The next day, before daybreak, Zhu Ping'an had already started working with the Zhejiang Army in the area under their charge, receiving and settling the people who came to watch the sea sacrifice.
In fact, in the middle of the night, many ordinary people had already arrived at the sea sacrifice site one after another.
Zhao Wenhua wanted to make this ceremony unprecedented and famous in history. In order to attract as many people as possible to watch the ceremony, Zhao Wenhua was very concerned about the people. When he heard that some people were coming to watch the ceremony overnight, he ordered the soldiers in each camp to boil hot water and make pancakes early in the morning, so that every person who came to participate in the ceremony would have hot water to drink and pancakes to eat.
Not only that, Zhao Wenhua also bent down to greet the people who came to watch the sea sacrifice, asking about their well-being... ...
The common people were very simple-minded. When they saw Zhao Wenhua ordering the preparation of hot water pancakes and asking about his health, they all called Zhao Wenhua "Zhao Qingtian". Zhao Wenhua felt as if he had drunk nectar and was enjoying himself extremely.
By the time daybreak came, the sea sacrifice site was already packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, and extremely lively.
There were too many people, and it was too chaotic. Ordinary people came and went, walked around, and curiously looked around the sea festival. There were even many vendors selling food and toys doing business at the festival...
Zhu Pingan looked at the scene and couldn't help scratching his head. Although Zhao Wenhua adopted his suggestion yesterday and ordered each battalion to restrict the movement of people in their respective areas, except for the area under his charge, the other battalions implemented it in a mess, and Zhao Wenhua turned a blind eye to it and did not emphasize or investigate the responsibilities of the battalions. As a result, the battalions became more and more perfunctory, and the order to restrict the movement of people became a dead letter.
If the movement of people is restricted and they are settled according to areas, even if Japanese pirates sneak into a sacrificial site in a village or area, they can be easily caught. Even if they are outstanding, they cannot move around freely and it will be difficult for them to cause trouble.
But now...
If Japanese pirates sneaked into the festival to sabotage it, it would be like entering a no-man's land, and the consequences would be disastrous...
No matter how good a policy is, if it cannot be implemented, it is just a piece of paper!
"Damn it!"
"Idiot!"
Zhu Ping'an looked around the chaotic and bustling ceremony, glanced at the commander's tent, and couldn't help but curse twice.
"Haha, who offended my nephew? Tell your uncle and I will teach him a lesson for you."
A familiar voice came from his ear, and Zhu Ping'an turned around and looked at Linhuai Hou who was like an iron ball.
"Oh, uncle, I was cursing the Japanese pirates. If there were no stupid Japanese pirates causing harm, why would we have to go through so much trouble?"
Zhu Ping'an spoke nonsense with a very natural look on his face. If he told the truth, he would offend everyone from top to bottom.
"That's true. These damned Japanese pirates have committed so many evil deeds that it's not too much to cut them into pieces." Linhuai Hou nodded, and then said, "However, it is precisely because of these damned Japanese pirates that we have a place to use our military power."
"Uncle, you are absolutely right." Zhu Ping'an said casually.
"Hehe, thanks to my nephew's reminder yesterday, my Jianghuai Camp has set up its main camp again. Last night, when General Zhang inspected the sacrificial ground, he saw that the deer horn trenches of my Jianghuai Camp were heavily guarded. He also praised our camp for being well set up, saying that in the entire sacrificial ground, your Zhejiang Army Camp and our Jianghuai General's camp were the best." Marquis Linhuai patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder in gratitude and said with a chuckle.
Zhu Ping'an was polite and chatted with Linhuai Hou for a while. He took the opportunity to remind Linhuai Hou to be vigilant and follow the order issued by Lord Zhao last night to restrict the movement of civilians in the area under his jurisdiction. If there are people with strange behavior among the people, they should be vigilant and identify them secretly.
"Haha, nephew, are you still worried that the Japanese pirates will sneak into the festival and cause damage?" Linhuai Hou smiled nonchalantly, "With so many of our officers and soldiers watching, all civilians are not allowed to bring weapons into the venue. Even if some Japanese pirates sneak in, they just hide some short weapons. How much damage can the Japanese pirates with short weapons cause? In front of us, it's just military merit delivered to our door..."
The Japanese pirates armed with short blades were not a token of military merit in front of the officers and soldiers of the garrison, but rather a tough and vicious wolf.
In the hands of unarmed civilians, it is even more deadly...
But it doesn't matter.
You can never wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep, especially when there is not just one person pretending to be asleep, but a group of people.
"Sir, is this sea sacrifice useful? After the sea sacrifice, can the sea god help us destroy the Japanese pirates on the sea?" While maintaining order, Liu Dadao approached Zhu Pingan and asked with a confused look on his face.
"Confucius said to respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance." Zhu Ping'an shook his head slightly and said slowly, "We Chinese have always been self-reliant and self-reliant. We don't rely on praying to gods or Buddhas. Even myths and legends are the same. When the sky was broken, Nuwa refined stones to repair it; when a flood came, Dayu dug a river to control the water; when there was ten days of scorching sun, Yi shot nine suns and saved one; when a disease came, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs to cure it. It is we who decide our fate, not ghosts and gods."
"I understand." Liu Dadao nodded, and then asked, "Sir, will there be any Japanese pirates coming to cause trouble today?"
"The Japanese pirates will definitely come to cause trouble." Zhu Ping'an said with certainty.
The reason why Zhu Ping'an was so confident was not only based on his understanding and analysis of the Japanese pirates such as Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, but also based on himself.
"Bring honor to our family..." Zhu Ping'an muttered to himself as he stood on the slope.
A mysterious fortune suddenly appeared in Zhu Ping'an's sight at the ceremony, and blood red and black became the main colors of the scene.
This represents a disaster of blood and death. If the Japanese pirates had not come to cause trouble, how could there be such a serious disaster of blood and death
Looking in all directions, Zhu Ping'an found that there was nothing unusual in the four directions of east, west, south and north, but the energy in the sacrificial field was mixed.
It can be seen that the Japanese pirates have already sneaked in, and their number is quite large.
Unfortunately, luck cannot help me distinguish between the pirates and the common people. There is a mixture of white, black, and blood-red luck on everyone's head. Also, no matter what level the pirates are, whether they are cannon fodder, small leaders, or even self-proclaimed generals or kings, their luck is the color of common people.
At seven o'clock in the morning, the huge bell rang, indicating the auspicious time had arrived and the sea sacrifice ceremony was about to begin.
On the sea-sacrificing platform, nine sturdy men dressed in Taoist strongmen's clothes walked up to the platform shirtless, stood in front of nine huge cowhide drums, picked up the drumsticks with both hands, and beat the drums with all their strength.
Dong Dong Dong...
After nine drum beats, sacrificial music sounded. Zhao Wenhua, who had just bathed and changed his clothes, took the lead, and Zhang Jing lagged behind half a step. Except for Zhu Pingan, who was in charge of order in the area, and Linhuai Hou, the rest of the officials followed closely behind and went up to the sea sacrifice platform.
"Priests, take your positions! Offer food!"
Offerings decorated with red silk, such as ox heads, sheep heads, pig heads, beans, wine jars, and silk, were presented on the altars.
The people stretched their necks to look up, their expressions excited.