jdhmnovel Chapter 1211 Absurd Sacrifice
Chapter 1211 Absurd Sacrifice
Sacrifice?
Locust King?
When these two words came out of the mouths of ordinary people, Shen Zheng's expression suddenly darkened.
She probably understood why the harvest progress of the people in Wangyue was so slow.
From some point onward, the smell of incense in the air grew stronger and stronger, to the point of being "pungent." Shen Zheng suppressed her anger and stared straight ahead.
After the horse's hooves rolled over a sloping earthen mound, a yellowish-brown altar suddenly came into Shen Zheng's view.
The altar was about six feet wide and two feet high, and the surface was covered with fresh rice, piled up into a small mountain. This rice was probably what the people called the "offerings".
In addition, there were three bronze tripods, one large and two small, placed in the center of the altar. Incense was burning brightly in the tripods, and thick gray-blue smoke was swirling into the sky with the southwest wind, giving off a suffocating sense of absurdity.
After offering their sacrifices, the people knelt before the altar, kowtowed three times, and began to pray: "We, the sinners, sincerely repent. We beseech the Locust King to have mercy and let Heaven take back the locust plague, protecting our harvest..."
After saying this, the people would kowtow three more times, then look at the yamen runners guarding the altar: "Sir, is this alright?"
After a moment, the bailiff slowly nodded and waved his hand: "Come on, next one. Remember, when you worship the Locust King, sincerity is key."
Sincerity brings results.
Locust King.
Such an absurd scene, such ridiculous words, filled Shen Zheng with rage. Just as she was about to turn to look at Jiang Zhiming, she saw Jiang Zhiming whip his horse and gallop towards the altar.
"What are you doing!" Jiang Zhiming's roar echoed at the small intersection: "Instead of harvesting in the fields, what kind of bullshit Locust King are you worshipping here?! Who gave you permission to do this!"
Both the common people in front of the altar and the yamen runners beside it were startled by Jiang Zhiming's roar.
The first to react were the two constables beside the altar: "How dare you! Who are you to speak such arrogant words and disrespect the Locust King!"
"Go to hell with the Locust King!" Jiang Zhiming didn't even bother to grab the saddle. He suddenly flipped over and jumped off the horse. He flicked his whip in the air, drawing a sharp arc as he lashed it straight at the constable.
"Snapped--"
The constable was unable to dodge in time and took a solid lash to the arm.
The people were terrified and scattered in all directions.
The beaten constable, clutching his arm, staggered back, grimacing, and cried out, "Who...who are you? I am from Wangyue County, here to guard the altar on the orders of the magistrate! You..."
"County magistrate?" Jiang Zhiming felt his mind go blank for a moment, but then he realized that this made sense.
If the county magistrate hadn't personally given the order, why would these two yamen runners have gone to such lengths to come all the way to the village to guard the altar?
“Wang Cuncheng…” Jiang Zhiming’s chest heaved rapidly as he nodded repeatedly. “Good, good Wang Cuncheng, truly excellent… I even felt sorry for him, that he had suffered because of me…”
Following...this official?
The two constables were horrified upon hearing this, their eyes filled with fear: "You, you are...!"
The person who can refer to himself as "this official" in front of the county magistrate... could he be the one they're thinking of?
But isn't there a rumor that he went to Liuyang Prefecture and isn't even within Fuzhou's territory?!
"Tear down this lousy platform immediately!" Jiang Zhiming kicked the altar, causing it to tremble and the already precarious rice grains to spill down. "No one is allowed to worship that damned Locust King anymore! Go back to the fields and harvest! Anyone who disobeys will be severely punished by the government!"
Government office!
Only then did the constable finally confirm the identity of the person before him.
"Your Excellency, please forgive us!" The two men knelt down in a panic, kowtowing repeatedly. "We were only following orders, please forgive us, Your Excellency..."
"Can't you all understand what I'm saying!" Jiang Zhiming ignored the two men and shouted at the surrounding people, "Go back to your fields and harvest! If anyone dares to come and pay their respects again, the government will not let them off lightly!"
The people looked at the rice stalks being poured down from the platform, their faces filled with confusion and hesitation.
If they hadn't paid homage to the Locust King, they might have turned around and left right now.
But now, this is the third time they have knelt before the Locust King, and naturally, they have a little more expectation in their hearts. After all, the rice on the altar is an offering they have personally presented.
"What are you all standing there for!" Shen Zheng jumped off his horse, his gaze sweeping over the people present, his tone cold and hard: "If the locusts really attack, what will protect your food supply is not the Locust King, but the sickles in your hands! What will protect your safety is not some Locust King, but the government office! Hurry back to the fields and harvest the crops, now, immediately!"
Several villagers, who were already reluctant to come to the ancestral worship ceremony, grabbed their sickles and ran away after hearing Shen Zheng's words: "That's right! Harvesting rice is the most important thing, or it will be too late!"
Once there's a first and a second, there will be a third and a fourth.
In no time at all, all the people rushed to their own fields.
As one of them ran, he bowed and begged for forgiveness: "Locust King, you've seen it yourself. It's not that I didn't want to worship you, it's just that the officials at the government office wouldn't allow it... You've accepted so many of our offerings, you can't be angry and send even more locusts..."
Shen Zheng was annoyed by this and grabbed the saddle to climb back onto the horse.
She pointed at the constable who hadn't been beaten: "You go to the surrounding villages immediately and tell everyone to stop the worship and hurry up and harvest the rice! The other one stays here to dismantle the altar, collect all this rice, and return it to the people later!"
The beaten constable felt as if the sky had fallen upon hearing this.
If we make him dismantle the altar himself, wouldn't that be offending the Locust King to the death?
"Get up and move!" Jiang Zhiming glared. "Do exactly what Lord Shen says! If you dare to slack off, I will not forgive you when I return!"
"Lord Shen?" The beaten constable stared in disbelief as he watched the group ride away on horseback.
When they were still three miles from the county town, the group came across another altar.
This time, Jiang Zhiming didn't even dismount; he simply brandished the prefect's token, and the people scattered in all directions, rushing towards the fields.
As the sky turned orange, the group finally arrived in the county town. The strong smell of incense hit them so hard that Shen Zheng could hardly open her eyes.
Jiang Zhiming's temples throbbed, and he spurred his horse straight to the Wangyue County Government Office. But before they even reached the county government office, a sacrificial altar, far larger than the previous two, stood squarely in the middle of the road.
In mid-air, the smoke billowed like waves, swirling and lingering, shrouding the entire county government office in an eerie, dim yellow hue.
On the altar, a man dressed in a green official robe was bowing and kowtowing, while hundreds and thousands of people knelt densely below the altar.
Some were devout, some were indifferent, and some were resentful.
"Wang Cuncheng!" A loud shout pierced the smoke and shot straight up onto the stage: "Get down here right now!"