Chapter two hundred and seventy-fifth return from mourning
"Under the old system, officials and governors were not allowed to mourn for three years, so all the internal and external officials abolished the funeral ceremony." [Book of the Later Han·Biography of Liu Kai]
The emperor raised some points with Ma Jun and urged him to read more "Mo Jing", "Kao Gong Ji" and other crafts and science and technology monographs. Among them, "Kao Gong Ji" was taken from "Zhou Li" and was a business science book.
It is a must-have book, while "Mo Jing" is not taken seriously because it comes from "Mozi". Ma Jun only agreed that the emperor had nothing more to say, and asked Mu Shun to take the bowl of cold sour plum soup on the table.
Go and give it to Ma Jun.
Ma Jun drank the sour plum soup under Liu Wan's envious gaze and then left.
Seeing this, Mu Shun thought that the emperor's afternoon summons had come to an end, so he stepped forward and said softly: "Your Majesty, the weather is sultry and hot, why don't you take a rest first. Any matter involving important matters, the servants will be bold enough to report to Your Majesty.
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The emperor ignored him. Instead, he reached out and picked up the silk book Liu Wan had reported about the suspected earthquake. He looked at it boredly and remained silent, as if he was waiting for someone.
Seeing that he could not persuade the emperor to rest and sleep, Mu Shun looked a little uneasy for a moment.
There was silence in the Qingliang Hall, except for the whirring sound of the curtains being blown by the wind.
Suddenly, the visitor ordered Li Jian to take small steps from outside the palace, kneel before the emperor and announce in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Duke Jia is back."
Mu Shun's expression changed. Jia Xu had returned from mourning. Going back to the court to report on his duties was the last outcome he wanted to see, because once Jia Xu returned to the court, Mu Shun's power to be the acting governor during this period would be automatically withdrawn. As an ambitious man,
As a chamberlain, Mu Shun always yearned for the glory of his predecessors who were granted the title of marquis or official. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to gain the emperor's favor, the emperor still refused to give him the slightest power.
However, due to Mu Shun's long-term efforts, and for unknown reasons, the emperor's tone seemed to have loosened during this period. When discussing major political affairs, he would occasionally take him aside to serve tea and watch, although he was not given the right to participate.
But it was also a great improvement. During this period, the emperor asked Mu Shun to act as an agent for the affairs of Pingzhun Prison, which gave Mu Shun a taste of power for the first time. However, when Jia Xu was about to return to the court, the emperor was not sure about Mu Shun's next whereabouts.
There were no instructions, which made Mu Shun feel a little anxious.
Although Mu Shun, with the emperor's acquiescence, took advantage of Jia Xu's absence and developed many cronies in Pingzhun Prison, this was not a superficial power after all, and there was still a long way to go.
The emperor glanced sideways at Mu Shun. No matter how ambitious and capable Mu Shun was, he was still in his teens or twenties, and would be a little impetuous. If he wanted to become a mature and steady person like Miao Si of Great Changqiu, he still had to
Sharpen your temper a little more. Thinking like this, the emperor turned his attention to Li Jian who was summoning him, and whispered one word: "Xuan."
"Pingzhun, your Majesty." Jia Xu is still wearing simple robes. His body shape and appearance have not changed much, but his face has become a lot thinner. I don't know whether it is due to the pain of the death of his loving mother or this journey.
Caused by hard work.
It was not until they heard that Jincheng, Xihai, Jiuquan and other counties in Liangzhou were also in trouble due to drought locusts that Jia Xu, Zhou Yu, Guan Qiuxing and others were relieved and returned to Beijing to hand over their missions. It took a few days to travel.
Later, Jia Xu and others finally rushed to Chang'an, took a shower and changed clothes. After taking a short rest, they immediately requested to enter the palace to see him.
"Get up quickly and come and sit down." At this time, the emperor had no regular attendants around him, so he said in person: "There is no one else here. Mr. Jia has been away for many years, so don't be estranged from me again."
"I'm scared," Jia Xu replied.
The emperor waved his hand and asked Mu Shun to prepare a cold drink for Jia Xu, and then said with a smile: "According to the Han family system, the mourning leave of ministers is replaced by days and months. They only mourn for thirty-six days, not three years. Jia Gong insists on mourning for a year.
I went to Liangzhou to show my true filial piety."
In the early Han Dynasty, because the people were not deeply influenced by Confucian culture, the social custom of mourning for three years did not form. Especially after Emperor Xiaowen began to change the mourning period from thirty-six months to a short mourning period of thirty-six days, the subjects began to mourn.
There has never been a rigid system of three years of mourning. This situation did not change until the popularity of Confucian classics in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Many people, in order to gain the reputation of "utmost filial piety", settled in houses in front of their parents' graves. Therefore, due to the historical inertia of the system,
And for various other reasons, in order to maintain the stability of the upper-level bureaucracy, the emperors from Guangwu onwards still did not allow ministers with more than 2,000 shi to mourn for three years.
As for courtiers like Jia Xu, theoretically, short-term mourning is still the main procedure, and the period of mourning is not considered until the relatives are buried.
Therefore, it took Jia Xu nearly a year to complete his mourning period from Chang'an to Wuwei. As for how much of that time was spent on funerals, it's a matter of opinion.
The emperor frequently communicated with Jia Xu through letters when he was in mourning. He knew that during the funeral, Jia Xu relied on the emperor's favor for him and the reputation he gained in Liangzhou in his early years to make friends with a number of local powerful people. Among the powerful people
He publicized the current situation of the imperial court and offered inducements to make them fearful of power and virtue, thus unknowingly dividing Han Sui's forces in several counties in Hexi and subduing some of the forces in Hexi who served as pingzhun.
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It was precisely the foundations that Jia Xu laid in Liangzhou while he was in mourning that made Han Sui's rear area so busy that he had no time to take care of himself, giving the court time to survive the natural disaster and gain respite.
The emperor put aside those things that were tacitly understood by both parties, and asked directly: "It has been several years since the imperial court lost Yongliang. There have been many political failures, repeated military rises, the territory is like a wasteland, and the subjects are like abandoned children. The imperial court will be like this in the future."
We will make a difference, but we must first understand the current situation here. I wonder what the situation in Yongliang was like when Jia Gong came here."
"Yongliang has suffered from repeated wars, the rivers and canals have dried up, and the farming has not flourished. The local officials have neglected to guide them, and they have failed to supervise and advise. The land is already barren, not to mention disasters. Although the wealth of these powerful families is not as rich as that of Guanzhong,
, But they have lived together with the Qiang people for a long time, and their troops are elite. They regard the place as their own, and it is difficult to control it even if they have two thousand stones." Jia Xu said lightly, briefly describing the current situation in Liangzhou.
In short, the Qiang forces colluded with the local Han powerful forces to rule the local counties. Even if the court sent officials, they would end up being ignored. Moreover, the powerful people in Liangzhou are not as powerful as those in the mainland. The powerful people in the mainland still pay attention to face and benevolence, and will not act openly.
Liangzhou's tycoons are accustomed to using force to solve problems. Unless the court uses violence to combat violence and establish authority first, relying solely on gentleness will only lead to trouble.
"Yizhou is newly attached, our army is old and tired. Even though we have Yulin, Tunqi, Yueqi and other troops available, but... given the current situation in Guanzhong, just providing food and grass is a problem." The emperor made some calculations and said
Although Han Sui could take advantage of the instability in his rear and attack him in one fell swoop, no one knew how much money and energy this war would cost the court, as well as recruiting civilians along the way. In the short term, the attitude towards Han Sui should still be based on
The priority is to appease, this is the consensus reached among the courtiers, and the emperor is not a person who is eager for success, so he naturally knows the choice: "It is better to postpone the plan."
Jia Xu had known that this would be the result, so he was not surprised. He went on to say: "If the imperial court still has food left over after dealing with the drought locusts in Guanzhong, I thought it might as well take this opportunity to send an envoy to escort the food and grass to Liangzhou to provide relief."
Name, win the hearts of scholars and people."
Not all Liangzhou powerful people have lost their minds and want to go against the imperial court. Among them are some snobbish outsiders, such as the Kuai family of Zhangye, the Wang family of Wuwei, the Huang family of Jiuquan, etc. If the imperial court can grasp this drought, it can provide relief
Use this method to gain forces that can be united and lay the groundwork in Liangzhou in advance.
The emperor was deeply convinced and nodded and said: "In any case, the drought locusts in Guanzhong are still an urgent concern. As Jia Gong said, we can discuss it after the grain and grass are transported from Shu to Guanzhong."