Chapter 165 Shocking change! (6.4K)
The news of Queen Mother Xiang's death came extremely suddenly.
Except for a few insiders, most people are not mentally prepared enough.
The news was like a downpour.
It brought a touch of coolness to life in the capital of the Song Dynasty, which was supposed to be as hot as summer.
For example, many shops on the busiest Royal Street are closed.
The number of soldiers checking the traffic outside Zhuque Gate has increased a lot.
His expression was solemn and unsmiling.
The Bianjing Night Market, which was supposed to be bustling, suddenly cooled down. It was replaced by a curfew, and no Huafang wine shops were allowed to open.
Zhang San also told Xu Yun.
Another Cuju competition originally planned to start five days later was postponed indefinitely.
Slaughtering livestock and marriage are not allowed in the entire Bianjing.
Each temple in Beijing must ring its bells a total of 10,000 times
Basically you can say this.
In the two months before the burial of the Empress Dowager, the entire Bianjing city's fiscal revenue would have lost at least 70%.
What is even more depressing and even scary is another thing:
It is now early August, and the time when Song Zhezong Zhao Xu passed away
February 23, 1100 AD, will be almost five months ago.
Mentioned before.
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 emperors of the Song Dynasty were buried earlier, generally around three to five months.
According to the records of "The Chronicles of Zhe Zong" in Volume 18 of "History of the Song Dynasty":
"At the end of the first month of the third year of spring, the emperor was ill and ignored the court. ... Ji Mao, the emperor died."
"At the end of April, the posthumous title is Emperor Qin Wenrui Wu Zhaoxiao, and the temple name is Zhe Zong. ... In August, Renyin was buried in Yongtai Mausoleum."
According to the comparison table of the lunar calendar and the solar calendar in August 1100, it can be found that the Renyin day in August is the 25th. (Reference website wannianli.tianqi.com/rilibiao/1100/)
That’s right!
At this point in time
Song Zhezong has not been buried yet.
Less than ten months before the burial of the late Emperor, the Queen Mother suddenly died.
This kind of situation is definitely not a good sign in any feudal dynasty, and it will undoubtedly be an impact on the royal power.
In addition to the "number of days", there is another "personnel matter" that is also quite coincidental:
Because he openly said that "Prince Duan is frivolous" in front of the Queen Mother, Zhang Dun resigned from the position of prime minister in May.
Although Zhao Ji did not agree to his request, by August, Zhang Dun had already lived in the monk's residence and ignored government affairs.
The second prime minister, Han Zhongyan, will not take office until June next year, that is to say.
The current Song Dynasty court does not have a prime minister in charge!
Therefore, the temporary palace of Lao Su, the former prime minister, suddenly became lively in the past few days.
This veteran of four dynasties who served as an official has once again passively returned to the public eye.
Half a month later.
"Hey"
After seeing off a Yuanwailang from the Ministry of Personnel.
Lao Su dragged his somewhat tired body back to the living room and said to Zong Ze beside him:
"Rulin, how many guests are here today?"
Zongze had been waiting for a reply on his appointment during this period, but now that the Empress Dowager's incident had arisen, his appointment was naturally postponed indefinitely.
Therefore, under Xu Yun's guidance.
This 'Grandpa Zong', who had a master-disciple relationship with Old Su, temporarily lived in the Su Mansion to help Old Su handle some official documents.
As a result, we cooperated for a few days.
Lao Su unexpectedly discovered that Zongze's ability was much stronger than he thought.
Although some of the ideas are sharp and immature, they are also quite novel and reasonable.
Therefore, I took him with me on some occasions to act as a secretary, and to take care of greetings and deliveries.
After hearing Lao Su's question, Zongze quickly replied:
"Teacher, this is the seventh place."
Old Su nodded slightly, stretched out his hand to rub his shoulders, suddenly thought of something, and asked again:
"By the way, where are Xiao Wang and others?"
"It seems that I am giving lessons to Miss Li in the academy."
"Where is His Royal Highness King Jian?"
"His Royal Highness still hasn't arrived."
Lao Su's brows suddenly frowned.
At this time, almost half a month had passed since the Queen Mother died. The Queen Mother's body had been buried in the coffin seven days ago.
Xiao Zhao is not the biological son of Queen Mother Xiang. Theoretically speaking, he can leave the palace once or twice.
Then he was silent for a moment, sighed, and said:
"Rulin, come with me to meet Xiao Wang."
Zongze said respectfully:
"Yes."
It's a pity that Xu Yun was not there, otherwise if he heard Lao Su's words, he would probably be glad that he didn't use the surname Ji as a vest.
Then Lao Su took Zongze for a while, and the two soon arrived at the courtyard where the three-person classroom was.
As a result, he just approached the entrance of the courtyard.
Xu Yun's voice came to Lao Su's ears:
"Miss Li, today our rumor-refuting class is about a pair of animals, mandarin ducks."
"The ancients believed that mandarin ducks are a symbol of love. For example, Lu Zhaolin wrote in "Ancient Meanings of Chang'an", 'If you have success, why would you die? If you want to be a mandarin duck, you will not envy the immortals.' You must have heard of it, right?"
"But in fact, there is a phenomenon of mixing between mandarin ducks."
"For example, male mandarin ducks will almost always cheat. When the male mandarin ducks mate with the female mandarin ducks, they will abandon the female without mercy and look for the next mate."
"In addition, female mandarin ducks will also mate with different male individuals and can become pregnant multiple times."
"Therefore, although the little mandarin ducks in the same nest have the same mother, they may have different fathers."
Lao Su and Zongze:
"."
Then Xu Yun paused and said:
"Then let's talk about sleeping on the ice again and discuss whether it is possible based on the heat energy formula we learned before"
When Lao Su heard this, several black lines suddenly appeared on his forehead.
I saw him quickly walking into the yard, coughing slightly, interrupting Xu Yun's words:
"Ahem. Xiao Wang, you are in class."
Xu Yun was originally talking in high spirits. Hearing this, he turned around subconsciously and looked stunned when he saw Lao Su:
"Master, why are you here?"
Lao Su Xin said it was a blessing that I came, otherwise I would have seen Lao Li coming to the door one day with a kitchen knife to ask for an explanation.
However, he still said:
"Well, I just finished seeing off the guests, so I came over to have a look and tell you something by the way."
Xu Yun blinked and said:
"What's going on?"
Lao Su used his chin to nuzzle the waist badge on his body that represented the diners, and said:
"Xiao Wang, you have now been included in the list of guests in the mansion, and you are the one who is worshiped by the guests."
"According to the rules and regulations, one month later when the Queen Mother Zi Gong enters the mausoleum, you will have to follow the palace servants to see her off at the Suzaku Gate. You need to be prepared for this."
Xu Yun was slightly stunned and said doubtfully:
"One month? The Queen Mother entered the mausoleum so soon?"
Lao Su nodded, looked around a few times, and came out with a few words:
"The late emperor will also enter the mausoleum together."
Xu Yun opened his mouth and was about to ask something, but soon he realized what he was saying.
Yes.
Look at it according to time.
It's almost time for Song Zhezong's coffin to be placed in the mausoleum, and it will probably only take a week or two.
The mausoleum of Song Zhezong is Yongtai Mausoleum, while the Empress Dowager Xiang will be buried together with Song Shenzong, and the mausoleum is Yongyu Mausoleum.
Both belong to one of the Song Tombs, located in Gongyi in later generations, with a straight-line distance of only about 300 meters.
The locations of the two are similar, and the funeral specifications are also similar.
Therefore, Song Huizong only had to postpone the time of Song Zhezong's entry into the mausoleum by half a month, and advance the time of Empress Dowager Xiang's entry into the mausoleum by half a month.
In this way, the two can be completed at just one node.
Anyway, nowadays the royal burial time is very flexible, unlike the Zhou Dynasty where they had to stay for seven months.
It doesn't matter if it's longer or shorter.
For example, the eldest Emperor Liu Heng of Han Dynasty had to wait for eleven months before he was buried.
Another Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty only stayed in the coffin for forty days before entering the mausoleum.
Actually.
The purpose of coffin mortuary has evolved to the point where it no longer even involves preventing resurrection.
This approach is purely to tell the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty one thing:
There is nothing wrong with the cause of the late emperor's death. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself.
Of course.
There is another meaning in Lao Su’s words:
Empress Dowager Xiang has already gone. As a former actor, Xu Yun should give her a break both emotionally and rationally.
After all, as the saying goes.
Debts are wiped out after death.
It's a pity that Xu Yun didn't know about Lao Su's idea. He was simple-minded and thought it was just a regular custom, so he immediately agreed:
"Don't worry, I will definitely be there with the servants when the time comes. Just ask Mr. Xie to call me before departure."
Lao Su nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Xiao Li and asked:
"Qingzhao, how is His Royal Highness King Jian doing today?"
Xiao Li first saluted him, then a trace of worry appeared on his face, he shook his head and said:
"Uncle Su, His Highness has rarely left the palace in recent days. He seems to have been restrained. If letters hadn't been exchanged as usual, my daughter would have thought something had happened to him."
Xu Yun sighed softly when he heard the words, and discovered a word keenly:
"Wait, a letter?"
Xiao Li was stunned for a moment, and then said a little unnaturally:
".It's just that the atmosphere in the capital has been strange recently. It's inconvenient for His Highness to leave the palace. We are just communicating with each other."
Xu Yun glanced at the little bean sprouts and pulled his throat meaningfully:
"Oh——."
"Okay, okay."
When Lao Su on the side saw this, he took the initiative to help Xiao Li and said:
"Xiao Wang, please don't bury me. Tomorrow I will ask Yuan Nian to find a tailor to customize a decent outfit for you. The rest can be as usual."
Seeing Lao Su mentioning business again, Xu Yun quickly put away his playful thoughts and replied seriously:
"The villain understands."
Although Zhao Ji is not the biological son of the Queen Mother, he has always treated the Queen Mother as his biological mother.
Therefore, after passing away to the Queen Mother.
Zhao Ji took the initiative to resign from the government and observed filial piety in front of the Empress Dowager Zi Palace day and night.
If the emperor is like this, no one will cause trouble on the surface.
Therefore, within a month since Lao Su finished chatting with Xu Yun.
Everything seems to be calm. As long as the coffin is buried, Bianjing can return to normal.
But anyone who truly understands the situation in Beijing can see this.
Beneath this calm exterior lies an undercurrent that could break through the ice at any time.
For example, according to Lao Su.
these days.
Many Chengzi who were originally affiliated with the Queen Mother Xiang's forces changed their families one after another and hurriedly expressed their loyalty to Zhao Ji.
Some of Xiao Zhao's subordinates were tapping the body of Xiao Zhao's biological mother, Concubine Zhu Guifei, as if they were debating whether to jump or not.
Among them, there was a minister whose ancestors came from the Frankish state and was responsible for the production of white cloth in the Weaving Bureau. He simply defected directly to Zhao Ji.
Especially on the Lantern Festival, August 15th, a major earthquake occurred in eastern Shandong.
Although the magnitude of the earthquake was not high and it did not cause too many casualties, there were various rumors among the people.
that's all.
A month passed by.
Time soon came to the day when Song Zhezong and Empress Dowager Xiang entered the mausoleum.
This morning.
Xu Yun got dressed in advance, and under the leadership of Mr. Du Guan Xie, followed dozens of servants in the mansion to the Suzaku Gate.
Follow the funeral arrangements obtained in advance.
The position of the retainers should be before the servants and after the clan members of the mansion, serving a transitional nature.
Since Lao Su's other children are not in Bianjing, there is only one Xiao Su No. 6 standing in the front row with Lao Su today.
Plus Xiao Su’s three sons, Xiao Su’s youth version No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.
As for the number of diners, it is relatively large:
Although there were only three retainers in Lao Su's house at the beginning, in recent times, in addition to Xu Yun, civil servants or mathematicians such as Zong Ze, Lao Jia, and Liu Yi have also been included in the guest list of Lao Su.
Therefore, the number of guests in the entire Su Mansion now reaches eleven, which is higher than the number of guests in the main house.
Standing next to Lao Su's family were some other meritorious figures from Beijing, who were probably in the second-grade group, and all of them were very polite.
After all, although Old Su became an official, he was still a former prime minister, and he also had the titles of Prince Shaobao and Duke Zhao.
that's all.
About an hour passed.
Dang Dang Dang——
In the Daxiangguo Temple closest to the palace, three huge bells suddenly rang.
I don’t know what method was used there, but it seemed to amplify the sound a lot.
After a while.
From the Changqing Gate on the right, a huge phalanx of coffins slowly walked out.
This is a coffin-carrying team composed of 72 people. It is the earliest professional funeral team and comes from Bianjing and surrounding areas.
In the past ten days, they have performed countless barrage performances.
The so-called leverage performance.
It means finding a Dulong tree with the same weight as the coffin and placing a whole bowl of water on it. The coffin-carrying team must carry the coffin for ten miles without spilling any water in the bowl to be considered successful.
And after this coffin-carrying team.
There are also people holding the yellow dragon curtain, followed by white silk curtains on both sides.
Behind them, there are sixty-four flag-bearers with strange paint on their faces.
Holding high the flag and umbrella of all peoples, I was thinking about something while walking.
Then came the Lubo honor guard, holding weapons and paper bundles high.
Looks very much like the comics exhibition cosplayer who held up the Paper Man’s wife
Of course.
In this kind of situation, the shadow of suona, the soul instrument, is naturally indispensable.
According to Lao Su’s previous introduction.
The entire Song Zhezong team numbered 1,633 people, among which there were three groups of pole bearers, who had to take turns carrying them to the imperial mausoleum.
This isn't the end yet.
Anyone who was an emperor in his previous life and was buried smoothly knows this.
Wait until after arriving at the imperial mausoleum.
At that time, the successor emperor will have to offer wine three times, place the books and treasures on the throne in the underground palace, and then put the auspicious soil into the golden well on the coffin bed.
Then the eunuch held the lamp, and the succeeding emperor personally guided the dragon into the underground palace in front of the Zi Palace, followed by the ministers.
Arrive at the coffin bed.
The craftsmen will remove the dragon and formally place it in the Zi Palace. The emperor and ministers will pay their respects and leave the underground palace.
Finally, the craftsmen placed the Longshan stone, which is also the coffin stone, and supported the tap stone outside the stone door to completely close the stone door, and removed the wooden track to seal the underground palace.
The successor emperor and ministers returned to the ground.
They also have to mourn and salute again before the five stone offerings, and send the sacred tablets to the capital to be enshrined in the Ancestral Temple. Only then is the burial complete.
However, not everyone can participate in this step:
You must be a fourth-rank official or above and be an official with actual duties to accompany you.
A person like Lao Su, who has already taken up an official position, can only go as far as Suzaku Gate - even if he is the former prime minister.
After Song Zhezong's coffin was taken out, it was the Empress Dowager's turn to enter the mausoleum.
The same formation as Song Zhezong's.
When Queen Mother Xiang appeared, she still carried the coffin, held flags and played the suona.
However, compared to the more than 1,000 people of Song Zhezong, the size of Empress Dowager Xiang's funeral group was smaller.
According to Xu Yun's visual inspection, the number of people might be around 600, or at most 800.
that's all.
After three full hours, the two coffins officially left Bianjing.
And this also means that the two closest people to Song Shenzong have completely withdrawn from the stage of history.
The Song Dynasty officially entered the stage of great sending.
According to normal history.
Another twenty years.
Song Huizong, Song Qinzong, and Song Gaozong were three weirdos, and they would play a series of tricks that were unique in human history.
Mountains and rivers fell, and the country collapsed.
A hundred years later, in the battle of Yashan, one hundred thousand people died for the country.
Blood and tears brought this bizarre and humiliating operation to a tragic end.
After the funeral.
With no follow-up tasks, Xu Yun and others returned to the Su Mansion and continued what they should do.
that's all.
Time passes quietly day by day.
One day three months later.
This day.
Xu Yun was teaching Lao Jia and others how to solve quintic equations. Lao Su was also listening with interest, while Xiao Li was still a circle of mosquito-repellent incense eyes.
Right now.
Mr. Xie Duguan walked quickly from a distance, accompanied by a somewhat unfamiliar maid.
Since Xiao Li didn't understand a single word, he was the first to notice the visitor and saw her raising her eyebrows in surprise:
"Xiaoyun, why are you here?"
"Miss, something happened!"
The maid was still sullen at first, but when she saw Xiao Li, she couldn't hold it in any longer, and she said with tears in her eyes:
"Master, he was captured!" (End of Chapter)