"Now the king has ordered: 'Remember the merits, use the merits as a tribute, and make sacrifices to the Yuan Dynasty.'"
On the 15th day of the seventh month in the fourth year of Chuping, the Xiongnu came to Fuluoba in Yangqu County. Guo, the prefect of Yanmen, and Xia Yu, the general who protected the Xiongnu, Zhang Bu, the leader of Yangqu, died in the accident, and Pang De, the captain of Diannong School, led his troops to retreat to Yu. county.
"They are all heroes and martyrs." It was already afternoon when the emperor arrived outside Jie County. Before he could take a good rest, he received this military report from Bingzhou. He gently put the general report on the table and stared at it. He was stunned for a while after sending the military report, with mixed feelings in his heart. He thought that this war might have unexpected casualties, but he didn't expect it to be so heavy, especially Xia Yu's death in the battle. Therefore, in addition to appeasing Huangfu Song, choosing him also valued the prestige he had established among the Qiang and Hu.
Now that Xia Yu is dead, after the Bingzhou is settled, who else is qualified to take the position of guarding the Huns? Zhang Ji? Pang De? The emperor considered feasible candidates one by one. The fall of Yangqu brought about a series of chain consequences In response, Taiyuan was in danger. Although it would not overturn the situation, it had already affected the emperor's plan to employ people and troops.
"They died serving the imperial court loyally. Your Majesty should issue an edict to appease them and show their heroic spirit." Fu Xun, the minister who followed the army, thought of his family relative Fu Xie. He also sacrificed his life for the country in the Qiang rebellion back then, and now it is again. A case of dying with the city made him feel a little sad.
"Female marquis, reward reward, Yinzi." The emperor named several names in succession, and said briefly: "It is up to you to draw up the specific rituals, and then submit them to me for review."
"Jinnuo."
The emperor had many thoughts going through his mind at this time, and then he said carefully: "Since Emperor Gao founded the country, Emperor Xiaoxuan has made statues in Lin Pavilion to commemorate his achievements, and Emperor Xiaoming has drawn cloud platforms to show his achievements. Lao. Over the past dynasties, all of them have demonstrated the morality, loyalty and loyalty of their ministers. In order to enable hundreds of generations to know their merits and fame, and to enable capable people to appreciate their hard work and repay their wisdom and bravery. I think of the heroes and martyrs of our Han Dynasty for 400 years. There are countless loyal, thrifty and capable ministers, and they are not limited to those mentioned in Linge Yuntai?"
Xun You pondered for a moment and said: "Lin Pavilion, what is recorded in Yuntai are all ministers of Zhongxing, or have the honor of Kuang Shi. Ordinary ministers, even if they have great achievements, are difficult to enter. I am not going against your majesty's intention to honor the loyal and loyal, but I heard that 'Respecting people should also be based on the order of great merit and great merit. Great merit will be given a big name, and small merit will be given a small name'. Only in this way can the name be consistent with the reality. For example, Xia Yu, Guo and others, although they pledged themselves to the country and died, but if they are compared with The ministers of Yuntai stand side by side, fearing that instead of seeing their dignity, they will see their degradation."
This is indeed the case. Let’s not talk about the Qilin Pavilion for now. It is purely for Emperor Xiaoxuan to commemorate the ministers who assisted him in the past. But Yuntai is different. There are all the meritorious deeds in it that assist Emperor Guangwu in founding the country and re-establishing the Han Dynasty. Minister, it is a level higher than Qilin Pavilion in terms of size and influence. If the emperor intends to commemorate the service of ministers like Xia Yu, then he should pay attention to the size and not raise it too high to the position of Yuntai.
The emperor knew that Xun You's reminder was mainly based on the concept of "name and reality". If the name is not consistent with the reality, it will easily be criticized by others. Even the Qibao Mountain in later generations will have to be ranked, let alone the ancient times where fame is highly valued?
He thought for a while and said: "What Mr. Xun said is very good. Those ministers are loyal to the country and their righteousness is in death. They are cherished by the court and lamented by the people. However, their merits have their merits and their reputations have their importance. They cannot do anything arbitrarily." My original intention was to build another place where those who died loyally to the country and those who were loyal and unyielding would be painted with images and worshiped below the cloud platform. This is not only to honor Xia Yu, Guo and others, but also to This is a reward for those countless loyal ministers and righteous men like Fu Gong and Gai Gong, and countless ministers who served the Han Dynasty to the death! To show that the court will never forget their name, and the Liu family will not forget their loyalty."
Fu Xun was stunned for a moment, and tears suddenly appeared in his eyes. He stood up and left the table, walked to the atrium, knelt down and choked up and said: "Shang Shu Lang Chen Xun, on behalf of Zhuangjie Marquis Fu Gong, I would like to thank Your Majesty!"
The emperor's pursuit of Fu Xie's respect was not only a matter of Fu Xie, but also related to the reputation of the entire Fu family. It can be said that the Fu family in the North had such a status in the court, mostly because of Fu Xie Yize. If it weren't for the emperor's respect for Fu Xie, Gai Xun and others, Fu Xun and others would not be so valued by the emperor. Therefore, the more the emperor respected Fu Xie, the more he would appreciate Fu.
This is a causal relationship that is easy to distinguish, and it is also the biggest political advantage of Fu's current position in the court.
Jia Xu glanced at Fu Xun and said leisurely: "I've heard that advocating for the virtuous and doing good is the first in the king's teachings; remembering merit and carrying out hard work is a kind of kindness that can be traced back. Therefore, Taishi often writes down strategies and diligently remembers loyalty. , do not make any mistakes. This is exactly what His Majesty Zhaoxun wrote about his achievements. In my humble opinion, it is better to use Qilin Pavilion as the basis to record the images of famous ministers in the past dynasties, and record their achievements on it, and compare it with the original famous ministers in Lin Pavilion. , receive worship together.”
The emperor listened to these words of love indifferently at first, but he couldn't help but smile happily: "Shan, after returning to Chang'an, let the ministers discuss the merits and demerits of the famous officials in the past dynasties, rank them according to their merits, and make a supplementary record in Linge . For those who have no merit but have integrity, build the Zhaoxun Pavilion with the same standard as the Lin Pavilion and enshrine it with the same drawings. Then repair the Jiantai in Cangchi and draw the heroes of the founding of the country such as Liuhou and others on it. , stand side by side with the ministers of Zhongxing in Yuntai. In addition, those ministers who founded the country and Zhongxing, and whose achievements are so great, should be worthy of being in the temple and listed in the inscriptions. Only in this way can they be respected."
So far, there has never been a case where foreign ministers are eligible to enter the ancestral temple. Even famous ministers such as Zhang Liang, Huo Guang, and Deng Yu have never entered the royal ancestral temple. It is not that they are not qualified, but no one has thought about it at all. After all, no matter how you say the ancestral temple, it is still the Liu family's own ancestral temple. How can there be any reason to place the gods of outsiders casually? But as the head of the Liu family, the emperor decided to make the decision and let foreign ministers use this method. During the reign of ancestors, these deserving ministers could also receive official sacrificial treatment from the imperial court.
This is the supreme honor. Even the usually calm and calm Jia Xu and the indifferent Xun You were breathing rapidly. Although they deliberately maintained their usual demeanor, their eager eyes and pouty lips had already been exposed. Their excited mood at the moment.
Chasing honors for their achievements not only shows that the Liu family has not forgotten their achievements in the past, but also inspires those who come after them to work hard for the Han Dynasty. After the emperor gave preferential treatment to his ancestors, he naturally would not miss the opportunity to win over the hearts of his current ministers. He said in a loud voice: "The Marquis Liu has assisted in the founding of the country, and the Marquis Gaomi has achieved great success in defeating the Zhongxing. How remarkable is it? Now is the time when the Han Dynasty is rising again. I boast that I will not let Guangwu down, and I vow to make achievements that are not inferior to Guangwu. You You are all my colleagues and ministers, and in the future, whether it is the ancestral temple or the pavilion, you will have a place for you."
In later dynasties, the ancestral family law was regarded as the most powerful thing. As a result, the authority of the emperor at that time was not as good as that of the deceased emperor. It was even difficult to get rid of the bad policies of the ancestors and the previous emperors, otherwise they would be called unfilial. However, this bad habit did not exist in the Han Dynasty. , although we respect our ancestors, we still have to criticize them for anything wrong with them. This can be seen from the Han Dynasty, when emperors had good and bad posthumous titles, and they were extremely stingy in pursuing temple names.
Therefore, there was nothing wrong with the emperor's words. Instead, he revealed an ambition to open up a new world, which made Jia Xu and others' blood boil.