Chapter 81: Peace from now on
February 23rd
He looked at the Jinshui River from afar, then slowly looked closer. He could only see the Seven Stars Terrace built outside the towering Yuqing Palace. When he heard Xu Chong mention the Seven Stars Terrace, he thought it was a very high altar, but he didn't expect it to be so low. Only seven or eight feet high, with a few steps in total. It looked like a temporary platform.
"Brother Xu, why is this Seven Star Terrace so low? The palaces and temples behind it are majestic and solemn."
"Hey, that palace was built during the time of the previous emperor, and it was expanded and repaired every few years. Over the years, it has become naturally majestic and tall. The Seven Star Terrace at the entrance was only built in the last two days by the East and West Eight Works Departments."
"It was only built in the last two days?"
"Isn't it because of you?"
"Because of me?"
"You destroyed the enemy's nest under Kaibao Temple. That's why this . Otherwise, I'm afraid that when the Nuo master returned to the capital, he would just hold a small sacrifice in the palace and leave it at that."
"Two days to build? That's not that fast, right?"
"Because it is next to the river, it is easiest to transport wood from the canal. The wood that originally entered the capital was traded at the waterside brokerage here, and there was ready-made wood piled on the shore. In fact, when the monks and Taoists were practicing in the morning, this stage was still being built. I saw it with my own eyes. In order not to disturb the rehearsal, the craftsmen first set up a large tent like a dome, and then built inside. I saw the wood being transported in, and the dome-like tent was torn down in the afternoon. The stage was already formed, and only the steps around it were built, and eight piles of firewood were piled on the four sides. It can be called a miracle."
"Giant dome tent? How big is it?"
"How big this one is, that tent is as big as that one."
"How did you get it up so quickly?"
"I saw that they only had seven or eight craftsmen. They brought a bundle of bamboo poles connected by ropes. They did not use the usual method of setting up military tents in the wild, where they would prop up the poles one by one. Instead, they laid down eight long poles in eight directions, and then eight people each held one pole and erected them together. The ropes connected on top were interlaced to form a contour. Then they covered the tent with tarpaulin curtains and put up a dome. It took only one or two hours to set up the tent. When it was time to dismantle it, they first removed the curtains, then laid down the long poles together and carried them away. It was done in just a moment."
"This big tent is quite ingenious." Shen Kuo suddenly became alert.
"Yes, when I was in the Western Army, the commander's tent was smaller in length and width, and shorter in height. It took 17 or 18 skilled soldiers half a day to build it. If it was not built properly and it leaked when it rained, the soldier responsible would inevitably be beaten with a dozen sticks."
Shen Kuo was a little dazed. He felt something was wrong. This suspicious point flashed by and he was about to grasp it.
"Why are you in a daze? What are you thinking about?" Xu Chong noticed that his expression was different.
"I was thinking that Yu Jing's predecessor, Yu Hao, once worked as a supervisor at the Military Equipment Bureau. He also designed bows and crossbows and military tents."
"Are you thinking that the giant tent, which can be easily disassembled and assembled, was actually Yu Hao's ingenuity back then?"
"It seems that there is something like this in the book Xiao Ping gave me."
He took out the "Wooden Scripture" from his bosom and quickly flipped through it in the moonlight. As expected, he found the paper tent called "Guan Xue An". According to the description in the book:
It is nine zhang long, eight zhang wide and one zhang seven inches high. It is made of light bamboo warp and weft that are interlaced to form a grid, and then covered with oil paper and a felt roof. It can be completed in no time with the work of three people. However, it is too light and weak to withstand strong winds and heavy rains, so it cannot be used as a military tent. It can only be used for a short rest during a long journey.
There was a diagram attached to the side. He hadn't seen the tent that blocked his view this afternoon, so he showed it to Xu Chong, whose face immediately changed.
"It's this thing. If it's Yu Hao's ingenuity, could it be... could it be... that Yu Jing also has this skill?"
"I think we just thought that it was so huge that it couldn't be seen in the daylight no matter whether it was placed horizontally or vertically, but if there was a dome covering it, it could be taken apart and reassembled without anyone noticing."
"You mean, the Seven Stars Terrace is..."
"Who will build this Seven Star Terrace?"
"Of course he is the eunuch of the East and West Eight Works Department."
"Yu Hao and Yu Jing both worked for the East and West Eight Works Divisions. Maybe there are accomplices or connections among them?"
Shen Kuo continued to speculate that Xu Chong had already stood up and looked into the distance. On both sides of the Jinshui River in the distance, the crowd was already thundering.
In the flowing river lanterns, the boat of the great Nuo master was approaching the shore. He had very good eyesight and could see the great Nuo master wearing colorful robes, holding a bell in his hand, standing at the bow of the boat.
"Oh no, the great Nuo master is about to go ashore." he said.
"How long will it take for the ritual to be completed?"
"I saw that during the morning rehearsal, we still had to wait for the Nuo master's bell to gradually guide the evil star back to its position, but it didn't take too long and was completed in a moment."
"Let's go, let's go quickly. I think Yu Jing is hiding in the crowd right now, so we can catch him right away."
Shen Kuo quickly climbed down the ladder on the side of the Watchtower, followed by Xu Chong. The two found horses outside the Dongyue Temple and ran along the city wall and moat. If there was still a moment, time would not be enough.
At the same time, on the bank of the Jinshui River.
The boat of the great Nuo master finally docked under the backdrop of colorful river lanterns, as if rowing across the Milky Way and finally reaching the other side.
Several soldiers on the shore quickly carried a gangplank up, put it on the bow, and then fled away. Everyone knew that the "direction officer" played by the great Nuo master was followed by countless evil spirits and seventy-two evil stars attracted by the bell. How unlucky would it be if they were touched?
The master Nuo was not in a hurry to go ashore. She just rang the bell at the bow and chanted something. She had to wait for her disciples on the boat behind to go ashore first. Then she started to dance Nuo at the bow to lead the way before they could get off the boat. This was a rule, a style, and a ritual. Without a sense of ritual, miracles could not be manifested.
This dance, which is used to drive away ghosts and evil spirits and invite gods to possess the body, is said to be traceable back to the ancestors of the Chinese nation. It is said that the Yu steps in the dance are the steps that Dayu took when he invited the gods to possess him.
Far away, on the Seven Stars Terrace, the immortal-looking Master Zhang was sitting in meditation and waiting. At the eight positions beside the Seven Stars Terrace, there was a Dharma protector standing in each position. Taoist Li Cheng'an was among them. He was not as well-mannered as Master Zhang, and there was already an indignant look on his face.
In fact, magic in the world has its own inheritance. There are also some differences and grudges between different sects. This is the case with the Taoist sect, and outside the sect, there is no communication. However, how can people be convinced that they suddenly want to join forces with this Nuo master to catch ghosts?
There is no precedent for this burying evil spirits and suppressing evil spirits. Many rituals and processes are improvised and arranged, so they need to be rehearsed in advance to make it look serious. However, what Li Cheng'an didn't know was that this was the result of the political calculations in the court in the past few days. Only by creating a popular perception that the three religions are merging to protect the Song Dynasty can the power of the Maitreya prophecy be offset to the greatest extent. As long as today's ritual is publicized, the power of the prophecy nursery rhyme will gradually disappear. Of course, there is another prerequisite, that is, the prophecy can no longer be verified. Otherwise, everything will be in vain.
This is of course the focus of the attack and defense deduction in the court. For the sake of safety, it is of course not appropriate to play the last trump card in hand, because it is unknown whether Maitreya has any more cards. However, the emperor can't wait any longer. No one can truly experience the pleasure of the fire under the dragon throne like him. So after learning that the Maitreya's nest under the pagoda was destroyed, the emperor decided to hold this grand ceremony to win the hearts of the people in one fell swoop.
Seeing that the time was almost right, the great Nuo master rang the bell and slowly walked onto the gangplank. She wore a huge mask, and no one had ever seen what she looked like. Her mystery was also the cornerstone of the existence of this magic. Although the Nuo ritual can be traced back to the ancient "Fangxiangshi", it has never had a strong sense of existence. It is only because of the lack of theory that it is inevitably close to witchcraft and is classified as a dance of the gods. However, although this generation of Nuo masters is just a woman, she is well versed in the art of strengthening the sect. She has never shown her true face to anyone, and she has increased her mystery with the unknown, and then blessed her divinity with mystery. For a time, all the people pursued and believed in her. Now she has the same status as Buddhism and Taoism in protecting the country.
She walked slowly to the Seven Stars Terrace, ringing the bell. The onlookers all sighed and retreated, fearing that getting too close would bring bad luck. People are always afraid of things they cannot see, and are willing to believe that invisible things are the most vicious, the most decisive in determining the bottom line of life, and worthy of awe and worship.
All the onlookers stared with wide eyes, carefully looking behind the Nuo Master. Her disciples were dancing in the front row, and there was no one behind the master. But the eyes of the two sides were all on her back. Although they were afraid, they hoped to see something, wanting to see the invisible evil spirit and the seventy-two evil spirits. Someone noticed that the five-colored flags on the shore began to flutter slightly, as if something really passed by and moved the flags.
"Look, the flag is flying."
Someone shouted, and the rest cheered.
"The evil spirit has followed us, and the magic of Maitreya Sect has been broken." Someone else shouted in the crowd.
"If it is really broken, then all the seventy-two evil spirits will be drawn here. How can it not be broken?"
In order to prepare for this final battle to end the Maitreya religion, the imperial court also took great pains. In addition to not closing the city gates to allow the people to go out of the city to watch, thousands of soldiers were sent to maintain order on the scene, and the national treasury was spent to let the East and West Eight Works Offices rush to build a Seven Star Tower within one day and one night. Through communication between the court and the public, the Buddhist and Taoist sects were allowed to participate in this national defense ritual. Another thing was to send secret agents from Kaifeng Prefecture into the crowd, and when they saw the time was right, they began to shout and lead the rhythm. Create an atmosphere of peace returning to the world.
The crowd really followed the rhythm and began to cheer and admire as if they had seen it with their own eyes.
The chief Nuo master walked up to the Seven Stars Platform, and the guardians from all directions lit bonfires. This process is called sealing the altar, which means that the seventy-two evil spirits are trapped around the platform and cannot escape.
Then the Nuo master and his disciples began to dance outside the altar, in the bonfire. The real person waved his sword on the stage and opened the lid of the seven-colored treasure box in the center of the stage. This step meant that the seventy-two evil spirits released by Maitreya into the world were driven into the treasure box. The onlookers cheered again. At this moment, no one thought much: Is the hat monster also among them?
When the flames on the bonfire outside suddenly reached their peak, the Immortal stabbed a piece of paper talisman in his hand on the sword, and it caught fire after a moment. Then he inserted the sword into the treasure box. Flames rose from the colorful treasure box. The Immortal closed the box. The seventy-two evil spirits that symbolized the harm to the country and the people had been put into the treasure box. He then sealed the gaps in the box with beeswax and pasted a few pieces of talisman paper. The ceremony was about to come to an end.
Shen Kuo and Xu Chong had already reached the crowd, and saw the entire ceremony of the Three Religions Protecting the Nation on the Seven Stars Terrace come to an end, and there was nothing unusual. They went into the crowd to look for suspicious people, but except for a few people who were noisy and loud, and who were obviously from Kaifeng Prefecture, they did not find anyone else with strange behavior. Xu Chong had already decided to believe Shen Kuo, so he knew that he had a great responsibility. He was one of the few people who had seen Yu Jing, although only from the back.
Shen Kuo followed Xu Chong and tried to squeeze through the crowd to get closer to the Seven Star Terrace. But he was blocked by the imperial guards in front. It was their duty not to let strangers get close. For the first time in his life, he tried to use the sign of the Imperial City Bureau to bluff the other party and let them do something convenient, but it was useless. The imperial guards pushed him back into the crowd without giving him any face. In fact, this sign was really useless except as a certificate for entering the palace.
He watched the low platform from the front row of the crowd, and could not see anything unusual. Xu Chong found a familiar brother who happened to be on duty, so he led Shen Kuo into the blockade. However, the ritual was going on on the platform, and the bonfires were burning too brightly, so he could not immediately check what was going on below.
The two could only walk around the Seven Stars Terrace from a distance. Around the Seven Stars Terrace, there were dozens of people performing the Nuo dance, and they were all wearing masks and could not be distinguished at all.
As time passed, Shen Kuo was not sure whether Yu Jing's final attack was here. It was not a good idea to continue wasting time here. In fact, he was not sure whether there were any people from the Maitreya sect among those who performed the Nuo dance.
He turned around and saw many officers and soldiers watching on the city wall not far to the east, and they were amazed. The huge crossbow on the arrow tower was particularly eye-catching.
He grabbed Xu Chong and shouted over the noise: "Xu Jieji, I don't know Yu Jing. It's useless to stay here. Why don't we split up? I'll go to the tower, and you continue to search for Yu Jing's remnants here."
"What are you doing on the tower?"
"Just consider it as a worst-case scenario."
"Worst-case scenario?"
"Yes, perhaps that thing can be useful."
Shen Kuo had no time to explain, he just raised his hand and pointed at the crossbow on the tower, then quickly squeezed through the soldiers and the crowd and headed for Guzi Gate (the west gate), leaving Xu Chong, who had no idea what he was saying, standing there.
The bonfire gradually died down beside the Seven Star Terrace. The old Taoist put away his sword and walked towards the Jade Purity Zhaoying Palace. Behind him, his young disciple followed closely with the treasure box in his hands. According to the script of the ritual , the seventy-two earthly demons in the treasure box were sealed there together with the thirty-six heavenly demons that had been subdued that year. From then on, the Song Dynasty would be peaceful and prosperous. The great Nuo master stopped ringing the bell and returned to the boat with her disciples. In other words, the Nuo master and the real person completed their respective missions and returned to their own places, just like they had completed the handover.
From this moment on, the crowd's attention began to shift. Some continued to focus on the mysterious great Nuo master, while others focused on the real person and the treasure box entering the main hall. Although the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace was a royal palace with a main hall open to the outside world, ordinary people could not see the process of uncovering the mysterious stone slab under the Heavenly Book and how the seventy-two evil spirits were suppressed under the intimidation of the Heavenly Book. However, people could not help but guess the general situation through their imagination.
