Linqing's palace is plain inside and outside, with white flags fluttering in the autumn wind. All lanterns and candles have changed to white, and all the bright things have been put away. The entire palace is filled with an atmosphere of sadness that is visible to the naked eye, as if it had already been. The desolate autumn wind makes people feel sad.
The mourning hall has already been set up, and wine, fruit offerings and incense burners are placed in a ceremonial manner on the mourning seat. The smoke is fragrant and can make people cry. After the massacre, Gao Xingzhou's body had been placed in the coffin. In addition to the brocade clothes, pearls and jade, all the armor, swords, war knives, and carved bows he had used for many years in battle were placed in it according to Gao Xingzhou's will. Almost filling the gaps in the coffin.
The spiritual tablets were erected high and the regulations were written according to the rules of the county and king. Liu Chengyou personally drafted a posthumous title for Gao Xingzhou, which was called Wu Mu. He also asked Prime Minister Feng Dao to write an epitaph for Gao Xingzhou.
Gao Huaide was the only son of Gao Xingzhou, so he was naturally the one to lead the funeral. Since his son was still young and could not pay attention to matters, he chose a nephew from Gao's close relatives in Beijing to protect the funeral.
In the midst of sorrow and joy, with disheveled hair, mourning and mourning on his face, he thanked the guests who came to express their condolences. Before Gao Xingzhou's death, he had a noble status and a high reputation. All the civil and military officials with some qualifications in his hometown came to express their condolences in plain clothes.
Liu Chengyou came out of the palace in person a little later, accompanied by his imperial concubine Gao Shi, and the third prince Liu Xi. In front of the mourning hall, there was a crowd of civil and military officials. Needless to say, the civil servants, but the military generals basically came spontaneously. There were many generals from Kinki and outside Beijing who came on flying horses after hearing the news. Although the Gao family is not as prosperous as the Fu family, its influence in the army is evident.
Of course, Liu Chengyou also believed that more of these civil and military people valued Gao Xingzhou's identity and the favor he, the emperor of Han Dynasty, had for the Gao family.
Entering the hall to salute, Liu Chengyou maintained a solemn expression, sighed sadly, and said consolingly to Gao Huaide: "The deceased has passed away, and everyone wishes to express my condolences!"
Concubine Gao had been in a bad mood for the past two days. Gao Xingzhou left suddenly, which made people unable to react at all. Concubine Gao also felt deeply guilty for not being able to see her father for the last time. After all, we were not thousands of miles apart.
At this time, he finally came out of the palace. Feeling the atmosphere around him, he felt so sad that he burst into tears and stained the silk handkerchief, which he still couldn't stop. Seeing his mother crying, the little prince Liu Xi, sitting aside, followed suit, bursting into tears at every turn, and bursting into tears. Concubine Gao was in a bad mood, Liu Chengyou sighed, stepped forward to help her up, and comforted her softly.
"My wife is pregnant, please take care of yourself and don't hurt your body. My brother will take care of the matters after my father's death!" Gao Huaide couldn't help but explain.
After crying again, Concubine Gao, with support, returned to the palace with the emperor. When the emperor was there, the crowd was solemn. After the emperor left, the atmosphere of sadness became more intense. However, the civil and military personnel present subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
On the imperial chariot, Concubine Gao cuddled up to Liu Chengyou, their plump and graceful bodies pressed tightly against each other. Although she was pretty and filial, it was rare to see Mrs. Gao looking like this, but at this moment, Liu Chengyou also felt pity for her. It's not like he has any dirty thoughts.
Seeing that his eyes were red, he looked up at Liu Chengyou and said, "Guan family, I want to leave the palace and return home to guard the funeral of my late father!"
Liu Chengyou frowned and said: "Hiding is a good way to manage the funeral. You are inconvenient and may be moved by the scene. It is better to recuperate in the palace. On the day of burial, leave the palace again to see the wife off for the last time!"
However, Concubine Gao, who had always been obedient and submissive to Liu Chengyou, looked at him stubbornly this time: "Please give me permission!"
"Well, you have such filial piety, how can I take away your love by force? Go back to the palace and clean up, I agree!" Liu Chengyou sighed.
"Thank you, official!" Concubine Gao couldn't hold back her tears.
Returning to the palace, he was sitting at the imperial desk, pondering for a long time. He summoned Li Fang, stared at him, and asked, "Have you clearly remembered all the generals who violated the rules and went to the capital privately to express condolences?"
"I have listened to your Majesty's wishes and have recorded it. There are thirteen people in total, all of whom are generals of the Kinki Forbidden Army and the Zhenjun Army. The others may be on leave or are resting, so they are not recorded! Your Majesty, please take a look at it!" Li Fang looked a little cautiously at the emperor's gaze. The thin piece of paper he presented was as light as water, but he looked like he was holding a boulder, and his hands were shaking slightly.
After taking it, Liu Chengyou browsed through it. There were no senior generals, they were all middle-level officers. Gao Xingzhou's old subordinates said with a little emotion: "These people are all loyal and righteous people. They will be of great use to the court. Mingyuan, Do you think so?"
After hearing the question, Li Fang still responded cautiously: "Your Majesty is right!"
Of course, what Li Fang's expression showed was clearly, "Your Majesty says yes," but it was hard to say clearly. Seeing his cautious look, Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "Go and see if there are any new memorials!"
"Yes!" Li Fang breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, feeling deeply in his heart.
The emperor's favor for the Gao family was profound, almost not as much as that of the Fu family of the Empress and Concubine Hui. However, even though he was only allowed to record the names of some middle- and lower-level officers, Li Fang had the feeling that a saint is unpredictable and walking on thin ice. .
Liu Chengyou browsed the list again, picked it up gently, took out the key, and locked it in a "secret file" that he had accumulated for many years.
For these officers, Liu Chengyou had no intention of severely punishing them. After all, they were considered morally responsible. In addition, Gao Xingzhou had only died two days ago, so it was inconvenient for him to attack his old officers. That would look too ugly and would be detrimental to his image as a great emperor. .
However, after all, it is a violation of the rules. There is no big punishment, but small admonitions are indispensable. There must be warnings. There are also other senior officials who have been lax in their subordinates. On Liu Chengyou's side, they are all recorded in the file... ..
"Your Majesty, Feng Hui, the defense envoy to Jinzhou, died of illness. The subordinate generals have recommended his son Feng Jiye to stay behind. I have come to the court to ask for the title!" Li Fang brought a message to Liu Chengyou.
Jinzhou Defense Envoy Feng Hui is also a veteran on the battlefield. He has experienced many wars and served in four dynasties. He was born in the famous "Silver Spear Army". Since the fourth year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty, in the past ten years, he went out to Lingwu twice to control the areas of Liangzhou and Hexi.
However, in the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, Liu Chengyou issued an edict that Zheng Guogong Shi Hongzhao go to the border to serve as Shuofang's military envoy, so Feng Hui was naturally transferred. This gentleman is quite sensible and listens honestly. It is said that he is nearly sixty years old and is in poor health. Even if he wants to, he is unable to resist the imperial court. In addition, there is chaos in the party at that time, which makes it not very peaceful.
Jinzhou is located in the southwest of Han Dynasty, and it is also a remote place. It is bordered by Qinling Mountains in the north, Bashan Mountain in the south, and the Han River runs through it. The original defense envoy Kang Yanhuan, like the Puzhou governor Zhang Jianxiong who was killed by Guo Rong last year, also took advantage of the late Jin Dynasty to surrender on his own initiative. For many years, he took charge of military affairs and enjoyed himself in Jinzhou.
After Zhang Jianxiong died, Liu Chengyou thought of this person and simply transferred Feng Hui to Jinzhou. Kang Yanhuan tried to disobey the order, but was defeated by Feng Hui and sent to Tokyo. What made Liu Chengyou dissatisfied was that when Kang Yanhuan was in office in Jinzhou, not a single penny of the wealth that Kang Yanhuan had amassed was sent to Kaifeng. It was said that all of it was divided among Feng Hui's sons.
Now, Feng Hui is dead, but his son wants to be his successor, and he even dares to make a grand request for the title.
"Ha!" Liu Chengyou threw the memorial on the case, raised his head and asked, "What day is it today?"
"Your Majesty, it's July 10th, the fifth year of Qianyou's reign!" Li Fang replied.
Liu Chengyou's tone was full of ridicule: "I thought that if time went back more than ten years, Fangzhen would still be divided, and the father would die and the son would succeed? Who is this Feng Jiye who dares to ask for an official from the imperial court like this?"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, Li Fang quickly explained: "Your Majesty, Feng Jiye is the youngest son. Another Jinzhou judge secretly reported to the court that Feng Jiye was fighting for family property and killed Feng Hui's eldest brother when he was seriously ill. Jinzhou officials and officials Please report it to the court, but you were also coerced by Feng Jiye!"
"Well done! This is the first time I have encountered such a situation in all the years I have been in power!" Liu Chengyou laughed angrily and ordered Li Fang: "Let the prime ministers discuss how to deal with it! Although Jinzhou is intolerant, it is still The land of the Han Dynasty cannot tolerate the rampant evil and treason of brother-killing criminals!"
"yes!"
To Liu Chengyou, the Jinzhou incident was nothing more than a trivial matter. He could handle so many feudal lords and towns with ease, and a small Feng Jiye could not make any trouble if he went against the grain. However, the situation in Jinzhou seemed a bit special in the context of the Han Dynasty's reform and resumption of power and the rectification of internal affairs.
Weiji, the noble concubine Gao Shi, left the palace and returned to her home to keep vigil for the old man. Liu Chengyou immediately ordered the Qintian Supervisor to measure the geomantic omen for Gao Xingzhou, select a burial place, and predict the burial date. He also asked the Ministry of Industry to design the tomb and allocate money and food for its construction.
Liu Chengyou wanted to succeed Gao Huaide to the title of King Linqing, but Gao Huaide refused. Liu Chengyou was determined to reward him for his father's blessings, while Gao Huaide said that he had already been protected by his father and did not dare to ask for more. If a man wants to gain fame and become a noble person, he should make his own contributions.
Liu Chengyou admired Gao Huaide's heroism very much, but he still wanted to bestow Gao Xingzhou's legacy and upgrade Gao Huaide's title from county marquis to Linqing County Duke...
The dialogue between Liu Chengyou and Gao Huaide is certainly an act. To calm down those who advocate "hereditary succession", Liu Chengyou has been controlling the rewards of titles in recent years. In the past, there were too many ministers who went to court and then took them back after their death. There is no reason to inherit them.
But the heroes who founded the country need Liu Chengyou to act cautiously.
Later, Liu Chengyou issued another edict that when Gao Xingzhou was buried, all those with grades above five in civil and military rank in the capital should go.
