The Fengshan ceremony was finally about to begin. According to the rules left by Emperor Wu of Han, on the first day, my father climbed the Liangfu Mountain to worship the land. On the top of Liangfu Mountain, a square altar had been built, surrounded by water. Because according to the ancients' perception, the earth was square, so the square altar also represents the earth.

Li Shimin began to be cleansed from three days ago, and forbidden all meat and fish. He bathed in fragrant soup every day. Early this morning, he changed into the crown robes that he only wore during the ceremony, and then led all civil and military officials to Liangfu Mountain. Li Xiu and others also wore court robes, watching Li Shimin climb to the altar, and then began the ceremony of sacrifice.

Although the whole ceremony seemed very grand and solemn, it was actually very boring. The whole show was full of Li Shimin's one-man show, and Li Xiu and others also cooperated to worship for a few times. Moreover, the whole ceremony was very long. Li Xiu was very interested at first, but after a long time, he felt a little drowsy in the end.

The entire ceremony of sacrifice lasted from morning to afternoon. Li Shimin on the stage maintained a high mood from beginning to end. After all, he had been looking forward to this day for a long time and could not feel tired if he did anything. However, Li Xiu and others in the audience couldn't stand it, especially after noon, everyone was tired and hungry. After finally ending the ceremony, Li Xiu and the others felt as if they were relieved.

After the ceremony, Li Shimin and the ministers rested for a while. At this time, someone brought some simple food. After eating, Li Shimin immediately took people down the mountain with great enthusiasm, because according to the ceremony, they had to arrive at Mount Tai today, because a ceremony of worshiping the sky will be held early tomorrow morning.

Li Xiu was in his prime, but he felt that it was very tired after most of the day. However, in order to cooperate with the ceremony, he had to follow Li Shimin down the mountain. Fortunately, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were quite conscientious and actually prepared carriages for the ministers. This was mainly because many of the founding heroes brought by Li Shimin were old and had already made great efforts today. If they rode a horse again, they would probably fall off the horse's back within a few steps.

Li Xiu and Changsun Wuji squeezed into a carriage, and then rushed to Mount Tai. The distance of two hundred miles was not far, nor was it close. If it were later, it would take an hour to drive a car. However, in this era of backward transportation, the carriage needed to run for half a day, so when Li Xiu and the others arrived at Mount Tai, it was already dark.

By the time he got off the carriage, Li Xiu felt that his whole body was almost broken and the food was ready in the accommodation. After a simple meal, he immediately lay on his bed and fell asleep. However, before dawn the next day, Li Xiu was woken up because they were about to arrive at the top of Mount Tai before the auspicious time.

Although after a night of rest, Li Xiu still felt a little tired, not to mention those old ministers, and he could not drive on Mount Tai, so he could only walk. Although Mount Tai was not as steep as Mount Hua, there were thousands of stone steps from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. It took about two hours to walk up the road even for a middle-aged man.

However, if you want to be Fengshan, you naturally cannot be afraid of suffering. What's more, in order to show your awe of heaven and earth, even Li Shimin had to climb Mount Tai himself, so ministers such as Li Xiu were naturally no exception. They all followed Li Shimin along the stone steps. Although it was dark, there were guards on both sides of the streets with torches, so there were no need to worry about falling down under the cliff by stepping on the air.

Li Xiu and Changsun Wuji were relatively young among the ministers, so they kept walking in the front. However, Fang Xuanling and others next to them were not young anymore, and their long-term staying at their desks also made their physical condition worry. When they just climbed to the foot of the mountain, these ministers were gasping for breath and had to take a break after walking for a while.

Seeing Fang Xuanling's embarrassing appearance, Li Xiu also reached out to help him climb the mountain together, which made Fang Xuanling very grateful. At the same time, he smiled bitterly and said, "Fortunately, Brother Keming did not come, otherwise, with his physical condition, he might be tired and sick."

Keming is the name Du Ruhui. This time he did not come to Mount Tai with Li Shimin. Du Ruhui should have passed away long ago. Thanks to Li Xiu's reminder, he has lived until now. However, his physical condition has not been optimistic in recent years, and sometimes he cannot attend court. For this reason, Li Shimin also specially approved him to handle official duties at home. With his physical condition, he naturally could not come to Mount Tai. In addition, someone in Chang'an also needed to assist Li Chengqian, so Du Ruhui stayed in Chang'an.

"Du Xiang's physical condition is also worrying. Although it's a pity that he didn't come this time, his health is important after all." Li Xiu also spoke at the moment. He was actually very tired, but because of his youth and he kept exercising, he was good at physical fitness and could still support him at this time.

"Yes, in fact, Keming's health has long been ineffective. I have always advised him to take a rest, but he is very stubborn and doesn't listen to anyone's words when he is devoted to government affairs. Fortunately, his attitude has been loose in the past two years. When I visited him last time, he said that he would resign from His Majesty by next year, so that he could rest well for a few years." Fang Xuanling also gasped at this time, his gray hair and beard were flying around under the blowing of the mountain wind, and his eyes also showed a look of sadness.

Speaking of which, Fang Xuanling is a few years older than Du Ruhui. This year he is over 60 years old, while Du Ruhui is only in his fifties, but Du Ruhui's health is much worse than him. Moreover, the two are also close friends for many years. Even Du Ruhui recommended by Fang Xuanling to Li Shimin at the beginning. They assisted Li Shimin together and received the reputation of Fang Mou Duan. However, Du Ruhui's physical condition is really bad now, and Fang Xuanling can't help but feel sad every time he thinks of it.

"It's good to resign. Du Xiang's physical condition is indeed not too overworked. Moreover, I heard from Master Sun that Du Xiang's body can only be recuperated slowly, so after he resigns, it's better to live in Nanshan. Master Sun's medicine temple is also there. Master Sun can take care of him nearby. However, if he takes care of him for a few years, his body will slowly recover." Li Xiu nodded when he heard Fang Xuanling's words. In fact, he had advised Du Ruhui to ask him to recuperate more, but the other party did not listen.

Li Xiu helped Fang Xuanling and chatted while walking. Li Shimin in front probably found that some old ministers were exhausted, so he ordered the soldiers to help the ministers climb the mountain. Finally, when a red sun jumped out of the east sky, they finally reached the top of Mount Tai, and the altar for sacrifice to the sky also appeared in front of Li Xiu and the others.
Chapter completed!