In the third year of Chengtian, March 10th, Chang'an, the front hall of Weiyang Palace.
Under the Changxin lamp, Liu Hong looked pale and lay weakly on the bed, recalling his life.
Unknowingly, it has been twenty years since I left my hometown in Hebei.
He still can't forget how excited and panic he felt when Old Liu Tou and the Cao family came to greet him with Hu Ben, Yu Lin, and Zhong Huang all over the road.
And when he anxiously followed the motorcade to the heavenly Kyoto, it was General Dou Wu who greeted him at Xiamen Pavilion and personally ushered him into the palace with a blue-covered chariot.
The next day, he became the lord of the Han Dynasty and the twelfth emperor of the Han Dynasty.
But soon Liu Hong became very unhappy because he vaguely heard some bad rumors, saying that Liu Hong would be the last emperor of the Han Dynasty and he would be the leader of the country.
It turns out that no matter how great the virtues of the ancient emperors were, they could only be passed down to twelve generations. No matter how many, this virtue would not be enough. Therefore, the emperor’s crown, made of vermilion and green algae, has twelve pearls. This crown is given by heaven, and there are twelve pearls and many pearls.
No more.
Therefore, the great ancestor Gao Zu punished the Qin Dynasty and settled the sea, and his great merits were spread throughout the world, but he could only pass them on to the twelve emperors. This is still counting the ridiculous king of Changyi.
This prophecy of twelve deaths is like a black spot. Even if the glory of the Han Dynasty is dazzling, this black spot will follow it like a shadow, making people unforgettable.
Unfortunately, he, Liu Hong, is the twelfth emperor after the resurrection of the ancestors. Whether he can break this prophecy of doom depends on him, Liu Hong.
But Liu Hong, who was quite ambitious, certainly didn't believe in such a prophecy that was not good for him, so he gave himself the first reign title after ascending the throne: "Jianning".
This was Liu Hong's ambition, he wanted to rebuild a peaceful Han Dynasty.
And he did it. In the first year after he ascended the throne, the old captain who was still the guard of the Qiang army defeated the Qiang people and completely wiped out the Qiang rebels in the second year.
At this point, the Qiang chaos, which had lasted for hundreds of years since Emperor Zhang's reign and cost the empire countless blood and money, was resolved in the first year of Liu Hong's ascension to the throne.
This merit reaches far beyond all emperors.
In terms of domestic affairs, the party members who were noisy in court and fighting against dissidents also disappeared under his thunderous methods.
These people always feel that the world will not survive without them, but what? After driving away these clear currents, I, Liu Hong, will still rule the world.
This martial arts skill is worthy of the title of Fengchan Taishan!
Of course, Liu Hong also knew that he was not without mistakes.
His mistake was that he trusted others too much, and he was often let down by others.
He trusted Chen Fan and Dou Wu, but these two people united to rebel against him. For this reason, he rebelled against their three tribes.
He trusted Li Ying, Fan Pang and other local moral celebrities, but they always slandered the court and me behind their backs. For this, he just put them in jail. Fortunately, these people still had shame, and finally committed suicide in shame.
In prison.
He trusted Yang Qiu and other Hebei factions and regarded them as the imperial party and his ministers.
But what about them? They were so arrogant that they tricked and killed Wang Fu and the old Taiwei. Especially the old Taiwei, who was such a loyal minister, died in vain.
People like Yang Qiu even wanted to rebel. If Cao and others hadn't discovered it in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Then there's Zhang Jiao, didn't you give me a book before to teach me how to live a long life? Why did you suddenly start a rebellion? And you, Old Man Cai, even if you don't let you talk anymore, you ran to join the thieves.
?
It is these unfaithful and unjust people who are responsible for the corruption of this world.
But these are not what Liu Hong hates most, what he hates most is He Jin.
As his own Qi family, he actually dug in and collaborated with outsiders to rebel against him, which made him come to Chang'an in embarrassment.
You know, the cemetery you built is in Kyoto, not Chang'an. Which emperor of this generation was finally buried in Xijing?
Alas, I don’t know if it’s too late to build my own mausoleum.
He lay on the couch, opened his mouth, and asked softly:
"Where is the mausoleum?"
Standing on both sides of Liu Hong's bed were Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.
Seeing Guo opening his mouth, Zhang Rang, who was very old and had limited mobility, hurried forward and lay down in Liu Hong's ear to listen.
After listening to Liu Hong's words, Zhang Rang turned to the general and master craftsman Wu Xiudao below:
"The country asked, where is the mausoleum?"
As a general, Wu Xiu is a master craftsman and is in charge of the cemetery affairs, so it is natural for him to answer this question.
Therefore, Wu Xiu did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly knelt down and answered:
"Your Majesty, I chose Longshou Plain, thirteen miles to the southeast. This plain is beautiful and full of flowers and plants. It is a first-class dragon cave."
Then Wu Xiu saw Liu Hong on the couch and opened his mouth again, but couldn't hear anything said.
Then, he heard Zhang Rang ask again:
"Why not be buried on Xianyang Plain? Aren't most of the emperors of the previous dynasties buried there?"
Wu Xiu opened his mouth and said awkwardly:
"It's not in harmony with etiquette."
Wu Xiu then explained that the tombs of the emperors of the former Han Dynasty were separated in the north and south of Xianyang Plain according to the Zhaomu system of etiquette.
For example, Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Jing, Emperor Zhao, Emperor Xuan and Emperor Cheng were buried in the Zhao position, while Emperor Hui, Emperor Wen, Emperor Wu, Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ai and Emperor Heping were buried in the Mu position.
And we, Liu Hong, are too far apart from these previous emperors in terms of genealogy, so we cannot be buried together. Therefore, we need to choose another place for burial.
According to the principle of Kanyuology, which emphasizes being close to mountains and rivers, and having open halls, a group of craftsmen and officials, including Wu Xiu, worked almost non-stop to determine the place of Longshouyuan.
In fact, the reason for such haste was Liu Hong himself.
In fact, since he rushed west to Chang'an, Yang Biao and other Kansai aristocratic families tried to persuade Liu Hong to build a mountain mausoleum in Chang'an several times, but Liu Hong refused to respond.
He said that his mountain tomb is in Kyoto, with a height of 300 steps and a height of 12 feet.
Of course Liu Hong understood what Yang Biao and those people meant. No matter whether he was restored or not in the future, they all wanted him to make his capital in Chang'an. With the mausoleum here, how could the capital still run?
But Liu Hong still retained a trace of the illusion of inspiring the Han Dynasty and wanted to fight back to Kyoto. He could not accept that he was Emperor Waque who had lost half of the world.
Of course, he didn't explicitly object. This was also his way of controlling the powerful Kansai family.
It's just a pity that this power strategy ended up hitting him on the head.
Thinking that after his death he would have to bury his body outside and wait for the mausoleum to be completed, he began to feel sad.
But at this time, Liu Hong felt even weaker. He gritted his teeth and asked one more thing:
"Have you thought about my posthumous title?"
This sentence was still delivered by Zhang Rang.
After hearing this, all the court officials present looked at Taishi Ling Wang Li who was sitting in the left school.
There are four important palaces in the entire Weiyang Palace, from south to north they are the front hall, Xuanshi, Chengming and Greenhouse.
To go from the palace to the palace, you have to pass through the Duanmen, and there is a six-meter-wide long road from the Duanmen to the front hall. The Zuoshu School is the hall on the right side of the doorway, also called the Jiamen Hall.
As the Taishi Ling, Wang Li had to accompany Liu Hong and compile Liu Hong's daily life, so he usually sat silently in Duanmen Zuo School, recording Liu Hong's words, deeds and daily life.
Now that Liu Hong asked about his posthumous title, he naturally had to refer to the meaning of Taishi Ling for such a final decision.
So after Wang Li heard this sentence, he put down his sword and pen, fell on the ground and said to Liu Hong:
"Your Majesty, the posthumous title is a posthumous matter. It cannot be decided by one minister alone. It has to be discussed by all the ministers outside the palace."
This time there was no need for Liu Hong to say anything, Zhang Rang scolded:
"In your opinion, which one should I use?"
Wang Li was silent for a while and then answered truthfully:
"If the posthumous title is good, it might be 'Ling', but if the posthumous title is bad, it might be 'Min'."
After hearing Wang Li's words, all the court officials present put their heads on the ground and did not dare to say a word.
What is spirit?
A person who dies and achieves his goals is called a spirit; a person who is chaotic but not damaged is called a spirit; one who knows the ghosts and gods well is called a spirit; one who is not diligent enough to become famous is called a spirit; one who dies and sees the gods can be called a spirit, and one who is good at offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods is called a spirit.
This was already a bad posthumous title, and then Wang Li said it was a good posthumous title.
And what is Min?
When the country is in trouble, it is called Min; when the people are injured, it is called Min; when the country is worried, it is called Min; when there is disaster, it is called Min
This statement is appropriate for Liu Hong, but who dares to say this?
Therefore, for a while everyone lowered their faces to the floor, and the atmosphere was depressing.
Only Liu Hong on the bed kept panting after hearing these words, adding a bit of fear to this depression.
Seeing this, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong hurriedly stepped forward to vent their anger on Liu Hongshun, but they really meant it sincerely.
Afterwards, Zhang Rang scolded Wang Li and asked him to retreat.
Then the front hall fell into dead silence again, and everyone was waiting silently.
Waiting for Liu Hong to take his last breath.
As for the issue of successors after Liu Hong, there is no need to discuss it much, because only the prince association followed Liu Hong westward.
At that time, Liu Hong was holding five-year-old Liu Xie in his arms. The little prince did not cry or make trouble along the way, showing his unusual temperament early on.
The Kansai ministers in the outer dynasty also preferred Liu Xie to ascend the throne. Otherwise, how could they have done the ridiculous thing of bringing in another one from among the people?
Therefore, it is understandable that the court officials do not ask about the successor.
But the strange thing is that the prince Liu Xie is only seven years old this year and cannot manage politics at all. But now before Liu Hong died, he did not mention the candidate for the assistant minister, and the ministers present, including Zhang Rang, did not mention it at all.
.
In short, time passed little by little in this weird and depressing atmosphere.
Only the sound of water dripping in the hall and Liu Hong's heavy breathing fainted in the hall.
A scene of twilight.
…
At this time, the Kansai ministers waiting outside the corridor of the front hall were also worried.
The dusk outside disappeared little by little, and darkness enveloped everyone's hearts.
Soon, the maids and maids waiting by the verandah came over holding incense burners to help the ministers drive away the mosquitoes outside.
The regular attendants and visitors who were waiting nearby also lit the lamps on both sides of the verandah one after another upon orders, making the interior of the verandah seem like daylight.
But little did they know that the lights together illuminated these ministers with their faces indistinctly, making the verandah look terrifying.
At this time, at the outermost edge of the crowd, the visitor Zhang Song was muttering in the darkness in his Shu voice:
"It's not good, it's not good."
Kneeling next to him was the visitor Pei Mao, who came from Hedong Wenxi. Hearing the murmurs of his colleagues beside him, he said doubtfully:
"Ziqiao, what are you talking about?"
Zhang Song is thin and small, and he was originally meant to represent the dignity of the court. But who made Yizhou become more and more important in the Kansai court, and a descendant of Yizhou nobles like Zhang Song should naturally have his place
exist.
At this time, seeing Pei Mao who was still confused next to him, Zhang Song joked:
"Juguang, what do you think we are doing kneeling here now?"
Pei Mao didn't understand and replied honestly:
"Aren't you praying for His Majesty?"
Zhang Song took one look at Pei Mao's good looks and felt pity:
"The Pei family from Hedong is also from a famous family, and his father is also a big official. How could he raise such an honest boy?"
He pointed to the hall in front and asked Pei Mao:
"Where are we now?"
Pei Mao still didn't understand and replied:
"In the front hall."
When Zhang Song saw that this boy didn't understand yet, he knew that he was more earthly than a Yizhou scholar like himself, so he taught:
"You really don't know anything about the affairs of the country. Your father sent you here as a visitor, and he doesn't know whether he loves you or hurts you. Let me tell you, this front hall is also called the road bed. According to the "Etiquette"
"Mourning Notes": "Jun, my wife died on the road." Do you understand, we are all here, how can the country pray well?"
At this time, Zhang Song did not see the past embarrassment and sadness flashing across Pei Mao's face when he told Pei Mao that his father asked him to be the visitor, and he didn't know whether he loved him or hated him.
Zhang Song was still showing off endlessly:
"In the previous generation, except for Emperor Wu, everyone from Emperor Hui on down died in Weiyang Palace. Although Emperor Wu died in Wuzha, he was finally buried in the front hall of Weiyang Palace. This front hall is where the Zi Palace of the Holy Emperors of the past dynasties was located.
And now that His Majesty is here directly, what else can we pray for?"
At this time, Pei Mao understood what he said, glanced at his father standing in front of everyone, took Zhang Song's words, and said:
"So everyone is standing here because a storm is coming."
Zhang Song was stunned by these words. He looked at Pei Mao, not sure whether he was really stupid or fake.
But he agreed with Pei Mao’s words and said:
"Yes, what will happen after your Majesty's death? That is..."
Just when Zhang Song was about to start talking, a young official standing in the corridor in front turned to Zhang Song and Pei Mao and said:
"Silence."
Zhang Song glanced at that person, and although he didn't agree, he still kept his mouth shut.
Because the person who said this was Zuo Zhonglang Liu Fan, the son of Liu Yan, the current governor of Yizhou.
Outside the corridor of the front hall is the end gate that separates the palace from the inner hall. Under the gate, there are teams of halberd-bearing men from the Eight Guards Corps, patrolling at night.
Outside the door, there were the attendants of various officials in the palace. They also knew the seriousness of what happened today and kept walking anxiously outside the door.
At this moment, a bus attendant named Du Ji hurried over.
The officer guarding Duanmen wondered why the people on the bus did not enter from the north and why they went around to Duanmen.
But he knew that the bus order was specially designed to receive documents and memorials from outside the palace at night, and there must be something big happening at this time. Therefore, Captain Duanmen did not dare to neglect and hurriedly asked Du Ji to come up.
After Du Ji came up from the basket, he didn't bother to be polite to Captain Duanmen and hurried down to find someone.
As soon as he came in, he saw a lot of ministers standing under the corridor of the front hall. Sangong, Zongzheng, Weiwei, Guangluxun, princes in Beijing, imperial censors, these big shots who were rarely seen in ordinary times, all came together with them.
Everyone was crowded together and no one wanted to talk much.
Du Ji searched the crowd and saw where the minister ordered Yang Biao.
He lowered his head, hurriedly walked to Yang Biao's place, and thrust the 2,000-mile urgent report from Liangzhou into Yang Biao's hand. Then he left.
Du Ji knew that he was too sensitive tonight and did not dare to stay any longer.
And Yang Biao had already seen Du Ji, his disciple, and was stunned for a moment when he saw him stuffing a book in his hand.
But when he opened it and took a look, he was confused.
However, Yang Biao had already learned his craftsmanship through experience. With no movement on his face, he walked to a long letter lamp and ordered the silk book directly.
When he turned around again at this time, he saw Jin Shang, Zhao Qi, Wuyong, Gai Xun, and Fu Xie already looking over.
Yang Biao said lightly:
"Nothing, nothing is important today."
After saying that, Yang Biao looked at the closed front hall, unconsciously pinched the bones under his long sleeves, and murmured: