Under the guidance of the Minister of Rites and the two ministers of Taichang Temple and Honglu Temple, they first came to the imperial palace in the Taizu Mausoleum and presented an unusually rich sacrifice. Also during the time when the Minister of Rites was reading the sacrificial book. Facing the royal faces of Emperor Taizu, the empress, and Emperor Taizong's biological mother, they held incense and bowed three times and kowtowed nine times in a dignified manner. It wasn't until the Minister of Rites shouted that the ceremony was completed that Huang Qiong stood up.
With the experience of paying homage to the Ancestral Temple during the Spring Festival this year, Huang Qiong is no longer unfamiliar with this set of complicated etiquette, although she doesn't take it too seriously. As for what the old man said in the memorial letter sent all the way from Jingzhao Mansion, the unworthy descendants were unable to come to worship their ancestors in person due to poor health. In order to show the filial piety of the descendants, the nine sons of the newly appointed prince and emperor were specially sent to pay homage.
The calmness on Huang Qiong's face made the veteran Minister of Rites feel a little ashamed. Huang Qiong was actually not too satisfied with the fact that the old man made this point public in front of Taizu's Mausoleum. In his opinion, what the old man did was really unnecessary. If you assume the title of prince in advance, you will be subject to many constraints in advance. Being a prince is completely different.
After the ceremony, Huang Qiong thought it was over. Unexpectedly, he came to Baocheng under the guidance of the Minister of Rites. At this time, outside Baocheng, the eunuch had placed thirteen burdens filled with earth on the ground. The Minister of Rites, who had a big beard and was very tired this time, told Huang Qiong that he was asked to fill the thirteen loads of soil to the top of the treasure, and he could only go up there alone.
To fill in the soil, you need to go to Baoding, but that is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizu. Going up to Baoding is undoubtedly stepping on the tomb of Emperor Taizu. No matter whether it is an official, eunuch, or sergeant, it is disobedient and disrespectful. Therefore, he can only fill in the soil by himself, and he can only carry the required soil by himself. Not to mention eunuchs, even officials like them don't allow it, even if they are in high positions.
Huang Qiong, who has never done anything like this before, also knows that this is the so-called ancestral system, and he has no right to change it at least yet. He could only put on a pair of light shoes under the service of the eunuch. He picked up the burden and staggered up the slope to the top of the treasure. Of course, he couldn't really step on the top of the treasure top. Instead, he spread the thirteen loads of soil evenly in a circle along the treasure city outside the treasure top.
To be honest, this was the first time in Huang Qiong's life that he had to do this kind of work. The first time he carried a burden, he realized that this thing was really a technical job. Without a little skill, it's impossible to maintain balance. Otherwise, let alone lifting the soil up, don't even think about standing firm. Especially today, I don’t know if the dirt in the load was filled by that bastard eunuch.
The two big earthen baskets at the front and back were not only full, but actually packed very solidly. Fortunately, although Huang Qiong had never carried a burden before, he had a solid foundation in kung fu, so he could barely keep his balance when the burden, which weighed a full 180 kilograms, was pressed on his shoulders without spilling the soil. Even so, after the thirteen loads of soil were scattered, Huang Qiong was still tired and out of breath.
To be honest, Huang Qiong scattered all thirteen loads of soil in one breath. The Minister of Rites was also surprised. He did not expect that the British king had such a good physique. To be honest, few emperors in the Qi Dynasty could complete this earth-covering ceremony in one go. There are basically only a few people who can finish the sprinkling in half a day. And even if it was sprinkled in half a day, the soil in the load would be at most five kilograms.
I don’t know how the eunuch in charge managed the burden that the King of England was taking on today. The soil in each load was not only piled full, but the soil in the two baskets was also obviously compacted. It seems that this load of soil may not even weigh 180 kilograms. If the earth-covering ceremony was not carried out according to the ancestral tradition, the accompanying courtiers would not be able to persuade the emperor under any excuse, or find someone to perform it on his behalf.
He really wanted to persuade the British king to take off at least half of his clothes. Don't pick it up like this, lest you hurt yourself or make a fool of yourself. After Huang Qiong started, his worried eyes never fell. He had read out the memorial letter written by the emperor himself in the Qin'en Hall before. Naturally, he is clear about the content above, and he is even clearer about the meaning of the content.
He knew clearly that as the memorial letter was read out in front of Emperor Taizu, the British king had officially become the crown prince of the Qi Dynasty. Once the King of England hurts himself during this earth-covering ceremony, or has an accident, even if he just makes a fool of himself. The officials who managed Taizu's mausoleum and the eunuchs in charge were not well off. As the Minister of Rites, I may not have any good fruits.
How many officials has this British king killed in Longyou and Shaanxi this time? Just two of the second-grade Jiedu envoys have died in his hands, and there can only be more for other officials. If it was because of injury or embarrassment, he could not tell the emperor about it. While the King of England will not let go of the initiators, he may not spare himself as the host.
When Huang Qiong took one breath, he carried thirteen loads of earth, and became the only person in the Qi Dynasty who came to worship Taizu's mausoleum, whether he was an emperor or a prince, in less than half an hour, he was the only one. The one who completes the earth-covering ceremony is the queen. The Minister of Rites, seeing the King of England safe and sound, his heart gradually fell to the ground. He just looked at the eunuch in charge with pitiful eyes.
This time he escaped, but the eunuch in charge may not. With the shrewdness of this British king, at this time, he still does not understand that someone is deliberately trying to mess with him, and I am afraid that he will not be able to reach his current position. However, to the surprise of the Minister of Rites and all the officials present, Huang Qiong, who came to Baocheng, did not pursue any investigation on the matter, or even asked a question.
In fact, Huang Qiong was not unaware of the little tricks that the eunuch in charge of guarding the mausoleum used. But for Huang Qiong, this little trick of the eunuch who guards the mausoleum doesn't matter to him. If the eunuch guarding the mausoleum dared to do this, there must be someone behind it. Moreover, besides the people in the palace or his own brothers, who else could be behind his status as an eunuch?
At least for now, Huang Qiong doesn't want to cause too much trouble. It is easy to replace a tomb-guarding eunuch, and it is also easy to let the eunuch disappear quietly. But at this time, digging deeper into the people behind it will have a negative impact on the situation of the DPRK. Huang Qiong knew that the old man needed stability now, especially internal stability. The last thing the old man wants to see is any problems between his brothers.
It’s not that we won’t pursue it, it’s just that there is no need to pursue it now. As for how to deal with this eunuch, it will take a long time and there will be plenty of opportunities. After resting for a while in the side hall, I ate a few snacks to fill my stomach. Huang Qiong, accompanied by several officials, mainly officials from the Ministry of Industry responsible for the maintenance of Xiaoling Mausoleum, carefully inspected the Taizu Mausoleum. Of course, travel and visits are not possible.
After paying homage to your ancestors' mausoleum, you actually treat your ancestors' mausoleum as a tourist spot to visit. The charge of disrespect is enough to make him drink a pot. The reason why he inspected the mausoleum was to check whether there was any damage in the mausoleum as usual. This is what the emperors of the Qi Dynasty must do when they come to Xijing to pay homage to this ancestral mausoleum. At least show some filial piety on the surface.
At this time, Huang Qiong took a closer look for the first time at this imperial mausoleum, which was known as the first imperial mausoleum in this dynasty. Compared with the tombs of this dynasty that I saw in Gongyi, the regulations of this ancestral mausoleum of the founding father of the Qi Dynasty are much grander. Not to mention anything else, the Mein Temple alone is nine wide and nine deep. Moreover, even the doors and windows of this grand Qin'en Hall are all carved from white marble.
Huang Qiong still remembered that King Yong once mentioned that Liangchuan, which was rich in nanmu, was still controlled by Can Tang. Using other pine or wood, his posthumous title is, at least until now, the best among all emperors. Emperor Taizong was not satisfied with the many good words he said to Emperor Taizong.
In the eyes of Emperor Gao, the Taizu who Cheng Tian Bu Cheng Tian didn't know, Guang Yun was sure of, only Nanmu could demonstrate his imperial status. It's just that at that time, Taizu was addicted to wine and sex, and basically all political affairs had been entrusted to Taizong. Because he was worried that Emperor Taizong, who often visited several girls in one night, might be imminent at any time, he had no choice but to discuss with the Prince of Guilin.
In the end, it was the Prince of Guilin who came up with the idea and chose the white marble, which is abundant in Shaanxi, as the material. In order to build the white marble Qi'en Hall, the Ming Tower in Baocheng and the entire Xiaoling Mausoleum, Emperor Taizong, who was in power at that time, mobilized almost all the masons from all over the country in addition to accompanying the army on the expedition. Even so, it took nearly five years and almost half of the world's tax revenue in those years to be finally completed.
After the construction of Xiaoling Mausoleum was completed, the treasury of Da Qi Dynasty was so empty that even rats starved to death. Fortunately, after personally inspecting the mausoleum, Emperor Taizu was extremely satisfied and completely delegated power to Emperor Taizong. In terms of government affairs, there are no longer as many constraints as before. The cost from the start of construction to the completion of this Taizu Mausoleum is almost equivalent to the entire cost from Zhaoling to Tailing in the former Tang Dynasty.
In view of the huge cost of building the Xiaoling Mausoleum, on the first day after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he issued an edict to inform future generations. Xiaoling Mausoleum was a special case and future generations were not allowed to imitate it. Even in order to restrain his descendants, Emperor Taizong deliberately stipulated in advance the regulations for the mausoleums of future generations. In the Gaozong Dynasty, because fighting the Northern Liao Dynasty was very costly, Gaozong further reduced his military power.
In Gaozong's Jingling Tomb, all the Lingxing gates in Xiaoling and Taizong Changling were abolished, and the number of stone statues was reduced to six pairs. Even these six pairs of stone statues were added after Emperor Xuanzong came to the throne and saw that Jingling was too simple. Gaozong's Jingling Mausoleum became a model for the tombs of subsequent emperors in the Qi Dynasty. Except for the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Sejong, it was built almost exactly like Changling.
The rest of the tombs may seem to have grand regulations, but in fact they are all simple. Almost all wooden buildings are made of pine, which is abundant in Henan Road, instead of expensive nanmu. The Hall of En'en has also been reduced, and the area of the square city and Baoding has also been reduced. The actual cost of constructing the imperial tombs of all dynasties in this dynasty was not high. I only like the luxurious Sejong Chongling the most. All the wood used is nanmu.
It also set a precedent for the large-scale use of golden nanmu in the imperial tombs of the past dynasties. You must know that before Sejong's Mausoleum, among the emperors of the past dynasties, nanmu was the favorite, and the emperors of this dynasty were the first to use nanmu on a large scale. nanmu was only used in coffins. As for the traditional wooden buildings in the mausoleum, they are still dominated by pine and cypress. This resulted in the fact that the cost of the Daqi Emperor's Mausoleum was not very high.
In fact, compared with traditional Chinese wooden buildings, in addition to the roof, this building is also covered with yellow tiles that are traditional to the tombs of Chinese emperors. The entire inner beam is made of wood to make it lighter. All other parts, including the four walls and all the pillars in the hall, are all made of white marble. In particular, the Qin'en Hall, with its extremely finely carved doors and windows, is more than a hundred times stronger.
