Zhao Gao took a sip of hot tea and slowly explained: "Yes, I have lived in Shu for half a year. I saw someone planting this plant, so I brought some back. As for the brewing method and these tea sets, they were made by a certain person." Got it from the hermit.”
He had learned some tea ceremony from his grandfather in his previous life, and had always liked drinking tea. But when he came here, he found that few people drank tea, especially in the north, and the quality of the existing tea was extremely poor, and most of it was used for medicinal purposes. mind.
Later, when I went to Sichuan and had nothing to do, I found a plant near Mengshan [1] that can be baked and soaked in water. I took it back and studied it myself. Unexpectedly, the effect was pretty good. I later paid people to go up the mountain. I collected them everywhere and finally accumulated a large amount.
As for the tea-making techniques that dazzled Zhang Cang, they were all brought about by his previous life. As for the tea sets, he drew the patterns and asked the master to make each one. Since it was inconvenient to tell Zhang Cang directly, he simply used the excuse of being a "hermit" to deceive him. Fortunately, Zhang Cang wasn't Wang Chong's character who always wanted to get to the bottom of things, so he didn't ask too many questions.
Zhang Cang had previously thought that these large and small vessels were wine sets, but he didn't expect to know at this moment that they were the tea sets he was talking about: "It's an elegant pastime that suits your taste."
Sometimes there is nothing wrong with making a cup of tea and reading a book in peace and quiet. Besides, Zhao Gao just followed his grandfather and watched a lot, did a lot, and got used to it, so that later he didn't have to do it, but he felt uncomfortable.
Although people shouldn't dwell on the past, what's the point if even the last thought is gone. When he came here, there were only a few objects for him to commemorate. He made one just to remind himself that there was still such a past.
Considering that Zhang Cang didn't like drinking and serving plain water was too bland, Zhao Gao then thought of tea. It was very interesting for the two of them to sit under the ivy trellis like this, drinking tea and chatting.
When Zhao Gao accidentally mentioned Jitan, Zhang Cang sighed, and his face, which was rare for him to be calm and serious, showed an angry look: "You have been running around a few days ago, and you just came back yesterday, I'm afraid you don't know yet. King Zhao bloodbathed Taishi's Mansion, Zuo Shi has already..." After Zhang Cang finished speaking, the courtyard suddenly became quiet.
Zhao Gao unconsciously stroked the tea cup in his hand, and after a moment he murmured: "What's wrong..."
Although Ji Tan was very strict with his subordinate officials, he was indeed an admirable senior who was knowledgeable and distinguished. At that time, Zhao Gao still had to be appreciated by him before he became a civil servant. He then had the opportunity to read through the collection of books in "Langhuan Pavilion" and had the opportunity to meet Zhao Zheng. Zhao Gao was naturally shocked and regretful when he heard that something had happened to Ji Tan.
"The king of Zhao changed generals, and the whole country was dissatisfied. In order to stop the public from talking about it, he strictly ordered the historian not to record the matter in the books. Zuo Shi refused angrily, which actually led to the death of Zuo Shi. He originally wanted to use Zuo Shi's fate to frighten everyone in the Taishi Mansion. , but unexpectedly, this time even Youshi refused to accept the order. As a result, he became angry and ignored the obstruction of the ministers, and killed more than 20 people in a row." At the end of the sentence, Zhang Cang's voice was terrifyingly deep.
Zhao Gao put down the tea cup in his hand and sighed quietly: "It is the minister's duty to write down the writing, and the king must write it down. How many historians have lost their lives for this..."
In ancient times, there were brothers Taishibo [2] who did not avoid life and death and wrote straight books; today, there are also books that talk about being upright and admonishing the country even if they die. Suddenly Zhao Gao remembered the first sentence he heard when he entered Taishi Mansion: Good and evil must be remembered to warn the master. Now it is actually practiced by the person who spoke it, which makes people sigh and admire him.
After saying that, he stood up silently, and Zhang Cang did the same. The two looked at each other, turned towards Zhao Guo, folded their hands and bowed solemnly three times.
This time Zhang Cang was willing to leave Lanling and enter the Qin Dynasty. Zhao Gao guessed that it was probably because Xunzi was no longer alive and he had kept his filial piety before leaving. He was afraid of making him sad, so he carefully avoided this part of the conversation when talking to him, and tried to ask some farewell questions. of. He didn't want to accidentally mention Jitan at this time, so he let Zhang Cang accompany him for a while, feeling a little sorry.
After that, the two chatted for a long time, about the Zhao State in the past, the Qin State today, and even the Qin State in the future. Zhang Cang didn't say goodbye until he finished the evening meal.
A few months later, the lands of Qin and Zhao suffered from severe droughts one after another. Following the earthquake, Zhao State encountered famine again, and was already in danger.
At a time when people's hearts were in turmoil, Zhao Zheng sent another secret envoy to weaken Zhao. For a time, rumors spread everywhere in Zhao State, and everyone was in danger. There is also a song that says: Wu An is driven away, the sky will be angry, the country will be difficult to survive, day and night will not be protected; Qin people laugh, Zhao people shout, think they don't believe it, look at the ground and grow hair [3].
Not long after, white hair actually grew on the land outside Handan. From a distance, it looked completely white, and the strands were more than a foot long, tangled and entangled with each other, and it was terrifyingly tight. The king was furious, the people were frightened, and almost everyone was in danger.
Later, the saying "Don't worship the king, worship Wu'an" was spread among the people. Li Mu, who mysteriously disappeared, became an indestructible divine general in the hearts of the people of Zhao State.
In contrast, the Qin State also encountered a severe drought, and the land in Guanzhong was irrigated by the Zheng Guo Canal. Not only did the farming season not be missed, but it was even more fertile. It’s also a good time for salt to flow freely and the treasury to be full. The combination of the two is beneficial to Qin, so that the traitors can seize the soul and the country's prestige is boosted.
At this time, Zhao Zheng was worried about the sudden death of Queen Mother Xia.
Counting it all, Queen Mother Xia was one of the few people in the palace who treated him sincerely. It's just that when he was young, he studied literature and martial arts, and rarely had time to spend time with him.
Later, when he succeeded to the throne, he was constantly controlled by Lu Buwei, saying that Huayang was his direct grandmother and that she was kind to his father. In order to silence the public, the Queen Mother of Xia was rarely seen and the Queen Mother of Huayang was seen as kind. This is an even rarer opportunity.
It was not until he took charge that he gained freedom. Unfortunately, the old man was old and suffered from amnesia at this time and could no longer recognize him. Although he still took time to go over to greet the elderly from time to time, he was busy with government affairs and still neglected to care for the elderly. Now that he has passed away, he feels extremely guilty.
During the court meeting, someone came out to advise: "My king's filial piety is worthy of respect and admiration. I personally think that now that the country's foundation is solid and the treasury is full, it is better to bury the Queen Mother generously. One can comfort the Queen Mother's spirit, and the other can relieve her. My king is grieving, and you can use this to show your filial piety."
As soon as this statement came out, there was an immediate echo: "Yes, yes, the king's treatment of the queen mother is really admirable. A generous burial of Ming Xiao can make the people of the world mourn with the king."
This time, although the king was in a heavy mood, he never mentioned the matter of burial. Many courtiers began to speculate: At this time, the Qin State was at its peak. The king may have wanted to have a grand burial, but he was too embarrassed to bring it up. Who would give it to him at this time? A step up, allowing him to fulfill his wish will definitely leave a good impression in his heart.
Seeing that the opportunity was snatched away by a small Dongyuan Order, many courtiers simply regretted it and could only quickly second the proposal, and maybe they could barely make amends.
When Dongyuan Ling was speaking, all the ministers saw that the king was patiently listening to the report, except Zhao Gao. Just now, Zhao Zheng exchanged a look with him from a distance, and then moved away without any trace, with almost no one around him noticing.
This look reminded Zhao Gao of the time when he told him "The Yellow Bird" as a child.
After Dongyuan Ling said that, he saw the ministers seconding his opinion and became more and more happy. He thought to himself: This flattery should be effective, right? Although Zhao Zheng has not expressed his position yet, he is already imagining what kind of praise he will get from the king later.
After the noisy hall calmed down, Zhao Zhengzhen puffed up his sleeves and sat in a more upright and solemn posture. Dongyuan Ling held his breath and looked at him expectantly with his eyes wide open. Not far away, Zhao Gao lowered his eyebrows and frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.
The next moment, Zhao Zheng's expression became solemn, and he said solemnly: "Mozi's chapter of "Festival Burial" says: 'The higher one wants to achieve the goal of the saint king, the lower one wants to benefit the country and the people, so it should be treated as a political matter. [4]'"
After a pause, he looked around and suddenly stood up. The king is standing, who can take a seat? All the courtiers hurriedly stood up and bowed to listen to the instructions. Although no one spoke for a while, the hall was not quiet. There was a subtle sound of friction of clothing everywhere.
Zhao Zheng continued: "Moreover, now the people are exhausted and the war is endless. Many people in the world eat together with the sun and change their clothes to go out. I think about it and it often hurts my heart. If the people above think about politics, the people below often think about vulgarity. As the king of the Qin State, he should set an example by his own example. Wouldn't it be a big mistake if the rule of lavish burial was abandoned because few people thought of it?"
The hall fell into silence. Some people were disappointed that they had lost the opportunity to praise the king, and some people secretly sneered at his idea of a frugal burial, but more courtiers were ashamed.
I originally wanted to use this incident to enhance the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, but I didn't expect Zhao Zheng's reply to reverberate loudly in the hall. It was so deafening and enlightening, which really made me feel guilty.
With nearly half a year of buffering and habits, Zhao Gao has been able to control his emotions very well against Zhao Zheng. At least he will no longer be easily lost in a daze, let alone panic to the point of being overwhelmed. But when he came back to his senses, he realized that he had completely lost his mind because of his appearance just now.
He has transformed from a ragged baby into a majestic king today. Wearing a solemn and luxurious black court dress, he is sitting gracefully in the majestic Qin Palace. He has never forgotten the words he said when he was a child, and now he is He unswervingly fulfills the vow he made back then.
It was precisely because of these thoughts that Zhao Gao's emotions, which had been suppressed for half a year, started to stir up at this moment.
After that, Zhao Zheng issued an edict that all relatives, including him, the King of Qin, would not be allowed to be buried in lavish burials in the future. Any violation would be punished with a serious crime.
Zhao Zheng knows that changing customs is never easy, and he must not act too hastily. Therefore, the edict only mentions himself and his relatives, and does not mention the ministers of the family at all, and does not require them to be buried in a clean manner.
But in this way, everyone got a different taste from it: Even the king and his relatives are not allowed to be buried well. What tricks do you, a noble minister of the family, dare to come up with?
This is obviously when no one can react, using a force of four or two to hit the person hard, and hitting the person without any room to fight back.
We must know that the custom of rich burials has been around for a long time and is deeply rooted. If he meekly brought this matter up to discuss with the ministers and asked everyone to have a festive funeral together in the future, it would definitely not happen.
But now...
Even though the edict was issued, hundreds of schools of thought had mixed opinions about it, and Confucian scholars and Mohists even argued about it for several years. However, the matter quickly spread among the people, and was talked about not only by the people of Qin but also by some subjects of the six countries. Been talking for several months.
In October, it was widely rumored that the King of Qin was very ambitious and wanted to point his sword at Shandong to make Qin great in the world.
When kings and subjects of all countries heard this, they were all frightened and trembled. Several countries, including Chu, Yan, Zhao, and Wei, urgently requested an alliance to discuss joint strategies to resist Qin.
