Zhu Di's face was pale, and his chest rose and fell violently.

Every word and every sentence that Mei Yin said just now was like thousands of steel needles piercing his heart, and the pain was unbearable.

I was so kind and forgiving to Mei Yin and Jing Qing, why did I only get betrayal in exchange?

Zhu Di's fists clenched, his bones clicked, and an urge to kill filled his mind.

He didn't want this kind of thing to happen again, and he would never allow anyone to disobey him!

"Spread my will, Mei Yin's crime is clear, and he will be beheaded on a certain day!"

"In addition, send additional soldiers to strictly guard the altar in the eastern suburbs to prevent thieves from making trouble!"

——————

It's noon.

A team of men and horses who set off from the Wei Mansion drove out of the city gate and went straight to the eastern suburbs.

At this moment, the eastern suburbs of the altar around the area of more than ten miles, to use exaggerated rhetorical techniques, the place where you can put your feet down, is full of people, all of them are looking forward to it.

There were men and women among them, some of them were old men in their fifties and sixties; There are also young men in their twenties and thirties; There are even children as young as seven or eight years old......

And this group of people, except for a very small number of officials sent by the imperial court to observe the ceremony and sacrifice, are the people who rushed from all directions in the entire Nanzhili.

Most of these people in Nanzhili don't know the statue of the fertilizer immortal, or if they recognize it, they can't correspond to the national teacher they haven't seen.

Some of them have not heard the edict of the imperial court, and they do not know that the chemical fertilizers that have begun to be promoted are made by the national teachers.

They only know that today's rain prayer ceremony is a manifestation of whether God has a spirit in heaven.

It is also related to the legitimacy of the new emperor in the heavens.

When God rains, the new emperor is recognized by God, and on the contrary, the new emperor who kills the king and usurps the throne does not quite approve of it.

In the past 20 days, the news has spread 100 times, so they have gathered near the altar in the eastern suburbs today, ready to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.

There are also many nimble hawkers, who prepare bits and pieces of trinkets and food, and sell them on the move, earning a lot of money.

"What is this?"

Soon, in the open space of the large altar, which was to be raised a certain distance above the ground, the hot air balloons that had been hidden by the black cloth and had been transported here in advance revealed their true faces, and there were six hot air balloons, separated by a certain distance, lined up.

The silk cloth of the hot air balloon, spread out to be small ten zhang, extremely wide, coupled with the height of the large altar, these things that look huge, like the giant beast in the Classic of Mountains and Seas crawling on its body, towering in front of the crowd, making everyone curious.

"Is this the magic weapon that the legendary Chinese master used to pray for rain?"

"It's really amazing enough, isn't it a pinch, this magic weapon can fly into the sky?"

Mo Liangqi and others from the Military War Bureau were nervously carrying out the final checks, including the firmness of the balloon gaps, the placement of the hanging basket, and whether the heating device and fuel were operating properly.

Watching the heating device of the hot air balloon begin to ignite and preheat, the balloon began to swell, and the people around him talked about it.

Some of them were anxious, and they couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to come forward and touch it.

But because the soldiers had already lined up in formation, the people were forbidden to approach, and they were stopped by the soldiers in front of them after hundreds of paces.

"Don't touch it!"

"If you mess around, I'll arrest you."

The soldiers scolded.

Hearing this, the anxious man had to retreat, but he still stretched his neck and stood on tiptoe, wanting to take a closer look.

Near the main altar, in the circle centered on the altar, there are soldiers responsible for maintaining order in any direction, and the position around the hot air balloon is enclosed with a human wall, so as to prevent people who have a heart from really squeezing their heads to come in, interfering with the normal rise of the hot air balloon.

Of course, the human wall is also limited to the outer area.

Deeper, there are several layers of thick earth and wood barriers to prevent anyone from breaking through the outer human walls.

And on the inside of these layers of civil fortifications, there are also elite soldiers of the loyal and righteous guards, holding swords and shields, guarding solemnly.

After all, the people who participated in praying for rain this time were all important ministers of the imperial court, temples and even the governor's office of the five armies, and their identities were noble, if something went wrong, who could afford it?

The people of the Wei Mansion walked through the crowd, and there were already reserved sightseeing places for them, and outside the team of the Wei State Mansion, there were other people in the noble mansion who couldn't help but ask.

"You say that this national teacher is not reliable? Is this a ritual vessel used to pray for rain? ”

Xu Jingchang rode a high-headed horse, showing off intentionally or unintentionally: "I don't know if it's reliable or not, anyway, I saw this thing fall a while ago." ”

"What?"

Everyone exclaimed, and then questioned: "There is no news of this kind of thing in advance, how do you know?" ”

Xu Jingchang sneered: "Don't worry about these guys, anyway, I saw it with my own eyes, will I still lie to you?" ”

Everyone was stunned.

Although Xu Jingchang's family background is prominent, his own small circle has also been quite famous recently, and it is not a good reputation anyway.

However, whether it is Cheng Guogong or the prince, it is indeed possible to reveal the rumors.

If it was really what those two said, how could such a character be able to talk nonsense?

Suddenly, many people's hearts changed.

Since I have fallen before, it is difficult to guarantee that I will not fall today, and I don't know if I can succeed in praying for rain today?

Of course, what they care about is not the rain itself, but the bet of the national teacher who prays for rain with high odds in all major public and private gambling games.

If this thing is not good, then the probability of success in praying for rain will naturally be lower than expected, which means that many people will make or lose money.

Xu Jingchang saw the change in their expressions, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Jingchang, did you really see one fall?"

At this moment, Xu Miaojin suddenly bit her lip and asked.

Xu Jingchang was stunned and replied, "Sister-in-law, this is what we saw with our own eyes. ”

Xu Miaojin looked at the six hot air balloons on the altar in the eastern suburbs, and couldn't help but be vaguely worried, and his fingers were twisted and silky for a long time without speaking.

On the altar in the eastern suburbs, Li Zhigang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, who was dressed in neat sacrificial clothes, personally appeared to read out the sacrificial text.

"The congenital and the sky is not violated, the day after tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it is a dedication to the spring, the east wind thaws, the soil paste veins are scattered, the grass and trees are happy, and the sky does not rain for a long time, why is Yuan Yuan innocent?

Who can teach agriculture and save the hungry? Isn't it too good to be a fool of one, Shi Qinghui? How can you bury your bones, no musk deer and no eggs, and you can't even do it, how can you name the mountains and rivers, and you can't repair the sacrifices?

If you order the order, you will only increase your fear. The proclamation is far and wide, so that this meaning is known. ”

"National teacher?"

Song Li, the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites, held the tray containing the sacrificial texts and looked at Jiang Xinghuo.

It stands to reason that there should be a series of complicated rituals to follow at this time.

Jiang Xinghuo waved his hand slightly, and he looked down at his feet.

Just where he was standing, Zhu Yuanzhang once wore plain clothes and stepped on grass shoes, and sat on an artemisia mat for three days and three nights, trying to move the heavens and rain down.

In the end, I just froze myself and caught a cold.

"There's no need for the rest of the story, just finish reading the sacrifice today."

Jiang Xinghuo raised his head and looked around at the crowd of people.

Needless to guess, most of the people here came to see his jokes.

"Huo Fei, are you ready?"

Six test pilots who volunteered to sign up with bottles of silver iodide powder tightly tied to their wrists.

Behind them, is a primitive parachute worn directly on the body, like a large umbrella skirt, the material is the same as the hot air balloon, currently in a restrained state, only need to untie the shackling belt, the umbrella skirt will bulge along the air, giving them the deceleration effect of a parachute.

Around the Great Altar in the eastern suburbs, not only the Great Heavenly Realm Temple and other places, but also all places have troops, even the Xiaoling Guard of Zhongshan, they have all received orders, if there are people who fall from the sky, they must rush to the rescue.

In fact, Jiang Xinghuo is the least afraid of death, but at this moment, he can't help himself to be willful, and he personally goes up to be the first person to fly to the sky.

Senior Brother Huikong, who is full of tendon meat, was entrusted by Yao Guangxiao and was watching Jiang Xinghuo from behind.

And Yao Guangxiao and Zhu Di did not attend the rain prayer ceremony at the Great Altar in the eastern suburbs, but watched from the Great Heavenly Boundary Temple on Fengshan Mountain not far from the south.

The six test pilots led by Huo Fei have signed a life and death contract, and if there is an accident, the compensation given is enough for their families to enjoy food and clothing for three generations.

At the thought that they would soon become the first people in history to fly into the sky, these test pilots, in addition to instinctive fear, were extremely excited, adrenaline soared, and some even had their fingers trembling.

"National teacher, we're ready!"

Everyone shouted in unison, fighting spirits.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at these test pilots whose courage was enough to shine in the annals of history, and finally said.

"May you all return safely."

Six people, neatly lined up.

For their hot hearts, a biting cold wind blew and instantly filled everyone's noses and mouths, making people shiver uncontrollably.

But even so, no one flinched.

Their eyes are full of firmness and conviction, full of longing and yearning for the unknown, and hope for victory.

Huo Fei took a deep breath, stepped on the cold ground with both feet, took a step with his right foot, and stepped over the edge of the hanging basket, the whole person was as relaxed as a feather fluttering.

He looked back and said to the five people beside him, "Let's start!" ”

"Hmm!"

The five nodded.

Huo Fei took another deep breath and completely ignited the preheated heating device, and the whale oil was bubbling with oil, and the heat wave rolled out.

With an order, six hot air balloons slowly rose into the air.

The hot air balloon rises higher and higher, higher and higher...... Gradually off the ground.

About a dozen feet or so from the ground, everyone already needed to look up, but at this moment, visible to the naked eye, their speed invariably slowed down and paused for a moment.

"Oh my God! Someone is inside! ”

"What's going on?"

"It can't be that the magic weapon is broken, right?"

The people talked a lot, and their faces became solemn.

At this moment, a cold wind suddenly blew over.

"The wind is blowing!" Suddenly, someone exclaimed.

Immediately after that, a violent wind rose and the person who blew could not open his eyes.

In the crowd of onlookers, someone asked, "What's going on?" Could it be that God has appeared and rained in advance? ”

"Either it rained, or suddenly there was a strong wind, and the clouds began to be blown up."

Someone covered his eyes with one hand and squinted to see the situation clearly, and then pointed to the sky above his head with the other hand and said.

(End of chapter)