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Chapter 207 News from the South

The suburban sacrifice at the Circular Mound Altar was a major event involving royal dignity and national prestige. Its rituals were as complex as the stars and the sea, and the attendants accompanying the emperor could not be careless in the slightest.

The details regarding the sacrificial rites and procedures, the composition and number of people and horses in each part of the procession, the route along the way, and the maintenance and preparation of all kinds of ceremonial weapons... are numerous and complex, truly a headache.

During the suburban sacrifice last year, Emperor Shizong Chai Rong issued an edict to inspect the imperial guards in order to see the results of their reorganization.

At the time, Li Yi was only responsible for coordinating the troops participating in the parade, and even that kept him extremely busy.

Not to mention that this year he was also appointed as the "Acting Judge of the Imperial Ritual," and the entire organization and arrangement of the sacrificial ceremony required his assistance to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Li Yi couldn't help but think to himself: The emperor really thinks highly of me. I just stepped down as "Acting Inspector of the Palace Guards" and he's already given another position as "Acting Judge of the Imperial Procession".

Isn't this a classic case of "using a good person as long as they're useful, and using them to the extreme as long as they don't die"?

Li Yi would rather go to the battlefield and risk his life than take on this kind of thing... If he does it well, it's his duty, but if he makes a mistake, he will inevitably be scolded.

But since the task had fallen to him, he had no choice but to do it, no matter how unwilling he was.

Li Yi sighed heavily and spread out the long list compiled by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. After flipping through just a few pages, he felt an urge to curse. What the hell do they have to show me all these trivial matters?
What are you people from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices doing? Do you think I know more about these things than you do?

But upon further reflection, Li Yi understood the key point: the setback in the campaign against the Southern Tang had put the emperor in a bad mood.

The emperor held this suburban sacrifice not only to pray to Heaven and Earth, but also to demonstrate his determination to launch a southern expedition.

In this situation, everyone was on tenterhooks and cautious in their words and actions, for fear that they might offend the wrath of Heaven if they were not careful.

The officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were no exception, and they inevitably hesitated and considered all aspects when handling matters.

As it happened, Li Yi, who was the emperor's brother-in-law, was dispatched to assist with the suburban sacrifice.

Giving him all the articles of association to review might be a way to get him to share the burden, while also giving him more room to maneuver.

Li Yi made this guess because he knew very well that in matters of etiquette and ceremony, he was a complete novice compared to the masters of rites and doctors of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Do you really expect Li Yi to help you find and fill in the gaps?

Of course, what the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were thinking was actually irrelevant to Li Yi.

In any case, he was just assisting the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in carrying out his duties. As a military officer, he didn't know anything about the rituals and music of the suburban temples. He was only responsible for the carriages, guards, and ceremonial equipment. This was also within the scope of his duties as "acting judge of the imperial procession".

As for the various arrangements regarding sacrificial rites and rituals... show them to me and I'll look at them, but as an outsider, I can't instruct you experts. If anything displeases the emperor, don't expect me to take the blame.

Just as Li Yi was reviewing the records, a clerk came to the door and reported: "Commander Li, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has sent someone to deliver the newly designed Kui dragon patterns on the jade carriage and the ceremonial flags."

Li Yi rubbed his temples and said, "Bring it in..."

……

In the following days, preparations for the suburban sacrifice at the Circular Mound Altar proceeded steadily and methodically.

Military orders and documents circulated between the gates of Bianjing and the garrison areas surrounding the capital, mobilizing troops and urging the delivery of ceremonial equipment.

Li Yi shuttled between the imperial city government offices and military camps every day, temporarily putting aside all other matters to devote himself to the suburban sacrifice.

With only six days to spare and arrangements made at a breakneck pace, Li Yi simply stayed at the government office and didn't go home for several days.

Fortunately, since the founding of the Later Zhou Dynasty, several suburban sacrifices have been held, and there are precedents to follow in terms of specific procedures.

Li Yi focused on the personnel, entourage, vehicles, and equipment.

This suburban sacrifice followed the Tang dynasty system and adopted a grand procession, requiring 8,000 cavalrymen and 4,000 infantrymen, for a total of 12,000 people.

These were further divided into guards, cavalry escorts, guards, and armed ceremonial guards.

The main carriage was the Jade Chariot, which was equipped with four other chariots: the Gold Chariot, the Elephant Chariot, the Leather Chariot, and the Wooden Chariot.

The objects included ceremonial items such as banners, pennants, scepters, and axes; flags such as the Taichang flag and the Azure Dragon and White Tiger flag; and ceremonial weapons such as the Ban sword and the ceremonial knife.

In addition, there are details about the imperial guards' encampment, the ceremonial guard's deployment area, the place where officials stood in solemn silence, and the crucial imperial road route for the emperor's procession.

Although these tasks weren't entirely Li Yi's responsibility, he still had to coordinate them, and the sheer number of things to handle was truly exhausting. Even fighting a tough battle hadn't made him feel this tired.

...And so, time slipped away quietly amidst the hectic activity.

It's already the end of the twelfth lunar month, and there's only one day and one night left until the grand ceremony of the suburban sacrifice at the Circular Mound Altar. All aspects have been stretched to the limit.

Inside the duty room of the Palace Guard Office, Li Yi sat upright at the table, carefully reviewing the imperial procession map once again, and confirming that there were no oversights.

He leaned back slightly on the brocade cushion, gently exhaling a long breath, his tense nerves finally relaxing a little.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door of the official residence, and Zhao Pu's voice came through: "Marshal..."

"Come in." Li Yi leaned forward and straightened his posture.

Zhao Pu entered in response to the call, his face showing signs of fatigue, with slight bulges and bluish discoloration under his eyes, making him look as if he had been punched.

In fact, after Li Yi was appointed "Acting Judge of the Imperial Procession", Zhao Pu, Chu Zhaofu, and Wang Renzhan were called to help.

As Li Yi's advisor, it is only natural for him to share the burdens of his commander and take care of things.

Li Yi intended to train Zhao Pu and the others, and also to help them share the burden. So he entrusted them with coordinating and handling all the less important but trivial matters.

This kept the three of them extremely busy, even taking up most of their sleep time, which is why Zhao Pu looks so exhausted now.

Zhao Pu strode to the table, cupped his hands in greeting, his movements still meticulous, but his forced spirit could not conceal the deep weariness between his brows.

Li Yi's gaze fell on his face, but he didn't say anything. He just gestured for him to speak.

Zhao Pu said, "General, I just went to the Privy Council to deliver the roster of the imperial guards and learned that two urgent reports were sent from the south today. Out of curiosity, I chatted with the people at the Privy Council for a few minutes. They said it was military intelligence that had been delivered. But the clerks didn't know the specific contents either."

As he spoke, he paused slightly and lowered his voice, "After hearing the report, Wei Shushi and several ministers and close officials were summoned to the Emperor's bedchamber by the eunuchs... I felt that it might be a very important matter, so I came here immediately to report to the Commander."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi frowned slightly and remained silent for a moment.

In recent days, he has been busy with the suburban sacrifice and has not paid much attention to outside information. Moreover, as a military general, he does not need to concern himself with official documents and reports from various places.

But at this critical juncture, a report suddenly arrived from the south, and there were two reports at once... It was very likely related to the Southern Tang.

Li Yi thought to himself: Could it be that Li Chongjin has run into some trouble? Or has the Southern Tang Dynasty launched a counterattack?

He pondered for a moment, then looked up and saw Zhao Pu still standing respectfully in the same spot.

“Ze Ping is very thoughtful,” Li Yi finally spoke. Ever since he took Zhao Pu as his advisor, Li Yi had often addressed him by his courtesy name to show his closeness to him.

Zhao Pu hurriedly replied, "It is my duty to gather intelligence for the commander."

Li Yi nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Pu's face, which was trying to appear energetic, and said, "The matters concerning the suburban sacrifice have been settled. You have been working hard these past few days, so go back and rest for now and recharge your energy."

"Thank you for your consideration, General. I will obey your command!" Zhao Pu bowed deeply. "General, please take care of your health and do not overwork yourself."

After saying that, he turned and left the duty room, gently closing the door behind him.

Li Yi watched Zhao Pu leave. The moment the door closed, he was left alone in the duty room. The candlelight on the desk crackled and popped, casting his figure against the wall, swaying uncertainly.

Li Yi slowly stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack. The biting cold air of the twelfth lunar month rushed in.

He took a deep breath of the icy, bone-chilling air, letting the cold seep into his limbs. Strangely enough, the fatigue of the past few days seemed to be somewhat alleviated by the cold.

However, as the sun climbed higher and higher, Li Yi's thoughts turned back to Zhao Pu's words.

He couldn't help but wonder: what exactly was the report from the south about?

With this question in mind, Li Yi continued with his work while waiting for new information.

It wasn't until the sun was setting that he finally learned what had happened in the south.

(End of this chapter)