On the same day, Meng Zhong, with the help of Meng Hu, carried the body of his brother Meng Bo home and carried it to the house on the east side of the courtyard where the brothers usually lived.

"Ah Hu, help me remove the courtyard gate."

"Okay."

The two dismantled the courtyard door of Meng Zhong's house and moved it to the east side of the house together, so that Meng Bo's body lay on it, preparing to decorate this room into a mourning hall.

After that, the two began to wash their bodies.

During the period, I don't know if I couldn't help the sadness in my heart in order to avoid suspicion, my mother Ge Shi hid in the house alone and cried, until Meng Zhong and Meng Hu were busy, Ge Shi came out of the house with a brand new dress, and said to Meng Zhong in a choked tone: "Zhong'er, put on this robe for your brother, this is newly sewn for the mother, and it was planned to be ...... when your brother got married" Speaking of this, she glanced at her eldest son who was lying flat on the door panel, and finally couldn't hold back the sadness in her heart anymore, holding the new clothes in her arms, Kneeling on the ground and weeping silently, he muttered things like "Bo'er, Bo'er, a child who is working hard for his mother".

Seeing this, Meng Zhong and Meng Hu hurriedly stepped forward to comfort them.

I don't know how long it took, Ge gradually suppressed the sadness in his heart, and arranged the mourning hall with Meng Zhong and Meng Hu, and was busy for about an hour, which made the mourning hall look decent.

It didn't take long for the elders of the clan to come to visit, and at the same time, four of the clan's house slaves carried a coffin (i.e., coffin).

"Ge, please mourn and change."

While comforting Ge, Elder Meng Jian took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve and handed it to Ge with both hands.

This is a kind of money gift in the common rites in which the guests who come to mourn to sponsor the mourner to handle the funeral.

"Thank you, Elder." Ge barely managed to squeeze out a few smiles.

Meng Jian nodded without saying anything, and then summoned Meng Zhong outside the house under the pretext of an excuse, and said to the latter with a gloomy face: "What happened, the old man also understands something, Zhong'er, the old man ......"

As if guessing Meng Xian's thoughts, Meng Zhong hurriedly said: "Elder, I learned from the letter that Brother gave me before his death that Uncle Meng Qing, Uncle Meng Zhi, and Uncle Meng Xian all took good care of him before and after, and this is not Uncle Meng Xian's fault. ”

This is indeed Meng Zhong's heartfelt voice, in all fairness, his brother Meng Bo is just a newcomer to the battlefield for the first time, although he also killed some soldiers of Teng State, but with these merits he was promoted to the "chariot officer" who commanded the army, which is obviously indispensable to Meng Zhi, Meng Xian and others secretly help - Meng Hu's father Meng Qing, as a family Sima, is not good at favoritism in this regard, so as not to complain about other clansmen, but Meng Zhi, Meng Xian and others do not have this concern.

It is precisely because of the gratitude in his heart that Meng Zhong's brother Meng Bo will take the initiative to meet Teng Hu, the monarch of Teng State, at a critical juncture, sacrificing his life to buy time for other clansmen to save Meng Zhi.

Seeing that Meng Zhi was still full of guilt, Meng Zhong diverted the topic and asked, "I didn't see Uncle Meng Zhi and Uncle Meng Xian, didn't they return this time?" ”

Meng Jian nodded and said: "Meng Qing Tuo Meng Zhi brought a letter to the sect master, saying that after Teng Hu attacked our army, King Song was furious and vowed to capture Teng City and slaughter the Teng clan. ”

Meng Zhong sighed when he heard this: "In other words, this battle is still going on......"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look east, for in that direction there were intermittent cries of other women in the clan.

"yes."

Listening to the intermittent cry, Meng Jian also let out a long sigh.

The two were talking, and suddenly there was someone in the courtyard again, Meng Zhong turned his head to look, and found that it was Meng Hu's grandfather Meng Ji and his second son Meng Zhi, who was supported by a young man a few years younger than Meng Zhong and Meng Hu, it was Meng Zhi's son, Meng Fu.

"Grandfather, uncle."

Meng Hu hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Meng Yi nodded to his grandson, nodded to Meng Jian again, and then walked up to Meng Zhong with his transformation, and said with shame and gratitude: "Ah Zhong, old man, ......"

He really didn't know how to face Meng Zhong.

After all, his second son Meng Zhi escaped this time by relying on Meng Bo's life, but Meng Bo died because of this, if he was a member of other clans, Meng Ji would not be so uncomfortable and guilty, the problem is that Meng Zhong has been with his grandson Meng Hu since he was a child, and the relationship is very good, so this back and forth, Meng Ji actually regards Meng Zhong as a grandson.

Under this relationship, Meng Jin really didn't know how to face Meng Zhong.

Fortunately, at this time, he was recommended to round the field in time and said: "Okay, let's go to the mourning hall to worship Abo." ”

"Yes, yes."

Meng Yi nodded again and again, took his second son Meng Zhi, and walked into the mourning hall with his two grandsons, Meng Hu and Meng Fu.

When he arrived at the house, Meng Zhi knocked on his knees and knelt in front of Meng Bo's body and kowtowed, seeing this, Ge was surprised, after all, such a great gift, only children bow to their parents and elders, even to the monarch.

So she hurriedly stood up and dissuaded: "Meng Zhi, why do you ......?"

However, before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Meng Yan raising her hand, and the old man looked at Meng Bo's body with a guilty and grateful gaze, and said irrefutably: "Although my son is a generation higher than Abel, this time it is all up to Abel, my son can get away with his life, so this is as it should be!" ”

On the side, Meng Jian also nodded, and persuaded Ge Shi: "The one who bows to Meng Zhi is his savior, Ge Shi, you don't need to care." ”

Under the witness of the two old men, Meng Zhi and Meng Zhi, Meng Zhi kowtowed to the late Meng Bo a few times, because of the magnitude of the movement, so that when Meng Zhong and Meng Hu later helped the clan uncle (uncle), Meng Zhong saw that Meng Zhi's newly changed robe at the moment was also oozing blood, which was obviously caused by Fang Cai's action tearing the wound.

But Meng Zhi didn't say a word about it, and after being helped up by Meng Zhong and Meng Hu, he solemnly said to Ge Shi and Meng Zhong: "Ge Shi, Ah Zhong, don't worry, I, and my brother, will never let Ah Bo die in vain, as long as my brothers are still alive, I will definitely kill Teng Hu in the future to comfort Ah Bo's soul in the sky!" ”

Seeing Meng Zhi's serious face, Ge Shi and Meng Zhong glanced at each other, but they didn't know what to say, so they had to nod.

Subsequently, because Meng Zhi's injuries were too serious, he was first helped home by his son Meng Fu to recuperate, while the two elders, Meng Yi and Meng Zhi, spread a straw mat in the house and sat down.

In the words of Elder Meng Jin, this time Meng Bo died because of his son Meng Zhi, although people cannot be resurrected after death, he at least has to help Meng Bo take care of the funeral and preside over this funeral, which is the only thing he can do.

About an hour later, Meng Qi, the suzerain of the Mengshi clan, brought the young sect leader Meng Hu, Mengda, Meng Xiang and other descendants of the sect, and also came to worship Meng Bo and send money, and Meng Yi, the elder, came forward to receive him.

However, Meng Qi and the others did not stay for a long time, because according to Meng Zhong's later knowledge, there were about 50 corpses of the clansmen who were transported back by carriage this time, and this meant that there were about 50 families in the clan to hold funerals.

That night, Meng Zhong originally planned to guard the mourning hall with Meng Hu, and let his mother Ge go back to the house to rest for a while, so that Meng Ji and Meng Jian could also go back to rest, but Meng Jin insisted on staying here.

In the end, there was no way, so Meng Zhong and Meng Yi and Meng Hu's ancestors and grandsons kept a night together.

I have to say that Meng Jin's insistence on staying made Meng Jian quite embarrassed, but there was no way, after all, Meng Jian served as the clan secretary, and he needed to arrange the funeral of all the clansmen who died in battle.

The next day, almost every family in the clan sent family members to pay condolences and give them money, even if several of them actually lost their relatives.

In the afternoon, Ge asked Meng Yi and Meng Hu to guard the mourning hall on their behalf, while she took Meng Zhong to visit other families.

When they came to the courtyard of a clan's house, two uncles and aunts from the clan came out of the courtyard, and the woman sighed and said to his man: "I had no father, but now because my brother died and my mother also died, she is the only one left, what a hard-working child......

As she was talking, she saw Ge Shi walking towards her, and hurriedly greeted Ge Shi.

Ge Shi also heard this woman's words, and asked curiously: "Sister, what you just said ......?"

"This is it."

The woman glanced back at the room behind her, and said to Ge Shi: "The man of this family died in the war with Wei State earlier, leaving only the woman in the family Xiao Shi to raise the two brothers and sisters alone, and now it is difficult to raise her son as an adult, but the son died in the battle of Teng State, what a hard life......

"Hey!" The man lowered his voice and scolded, and then hurriedly said to Ge Shi: "This one in my family can't speak, Ge Shi, don't care about it." ”

The woman was stunned, and then suddenly realized that Ge's husband, Meng Qu, had also died on the battlefield of the war with Wei.

Ge Shi smiled reluctantly, and seeing this, the man hurriedly pulled his unabashed-free wife and left.

After the clan couple left, Ge led Meng Zhong into the courtyard, shouted a few times but did not see the master come out, so she curiously walked to the main house, and then she saw that the main house was where the mourning hall was located.

"Where's the people in this family?"

Ge muttered and walked into the mourning hall, looked around a few times, and found that there were two wooden planks in the mourning hall, and on these two planks, there were two lifeless corpses, one of which was a young man wearing leather armor like Meng Zhong's brother Meng Bo, and the other was a woman who seemed to be the same age as Ge's, probably the "mother and son" that the couple said.

Seeing the family, Ge and Meng Zhong worshipped the two corpses, and then put the money they had brought in a clay basin in front of the corpses—in addition to their family's money, there were already several bags of gold in the pot at this time.

"Ugh."

Ge Shi sighed, shook his head and was about to leave, when he suddenly heard a very soft voice in the room: "Thank you, thank you." ”

"Huh?"

Ge Shi was startled, and looked in the direction where the voice came from, only to see that in the corner of the room, there was a girl who was a few years younger than Meng Zhong, holding her knees with her hands and knees, and looking at her timidly in the corner.

"What's your name, kid?"

Ge stepped forward and crouched down to look at the girl, looking at the latter's red eyes and the dried tears on his face.

"...... Meng Yan ......"

The girl whispered.

Ge Shi hugged him in his arms in distress and whispered: "Although it is very difficult, we still have to work hard to live, and don't let the deceased worry about us, are you right?" ”

The girl nodded, and immediately burst into tears, and Ge also thought of his deceased eldest son Meng Bo, and also hugged the clan girl named Meng Yan and cried in a low voice.

Seeing this scene, Meng Zhong silently walked out of the mourning hall and looked up at the sky.

He was very emotional in his heart, the former Mengshi clan was harmonious and united, and there was a lot of laughter in the clan, but the war of the Song Dynasty Yanxing troops and Teng made the entire Mengshi clan lose their relatives and indulge in sadness.

Would the king on high realize the consequences of one of his commands?