Chapter 578
Chapter 578
Before the next day's morning court session could even convene, memorials from the civil and military officials once again flooded the royal palace like a blizzard. It was the result of everyone voicing their opinions. Prime Minister Zhu Hongzhu did not submit a memorial, but Zhu Rong did, which meant the Zhu Clan had expressed its opinion on the matter. The sheer volume of memorials was enough to bury King Ning Yuanxian.
‘Your Majesty, you are the sovereign; you cannot act so willfully. The fate of our nation rests on this Grand Ceremony of Worship to Heaven. If any unexpected mistake occurs, how great a blow will it be to the morale of the grand army? If an ill omen appears before a war that could tilt the scales of the nation, who could possibly bear that responsibility?’
The general leading the soldiers for the southern expedition was the Marquis of Zhenbei, Nangong Ao. As the commander of the army, he did not submit a memorial, but he had a private audience with the king to subtly convey his thoughts.
“Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider. The fate of the nation hangs on this war, and tens of thousands of soldiers from the grand army will be watching the ceremony. During such a rite, even a trivial matter is treated as a major event, seen as a revelation from the heavens. If any mistake is made, the consequences will be unbearable.”
Ning Yuanxian said only one thing.
“Our mind is made up.”
Outwardly, he maintained an exceedingly firm stance, but inwardly, he was under immense pressure. Nearly every civil and military official opposed him, and memorials flooded in like a tidal wave. Ning Yuanxian had never seen anything like it. A matter where all the court officials, regardless of faction, shared the same opinion. Standing in opposition to all his ministers, even a king would frankly feel his heart tremble. He even felt a slight pang of regret.
‘How rash I was! It seems I am incapable of being a dispassionate monarch.’
He had been too excited about obtaining five million gold taels. Every time he felt triumphant, he would get carried away, and this time, he was also genuinely angry with the Crown Prince. But it was too late for regrets now. The boat was already built; it had to be launched.
‘Ning Zheng, you absolutely must not disappoint Us! If you ruin the ceremony, We, too, will be condemned by countless people. If the war effort turns against us later, everyone will lay the blame on you, and on Us. Shen Lang, We trust you. Just as you have performed miracles every time before, do so again!’
* * *
The Marquis of Zhangping's Estate.
The Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng, was trembling from head to toe. He had just received the royal edict to recite the ceremonial address at the Grand Ceremony of Worship to Heaven. It was, of course, a wonderful opportunity and a great honor, but he truly felt he couldn't do it. His chronic stutter had still not been corrected; wasn't his royal father being too hasty! There were only three days.
Shen Lang said to him.
“Your Highness, at the ceremony, you must not only avoid stuttering but speak with perfect fluency. Moreover, your presence must astonish everyone. You must recite the address so powerfully that the deaf can hear, so movingly that people feel a tremor deep in their souls.”
Ning Zheng's lips trembled.
“Sh-Sh-Shen Lang, I……. I, I, I really c-c-can't… do it.”
Hearing this, Madman Lan, Gao Duhuan, and Eunuch Lü Jun, who were standing nearby, nearly fainted. Until now, Prince Ning Zheng's stutter had improved significantly, but it had now regressed to a severe state. He was stuttering so badly he could barely form a coherent sentence. There were only three days, and he would be even more nervous at the ceremony; he could genuinely ruin the entire ritual.
“Your Highness Ning Zheng, do you trust me? You do trust me, don't you?! Three days is enough. I will ensure that you astonish everyone in the world at the Grand Ceremony of Worship to Heaven!”
* * *
In Chinese history, the Grand Ceremony of Worship to Heaven reached its zenith during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Under normal circumstances, the rite was held once every three years, and each ceremony was extremely complex, bound by numerous rules, and required meticulous preparation. Once, when the Qianlong Emperor was conducting the Heaven Worship Ceremony, he became enraged because the sacrificial foods were not properly prepared, the inscriptions on the ritual vessels were unclear, and even the cloths laid out were not neat. As a result, ministers including the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites were dismissed.
Can you imagine? Two ministers of the Six Ministries were dismissed simply for failing to prepare for the ceremony with sufficient care. Ning Yuanxian was certainly harsh with his officials, but in recent years, the highest-ranking official he had touched was merely at the vice-minister level. There is a saying that the great affairs of a state lie in sacrifices and warfare. Warfare refers to military matters, and placing sacrifices before warfare shows just how heavily their importance was weighed.
Of course, the Grand Ceremony of Worship to Heaven in the Great Yan Dynasty was not as stringent as those of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The king did not need to fast for five days before the ceremony, nor did preparations need to begin months in advance. However, this particular ceremony was considered unusually important because the State of Yue was about to wage a great war against the Qiang forces and the Four Barbarian Tribes. Therefore, the significance of this ritual could not be overstated.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites, at least, had been preparing for the ceremony for two months. The Crown Prince had invited over a dozen renowned scholars to painstakingly compose a *Ceremonial Address to Heaven*, which he had memorized flawlessly, even considering multiple times the precise intonation for each and every character. But in the end, the king issued an edict entrusting the recitation of the address to Ning Zheng. One can well imagine what a blow this was to the Crown Prince.
This was, in fact, the first time the king had dealt such a direct blow to the Crown Prince. Even when the Crown Prince had previously ordered Zhang Zhao to arrest Shen Lang upon his return from destroying Su Nan, the king had said nothing and endured it. The king believed that the Crown Prince was the foundation of the state and that his authority should not be easily shaken. This was because even the slightest change on the king’s part would be taken as a signal that he wished to replace the Crown Prince. After the news spread that Ning Zheng would be reciting the address, the Crown Prince's estate shut its gates tight, permitting no visitors. So, no one knew what the Crown Prince was doing inside his residence—whether he was killing people or smashing things.
* * *
Shen Lang's first task was to write an outstanding Ceremonial Address to Heaven. Writing a good ceremonial address is, in some ways, easy, but in other ways, difficult. It is easy in the sense that a ceremonial address is a quintessential official document, one that does not require much personal expression. One simply needs to write content praising Heaven, the gods of antiquity—the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors—as well as the mountains, rivers, and the people.
This particular ceremony was being held for the southern expedition—that is, to defeat the Four Barbarian Tribes and the Qiang forces. In that case, couldn't he emphasize and elaborate on the wrongdoings of the Qiang forces and the savage cruelty of the Four Barbarian Tribes in the address? But that was absolutely impossible. Not a single word in the address could mention the Qiang forces or the upcoming war. To do so would be to invite rebuke from the gods for being too direct. For instance, when bowing before a Buddha statue to make a wish, one can pray, “Please grant my family good health,” but one cannot pray, “Please let me win five million in the lottery,” right? Thus, the supreme and sole element of the ceremonial address was praise. It had to be recited in a manner that was magnificent and thrilling, as if the voice of an immortal were echoing forth.
The first address Shen Lang found was from the Ming dynasty, located in the 82nd volume of the *Collected Statutes of the Great Ming Dynasty*. Who compiled these *Collected Statutes*? It was first compiled by Li Dongyang, and later revised and recompiled by Shen Shixing. Li Dongyang had placed first in the second class of the palace examinations, making him the fourth-highest-ranking scholar in the entire country. As a Grand Secretary, he held the position of Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat and served as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. Shen Shixing achieved the highest score in the palace examination in the 41st year of the Jiajing era and likewise served as a Grand Secretary, Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. One can only imagine, then, how magnificent the *Statutes* compiled by these two men must be. The ceremonial address Shen Lang chose was this:
(The following several hundred characters are omitted. —Author's note)
This address is likely the finest masterpiece of the feudal dynasties. However, this world was the State of Yue, part of the Great Yan Dynasty. It was an era where Confucianism had not yet unified the world, so even a ceremonial address was not bound by a rigid framework of rules. It was acceptable to write with a more unrestrained and magnificent style. Shen Lang searched further. Finding nothing better among the addresses for worshiping heaven, he turned to the Fengshan inscriptions, which were written for the grand Fengshan sacrifices—rituals where ancient emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth during times of great peace or when auspicious omens appeared from the heavens. It was the posthumous work of Sima Xiangru, the greatest master of ornate prose from the Western Han Dynasty: the *Book of Fengshan*. The Fengshan and Heaven Worship ceremonies were indeed different, but they shared the same spirit of praise and magnificence, so the ornate prose of a Fengshan inscription could be adapted.
Throughout all of history, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could match Sima Xiangru's magnificent prose. Thus, after two hours, a magnificent and beautiful *Ceremonial Address to Heaven* was complete. Shen Lang then handed it to Madman Lan, Ning Zheng, and Eunuch Lü Jun to read.
‘Excellent, truly excellent. A magnificent piece of writing!’
Reading the address left one feeling refreshed; it was that beautiful. It was a piece with a grand style, filled with passion and vigor. With its majestic momentum and rich emotion, it was undoubtedly a masterful work. Compared to the existing ceremonial addresses of the State of Yue, this piece was on a higher level entirely; it could even be called the greatest Ceremonial Address to Heaven in the nation's history. It was far superior to the address the Crown Prince had commissioned.
Eunuch Lü Jun said.
“His Majesty had originally tasked the Ministry of Rites with preparing a ceremonial address as well. He told me to have Prince Ning Zheng memorize it when the time came, but now I see it won't be necessary. I can burn the one I have in my sleeve. However, Young Master Shen, when this address is revealed to the world, you will surely be cursed. The court has already written addresses for the ceremonies three years from now, but it will be very, very, very difficult for a piece to emerge that surpasses this one of yours!”
Just look at Eunuch Lü. Truly a master of words, as expected of a distinguished figure among the eunuchs.
The address was not long, only a thousand characters in total, so Ning Zheng was able to memorize it flawlessly within an hour. But simply memorizing it was not enough; he had to deeply consider the proper tone for each and every character. He had to think about which characters to say softly, which to say loudly, which to say shortly, and which to draw out. In a way, this could be considered a form of musical arrangement. This was because the Ceremonial Address to Heaven had to be recited with instrumental accompaniment. It had to be both grand and solemn, while also making the listener tremble with emotion.