Chapter 455- Worshipping the Heavens
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
Nanjiang Governor-General Manor, Wuji Palace.
Under the help of his servant, Ouyang Shuo donned his coronation costume and crown. On the left side of his waist hung the Chixiao Sword, while the Qilin Golden Seal hung on his right.
After he wore everything, he walked out of the Wuji Palace, and exited through the gates.
At the main gate, a carriage specifically crafted for the Lord was already prepared. Five elite Qingfu Horses pulled the carriage, their fur entirely green.
The entire carriage was not locked up but open instead. On the top, there was an imperial canopy design. Ouyang Shuo boarded the carriage and walked toward the Temple of Heaven. Along the way, the Divine Martial Guards stood at attention.
Under the blue sky, the marble floored Temple of Heaven seemed endless and vast.
The Divine Martial Guards carefully guarded the Temple of Heaven. Sentries stood guard every three to five steps. This subgroup of the Divine Martial Guards only had two hundred people; they were the core strength that guarded Ouyang Shuo. They never headed out to war with the army.
They all had solemn bearings, as their fresh red divine martial capes floated in the wind.
On the Temple of Heaven square, in front of the Yellow Emperor Temple, all the important generals and civil servants apart from Baiqi had gathered. According to their ranks, they stood orderly on the sides of the square.
Elder Official Xiao He stood at the front of the group.
Beside him was the principal of the Army Military Academy, Sun Wu.
Closely behind them were the four directors, then Honglu Temple Zhang Yi, Shanhai Magistrate Zhang Wenzhong, and Lianzhou Governor Wei Ran. Lastly, there were the secretaries and the few prefects of Lianzhou Prefecture.
They had also invited the various deans and lecturers of Xinan University and Army Military Academy to the ceremony. Apart from that, they also invited two hundred odd student representatives from the two schools.
All of them wore a standardized uniform, and they all looked majestic.
On the left side of the square, naturally, it was the philosophers.
The ancestor of philosophy, Jiang Shang, was the deacon of the ceremony. As such, he stood at the front.
Closely behind him was Kong Zi, Lao Zi, Mozi, and Han Feizi. Further behind was Zhuang Zi, Meng Zi, Lu Buwei, Sheng Dao, Xun Zi, Huishi, Zhou Yan, and Su Qin, the representative figures of the nine school of thoughts.
Lastly, there stood the representatives of the other factions and school of thoughts.
Apart from that, they also extended an invitation to the scholars who decided to move into Shanhai City.
This was also the first time that all the philosophers had gathered together.
Such a scene would only occur once in a lifetime.
At the two sides of the Yellow Emperor Temple stood a hundred odd ritualists and music officials the Culture and Education Division trained. The ritualists were in charge of arranging the sacrificial ceremony items, while the music officials were in charge of all the tunes and music during the ceremony.
On the large square stood four hundred odd people, but it was not a tight fit at all.
Each group stood orderly and strictly arranged by rank.
Although the ceremony had not begun, the square was utterly silent and extremely dignified.
Undeniably, they needed to conduct this worship ceremony before the philosophers’ debate. Ouyang Shuo wanted to use this chance to display the power and ability of Shanhai City.
The carriage stopped at its designated area and Ouyang Shuo slowly disembarked.
Under the shine of the sun, Ouyang Shuo seemed larger than life, his presence domineering.
Secretary Bai Nanpu loudly proclaimed, “Shanhai City Lord, Nanjiang Governor-General, Lianzhou Lord arrives!"
The Nanjiang Governor-General post that the imperial court granted him was just a position. To Ouyang Shuo, the Lianzhou Lord title held the most value, and it was also one of his significant titles as a Lord.
"Greetings, Lord!"
Xiao He led the officials to greet and bow to him.
"Greetings, Lianzhou Lord!"
Jiang Shang led the philosophers; they similarly bowed, as they greeted.
In the entire square, only Ouyang Shuo still stood up straight.
Seeing such a scene was enough to make one's blood boil.
When he saw Kong Zi and the others bow to him, Ouyang Shuo felt an immense sense of pride.
During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the philosophers were really respectful to the Lords. Hence, in such a situation, Ouyang Shuo could accept their bows and greetings.
The taste of power truly made one feel drunk.
Even if the road forward had many thorns that he would have to face alone, Ouyang Shuo would have no regrets.
His mindset was slowly improving.
A truly mighty Lord was rising in the wilderness. The future Ouyang Shuo would act even colder; he would toss aside his burdens completely and use his own power to climb to the apex.
He had to complete his mission to become an overlord in this life.
Ouyang Shuo nodded, “Do away with the formalities."
"Thank you, Lord!"
"Thank you, Lianzhou Lord!"
Under the guidance of the ritualist, Ouyang Shuo sat right in front of the offering.
Observing this, Xiao He announced, “Please take your seats, the offering has begun!"
"Welcome, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor."
As his words finished, the music officials started playing the music and the drums.
The sound spread across the Temple of Heaven, past the city walls of the imperial city, and throughout Shanhai City.
The commoners in the city were praying at their own homes, similarly worshipping the Yellow Emperor. Instantly, the invisible power of incense gathered around the Yellow Emperor Statue.
Jiang Shang moved forward and raised his hands toward the sky, “Ancestor Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, please return!"
Xiao He sang, “Dianbi."
Following which, they followed a set of complicated rituals.
The entire ceremony was exceedingly strict and severe; they did not miss anything out.
Be it Kong Zi or Lao Zi, they were all knowledgeable about such ceremonies, so they could not afford to make a mistake.
After the three offerings, Xiao He sang, "Read the blessings."
Jiang Shang faced the altar of the Yellow Emperor and knelt, as he read the blessings.
"Gaia 2nd year, 8th month, 6th day, bright and aunt day. Shanhai City commoners, as well as philosophers, have gathered here at the Shanhai City Yellow Emperor Temple to worship our Ancestor, Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor. Our ancestor has performed many good deeds, building the palace and blessing our people. Teaching us agriculture and letting us live. Riding cows and horses, opening up roads and paths. Correcting our dressing and creating books and traditions. A Lord everyone worshipped; someone who united the nine states. Pushed for education and for everyone to practice the same religion. The core of Chinese culture; the pride of our people. The pinnacle of the Chinese, the dragon bloodline will continue. In the wilderness, the philosophers will rise. Worshipping the ancestor; please bless us with prosperity. The worship ceremony is complete!"
After the blessings were read, Xiao He sang, "Enjoy the wine and meat."
Yet another set of complicated rituals.
Lastly Xiao He sang, "Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor has left; the worship ceremony has been completed!"
Only then did they finish the entire ceremony.
The moment it ended, the Yellow Emperor Statue suddenly emitted a golden glow. The radiance directly shone past the temple and spread across the entire Shanhai City.
Seeing such a scene, be it the philosophers or the commoners, they all felt delighted beyond tears.
A sign of god!
"The ancestor has sent a sign!"
At the corner of his face, Ouyang Shuo let out a smile.
The Yellow Emperor showing his spirit was enough to prove that Ouyang Shuo’s city running standards were recognized. As a Lord, his morals were approved.
Only a city ran well could receive such an auspicious sign.
Especially Kong Zi, a smile covered his face.
Originally, Kong Zi thought that the Lianzhou Lord had exploited Wei Yang. As such, some of the people in the territory would complain and feel unhappy. Who would have guessed that such a scene would occur?
At the same time, a system notification sounded out by his ear.
"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi. Ancestor auspicious sign has descended onto Shanhai City, 2 point increase in people’s sentiment, instant 25% increase the quality of the people in the city. Congratulations!"
Don't think that 2 points were very little. One must know that Shanhai City had reached 92 in this category, so they were already near the max. Each point was exceptionally precious.
The matter was not over, following which, another system notification rang.
"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Yellow Emperor Temple has been worshipped by the philosophers. Stats have greatly increased."
Name: Yellow Emperor Temple
Type: Hidden Building
Function: 50% increase in resident satisfaction, 20% increase in reputation of territory.
Specialty: Ancestor Blessing (55% increase in body quality of residents). Cultural Prosperity (30% increase in resident culture).
Evaluation: the Yellow Emperor Temple has the name of "First Temple in The World" and is where the south Chinese people worshipped the ancestor of the Chinese race.
The worshipped Yellow Emperor Temple had a new specialty, and its other stats also rose.
Ouyang Shuo did not expect to receive such a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
Thinking about this point, Ouyang Shuo turned his eyes to the Confucius Temple and the Martial Temple beside the Yellow Emperor Temple. Not because of other reasons, but because Kong Zi and Jiang Shang were present.
Such a scene was also once in a lifetime.
Apart from Shanhai City, no other territory could have such an overpowered opportunity.
After worshipping the Yellow Emperor, the next step would be to move to Xinan University for the philosophers’ debate.
However, Ouyang Shuo hurriedly kept Kong Zi and Jiang Shang. He asked them to rewrite the horizontal inscriptions in the Confucius and Martial Temples respectively to act as a memory of such an occasion.
When the both of them heard his request, they did not reject it.
Of course, without the previous scene, Kong Zi probably would not have agreed. One must know that Kong Zi was an exceedingly humble person. He would not easily leave any personal writings.
When he obtained the precious writings, Ouyang Shuo felt delighted. He immediately asked Xu Shuda to follow it and rewrite the horizontal inscriptions.
Ouyang Shuo wanted to see what kind of changes would occur to the two temples.
Following which, Ouyang Shuo led everyone to Xinan University.
Seated scholars filled up the entirety of the philosophers’ platform.
Ouyang Shuo sat at the front of the hall; he was prepared to quietly listen.
On the platform, there were only three people, Jiang Shang, Kong Zi, and Han Feizi.
The debate of Confucius and Legalism had entered its second stage.
Oddly enough, be it Kong Zi or Han Feizi, neither looked desperate to win. Ouyang Shuo had a feeling that this debate might have a wholly different outcome.