As the chief priest, Zhao Wenhua led a group of officials and all the people present in kneeling and worshipping the emperor's tablet, then read out the imperial edict, and then began to read the sacrificial text amid a burst of sacrificial music.
"Emperor Jiajing, your grace is long-lasting; the four seas look up to you, and the eight directions are unified; Kunpeng plows the sea, and the sky is high; the government is in order, and the people are in harmony, and morality is evergreen; we are in a prosperous era, and the people are prosperous. However, there are sea monsters, who are rebelling against the Japanese pirates, offending the laws of heaven, disturbing our coasts, and being bold and reckless;
Great are the four seas, great are the oceans, boundless blue waves, boundless seas, Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, gods from all directions, please accept my sacrifice, bless my Ming Dynasty, revive my country, kill the sea monsters, and overturn the Japanese ships…”
On the high altar, Zhao Wenhua recited the sacrificial text in a rhythmic manner, looking eloquent and proud.
Under the altar, Zhu Ping'an was extremely nervous. He carefully examined every corner of the venue, his eyes almost becoming as big as an eagle's.
Reciting sacrificial texts, offering sacrifices to the gods, burning incense and silk, Taoist priests setting up altars and performing rituals...
With every step forward in the ceremony, Zhu Ping'an became more nervous, and a layer of cold sweat gradually appeared on his back.
However, until the last step of the ceremony, the venue was calm and peaceful.
When the offerings were poured into the sea, the atmosphere of the entire sea sacrifice site suddenly reached its peak.
At this point, the formal ceremony of the sea sacrifice ceremony has ended, and it can be said that the sea sacrifice ceremony has been successfully completed. The following are all informal processes, which are community entertainment activities such as magic tricks, opera singing, monkey performances, etc. for the people to enjoy together. In the evening, there will be the most anticipated fireworks show.
In ancient times, there were not as many colorful entertainment activities as there are today. Apart from some entertainment activities during festivals and the annual temple fair, there were no entertainment programs to watch on ordinary days.
In ancient times when there was still curfew, people were reluctant to light candles, and their nightlife was nothing more than turning off the lights, sleeping, and making small people.
Now, there are not only magic tricks, operas, monkey shows and other entertainment activities on the stage, but I heard that there will be fireworks at night. Especially since the adults said that they will provide meals and meat in the evening, the people are so excited that they don’t want to leave. They watch the show with applause and cheers.
While the common people were applauding and cheering for the opera, Zhao Wenhua had already called together the officials present to hold a celebration banquet.
There were four large tables in the commander's tent, with a wide variety of food and wine on them. More than 40 officials were seated at different tables according to their official positions and seniority.
At the main table, Zhao Wenhua was smiling and looking very proud. Zhang Jing was sitting next to Zhao Wenhua with a stern look on his face. Hu Zongxian was sitting on the other side of Zhao Wenhua. Officials such as the Minister of Rites and the Minister of War of Yingtian were also among them.
Zhu Pingan sat respectfully at the last seat at the main table, while Linhuai Hou, the deputy general of Jianghuai, sat above Zhu Pingan.
"Hahaha, thank you all for your great help. This sea sacrifice ceremony, which is worthy of being recorded in the history books, was successfully completed. This sea sacrifice is not the credit of Zhao Wenhua alone. Everyone present here has also made contributions. I will report the truth and ask for credit for all my colleagues. This first glass of wine, I toast to all my colleagues, thank you for your great help."
Zhao Wenhua looked radiant and proud. He raised his glass and toasted to the officials in the tent.
Zhang Jing sat still and picked up the wine glass perfunctorily. He was able to attend the celebration banquet for the sea sacrifice because of Emperor Jiajing's face, just to make things better from beginning to end.
After the sea sacrifice, even if Zhao Wenhua knelt and died in front of him, he would not attend Zhao Wenhua's banquet.
"Mr. Zhao, you are too polite. This is all our responsibility."
Zhu Ping'an, Hu Zongxian and other officials present stood up and raised their glasses to greet him politely.
Of course, there were also some more flattering people, such as the two officials who had long been on Zhao Wenhua's side, and who tried their best to flatter Zhao Wenhua in response.
"Lord Zhao is too polite. It is our great honor to be able to participate in today's sea sacrifice ceremony that is destined to go down in history. The success of today's sea sacrifice is all due to Lord Zhao's planning and arrangements. We are just following orders, so how dare we claim credit? The success of today's sea sacrifice proves a truth, that is, we only need to listen to Lord Zhao's arrangements, follow his orders, and then wait for success."
"This sea sacrifice was successfully completed. In the future, we will surely have divine help in suppressing the Japanese pirates. We will get what we want and succeed in no time. The successful suppression of the Japanese pirates in the future will also be due to the sea sacrifice performed by Lord Zhao today."
Zhu Ping'an noticed that when the two of them were talking, Zhang Jing, who had a stern face, looked even more sullen.
There were a wide variety of delicious food on the table, but Zhu Ping'an found it difficult to swallow and had no appetite.
It’s not that the food is not delicious, but that I am worried.
The Japanese pirates did not cause any trouble at the sea sacrifice ceremony, which must be a bigger conspiracy. It is impossible for the Japanese pirates to venture all the way to the sea sacrifice site just to join in the fun and watch the sea sacrifice?!
I just saw that the blood-red and black luck rising from the entire ceremony site was even stronger. This meant that the danger of bloodshed and death was greater than in the morning, which showed that the conspiracy brewing by the Japanese pirates was not trivial.
No matter what the Japanese pirates' plot was, it was definitely for the purpose of killing, destroying, and influencing. Since they didn't take action during the sea sacrifice ceremony, and the officers and soldiers would move out early tomorrow morning, the Japanese pirates would most likely launch a surprise attack at night.
The Japanese pirates were really cunning and unexpected. They did not attack during the sea sacrifice ceremony, but after it was over.
The smooth holding of the Daytime Sea Sacrifice Ceremony made everyone numb and relaxed, and the probability of the Japanese pirates launching a surprise attack at night was extremely high; moreover, on dark and windy nights, when people were killing and setting fires, it was easier for the Japanese pirates to launch a surprise attack at night.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ping'an found it even harder to swallow the food.
"Nephew, why don't you eat? Is it not to your taste? This shouldn't be the case. Today's chef is from a royal chef family. The dish is delicious. I haven't eaten so well for a while since I came to the south." Linhuai Hou was eating abalone with great relish. Seeing that Zhu Ping'an beside him didn't eat much, he couldn't help but ask curiously.
In his impression, Zhu Ping'an loves food very much and always eats with gusto. However, today, in front of the top-notch delicacies cooked by the Imperial Chef Family, he hardly picked up his chopsticks.
This is very abnormal.
"Uncle, the food and wine are indeed delicious, I just have no appetite." Zhu Ping'an explained simply.
"Haha, nephew, are you worried about the Japanese pirates? Don't worry, the sea sacrifice ceremony is over, the Japanese pirates didn't cause any trouble, and it's even less likely that they will cause any trouble in the future. It can be seen that with our army here, the Japanese pirates dare not to touch us at all. Nephew, just eat and drink enough, have a good night's sleep, and we will move camp and go home early tomorrow morning. Come, nephew, try this abalone, it's really authentic." Linhuai Hou patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder and said with a smile. After that, he affectionately picked up a piece of honey abalone for Zhu Ping'an and enthusiastically urged him to eat.
"Thank you, uncle."
Zhu Pingan forced a smile.
This was a celebration banquet, and Zhu Ping'an didn't want to spoil the mood, so he planned to report to Zhao Wenhua and Zhang Jing after the banquet.