Chapter 547: Shocking the government and the public, another funeral is coming (please vote for me!)
Luoyang, Qinghuafang.
It was the winter solstice, and the streets in front of the Wei Palace were bustling with activity.
It was obviously snowing all over the sky, but the snow on the streets was trampled into mud by countless horse hooves. As soon as the heavy snow fell to the ground, it became muddy water under the wheels of the carriages, splattering all over the precious silks decorating the carriages.
A low-key or high-profile carriage parked on the street in front of the Wei Palace.
It even occupies the doorway of many other people's homes.
Qinghuafang is a famous aristocratic place in Luoyang City. The whole street is filled with either rich or noble families. The people who buy houses in this street are either the founding prince, the princess's consort, or a certain house with the fifth surname and Qiwang.
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Ordinary wealthy businessmen and local wealthy families are not qualified to settle in this street.
But right now, the entire street was choked with traffic in front of Prince Wei's palace, but no household sent their servants out to complain.
Without it, you would have overwhelming power.
Because today is an important day for the Wei family to worship their ancestors during the winter solstice.
The winter solstice is the day with the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Originally, the custom in Guanzhong was to have family reunions and eat dumplings.
The imperial court of the Zhou Dynasty also had regular holidays, with a total of seven days of holidays around New Year's Day.
In addition, the biggest event recently is the Heaven Sacrifice in the Eastern Suburbs. Her Majesty the Queen personally led all civil and military officials to the Temple of Heaven in the suburbs to hold a grand ceremony to worship the Heaven. It was also on New Year's Day a few days later.
The people in Guanzhong do not have the custom of large-scale ancestor worship on the winter solstice.
However, the Wei family's ancestral home is Bingzhou, which is on the Hedong Road. It is a popular custom there to worship ancestors on the winter solstice.
As a result, the most grand event in Luoyang today is the Wei family's ancestor worship and family gathering, which is unknown to everyone in Luoyang.
The reason why it is so loud is because the ancestors of the Wei family have been carried into the Weizhou Ancestral Temple by Her Majesty the Queen.
In today's world where clan consciousness and patriarchal concepts are strong, an individual's political status needs to be supported by the political status of the family. To improve the political status of the family and ancestors is to improve oneself.
As the emperor was the patriarch of the world, and Empress Wei changed her position to become emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, she had to establish her own patriarchal status and establish seven temples in the Zhou Dynasty.
The status of the ancestors of the Wei family has naturally increased, and it is now comparable to that of the Li family.
During today's Winter Solstice worshiping ancestors, the Wei family stole the show in Luoyang City.
Wei Wang Wei Jisi and Liang Wang Wei Sixing, who presided over the clan sacrifices on behalf of the Empress Wei, were also successful in the aspect of style.
In particular, Wei Wang Wei's heir is regarded as the patriarch of the Wei clan of this generation and plays the same role as the patriarch in the family.
Wei Jisi, who used to be stern and solemn in the past, was walking on the corridor with a smile on his face, heading to the Wen Tiao Hall in the palace.
He had just returned from officiating at the Taizhou Ancestral Temple with his brother Wang. He went back to his room and changed out of his dark black dress. Now he was wearing black silk uniforms and precious mink hair. He went to the place where the clan members gathered for dinner with a smile on his face.
There was a Wei clan banquet there.
All the Wei clan members in Guanzhong came, and even the nearby branches of the Wei clan who lived not far away also came.
Soon, he arrived at Wen Tiao Hall.
This is a palace with expensive and luxurious heating equipment such as floor heating. Except for a few palaces in Luoyang that have the financial resources and manpower to build it, only the royal family has it, because in this era, keeping warm in winter is a luxury.
The Wen Tiao Hall was full of people from the Wei clan, and the already lively atmosphere reminiscing about the past became even more lively after the two patriarchs, Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing, appeared one after another.
Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing were surrounded by Wei clan members and female relatives and walked towards the top table.
At the same table were some fellow villagers brought over from Bingzhou, Hedong Road.
Wei Jisi said some kind and polite words, stood up and took the lead in making a toast. All the Wei clan members, talents of the clan, wives, concubines and their families followed and drank.
Wei Sixing, who was standing next to him, looked at his brother's happy expression, the smile on his face became wider, and he raised his head to drink the warm wine.
In the Wen Tiao Hall, there are also some guest advisers and counselors from the Wei family's core group, as well as civil servants and military generals who are attached to the palace, as well as meritorious nobles who have good relations with the Wei family. They are all members of the powerful group in the court with the Wei family as the core.
However, today’s theme is the Winter Solstice ancestor worship of the Wei clan. These people, who were highly valued by King Wei and King Liang, could only give up their seats slightly and sit at the edge of the Wen Tiao Hall in the back row with the Wei clan in front.
Share the joy together.
But in other words, being brought to this race meeting by the two princes is not a kind of closeness to one's own people. Indeed, many people's faces are proud, but there are also some people who are expressionless.
In general, many of the Wei family's guests felt slightly relieved when they saw Wei Jisi's rare happy smile today.
This King of Wei, a few days ago, was wearing a coarse linen white suit under the black python suit, and he also wore a white cloth on his head to wipe his forehead as a sign of mourning.
It is said that His Royal Highness the King of Wei was paying homage to his dead youngest son Wei Shaoxuan. Not long ago, his third son Wei Shaoqi went to Jiangnan Dao. Confirmed news has been received there that the youngest son Wei Shaoqi traveled to Jiangnan Dao with his master last year.
Shaoxuan has disappeared and been killed...
During this period of time, the people of the Menke tribe could feel the bad mood of His Highness King Wei. He kept a straight face all day long, and no one dared to get into trouble.
It is said that the prince learned the news that day, and in a rage, he drew his sword and stabbed to death a maid in the palace who was clumsy in serving. However, these are rumors in the palace, and I don't know whether they are true or not.
It wasn't until the past few days that the prince's mood seemed to be slightly better.
It may be because of the continuous good news in the past two days: one is that the Yingzhou Rebellion was completely ended by the Wei family, and His Majesty was barely satisfied;
The second one is the news that the third son, Wei Shaoqi, sent back from Jiangzhou. As of the letter, the Buddha's head has arrived in Xun and will be merged with the giant Buddha in Xingzifang soon. Counting the days, the giant Buddha should have been completed in the past few days.
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It may also be that during the winter solstice sacrificial activities, the Wei family stole the show, faintly showing the magnificence of the first aristocratic family in the dynasty, overpowering the long-dormant Li clan and the established Five Surnames Qiwang.
Wei Jisi had a lot more smiles on his face today.
As the patriarch of the clan, Wei Jisi was in a good mood, and the clan members and guests below him naturally celebrated along with him.
During the dinner, King Liang smiled and said:
"Lin Cheng is still a little slow. If it had been a few days earlier, Shaoqi's nephew should be able to return to Beijing in time for the winter solstice. According to the letter from the past few days, the Buddha's head has arrived in Jiangzhou City, and the statue should be completed by now. Shaoqi
Nephew Qi took Xiao Qi and returned." His tone was slightly reproachful.
But the tribesmen and disciples who heard what he meant didn't dare to criticize harshly and began to praise him one after another.
Wei Jisi smiled and waved his hand:
"Hey, brother Wang, what you said is wrong. Lin Cheng has already done a good job, but brother Wang is just too strict. If I have such a good son-in-law, I won't be willing to scold him so harshly. Hahaha."
"Where is it?" King Liang waved his hand modestly, and everyone was in a lively atmosphere.
After a while, after having had enough wine and food, Wei Jisi went out with his clan members to the Wei clan temple in the palace to hold indoor memorial ceremonies.
We just held an outdoor memorial ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Not many people went there. They were all important people in the clan. Now that all the clan members are here, we usually add an indoor memorial ceremony and hold it at home. There will also be rituals such as offering sacrifices and saluting.
In the ancestral hall, after the memorial ceremony was completed and before leaving the house, Wei Jisi stopped in front of a new spiritual tablet. On the wooden tablet was faintly written "The spiritual tablet of Wei Shaoxuan".
Everyone in the audience watched with vague eyes. After the King of Wei walked over, he stood next to the spiritual tablet for a while and seemed to whisper a few words.
Wei Sixing, who was the closest, vaguely heard: "Xuan'er, wait, my father and your brother will definitely hate you. Even if you bring out the tripod sword from Dragon City, you won't be able to escape. Lin Cheng promised that the Buddha
There will be a way to find the tripod sword once it is completed..."
After a while, Wei Jisi turned around and walked out of the door with a normal expression. He smiled at everyone, spread his hands to signal, and moved to the front hall.
Everyone said happy words one after another, and Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.
At this moment, a hurried figure ran up not far away. He stood behind the crowd and looked around. He raised his hand to signal to Wei Jisi who was surrounded by the crowd. Wei Sixing and other interested people glanced at it and vaguely remembered that it was King Wei's.
A confidant and bodyguard.
Wei Jisi also saw it and immediately frowned: "What's wrong? You are so flustered, how can you behave like this?"
The confidant was about to step forward, but stopped talking.
Wei Jisi also noticed the gazes of the people around him, and said subconsciously: "What's the matter? Let's be honest, brother Wang is not an outsider, and so are the adults here."
The confidant guard hesitated for a moment, then shook out the bamboo tube like beans:
"Your Majesty, there is urgent news from Jiangzhou. There are rebels attacking the Donglin Buddha in Xingzifang. The newly erected Buddha has fallen. The right envoy Lin Cheng, the governor, Wang Lengran, and... and the three young masters were all killed.
He was killed on the spot by the thieves... At present, Xunyang City is in chaos and the thieves have escaped. As of this news, Deputy Inspector Song Zheng and Rong Nvshi, who are supervising the Buddha, have sealed off Xunyang City and invited Ouyang Lianghan to come out to stabilize the situation..."
I haven't finished speaking my heartfelt words yet.
Wei Jisi dropped the cup in his hand, and the whole place fell into silence. People looked at him with wonderful eyes. Wei Jisi also looked at him directly and asked every word:
"What did you say?"
The confidant wanted to speak, but the next second, he was stopped by the strong eyes of King Liang.
Wei Jisi stood frozen on the spot, first looking around, as if he was wondering if he was deaf, then he kicked the cup away from his feet, staggered a step forward, reached out to grab the collar of his confidant, and asked in a low voice:
"Say it again, louder, what happened? What happened to the third child?"
"Your Majesty..."
Before his confidant could finish his words, the whole place suddenly became chaotic. King Liang, who had a gloomy expression, was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to support a certain figure.
"Brother Wang!"
"Eh...your lord, your lord!"
"Call the doctor quickly!"
The originally silent place suddenly exploded, and a panicked crowd surrounded it like a tide...
Not long after, the originally festive Wei clan banquet was canceled in a low-key manner. Each Wei clan member left the Wei Palace with uneasy expressions. Some rumors began to spread from the tense palace.
The streets of Qinghuafang that were originally bustling with traffic suddenly became empty.
Heavy snow covers the streets again...
At the same time, in a certain square next door, in a prime minister's house, another party was also held in the study.
But the atmosphere in the study is also a bit special.
Di Fuzi, Shen Xisheng and other separatist ministers were all present, but at this moment, after reading a certain secret letter, they were looking at Xie Xun with strange eyes as he hurriedly woke up from sleep and came over, looking confused.
"Master, Brother Shen, everyone, why are you looking at me like this?"
Until that fresh secret letter was handed to him.
Xie Xun frowned and looked at it. After a while, his face changed slightly, and he asked in shock: "Who did this...? Is Liang Han over there now to clean up the situation? Wait, what do you think of me like this? Could it be suspicion? …”
"What suspicion, what kind of word is this?" Shen Xisheng asked in a strange tone: "But, is it... Xunyang Prince's Mansion? Is it Liang Han's handwriting?"
A middle-aged scholar next to him, who came on behalf of the Prime Minister's Palace, asked with a serious face and a respectful tone:
"His Royal Highness, Prince Xiang, is also very curious about this. I would like to ask, is it the fault of your disciple, Mr. Tanlang? Does Prince Xunyang's palace... have a tripod sword?"
Hearing this, Xie Xun immediately calmed down his expression, took a deep breath, quickly picked up the cup of tea in front of him, drank it all, put down the cup, and said calmly:
"I don't know. It probably has nothing to do with them. Lianghan is quite honest. I even visited him last time when I was a teacher. You see, Prince Xunyang's family and Lianghan were drinking at a poetry meeting that day..."
Seeing that he didn't know what to ask, everyone looked at each other in confusion. The middle-aged scribe's eyes were still a little suspicious and disbelieving. Finally, they all looked at Master Di, and someone asked:
"Master, what should we do now? Is this really done by those rebels?"
The fat old man put down the manuscript of a poem "Inscribed on Chrysanthemums" in his hand. He had been in a trance while reading it. Now he came back to his senses. He carefully folded it and shook his head and said:
"It doesn't matter who did it. We don't need the truth now. Previously, we suggested that the prince of Xunyang City should stay still for the time being, wait and see what happens, avoid the Wei family's sharpness, and wait for the outcome of our side... Now it seems that the plan can't keep up. Changes, the winner is likely to be in Jiangzhou, well, it can be regarded as the luck of King Xunyang and Ouyang Lianghan, but it is hard to say whether this luck is good or bad, but they must help. "
The old prime minister sighed, got up and put on his whitened official uniform.
Xie Xun, Shen Xisheng and others nodded one after another, looked at each other, and retreated with either joy or seriousness. The middle-aged counselor representing the Prime Minister's Palace had no expression on his face. After going out, he caught up with the others, and inquired if they were there or not. I listened very carefully to Ouyang Rong's affairs.
The sudden news from Jiangzhou spread throughout the Luoyang government and the people. Originally, in this era, it was normal for a few people to die in distant states and counties, and border wars often killed a lot of people. Not to mention that Jiangzhou now can be regarded as belonging to the Southwest Front. .
But the key officials in charge of the Donglin Giant Buddha are dead right now: a Qi practitioner from Si Tianjian who was ordered by the emperor, a provincial governor, and a prince's legitimate son, not to mention the collapsed Buddha statue... It's the first time so far. example.
In the city of Luoyang, on the winter solstice day when all the families were gathering for dinner, figures leaving the family banquet hurriedly entered the palace. The original festive atmosphere in the palace was gone. The palace ladies holding lanterns all lowered their heads and walked slowly past a certain stern hall... …