"If you are short of an inch and trust the ruler, if you are small but you are straight, I cannot do it." [Zi Zi·Volume 2]
In September of the fourth year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty.
Jing Zhaoyin, Chang'an.
At this time, the weather in Guanzhong had turned cooler, and the entire official road in Sanfu was full of autumn. Jingzhao Yin Hu Miao knew that the emperor liked ginkgo leaves, so he transplanted many ginkgo trees on the outer road of Chang'an City long before this.
The emperor looked at the willows all the way from Baqiao, and in a blink of an eye he saw everything golden, as if countless golden fish scales were fluttering in the wind on the trees, shining brightly in the sun.
Some ginkgo leaves have begun to fall, and almost every gust of wind passing through the trees will take away a yellow butterfly when it leaves. There is no way to sweep away the yellow leaves on the ground, and Hu Miao does not allow anyone to sweep, saying this
It was gold that paved the way and looked festive. More importantly, he knew that the emperor liked it.
After nearly two years of absence, the people of Chang'an finally welcomed back the Han emperor who had kept them away from famine. The first ones to arrive were the mighty Northern Army camps. They were well-dressed, neatly lined up, and slowly came from a distance with great power.
Come.
When the people of Chang'an who were waiting in the streets saw such an elite division, they couldn't help but shout loudly and were moved to tears.
Sikong, Zhao Wen, Taiwei, and Dong Cheng, the Minister of Record, as well as General Wang Bin of the Guard, Wu Shuo, the Minister, and Yang Qi, the Minister, led the left-behind officials of more than 2,000 shi in Chang'an to the northeast of Chang'an.
The victorious troops of the Han Emperor were waiting outside the Xuanping Gate in the corner.
After the emperor returns to the palace, an edict will be issued immediately. Chang'an will cancel the curfew for three days and the east and west markets will not be closed. The people in the city will cheer for this and feel peace in advance.
Mu Shun has been very happy these days when he thinks that he will finally end this difficult military life and return to the Weiyang Palace where he feels like a fish in water. He even wants to pass on the happiness in his heart to others. For this reason, he has always
He picked up a golden ginkgo leaf from the carriage and returned to the carriage to show it to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I haven't seen this ginkgo in Chang'an for a long time."
The emperor was talking to Xun You who was riding in the car at this time. Seeing Mu Shun's fawning face, the emperor looked calmly and reached out to take the leaf. He looked carefully at the lines on the leaf and said for no reason: "
As the years get colder, you will know that the pines and cypresses will wither."
After saying this, he handed the yellow leaf to Xun You. Xun You hurriedly stretched out his hands to hold it, with a serious look, as if what he was receiving was not an ordinary fallen leaf, but a heavy sustenance.
The emperor once again looked back at Mu Shun, who had a sneer on his face, and said calmly: "You still want to hide something from me?"
This sound was like thunder exploding in his ears. Mu Shun's expression suddenly changed and he hurriedly explained: "I don't dare!"
"What are you thinking about every day?" The emperor frowned slightly. Although he was blaming him, he was not necessarily angry. He shook his sleeves and said, "Why didn't you first deal with such a big thing as Wei Ting's death?"
tell me?"
Although there were other channels for the emperor to know about this kind of thing, the emperor didn't like Mu Shun making his own decisions.
Mu Shun knelt down in panic, and tremblingly expressed his difficulties: "I was thinking that today's triumphal return to the class is a day of great auspiciousness, how could such an unfavorable thing be spread to His Majesty's ears? So I thought.
It won't be too late to hide it until tomorrow..." As he said that, he glanced at Xun You, as if he was complaining about the other person's lack of understanding, and he was trying to displease the emperor at this time.
Xun You held the yellow leaves in his hands and ignored Mu Shun's sad eyes.
"I will fine you half a year's salary and receive ten sticks when you return to the palace. You will be taught a lesson. If you dare to do this again in the future, you will go to Shanglin Garden to sweep the leaves." The emperor gave Mu Shun a cold look, and after beating him, he said: "Go.
The teaching of the Dharma is coming."
Mu Shuncheng thanked him in fear and immediately backed out of the car. Li Jian, the visitor who followed the car outside, came to greet him.
He saw the cold sweat on Mu Shun's forehead and knew that he was being trained by the emperor. He immediately felt that it was not worth it. Li Jian hurriedly took Mu Shun's arm and walked a long way in the team. Then he said: "Why do you need to
?This kind of thing should not be stopped. You also know that the country has made a clear decision, so why do you have to hide it?"
It was Li Jian who informed Mu Shun of the death of Tingwei Fayan. At that time, Mu Shun deliberately concealed the matter, and Li Jian tried to persuade him for a long time to no avail. Now that he saw Mu Shun being scolded by the emperor, Li Jian also acted like he knew it was the case.
Why bother with his original demeanor? After complaining for a while, he couldn't help lowering his voice: "The incident of Sima Yi in Chencang has been spread throughout Sanfu. Can't we use this as a lesson?"
"He?" Although Li Jian was older than him, he was promoted by himself. Mu Shun was used to dealing with him as a respectable person. At this time, he was complained by Li Jian, and he felt a little unhappy.
, simply made it clear and said: "What do you know? Sometimes you have to make some mistakes. Compared with other people, not only will we not be punished for making small mistakes, but we will also like him more in His Majesty's heart. On the contrary, those mistakes
Those who don't commit any crime are..."
Having said this, Mu Shun stopped speaking appropriately and looked at Li Jian with a proud look on his face. But it turned out that he was directing and acting on his own and deliberately made mistakes so that the emperor could hit him neither lightly nor hard.
Li Jian understood. Unexpectedly, in just a few years, Mu Shun, who was more clever than a city man, had made such great progress since he served the emperor. In a moment of thought, Li Jian suddenly thought of Mu Shun's words.
It seems to also reveal other meanings, as if he observed something around the emperor and unconsciously learned and applied it.
Seeing that he had frightened the other party with his words, Mu Shun felt very unhappy. He stopped wasting time chatting with Li Jian and directly invited Fazheng, the minister of Huangmen.
At this time, Xun You was about to get out of the car. Fazheng saw that he was still holding a leaf in his hand, and couldn't help but feel a little strange. After receiving a bow from Fazheng, Xun You lightly cupped his hand, and walked over to the house without saying a word, holding the leaf.
The passenger car at the back went up.
Fazheng didn't think much and got into the car. Just as he was about to salute, he was stopped by the emperor: "There is no need to salute in a hurry. I just learned about a regrettable thing."
The emperor looked straight at Fazheng who seemed to have a premonition, sighed slightly, and said with regret: "Your Majesty died of illness in the morning, and left a suicide note in Yang Pei's hands. You can take care of it after you return."
Seeing that... you have made many military exploits with Zhang Liao in Hebei, I was going to send you to continue serving in Zhang Liao's army. However, your illness worsened, so I brought you all the way back to Chang'an. Please take care of your health first.
Observe filial piety and wait until the period of filial piety is over..."
Fazheng didn't listen to a word of the emperor's next words. He listened to the emperor with a blank expression, and then bowed his head like a puppet on strings and promised. He didn't even know what he promised. Everyone
When Fazheng raised his head, his face was already filled with tears. When the emperor saw this, he also sighed, thinking that if he had stayed in Luoyang for a few less days, maybe Fazheng would be able to see his father one last time.
Fa Zheng was so distracted that he had no time to think about anything else. He asked the emperor for leave, borrowed a horse and left the emperor's palace on the way. He bypassed the crowded Xuanping Gate and entered the city through the lonely Qingming Gate in the south.
However, there were crowds of people everywhere in the city, and some of the main roads were even controlled by the city gate captain and no one was allowed to pass through. Fortunately, Fa Zhengshen had a temporary decree from the emperor, so the whole journey was smooth.
When I got home, my family members had already put on mourning, and all the family members had changed into coarse linen clothes. Because the whole city was celebrating, the family members did not dare to cry loudly. They only knelt down beside Fa Yan and sobbed in a low voice. There was no crying, so
The low sobs made people feel even more depressed. Fazheng staggered over and ran over. He saw Ting Wei Zheng and Yang Pei, whose father had praised him profusely during his lifetime, attending a funeral in his house.
Fazheng was the only son in the family. When his family was in poverty, he had few relatives to help him. Fayan became a court official, and Fazheng became the Huangmen servant and came to recognize his relatives. Fazheng still resented the unkindness among relatives back then.
Fa Yan needed to avoid suspicion because he was serving as a court captain, so he insisted on refusing to interact with his former relatives, so these relatives were unable to take advantage of the situation near Jingzhao. Now that Fa Yan died of illness, the funeral was temporarily carried out before Fa Zheng rushed back.
Yang Pei and other outsiders handled it single-handedly.
"You're finally here." Lu Manman, a former friend of Fa Shengren, came up with a tired face and said, "Come in with me quickly."
Fazheng and the two of them bowed to express their thanks, and were about to step in when they heard Yang Pei on the other side say: "Fagong always thought of you before his death. This is the suicide note he dictated in front of me and Lu Ling.
Yang Pei took out a suicide note from his sleeve and handed it into Fazheng's hand, and then said: "I'll leave the reception of guests and the funeral ceremony to you. I still have something to do at the Tingwei Mansion. I'll come back at sunset."
"
After saying that, Yang Pei walked away expressionlessly, as if the person who had just died was not his boss, but an ordinary deceased person.
Fazheng felt a little angry. Thanks to his father's usual care and praise of Yang Pei, who would have thought that the other party would have such an attitude and would not even sit for a while. What else can Tingwei do now? Almost everyone is going.
When the emperor arrived outside the city, he didn't expect Yang Pei to be such a villain.
"Xiaozhi, you can't think too much." Lu Chong noticed Fazheng's angry eyes and promptly explained: "Although Yang Kongqu is ruthless in his work, he has always supported him, so he has always cherished it in his heart.
Be grateful."
Seeing Fazheng holding the suicide note and bowing his head in silence, Lu Chong knew that the other party did not believe him, so he could only sigh and said with shame: "These days, Duke Zhou, the captain of Shuiheng, ordered to mint a new batch of money. I am busy with official duties, so I said
I rarely go to your residence. Yang Kongqu has always asked the imperial doctor to take care of Mr. Zun’s illness, and he almost never leaves. Until yesterday, Mr. Zun’s illness improved, and I heard Mr. Hua from the Imperial Hospital also say these things.
As long as his mood calms down, it will be fine, and he will return to Tingwei to deal with the backlog of cases."
How could Yang Pei be so humane?
Fazheng raised his head in surprise, and his hands relaxed unconsciously. His father's illness had been recurring. In fact, it was probably because the emperor appointed Hua Tuo and other famous doctors to diagnose and treat him that he was saved from death several times.
He was rescued. Originally, he heard in Luoyang that Fa Yan's condition had improved under Hua Tuo's care, so he relaxed and returned to the court with the emperor. How could it happen again?
Lu Chong was worried that Fa Zheng's temperament would cause misunderstandings with Yang Pei and lead to conflicts in the future. Now that Fa Yan is at peace with Yang Pei? Seeing that Fa Zheng's attitude has relaxed, Lu Chong continued: "This morning's meeting
At that time, preparations were being made in the city for the triumphant return. The late Lord asked casually, knowing that you were coming back with him, he couldn't help being happy and kept saying, "My father-in-law is coming"! In the end, a mouthful of phlegm stuck in his throat.
, it won’t work immediately.”
"Didn't he find an imperial doctor?" Fazheng said angrily.
"The Tai who stayed in the mansion could not be cured. On his way from the Imperial Hospital, Mr. Hua was stopped by the officers and soldiers on the forbidden road and had to go around for a long time before he came." Lu Chong closed his eyes slightly and said with regret: "
I was outside the city at that time. When Yang Kongqu learned about this, he immediately dropped the pending case and called a bus to pick up Mr. Hua on the road... Unfortunately, it was too late. In the afternoon, the late Mr. Xun woke up for a while and knew that he would not see you again.
After dictating his last words, he sighed a few times at the end."
Fa Zheng had already burst into tears over this matter. He could almost imagine how much his father wished to see him one last time, but it was a shame that he, an unfilial son, could not even realize such a last wish.
"Hey." When Lu Chong saw this, he didn't say anything more and could only put his right hand on Fazheng's shoulder to express comfort.
The young man's thin shoulders were twitching at this time. This young man, who had participated in many wars and was used to seeing life and death, seemed to still dare not accept the fact that his relative had died, especially when the other person died indirectly because of him.
Not long after, it seemed that the noise in the street had not ended yet, and groups of messengers came to Fa Zheng's home carrying the funeral rites given by the emperor. In the edict, the emperor deeply reviewed Fa Yan's contribution to the court.
He knew that Fayan's family was poor, so he gave him 100,000 yuan for funeral expenses, and granted Fayan the title of Marquis of Duxiang, with a settlement of 300 households.
The emperor's rewards were very particular. One hundred thousand dollars was given to the deceased, and the title of Marquis of Duxiang was given to the living. These two rewards completely tied Fazheng's heart. He was not moved by the money and titles, but by the
On such a festive day, the emperor showed no taboo in public and sent an obvious signal.
Immediately, many people who were hesitant rushed to Fazheng's home to express their condolences. Because of the emperor's endorsement, Fazheng's family no longer had any scruples about crying, and there was no need to deliberately keep the funeral simple.
Welcoming the emperor is a seemingly glamorous and lively thing, but it is very tedious and tiring. After the emperor was greeted by hundreds of officials on their knees outside the city, he asked Wang Bin, who was somewhat exhausted, to ride with him and offer sacrifices to the Gaomiao in person.
.
The ceremony of the sacrifice was cumbersome and complicated. Originally, the emperor only had to send Taichang to make the sacrifice on his behalf, but this time the emperor insisted on making the sacrifice in person. The ministers had no choice but to drag their tired bodies to the Gaomiao.
Naturally, the emperor had his own ideas when he offered sacrifices to the Gaomiao. In the Gaomiao, the emperor read out the memorial text written by Chen Lin to Taizu Emperor Gao in public. The memorial text was eloquent and eloquent. In addition to the routine rhetoric, it also changed the topic and roughly detailed it.
It describes the situation in the past hundred years in which the political order has been chaotic and powerful ministers have harmed the country.
Chen Lin is indeed a master of writing. The first paragraph of his memorial poem is like a descendant complaining to his ancestors, complaining that he inherited a mess at a young age. The following paragraph immediately breaks down, as if he is complaining to Emperor Taizu Gao.
I am quite proud to say that your good children and grandchildren have stabilized the situation and escaped the fate of subjugation. The incense of the Liu family and the Han Dynasty will still not be cut off. This is not the credit of the children and grandchildren, but the blessing of the ancestors and heaven.
.
But now that peace has returned to the world, we cannot be complacent and stand still. The next step is to make the Han Dynasty truly rejuvenate.
To what extent has ZTE reached its peak?
Finally, here is what the emperor wants to say through this memorial text:
'The light of Hei Zhaoxuan, the age of Shengwen and Wu.'