On the second day after the emperor's death, white cloths were hung on all the main gates of the imperial palace, which was called "Qin Su".
At this time, inside the Canglong Gate, there was a heated discussion among the Three Gongs, Jiu Qing, and He Jin, who had just entered the palace and convened everyone for a discussion.
He Jin was sitting high in the hall, and the three princes and nine ministers were sitting in rows, and they were sitting in order.
Today's Sangong and Jiuqing are Taiwei Ma Rixi, Situ Dinggong, and Sikong Liu Hong.
Jiuqing is Wei Wei Zhao Mo, Zongzheng Liu Yu, Ting Wei Wu Gong, Da Honglu Shexian, Zhang Xun is Da Si Nong, and Shaofu Fan Ling.
Among them, Liu Yu was originally supposed to be the shepherd of Youzhou, but the opportunity for Liu Yu to become the shepherd of Youzhou was Zhang Chun's rebellion.
Now Zhang Chun is put down by Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei, and the Youzhou Yellow Turbans are also dealt with by Gongsun Zan.
In this way, Liu Yu, as the only remaining Zongzheng, naturally did not expose it to outsiders.
The previous Guang Luxun Liu Hong was promoted to Sikong, Taichang Liu Yan went to Yizhou to be a shepherd in Yizhou, and Huang Wan, the imperial servant, was in Yuzhou to be a shepherd in Yuzhou.
Therefore, among the nine ministers, there are no positions such as Guang Luxun, Taichang and Taipu.
He Jin looked around at everyone and said: "The country cannot live without a king for a day. Now that His Majesty has passed away, you should join me in making Shihou the emperor and then deal with the national mourning."
Ding Gong objected: "No, the Han Dynasty has filial piety to the world. Your Majesty has just passed away after a long funeral. Even if you want to support Shi Hou, you have to deal with the national funeral. Otherwise, even if Shi Hou becomes emperor, what will the people of the world think?"
"
"The world will say that Shi Hou is unfilial. His father has just passed away and he wants to inherit the throne. The reputation of the general will be damaged as well."
Fan Ling also agreed: "What's more, according to custom, after the death of the emperor, the next successor will usually not ascend the throne until half a month to a month later. For example, the current emperor, Emperor Xiaohuan, Emperor Xiaoshun, Emperor Xiao'an, is this not the case? Han Dynasty
All the emperors in the past dynasties were like this."
"Indeed it is."
Liu Yu nodded and said: "Although I know the mood of the general, the etiquette cannot be discarded. The emperor's funeral is suspended for a month, and many funeral ceremonies, such as mourning, mourning in the palace, bathing, eating, gathering, and giving, must not be broken.
, bad things lead to chaos, the general must not ignore etiquette and law."
"Yes, when the emperor dies, the successor emperor, the clan, and all the officials, soldiers and people of our country should mourn for twenty-seven days and stop all weddings. After mourning for your majesty, on the last day, we will definitely support Marquis Shi to ascend the throne in front of his soul.
.”
"We support the general in this matter, but everything must be done in accordance with etiquette and law. The day of His Majesty's funeral should be the time when Marquis Shi ascends the throne. If you mess with the ancestral rules, you will be criticized by thousands of people."
The three gongs and nine ministers tried to persuade He Jin one after another. In fact, at this point, the three gongs and nine ministers supported He Jin and supported Liu Bian's ascension to the throne. After all, Liu Bian was already 14 years old and not a child.
If Liu Bian ascends the throne, then as long as they wait a few more years, the new emperor will soon reach adulthood, and they will not have to worry about He Jin becoming Liang Ji.
Moreover, Liu Bian was the eldest son and the son of the queen, so he was the perfect choice for the crown prince, and they had no reason to object.
The problem was that He Jin acted too hastily. According to etiquette, the new emperor could not ascend the throne until the old emperor was buried.
Generally speaking, this process takes between half a month and a month. Even if it is the fastest, it will not be until half a month later, that is, in early May, that Liu Bian can be supported.
If we support it now, what will people in the world think?
Therefore, everyone strongly opposed it.
He Jin was a butcher, so he didn't know these rules. He was a little dumbfounded and said: "So that's it. Then according to your opinions, what should we do now?"
Liu Yu thought deeply: "Logically speaking, the death of the emperor is a funeral ceremony. Taichang should be carried out according to etiquette. However, Taichang's position is vacant now and there is no one to take charge of the overall situation. Therefore, the top priority now is to elect a new Taichang."
Come often."
"Do we still have to elect a new Taichang?"
He Jin was confused. After the emperor died, the first task was not to hold a funeral, but to select an official. What was the reason for this?
However, He Jin didn't know that the national funeral ceremony was a top priority and it was necessary for Taichang to preside over it.
Not to mention national funerals such as the death of an emperor, even for ordinary rural funerals, the family must hire a highly respected person who can preside over funeral ceremonies, such as writing numbers, accepting gifts, ordering banquets, and receiving guests.
In fact, it was inherited from the Zhou rites and has been a custom for thousands of years.
Ma Rixi said: "It is indeed necessary to select Taichang first, who will preside over the funeral. Then the ministers will choose the posthumous title for the emperor. While stepping up the selection of funeral supplies, they will prepare the most solemn funeral ceremonies every day.
, we also have to carve a mausoleum for the emperor, which is so indispensable."
"That's...okay."
He Jin had no choice. He was not a professional, but someone who relied on his sister to get to the position. Naturally, he didn't understand this, so he could only let the three gongs and nine ministers do it.
Soon, everyone determined the next candidate for Taichang, the current Taizhong doctor Yang Biao.
Yang Biao was the son of the imperial master Yang Ci. He was the fourth generation of the family and had a very high reputation among the scholars. Everyone would have no problem choosing him as Taichang.
The first day passed like this, and the funeral had not been held yet. Instead, a funeral organizer was decided first.
Over there, the body of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was also taken care of by the eunuchs. According to etiquette, the emperor's body was bathed and his hair was combed.
After all, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others can be considered old people who have experienced the funeral of Emperor Huan, and have some experience in dealing with it.
Under their command, there were six deacons who were wearing quilts, and four charioteers wiped the moisture from Emperor Daxing's body with bath towels, and then wiped them with bathrobes.
After bathing, the emperor was placed on a new bed on the east side. The bed was made of bamboo mats on the upper layer and cattail mats on the lower layer. The room was filled with ice cubes.
Everything is done in an orderly manner, but it is peaceful on the surface, but behind the scenes there are undercurrents and ups and downs.
Zhang ordered Zhao Zhong, Jian Shuo and other ten regular attendants to be located in the Yutang Hall.
Yutang Hall has now become the place where the emperor rests, because there is floor heating here. As long as there is no fire and ice cubes are put into the boiler, the temperature of the entire room will drop significantly. Ice cubes can be placed around the emperor to prevent corrosion.
In the side hall on the left, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Jian Shuo, Xia Yun, Guo Sheng, Sun Zhang, Bi Lan, Li Song, Duan Gui, Gao Wang, Zhang Gong, Han Kui, Song Dian, Wang Jun and more than ten eunuchs gathered together. Everyone looked more or less panicked.
.
The emperor passed away suddenly, and none of them could sleep last night. The whole palace was in chaos. The Queen Mother, the Empress, and the two princes took turns crying, and the commotion has not subsided until now.
Jian Shuo asked: "Do you know what the general and the ministers are discussing?"
Zhang Rang said: "They should be talking about the emperor's funeral."
Jian Shuo sneered: "No, the palace guards I stationed at Quefei Hall reported to me that they are discussing the matter of supporting Shi Hou."
"this......"
Everyone looked at each other, some with their eyes rolling wildly, some with worry, some with constant thinking, and different attitudes.
Jian Shuo looked at everyone and said coldly: "Everyone, what did His Majesty say? You all heard it with your own ears and asked us to support Dong Hou's ascension to the throne. Have you forgotten His Majesty's last words before his death?"
"Well......"
Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Wang Jun and others looked at each other and said nothing.
What the emperor said is true.
The problem is, how can a guy like Jian Shuo, who has a simple mind but well-developed limbs, know how strong the resistance is to Dong Hou's accession to the throne?
When the emperor dies, nominally, the Northern and Southern armies and the armies of the world will be under the control of the general.
Although they still control the imperial guards, who knows what the commanders of the guards are thinking.
Once they also defect to He Jin, the eunuch power will really have nothing to rely on, and everyone will die by then.
Therefore, when faced with such a problem, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others did not dare to express their stance clearly.
In fact, in official history, they also encountered this problem.
Zhang Rang and He Jin were related by relatives, and even Zhang Rang's son Zhang Feng was Liu Bian's uncle.
You must know that He Jin and Queen He are only half-brothers, while Queen He and Zhang Feng's wife He are sisters from the same father and mother. They were born from He Jin's father He Zhen and Wuyang Jun.
born.
In this way, Liu Bian's relationship is actually closer to that of the He family. As a father-in-law, if Zhang Rang can rely on the He family to curry favor with Liu Bian, he may not be able to continue to be famous.
Therefore, in history, Zhang Rang has always had an ambiguous attitude towards supporting Liu Xie. He was not as active as Jian Shuo, but wanted to remain neutral.
Even He Jin only wanted to kill Jian Shuo at the beginning, but did not want to attack Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others, which shows that they had colluded for a long time.
Then what was the reason that prompted the Shichangshi to kill He Jin?
Of course it's He Jin's group of aides.
This group of people were clamoring in the palace all day long to enter the palace and kill the eunuchs, hoping that everyone in the world would know that He Jin had the intention to enter the palace and kill the eunuchs.
You must know that Wuyang Jun and He Miao also lived in the General's Mansion. They were facing Zhang Rang and others, so they told Zhang Rang and others about this matter, forcing Zhang Rang and others to take action first.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty had just died. He Jin wanted to support Liu Bian, while Jian Shuo wanted to support Liu Xie in accordance with Emperor Ling's will. As if there was going to be a conflict, Zhang Rang and the others naturally wanted to remain neutral.
Seeing their silence, Jian Shuo snorted coldly and said, "Don't forget, those people in the general's mansion are clamoring every day to come into the palace and kill us, huh."
After that, he turned around and went out.
After he left, everyone left one after another, leaving only Zhang Rang and Wang Jun.
The two looked at each other, and after a moment, Zhang Rang said slowly: "Isn't Chen Zihui back?"
Wang Jun said: "We have sent people to search, it should be soon."
"What do you think should be done about this matter?"
Zhang Rang asked.
Wang Jun smiled bitterly and said: "Everything depends on the attitude of the general. If the general and I can be persuaded to put things past the past, we will naturally be willing to support Hou Shi's ascension to the throne."
Zhang Rang sighed and said: "I think so too, but now the talk of killing us and others in the general's palace is getting louder and louder, which makes me dare not leave the palace. Now, although the general is discussing matters in the front hall, he is not outside the palace."
There are all his soldiers and horses outside, and I don’t even have the courage to go find him."
Wang Jun said: "We only regret that we lack intelligence and cannot come up with countermeasures. However, Liu Xuande has always been loyal to the emperor, and Chen Zigui is friendly to us. If Liu Xuande's troops help us, there should be room for maneuver."
"Did you send someone to find Liu Xuande?"
"We were dispatched yesterday, but the Wild King is far away from Luoyang after all, more than 200 miles away. Even if Liu Xuande works hard, he will not be able to come back until tomorrow."
"Well, you handled it well. Liu Xuande should be able to contact Chen Zigui. If they can come, it should be fine."
Zhang Rang thought for a while and then warned: "Go ahead, on this occasion of national mourning, the guards at the palace gates must not relax their vigilance, and large groups of people must not be allowed into the palace. Patrols must also be diligent at night, and all palace doors are closed tightly."