Don't be a prince

I will yell and grab it back!

The so-called "qi epidemic" of the Tubo people has now been proved by the proficiency rate to be nothing more than a reaction that is too high, and there is a record rate of proficiency. The Tubo people who were once praised as surpassing the Tang army in some aspects are no longer what they used to be status.When it comes to such honors, there is no other way but red eyes.

Already approaching the destination, everyone worked hard, even though it was already dark, they continued to move forward, and did not stop until they officially arrived at the foot of Mount Tai.

After dinner, Li Chengqian was about to rest when he saw Li Jian with a smirk on his face.

"His Royal Highness, Your Majesty has a decree. Tomorrow, take a bath and change clothes, and fast for three days with Your Majesty on behalf of the Queen, in preparation for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the mountain!"

"Fasting? No, with the emperor around, does Gu still need to fast? The protagonist is not Gu!"

Li Jian chuckled, looked at the door of the tent, and then turned his head and said, "Your Highness, this is in private, and the servant girl told you. As a prince, you only need to watch the ceremony. Your Majesty wants you to preside over the ceremony together. What is your intention?" Can't you see it? This completely crucified your crown prince's status! During such a grand ceremony, your crown prince's position is announced, unless you do something rebellious, otherwise, your status will be ironclad. No one can shake it!"

Chapter 385 Mountaineering

After finishing speaking, Li Jian turned around with a smile and left, his expression became normal, as if he didn't say what he said just now.

However, even if he didn't say anything, Li Chengqian knew the emperor's intentions.Forget it, after all, it feels good to be recognized by others. It is already very good that the emperor is willing to share the benefits of the ritual of enshrining Mount Tai with him.

Not only Li Chengqian was notified, but Fang Xuanling and others also got the news.But they don't need to take a bath and fast, they just need to pay attention to their appearance.

Everyone knew very well that as long as he participated in the emperor's etiquette this time, as long as he did not make any serious mistakes in the future, his status would basically be stable.Coupled with the joy of being famous in history, everyone was extremely excited.

After the three-day fast, the altar built by the craftsmen and soldiers was completed.Although the large altar of five-color soil is simply stacked together, under the deliberate trimming by the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, it looks well-organized and magnificent.

The rites and music are played and the military drum ends, which represents the retreat of all evil spirits.But from Li Chengqian's point of view, this arrangement by the Ministry of Rites is purely superfluous. The most elite soldiers in the entire Tang Dynasty are here. Besides, this is a ceremony to worship Mount Tai. Where are the ghosts?

The eyes unconsciously shifted their sight a little bit, and as a result, Li Chengqian really saw a "lonely ghost".

Not to mention the rags, even his face was smeared with ashes from pot bottoms, if it wasn't for his feet still stepping on the ground, he would probably scare a person to death in broad daylight.After a closer look, it turned out that this person turned out to be Yuan Tiangang. After all, he couldn't tell from his appearance, but this guy's gossip steps are not so charming that anyone can step on them.I have to say that it is still very powerful to practice a technique hard to the point of knowing people.

With Yuan Tiangang taking off on the altar, a large group of similarly dressed people, mostly Taoist priests, came on stage and danced under his auspices.It was obviously a grand ceremony for offering sacrifices to the mountain, but it felt a bit like a gathering of savages.Seeing this scene, Li Chengqian was really impressed by the arrangement of the Ministry of Rites. Who knows how they thought of using this kind of ceremony to worship the mountain?It is estimated that when the brain is hot, it will be traced back for thousands of years.

After the dance, the emperor in a dragon robe officially entered the stage, three sticks of incense were inserted into the tripod, and the lengthy article of offering sacrifices to the mountain began.Although it is very long, it can be summed up in one sentence: "Taishan, I am a good emperor, please give me a lot of blessings in the Tang Dynasty, and I will never forget that officials will be sent to worship you at four o'clock and eight festivals. Next We are going to climb a mountain to worship the sky, I hope you will not get angry and shake us off..."

"I really can't stand it. It's just climbing a mountain. Why did you make it like this?"

Li Tai, who was dressed in a formal official uniform, also appeared at the ceremony. The weather was just beginning to fall, and it was still very hot at noon. Wearing meticulous court clothes, skinny people would sweat, let alone him.

Still staring straight ahead, Li Chengqian tried his best to keep his lips still and said in a low voice: "Shut up, you will definitely beat me to death for messing with your father at this time! Look at the courtiers on the left and right, which one is not sweating profusely? Who yelled?"

"Tsk tsk, let me see, these people are glorious when they get sunburned..."

After saying the last sentence, Li Tai closed his mouth, he still knew the seriousness.

The lengthy sacrificial text was finally finished, and when the fire was fired, the article was burned and given to Mount Tai.

So far, the mountain sacrifice ceremony is considered to be over, but the more painful one is coming.

As the ceremony officer, Lu Kuan stood on the altar and shouted at the top of his voice, "After the ceremony, climb the mountain!"

When they finally reached this point, many people let out a long sigh of relief, but it wasn't a breath of hard work. It felt like they were about to receive an award, and they breathed a long sigh of relief because of nervousness.

The first person to climb the mountain was naturally the emperor, and there were hundreds of people who accompanied the emperor to climb the mountain, followed by Li Chengqian's East Palace team.

For mountain climbing, if a worker wants to be good at his work, he must first sharpen his tools, so the first emperor's team to leave was empty-handed, while Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace team carried a lot of climbing tools.

At this time, there is no climbing path, no railings, and no cable car to climb Mount Tai. You have to rely on yourself.

After walking a good mountain road, I encountered a cliff. Although the predecessors left the rope, once the hand slipped, tsk tsk, the end was miserable!

As a prince, he naturally had to consider for the officials, so Li Chengqian ordered his team to replace the rotten rope, and also pulled a rope as a safety rope, at least for people to have a place to rely on.

There were few ropes, but the rough road was too long, so when Li Chengqian found that the ropes were used up, he didn't walk much.

Secretly praying for the big troops behind, Li Chengqian had no choice but to continue climbing the mountain with a climbing pick.

The team members led by themselves are naturally not afraid of mountain climbing, and Li Chengqian also has mountain climbing experience, so it didn't take long to catch up with the emperor in front of him.

Said to be the emperor, he is not much better than others at this time, his large dragon robe has long been torn, and he simply tore it open, so that it is convenient to move.

Seeing Li Chengqian buckle the climbing pick on the slope and drag it up easily, Li Shimin stretched out his hand without hesitation.

"You were prepared, but it was me who made a laugh. How unfilial!"

Helpless, Li Chengqian could only hand over the climbing pick to the emperor.

After personally experimenting with the convenience of the climbing pick, Li Shimin glanced down worriedly and said, "If you have such a good thing, why don't you get more? Many of the courtiers are old, and I'm worried that some of them will fall to their deaths." !"

Knowing this, why did you go early?Must climb!

After a few words of slander, Li Chengqian replied: "There are no materials. During the three days of our fast, the craftsmen have made more than 100, and the proficiency of the ministers is not enough. Even if they are all divided, how many can we share?" Personal? You know the principle of not worrying about scarcity but inequality. If you want to postpone it, I am afraid you will not be willing!"

Seeing the embarrassment of the emperor, Li Chengqian could only comfort him: "You don't have to think too much, they also know that their lives are precious, don't think it's enough for a family to come up with only one person, in fact, for this Fengchan, they basically did their best. Every patriarch's character has a group of young lads to help, and there won't be too many accidents. I'm afraid, if you don't let them climb the mountain, they will be depressed!"

Li Chengqian's words had an effect, the emperor nodded and continued to climb up, relying on himself without the help of the guards on the left and right.In this regard, he is also exceptionally stubborn.

It will take four to seven hours for future generations to climb Mount Tai, let alone now.After a full three hours passed, the sky darkened, but looking up, the top of the mountain was still not visible.

If you see the top of the mountain at this time, you can climb up no matter how tired you are, but you will be discouraged if you can't see the goal.Therefore, including the emperor, everyone couldn't help but found a gentler place and fell to the ground.

A few Baiqisi's men and a few eunuchs just got up after a short rest and started to build the tent.In any case, staying overnight on the mountain is a must, and well-prepared is one of the reasons why it is difficult for them to climb the mountain.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the people from Baiqisi were prepared, and ordered Chang Tianhou, Liu Mang and others to also set up tents.They are the ones who climb the mountain the fastest, so that they can't even see others within the range of sight.

Don't even think about lighting a fire, so the food everyone brings out is dried meat and the like. Ever since they found out that drinking is not good when it's cold, alcohol has become a taboo at this time.

As soon as he opened the backpack, it was snatched by someone brutally.

Opening Li Chengqian's backpack, seeing that it was full of good things, Li Shimin curled his lips, took out a large piece of dried beef without hesitation, and was about to start.

"Father, it's better to eat chicken legs first. Beef jerky is durable, but chicken legs are not good."

Glancing at the chicken leg that Li Chengqian handed over, Li Shimin was not angry, put down the jerky and started eating.

After taking a bite and nodding, Li Shimin said: "No wonder you, my mother told me that I don't need to bring much food, just ask for it from you. This chicken drumstick is much better than what the chef prepares. I like it very much."

After eating ten chicken legs in a row and drinking half a pot of water, the emperor was satisfied and lay down on Li Chengqian's mattress to rest.

After a long while of silence, the emperor's voice sounded: "Do you think it's superfluous for me to enshrine Zen?"

Li Chengqian was taken aback, but still replied truthfully: "At first it was, but later I figured it out."

"Tell me, what do you want to understand?"

After two mouthfuls of chicken legs and a sip of water, Li Chengqian sat down on the bedside and said, "Judging from the group of men in black who assassinated you before, it is obvious that Feng Chan's behavior made them jealous, and they even tried to stop them. Think carefully about it." After thinking about it, Erchen discovered that after enshrining Zen, your prestige will reach a new level. If some families could still use bloodlines to talk about things before, after that, they have no other choice but to surrender.

For Datang, it is necessary to have only one internal voice, or in other words, for any dynasty, unification is very necessary.It is difficult to agree with one another, and the interests of the few are nothing compared to the interests of the majority.Although the emperor coordinated the overall situation, it was a bit rough, but I had to admit that it was much better than a melee between multiple forces. "

Li Shimin, who was lying down, smiled slightly, turned over and said with a smile: "It's good to understand, I can allow wealth and honor to be shared, but ah, there are many people who want to stab a knife behind their backs. Do you think that the relationship between the emperor and the family What is the relationship? The emperor takes turns, and the aristocratic family is actually the emperor’s candidate! Since history, how many peasants have become emperors? Even Liu Bang, didn’t he also have an official position? When Chu and Han were fighting for hegemony, Where are Chen Sheng and Wu Guang? That's all I said, you can think about it yourself!

In terms of reputation, you are quite qualified as a prince, but what worries me the most is that you will always have the kindness of a woman.Letting you go to the battlefield is to change this disposition, but I found that the change is not big.Although it is good to use the standard of a successful king for you, I am still afraid that you will suffer a lot because of this! "

After speaking, the emperor closed his eyes, apparently not going back to his tent.

After covering the emperor's father with a thin quilt and putting a pot of water beside him, Li Chengqian exited the tent.

The emperor's tent is also very large, and the effect of keeping warm is also very good. Obviously, it's not because the tent is bad, but because he is too tired and doesn't want to take these extra steps.

Glancing at the naked Baiqisi officers and eunuchs standing guard around the emperor's tent, Li Chengqian said helplessly to the Sky Monkey: "Give them half of your sleeping bags. The mountain wind is heavy and the cold is heavy at night. Sleeping is unbearable."

Zhan Tianhou nodded and went to give orders. After returning to the tent, Li Chengqian clearly saw those people kneeling on one knee and saluting.

That's good, Li Chengqian is not going to change the point of not ignoring human life.Who said that only cruelty and bloodthirsty can make a good emperor?Raising the standard of killing a little bit higher doesn't mean you won't kill people.The benevolence of a woman can only be under normal circumstances. Li Chengqian asked himself, when he should be ruthless, it is enough for him to be ruthless.

After a person does a particularly strenuous exercise, he may not feel anything at the time, but after sleeping, waking up the next morning, that feeling...

Li Chengqian was not the only one who wished to rub medicinal wine all over his body, Li Tai was also the same.To his surprise, Li Tai got up early in the morning. Although he relied on the help of the guards, at least he caught up.

"Brother Huang, the guards said that we couldn't climb to the top of the mountain before noon, and we would die in the sun, so I got up early. Tell me, we climbed so high, what should we do when we go down the mountain! Everyone said It's easy to go up the mountain, but it's hard to go down the mountain!"

Handing the medicinal wine to Li Tai, Li Chengqian rubbed his sore shoulder and said, "Don't worry, there is no way to go up the mountain. If the Ministry of Rites has no way to go down the mountain, I think they should go away. People who eat vegetarian meals in the court are not welcome. "

Li Tai nodded, seeing that the emperor's father had finished his breakfast, he quickly wiped some medicinal wine on himself, then walked out of the tent and told his father that he had rolled up.

Even though he had climbed the mountain for a long time, the emperor seemed to have nothing. Of course, he would not show anything.

After a short rest, the team moved on again.At this time, you can see the difference between civil and military. Yu Chigong and Cheng Yaojin are following behind. Both of them only bring four or five generals, and they don’t need the help of generals to climb mountains. There was a bandage and blood, but he didn't notice it.

Such great etiquette, even if you die, you have to climb up!

After the torment of the first day, the speed of the second day was even slower than the first day, but because we set off early in the morning, we still had plenty of time.

It was not until the end of the day that everyone finally arrived at the destination of this trip - Yuhuangding, but this place is now called Tiandiding.The name of the Jade Emperor was not finalized until the Song Dynasty at the latest. After the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the person who commanded all immortals was called the Emperor of Heaven. Especially after the appearance of the "divine right of kings" in the Han Dynasty, the emperor even advocated the majesty of the Emperor of Heaven and called himself the son of the Emperor of Heaven. .

Of course, Li Shimin is no exception, but I don't know what Li Yuan, who is indulging in wine and sex, thinks.

Chapter 386 Worshiping the Heaven

There is the Temple of the Emperor of Heaven on the top of the Emperor of Heaven, but the Hall of the Emperor of Heaven at this time is not as magnificent as the later generations, it looks like a small temple no matter how you look at it.Mountain climbing is not easy. At this time, building a small temple on Mount Tai does not know how much manpower and material resources will be spent.

Seeing the Heavenly Emperor Hall, the emperor took off his tattered dragon robe and put on a brand new one before walking in respectfully.It is impossible to take a bath. If he wants to take a bath, the drinking water of these people on the mountain will have to be contributed.

The emperor entered the Tiandi Palace, so Li Chengqian had no choice but to set up his tent outside the encirclement circle of Baiqisi and eunuchs.Obviously, the only one who can stay in the palace is the emperor alone, and he, the crown prince, has to be blown by the wind outside.

I thought so, but before the tent was set up, he was captured by Li Jian and brought into the Heavenly Emperor Hall.

The emperor, who had already tidied up his appearance, sat on the futon, closed his eyes and meditated.

"You are the prince. Since you want to preside over the ceremony with me, you can come in and live there. Give your tent to your uncle. He is quite old. I persuaded him not to use it. Came here from Chang'an."

Li Chengqian nodded, turned around and told Zhang Yun to make arrangements.Literati, for even a little bit of "fame", they will have red eyes.For the sake of the so-called "blood lineage", they married women of five surnames. For the sake of their own clean image, they insisted on decorating the front yard in tatters, but the inner yard was resplendent.

Nowadays, if anyone misses such a major event as Taishan Fengchan because of a little mistake, he may look at Taishan and wipe his neck.

It was already afternoon, but the people who reached the top of the mountain were only three teams.Li Shimin was exhausted physically and mentally, and fell asleep in the hall, so Li Chengqian could only cheer up and count the number of people.Originally, this job should be Lu Kuan's, but he hasn't climbed up yet, so he can only be the crown prince.

Yu Chigong, Cheng Yaojin, and Changsun Wuji were the first team of courtiers to reach the summit.Don't look at the lack of climbing picks and other assistance, but seeing Yu Chigong and Cheng Yaojin's ease, Li Chengqian suspected that they deliberately gave up the opportunity to climb to the top first to the emperor.

"His Royal Highness, there must not be enough people today. Let's wait until tomorrow to prepare for the etiquette. Let's start the day after tomorrow. The drinking water and dry food I will bring should be enough."

Sitting on the ground, Changsun Wuji struggled to salute.After leaving the army for many years, his body is no longer as strong as before.

Li Chengqian also sat on the ground and said: "Four days are enough to hold on, but have you ever thought about what to do when you go down the mountain? Going up the mountain is so difficult, let alone going down the mountain. Up and down for eight days or even more With so much time, who can bring so much water and food?"

Cheng Yaojin twisted his sore waist, grinned his teeth, and said: "Your Highness, don't worry, the Ministry of Rites has already figured out a way. The elite soldiers of the Xuanjia Army are now scattered from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain. People, no matter what, they just need to submit it bit by bit from the bottom of the mountain.

They will also survey places suitable for going up and down the mountain, and reset the ropes, so that it will be much more convenient when we go down the mountain.Not only that, but the Ministry of Rites also has the idea of ​​repairing the climbing road of Mount Tai, which was not brought up before because the imperial court was short of money, now, hehe. "

Mountain roads are dead, but people are alive. Although Lu Kuan's method is a bit cumbersome, it is the best method at this stage.Mount Tai is too high. It is unrealistic to go from top to bottom with a cableway. It is a hot air balloon. Because of the mountain wind, the flight is also full of uncertainty.

On the other side, there was a noise, and two teams went up the mountain again.

Although Tiandiding is not small, it can't support a family of more than ten or twenty people.

Just about to speak, unexpectedly, the children of each family retreated to the top of the mountain spontaneously.The newcomers are Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.Unlike Changsun Wuji and the others, both of them were in a terrible mess.Fang Xuanling's hands were wrapped in bandages, and there were bloodstains on his face, while Du Ruhui was limping, using a scabbard as a crutch.

The embarrassment is the embarrassment, but it does not affect their good mood to climb to the top.Seeing a few people here gathered together, they also walked over step by step.

Fang Xuanling sat down on the ground, sighed and said: "It's really hard, these years trapped in Wenhai, the body is not as good as before!"

Du Ruhui also said with emotion: "I have been exercising, didn't I almost fall off the cliff? Sigh, I am only in my 50s, and I am so embarrassed with the help of my children, let alone those in their [-]s and [-]s."

Mount Tai is difficult to climb. This time, many people will definitely fall to their deaths and exhaust them.But no one blamed the etiquette itself, and no one threw the responsibility on the emperor.It's his own problem that he can't get on the board. Anyone who finds a reason is ridiculous.

As night fell, finally two more teams climbed up, Li Ke and Gao Shilian.

Gao Shilian is in his 60s this year. Maybe in later generations he will be herding sheep all over the mountains, but now he belongs to the ranks of the elderly.Originally, with his status, he didn't need to come in person at all, as long as the eldest son came over.During the grand ceremony, the emperor also happened to pass on the title of "Duke Shen" to Gao's eldest son.

However, for this grand event, Gao Shilian climbed up with his old body.

After giving the remaining half bottle of medicinal wine to Gao Shilian and the tent, Li Chengqian dragged his sore body back to the Heavenly Emperor Hall.It was completely dark, and no team would continue to climb to the summit.

Although there is a little air leakage in the Tiandi Hall, it is still stronger than the tent.

After sleeping all night, Li Chengqian had to wake up from the soreness in his body.

As soon as he got up, he saw the emperor sitting cross-legged on the ground eating rice porridge.There is a place to light a fire in the Temple of the Emperor of Heaven, otherwise there would be no hot food at all.

Seeing Li Chengqian got up, Li Shimin showed a little approval in his eyes, and said to Li Jian: "Put a bowl for the crown prince, and put the rest in smaller bowls, and reward the ministers who have already gone up the mountain."

After receiving the porridge from Li Jian, Li Chengqian, who hadn't eaten anything hot for a day and a half, almost screamed out of happiness after just one bite.Damn rice porridge, it looks so delicious at this time.

After dinner, the sun had already risen high. Not many people got up early today, and their tense nerves collapsed when they reached the top of the mountain. They had to take a good rest.

There were teams going up the mountain one after another, holding their breaths and hurrying up, so no one was too far behind, and almost everyone who could arrive before noon arrived.As for those who couldn't reach them, everyone knew what happened to them.

When there are more people, there will be more tents.When setting up tents, it is easy to see the division of forces.The ones closest to the Heavenly Emperor Hall are of course Fang Xuanling and others, and the ones in the outer circle are the Dukes who don't have much power, and after that are the aristocratic families.

From a distance, Zheng Cuan, head of the Zheng family in Xingyang, Wang Ying, head of the Wang family in Taiyuan, Gu Mingyue, head of the Gu family in Wuzhong, and others were all there.It's just that the five surnames and the Wuzhong family are opposed to each other. They all smile and behave politely, but they can still smell the obvious smell of gunpowder.