For a person of Liu Kuan's level, according to the rules, the funeral is destined to be extremely grand. However, the so-called never depart from the original, no matter what, in terms of the process, it cannot exceed the three things of stopping the spirit, mourning, and burying.
category of things.
As for the specific process, it is actually very... casual, at least it is very casual these days.
This is mainly because in the late Han Dynasty, the Han people's view of life and death was undergoing severe fluctuations. On the one hand, some people regarded death as life, while on the other hand, some people proposed that death is like a lamp extinguishing; on the one hand, filial piety was extremely important, and funerals must be luxurious and grand; on the other hand, they were very particular about
Personal style is the so-called shangtongtuo.
Therefore, although from a mainstream perspective, the general upper limit for funerals for scholar-officials is very high, when it comes to individuals, the lower limit is actually very low.
For example, Gongsun Xun invited people to drink outside the mourning hall. Of course, it was not in compliance with the rules, but it was in line with the custom of scholars in those days. It was called a good thing. And the scholar-bureaucrats who came to pay their respects in Luozhong also
Everyone feels proud to come here, drink a glass of wine, bow once and then leave.
At the end of the day, it still depends on the person.
As for some official coffin-closing words, they were also agreed during the period of mourning. As Liu Kuan's student, the emperor naturally would not be stingy at this time.
So soon, a series of statements were released, the most important two being that the chariot and cavalry general was posthumously given the posthumous title of ‘Zhao Lie’.
The posthumous gift of General Chariot and Cavalry was an acknowledgment of Liu Kuan's fact and achievements as an emperor's advisor and minister in assisting the government when the emperor was young. As for the posthumous title, if his virtue is bright, he is called Zhao, if he has meritorious service, he is called Lie, so such a posthumous title is naturally not bad.
Of course, Gongsun Xun never worried about this problem, because he knew that Liu Kuan entrusted him with his funeral affairs not because he was really worried about problems after his death.
"Father-in-law." As he came through the door, Gongsun Xun, who was wearing mourning clothes, saluted again to Zhao Bao, the senior farmer who came to express his condolences, and then asked calmly. "There are so many people outside paying tribute, why do you want to speak in private?
"
"I know, so I'll tell you quickly." Zhao Bao said in a low voice with some embarrassment. "Yesterday evening, my brother Zhao Yan went to see me. What he probably meant was, if you can..."
"Is that Zhao Yan who was attached to the eunuch Zhao Zhong?" Gongsun Xun interrupted his father-in-law sternly before he could finish speaking.
Zhao Bao pursed his lips for a long time, but could only nod reluctantly.
"Then you and your father-in-law are separated from the family. How can you still call yourself a clan brother?" Gongsun Xun continued to ask seriously. "Besides, it is no better than it used to be. Zhao Zhong said that the emperor increased the land tax, causing chaos in Hebei and the Central Plains.
, the common people are dead and injured, and they can be called national traitors. This is why my friend Sima Shuyi committed suicide to remonstrate... My father-in-law doesn't know, right?"
Zhao Bao couldn't help but sigh, but was speechless.
"Sir." Gongsun Xun stepped forward and reminded him expressionlessly. "At this time of year, everyone in the world is so angry that they all want to kill Zhao Zhong to thank the world... How can you still let Zhao Yan enter?
You should just open the fire and let the neighbors see clearly that you personally beat Zhao Yan, a man who insulted the good reputation of the clan, with a stick."
"I was not thinking well at the moment." His son-in-law taught him this. Zhao Bao could not help but feel a little suffocated, but he was still helpless in the end.
"It's not that I'm aggressive, nor that I'm unkind." Gongsun Xun couldn't help but whisper when he saw this. "But the current situation has really reached the point where on the surface we drink from the golden cup together, but in private we fight with each other. That's my father-in-law.
You have accumulated such a good reputation over the years, but if you really use the knife, everyone will be furious. If someone mentions this matter, it may be a way to cause trouble."
"It's true that I didn't think well." Zhao Bao replied completely helplessly. "He shouldn't have been allowed in... Let's just let this matter go!"
"Just be careful." Gongsun Xun further frowned and said, "I will try to find a way to help my father-in-law. As for my father-in-law, you might as well keep an eye on the emperor's body. You should make plans early and leave the capital in time...
Once the emperor dies, Luozhong will no longer be a good place, but a place of chaos."
"Of course I know this." Zhao Bao also frowned. "I'm not a person who doesn't read history. Our dynasty has been this way for many years. The emperor died at a young age, and then the young emperor lost power.
Eunuchs, scholars, and relatives met with swordsmen in Luozhong, killing each other non-stop, so naturally they had to make plans..."
Zhao Bao initially disagreed, but when he said this, he was suddenly startled: "What do you mean, why are you reminding me now? Isn't it too early? Didn't you also resign as Hanoi Governor? This time Liu Zhaolie was buried
Aren’t you going back to Luoyang in the end? Or did you have somewhere to go?”
"There is no other intention." Gongsun Xun said frankly. "Master Liu wrote a suicide note to me before his death, asking me to resign and return home, study the classics with peace of mind, and cultivate virtue carefully... I am not prepared to live here in Luozhong for several years.
came back."
Zhao Bao was stunned for a moment, and then stared at his son-in-law again: "You want to resign and return home? You won't return for a few years?!"
"Shouldn't it be right?" Gongsun Xun said, pointing to his filial piety clothes. "These are Master Liu's last words. As a disciple, I can't refuse, can I?"
Zhao Bao was stunned. He opened his mouth several times and asked the other party why they didn't discuss it with him, but in the end he was speechless. After a long while, he could only nod with all his strength: "You can just do what you want!"
After saying that, he wanted to walk away directly.
"Sir!" Gongsun Xun suddenly shouted from behind. "The day after tomorrow when Master Liu's funeral is over, I will take my mentor and his wife's coffin together for the funeral early in the morning, and take a boat to the foot of Wangwu Mountain in Hedong for burial. And my old friend in Luozhong
I have many official positions, so I'm afraid I won't be able to see you all the way, so I will say goodbye in Mengjin in the evening... Then I hope that my father-in-law will come and have some drinks like today."
Zhao Bao shook his sleeves from a distance in response, then walked away angrily without stopping.
One day later, Liu Kuan's funeral was officially over, and the funeral was officially held. Gongsun Xun, as the leader, took Gongsun Fan, Gongsun Yue, and countless disciples and former officials of Liu Kuan in Luozhong to personally help the spirit out of the city. Liu Song also left the city early in the morning.
, according to his father's last words, he brought his mother's coffin out from Beimang Mountain and met at the roadside. The emperor even issued an order, not only to have a day off with the officials of Luozhong, but also to send Jian Shuo of Zhonghuangmen to lead the tiger and Ben army.
Twenty people opened the way and escorted the coffin straight to the east of the river.
Because there was a day off, and because Gongsun Xun had said in advance that Master Liu was not a good person and liked to drink. Therefore, if there was someone in the mourning hall that day who was not drunk after a glass of wine, Meng Jin would still have wine to say goodbye. I just hope that he would not be drunk at that time.
The only way to say farewell to each other was to be drunk. Therefore, the ministers, celebrities, relatives and friends in Luozhong saw each other off along the way without any burden... And in the afternoon of that day, Liu Kuan and his wife were buried in the charity house on the south bank of Mengjin in the north of Luoyang.
Later, Gongsun Xun kept his word and took out all the countless fine wines he had prepared and called on everyone to get drunk and send them off.
At Mengjin, the aroma of wine overflowed for a while. At this time, there were even rumors that Gongsun Xun had sold off all his properties in Luoyang, leaving only one other courtyard... He collected a large sum of money and exchanged it all for fine wine in Luoyang.
.
Liu Kuan came to the stage many times, and he had been an important minister of the Han Dynasty for decades before his death. Gongsun Xun, who presided over the funeral, was also a general of the Wei and Jihou, so there were countless dignitaries who came this time.
As for the open space in front of Ting Ling Yishe, there are all the people of the moment.
General He Jin, Sikong Yuan Wei, Situ Cui Lie, Right Cavalry General Zhu Jun, Sili Colonel Zhang Wen, Huben Zhonglang General Yuan Shu, Shizhong Yang Biao, Taichang Zhang Yan, Da Sinong Zhao Bao, Zongzheng Liu Yan... Except for Yang Ci, who was really in failing health, all the three princes and nine ministers, no matter how close their friendship was, were all present. Even many of the eunuchs' children came to see them off, but they were not arranged to go here.
Not only that, Yuan Shao, the world's model who is famous but has no position, Dong Zhuo, the Yilang who may be re-elected recently, Lu Zhi, who lost his official position and returned to the position of Shangshu, Liu Yu, the Guanglu doctor who has just resigned from the Shangshu order and has not yet been appointed, the two previous Wang Yun, who was imprisoned for the first time and finally released from prison, and why he went on an expedition and became a subordinate of the general, as well as Liu Biao and Kong Rong, who were also just subordinates of the general but had great reputations, were also specially seated.
There were even Lu Bu, the shooting captain, and Xu Rong, the garrison captain, who had some official positions but were not really famous. They also sat here specifically because of their old friendships.
In short, if you don't consider the funeral ceremony, it can be regarded as a different kind of gathering of heroes.
Everyone invited their confidants, and after the disciples had finished sitting down, drinks were brought to them one after another. The aroma of wine was already overflowing in the distance around them, and they drank directly, but no one opened the bottle here... because everyone knew in their hearts that General Wei As the host, Gongsun Xun must have something to say.
In fact, when we were on the road today, there were already true and false rumors, saying that Gongsun Xun vaguely wanted to observe filial piety for his mentor and returned to his hometown to study. Regarding this, everyone present either did not pay attention to it, or I am a little dissatisfied, or a little happy, it can only be said that they are different.
However, at this time, General Wei seemed to have to pass another level - everyone could see clearly that before Gongsun Xun came out, another of his mentors, Shangshu Lu Zhi, had already boldly entered the righteous house to meet his drinking buddy. Therefore, I knew that Wen Zhou had gone away to say goodbye, so I thought that I would naturally have to say something.
As a result, everyone was patient and waited for the news.
Lu Zhi came alone and entered the charity hall under the leadership of Lu Fan. He only bowed slightly towards the coffin of Liu Kuan and his wife, and then stood silently.
Gongsun Xun, who was standing by and dressed in mourning clothes, had no expression on his face. He just waved his hand to let Liu Song, Gongsun Yue, Gongsun Fan, and Fu Xie, who were guarding the funeral, go out. Lu Ziheng also took the opportunity to guard the door of the hall.
"Do you know why I didn't go to express my condolences before, and why I only have this gift today?" As soon as they left, Lu Zhi turned to look at Gongsun Xun.
"Students probably know something." Gongsun Xun said thoughtfully and frankly. "Master Lu, you have said long ago that when the world is difficult, the priority should be to save the burial. If one day you die, you will dig the ground. Three feet, it is enough to be buried in the same clothes, but the living expenses must not be harmed... In addition, Master Lu and Master Liu are close friends of each other, I am afraid there are many drunken words, and there has been a similar agreement, right?"
"That's right." Lu Zhi stared at his students and spoke sternly. "Death is like a lamp going out. The dead are gone. It is in the heart to be at ease. The living should serve the living..."
"Teacher, what you mean is that because Teacher Liu loved wine when he was alive, I spent a lot of money today in exchange for thousands of people getting drunk. Is this actually a luxury?" Gongsun Xun remained expressionless and just clasped his hands and asked.
"That's what I mean." Lu Zhi replied frankly. "But the deceased has passed away and the drinks have been bought. You are so filial, and I have nothing to say. Moreover, in today's world, such things as funerals are not allowed.
You can only set an example, but you cannot force others to do something difficult. Therefore, I don’t mean to be harsh on what happened today. I just hope that one day after I die, you will remember what you just said."
Gongsun Xun helplessly bowed and said yes.
The atmosphere between the two also relaxed a little.
"But let's put aside this thousand gold banquet." After a moment of pause, Lu Zhi sighed and continued to question in front of his old friend's soul. "There were rumors on the road today that you were not going to take a new job after burying Duke Wen Rao.
, but I want to go back to my hometown to study. Just now I asked Lu Fan, but he didn’t dare to answer, so I had to come and ask you personally... Wen Qi, is this happening? "
"Yes." Gongsun Xun replied simply.
"The current situation is not as good as before, and the imperial court is hiring people..."
"This is the last wish of my mentor during his lifetime!" Gongsun Xun suddenly interrupted the other party without any etiquette. "Teacher Liu sent me a letter before his death. He wrote it in his own hand in front of his son and my brother, and then I received it in Hanoi in front of everyone.
Come on, if Master Lu doesn’t believe this, you can go and ask them two. And there are these clear words in the letter that tell me that my virtue is shallow and need to be..."
"I don't believe it!" Before he finished speaking, Lu Zhi, who was still upright, looked down at his student and directly interrupted him. "There must be letters, but a person who is obsessed with writing will definitely not be included in the letters.
To whom are orders and interference given?”
"But that's what he meant!" Gongsun Xun suddenly raised his head and faced each other. His face turned red, his lips trembled slightly, and he no longer showed the slightest calmness before. "If not, how could he die at this time?!"
Lu Zhi was silent for a moment.
"Liu Shiben has already survived this winter this year. When spring gets warmer, he could have lived for another year. If it weren't for the emperor's wickedness and no hope in his heart, how could he abandon this life?" Gongsun Xun became more and more angry as he spoke.
He was angry, but he couldn't help but be sad and shed tears for a moment. "And if he didn't want to find a way for me to escape easily, why would he deliberately drink to death and let people around him deliberately hide it from me?"
"The former may be true, but the latter... may just be smooth sailing." Lu Zhi said helplessly.
"So, do you admit it?" Gongsun Xun put away his tears and asked sharply. "The situation in the world is difficult. I am in a high position. Staying in the situation will be futile. On the contrary, I will lose my morality and trust. In such a situation, Master Liu can
Use your life to help me escape. But Master Lu, you want me to stay and maintain the situation for that unruly person? Back then, when I was weak, I made countless achievements and had a bright future. But at that time, you suppressed me repeatedly. Today, I
With the help of Master Liu, I could have escaped calmly, even the emperor would not have been able to stop me, but you want me to waste my time here... We are all teachers, why is one out of kindness and the other out of resentment?!"
"You finally said this." Lu Zhi was not angry when he heard this, but felt a little relieved. "Wen Qi, the virtues of the Han Dynasty are not as shallow as you think..."
"It's not as heavy as what the teacher said!" Gongsun Xun replied sternly with red eyes. "With all due respect, the teacher was blinded by selfishness in this matter to me!"
"What selfish motives do I have?" Lu Zhi finally became angry.
"Teacher is jealous of me!" Gongsun Xun tried his best to suppress the last trace of emotion that leaked on his face, and faced him proudly. "This is what Teacher Liu told me in his letter, but he was explaining it to you at the time..."
Lu Zhi's hands trembled slightly and he stared at his student.
"He said that you are both civilized and military, with both political integrity and talent." Gongsun Xun said sternly. "You are just like me! But you were born at the wrong time! If Master Lu had been born twenty years earlier, you could have been with Qiao Gong, Master Liu, and today.
Like Yang Ci, who just wants to die before his death, be a famous official of the Han Dynasty with a clear conscience, and his name will go down in history after death! And if you were born twenty years later, you can be with me, Gongsun Xun, Cao Mengde, Sun Wentai, and Liu Xuande
, like Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gongdao outside the tent, who ran rampant in troubled times and created a foundation! But you are so pitiful... you have no chance to compete for hegemony or leave your name in history. On the contrary, you actually met
Today, a person like Xia Jie and Shang Zhou spends all his time in the center, paying close attention to national affairs, but achieves nothing. He is even suppressed by incompetent eunuchs like Zhao Zhong and unable to move! Master Lu, you dare to say, you
Aren't you jealous of me? Aren't you jealous of Master Liu?"
Lu Zhi clenched his fists, but was finally speechless.
"The student made a mistake and went to my teacher to pay homage... There are countless guests waiting for me outside." Gongsun Xun calmed down a lot after speaking in anger. Knowing that he had made a mistake, he leaned over and bowed to the door.
Lu Fan, who was already dumbfounded, hurried away together.
For a time, only Lu Zhi and his old friend's coffin were left silently facing each other in the Yishe Hall.
————I’m sorry about the dividing line————
"The prosperity of the Confucian scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty was guarded by the three generations, and the royal family relied on it. When peace and order came down, the Han government began to be chaotic, with Yuan An and Yang Zhen at that time; with quality and quality, the Han Dynasty declined, and at that time there were Li Gu and Du
Qiao; As for Huan Ling, if the royal family is decorated with charm, there will be Lu Zhi and Zhao Qi, two sons died, and the Han Dynasty is in disarray. Zhi has the spirit of Youshuo, is tall and strong...there is true bravery. Tai
Is it not inspired by righteousness that our ancestors and disciples rose up?" - "Shilin Miscellaneous Notes". Recorded by Anonymous Yan
