"Brother Xia Xian," Wei Huai stopped in the courtyard of Sihe Academy with a piece of paperwork, "if Wan Heshun gets angry because of this, our reform may be completely wasted. We have to think clearly..."
"Brother Jimin, what we want to fight for is not just an official position, but also about Zhongfang's honor and disgrace. We can tolerate anything, but we cannot allow him to step on our brother's head!" Xia Yuanlong said. He acted extremely decisively on this matter and spoke categorically.
Although Wei Huai still had concerns, when he saw Xia Yuanlong leaving no room for anything, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and went straight to Zixintang.
"Everyone should have heard about the death of Deputy Alliance Leader Yang, right?"
Wei Huai walked into the hall, and the Confucian scholars on both sides made way for him.
"of course I know."
"Then what do you think of him as a person?"
"Mr. Yang is a true gentleman and a true hero!" replied an old Confucian. Everyone nodded unanimously.
"But now he has been removed from his position as a bookkeeper by the government without any reason... This is a huge insult to him!" Wei Huai angrily threw the memorial in his hand on the square table.
"This happened! Why did Wan Heshun do this? We must find justice for Mr. Yang!" After everyone said this, they all started making noises.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Xia Yuanlong came over and calmed everyone down. "Don't mess with the order!" he shouted.
"Have you seen this memorial? This is what I, Wei Huai, are preparing to submit to the prince. If anyone wants to fight for Zhong Fang and is not afraid of hardships and dangers, you can join me and sign the petition!" Wei Huai reached out and grabbed the letter. The clerk pointed to a few lines of tiny characters on it, which read:
'Nanjing Imperial College offered wine and Wei Huaigong paid homage to the Prince of Jiankang. Recently I heard that the official was dismissed from his position because of Dian Bu's illness, so that he could rest in peace and recuperate. Now that Dian Bu is gone, it should be returned to him. However, I still don't see that the official has any intention of reinstating his official position, which is deeply frustrating. If the dian book belongs to a certain official, if it is not determined one day, he will not be able to live in prison for one day. Duke Fuwang has decided to discuss it early, and he must not break trust with the officials and the people. '
"I'll write my name right now!" After reading it, the old Confucian took a pen and added his name to the end of the document.
"Let's write too!" Several more people stood up and signed their names in front of Wei Huai.
Immediately afterwards, everyone started shouting, rushing forward and backward to compete for their names, and no one showed any timidity.
In the end, these names were piled up so densely that they actually took up half of the paper in the memorial. Wei Huai looked at the memorial, tears filled his eyes, and he picked it up carefully.
The joint memorial was delivered to the palace by the Imperial Academy. Although Wan Heshun said he didn't want to give in, seeing Wei Huai using such array, he had to weigh the pros and cons. This man was very shrewd, so he simply followed his usual "mellow and obedient" temperament and accepted the advice, that is, he sent the officials to pursue Yang Huaisheng's official duties. Seeing that the people's hearts were drawn to Wei Huai, he thought of using it to gain a good reputation, so he posthumously awarded him the title of Imperial Supervisor, and ordered him to choose a tomb for burial according to the standards of the fourth grade.
When Wei Huai heard about this, he specially called Xia Yuanlong and asked him to visit the cemetery.
Xia Yuanlong then advised: "When Brother Yang is buried, his soul must be laid to rest, and he must die in a proper place. Don't choose rashly. However, in such a big city as Nanjing, it is a waste of time to choose from everywhere. It is better to choose a place by the people. Land, wouldn’t it be convenient to make a special trip?”
Wei Huai immediately clicked his tongue and praised: "This method is good."
"I wonder where Brother Wei wants to visit?" Xia Yuanlong asked.
Wei Huai thought for a while, something suddenly touched his mind, and he sighed.
"It's better to go to Huaiqing Bridge and have a look." He said.
"Huaiqing Bridge..."
They all forgot how long it had been since they had been here. There were still crowds of people on the bridge, all hurriedly passing by the tea shop. There were a few idle men having tea in the tea shop. When they saw Wei Huai coming, their eyes lit up: "Mr. Wei! Mr. Wei!"
Wei Huai just smiled and waved to them, then walked to the familiar old table and glanced at the three armchairs surrounding the table. He touched the corner of the table with his hand, slowly wiped away the dust on it with his sleeve, and then sat down.
Xia Yuanlong sat opposite, with a single empty chair. The position was exactly the same as before, as if it had not been moved.
"This table is specially reserved for Wei Jijiu, Mr. Yang and Mr. Xia. The younger ones have never touched it in all these years. It's a pity..." The shopkeeper came over and sighed softly.
"Do you have a chessboard here? I remember...I forgot it here once." Wei Huai smiled at him and asked.
"Yes, yes!" the store owner became excited. "To tell you the truth, I played a game of chess with the guys in my free time here, so it has always been here! I'm going to get it now."
He turned around and walked to the cabinet, bent down and took out a chessboard from the cabinet, took the chess pieces together and put them on the table.
"I'll let you have a few seeds." Xia Yuanlong spoke calmly, shaking the wooden jar containing the seeds.
"You underestimate me too much! I'm not of Zhong Fang's level!" After Wei Huai said this, he couldn't help but look at the empty chair next to him, as if he felt lost.
A few years later, the two leisurely played chess again on Huaiqing Bridge. Dr. Tea is still busy, the idle men are still chatting, and the people are gradually gathering, and the breeze is blowing gently on their faces - but things are different.
They came down from the bridge and walked a few miles and found a geomantic treasure land that could be used as a tomb. They sent someone to draw a picture and submit it to the government as the burial place for Yang Huaisheng. The officials sent people to dig the tomb according to the specifications of sixty square steps.
Within ten days, all the work at this place was completed, and only the coffin was waiting to be welcomed.
Wei and Xia walked into Yang Huaisheng's house. They were lined up with people on both sides. They were all famous local scholars. They were dressed in mourning clothes and had solemn faces, like two clean white collars.
Everyone moved out of the way, and a heavy sandalwood coffin suddenly appeared in front of Wei Huai's eyes. His sadness at this time had drifted away like smoke, and the coffin in his eyes carried the hope of reform. Yang Huaisheng was lying peacefully in the coffin, but he quietly came back to life in the hearts of Wei and Xia.
Wei Huai gently supported the coffin, then shouted solemnly toward the door:
"Send Zhongfang——"
Several people formed a formation and marched slowly like a march. Wei Huai followed the crowd to the door and saw that the people were queuing for miles, with no end in sight.
"Send Mr. Yang——"
Everyone also echoed, the shouts were as low as a trumpet, and the momentum was extremely majestic.
Wei Huai glanced at Xia Yuanlong, who just glanced at him. The meaning was simple: this was a long queue formed spontaneously by the people.
Wei Huai walked along several avenues surrounded by the people. People waiting for him could not help but stop and make way for Yang Siye's coffin.
Everyone followed and walked for a long time, and their legs and feet became sore.
Only Wei walked forgetfully towards the alley filled with golden light.
"Send Mr. Yang——"
The long shout stretched straight into the distance again.
