C76

The Tanhan Shan's terrain was flat, with flat highlands and grasslands occupying a wide area on most of the mountains. Starting from the Palace, they would walk along the twenty to thirty feet wide mountain road to the mountain for about five to six miles. There, they would see an endless mountain plateau, where the Xianbei People's Heavenly Sacrificial Altar was constructed.

Suddenly, the sun rose high up in the sky. Nearly a hundred thousand Xianbei People s gathered on the flat ground beneath the altar, prostrating themselves in worship. As usual, there were fifty thousand men and horses of the company standing around. They were all dressed neatly, leading their war horses and standing silently.

On both sides of the cauldron stood two huge round obelisks with a radius of five feet, and a height of sixty to seventy feet. On them were carved the most common totem of a horse, deer, and bear in the Xianbei People. On the left side, there was a over ten feet long scimitar standing on top of the pillar, while on the right side, there was a horse galloping with its head held high.

In front of the copper cauldron, there were 99 steps leading upwards. The sides of the steps were sealed with bluestone, and at each of the three steps, there were two huge oil lamps made of bronze. Normally, these oil lamps would be extinguished and would only be lit during the sacrificial ceremony.

At the top of the stairs, there was a four-sided high platform surrounded by bluestone fences that were as tall as a person. In the middle, there was a magnificent hall, inside it were the stone statues of the ancestors of the Xianbei People. The biggest statue in the middle was precisely the tall and sturdy sculpture of Tan Shihuai. He galloped on his horse and pointed the curved blade straight ahead, seemingly commanding a great army of thousands of men to charge at him.

He Lian placed his hands on his forehead and knelt in front of Tan Shihuai's statue, muttering some words.

"Oh Great royal father, after your glory has passed away, the Xianbei People began to become confused. They actually wanted to kill me, kill the heir you made, and then promote a new great king! As your son, I will never allow this to happen! This child vows, that after killing Kebineng, Bu Dugen, and his brothers, I will help them with their plans, and restore the glory that my father had when he was still alive! I beg royal father to bless this child's success! "

After he finished praying, He Lian stood up and quietly looked at Tan Shihuai's sculpture. After a long while, he sighed softly and walked out of the hall with a flick of his sleeve.

"Great King!" Murong Lianxin stood by the side of a dried up pond outside the hall with his helmet and armor on.

He Lian looked down and asked with a frown, "Those three thieves haven't arrived yet? Earlier, a spy had come to report that there were actually many people in the morning who were slandering this king, and were proclaiming Kebineng's righteousness and bravery! Tell me, is Kebineng also plotting against this king? "

"Great King, a scout reported that Kebineng and Bu Dugen are bringing over fifty thousand people with them. The heavily injured Su Li has left them in the camp. This lowly general thinks that it is indeed possible for Kebineng to plot against us, but fortunately, Your Majesty has already made good arrangements! "

"No matter what Kebineng does, he is suicidal!" He Lian laughed coldly and asked, "What is the purpose of Kebineng leaving over ten thousand people behind for Su Li?"

Murong Lianxin thought for a while, then replied: "I thought it would be the cavalry that should be used to guard against White Horse Camp."

"It seems that way." He Lian nodded his head in agreement, and laughed coldly: "Looks like Kebineng is really scared after getting hit, to think that he actually left behind five times the amount of troops! It was a pity, hehe! Where is Gongsun Xu? "

"We are already at the palace. Should the King invite him?"

He looked at the thousands of Japanese s who were rushing over with a large group of sheep, and then looked at the group of people who were tied up in the middle of the flock of sheep. He shook his head and said, "Not for the time being.

Back then, Tan Shihuai had made a rule that when the Xianbei People sacrificed to the heavens, he had to kill 999 sheep and 99 people. Only then would he be able to obtain the protection of his ancestor and the Totem God, and thereby protect the Xianbei People's prosperity. The people who were initially treated as sacrifices were all Chinese people, and they had been using the Chinese blood sacrifice ever since they ascended to the throne. Later on, they were scolded severely by Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, in order to ease the relationship between them and the Youzhou, he ordered the abolition of the Chinese blood sacrifice.

The Xianbei People s of the Tanhan Shan were already used to the existence of the Japanese s, but many nobles thought that these slaves were lowly and dirty slaves, only worthy of doing dirty work, and did not deserve to appear in the Rites of Heavenly Worship. Therefore, every time these Japanese offered offerings, they would use black scarves to cover their faces. This time's Heavenly Worship Ceremony was no exception.

When the commoners saw Japanese coming over, they all started to discuss softly.

"Those Japanese have come to offer their offerings again! I really don't understand, why would the King allow these lowly things to offer sacrifices? "

"Are you ignorant? I heard that this year's Heavenly Worship Ceremony is going to use the blood of the living again.

"What?" So it turns out that they were offerings as well! No wonder dozens of people were tied up. "

"Yeah, you think offering offerings is a good thing? In fact, although these Japanese are cheap and filthy, they still have good skills in fishing. It's a pity that the King does not allow it, otherwise, I would be willing to use ninety-nine slaves to exchange for their lives! "

"Yeah, brother, your tribe is near the North Sea. If you have a group of Japanese slaves, you can always catch fish. Oh right, why didn't brother ask for this from your daughter Er Yu after the Rites of Heavenly Worship? "

"Hehe, Er Yu, your daughter? "Who knows if she'll still be a noble girl after today?"

"Brother, are you saying that there might be chaos today?"

"Cough cough, I didn't say anything. Don't make wild guesses!"

"I understand. It seems like I have to stay as far away as possible."

After a while, the Japanese drove the flock of sheep and brought their ninety-nine companions who were tied up to the altar. The Xianbei People s all stepped aside, looking at them with loathing in their eyes. The Japanese s seemed to be accustomed to this kind of gaze, as they all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Xianbei People's gaze.

"Master, Kebineng and Bu Dugen are here." Inside the palace, Zhao Yun ran into the hall and reported to Gongsun Xu.

Gongsun Xu was in the midst of conversing with Er Yu when he stood up and walked towards the entrance of the hall.

On the distant mountain road, countless cavalry of Xianbei were heading up the mountain. Bu Dugen who was dressed in a black set of fish scales was slowly walking down the level. At this time, he suddenly turned his head and took a look at the palace hall, and it was unknown whether or not he saw Gongsun Xu, but he quickly turned his head and continued walking forward.

After Bu Dugen's group was done, the following group was Kebineng, and the number of people was a bit fewer. Kebineng was wearing a set of gold-coloured fish scales today, shining brightly under the sunlight. He looked like he was made of gold.

Gongsun Xu was extremely surprised, "Why is that fellow wearing such an armor? If something were to happen, wouldn't that make you a living target?! "

"Darling, you don't know." At this moment, Er Yu walked over and explained in a light voice, "Back then, when King Tan Shihuai first took charge of offering sacrifices to the heavens, he was already dressed in this kind of armor.

"Heh heh." Gongsun Xu laughed coldly, "You want to be the second Tan Shihuai? In my opinion, it's a wasted effort! "

"Of course!" Er Yu chuckled: "With my husband here, how can Kebineng go up to the sky?"

"Stop flattering me!" Gongsun Xu lightly patted her face and asked: "Is your mother ready yet?"

"Hm!" When you go to the altar, I will tell her to hurry down the mountain and hide. "

"No!" Gongsun Xu shook his head, and said with a smile: "Accompany her down the mountain first."

Er Yu's eyes became misty. She whispered, "Your side is in danger. I want to accompany you."

"Don't worry, I will definitely be fine!" Gongsun Xu laughed with confidence. He moved close to Er Yu's ear and whispered, "I'll tell you a secret."

"So that's how it is," Er Yu said in shock.

"Do you understand? No matter what, I will not lose! "

"No matter what, you have to be careful!" Er Yu reached out and helped Gongsun Xu adjust his helmet.

At this time, Ku Le came to the entrance of the hall, and bowed: "Master! My lord! And King Lian has sent someone to invite you to the altar! "

Gongsun Xu hugged Er Yu lightly and whispered into her ear: "I'm going up, prepare to leave the mountain with your mother! "Be careful!"

"En, I will wait for you!" Er Yu lightly touched Gongsun Xu's forehead.

"Let's go!"

Gongsun Xu and Gongsun Xu walked out of the palace together, the Gongsun Jia brothers and over a hundred people were waiting outside. When they saw them come out, they immediately brought their horses over.

After jumping onto the horse, Gongsun Xu looked back to look in the direction of the Race Yard Barracks, and said softly: "Feng Xiao, Zi Hu, if Su Li were to attack, I hope you would be able to hold on until reinforcements arrive!"

Zhao Yun also turned around to look and advised: "My lord, please rest assured. I have roughly counted the number of people Kebineng and Bu Dugen have brought up the mountain, I estimate that Su Li only has at most ten thousand people at his disposal, and Academy Officer and Yan Academy Officer have two thousand people at their hands, so not to mention if he dares to attack, even if he dares, a mere ten thousand people will definitely be defeated once again!"

"I hope so!" Gongsun Xu pulled on the reins and took the lead to rush up the mountain.

After a while, Gongsun Xu and his group saw the altar in the distance.

Kebineng and Bu Dugen's men had already arrived, and they started to line up, facing the company's troops at a distance of three to four miles.

Kebineng and Bu Dugen jumped off their horses, and under the escort of a group of guards, they walked to the middle of the commoners and started chatting with them with smiles on their faces. From time to time, he would pat someone on the shoulder or hug them to show his intimacy. Everywhere he passed, the people would bow respectfully and cheer.

Gongsun Xu sighed: "I have long heard that Kebineng is well-liked by the people, and is the current number one hero of the year. If this person did not die, he might really be able to become the second Tan Shihuai! Unfortunately, since I, Gongsun Xu have come, someone like you should die early! "