After the family tradition was rectified, the slaves of the Zhuge family no longer dared to be lazy and playful, and all worked conscientiously.
Soon Zhuge Xuan's funeral was properly arranged.
After the "little coffin" was over, the slaves flew to various places in Jingzhou to report the news of Zhuge Xuan's death to his former friends and tell them to express their condolences.
The people who came yesterday were actually relatively close. Zhuge Xuan had been an official in Jingzhou for many years before his death and had a wide range of friends. There were official families in Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, and even Jingnan counties who were his friends, so the people he wanted to notify Much.
During this period, Zhuge Liang, with the help of Zhuge sisters, Kuai Qi, Pang Shanmin, Shen Chen and others, arranged the mourning hall for condolences and purchased a large amount of spices for the funeral.
At the same time, they rented the houses of surrounding villagers to prepare banquets, set up a large number of tables in the front yard, and hired a funeral band to perform in the yard.
On the third day, relatives and friends nearby began to come to express condolences. For example, Deng Hong, Liu Xian, Kuai Liang, Huang Chengyan, Cai Zan, Cai Yan and others who had come a few days ago had to come again with gifts. This is called mourning.
Over the past few days, the Zhuge family suddenly became very lively. People came to express their condolences in an endless stream every day, and some even came from other places. Even Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, although he did not come in person, he sent his followers Cheng Qi came over on his behalf to express his condolences.
The four brothers and sisters of Zhuge Liang wore mourning clothes every day, knelt down in front of the deceased, and did the work of reception and vigil.
Because at that time, condolences were not held in the coffin, but the deceased was placed on a mat covered with spices.
A filial son has to protect his loved ones, pay attention to their daily changes at all times, do antiseptic and anti-odor treatments, and at the same time, he has to thank the guests, so this work is still very tiring.
Under this situation, the Zhuge sisters fell ill one after another, either from serious illness or from being too tired and weak. Then Zhuge Jun also fell down due to his young age, and in the end, only Zhuge Liang was left holding on.
Shen Chen was not a direct relative, nor was he a disciple of Zhuge Xuan, so naturally he could not wear mourning clothes instead, so he helped welcome guests at the door.
Kuai Qi and Pang Shanmin each took the place of their wives, wore mourning clothes and accompanied Zhuge Liang to thank the guests and perform antiseptic and deodorizing treatment on Zhuge Xuan.
The so-called antisepsis and deodorization actually means scrubbing the body with wine every day, then sprinkling the body with spices, wrapping it with silk cloth, and finally placing ice cubes next to the deceased to cool down.
This work had to be done every day. The alcohol content at that time was not high, but it was barely usable, but Shen Chen sent someone to bring distilled alcohol.
The highest degree of distilled liquor can reach 96 degrees, but that is an industrial level.
Distilled wine after the Yuan Dynasty is generally between 40-60 degrees, and repeated distillation can reach 70-80 degrees, which is just right for alcohol sterilization and disinfection.
Shen Chen had previously prepared these to disinfect injured soldiers on the battlefield, but now they were put to use.
It's just that too many people came.
Although the Zhuge family is not a top aristocratic family, once they marry the Kuai family and the Pang family, the Zhuge family's status among the Jingzhou aristocratic families has also increased.
Secondly, Zhuge Xuan himself had been an official in Jingzhou for many years and knew a lot of people, so there were countless people paying their condolences.
At that time, coming to the funeral did not mean just calling and informing everyone, and just having a meal together.
Due to the inconvenience of information and transportation in ancient times, relatives and friends in remote places had to travel long distances if they wanted to come.
It may be a journey of two to three hundred kilometers, and it takes more than ten days to go back and forth from the notification to the funeral. The farther the journey is, the more rugged and difficult the road is, and the time is longer, which can take a year and a half.
Therefore, it was common for aristocratic families at that time to remain inactive for ten days and a half, or even longer.
Now Zhuge sisters and Zhuge Jun have fallen one after another, Kuai Qi and Pang Shanmin are still taking turns to rest, and only Zhuge Liang is still struggling.
Every day I have to do receptions, keep vigils, wipe Zhuge Xuan with alcohol, and constantly replace ice cubes.
Although there are many people helping me, I still feel tired.
Zhuge Liang would get up at four or five o'clock in the morning almost every day and work until midnight or one o'clock in the evening, with an average sleep of only two or three hours. Shen Chen and other relatives and friends felt sad to see him.
But he is the head of the family, and he became the pillar after Zhuge Xuan died, so even if everyone persuaded him to take a good rest, he had to continue to hold on and not let himself fall.
As a result, the funeral took half a month to complete. It was not until March 22nd that the body was finally laid in the coffin, and the official burial was held on the 23rd, ending the funeral.
After Zhuge Xuan was buried, Zhuge Liang returned home. Before he could go back to his room to sleep, he collapsed on the ground and passed out.
Everyone hurriedly helped him to the room and called the doctor for treatment.
Fortunately, the doctor said it was not a serious illness. Like the Zhuge sisters and Zhuge Jun, it was just overwork. However, the body had reached the edge and we could not hold on any longer. We had to take a good rest, otherwise big problems would occur.
For this reason, Shen Chen made the decision and asked his servants to take care of Zhuge Liang's daily life first. He and Zhuge Jun were responsible for the aftermath of Zhuge Xuan's funeral, such as dismantling the mourning hall, registering the gifts left by visitors, calculating the expenses for the past few days, giving arrangements to the band, and making arrangements. Shops, spice shops and other shops check out, etc.
It wasn't until the early morning of the third day that Zhuge Liang woke up quietly. In other words, he had passed out in the afternoon the day before yesterday, slept all day yesterday, and slept until the morning of the third day, sleeping for two days and two nights.
When he woke up, he saw Anu guarding him, and he set up a bunk next to the bed. In fact, slaves of wealthy families in ancient times generally did not treat people as human beings, and when they guarded their masters, they often worked in shifts for 24 hours. Rest so that you can listen to your master's orders at any time.
However, these child servants are all servants who have been raised since childhood. They have been with each other for many years and have deep feelings. They can be regarded as half masters. Therefore, when Zhuge Jun saw them staying beside Zhuge Liang and leaning on the wooden couch and falling asleep, he let them make beds to sleep. On the ground.
Zhuge Liang did not wake up Anu. Anu is a twelve-year-old girl with two braids. There are many boys and girls like them at home. After more than half a month, they are very tired and need to rest. .
He walked out of the house and looked at the sky. It seemed that it had just dawned outside and was still a little gray. It should have been at the beginning of the sunrise, that is, around five or six o'clock in the morning. The study door next to him was open, and there was someone there. A little fire seemed to have just gone out, which made Zhuge Liang feel a little surprised.
He came to the study room and saw Shen Chen sitting at the desk, doing calculations and calculations.
Many people think that during the Eastern Han Dynasty or the Northern and Southern Dynasties, what actually appeared was just the prototype of the abacus, a simple abacus that could only do addition and subtraction.
The real abacus appeared in the Yuan Dynasty and was widely used in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. However, the abacus itself had little technical content. Shen Chen had learned it when he was in elementary school, so he made it early.
To settle the accounts this time, he sent someone to Deng Hong's house to get an abacus. Zhuge Liang didn't know what it was, so he said strangely: "Brother, what are you doing here?"
"oh?"
Shen Chen turned around, saw Zhuge Liang, and said with a smile: "Brother, are you up?"
Zhuge Liang came over and saw Shen Chen with an abacus placed in front of him and writing on the other side with bamboo slips and a brush. He said, "I feel much better after a night's sleep. Are you settling the accounts?"
While Shen Chen wrote another note on the bamboo slip, he said: "Brother, you didn't sleep for one night, but for two days. You are too tired during this period, so you might as well take a rest. This half month has indeed been quite expensive. , but it’s all settled now.”
"Two days?"
Zhuge Liang murmured, and suddenly looked at Shen Chen in surprise and said, "You have calculated the expenses for half a month in two days?"
Shen Chen smiled slightly: "There are some special methods, I will teach you next time."
Although mathematics in the Han Dynasty was relatively developed, including "Xu Shang's Arithmetic", "Duzhong's Arithmetic", "Zhou Bi's Arithmetic", "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and other classics, the calculation method is not simple.
Calculating chips can only be used for simple addition and subtraction. Calculations such as multiplication and division require a lot of energy and often rely on the brain to perform calculations. The calculation process is very simple, and only the questions, solutions and answers are written on bamboo slips.
After all, the way the bamboo slips were written made it almost impossible to perform specific calculations. Therefore, the mathematics at that time was very obscure and difficult to understand. Even the simplest "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic" was confusing.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "Brother, you have worked hard these past two days, and you haven't slept all night?"
"No, I got up early."
Shen Chen said: "Yesterday I told everyone to sort out the last things. I went to bed at sunset in the evening. When I got up at three o'clock on the next morning, I thought I would settle the accounts first."
"You don't start settling accounts until three quarters after dinner?"
Zhuge Liang was surprised again. This meant that Shen Chen had settled the accounts for more than half a month in less than an hour, which was too fast.
Shen Chen knew why he was surprised, so he waved his hand and said, "I'll teach you next time. Let's not talk about this for now. How do you feel, brother?"
"It's okay, it's much better."
Zhuge Liang sat cross-legged next to him. Seeing that he was still making calculations, he said, "I have always wanted to ask my brother, what are your plans after you leave the academy?"
"Plan to?"
Shen Chen recorded the calculated bill again, raised his head and looked at the ceiling, thought for a while and said, "I plan to make a statement first."
"Li Yan?"
"Well, people in the world are stupid because they don't understand the principles of the world. I want to make a statement to warn the world."
"Planning to write a book?"
Zhuge Liang was very curious. At that time, if a person established his own ideas, he would write books and spread his theories, such as Yang Xiong.
Therefore, although he did something that was very politically incorrect at the time and joined Wang Mang, he still had a lot of followers in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Over the past 100 years, he had countless disciples and former officials, and his influence was far-reaching.
Shen Chen nodded and said: "I have this idea, but before that, I must become famous in Jingzhou, otherwise no one will come to me to learn from me."
"Do you want to be famous in Jingzhou?"
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and suddenly laughed: "I heard that you are an enemy of the imperial court. I am afraid that the major families will not help you make your name famous."
At that time, fame and talent were actually secondary, family background was the most important.
Pang Tong was unknown before, but Sima Hui's statement that "Pang Tong is the most famous person in Nanzhou" can make him famous.
The problem is that Sima Hui did not broadcast live and told everyone that Pang Tong was very talented in front of everyone in Jingzhou. So how did this sentence spread?
Of course it's because the Pang family is helping behind the scenes.
And Xi Zhen.
In history, Pang Tong himself was called "Feng Chu", and he later provided many strategies for Liu Bei to conquer Sichuan.
Even if he died early, he still proved his talent.
Xi Zhen's reputation at that time was second only to Pang Tong and higher than Ma Liang. However, he later defected to Liu Bei but did not show any ability.
He entered Sichuan for more than ten years without any special deeds, and finally disappeared into the history books.
Was it because Liu Bei didn't know how to recognize people and didn't reuse him?
Of course not.
The best thing about Liu Bei is knowing people, and he treated Xi Zhen very well, appointing him as the governor of Guanghan.
But even so, he didn't stand out, let alone spread his plans.
So this only proves that Xi Zhen is actually mediocre.
His fame is all fueled by his family.
Shen Chen's family background was poor, and he was an outsider in Jingzhou. The most important thing was the Battle of Nanyang, which offended a large number of surrender factions.
How easy is it to become famous?
However, Shen Chen looked at Zhuge Liang with bright eyes and said: "It's okay, I have already thought about it. If they don't help me become famous, then I will step on their heads. Only incompetent mediocrity will be afraid of others' criticism.
"
Zhuge Liang looked at his firm eyes, nodded slightly and said: "My brother has such ambition, I feel ashamed to be my brother. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Shen Chen said: "I'm still thinking about the great road, please help me, brother."
"good."
Zhuge Liang said: "Then I will help you make a statement."
The updates may be unstable these two days, and I won’t go back until the 7th. Now I am in my hometown, and I have to attend a classmate’s wedding. In the past two days, because the time is not fixed, I may only update 4,000 words or even take a leave of absence. There is really no way, please
Please bear with me, everyone. But don’t worry, I will make up for any missing updates. For example, if I only update 4,000 words tomorrow, I owe 2 chapters. If there is no update the day after tomorrow, I owe three chapters. After the 7th, I will make up for everything. This month is
At least 300,000 words will be updated, and the following content will also have climaxes. The protagonist will soon be crowned Jingchu and stand on the top of the Jingzhou Shilin. Please look forward to it.