The grim-faced Taoist priest took the stone tablet, and Xia Houyun, He Siniang and others also came over curiously. The grim-faced Taoist priest quickly scanned the words on the stone tablet, and then said in surprise: "What is recorded in the tablet is really Shi Le's life!"
There are many words engraved on the stone tablet, which record almost all of Shi Le's life in detail. The first half of his life is the most heavily inscribed. From his extraordinary talent as a child to the emergence of his ambitions in his youth, there are all kinds of strange and strange things about him. It is engraved in the inscription, and then there is a description of his process from fighting to becoming emperor, and then how to govern the country. Basically, just looking at most of the first part of the inscription, this is Shi Le's epitaph. .
However, a small part at the back of the inscription is very strange. It records Shi Le's later years after he became seriously ill. The text is very general, and some words are also very obscure. If you read it carefully, it turns out that there are many discrepancies with what is recorded in historical materials.
The inscription states that Shi Le fell ill and was bedridden in the fourth year of Jianping. He became seriously ill in July and died on Wuchen day (July 21). This is consistent with what is recorded in the history books. However, the inscription goes on to say: In the palace There is change, density and mourning. To the grim-faced Taoist priest and Xia Houyun, these eight short words were like another layer of invisible fog rising in front of the mystery.
This involves some dark history of Hou Zhao.
It is said that Shi Le had a nephew who was 21 years younger than him, named "Shi Hu". He was vicious, cruel, and wandering, and it was best to kill indiscriminately for fun. However, Shi Hu was good at riding and shooting. He was the most brave at that time, so he followed Shi Le in all directions. He had numerous military exploits, so when Shi Le's second son Shi Hong was established as the prince, Shi Hu had already been crowned Taiwei and Shangshu Ling, and was conferred the title of King of Zhongshan. This year, Shi Hu was thirty-seven years old, and Shi Hong had just turned eighteen. , and his father, Shi Le, will be dead in three years.
Shi Le saw Shi Hu's character very early, and even had murderous intentions in the second year of Jiaping. However, Shi Hu was fostered in Shi Zhou Huozhu's home since he was a child. Shi Zhou Huozhu and his wife Wang regarded him as As their own children, Shi Le wanted to kill Shi Hu, and they naturally disagreed, so Shi Hu managed to survive, which also paved the way for him to usurp the throne later.
When Shi Le was seriously ill, Shi Hu was already in control of the military and political power. Shi Le knew that he would pose a threat to the future status of the crown prince, but at this time, it was no longer possible to get rid of Shi Hu. Sometimes disasters are just like this. If you don't eliminate them when they sprout, , as he grew stronger and became entangled with various interest groups, the initiative was no longer on his side. Therefore, when Shi Le was critically ill, Shi Hu decisively took over the imperial guard, controlled both inside and outside the capital, and began to monopolize the power of the court. After Shi Le's death, he gradually forced Shi Hong to abdicate, and finally became the emperor himself.
Talking about the situation before and after Shi Le's funeral, historical records record that Shi Hu took control of the imperial army in June of the fourth year of Jianping, and falsely claimed that no ministers or royal relatives were allowed to enter to see Shi Le's condition until the day before Shi Le's death. Only then did an oral edict come out, which basically means: Brothers Shi Hong should support each other well. The Sima family can kill each other, which is a lesson for you. Shi Hu should deeply remember Zhou Gong and Huo Guang and not leave any excuse for future generations.
In the final analysis, Shi Le's verbal edict was to remind Shi Hu not to usurp the throne, but you are about to die and have no real power in your hands, so the words you say are not worth the weight of shit. Shi Hu didn't even wait for Shi Le's burial and directly carried him He led the prince Shi Hong to the main hall, and in front of him, he killed Cheng Xia, the official of Youguanglu, and Xu Guang, the secretary of the Central Committee, who were close to the prince. He also recruited his son Shi Sui to lead troops into the palace guard, thus completely destroying the palace. All the power of the capital is in his own hands.
There are two theories about the fate of Shi Le's body. The official history record is that Shi Hu still buried Shi Le in Gaoping Mausoleum according to the formal funeral. However, there is also a rumor among the people that Shi Le died on the night of Shi Hu's death. Someone was sent to secretly transport the body out of the capital, and then buried it in an unknown valley. Twelve days later, when the public funeral was held, only an empty coffin was transported into Gaoping Mausoleum. The real body of Shi Le had long since disappeared in the wind and rain. In the middle of the night.
Folk rumors are true or false, and one must not believe them or not. However, as grave robbers, the Ghostface Taoist priests came into contact with the truth of this past event from another angle, that is, Shi Le's body was obviously not buried in Gaoping Mausoleum. But just like the rumors, he was secretly transported out of the capital, but more doubts followed one after another - it was rumored that Shi Le's body was buried in a valley. Shi Hu acted in a hurry, and he would definitely not A separate mausoleum was built specifically, and it was basically just digging a hole and burying it hastily. So how should we explain the corpse in the sapphire sarcophagus in front of us?
With the discovery of this stone tablet, everyone can almost conclude that the male corpse in the coffin is Shi Le, but how did it get here? The last thing recorded in the inscription is the eight words "There are changes in the palace, secrets and mourning". The detailed process is not written at all. So what exactly happened that year that made Shi Le's coffin under Shi Hu's control undetectable? Turned into the tomb of Shi Zhou and Zhu?
The Taoist priest with a grimace placed the stone stele on the corner of the outer coffin, sighed and said, "I've seen a ghost. I didn't expect that this male corpse is really Shi Le. How was it transported here?"
"Could it be that his subordinates did this without telling Shi Hu? Shi Le is an emperor after all, so he will always have his own confidants, right?" He Siniang asked.
"Weren't the close associates who were close to you at that time also controlled by Shi Hu? Even if the subordinates who transported the corpse were all Shi Le's people, they would have to return to the capital to return to life after transporting the corpse. Wouldn't the distance be outrageous?"
Xia Houyun nodded when he heard the words and agreed: "The Taoist priest is right. The capital of Hou Zhao was called 'Xiangguo', which was almost the boundary of Ren County today. It was more than five hundred miles away from Xuanhu City, a mile away. It takes a thousand miles to come back, and even a red rabbit horse that can travel a thousand miles by day and eight hundred by night might not be able to travel such a long distance overnight."
"Then there must be a reason, right? A dead person won't come here on his own. For example, someone will help him, or the team transporting the corpse will defect directly with the corpse or something."
"It may be hard to tell. The information we have received is limited and is not enough to restore what happened. However, Shi Le's body actually appeared in this underground palace, which proves that that stormy night did indeed happen. A bizarre and unpredictable past."
"Hey! It's the past again." Luo Laoqi leaned on the side of the coffin and sighed heavily, and said helplessly: "We are fighting backwards. Do we have to worry about what we have to do with those who have some and don't have them?"
The Taoist Priest with a grimace turned around and replied: "There is no delay in fishing, but there is such a big difference in the situation in the tomb. We must try our best to find out as much as possible. Don't be confused by the previous information and capsize the boat in the gutter."
