The moment Liu Bei stepped into Luoyang, he already felt something was wrong in the atmosphere.
The bustling streets in the past were deserted, with only a few pedestrians like morning stars. All shops were closed, signboards were swaying in the wind, and businesses were in ruins, just like the silence of midnight.
But at this moment, it should be a busy morning, with all kinds of people's livelihoods, street markets, and business booming.
Liu Bei even wondered if today was an important holiday or if the government had issued a ban.
The emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce began in the Qin and Han dynasties, but at this time it had not yet reached the point of inhibiting commercial development.
Except for the national monopoly on some products, the most they can do is issue some bans.
For example, in years when the grain harvest is poor, it is forbidden to use grain to make wine.
Therefore, situations like this where the entire street is prohibited from opening will only happen on certain days.
The four brothers led the horses and looked at each other, confused, but there was not even a pedestrian on the street. Even if they wanted to inquire, they could not ask any questions.
"It has been half a month since the death of the Empress Dowager. Even if business is banned during the national mourning period, time has already passed. Why is the East Market so deserted today?"
Liu Bei was puzzled.
Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "Could it be the day when the Empress Dowager was buried?"
Liu Bei laughed: "Second brother, I don't understand. The funeral of the Empress Dowager is comparable to that of the Emperor. It usually takes one to two months for the coffin to be kept for the condolences of the princes from all over the country before the burial can be carried out so quickly."
From the Qin Dynasty, there were emperors, but it was only from the Han Dynasty that there were a series of titles such as the Supreme Emperor and the Supreme Empress Dowager, which were mainly titles given to the emperor's elders and closest relatives.
Many people know that the first Supreme Emperor was the father of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, and the same Liu Taigong who was almost cooked by Xiang Yu.
Since the Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, although the emperor, empress dowager, empress dowager, etc. generally did not have the power to govern, in name, their status was similar to that of the emperor. Basically, they had the same standards as the emperor.
Therefore, if Empress Dowager Dong wants to be buried, she will not be buried so quickly. Like Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty, she must first be placed in the mourning hall for a month or two, and then she can be buried and returned to earth after the princes from all over the world have finished paying their condolences.
Some people may say, won’t it stink if left for so long?
no way.
The anti-corrosion technology of the Han Dynasty was already quite mature, and the Mawangdui Tomb in Changsha in later generations has well proved this.
Secondly, transportation is inconvenient.
It took Liu Bei nearly ten days to get from Qingzhou to Luoyang, not to mention the more remote princes in the south.
In fact, it was relatively good in the Han Dynasty. According to the records in "Book of Rites and Kingship", during the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor even had to remain inactive for seven months, waiting for princes from all over the country to come to express their condolences before he could be buried. In addition, the embalming technology of the Zhou Dynasty was not very good.
Well, what a tragedy it was after Emperor Zhou died...
"Today doesn't seem to be a special holiday."
Guan Yu calculated the days and found that it was almost December. As mentioned before, the three major festivals of the Han Dynasty, the Spring Festival, the Cold Food Festival, and the Double Ninth Festival, were still one month away from the Spring Festival, but the time could not catch up.
"Oh, isn't there no one on the street? Maybe everyone has something to do. I'm hungry after running all the way. Brother, I'd better go get something to eat first."
Zhang Fei shouted.
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Okay, since my third brother is hungry, let's go find some food first, but all the restaurants are closed and there's nowhere to go."
Chen Mu looked at the extremely empty Dongshi Street with a strange atmosphere, and he had vaguely guessed something in his mind. However, he knew that now was not the time to talk nonsense, so he reminded Liu Bei: "Brother, Xiang Heng has opened a restaurant in Dongshi.
Restaurant, go there and have a look, first to fill your stomach, and secondly to get some news."
Liu Bei asked: "Which restaurant?"
"It's the same house where we met in Luoyang last time when the late emperor passed away."
"Is that opened by Xiang Heng?"
"Exactly."
"Oh, then go and have a look."
Everyone walked through Dongshi Street, passed Ma Market, and headed to Dongshi Street in the north of Ma Market.
Dongshi is divided into three areas, corresponding to the three east gates of Luoyang.
Below, outside the Huamen Gate, is the millet market, which is also the grain market.
In the middle, outside the Zhongzhong Gate is the horse market. When Chen Mu captured Hou Xu, he found clues in the horse market. Later, when Liu Bei came to Beijing to serve as the Yin of Henan, he also met Zhang Liao and Gao Shun outside the horse market.
Above and outside the East Gate is Dongshi Street, which is a prosperous commercial area like West City Street, with all kinds of groceries, handicrafts, and daily necessities available.
The restaurant opened by Wang Jun is here. When Emperor Xiaokang of Han Dynasty passed away, the brothers met in this restaurant to discuss countermeasures. However, Liu Bei did not know that it was opened by Wang Jun at the time.
When we arrived at Shangdongmenwai Street, it was just like the market outside Zhongdongmenhaomen. The autumn wind blew away the fallen leaves, and the street was desolate. Not to mention pedestrians, there was not even a ghost.
However, although the door of Wang Jun's restaurant was closed, the windows on the second floor were open, and several people took turns keeping watch.
Seeing Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen approaching outside, he quickly went downstairs and opened the door.
"Liu Shijun, you are here."
The shopkeeper is Wang Jun's relative and brother, who once served them.
Liu Bei didn't actually know him. After all, it was just a one-time encounter. But since he knew that Wang Jun opened the shop, he nodded: "Is Xiang Heng in the palace?"
"In the palace, my clan brother told me to wait for you here every day. Please come in quickly."
The shopkeeper brought them in.
The door was closed again, and the room was a little dark, so an oil lamp was lit.
Zhang Fei shouted: "What's going on in Luoyang? There's no one on the street. Is it haunted?"
"It's not a haunted house, but it's much more sinister than a haunted house."
While ordering people to serve wine and food, the shopkeeper said cautiously: "The city is heavily guarded these days, and there are soldiers patrolling outside the city every day. They say that the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager are going to be buried, and no business is allowed during the national mourning period."
"The Empress Dowager is buried?"
Guan Yu looked at Liu Bei, who was confused.
The slap in the face was too fast. Just now, you said it was impossible for the Empress Dowager to be buried, but then you turned around and slapped her face swollen. How could this happen?
"No way. According to etiquette, the body should be buried for two months. How could it be buried so soon?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Liu Bei couldn't help but ask.
The shopkeeper said: "It was the order from the new Grand Master Dong Zhuo, saying that since the world is in chaos, it is not appropriate to summon the princes from all over the country to express condolences. We should keep everything simple and allow the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager to rest in peace as soon as possible."
"Oh, that's a good thing."
Liu Bei nodded. After he finished his meal, he could enter the palace to see the emperor. When the emperor gave him the silver seal and green ribbon, he could officially enter the court as an official.
"What's good? Grand Master Dong has already killed several court officials. My brother asked me to bring you a message. There is a murderous atmosphere in the court now. When you come to Luoyang, you must not enter the palace. Wait until the situation becomes clear.
, and then make a decision.”
After the shopkeeper finished explaining what Wang Jun had told him, he turned around and left.
As soon as he left, Liu Bei looked at Chen Mu doubtfully and said, "Dong Zhuo actually killed court officials. Could it be that all these officials are guilty?"
"If they were guilty, Xiang Heng wouldn't be careful to warn and dissuade them."
Chen Mu thought: "Dong Zhuo has a cruel personality. Now he is afraid that he has taken control of Luoyang. He also killed those officials without authorization."
"What?"
Liu Bei was shocked and said: "How can this be done!"
Chen Mu said in a low voice: "It seems that Luoyang is now a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. Brother should not enter the court immediately now. He should observe secretly and see the situation first."
"Then what should we do?"
Liu Bei asked.
Chen Mu thought for a while and said, "Let's stay here first and try to find a way to contact Boyu and Xiang Heng as soon as possible to understand the ins and outs of the matter."
"good."
Liu Bei sighed. He originally thought that when he became an official in the court, he would have to face those cunning bureaucrats from aristocratic families.
Unexpectedly, the situation suddenly changed and the situation turned out to be like this.
The situation in the future is uncertain and shrouded in mist. Let alone becoming an official in the court or serving as the ninth minister, even one's own life may not be safe.
This was something he didn't expect.
At the moment, the four of them were living in the restaurant. Chen Mu asked the shopkeeper to send someone to the hidden stump of the Luoyang Military Intelligence Department. When he came back, he already had a letter in his hand.
After reading it, he fully understood the situation in Luoyang during the recent period and had a general idea in his mind.
It turned out that when the imperial court issued an order for Liu Bei to come to Luoyang to serve as the ninth minister, it was already more than ten days ago. At that time, Empress Dowager Dong had not died yet, but was seriously ill. Because the messenger had to deliver the message, and they had to
It takes a lot of time to travel back and forth.
It happened to be during this period that the Luoyang court underwent earth-shaking changes.
Dong Zhuo killed Dong Cheng, took control of the government, and appointed himself Grand Master.
In just over ten days, Dong Zhuo had exposed his cruel side and killed several officials who did not deal with him.
Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the previous Zhou Ju. Later, Shi Yushi harassed Longzong to report to Dong Zhuo the arrangements for the funeral of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager. Because he did not untie his sword, he was killed on the spot by Dong Zhuo.
There were also two people, Zhou Ao and Wu Qiong, who were originally Dong Zhuo's aides. Seeing that Dong Zhuo seemed to have lost power, they defected to Dong Cheng. Unexpectedly, retribution came so quickly. After Dong Zhuo took power, he immediately arrested the two of them and tortured them to death in the market.
In this way, all the officials in the capital trembled and succumbed to his lustful power. The original prosperity on the streets was no longer there. Dong Zhuo used the excuse of mourning to have soldiers patrol all day long and completely control Luoyang.
After learning this information, Chen Mu was confident and knew what he should do.
On the second day, the streets were very noisy with the sound of gongs and drums.
Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Chen opened the window upstairs to watch, and saw soldiers standing on both sides of the street outside. Dong Zhuo was riding on a tall horse, and behind him was a crowd of civil and military officials, all wearing sackcloth and mourning, surrounded by countless soldiers.
He got off the stairs and carried the two coffins out of the east city and headed to Mang Mountain in the north.
"The Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager He are buried, we should go too."
Liu Bei said.
Chen Mu quickly stopped him and said, "Don't worry, I must not show up. I forgot what Xiang Heng said. We should wait and see the situation? Follow us first and take a look before talking."
"good."
Liu Bei was also a decisive person and agreed to Chen Mu's request.
The four of them then mounted their horses and followed the funeral procession from a distance into Mang Mountain to the north.
The team went all the way north for about ten miles and stopped at the foot of the southern slope of Mang Mountain.
This is a valley, surrounded by mountains, and is a place with excellent Feng Shui.
But Liu Bei and Chen Mu have been here.
This is Wenling, where the tomb of Liu Hong, Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty, is located.
The location is at the foot of the mountain and has been buried by new soil. There is no inscription on it.
In order to prevent tomb robbers, the emperor's tombs were buried deep underground, and the inscriptions were also underground. It was not like later that the tombstones were outside the tombs.
After the four brothers followed the funeral procession to Wenling, they hid on a hill, crouched behind weeds, and watched from a distance.
I saw soldiers starting to dig the tomb of Emperor Xiaokang of Han Dynasty, and soon dug out the unsealed entrance to the cave.
"This is the entrance of the cave prepared by the late emperor for the queen. According to custom, the queen must be buried with the emperor after her death, so the entrance of the cave was not completely sealed at the beginning."
Chen Mu explained.
Liu Bei knew this. He was a member of the clan after all. He had been an official for five or six years and knew some common sense. Chen Mu mainly explained it to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
The funeral was held in full swing over there, with hundreds of officials crying and howling. Dong Zhuo directed the soldiers to carry the coffin of Queen Mother He inside.
"It seems there's nothing wrong with it, it's just a normal burial."
Liu Bei stood up and prepared to leave: "In front of the late Emperor's tomb, the Queen Mother is being buried again. I should go out and stand with all the officials to mourn for the late Emperor and the Queen Mother."
"Brother, wait."
Chen Mu quickly stopped him.
"What's wrong?"
Liu Bei looked at him doubtfully. The late emperor treated him and his fourth brother well. Now that the queen mother was being buried, she was in front of the late emperor's tomb, so she should go up and pay homage.
"Wait patiently, I always think something will happen."
Chen Mu watched from a distance, pulling Liu Bei to continue lying on the ground, observing the situation in the distance.
The four of them pretended to be Voldemort for a while, waiting for about a quarter of an hour.
Nothing happened on the field, so Liu Bei said: "It seems like everything is fine. Fourth brother, please come with me..."
The next second, Liu Bei's eyes widened, veins bulging on his face, his fists clenched, and his eyes were about to burst.
They saw in the distance at the tomb of Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo's soldiers were transporting boxes of gold, silver, jewelry and burial objects out of the tomb in a steady stream.
Dong Zhuo!
They are actually robbing the late emperor’s tomb!