Chapter 164 The Storm is Coming (4.6K)
In the courtyard.
Looking at Lao Su with a solemn expression, Wang Zhen on the side couldn't help but step forward and asked:
"Uncle, something happened in the palace?"
Except for Xu Yun, the people left behind by Lao Su were all officials within the Song Dynasty system.
This also includes old friends like Zong Ze who are related to Lao Su, but the relationship is not particularly close.
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, there is a high probability that something happened in the palace - and it is not a particularly high-level secret. It will probably gradually spread within a few hours or a day or two.
Lao Su obviously had no intention of betraying him. He was silent for a moment and slowly uttered a few words:
"The Queen Mother passed away."
"?!"
Hearing what Lao Su said.
The courtyard was quiet at first, and then started to boil.
I saw the old man's eyes flickering a few times, frowning and asking:
"Mr. Su, when did the Queen Mother die?"
Old Su looked around a few times to make sure there was no one around and said:
"This is the news that just came from the palace. It will not take more than an hour and a half at most - His Royal Highness King Jian went to see the Queen Mother yesterday."
Hearing this, Laozhong sighed slightly.
Empress Dowager Xiang was five years older than him. She was the great-granddaughter of Xiang Minzhong, the prime minister during the Zhenzong period of Song Dynasty, and he was the grandson of Zhong Shiheng.
As the head of civil servants in the DPRK and China, Xiang Minzhong has never been at odds with Zhong Shiheng.
Therefore, some of the hatred between the two has been extended to the next generation. It is not an exaggeration to say that they have a feud.
In Laozhong's childhood, he had many childish conflicts with Queen Mother Xiang. (See "History of the Song Dynasty·Volume 335·Biography 94")
After both parties become adults.
Empress Dowager Xiang married Song Shenzong Zhao Xu, while Lao Zhong became a disciple of Zhang Zai and became a member of the third class.
Later, Lao Zhong disobeyed Cai Jing's will by discussing the military law and became hostile to Cai Jing. Cai Jing's party members falsely accused him of "slandering the martyrs" and dismissed him from office and included him in the party membership.
As a result, the old man was banned for ten years.
Empress Dowager Xiang is the opposite of Lao Zhong. She is extremely close to Cai Jing and can even be regarded as one of Cai Jing's nobles.
For example, after Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne, Cai Jing was dismissed from office and sent abroad. It was the Queen Mother who ordered Huizong to keep Cai Jing to complete the work of compiling history.
Although Cai Jing was dismissed from office a few months later by Gong Fu, Chen Shixi and others, he got to know Han Zhongyan during his stay in Beijing, which led to his subsequent recovery.
Of course.
At this time, Cai Jing was still in the stage of studying history in Beijing, and many subsequent things had not happened yet.
But this does not affect the old people's bad impression of Cai Jing - after all, the hatred that has been suppressed for ten years cannot be resolved by Cai Jing's dismissal from office.
That's why.
The conflict between Laozhong and the Queen Mother gradually reached an irreconcilable point.
But as the two sides are not so stupid and extreme ‘monarchs’, the competition between them has always had a prerequisite:
The country is stable.
For example, Empress Dowager Xiang knew that the Western Army could not lack old soldiers, so she suppressed them, but she did not break her arms like Zhao Gou or Wanyan Gou did when he killed Yue Fei.
Empress Dowager Xiang's approach was to support Wang Hou, Lao Zhe, and even Tong Guan, allowing them to gradually replace Lao Zhong's position in the Western Army.
The same is true for Laozhong, who never brought personal relationships into the war in the border army.
But now I want to die to the Queen Mother.
The situation became a little more delicate.
After all, everyone knows what kind of character Duan Wang is now
Don’t say anything else.
Just looking at the fact that he gave birth to thirty-one sons and thirty-four daughters before he was captured, we can see what kind of emperor he was.
Then Lao Zhong suddenly thought of something and said to Lao Su:
"Su Gong, where is Wang Zezhi? Where is he at this time?"
Lao Su raised his eyelids and glanced at him. He quickly realized what Lao Zhong was worried about and said:
"Don't worry. According to what Yuan Nian said, Su Wei is just on alert and there is no sign of mobilization."
The real name of Wang Zezhi in Lao Zhong's mouth is Wang En. He is currently the commander of the capital in front of the palace, one of the standard "Nine Taiwei". In addition, he is also the commander-in-chief of the Suwei, and he is deeply trusted by Huizong.
To use a modern metaphor, Wang En is the leader of the security regiment, the confidant among his confidants.
Hearing that Wang En didn't do much, Laozhong couldn't help but take a deep breath:
It seems that the death of Queen Mother Xiang was not kept secret and was indeed a natural death
Then he thought about it and turned to Wang Hou:
"Chu Dao, the Queen Mother has passed away. Your status is a bit sensitive, so please go back to Wu Xinjun's place first."
Wang Hou nodded and agreed:
"Good."
Seeing this, Lao Zhong bowed his hands towards Lao Su and Xu Yun again and said:
"Su Gong, Xiao Wang, something unexpected happened. As Chudao and I are the commanders, there are some things we can't control ourselves, so we have to say goodbye first."
"Xiao Wang, after the Queen Mother's death is settled, I will come to your door to discuss skills with you in detail."
At this time, Xu Yun was still in shock. Hearing this, he quickly subconsciously returned the favor:
"It doesn't matter if the propaganda envoy goes, he can just send someone to speak to him when necessary."
Lao Su looked around at a few people, pondered for a moment, and said:
"Xiao Wang, Ru Lin, Zheng Chen, Zheng Ru, you may be white or your official rank is not high, so please go back to your house first. I will see off the envoy Zhongcheng and General Wang."
Wang Zhen and others looked at each other and took orders at the same time:
"Yes!"
Then everyone parted ways, and Xu Yun returned to the house with a calm expression.
After closing the door.
He leaned against the door with the back of his head against the door panel and sighed with a complicated mood.
If it was just a guess before.
So now she was sure that Queen Mother Xiang had indeed fallen for Lao Su.
Otherwise follow the normal trajectory.
Although Queen Mother Xiang's health is not good, she can survive for at least four more months and will not die until the spring of next year.
In other words, this little butterfly of his has indeed affected the direction of historical trajectories in some copies.
Think of this.
He couldn't help but turn around, slightly arched his body in a certain direction, and said goodbye.
Although he and Empress Dowager Xiang have never met.
But in a sense, Queen Mother Xiang's death four months early had nothing to do with his arrival, but was causally connected.
Therefore, Xu Yun's gift was not a big one, nor was it pretentious, but a courtesy based on the bottom line.
Then he walked to the desk, picked up a pen and paper, and wrote a letter in Morse code:
"Rye Erguotou Kai."
".The Queen Mother passed away, and the plan codenamed 'Readers Can't Hear' can be officially implemented."
"So so. So so"
An hour passed.
Xu Yun sealed the written letter with oil wax and put it into his sleeve.
I went out and found Mr. Xie Duguan and asked:
"Old Du Guan, is third brother at home now?"
Mr. Xie was in charge of preparing a memorial speech for Lao Su at the moment. Hearing this, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
"Here, I saw him in the south wing just now. Will I send someone to find him now?"
"Then Lao Lao will take care of it."
"It's a small matter, just wait."
Governor Xie bowed his hand to Xu Yun, stopped a servant, and gave him the task of finding Zhang San.
The servant agreed and hurriedly took the order and left.
Xu Yunze and Mr. Xie parted ways and returned to the small courtyard alone.
About a quarter of an hour passed.
Zhang San appeared outside Xu Yun’s courtyard:
"Brother Wang, I heard that you are looking for me?"
Xu Yun nodded, handed him the envelope in his hand, and said:
"Third brother, please go out and hand this letter over to the house in Hewang Lane we visited before. Tell him that Bird Jiulian gave it to him."
Zhang San nodded and patted his chest:
"Understood, leave this matter to me!"
After Zhang San leaves.
Xu Yun put his hands behind his back and sighed quietly.
Then in the next half day.
Xu Yun, who was free, gradually witnessed the dissemination process of information:
In the first few hours after Empress Dowager Xiang died, only Lao Su and other officials within the system knew about the situation.
But the first half day passed.
Yue Lian and other high-ranking servants in the mansion also vaguely got the news, and they were whispering.
Later, Xu Yun went shopping and found that many people on the street looked like the Riddler of later generations. When meeting acquaintances, he would say "Hey, have you heard about it?"
When the other person saw this, he pointed to the sky mysteriously and raised a smile that was silent.
Wait until that night.
Zhang San, who came back from delivering the letter, looked like a small vendor selling electronic watches in the 1990s. He tugged on Xu Yun's sleeves and said, "Brother Wang, the Queen Mother has passed away."
Another night passed.
Early the next morning.
Dang——
On Zhuque Street, the servants of Jingzhao Mansion rang the death knell, officially announcing the death of the Queen Mother to the world.
According to the rules of "Book of Rites·Kingdom".
After the death of the emperor, he should be buried in seven days and buried in seven months.
The princes were buried in the fifth month and buried in the fifth month. The officials, scholars and common people were buried in the third month and buried in the third month.
Among them, the treatment of the Queen Mother is somewhat similar to that of the Emperor. She is buried in the seventh month and buried in the fifth month.
However, Zhou Li has this requirement mainly because of the need to choose a cemetery and divine the auspicious day for burial.
In addition, it takes time for the princes from all over the country to come to the funeral, so it will be relatively lengthy.
Of course.
There is also a rumor that the ancients wanted to use this to see if the dead would be resurrected. This statement is a matter of benevolence and wisdom.
Wait until the Song Dynasty.
The emperor's burial time was shortened to 3-5 months.
The empress dowager's burial custom was changed to a small coffin on the third day and a large coffin on the fifth day. She could be buried one to two months later.
What?
You ask, why doesn't the body stink and rot when it's so hot in summer?
The reason is simple.
When the body of the queen mother or emperor is not exhumed, ice cubes must be placed under the corpse bed, and ice cubes must be continuously replenished.
In addition, before the Zi Palace was enshrined, both the funeral hall and the mausoleum had to be wrapped with layers of plant ash, charcoal, bamboo mats, etc.
These materials play a role in isolating air and moisture to a certain extent.
at the same time.
The embalmers in charge of funerals in the palace would also soak the body in special essential oils for a period of time and wax it.
After the official burial, the outside of the coffin will be painted with 49 layers of paint - of course, the 49th layer is the emperor's treatment. The queen mother's treatment is due to reasons that some idiot author cannot find out, so just pay attention to it.
If you encounter some crazy people, they will also fill the coffin with mercury, which looks very shady.
Although Lao Su had already retired from office, he only had to be present on the day of the funeral and offer a memorial speech.
But this was a very sensitive matter after all, so Lao Su didn't dare to neglect it at all.
Therefore, in the three-person small class on the second day, for the first time, only Xiao Li was present.
In the classroom.
Looking at Xiao Li who was obediently listening, Xu Yun wrote a few words on the blackboard:
"Miss Li, what we are going to learn today is a geographical concept called terrain rain."
Xiao Li blinked:
"Terrain rain?"
Xu Yun nodded and said:
"Yes, orographic rain is one of the four major precipitation forms in the world. The other three are frontal rain, convective rain, and typhoon rain."
"The reason why terrain rain has this name is because it is a type of rain caused by the blocking effect of terrain."
"When the moist air flow encounters obstacles such as mountains and other highlands and is forced to rise, the temperature will drop, eventually forming precipitation."
"The hillside where precipitation occurs happens to be the windward side, so this mountain face is the windward slope."
"The image of this kind of rain before it forms is generally very impressive, like the sky and the earth are toppling. For example, Xu Hun of the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem describing topographical rain in "Xianyang City East Tower"."
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"The clouds are rising in the stream and the sun is sinking in the pavilion"
"The rain is about to come. The wind fills the building." (End of Chapter)