Zhang Cong was cremated after his death. The eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law took his ashes and left the capital together with Wang Yuan who was attending the funeral.
In the Jiangnan area of the Ming Dynasty, cremation was extremely common. Don’t think of the ancients as being too pedantic.
As for high-ranking officials, they have to serve as officials in a different place and often die in a foreign country, so they are often cremated. They often travel thousands of miles, and you want to transport the body back? Then you have to have a real corpse collector.
In order to show their filial piety, some officials' families resolutely refused to cremate their elders. As a result, they began to rot halfway through the transportation. They had to choose a geomantic treasure land halfway, so there were puzzling burials. Zhejiang officials served in Sichuan, but were buried in Huguang.
It's impossible to figure out what's going on without looking at the epitaph.
Huai'an, Qingjiangpu.
The railway has been built up to this point, and the front is blocked by the Yellow River, so there is no further construction to the south for the time being.
Wang Yuan walked out of the train station and said to Zhang Xunzhi: "Brother Zhang, when your ashes return home, remember not to entertain guests. Mr. Bingyong abides by etiquette and does not want to ruin his moral character during his lifetime."
Zhang Xunzhi cupped his hands and said, "Please keep this in mind."
According to ancient etiquette, a funeral can be grand or simple, but it is absolutely not allowed to invite people to eat or drink.
During his lifetime, Zhang Cong despised the vulgar customs of Jiangnan. He said that people in Jiangnan did not show filial piety to their parents when they were alive, but they took care of themselves after their parents were dead. They not only entertained guests to eat and drink, but also invited opera troupes to play and beat, which was extremely unfilial and rude.
Zhang Cong once again criticized Buddhism, saying that such bad folk customs were caused by Buddhist rituals, and even brought Taoism into the ditch.
Zhang Xunzhi received Wang Yuan's warning and kept everything simple after returning to his hometown. He only set up a mourning hall for relatives and friends to express their condolences, and also provided a few fruits, fruits and water for entertainment.
Mr. Zhang Ge observed etiquette throughout his life and also after his death, which became a good story in Jiangnan.
But it was said that Wang Yuan had crossed the Yellow River at Qingjiangpu, and the water transport officials hurriedly reported the news. When they arrived at the Huai'an Shuiyi Pier, local civil and military officials came to see him one after another, and some waited there for several hours.
Seeing Wang Yuan's official ship docking, a naughty official shouted: "The great scholar Ruoxu Gong, the great master of the court, has arrived!"
Before the official ship had even stopped, all the civil and military officials on the shore had already prostrated themselves.
Wang Yuan's expression was dull, neither happy nor sad. He stood on the bow of the boat and asked: "Who is the chief officer here?"
A civil servant knelt down and raised his head: "I'm going to be the magistrate of Huai'an, Jia Yingchun, and I'll pay my respects to the Grand Master Taifu!"
A military attache knelt down on one knee: "I am lowering my rank to the right commander of the former army, Liu Xi, to pay my respects to the Grand Master Taifu!"
Wang Yuan stepped on the ladder and came to the shore. He ignored the Huai'an magistrate and helped Liu Xi up with his own hands. He said with a smile: "I also heard the name of 'Qingcai Liu' in Beijing? How can I still eat green vegetables?"
Liu Xi was flattered and stood up and said: "Thanks to the great master, although we still eat vegetables from time to time, our family can eat three meals of meat every month."
"It's good if you can eat meat," Wang Yuan patted Liu Xi on the shoulder and said happily, "You are an upright official, but upright officials should also eat meat. How can upright officials not enjoy happiness, and only corrupt officials enjoy happiness? Those who work for the public.
, Don’t let it freeze to death in the wind and snow. The day when honest officials can eat meat, the world will be truly prosperous."
Liu Xi was so excited that her whole body became hot, her arms trembled and she clasped her fists: "The great master is so complimentary, I am really ashamed of myself."
Jia Yingchun, the prefect of Huai'an, was still kneeling on the ground at this time. He immediately said flatteringly: "The words of Taifu Jinshi must be remembered by the disciples for the rest of their lives!" After saying this, this guy actually took out a pen and paper on the spot and wrote "Those who work for the public to receive salary must not do it."
"Let it freeze to death in the wind and snow" was recorded.
Wang Yuan curled his lips and said, "Are you a physics disciple?"
Jia Yingchun said happily: "The student's ancestral home is Zhending, and he was a Jinshi in the 18th year of Zhengde. But as early as the 15th year of Zhengde, the student had already entered the School of Physics and was fortunate to be taught by the respected master (Wang Yan) of the college."
Wang Yuan lost interest as soon as he heard this. He joined the School of Physics in the 15th year of Zhengde's reign, became a high school scholar in the 18th year of Zhengde's reign, and now he is just a prefect.
Historically, this person was promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs and was given posthumously to the crown prince and Taibao after his death.
However, looking at his political achievements, there are many achievements. In addition to building the Great Wall, he also made Mongolian invaders every time, and his generals beheaded hundreds of levels. To put it more bluntly, he usually knew how to build the Great Wall, but he was always killed by the Mongols.
, wait for the enemy to leave, then chase and kill some herdsmen to take credit. It is even more nonsense for him to be the Minister of Household Affairs. There is a problem with the central finance and he can't think of any good solutions. He can only give advice to local officials who tax less than 70% of the quota.
When he was promoted and there was a problem with water transportation, he only said that he would severely punish the relevant personnel, and he was completely blind as to how to solve the problem.
In this time and space, Jia Yingchun became a disciple of physics early and actively responded to the reform policy. However, his behavior was too bad. Although he wanted to clear his father's land, he was always deceived by the powerful gentry. After struggling for twenty years, he was still a prefect, and his excellent background was wasted.
He is a physics disciple with fifteen years of experience in Zhengde, and he is also a Jinshi. This background is really impressive!
After all, he was his disciple, so Wang Yuan was not embarrassed and just said: "Get up quickly. I am Ding You, the great scholar. You are the local magistrate. How can you kneel to me as an official?"
Jia Yingchun stood up with a smile: "It is right for a disciple to kneel to his master."
Wang Yuan then said to other officials: "You should also get up. From now on, you cannot kneel to superior officials, only to the emperor."
"Thank you, Master!" Everyone stood up one after another.
Huang E, Song Ling'er and many of their children have also disembarked from the ship, while their concubines are staying in the capital to take care of their children.
Wang Yuan asked as he walked: "When I left the capital, Brother Liu had been transferred to the former military governor's office. Why did he still stay in Huai'an?"
Liu Xi replied: "I was ill a while ago and didn't have time to leave."
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Then let's go to Nanjing together."
Nanjing also has the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army. Liu Xi, a military general with no background and who has offended so many civilian officials, is lucky to be transferred to the former Commander-in-Chief of the Army in Nanjing.
All the officials gathered around Wang Yuan and his family and headed to the capital city to rest. Not far away, another official ship suddenly came. The eunuch came running from the ship and shouted: "Master, please go slowly, Your Majesty is urgent!"
Everyone stopped quickly and knelt down to wait for the eunuch to announce the edict.
There are also Jinyi guards who follow the eunuch and are responsible for carrying the table. After the eunuch reads the edict, he must put it on the table. Wang Yuan kowtows to the table to receive the order. Anyway, he cannot kowtow directly to the eunuch. Of course, the eunuch is the one who announces the edict.
I can't bear to pay homage to Wang Yuan.
There was no need to bathe and change clothes for such an urgent edict. The eunuch read it out on the spot, but it was to persuade Wang Yuan to return to the capital.
Wang Yuan was speechless for a moment after hearing this.
In order to show the friendship between the emperor and his ministers, the young emperor had played three words and three words in Beijing. Unexpectedly, this would come up halfway, and it was estimated that three urgent edicts would be issued in succession.
Wang Yuan could only keep the courtesy and say thank you, saying that loyalty and filial piety cannot be both, and he had to go home first to attend Ding You's funeral.
After receiving the edict, the local civil and military officials praised him one after another and flattered the emperor and the Taifu.
Zhu Zaiyi's urgent edict was not sent to Wang Yuan, but to officials all over the world. Its purpose has obviously been achieved.
Sure enough, just after Wang Yuan entered the city, a second urgent edict was sent.
Wang Yuan had just settled down and had not yet enjoyed his meal when the third urgent edict arrived again.
The officials and people in Huai'an City were like watching a play, witnessing the whole event. It is estimated that decades later, they will be able to tell the story and brag to their grandchildren.
Finally, the fourth imperial edict was delivered, and this thing is the real deal: the official title is Grand Master!
The whole city was shocked and inexplicable commotion.
Especially the officials and gentry, although they had expected this for a long time, it still brought an unprecedented shock when Wang Yuan was really appointed as Grand Master.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many grand masters, but most of them were given posthumously. Most of the living grand masters were nobles, and the only civil servant who became a grand master before they died was Li Shanchang, the mastermind behind the founding of the country!
Who is Li Shanchang?
If Zhu Yuanzhang is compared to Liu Bang, then Li Shanchang is Xiao He.
However, Li Shanchang died a bit tragically, and it was unlucky for a civil servant to become a living grand master.
"Congratulations, Grand Master!"
Officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen from Huai'an came to send gifts and congratulations, and blocked the door of the hotel where Wang Yuan stayed.
Zhang Mu, who followed Zhang Mu, opened the door and yelled: "How happy are you that Grand Master Ding You has returned home? If anyone makes noise again, don't blame me for using my stick!"
Everyone looked at each other in shock. Yes, they were going back for a funeral, so it was really not the right time to give gifts and congratulations.
The next day, Wang Yuan left Huai'an.
The prefect, Jia Yingchun, saw him off as a re-disciple. Before leaving, he asked: "Your Majesty issued three urgent edicts in a row, summoning the master to return to the court to serve in power, and issued another urgent edict to appoint the grand master. This shows that your majesty respects the master.
In addition, the kindness is so great that the people of Huai'an are lucky enough to witness this grand event. The disciples want to build the 'Si Zhao Temple' in Huai'an and write a table and engrave it so that future generations will remember it forever."
Wang Yuan stopped and turned around, stared at his disciple, and for a long time uttered one word: "Get out!"
Jia Yingchun was so scolded that he stood there blankly. After Wang Yuan got on the boat, he asked his master: "Why is the master angry?"
The master is also unreliable, and actually explained: "Si Zhao Temple, Si Zhao Temple... if you pronounce it quickly, it means 'Death Temple', how unlucky. The Grand Master has great achievements and is taboo about this matter.
, where can we use the name 'Si Zhao Temple'?"
Jia Yingchun was enlightened and blamed himself: "I was negligent."
The master came up with an idea and said: "We can build a pavilion at the Huai'an Shuiyi Pier, which is called the 'Three Imperial Edicts Pavilion'. It will be used to commemorate His Majesty's three urgent imperial edicts in a row and the beautiful talk of calling the Grand Master back to the capital. The pavilion was built.
Not erecting a temple will save a lot of gossip, and this 'Sanzhao Pavilion' may become a scene in Huai'an. From now on, literati will use this pavilion to bid farewell to their relatives and friends, and they will recite poems and lyrics in memory of the palace lord."
"What a great idea, let's build the 'Sanzhao Pavilion' at the dock!" Jia Yingchun was overjoyed.