Chapter 313: The Emperor and his Minister Meet and the Emperors Instructions
It was not night when Mi Yang arrived, and the light in Guan Yu's mourning hall was not dark.
So when Mi Yang pushed open the door of the mourning hall and looked into the mourning hall, he immediately saw Liu Bei in plain clothes sitting under Guan Yu's memorial tablet.
In Mi Yang's memory of the past, although Liu Bei was over sixty years old, he had always been quite tough in appearance.
But when Mi Yang saw Liu Bei again today, he suddenly found that there were a lot more silver threads on Liu Bei's head, and Liu Bei's entire mental appearance looked very decadent.
A pair of deep-set red eye sockets and a pale and colorless face reflected how sad Liu Bei was by what he had experienced in the past few days.
What Mi Yang didn't expect was that Liu Bei, who was always strong and strong, would already show such a sluggish state after not seeing him for just a few days.
No wonder Fei Yi specifically reminded him before he came in to persuade Liu Bei for the sake of the big man.
Indeed, if Liu Bei is allowed to continue to be so sad, there is a chance that Liu Bei's body will be exhausted by his extremely sad mood.
And the moment Mi Yang saw Liu Bei, Liu Bei, who realized Mi Yang's arrival, also turned to look at Mi Yang standing at the door.
When Liu Bei turned to look at Mi Yang, the sunlight behind Mi Yang was shining through the open doorway, shining on Liu Bei's face.
The bright sunlight illuminated Liu Bei's sad expression more clearly, and at the same time, he looked at Mi Yang with scrutiny.
But the scrutiny in Liu Bei's eyes was fleeting, so even Mi Yang didn't notice it.
After Mi Yang saw Liu Bei looking towards him, he first entered Guan Yu's mourning hall and closed the door behind him.
Then he stood at the door and bowed deeply to the Guan Yu memorial tablet a few steps in front of him.
After bowing deeply to Guan Yu's memorial tablet, Mi Yang took another step forward and repeated the action of bowing deeply.
When Mi Yang stood up after deep prostrations, she would spread her hands and tap her chest three times in succession.
Deep worship is a very important etiquette in this world, and the mourning gesture performed by Mi Yang is one of the highest etiquettes for younger generations to express their deep condolences for the death of their elders.
After bowing deeply step by step, Mi Yang came to Liu Bei with a sad expression.
When Mi Yang bowed to Guan Yu's memorial tablet, Liu Bei did not say anything to stop him.
But after Mi Yang finished the ceremony and stood beside him, Liu Bei raised his head and looked at Mi Yang's face. He said to Mi Yang sadly:
"Zisheng, Yun Chang has left us."
When Liu Bei said this, his voice was extremely hoarse.
After Mi Yang heard Liu Bei's words, tears instantly appeared in his eyes, and he knelt down beside Liu Bei in an instant.
Although he wanted to say something to comfort Liu Bei, he found that at the moment when he saw Guan Yu's tablet, he couldn't restrain the sadness in his heart. How could he comfort others?
And considering the relationship between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, no matter how good other people's words of comfort are, how effective can they be?
Liu Bei saw Mi Yang sitting down next to him crying, and a look of love appeared in his eyes.
When Yun Chang was here, he did not favor the wrong person, and he did not love the wrong person in the past.
It's just that Liu Bei specially summoned Mi Yang from Fancheng. It was definitely not as simple as asking Mi Yang to come to pay his respects.
Seeing that Mi Yang was already beside him, Liu Bei picked up a bamboo slip from in front of him and handed it to Mi Yang, gesturing for Mi Yang to unfold it and read it.
Under Liu Bei's signal, although Mi Yang was a little surprised by Liu Bei's move, he quickly took the bamboo slip handed over by Liu Bei and looked at it carefully.
This bamboo slip was compiled by two ministers, Dong Yun and Fei Yi, regarding the suggestions of the ministers in Xinye on Guan Yu's posthumous title during this period.
Because there were many ministers who followed Liu Bei to Xinye, the two ministers sorted out many posthumous titles for Guan Yu.
Those many posthumous titles are all beautiful ones.
Among the many beautiful posthumous titles, there are even many double-beautiful posthumous titles that represent the highest honor for officials in the Han Dynasty.
You must know that in the Han Dynasty, the requirements for posthumous titles were very strict. Unlike later generations, which often have ten-digit posthumous titles, during the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, even emperors could only have double posthumous titles.
Therefore, if a Han minister can also be awarded double posthumous titles, it would be a great honor.
And just after Mi Yang read the contents of the bamboo slips in his hand at an extremely fast speed, his sharp eyes also discovered that among the many beautiful posthumous titles, several were circled by Liu Bei's ink pen.
There is no doubt that those beautiful posthumous titles are the alternative posthumous titles Liu Bei had in mind for Guan Yu.
Maybe he wanted to give Guan Yu an excellent posthumous title, so Liu Bei didn't really decide which posthumous title he would give Guan Yu.
While Mi Yang was looking at the contents of the bamboo slip in his hand, Liu Bei's eyes were always fixed on him.
After Liu Bei saw that Mi Yang had read the contents of the bamboo slip, he asked Mi Yang softly:
"Remember?"
Perhaps Mi Yang would immediately think that the purpose of Liu Bei's question was to see if he had remembered the many beautiful posthumous titles in this bamboo slip.
But Mi Yang thought about it and realized that there was no need for Liu Bei to remember other beautiful titles.
Moreover, it is not easy to memorize so many beautiful titles in such a short period of time.
I think what Liu Bei wanted him to remember was the beautiful posthumous titles he circled with a red pen.
So although the time is short, it is not difficult for Mi Yang.
So when Mi Yang asked Liu Bei, he closed the bamboo slips in his hand and replied to Liu Bei: "I remember."
After seeing Mi Yang remember it, Liu Bei's eyes showed a hint of relief.
He reached out and took the bamboo slips from Mi Yang's hand, and then, under Mi Yang's gaze, he threw the bamboo slips into the brazier in front of him.
Seeing Liu Bei's move, Mi Yang couldn't help but be surprised.
Because Mi Yang originally thought that Liu Bei let him see the bamboo slips to help him choose a good posthumous title for Guan Yu.
But what he didn't expect was that after Liu Bei read the contents of the bamboo slips, he actually threw this collection of beautiful posthumous titles that had been thought up by many ministers into the fire.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! On the surface, Liu Bei wants to burn this collection of posthumous titles, which represent the high recognition of Guan Yu by the ministers, for Guan Yu to watch.
But as a time traveler, Mi Yang, because of Liu Bei's move, remembered something that he didn't understand when he read "Three Kingdoms" in his previous life.
That's why Liu Bei never gave Guan Yu a posthumous title for several years after his death.
After all, considering Liu Bei's feelings for Guan Yu, this behavior is undoubtedly very abnormal.
This made him have some vague speculations in his heart.
The bamboo slips made a crackling sound when burned by the flames in the brazier.
And looking at the flames that suddenly burst into flames when the bamboo slips were put into the basin, Liu Bei's next words seemed more like he was telling Guan Yu's undead soul, which proved Mi Yang's suspicions.
"Before the world is unified, I will not give Yun Chang the posthumous title."
When Liu Bei said these words, he felt that Mi Yang's suspicion in his heart was confirmed, and he quickly lowered his head.
If what he expected was correct, what Liu Bei would say next would not be recorded in the annals of history, but it would be equivalent to the words of his "edict".
"Although these dozens of posthumous titles are good, they are all customized based on Yun Chang's title of Marquis of Xiangyang during his lifetime.
But with Yun Chang's merits, how can his title be limited to just Marquis?"
"Yun Chang should be crowned king!"
"It's just that the time has not come yet. In this case, I might as well not give Yun Chang a good posthumous title for the time being."
Liu Bei's few short words revealed all the secrets in his heart, and Mi Yang, who heard these words, stirred up a storm in his heart.
The words "Yun Chang should be crowned king" were spoken by Liu Bei, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, which shocked Mi Yang greatly.
At that time, Liu Bang, Taizu of the Han Dynasty, swore to the White Horse Alliance: "Those who are not Liu's will be kings, those who are not meritorious will be marquis, and the whole world will attack them together."
This sentence has been regarded as a golden rule by successive rulers named Liu for four hundred years in the Han Dynasty.
But he didn't expect that Liu Bei, who was a descendant of Han Taizu, would actually reveal his intention to pursue Guan Yu as king in front of Mi Yang.
Although what Liu Bei said was a posthumous seal, not an actual seal.
This shows that the title of king given to Guan Yu by Liu Bei is just an honor, but it is enough to shock Mi Yang.
The fact that this thought appeared in Liu Bei's mind not only proved Guan Yu's status in his heart, but also proved that Liu Bei was a very courageous king.
After all, strictly speaking, Liu Bei's idea can be regarded as violating the ancestral system.
After knowing Liu Bei's thoughts, a vague historical clue in Mi Yang's mind was instantly connected.
No wonder in history Liu Bei did not give Guan Yu a posthumous title after he learned of Guan Yu's death, and even before his death.
Many people in later generations believed that Liu Bei's behavior was that he was blaming Guan Yu.
But now Mi Yang knows from Liu Bei's thoughts that historically Liu Bei did not want to give Guan Yu a posthumous title.
But he cannot easily give Guan Yu a posthumous title before he has made enough contributions.
If you want to decide on a posthumous title, you must first clarify your title.
Liu Bei is the founder of the country, both in history and today.
This status determines that every decision he makes will be regarded as ancestral by his future kings.
If the kings of future generations do not surpass his achievements, then it will be difficult for the kings of future generations to change the decisions he has made.
So once Liu Bei was a prince during Guan Yu's lifetime, he gave him a good posthumous title.
So in the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bei, Guan Yu may always have the title of lord.
This is undoubtedly contrary to Liu Bei's true thoughts.
As for Liu Bei, since he wanted to make Guan Yu king, why didn't he just issue an edict to make him king?
This is because the ancestral system left by Liu Bang has such a profound influence on the hearts of people all over the world.
Even if we break it down carefully, the "kings with different surnames" that Liu Bang vowed to strictly prohibit during the alliance and the princes and titles that Liu Bei wants to pursue today are actually two different things.
But when Liu Bei has not made achievements that are comparable to those of Han Taizu Liu Bang, then he cannot easily touch this ancestral system openly, because this will make the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bei lose its legitimacy.
So what Liu Bei wanted to do was to implement his ideas after Han Dynasty reunified the world.
Perhaps the ancestral system is often difficult to change, but it does not mean that it cannot be changed at all.
Take the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty as an example. There are many examples of emperors who made great achievements changing the ancestral system.
For example, after Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, the five elements he originally set for the Han Dynasty were water, and the whole country was still black.
The Five Virtues were of great importance to a dynasty in ancient times. It is no exaggeration to say that they are one of the orthodox symbols of the founding of a country.
However, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in power, he followed the advice of his ministers and changed the five virtues of the Han Dynasty to earth, and the uniform color of the country to yellow.
After Han Shizu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu followed Liu Che's example and directly changed the Han Dynasty soil virtue set by Liu Che to fire virtue, which has been continued to this day.
The actions of Liu Che and Liu Xiu were both slapping their ancestors in the mouth and violating the ancestral system set by Liu Bang.
It may also affect their legitimacy to a certain extent.
But because of the great achievements these two people have made, no one dares to come out and force anything.
Historians of later generations could even find various reasons to argue that the Five Virtues chosen by the three Han emperors Liu Bang, Liu Che, and Liu Xiu were all correct.
It can be seen from this that future emperors are not unable to change the ancestral system, but the prerequisite is that they must have sufficient achievements.
As for Liu Bei specifically, because he has Liu Xiu as a role model, his idea of pursuing Guan Yu as king is not unrealistic.
As long as he can unify the world again and restore the Han's orthodox status in the world.
But since Liu Bei had this idea, why did he say it to Mi Yang?
That's because Liu Bei felt that he was already very old, and perhaps in his lifetime, the big men would not be able to unite in his hands.
But despite this, his desire to pursue Guan Yu will not change.
That's why he specially summoned Mi Yang to tell him the secret in his heart.
Because according to common sense, if the Han Dynasty can unify the world in the future, it will most likely be done in the hands of Mi Yang's generation.
After Liu Bei finished what he said just now, he looked at Mi Yang with a pair of expectant eyes and said to him: "Zi Sheng, do you understand what I mean by what I said to you today?"
Mi Yang is such a clever person. Although Liu Bei never said anything to him, the deep meaning he expressed in front of him was fully revealed.
Liu Bei obviously wanted him to complete this inner thought for him on the day when the Han Dynasty could be reunited.
Historically, Liu Bei should have informed Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang of similar ideas, so Liu Chan delayed giving Guan Yu a posthumous title.
The year when Liu Chan gave Guan Yu his posthumous title was more than 20 years after Zhuge Liang's death.
At that time, Ji Han had no chance of making a comeback, so Liu Chan had no choice but to give Guan Yu a posthumous title.
However, when Liu Bei chose to hand over the same instructions to Mi Yang in this life, Mi Yang was shocked by the depth of Liu Bei's affection for Guan Yu, and was also shocked by Liu Bei's trust in him.
The political meaning released by Liu Bei is even more thought-provoking.
He straightened his kneeling body and solemnly promised Liu Bei under Guan Yu's spiritual throne: "I swear I will not disappoint His Majesty."