Under the mourning hall, Huang Liang, Huang Xiang, Huang Ju and others all wore white filial piety crowns and filial piety clothes. The Huang family wore linen and mourning, and the sound of crying could be heard.
The old man Huangdian passed away. Although he was seventy-eight years old, which can be called a long life, the cause of his death was not destiny but a man-made disaster.
Amidst the sadness, there is an air of injustice.
The relatives and friends who came to express their condolences could not help but sympathize with the family after crying.
Not long ago, the Huang family was on the verge of becoming one of the wealthy businessmen because of their chance to acquire a coal mine, and everyone in Xinzhou was envious of them.
But the good times didn't last long. The Xinzhou government sent people to ask for the title deeds of the coal mine. No one could tell clearly what the process was, but the result was obvious. After half a month of confrontation between the Huang family and the government, the Huang family "sold" The coal mine was built for a price of one thousand eight hundred taels.
After that, the old man of the Huang family became even more depressed. After a government official came to his door, he finally fell ill and returned to the west within two days.
The old man, who was usually in good spirits, was no longer there. Everyone could see clearly that it was the Xinzhou government office that was bullying people.
But so what?
The common people cannot defeat the government!
Outside Huang's house, some people were talking a lot.
"Did you hear that the yamen asked for another 1,800 taels of silver from the Huang family? They took it back to the coal mine without spending a penny on their relationship."
The middle-aged man with beard sighed.
"Why is this so?"
Someone on the sidelines asked.
The middle-aged man sighed: "Don't you still know the name of the prefect of Xinzhou?"
"I know, Li Cunjin."
The voice is very low.
The middle-aged man sneered and said: "Yes, Li Cunjin, how could there be a chance of exodus from Cunjin Cunjin? His greed is comparable to that of a tiger. It's just that the poor Huang family not only lost the coal mine, but also dozens of members of his family." They have to be forcibly moved to Beizhili."
"Brother, what did you just say? Dozens of members of this family will be forcibly relocated to Beizhili?"
Ru Yu, wearing a green shirt, looked like a scribe, and asked with cupped hands.
Yang Pu stood beside Ru Yu, listening to the discussions of the people around him, and couldn't help but frown slightly.
The middle-aged man heard that Rujun's accent was not that of a local, and although his clothes were simple, he was quite imposing, so he asked, "Sir, are you from out of town?"
Rujun nodded and explained: "We are businessmen. We heard that Shanxi is rich in coal and planned to transport some coal to the north. Along the way, we heard that there was a coal mine in the Huang family in Xinzhou, so we hurried here. Unexpectedly, ...Dare you ask my brother what your last name is?"
The middle-aged man looked sad and said: "My surname is Yang, Yang Chongjiu. It was a long time ago that the Huang family had a coal mine. Now if you want coal, you can only ask the Xinzhou prefect for cooperation."
Rujun asked in confusion: "Brother Yang, can you elaborate on this?"
Yang Chongjiu stretched out his hand and said, "Then let's talk aside."
Ru Yu nodded kindly, and took Yang Pu alone to talk under a willow tree.
Yang Chongjiu was not an ordinary commoner. He had obtained an academic title, but his knowledge was limited and he was only awarded the title of "Xiucai". He was far from being an official and did not even have the qualifications to be an official.
Even so, he is considered a "celebrity" in this small place of Xinzhou.
Yang Chongjiu briefly explained the matter, and finally sighed: "Hey, after all, I still can't believe the imperial court. The documents issued are fancy, saying that they will not force the people to move, but will give them the imperial examination. In my opinion, Nanjing and this There is no difference between the Xinzhou Yamen and the Yamen. They all take what they want and take what they want. No one cares about the life and death of the people." Yang Pu felt uncomfortable. If the Xinzhou Yamen were doing this nonsense, then the imperial court's immigration policy would change. It would probably happen again. Caused civil resistance.
The people were already skeptical of the government's immigration policy, but now it's better. Xinzhou directly broke the court's face, openly clamored for forced immigration, and even took advantage of the Huang family. What do other people think?
Taking away other people's coal mines and their foundations, the prefect of Xinzhou is really powerful. He can decide life or death in a matter of seconds.
Ru Yu figured out the ins and outs of the matter, and with a heavy sigh in her chest, she said in a deep voice: "These officials are really lawless!"
Yang Chongjiu waved his hand and said: "You are a businessman, and you still don't know how naughty officials are? After all, the court does not regard us as human beings. No matter whose world this is, no one cares about the common people."
Ru Yu's face looked a little ugly, and she just said firmly: "The imperial court will not sit idly by and do nothing about this. There will definitely be an outcome to this matter."
"Huh, believe in the imperial court? You might as well believe in Maitreya Buddha."
"What?"
Ru Yu's eyes turned cold.
Yang Chongjiu did not notice this and said helplessly: "This is a saying that common people often say. At least Maitreya Buddha will not lie to others, but the imperial court has repeatedly deceived the people..."
Ru Yu's heart suddenly sank.
The White Lotus Sect also has its roots in Shanxi!
But think about it, people in suffering and tragedy will naturally be attracted by the White Lotus Sect's "association" and "brotherly assistance".
After all, the White Lotus Sect does not distinguish between rich or poor, surname, or age. Men, women, and children can join as long as they are willing, and even "men and women mix together."
They live in darkness and naturally seek the light.
If you want to disintegrate the White Lotus Sect, you need to let the light of the Ming Dynasty shine on the people. Otherwise, they will always stand in the dark, either obeying the court, obeying the White Lotus, or obeying Taoism or Buddha!
Ru Yu thanked Yang Chongjiu, looked at the gate of the Huang family, and said to Yang Pu on the side: "Since we are here, let's pay homage to the old man."
Yang Pu nodded and agreed.
Ru Yu's plan to "crash the funeral" was not out of politeness. After all, the person who died in the Huang family was not an official, and it was not the turn of a high-ranking official like Ru Ru to cry.
Behind this, there is another layer of meaning hidden, which is the investigation of folk funeral customs.
When Ru Jin entered Shanxi this time, she not only had the mission of monitoring immigration, but also had the mission of visiting the people and understanding their sentiments.
In other eras, issues related to mourning and customs would not attract the attention of high-ranking officials in the court. After all, the lower class had their own ways of doing things, and they were generally not prohibited.
But the early Ming Dynasty was different, and the roots still came from the Yuan Dynasty.
As for the Yuan Dynasty, a dynasty established by the Mongols, as a group of nomadic people, "step marriage" was naturally brought to the Central Plains. After the death of the father, it is not impossible to marry the mother (not the biological mother) or the wife of the brother... This This kind of "incest", which extremely violated the traditional Confucian etiquette, often appeared in the Yuan Dynasty.
The high-ranking officials and aristocrats act like this and follow the example, which naturally affects the people.
Even during the Hongwu period, this kind of "step marriage" was not completely eliminated in Han areas.
In response to these problems, Zhu Yuanzhang set up a series of funeral rituals.
Throughout ancient times, there has been no essential change in funeral rituals. They are divided into three aspects: mourning, burial, and sacrifice, including the beginning and end, small inspection, large inspection, adult clothing, burial, mourning, small auspiciousness, and large inspection. The content of changes in these basic steps of Xiang and Zen is often just the details.
Compared with other dynasties, what many people did not expect is that the biggest feature of the mourning system in the Ming Dynasty turned out to be "equality."
Yes, in the extremely harsh and hierarchical feudal era, the Ming Dynasty had a "shineing point" of "equality" when it came to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that parents should be treated equally, and all children should be treated equally.
That is to say, whether the father or the mother dies, they need to be treated equally. The biological son needs to mourn for three years, and the non-biological son needs to mourn for one year.
This kind of regulation is positive. It establishes a country based on filial piety and respects filial piety, which was the foundation of human nature in ancient times.
After all, "loyalty and filial piety" is the standard for measuring everything. The so-called "promoting filial piety and integrity" puts filial piety at the forefront, and there are also "loyal ministers must come from the door of filial sons" and so on.
However, this rule can also kill people.
For example, a person took exams for decades and finally won the Jinshi. He was over 50 years old. He finally became an official and sat in court. Before he had a few sips of tea, his mother passed away. He was heartbroken. He reported it to the court and then went home. Go to the funeral and observe mourning for three years.
After three years, I can come back and continue to be my own official. All my old acquaintances have been promoted, and I am still a small clerk. Then let's continue with the qualifications. At this moment, he was getting ahead, promoted to the rank of minister, and suddenly, his father left again.
I had no choice but to go home for the funeral and observe mourning for another three years.
Three years later, I was already in my sixties, my health was not as good as before, my eyesight was dim, and within a few days of returning to the court, I was criticized and demoted because of typos...
In the Yuan Dynasty and some previous dynasties, it was necessary to observe mourning for three years after the death of the father, but when the mother died, it was often only necessary to observe mourning for one year.
Zhu Yuanzhang's innovation in the funeral system improved the status of "mother" and the corresponding status of "bastard". From this perspective, Zhu Yuanzhang still had a certain idea of equality. He chose Zhu Yunwen as his successor instead of Zhu Yunxi. Maybe there is also this kind of thinking in it.
When Ru Yun and Yang Pu entered Huang's house, they couldn't help but cover their eyes, cry softly, and shout, "Mr. Huang, why are you dead..."
Huangdian is a common people and can only be used to death.
According to the regulations of the imperial court, the "emperor" is called "Beng" after death, the "lord, noble relatives, and hereditary lords" are called "die" after death, the "minister" is called "pawn" after death, the "shi" is called "Bulu" after death, and the "common man" is called "Bulu" after death. The death of a person is called "death".
In the Ming Dynasty, only the common people were worthy of death, and no officials were worthy of death.
Therefore, if someone in the Ming Dynasty called an official a "dead old man", it was probably not a flirtation, but a scolding that he was not worthy of being an official and only worthy of being an inferior commoner...
When the guests dispersed, Ru Yu and Yang Pu stayed behind.
Huang Xiang originally wanted to send a few people away and not disturb you for your own wake, but the servants couldn't drive them away after several visits. Huang Xiang had no choice but to arrange for Huang Liang to keep the wake and take Huang Ju to see Ru Yu.
Ru Yu also knew that it was really inappropriate to talk about "official matters" at this juncture, but she didn't have much time and couldn't stay in Xinzhou forever, so she had to go against common sense.
"Huang thanked several people, but the old man passed away not long ago. As his descendants, we still need to perform filial piety in the mourning hall. We are unable to entertain you. Please understand..."
Huang Xiang's words were cold, and he could only point at Ru Yu's nose and curse, "We won't entertain you, why don't you leave? Do you want to show some face?"
Ru Yu was indifferent to this attack. He had been in the court for a long time and had become thicker-skinned. He only asked calmly: "I heard that the Xinzhou Yamen took away your coal mines and forcibly moved you to Beizhili. Are all these things true?"
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