
"The emperor's carriage is coming, the emperor's carriage is coming! All the civil and military officials are here—"
"What?" "Really?"
"It's absolutely true. When I was collecting firewood on the mountain, I saw a light in the distance. Officials had already begun posting notices on the city wall outside, and soldiers had arrived on horseback. The emperor's troops must be not far away!"
"The emperor is coming?" "Is Prime Minister Yin, the star of literature, here?"
"Of course they are here!" "Yes, all the civil and military officials are here!"
"Great, will it pass through our city?"
"I don't know. If we don't pass by, we'll go out of town and see!"
"Yes, yes, yes, let's go out of town and see!"
This news was constantly spread in the city, and soon, officials were rushing in the city, but they did not ride their horses wildly in the streets, but used light skills to run on the eaves to deliver the news.
"The emperor's carriage for Fengshan is about to pass through our Liebang City. The central avenue in the city needs to leave space in the middle. Citizens in the city who wish to watch the emperor's carriage may do so, but may not go up to the roofs, block the roads, ride horses, or hold weapons... The emperor's carriage for Fengshan is about to pass through our Liebang City. The central avenue in the city needs to..."
Multiple officials continued to deliver news in the city, just like what was done in other cities. The people below were also talking about it, but the difference was that the excitement of the people in Liebang City was even more intense.
Countless people spontaneously went from street to street to tell each other, and some even rushed back home to take care of their young children. The children in various schools also learned about this, and the teacher considerately said that he would take everyone to see it.
The hundreds of thousands of people in Liebang City were all in an uproar, and they all wanted to squeeze to the central avenue to pay homage to the emperor, but there were too many people and there was only one street. A large area in the middle had to be left empty for the emperor's carriage and civil and military officials to pass through, and there was no way to accommodate so many people.
So, I don't know who started it, but people gradually began to run outside the city. That place was much more spacious, and they couldn't get a good position in the city, so it was better to go outside the city earlier.
Soon, more and more people rushed out of the city. In the cold winter of the first month of the year, everyone's enthusiasm seemed to melt the severe cold, and they went out of the city together in a mighty force.
About half an hour later, a fast horse came galloping in front of the Emperor Dazhen's carriage. The guards did not stop it along the way. It did not slow down until it was a hundred steps away from the Emperor's carriage. Then it came to the outside of the Emperor's carriage with Yin Zhong accompanying it.
"Report—"
The soldier was obviously skilled in martial arts. His voice was loud and his breath was long. He dragged out the long syllables until he reached the emperor's carriage.
"Your Majesty, hundreds of thousands of people in Jubang City have learned that the emperor is coming, and have already left the city for more than ten miles to welcome the emperor's carriage. Everyone is eagerly waiting!"
"What?"
Yang Sheng, who was sitting in the huge carriage, was also slightly startled when he heard this. He asked the palace maid to open the cotton curtain and took the initiative to expose his body to look at the reporter, while a civil official also approached.
"But the prefect of Liebang City is so ambitious that he deliberately drove the people out of the city to show his favor to the emperor?"
An official from the Censorate sternly questioned the soldier. On the top of his official hat was embroidered the head of a giant beast with its mouth open, ready to devour someone. He looked majestic and terrifying.
"Yes, the weather is so cold, did the local officials ask the people to do this?"
The soldier bowed in reply.
"When dozens of brothers including me arrived in the city earlier, the people in the city did not know that the emperor's carriage was approaching. Later, officials spread the news in the city, but did not encourage the people to leave the city. They only said that those who wanted to see it were not allowed to block the road or carry weapons. We saw clearly that when the people heard that the emperor was coming, they were excited and said they wanted to see his holy face, but there was not enough space on the main streets of the city to accommodate so many people, and they were not allowed to go up to the eaves, so the people left the city one after another..."
As the soldiers spoke slowly, the expressions of many officials relaxed. Yin Zhaoxian looked at Yang Sheng with a smile.
"It seems that Your Majesty really has the support of the people!"
Yang Sheng was equally excited and asked another question.
"How long have they been waiting?"
"Your Majesty, it is estimated that the people have been waiting in the cold wind for at least half an hour. Many of them have brought their families with them, and no one has returned to the city!"
Yang Sheng was excited. He stood on the pedal in front of the carriage, looked around and gave orders loudly.
"Pass on my order, speed up the process and don't keep the people waiting any longer!"
“As you command!”…
Several Heavenly Masters and many officials received orders one after another, and Yin Zhong even ordered a large number of imperial guards to speed up and maintain order.
With the magic cast by the Heavenly Master, in just less than two quarters of an hour, the emperor's carriage appeared in the sight of the people at the outermost edge, and the imperial guards took the lead, lining the road with guns to maintain order.
These imperial guards discovered that the people on both sides looked at them with extremely excited eyes, especially the young people, whose eyes were full of longing, but the imperial guards looked solemn and majestic, and no one dared to talk to them. But the more this happened, the more excited people became.
Soon, the emperor's carriage approached. The huge team seemed to have no end. People stretched their necks to look, and it seemed that there was a brilliant light surrounding the carriage and purple clouds condensed like a canopy.
The sound of axles and the orderly footsteps of the imperial guards continued to be heard. The emperor's bright yellow carriage was getting closer and closer. People's breathing rhythm was also quickening. As each carriage passed by, the officials could see the passion in the eyes of the people.
Yang Sheng, who was sitting in the emperor's carriage, could see people's state through the gaps in the curtains. Although people tried to remain quiet, they were still whispering, so that the whole place was filled with noise.
"Is this our emperor?" "This is the emperor's chariot!"
"Is the Emperor in there?" "What a majestic team, our Dazhen team..."
"I want to be a member of the Imperial Guard, too!" "I'll be very satisfied if I can join the army!"
As if a blessing had come to his mind, Yang Sheng, who was sitting in the carriage, seemed to be able to hear people's suppressed and excited discussions. To be honest, Yang Sheng was both surprised and even more excited.
Yang Sheng made a secret decision in his mind, then stood up from the carriage, opened the curtain with his own hands, walked to the platform outside the emperor's carriage, stood behind the soldier driving the carriage, raised his head and chest, and looked around.
Yin Zhong was slightly nervous in his heart, but he shook his head slightly in the eyes of his subordinates and did not interfere with the emperor's actions. When all the people saw the emperor appear, the excitement soared to the peak.
Yin Qing rode his horse a little further behind and whispered something into the ear of a tall guard beside him. The latter nodded, walked to the periphery and whispered something.
"Long live Dazhen, long live your majesty..."
Some people nearby couldn't help but shout out.
“Long live Dazhen… Long live His Majesty…” “Long live His Majesty…”
The voices were quiet and scattered at first, but they gave the people an outlet to vent their excitement. Slowly, more and more people shouted, and their voices became louder and more uniform.
"Long live Dazhen—Long live His Majesty—Long live Dazhen—Long live His Majesty—"
The sounds came one after another, one louder than the other, as deafening as the roar of a mountain or the sea. Yang Sheng stood in front of the carriage, his hands clenched into fists in his sleeves, his face flushed.
Even Ji Yuan and the mountain god Tingqiu in the sky were alarmed and flew over. There were also many spirits and ghosts watching from afar. There were bursts of brilliant light in the direction of the hundreds of thousands of people and the emperor's carriage, and each light was brighter than the previous one. The sound of the tsunami seemed to spread in all directions.
"Long live Dazhen - long live His Majesty -"
Hong Shengting stared blankly into the distance, feeling the terrifying belief that came from his heart.
"These... these people in Liebang City are all new citizens from overseas, why are they so... so loyal to the emperor and patriotic?"
Ji Yuan's face was indifferent, but he had some guesses in his heart. Perhaps it was similar to the so-called "convert fanaticism". They were once treated as animals. The more miserable the past was, the stronger the contrast and conflict with the present. The more they cherished the present and were more grateful for the present. They hated demons to the core, were loyal to the emperor and patriotic. In order to protect the happiness of their descendants and to protect their dignity as human beings, those people who were once like zombies under the oppression of demons would have more courage than anyone else!
"God Hongshan, this is the faith of humanity and the general trend of the human race. Without such popular will and such a general trend, this Fengshan ceremony would not be supported. This situation and this scene should give God Hongshan some confidence."
Seeing Ji Yuan's look, Hong Shengting just bowed heavily without saying anything. Then he stroked his beard and looked towards the light under the canopy of clouds in the distance.