Chapter 251 The Crown Prince Sacrifices to Heaven
After hearing what her cousin said, Xiuer asked:
"Cousin dares to say that he has never loved Xiu'er!"
"I have never loved my cousin. I have told her many times before that I have always treated you as my own sister."
Xiao Jun's clear voice was like a thunderclap in a clear sky, rumbling into Xiu'er's ears, making them buzz. She staggered and almost fell, and hurriedly held onto the table with her hands.
Looking steadily into his cousin's eyes, he said word by word:
"Cousin, look me in the eye. Xiu'er didn't hear clearly. Can you please repeat what you just said?"
Seeing Xiu'er like this, Xiao Jun also felt sorry for her. He changed his mind and thought, as the saying goes, if you don't let her give up today, she might still be entangled in the future. So, he looked at Xiu'er and repeated word by word:
"I have never loved my cousin. I have always treated you as my own sister. It is my fault that I hurt you unintentionally. Cousin, please forget me."
Watching her cousin's mouth opening and closing, Xiu'er instantly felt a surge of hatred in her chest. She hated her cousin, her cousin's wife, the old lady, and her aunt for giving her so much hope, and then being disappointed again and again, making her wait for so many years, but in the end it was just a waste of time...
At this moment, she hated everyone in the Xiao family!
He steadied himself, suppressed the urge to smash the house, suppressed the overwhelming hatred in his heart, and said to his cousin:
"Okay! Okay! Okay! Cousin, Xiu'er has been waiting for you for so many years, but in the end you still betrayed me. I, Zhang Xiu, swear to end all ties with you today. From now on, the Xiao family and I will never coexist!"
After Xiu'er finished speaking, she reached out and pulled out the pearl flower her cousin had given her from her hair. She pulled it hard with both hands, and the beads fell to the ground. She said:
"I, Zhang Xiu, will not avenge my hatred today, so I will have such a flower."
After Xiu'er finished speaking, she threw herself to the ground with force, and the entire jade handle of Zhuhua shattered at Xiao Jun's feet. She turned around and walked out quickly.
Looking at the back of his cousin who hurried away because of love turning into hate, Xiao Jun sighed silently.
Xiu'er returned to Yangxin Garden and left the Xiao Mansion overnight with Aunt Cui despite the eldest wife's repeated attempts to keep her. The eldest wife, who was already haggard, became bedridden after seeing her sister leave without regard for family affection.
…
Continuous heavy rains caused a flood in the south of the Yangtze River that had not been seen in a century. The floods submerged the land, destroyed the crops, and caused a large number of refugees in northern Jiangsu to flee to the north, and even riots broke out. The news had reached Pingyang as early as then. Emperor Jin was worried and was planning with his ministers to transfer grain for disaster relief. However, misfortunes never come singly. The Shanrong people, together with nine tribes and 400,000 soldiers, crossed the Muru River in two routes, east and west, and were coming with great force. The General Zhenbei sent an urgent request for reinforcements over 600 miles overnight.
As soon as the battle report from the front arrived in Pingyang, Emperor Jin was shocked. He summoned the prime minister and the six ministers overnight to discuss the reinforcement of troops in the north, disaster relief and flood control in northern Jiangsu, and prepared for the court meeting the next morning.
The next morning, the court was still held according to the old rules. When Emperor Jin came to court, all the ministers bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting "Long live the emperor" in a loud voice. Emperor Jin called on all the ministers to stand up. After some tossing and turning, all the ministers stood in two rows. Emperor Jin looked at all the ministers and was about to speak when he saw Tang Ruoshou, the director of the Imperial Observatory, come out and say:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Long Live the Emperor... Last night I observed the sky and saw that Mars was dark blue in color and entered the Heart Constellation. It lingered there and did not leave, showing the sign of Mars guarding the Heart. This is a great omen and means a great mourning for the country and a change of government. Since the founding of our dynasty, Mars has guarded the Heart twice. The first time was during the tenth year of Emperor Ling, when Mars guarded the Heart for 40 days and left. When Emperor Ling passed away, the whole country was in mourning and wore white linen clothes. The second time was during the third year of Emperor Rui, when Mars guarded the Heart for 30 days and left. Emperor Rui listened to the words of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory and appointed Prime Minister Jia Quan as Your Majesty's substitute to bear the punishment from heaven. During the third year of Emperor Rui, the Prime Minister died and the country was at peace. Our dynasty's Prime Minister Jia Guangzhong was in office for seven years without any merit and was just a figurehead, which led to today's floods, riots by refugees, and rampant wars, which led to the punishment from heaven and the occurrence of natural disasters. At this time of national crisis, the Prime Minister should step forward and serve the court. This is my humble opinion and I respectfully request your judgment."
In ancient times, people were superstitious about divination. According to astrology, Mars in the heart was a very dangerous and ominous sign. The emperor would either die or have no descendants, or at least a prime minister would die. The people of Da Qi were more afraid of this kind of astronomical phenomenon than solar and lunar eclipses. Today, when they heard that such a bad sign had occurred in Da Qi, and thought of the recent floods in the south, all the ministers in the court were terrified and began to whisper to each other. There was an immediate buzzing sound in the Golden Palace, and everyone looked at the former prime minister Jia Guangzhong.
When the prince saw this, a thin layer of sweat immediately broke out on his forehead. He didn't expect that the Prince of Yan would attack the prime minister first. He wanted to force the prime minister to death on the spot just because of a celestial phenomenon. It seemed that the Prince of Yan could not help but take action.
Seeing the eyes of the ministers gathered around him, Jia Guangzhong's middle coat had already stuck to his back. He felt that the emperor was looking at him, so he gritted his teeth and went out to play:
"Your Majesty, the unlucky celestial phenomena are the responsibility of this minister, not the people. If I can help you relieve your worries, keep the people safe, and eliminate disasters, I am willing to accept the punishment from heaven on your behalf!"
When the ministers in the palace saw that the prime minister volunteered to take the punishment from heaven on behalf of the emperor, all the ministers, led by the censor, came out one after another to agree, and the situation became one-sided.
This is no wonder. When a ruler is immoral and his administration is uneven, he will be punished by heaven and receive bad omens. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory predicts that either the emperor or the prime minister will die. At this time, how many people would dare to say that the emperor should die, unless they were tired of living? Moreover, in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty, there was indeed an incident where a prime minister was forced to death because of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's prediction.
After the ministers finished their speeches, they held their breath and stood on both sides, waiting for the emperor's decision. A barely perceptible smile appeared on the corners of Prince Yan's mouth. He who obeys me will prosper, and whoever defies me will perish. This time the old thief Jia is doomed. Let's see which minister in the court dares to disobey him, Prince Yan. The next ones will be the Xiao family and Yichuntang!
When the ministers finished their speeches, just as the Prince of Yan was feeling proud of himself, Su Peng, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, came out and said:
"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! During the Northern Dynasties, when Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing were in power, one year Mars was in the Heart. Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing were terrified, so they summoned Sun Bo, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, to inquire. Sun Bo said that this was a 'heavenly punishment' and that the disaster would befall Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. He also told Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing that the disaster could be shifted to the prime minister, the people, or the harvest. Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing said that the prime minister assisted him in governing the country, and it would be unlucky to shift the disaster to him. Without the people, how could he be the monarch? He could not shift the disaster to the people. Shifting the disaster to the harvest was also harmful to the people and not the way of a monarch. Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing finally decided to bear the 'heavenly punishment' himself. Unexpectedly, Sun Bo immediately knelt down to congratulate him after hearing this. He said that Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing rejected three plans to shift the blame to others, saying that 'there are three words of great virtue, and Heaven will reward you three times'. Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing would move Heaven and turn disaster into blessing. Mars would soon leave the Heart, and Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing would increase his life by 10 years. As expected, Mars left the Heart on the 7th day."
When Su Daxueshi said this, he stole a glance and saw that the emperor was not displeased. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"The ominous signs in the sky are a rebuke from Heaven. Since ancient times, 'moral monarchs' would not blame their ministers, but would take measures to avoid it. The Book of Heavenly Officials says that the most important thing is to cultivate virtue, followed by governance, followed by salvation, and then salvation. There is nothing below that. Today, Your Majesty does not blame the Prime Minister, which is cultivating virtue. I would like to ask Your Majesty to temporarily initiate the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven to repair and save, begging Heaven to withdraw the punishment, so as to change the will of Heaven and turn disaster into blessing. This is my humble opinion, and I respectfully request the Holy Lord to make a judgment."
After Su Daxueshi finished speaking, Nan Huaizhong, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, came out and said:
"Your Majesty, your ...
As soon as Nan Huaizhong finished his speech, the court was in an uproar. The ministers, led by the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan, expressed their opinions and engaged in an exciting debate citing scriptures. Emperor Jin had no choice but to adjourn the court and discuss the matter further.
After several court discussions, Emperor Jin issued several imperial edicts on July 22, the seventh year of Emperor Jin's reign, which roughly meant:
Zhou Dejing, who was jointly recommended by the crown prince and the prime minister, was appointed as General Zhenwu and led 300,000 troops to the Muru River to join General Zhenbei Situ Sen in quelling the Shanrong rebellion.
Disaster relief is like putting out a fire. The Ministry of Revenue is ordered to speed up the preparation of disaster relief grain and funds and send them to northern Jiangsu for disaster relief today.
The strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, which was the responsibility of the emperor. Emperor Jin asked to cut his hair and blame himself, in order to seek forgiveness from the heaven. According to the date determined by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the crown prince obeyed the decree and offered sacrifices to the heaven on behalf of his father in the first month of August in the seventh year of Emperor Jin’s reign…
Among the various sacrificial ceremonies of the Great Qi, offering sacrifices to heaven is the most important one. It is usually held once a year on the day of the winter solstice, but sacrifices to heaven are also required in special circumstances, such as praying for rain during droughts. This time, there were unprecedented floods in the south and wars in the north, and the heavens showed signs of great misfortune. Under the strong recommendation of the ministers headed by the Prince, the Grand Tutor, and the Prime Minister, Emperor Jin solemnly opened the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. However, because Emperor Jin was in poor health, he was afraid that the foul air would blaspheme heaven and bring greater punishment from heaven. Therefore, he decreed that the current prince would offer sacrifices to heaven on his father's behalf.
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the ministers of the Ministry of Rites began to get busy, preparing livestock sacrifices, sacrificial utensils, sacrificial speeches, etc. The crown prince fasted for three days and on the first day of August in the seventh year of Emperor Jin's reign, he led all officials to offer sacrifices to heaven on behalf of his father in the Qifeng Hall.
The grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven was over, and all the officials finally breathed a sigh of relief, praying that the prosperity of Da Qi would improve with the end of the ceremony.
However, after the crown prince offered sacrifice to heaven, a series of major events occurred, causing panic among the people of Da Qi, as if the end of the world had come .
On the third day of the eighth month in the seventh year of Emperor Jin's reign, which was the third day after the crown prince offered sacrifices to heaven, a long star appeared in Da Qi, which is commonly known as a broom star, with its tail pointing straight to the south.
On the fifth day of the eighth month in the seventh year of Emperor Jin’s reign, news spread rapidly from the south, six hundred miles to Pingyang, that a rare plague had occurred in southern Yangzhou, with horrific symptoms. It was said that the disease could be transmitted by talking to each other, or by touching things held by the patient, or even by someone dying. Two people would carry the person out, but after only a few steps, half of them would fall down. Often an entire family would die in the house with no one to carry them. The infected people felt excruciating pain, and some were trembling all over, with bean-shaped pustules on their buttocks and thighs, and violently vomiting blood. They would die in just two or three days. In Huangqiao Village, where the plague occurred, there is currently no living person in the entire village, and the plague is spreading rapidly outward...
On the seventh day of the eighth month in the seventh year of Emperor Jin, an urgent military report arrived from the north, which said that the 50,000-strong army on the eastern front led by General Zhenbei's vanguard Zhang Jidong was ambushed by the Shanrong people on the south bank of the Mulu River and was completely wiped out. The fate of the two deputy generals and General Zhang was unknown...
As bad news came one after another, people inside and outside the court were in a panic. In Pingyang City, rumors were spreading that the prince had lost his morals, and that he had been punished by heaven for offering sacrifices to heaven on behalf of his father. This caused great panic among the people, and they took to the streets one after another, strongly demanding that the prince be deposed in order to appease the wrath of heaven...
Note: Yinghuo is what we call Mars in modern times.
