The atmosphere in the palace was a little weird.

There was silence, but very few people dared to show it, as if they were afraid of something, crowded with people, coming and going in a hurry.

The palace generally thought that Empress Dowager Gao would not be so sudden, and now she was quite caught off guard.

Chen Pi and Zhou He were busy cooking in the palace and preparing a series of funeral matters.

In the political hall, Su Song, the prime minister who had a tacit understanding today, had to stay for the time being to preside over some things in the political hall.

Kaifeng Province.

A five-grade official courtyard of Zhishi.

In a side hall, the immortal seat of the Empress Dowager Gao is placed.

An old man in his fifties knelt on the ground with a puff and shouted in a miserable voice: "The Empress Dowager, Bintian......"

He was followed by a group of men and women, kneeling on the ground and crying.

A high-gate compound, the plaque reads 'Jingning Marquis Mansion'.

The people in the Hou Mansion were silent, everyone seemed to be preoccupied, the red lanterns and all kinds of festive things were changed, and the costumes of men and women began to change into plain clothes.

The atmosphere in Kaifeng City gradually began to change.

Many people ran to the royal street crying, crying and shouting.

Princess Wei and other close relatives of the clan ran to the palace for the first time to see the Empress Dowager Gao's 'last look'.

And there are also many people who secretly sneer, sneer, and gloat.

"The old witch is finally dead!"

"She can really live, she almost lived to the age of antiquity!"

"Three generations of emperors have survived to death, the old woman is really evil!"

"Finally dead! The cycle of heavenly reason, retribution is not happy! ”

"Great! That's great! As soon as she died, the world was clear, and the sky was clear! ”

……

The news of Empress Dowager Gao's death was brewing in Kaifeng City, and at the same time, it also spread rapidly to the entire Great Song Dynasty.

In the evening, Zhang Dan, who was in Yanling County, finally received the letter.

After reading it, Zhang Duan put his hands behind his back, stood in front of the window, and quietly looked at the direction of Kaifeng City.

Pei Yin stood behind him, took the letter, and said, "Sir, Cai Xianggong urges you to return to Beijing to preside over the overall situation." ”

Zhang's sword eyebrows were upside down, and his eyes were burning to the south.

The death of the Empress Dowager Gao was unexpected, it seems that she has withdrawn the curtain and returned to power, and the insignificant Empress Dowager still has a strong influence in the court situation and in national politics, which is a major obstacle to the implementation of the 'New Deal'.

This kind of influence, even if she dies, will still exist for a long time.

Pei Yin seemed to be able to sense something, followed the silence for a while, and said: "Sir, death is like a lamp going out, and you still need to handle the funeral of the Empress Dowager." ”

The emperor's life and death are not simple, often have extremely important political significance, although the Empress Dowager Gao is not the emperor, but also half, who can handle his funeral, it indicates who will go further in the court!

If he is in charge, then he will be the next ruler!

Zhang Duan put his hands behind his back, his eyes flashed, and he said lightly: "Do three things, send a letter to Su Song, I want to meet with him, go to the official's house, ask Su Song to preside over the funeral, summarize our way, and the six departments of the political hall will discuss it." ”

Pei Yin was stunned when he heard this, waited for a while, and said, "Sir, is the funeral of the Empress Dowager really going to be given to Su Xianggong?" ”

Zhang Dian said: "Whether there is this funeral or not, Su Song has to go, I am the ruler." ”

Pei Yin understood, thought for a while, and said, "Okay." I'll do it. In addition, Empress Dowager Gao has just passed away, and I am afraid that some people will take the opportunity to jump out. ”

In the end, Empress Dowager Gao is the Empress Yingzong, the mother of Shenzong, the Empress Dowager, Zhao Xu's grandmother, and the Empress Dowager who listens to the government.

Zhang Duan put his hands behind his back, his posture was straight, and said: "They admire the Empress Dowager so much, the mausoleum envoys, the mountain envoys and so on need so many people, no matter how bad they are, let them go with the Empress Dowager." ”

Pei Yin's expression froze, and he raised his hand and said, "Yes." So, when will the gentleman leave for Beijing? ”

Zhang Dian looked at the sky and said, "Cancel the rest of the trip and return to Beijing tomorrow morning." ”

"Yes. I'll arrange it. Pei Yin responded and turned around to arrange.

At the same time, people from all over the country who knew the news wrote books one after another.

Some sang praises of virtue, some pleaded for the funeral to be simple, some asked for honorific titles, and some cried and shouted to enter Beijing for funeral.

Most of these are officials near Kaifeng City who were the first to get the news. Compared with them, on the contrary, Kaifeng Prefecture and the counties under its jurisdiction are very calm, and almost no one reads.

The political affairs hall quickly transferred people from various yamen and set up a special organization to concentrate on handling the funeral of the Empress Dowager Gao.

But in terms of 'specifications', there is still a lot of internal debate.

Many people demanded 'all simplicity', moving out of the Empress Dowager Gao's consistent frugal style, as well as Zhao Xu's previous edict of 'marriage and funeral, simple and short'.

Others think that Empress Dowager Gao has gone through four dynasties and assisted the three emperors, and her contribution is great, and she should be buried with a high standard.

While they were arguing, Zhang Dian suddenly arrived at the political hall.

Inside the government hall.

Su Song, Cai Bian and the six Shangshu were all there, and everyone watched him come back, each with their own expressions.

Su Song held the crutch, half-squinted, indifferent to his return.

Li Qingchen was the first to speak, and said: "Zhang Xianggong came back just in time, sit down first, and listen to us talk about the funeral arrangements of the Empress Dowager." ”

Zhang Dan's expression was indifferent, he sat down next to Su Song, and under the gaze of the crowd, he said to Su Song: "Su Xianggong, there are some things, please speak." ”

Su Song had already received his letter, raised his eyes and glanced at him, was silent for a while, and said: "The Empress Dowager is a happy mourner, and the Empress Dowager is benevolent and cannot be slandered." ”

Cai Bian listened to Su Song's words with a thoughtful expression.

Wang Cun was suspicious, Zhang Dian and Su Song, what kind of dumb words are they playing?

However, Li Qingchen's expression changed suddenly, and he said decisively: "Su Xianggong, now we are talking about the funeral of the Empress Dowager, not the conclusion of the coffin. We are important ministers of the imperial court, and we can't block the mouth of the world. ”

Xu Jiang, Lin Xi and the others suddenly woke up after listening to Li Qingchen's words.

Su Song's words are actually very simple, Empress Dowager Gao is a happy funeral, she is dying, it has nothing to do with the court battle, and there is no conspiracy in it. Empress Dowager Gao is benevolent and cannot be slandered, that is, Zhang Dian and others are required not to continue to attack Empress Dowager Gao, and settle accounts after the autumn!

In the same way, there is another exchange here, that is, Su Song, the leader of the 'old party', came forward to block the mouths of those people of the 'old party' who want to make a living, which will pave the way for Zhang Dian to succeed as the ruler!

Li Qingchen's voice fell, and the hall was quiet.

Zhang Duan didn't speak, Su Song kept looking at him, waiting.

Cai Bian looked at the two of them, groaned, and said, "Su Xianggong, the official family has already spoken first, so why bother with it." ”

Zhao Xu both explicitly and implicitly warned Zhang Dian and the 'New Party' that party disputes should not involve the royal family. The royal status is revered, and it is above the court!

Su Song didn't look at Cai Bian, still looked at Zhang Dian and said, "I will leave Beijing in three days." ”

Zhang Dan's sword eyebrows jumped, and then said: "Xuanren."

Su Song was silent for a moment, picked up his crutches, and slowly left.

Li Qingchen didn't wait for him to leave, looked at Zhang Dian and said: "Zhang Xianggong, how can the words 'Xuan' and 'Ren' be used lightly, please consider it." ”

The 'Xuanren' mentioned by Zhang Dian is actually a nickname for the Empress Dowager Gao.

These two words, which often appear in the temple numbers of emperors in all dynasties, represent high praise and are a kind of coffin closure.

Zhang Dian glanced at him and said, "I just returned to Beijing, and I have to go to the official's house immediately, and you can continue to discuss other matters." ”

As he spoke, he got up.

Li Qingchen was a little dissatisfied, but Lin Xi, Xu Jiang and others didn't speak, and he couldn't hold on to it.

Wang Cun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, saw Su Song and Zhang Dian left, silently pondered the word 'Xuanren', nodded secretly, and did not continue to entangle.

……

Zhang Dian stayed in the Vertical Arch Hall for two hours before leaving.