I Can Control My Ancestors

Chapter 573 - 66: The Mount Tai Ceremony, Flourishing Glory of the Tang Dynasty

Mount Tai Fengshan—

This is the ultimate glory for any emperor.

Li Zhi naturally took it very seriously.

Even his health improved somewhat, and he began to discuss this matter with the ministers at court.

He naturally wanted to go.

But in his heart, he also had concerns.

Even Li Shimin did not go to perform the Fengshan ceremony, did he really have the right to do so?

The influence of the Zhenguan era was too great, and Li Zhi clearly understood that the prosperity of the Great Tang was largely built on the foundation established during the Zhenguan period.

Without Li Shimin setting the direction, without Li Shimin’s later wars against Goguryeo.

Would the Great Tang have developed so smoothly?

All these were questions.

They were also one of the knots in Li Zhi’s heart.

But regardless of the ministers or Wu Zetian, they were all persuading him, but Li Zhi always had reservations in his heart.

In the end, even Gu Jing was persuading him.

According to Gu Jing’s thinking, conducting the Fengshan ceremony now would also be a comfort to Li Shimin.

That’s right, the Gu Clan supported this Fengshan ceremony.

Not only because the current national power of the Great Tang was more than sufficient, but also to use this opportunity to comfort the ancestors of the Gu Clan.

This path had been extremely arduous for the Gu Clan.

Having spanned several dynasties and more than ten generations, finally emerging from this path, it was only fitting to hold a grand ceremony to comfort those ancestors.

With everyone’s persuasion.

Finally, in the spring of the eleventh year of Yonghui, Li Zhi agreed to this.

.....

This Fengshan ceremony was destined to be earth-shattering.

Because the current national power of the Great Tang far surpasses all previous dynasties, and the vassal merchants from all directions were incomparable to those of previous dynasties.

When the emperor’s decree to travel east to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony was officially issued, the entire empire began to operate like a machine, quickly revolving around this event.

No one would dare interfere because everyone was looking forward to this day.

This was not just an honor belonging to a single emperor.

The ability to conduct a Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was already proof of the current national strength, which was connected to everyone.

The eleventh year of Yonghui, winter.

The procession departed from the Eastern Capital, Luoyang, its pageantry splendid, the train of travelers extraordinarily long, rarely seen in history.

The Emperor and Empress’s Jade Chariot, the Golden Rooted Car, occupied the center, followed by the Crown Prince, the current Grand Tutor Gu Jing, and the resplendent carriages of the princes and princesses, then the civil and military officials, palace guards, and official escorts.

This was only the central entourage.

In addition, soldiers, attendants, laborers, musicians, monks, and Taoists, as well as accompanying personnel from various countries, totaled in the hundreds of thousands!

Along the route, local prefectures began mobilizing laborers months in advance to repair imperial roads and bridges, and to set up temporary palaces and post stations.

To supply this unprecedented procession, mountains of provisions and materials amassed, with carts, horses, cattle, and camels constantly on the move.

In the original history, the account of this Mount Tai Fengshan was "a procession of civil and military retinue, stretching for hundreds of miles," and now the even more prosperous Great Tang exceeded that.

To Gu Yi, this contrast was incredibly striking.

He had witnessed several Fengshan ceremonies!

It was precisely for this reason that he could comprehend in detail how terrifyingly grand this Fengshan of the Great Tang was.

Khans and chieftains from the northern grassland tribes such as the Turkic, Khitan, Xi, Shiwei, and Mohe, dressed in fur, with scimitars at their sides, followed in the rear of the procession.

Many among them had gradually shown signs of assimilation, and such attire would only be worn again on such occasions.

Furthermore, princes and envoys from Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo, Japan, Linxi, Tubo, and other nations, dressed in colorful foreign garb, bearing exotic treasures, respectfully followed in the procession.

This spectacle even stirred Gu Yi’s heart, for it was an event that could fill the people of Kyushu with pride!

At the foot of Mount Tai, a multitude of nations’ dignitaries gathered.

People of different languages, garb, and beliefs converged here with reverence and a sense of pilgrimage, only to witness and partake in the sacred moment of the Great Tang Emperor’s offering to Heaven and Earth.

The scene was majestic and magnificent, boundlessly grand.

The grandeur of the "Celestial Khan" and the prosperous image of the Great Tang—"abundance within the seas, roads gathered without loss, travels without carrying provisions"—were vividly displayed.

Among them, some might have been compelled, others willing.

But at this moment, who would care about such things?

Notably—

Li Zhi was clearly aware of the lineage of the Gu Clan, for among the procession were numerous painters specifically to record this scene that was destined to be chronicled in history.

With hundreds of painters capturing the scene, Li Zhi selected the two finest works, each stamped with the Great Seal of the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

One was gifted to the Gu Clan.

The other, he decided to hang in the Lingyan Pavilion, to comfort Li Shimin.

—A spectacle for the world to behold.

In this era of rapidly advancing culture in the Great Tang, the impact of this Mount Tai Fengshan would surely surpass all previous occasions.

This was an elevation of national confidence.

A pride felt from the depths of being a child of Kyushu.

Though this might never have happened in the original history, in today’s Great Tang, it was entirely different.

In the original history, to the ordinary common folk, even in the most lauded of golden ages, the level of productivity left them struggling for basic sustenance.