On the first day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Yanxing, Liu Fan, the eldest son of the King of Shu, and his younger brother Liu Dan went to Baling to worship their ancestors.
Baling, the mausoleum where Emperor Xiaowen and Empress Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty were buried together, is located at the western end of the vast Bailuyuan. It leans against Fenghuang Mountain to the west, Bashui to the east, and faces the majestic and ancient Chang'an City. It seems that even after death, Emperor Taizong, who was famous for his generosity and wisdom, was still carefully observing every move of his descendants. .
At this time, Guanzhong was still in chaos. After the Battle of Duanliuyuan, Lu Bu and Jia Xu, with the support of Dong Cheng, led their troops to escape back to Chang'an, while the three towns of Han, Ma and Song returned to Longshang, and Hedong's Qian Zhao Chen Deng is still just hanging on. The results of the war have not yet spread to various counties, but the local scholars are eagerly waiting to find out who will be the final winner.
At this time, most of the victorious Shu army was still resting in martial arts, but Liu Fan knew very well that he had not gained enough righteousness in his journey north this time. Even if he won the battle, he could not be said to have gained a firm foothold in Guanzhong.
Therefore, the day after occupying Wugong Huaili, he led hundreds of riders eastward from Weibei and arrived at Changling on the last day of the sixth year of Yanxing. After worshiping the great ancestor in Changling, he went to Changling again. Heading southward, Lu Bu ignored Chang'an, which was less than forty miles away from him, and went straight south to pay homage to Baling.
It was noon when they arrived, the sky was still clear, and the snow on the ground was beginning to melt into water. Although the rivers of Weishui River and Ba River have not yet thawed, walking along the road always gives people a feeling of wetness. When the north wind blows over, it no longer stabs people like a knife, but instead seems to be covered with dew, making passers-by mistakenly think that they are made of water vapor, as if it will drift away with the wind. The withered willows blowing in the wind around them intensified this feeling, but this did not affect the high-spirited expressions of the knights.
After walking along the Ba River for a while, you can see a spectacular stone bridge more than 100 feet long among the withered willows, which can accommodate five horses walking parallel. That is the Ba Bridge, which is famous for breaking willows to say goodbye. After crossing the Bashui River, ride your horse quickly to the south for two moments and you will see the location of Baling City.
The Baling order at this time was Xu Ying, a native of Feng Yi. The guards reported that hundreds of horses were coming from the north of the city. He thought they were envoys from the imperial court and personally led the county officials out of the city to greet them. As a result, the visitor approached and sent an envoy. Only then did he learn that the visitor was the Crown Prince of Shu. It was obviously too late to close the door at this time, so Xu Ying could only bite the bullet and continue to go forward to worship. Liu Fan could see the embarrassment in his heart at a glance, took his hand and said with a smile: "Today I come to pay homage to my ancestors. The county magistrate does not need to worry. Please bear with me if I disturb you."
Xu Ying raised her head and saw Liu Fan smiling warmly and looking as radiant as a beautiful jade in Lantian, and she couldn't help but be very fond of him. At this time, he asked about the military situation on the front line again and learned that the Shu army had defeated Lu Bu and was defeated. He was immediately convinced and invited Liu Fan into the house according to the etiquette of welcoming a vassal king. The two parties had lunch together. Liu Fan asked Xu Ying to accompany him to Baling at the banquet, and Xu Ying naturally smiled and praised him.
After the meal, Xu Ying called some heads of wealthy families in the county to accompany him, and more than a hundred people walked into a remote path from the Tongren Plain. Although the trail had been repaired, it was still covered in slush, which made people feel like they would slip from time to time, so they walked very slowly. After about an hour, the end of the road suddenly appeared. People were excited, quickened their pace, and climbed up a high slope. A simple and spacious cemetery suddenly appeared in front of them. It is hard to imagine that there is an emperor's tomb in a dangerous and deep mountain forest. ….
Baling's cemetery is very large and wide, but there are very few decorations. As far as the eye can see, there are only about a dozen stone tablets describing Taizong's achievements and some auspicious animal statues scattered on the stone path. The most luxurious place is just the garden gate. The first two are bronze figures holding halberds. Fortunately, there are servants taking care of the garden all the time. The pines and cypresses along the road are neatly maintained, making the cemetery simple and elegant. People peek around through the gaps in the trees and find that there are red plum blossoms blooming in the four corners of the cemetery, which are releasing refreshing fragrance. The aroma.
When Liu Fan saw this scene, he couldn't help but sigh, and said to his followers: "It is said that Chimei caused chaos during the reign of Emperor Shizu and swept through Guanzhong. Most of the ancestral tombs were stolen by them, but only the tombs of Taizong and Zhongzong were not invaded. Although Chimei was The crime is beyond reach, but it also shows that Taizong was deeply popular among the people."
Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, he continued: "I pay homage to Taizong today, firstly to worship my ancestors, and secondly to declare to all the people in the world that if I gain the throne, I will be like Taizong, using martial arts and culture, putting peace of mind first, and giving light punishments." A thin gift."
After that, he ordered his followers to kill the leader
The calves and lambs that arrived were placed on the altar, and he put on the special ceremonial headdress, worshiped solemnly, and then recited the sacrificial inscription written by himself. The sacrificial inscription was only a few hundred words long, so it was recorded in the article. The full text is as follows:
"In the past, Emperor Xiaowen performed the dance of "Zhao De" in the temple. He practiced frugality, eliminated slander, gave light punishments, and benefited the world. His merits were towering, which led to the prosperity of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years. However, as time went by, virtues were reduced, and Wang Feng It is not obvious that today's country is also in danger. Disasters continue, the sun and the moon are eclipsed, the people complain, the officials work hard, and they don't know how to level the country. This is because the country is not human, and the court has no owner. Li Shu said: The Han Dynasty will collapse. Fan will see it with his eyes and hear it with his ears, and it will hurt him internally."
"The Emperor and the Empress are here, and Fan Budu is in charge of his virtues. He belongs to Li Yuan and pretends to be the father of the people. He wants to make the destiny of the people fall and rise again. The holy dynasty is in danger but it is more secure. Even if he dies, it is not a pity. However, Mao'an Gong accidentally got it. The prophecy said: "Yizhou has the spirit of the Son of Heaven, and there are people who advise: "The emperor's great orders cannot be ignored. Therefore, I am sincere and frightened, and report to the ancestors and gods, hoping to show them with signs. Descendants are waiting for frost and dew, and they will die. Ten thousand deaths."
After saying that, Liu Fan threw the sacrificial text into the brazier, kowtowed again and again, and prayed secretly in his heart: "Your Majesty, Emperor Taizong, today's Prince of Shu, Queen of Lu Gong, Liu Fan, an unworthy descendant, is determined to be an emperor. In the future, he will hold the sacred weapon." , the children of thousands of families will be moved to worship their ancestors, hoping that their ancestors will bless them. Liu Fan, the unworthy descendant, will bow his head!"
At this time, he heard the gentle sound of hooves around him, and a bit of snow fell from the pine forest behind the cemetery. Everyone looked at the sound and saw a white deer carefully walking out of the shadow of the temple behind the cemetery. It happened to catch everyone's eyes. This made the white deer a little scared, but it did not dare to retreat. It seemed more I was afraid of offending this group of warriors with serious expressions on their faces. Although it was far away, everyone felt that its eyes were like water, with endless ripples in them.
Liu Fan was followed by sharp archers such as Yan Yan and Zhang Ren. When they saw the white deer, they bent their bows and took aim without thinking. Liu Fan waved his hand to stop them and said to them, "This is Taizong's mausoleum. Where can we see swords and weapons?"
Dong Zhao, who was accompanying him, was even more incredible. He had used a white dog to pretend to be a white deer to lure the emperor to meet him, but unexpectedly he saw the real white deer at this time. As a master of Confucianism, he immediately said: "The white deer is a pure and kind beast. The king's benefits will come to those below him. Taizong was famous for his benevolence and virtue to future generations, and now there is a white deer living there. This is Emperor Xiaowen's response to the young master! That's right. A very good omen!”….
When everyone heard this, they all showed joy, lowered their bows and arrows, and turned to salute the White Deer respectfully. Zhang Song, who was not driving, also said to Liu Fan: "Young master has won this time, why don't you pray to the White Deer, so that a good soldier can take Xijing without bloodshed?"
Liu Fan laughed and said, "Why is there Xijing?" He then strode to Bailu, took off a lacquered gold sword from his waist, held it in his hand, and said solemnly: "My wish is to imitate the great ancestor and build the tripod." Kansai, clear Heluo, and make the world return to its heart." Then he laid the sword horizontally in the soil.
The white deer crowed in a low voice, and seeing that no one had murderous intent in its eyes anymore, it suddenly turned around and left. After a few bounds, it disappeared like an elf into the forest behind the cemetery. Everyone looked at it in despair, and then buried the sword in the mausoleum and carved words on the stone pillars of the mausoleum gate to remember it.
This time, Liu Fan met the White Deer during his ancestor worship in Baling. After the Shu army and Xu Ying spread the news, it soon aroused a lot of controversy in Guanzhong. Since Shizu succeeded to the throne in response to the prophecy of "Chi Fu Fu", everyone in the world has been very sensitive to this. Nowadays, there are masters like Dong Fu who preach that "Yizhou has the spirit of the Son of Heaven", and Liu Fan who worships his ancestors and gets the White Deer behind him. Probably the people who will reunify China and be destined by destiny should be Liu Yan, Liu Fan and his son. On my body.
Even though Lu Bu vigorously suppressed this in Chang'an, the result was counterproductive. This kind of argument became more and more intense and became known to everyone. Even the emperor had no choice but to worship at the Taimiao in the south of the city, hoping to quell this trend.
Under this offensive of public opinion, Lu Bu repaired the city every day and recruited people around Xijing. While writing to Jingzhou and Liangzhou for help, he waited anxiously for the encirclement of the Shu army.
But what is unexpected is that after the martial arts rest, the Shu army did not make a move to surround Chang'an City. Instead, only Zhang Song led more than 10,000 men and wounded soldiers to stay at the martial arts. He led a main force of 50,000 to Pingling, while the rest of the army The troops were divided into four groups: first, Zhang Ren led 7,000 elite men to garrison at Weiqiao, across from Chang'an; then, Liu Dan led 10,000 men to garrison in Changling to support Zhang Ren; Huang Quan led 20,000 men to garrison in Gaoling to build momentum. Recruit Feng Yi
Gao Pei led 20,000 people across the Wei River and divided his troops to occupy the areas of Lantian, Duling and Baling, blocking the road to Wuguan.
As a result, although Chang'an was not surrounded, the roads around Chang'an were blocked by the Shu army, and all contact with the outside world was lost. This was Liu Fan's old wisdom to imitate Le Yi and destroy Qi. He then issued a message to the pass and asked all counties to surrender. The counties of Sanfu were already resentful of Lu Bu's back attack. As soon as Liu Fan's message arrived, they immediately defected and surrendered. By the twentieth o'clock of the first month, most of Guanzhong had been captured by Liu Fan.
Liu Fan wrote this in a letter to his father Liu Yan: "Your Excellency, please wait a little longer. By late spring this year, you can start your journey north. My father, son and brothers can enjoy the scenery of the weeping willows on the Wei Bridge together."
Not long after the letter was sent out, Zhang Weibu, who was guarding between Xi County and Xiegu, suddenly received a letter reporting that Chen Cang ordered Zhang Ji not only to refuse to surrender, but also cut off the messenger's ears and angrily denounced him as a traitor. There is a sense of resistance.
This attracted Liu Fan's attention. After all, Chencang was the hub of communication between Longshu and Longshu. The key to Chencang Road was that if he turned to Liang people, there would be hidden dangers. So Liu Fan personally wrote a silk letter to Zhang Ji, analyzing the current situation and the righteousness of the situation, telling Zhang Ji that he was destined to surrender, and persuading him to surrender to him. His words had the meaning of forgetting the past and treating others like relatives.
However, within a few days after the silk book was issued, it was quickly returned. The reply was written on the back of the silk book, which said: "Destiny cannot be known, but human affairs can only be determined by one's actions." Under the words was a blood-like six-character red clay seal, which was the "Seal of the Commander-in-Chief of Sili".
Chen Ruicong
