On June 26, Pang Tong led his army back to Xiangyang.
Liu Cong personally went out of the city to greet him, and that night, the Marquis Mansion prepared a grand banquet. After arriving in Huainan, seeing Jingchu becoming more and more powerful, both Liu Cong and the civil and military officials were extremely happy.
It has been more than two months since Liu Biao passed away, and Liu Cong observed Liu Biao's filial piety for 30 days. This was not his own initiative, but there was precedent.
Before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism had not caught the attention of the emperors of the Han Dynasty. However, there was already a saying of observing filial piety for three years.
Before the death of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, he left a "Short Mourning Edict", which specifically stipulated that people should not observe filial piety for three years, which would affect production. When Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty passed away, he also issued the same edict.
Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed all schools of thought and respected Confucianism. Only then did the Confucian rule of observing filial piety for three years become more established, but it was not written into the law. It was just an unwritten rule. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that this rule was written into law.
In the legal provisions, it only targets scholars and bureaucrats.
Confucian theory is the guiding ideology of the feudal dynasty, but it is hard to say when it is applied to the emperor. Generally, modifications are made. The simplest and most direct modification is to "use the sun as the month". The 27-month mourning period is completed in 27 days, which is considered
The emperor has kept his filial piety.
According to records, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty died of illness on the 27th of the first lunar month in 141 BC and was buried in Yangling on the 6th of the second lunar month. The time from death to burial was 11 days. In March, Tian Fu (the younger brother of the Queen Mother) was granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an, and Tian Sheng was named Marquis of Wu'an.
Marquis of Zhou Yang.
According to the Confucian theory of filial piety, the emperor was not allowed to appoint officials, create marquises and other political actions during the period of filial piety. This also proves that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stopped observing mourning in March 141 BC.
It only took more than a month from the death of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty to the appointment of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the title of Marquis of Tian Fu, the younger brother of the Empress Dowager. Therefore, the maximum possible time for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to observe filial piety for Emperor Han Jing was 27 days, "replacing the sun with the month."
Maybe even shorter.
This special modification can not only be used by the emperor, but also by princes and some dignitaries.
"Shi Yuan." As everyone was pushing cups and changing cups, Liu Cong waved to Pang Tong.
Pang Tong hurriedly approached Liu Cong with a wine cup in hand, "My lord?"
Liu Cong pointed to the side of the table and motioned Pang Tong to sit down, "Can we gather a hundred thousand troops in Xiangyang in a few days?"
Pang Tong raised his eyebrows. Does your lord want to use troops? He just fought with Cao Cao, and the strategic goal of taking Huainan has been achieved. Shouldn't he want to fight Cao Cao? Could it be Liu Bei?
Well, there is a possibility. It has only been more than half a year since Liu Bei captured Xichuan. If he takes advantage of his unstable footing to attack Xichuan, it is not a bad idea.
Seeing Pang Tong thinking, Liu Cong saw what he was thinking and said, "Shi Yuan, don't think too much. We are not going to use our troops for foreign affairs. The soldiers have been fighting for years and it's time to rest."
Pang Tong looked up at Liu Cong in confusion, "What do you want, my lord?"
"Want to be king!"
"hiss!"
Pang Tong took a breath of cold air, trembled all over, and almost dropped the wine cup in his hand to the ground. His eyes widened, "My lord, I, I have lost my temper."
"It's okay, do you think it's inappropriate?"
Pang Tong shook his head like a rattle, "No, no, no, no, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. On the contrary, our army just attacked Huainan, and this is the right time to become king."
"Gu has told Gongyan about this matter. You and he are considered the civil and military leaders of Jingchu. Since you both support Gu, I have nothing to worry about. Tomorrow, when you two are discussing matters, talk to Gu!
"
"promise."
Xing Daorong suddenly ran in in a hurry and said to Liu Cong with a face full of joy, "My lord! Madam's maid just came to report that Madam Qiao has given birth to a daughter."
Liu Cong and Pang Tong looked at each other, "Haha, good sign!"
"Congratulations, my lord!"
Liu Cong took the wine cup and said to Pang Tong, "Shi Yuan, please give Gu's daughter a name. You know Gu always loves your daughter. If you get a bad name, Gu will punish you."
Pang Tong put down his wine cup, cupped his hands and replied, "My lord, please wait a moment, let me think about it."
"Yes." After thinking for a while, Pang Tong said to Liu Cong, "Master, how about calling me Zhihua?"
The word "zhi" often appears in Liu Cong's favorite "Li Sao" and is used to describe good conduct.
Hua, usually put together with beauty, is often used to describe the brilliance of things or the splendor of people. A deeper explanation is that it also means representing China.
"Zhihua?" Liu Cong murmured, then laughed, "What a great name. Go and tell the maid and madam that Gu's daughter is called Zhihua!"
"promise!"
After Xing Daorong left, Pang Tong came to Liu Cong's side again and said softly, "My lord, I think it is just the right time to persuade Liu Cong to come forward."
Liu Cong understood and nodded without any trace.
Pang Tong immediately left Liu Cong's side, sat back in his seat, and greeted the civil and military officials who toasted to him.
After a while, Pang Tong and Jiang Wan made eye contact, and both nodded.
Immediately, Jiang Wan looked at Yi Ji, the Minister of Rites. Seeing this, Yi Ji stood up, walked to the center, and knelt down directly, "My lord, our army has captured Huainan, and your lord has got a daughter. On this occasion of double happiness, I have a daughter.
I want to report it to my lord!"
Liu Cong waved his hand casually and said, "Uncle Ji, there's no need to be polite. Please get up quickly. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
However, Yi Ji did not stand up, but directly kowtowed and shouted, "My lord, how dare you ask me to call you king!"
As soon as Yi Ji said these words, the noise in the whole hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at him.
"Since my lord took charge of Jingchu, he defeated Sun Quan in the east, defended Cao Cao in the north, drove Liu Bei in the south, and destroyed the barbarians in the west. He invaded the east of the Yangtze River, subdued Jiaozhou, and conquered Huainan. He also reformed the old system, opened schools, set up hospitals, conducted imperial examinations, and changed the official system...
"
"The prosperity of Jingchu today is all due to the lord's wisdom. The world has been in chaos for decades. As a clan member of the Han Dynasty, the lord has the unshirkable responsibility to reorganize the Han Dynasty and save the imperial family from decline!"
"My lord, I dare to ask my lord to call you king! This will inspire the talented people who are loyal to the Han Dynasty and the millions of soldiers and civilians in Jingchu!"
After Yi Ji finished speaking, there was silence in the palace. After a while, the chief officials of the six departments came out and knelt on the ground, followed by most of the remaining civil and military officials!
"Dare you ask your lord to be crowned king!"
The reason why Liu Cong asked Pang Tong to talk about this tomorrow was because he and Jiang Wan went down to organize manpower.
But he didn't expect that today, Pang Tong just discussed with a few chief officials of the Six Ministries, but it attracted so many people to agree!
"How can I take on such a big responsibility if I am a man of little talent and virtue?"
Pang Tong knelt on the ground and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, if you don't call yourself king, who in the world is worthy of you?"
Gan Ning, one of the generals, also spoke up, "If you dare to ask your lord to be king, we will die for you!"
Liu Cong still declined, saying, "Without an edict from the emperor, if I call myself the king alone, I'm afraid that the world will criticize me."
The white eyebrows above Huang Zhong's tiger eyes frowned, "My lord, whoever dares to criticize you, the veteran will chop him into pieces for you!"
Liu Cong cursed this old killer in his heart.
Ma Liang, the Minister of Household Affairs, said, "My lord, the emperor is in prison, and the emperor's edict is actually a thief's edict, and a thief's edict is also an edict. It is an emergency, and you should do extraordinary things. My lord is the one who is expected by the people of the world. Only by being king can you win the hearts of the people."