The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

The site of the altar for worshipping Heaven was set up in the southern suburbs of Xianyang.

From Xianyang to the southern suburbs, along the way, many Xianyang citizens lined both sides of the road, paying homage and offering their congratulations.

Along the way, the sounds of sheng, xiao, drums and music never ceased, and shouts of "May the mountains live ten thousand years!" never stopped.

When they arrived at the altar, heads rolled around.

The physician ordered the soldiers to immediately step forward and clear a path for the First Emperor's entourage.

Right ahead,

There was a sacrificial platform, on which a huge bronze incense burner was placed.

The carriage stopped, and the imperial guards, holding spears, halberds, and banners, went first to ascend the altar and stood on both sides of the stone steps.

The civil and military officials dismounted from their respective carriages.

They gathered below the altar for the worship of Heaven, forming two rows, each holding a jade tablet representing their position, and stood silently.

Not long after, the First Emperor, leaning on his sword and with his imperial crown swaying, stepped down from the enormous royal carriage behind him.

"Bang!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The first sound was the thunderous beating of drums, their heavy sound echoing across the heavens and earth, reverberating within our chests.

At this moment, tens of thousands of imperial guards had surrounded the altar.

Beneath this high altar for sacrificial rites, stood countless figures in black armor, their halberds adorned with fluttering colorful flags.

Finally, accompanied by the sound of a sword striking a shield,

The musicians began to strike the bells and drums, and the grand, elegant music resounded throughout the heavens and earth, plunging everyone into a solemn and solemn atmosphere.

Then, people dressed in sacrificial robes danced an ancient dance around the sacrificial platform.

As the chief priest, the First Emperor

Holding his sword, he led the crowd behind him to the altar.

After looking up, the First Emperor led his ministers up the long steps, preparing to ascend the altar.

Everyone looked solemn as they climbed the steps.

As he walked, the beads hanging from the First Emperor's crown became heavy and swayed!

In a grand and solemn voice

The First Emperor led his followers and finally reached the top of the altar.

At that moment, the music stopped abruptly, and everyone looked up at the platform.

The most important matters of state are sacrifice and war.

The Fengchang, who is in charge of ancestral temple rituals, is responsible for the sacrifice to Heaven. He is currently in charge of all matters below the altar to prevent any omissions.

Therefore, his subordinate official, Taizhu, was in charge of the sacrificial rites on the platform.

Above the altar platform, there were many steps. The Grand Master of Ceremonies guided the First Emperor to stand on the first step, while the officials stood on the second step.

In front of them was a huge furnace.

Beneath the furnace was a huge offering table, laden with sacrificial offerings.

The main offering was a large sacrificial animal, supplemented by jade and silk.

"Welcome the gods!"

The chief priest, dressed in a simple and heavy sacrificial robe, stood before the offering table and announced loudly.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The drummer struck the large drum, and the armored soldiers struck their shields with their swords.

The musicians played the solemn "Black Bird" melody, and hundreds of shamans circled the altar, performing an ancient dance.

"The divine bird descended and gave birth to the Shang dynasty, settling in the vast lands of Yin. The ancient emperor commanded Wu Tang to govern the four directions!"

"After the mandate was bestowed upon them, they possessed all under heaven; the Shang dynasty, both before and after, received the mandate without fail!"

The melody is ancient and simple; this is a poem from the Shang Odes titled "The Black Bird," which describes the origin of the Shang Dynasty, namely, that Heaven sent a black bird to descend.

Jian Di, the daughter of the You Song clan, swallowed the egg of a black bird and gave birth to Qi, the ancestor of the Shang dynasty.

In terms of bloodline, Qin considered itself the successor to the Yin-Shang dynasty.

Both the Zi and Ying surnames have legends of their ancestors being born from a divinely ordained black bird.

Fei Lian and E Lai, the distant ancestors of the Qin state,

Having served as a loyal follower of the Shang emperors for a long time, and even being enfeoffed as a vassal, he was truly aiding and abetting the tyranny of the Shang.

Until King Wu of Zhou attacked and destroyed the Shang dynasty.

They had just fallen on hard times and were driven to the western frontier to raise horses.

By the way, besides eliminating E'lai, Fei Lian also had another son, Ji Sheng, who later became the Zhao family.

The descendants of Elai were credited with raising horses, and their descendants became the Qin dynasty.

Not long after the ceremonial music began, the chief priest stood before the offering table again and solemnly spoke.

"Scorch!"

As soon as the voice faded, a shaman stepped forward.

Firewood was piled up in the furnace, and a small amount of jade and silk, along with some sacrificial animals, were placed inside to be burned.

White smoke swirled around, as if it were reaching straight to the heavens.

This is a notification, or an invitation, to send fireworks to the heavens, thus respectfully inviting the gods to descend.

"Hey!"

Amidst the grand and ancient ceremonial music, a long cry descended from the heavens, resounding throughout the world.

The sound wasn't loud, but it drowned out all the drumming.

"Splash!"

The Qin soldiers surrounding the altar knelt on one knee.

Following closely behind were all the musicians and drummers, as well as the dancing shamans, and then the common people who came to watch the ceremony.

The people in the mountains all bowed down.

Only the First Emperor remained, standing high on the altar, as if looking down upon the entire world.

Another long whistle rang out, and everyone lowered their heads.

From the heavens above, a divine bird, though pitch black, shimmered with iridescent light.

Surrounded by white smoke that reached straight to the heavens,

The divine bird spread its wings, which were like clouds hanging from the sky, and landed on the furnace.

"The gods have ascended to the throne; please, High Priest, offer the sacrifice!"

The First Emperor stepped forward, his sword in hand, his imperial crown swaying, and stood before the offering table with an indifferent expression.

The sacrificial offerings, such as the "Tai Lao" (a type of sacrificial animal), were divided and then offered

Then, wine, grains, exquisite jade artifacts, and silk were offered in turn.

This is dedicated to Genya, and also to the gods.

They then offered the items one by one into the bronze furnace, and then burned the offerings inside. This was a ritual of burning offerings, symbolizing communication with heaven.

This is offered to Heaven, and to the Supreme God.

Xuan Ye stood atop the furnace, his eyes fixed on the various offerings placed before him.

This jade must be very valuable, right?

After the sacrifices to Xuan Ye and Huang Tian Shangdi were completed,

The First Emperor then walked to the other side, where there was a smaller offering table with a memorial tablet on it.

The ritual of offering sacrifices to Heaven is not just about offering sacrifices to Heaven; it also involves offering sacrifices to other deities!

While worshipping the gods of heaven, sacrifices were also offered to the ancestors of the Qin state who were worshipped alongside them, thus combining reverence for heaven with ancestral worship.

The First Emperor then placed the sacrificial offerings in front of the memorial tablets in turn.

"The gods accept the offering and recite the prayer!"

After the Grand Master finished his pronouncement, he took out a beautiful piece of cloth from his bosom, which was covered with prayers.

"In the thirty-fifth year, I respectfully led my ministers in offering sacrifices to the Supreme God of Heaven at the southern suburbs to thank Heaven for its blessings."

"When the emperor ascends the throne, he establishes laws and regulations, and his ministers are required to follow them."

"For thirty-five years, I have unified the world, and all have submitted to me. The common people have no worries, and the whole world is subdued."

"We revere the virtue of Heaven, and the heavens send down a black bird to praise its merits and virtues, so that they may last for ten thousand generations, and to follow the teachings of Heaven, so that we may uphold its solemn precepts."

"Qin inherits the virtue of water, responds to the will of Heaven, and with the Emperor above, blesses our great Qin, may the nation's destiny last forever, and may the world be at peace."

"We respectfully offer this grand sacrifice, along with jade and silk, and hope you will accept it."

After the Grand Sacrificer finished reading the prayer, he respectfully presented it to the First Emperor, who then read it aloud to Heaven.

What he just read was to be read to the ministers and the whole country.

The reason the First Emperor was to read it aloud was that only the chief officiant could communicate with Heaven and read it to it.

The First Emperor took the prayer text and glanced at it.

He unfolded the prayer text, paused for a moment, then rolled it up again and didn't look at it once more.

"May Heaven and Earth bless our Great Qin!"

As the sound rang out, the prayer document was also thrown into the bronze furnace by the First Emperor and burned to ashes.