The cavalry cleared the way and the guard of honor accompanied them. With only three days left before the 21st year of Kaibao, Emperor Liu left the palace again. The Luan Jia walked slowly and stopped in front of Xing Guogong's mansion.
The Luanbu ceremonial guard was still as majestic and solemn, but in this mid-winter season, it was a little more visible to the naked eye and depressed. It wasn't until Luan Jia stopped and Yantuo reminded him from outside that Emperor Liu suddenly came to his senses. In Guoning With the help of the concubine, they got out of the car together.
It is indeed very cold this year. It is bone-chilling. The Yellow River is frozen for thousands of miles, which can be used by cars and horses. The Huaihe River in the south and the Yangtze River are also covered in large areas of ice. Even in Guangdong and Guangxi, heavy snow has occurred for many days. Obviously, the climate is changing. Some bad changes.
It rained heavily, and the cold wind hit him head on. Even though Emperor Liu was armed from head to toe, his cold-resistant body still shivered violently. According to his past habits, he had to stay in the palace at this time. In that warm spring-like palace room, I couldn't move easily and stayed up until the spring came and the flowers bloomed.
But this time it didn't work, he had a reason he had to give. Guo Wei, Duke of Xing, passed away without any illness at the age of eighty, which is considered a long life. In these years, Guo Wei has been staying in the capital, enjoying his old age, and will be called into the palace by Emperor Liu from time to time. After having a banquet and chatting, now it can be considered a happy ending.
At least compared to the official history of Guo Wei's wife who lost his wife and died young in middle age, in Emperor Liu's era, he may not have been able to reach that unattainable height and taste the throne, but it cannot be said that Guo Wei's fortune was not good. Furthermore, even if it is official history, the Guo family is not the final winner.
He enjoyed great honor during his lifetime and continued to be honored after his death. Emperor Liu fully paid for this mourning honor and went to express his condolences in person. This was only the first step. Wang Yucheng was writing the Shinto inscription, and the posthumous edict to King Guo Wei and Xing had already been drafted. , the final conclusion on it is also quite high.
Under the dim winter sky, with the cold wind blowing in his face, Emperor Liu looked up at the gold-plated plaque "Edict to build Duke Xing's Mansion", the plain silk hangings, and the white flags erected, which were a bit dazzling.
Many past events came to mind, and with infinite emotion on her face, she whispered to Concubine Guo Ning, whose eyes were red next to her, "Let's go into the house!"
Emperor Liu was followed by several other princes, Liu Yang followed closely, and Liu Han, the twelfth son of Yue Gong, was specially summoned to stay nearby. After all, he was the grandson of Guo Wei.
Liu Han is now almost twenty-four years old. He got married early and married Wang Quanbin’s granddaughter. Among the princes, Liu Han’s background is not low, and his mother’s family is not small in power, but his presence is not strong. However, He behaved in a well-behaved manner and never caused any trouble. Like his brothers, Liu Han was granted a title and opened a palace very early. After three years of training in the Imperial Army, he was now assigned to work in the Young Mansion by Emperor Liu.
When he crossed the gate of the palace, Emperor Liu took a plain belt and tied it around his waist with his own hands. He walked in silence all the way to the mourning hall. At this time, the palace was already full of people and busy, and there were people inside and outside the mourning hall. It was the nobles and bureaucrats who came to express their condolences. Their mourning and music were desolate, and the chants of monks and Taoists continued.
At this time, it was Guo Wei's second son Guo Xin who was in charge of the affairs in the palace. When he saw Emperor Liu, Concubine Ning, and the prince came hand in hand, they could not care less about their sadness and hurriedly led others to greet them.
Guo Wei has three sons. The eldest son, Guo Dong, has done the biggest job. Of course, he was deprived of his post as chief minister because of the Yulin Rebellion and is still on his way back to Beijing. Guo Yizheng is young and seems to be the most qualified.
Wei Wang Liu Min worked hard in Anxi.
The second eldest brother, Guo Xin, was ordinary. Of course, his official position was not low. He was a high-ranking official in Gyeonggi Province when he participated in politics. However, although Guo Xin was ordinary, after Guo Wei's death, he was no longer ordinary. Many people
The glances he looked at had different meanings.
Living close to the water, serving as a filial piety, Guo Xin seems to have a natural advantage over his two brothers. The difference between the three sons of the Guo family is not obvious, because their mother became Guo Wei's first wife successively.
Under normal circumstances, Guo Tong is the best choice to attack the prince. The first-mover advantage is too strong, but there is no way. With a Yulin rebellion, all the advantages will be wiped out. It is not easy to escape guilt and immunity, let alone the Duke of Xing.
On such a big thing as inheritance.
Of course, all this depends on Emperor Liu's attitude, but almost no one thinks that Guo Tong, who was affected by the Yulin Rebellion, still has a good impression on Emperor Liu.
Under the eyes of everyone with respect and fear, Emperor Liu stood in the mourning hall as if he was not aware of it. His powerful aura made the scene extremely quiet. Apart from the sounds of mourning music and chanting, there was no noise.
Emperor Liu looked at Guo Wei's spiritual tablet quietly, his thoughts flying, his eyes blurred and even muddy, muttering something silently, as if communicating with Guo Wei who had probably arrived at Naihe Bridge.
After a long time, Emperor Liu took the three sticks of incense, bowed solemnly with the dignity of an emperor, and handed them to Yantuo to insert the incense burner. After the ceremony, he looked around and Emperor Liu also discovered that his arrival had changed the atmosphere inside and outside the mourning hall.
It became depressing and weird, and the sad atmosphere seemed to be diluted a lot. I sighed in my heart and wanted to leave.
"My condolences!" Emperor Liu didn't say much to Guo Xin, but these two short words and a pat on the shoulder made Guo Xin burst into tears of gratitude.
"Liu Han!" Emperor Liu called again before leaving.
"I'm here!" Liu Han had already changed into a filial dress.
Emperor Liu seemed very satisfied with this, and said as gently as possible: "You stay in the palace and guard the funeral of Duke Xing!"
"Yes!" Liu Han naturally could not object.
Concubine Guo Ning was deeply saddened and did not want to return to the palace. She wanted to stay in the palace to see her late father off for the last time. Emperor Liu did not force her and agreed. He said to take care of yourself and went back to the palace.
Although Emperor Liu's stay was short-lived, his impact was not small. Over the years, so many old friends and ministers of the Zhuguo Kingdom had died, but it was rare for Emperor Liu to pay homage to them in person.
Even when people like Wei Renpu left, they only expressed some condolences, and at most asked the prince or selected a prince to express condolences, that's all.
It can be seen that Guo Wei's status in Emperor Liu's mind is obviously different. Maybe the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law is involved, but there are definitely other factors. Of course, to say how deep the friendship between Emperor Liu and Guo Wei is, that is to say
Laughing, with Emperor Liu's current state of mind, everything he does has special meaning.
From the interpretation of outsiders, this act of offering condolences in person means that he still values the Guo family. Although Guo Wei is dead, he is still the top dignitary of the Han Dynasty, and among the nobles, there are also high and low levels. The Guo family
Obviously they are the most respected group.
Guo Wei's death was still a major event for the imperial court, even though everyone inside and outside had become accustomed to the decline of nobles over the years, and even though Guo Wei's own influence on the imperial court had long been weakened to the extreme.
However, when a person is alive, not many people pay attention to it, and he is even forgotten for a time. Once he dies, it will attract the attention of the whole world. Some veterans and nobles have come to pay homage, not only because of Guo Wei's identity, but also for basic human feelings.
contacts.
Naturally, the Zhao Kuangyin brothers were also among them, following the crowd. When they left, the two brothers were walking on the winter streets. Zhao Kuangyin was also nearly sixty years old, and he had aged very fast in the past few years. Due to his long-term drinking, his health had deteriorated.
He was getting exhausted day by day, so at this time, Zhao Kuangyin also had a slightly sick look on his face.
"Mr.
The Zhao family and the Guo family have a long history. In their early years, Zhao Hongyin served under Guo Wei for a period of time. Of course, after Emperor Liu succeeded to the throne, he carried out repeated military reforms, which fragmented the subordination relationship in the military.
Until the rise of Zhao Kuangyin and the rise of the Zhao family's status, until it became a powerful family on par with the Guo family, the relationship back then became increasingly weak. What's more, with the current momentum of the two families, it is impossible to say that the Zhao family has surpassed the Guo family.
There is no big problem, and from the perspective of actual influence, this is indeed the case.
At this time, Zhao Kuangyin's emotion was a bit like someone hurting his own kind: "I don't know what will happen after I die!"
Such a day happens to us all, and everyone hopes that their posthumous affairs can be as glorious and dignified as this. Zhao Kuangyin retired bravely in his prime, suffered many years of humiliation, and was depressed for many years, and it was inevitable that he would be touched by the scene.
After hearing what he said, Zhao Kuangyi immediately advised: "Second brother is in strong health, why do you say this?"
Zhao Kuangyin smiled: "How can a person be immortal? Ambition is no longer there, ambition is no longer there, and now, I am also getting old. I can only remember this little name during my lifetime, and things will happen after my death!"
Zhao Kuangyi was silent for a moment. He didn't know how to persuade him. In these years, although Zhao Kuangyi was busy with official matters, the communication between the two brothers had never stopped. He could also feel the change in Zhao Kuangyin's mentality.
Nowadays, Zhao Kuangyin is indeed in his twilight years. No matter how fierce a tiger is, he has been trapped in a tiger for more than ten years and has difficulty showing his claws and teeth. Of course, for Zhao Kuangyi, he certainly hopes that Zhao Kuangyin can live a long life and live a few more years, even if he puts aside
Regardless of family ties, just from the analysis of interests, we can also conclude that the longer Zhao Kuangyin lives, the more beneficial it will be to him. The influence of a living person and a dead person are not the same, especially in politics.
Zhao Kuangyin is not Song Taizu but Rong Guogong, Zhao Kuangyi is not Jin King but a Han Dynasty minister. There is no conflict of power and interest between the two brothers, and this relationship can naturally be maintained for a long time.