The news of Pei Pi's murder in Luozhong soon spread throughout the city of Chang'an - of course, Pei Wei, Xun Song and others deliberately spread it. The generals asked for their lives, asking to go to Luo to avenge their comrades - although their identities were estranged, and Pei Pi had no military achievements, in fact, they didn't treat that person as their own brother before.

Even the students in the school clamored, saying that the Son of Heaven was incompetent, plotted to kill the generals, destroyed the Great Wall, and wanted to jointly write a letter to ask the great Sima to return to Luoyang to rectify the dynasty, but was forced to press down by Fan Xuan to assist Dong Jingdao.

The generals insisted on requesting, and Pei Gai hid in the back bed for two days for this reason, refusing to show up, and only ordered the official document to be sent to the study for judgment. Then on the third day, another urgent letter arrived from Luoyang - this time it was sent by Pei Shu alone.

The book is at Pei Wei's place, Pei Wenji opens it and takes a look, its content is mainly divided into three parts: the first part, supplementing some details of the incident described in the letter the day before, including Wang Gong's efforts to persuade Pei Pi to take over the fifth school, and Wang Gong's suggestion to break through the door, and Pei Xu's distant hearing someone shouting: "The right guard is here to kill my fifth school......"

In the second part, it is necessary to explain the actions of the Right Guard after the incident, as well as the results of the imperial court's investigation of the incident, and how Shangshu Province delayed the blame and sent an envoy to the east, wanting to summon Zu Ti back and suppress the Right Guard. The third part is the news that he has just gotten, the army has retreated, and the Chinese army is waiting to launch a full-scale counterattack - this good news, naturally he will learn earlier than the elders of Luozhong.

After thinking about it for a while, Pei Wei took a pen and paper, deleted the first part of Pei Xu's letter, and re-copied the last two parts, imitating his handwriting. Immediately asked Hu Fei to send the letter to the back bedroom, and said: "Xun Daoxuan and the others, only to force Mingda to commit suicide, and kill a few pawns to blame, Da Sima does not return to Luo, this matter is not clear." Besides, the thief has retreated, and entering Luo at this time can be harmless to the war, and it will not hurt the childish heart of the ancestor - please judge quickly. ”

After Pei Gai saw this letter, he groaned for a while, and then asked his wife: "If Zu Shizhi should respond to the edict and return the Chinese army to Luo, then I will go here, and it will inevitably conflict with it, so what?" ”

Xun Guanniang said: "If the grandfather returns to Luoyang, he must first judge the case of Brother Sheng Gong, if he is clear, the husband goes, and he can feel his virtue and retreat, so why hurt?" If it is not clear, it is Qu Zai's grandfather, why should he prevent his husband from returning to Luo? ”

Pei Gai couldn't help but sigh and said: "Zu Shizhi guarded Xingyang for several months, planned in every way, and finally defeated the thief, just took advantage of the victory to pursue, ploughed the court and swept the Lu, if you return to Luo today, you will lose a great opportunity to destroy the karma!" ”

Xun Guanniang comforted: "This is Uncle Daoxuan's fault, he can't stop the incident before he sprouts, and then he summons his ancestor to return to Luo, and it is not a mistake of the husband, why sigh?" And the matter has come to this, if the husband does not return to Luo, then the grandfather will not return either? Husband, when the judgment continues, you will suffer from it, as Uncle Wen Ji said, make a decision as soon as possible, and do not delay! ”

In fact, Pei Gai has been thinking about this matter for the past two days, repeatedly weighing the pros and cons. He once suspected that the murder of Pei Pi was actually Wang Gong's plot, that is, he had to lead his division to Luocan't - because Pei Pi is not an ordinary general, but a member of the Pei family, and his brother was killed.

Legally speaking, even if his own father was killed, he didn't crash into the capital and go to the court or the Son of Heaven to ask for the truth. However, Pei Gai's identity is special after all, he is the great Sima, the governor of the capital, and the bull's ear of the ruling courtiers, and if he wants to obey the system and be a loyal minister, he will harm the name of the minister. When the Son of Heaven said otherwise, his ministers were doing very comfortably, and he did not intend to hand over his authority one day in the future. Moreover, how can the right minister lose his power, and be able to live for a long time?

Furthermore, Confucianism is in favor of revenge by blood, and the "Book of Rites: Qu Li" is the cloud: "The enmity of the father is shared with the heavens, the enmity of the brothers is not against the soldiers, and the enmity of friendship is not from the same country." In his own capacity, Gui Luo went to ask the court and the Son of Heaven for an explanation, and he would also be widely forgiven and even supported by Shilin.

Therefore, taking this vicious incident as an opportunity, it is most likely to force himself to swing his master, this kind of trick, that "poisoner" can completely do it! It's just that if it is really planned by Wang Gong, with Pei Gai's understanding of his person, it is estimated that it will be difficult to grasp his handle, and it seems that he cannot be convicted of his crime without the slightest evidence......

However, it doesn't matter whether Pei Pi's murder was an accident, or someone planned it, and what its purpose was, for the current Pei Gai, how to deal with it is the most important thing to consider. In fact, he did not oppose the usurpation of the throne, after all, in terms of this stage of society, the existence of imperial power is still indispensable, and since he has been pushed to the position of a powerful minister by the situation, it is only possible to advance, and there is no hope of retreating.

As Xun Guanniang said, Pei Gai is not very worried about what will happen in Liangzhou, Pingzhou, and even Hanzhong after the change of dynasty - those forces are too small and weak to turn the sky. The only thing to worry about is the Jiankang regime, but perhaps only by completely tearing off the skin and suppressing it by force can it be hoped that after suppressing the Central Plains family, it will sweep away the Jiangnan clan, stabilize the people's livelihood, and promote the development of social productive forces.

Pei should not be able to take that last step for a long time, the most important thing is that he is worried about the situation in Xingyang. As long as he leads his troops back to Luo, he will inevitably have a conflict with Xun Di and others, and at that time, for the sake of his own face, in order to preserve his prestige, and in order to unite people's hearts, he will inevitably have to purge the court to a greater or lesser extent. If Luozhong is unstable, the hearts of the front-line soldiers will be chaotic, and if Shi Le catches the opportunity and breaks through, things will be in trouble, and he may also be ridiculed for ignoring the overall situation.

It wasn't until today that he received a letter from Pei Xu, and Pei Cai finally made up his mind, so after discussing a few words with his wife and completely untying the knot, he put on his mourning clothes and took the car to Pei Cui's house first.

Five funeral clothes, "small gong" ranks fourth, "etiquette" says: "small gong, cloth decay palm, peony linen, that is, Ge May." From grandparents, from grandparents; Renzu Kundi; From the father and sister, the grandson is suitable; The latter is his sister and the fittest. "If it is a man, because of the funeral of the same great-grandfather brother, he should take a small service. However, after Pei Gai and Pei Pi both came out, Pei Mao was actually regarded as a brother with Gaozu, and he should serve the fifth-class "hemp".

It's just that there are many interpretations of Zhou etiquette, and the etiquette system also changes with the times, and between theory and practice, it is inevitable that there will be some differences in the past dynasties, as long as it is not too excessive, few people will die. Moreover, the system of five suits was written into the national law, and it also began with the Western Jin Dynasty, and the purpose was only to distinguish relatives from each other, as a criterion for judging whether it constituted a crime and measuring the severity of the crime - in a patriarchal society, relatives and relatives harm each other, so they are naturally more whipped by public opinion, and the punishment will be correspondingly heavier.

Therefore, in order to show his closeness to Pei Bao and Pei Cui's lineage, Pei Cai deliberately changed his linen to a small work, wore a coarser cooked linen mourning clothes, and went to Pei Cui's mansion to mourn. When Pei Cui heard the news, he hurriedly went out of the door, and Pei Bin, who had just returned from Wannian County, introduced Pei into the mourning hall together.

- Pei Cui served his nephew with great merit, and Pei Bin served his brother with decline.

The mourning hall is almost furnished, but there is no coffin yet. Wang Gong and Pei Xu sent a letter a few days ago, saying that Pei Pi's body had been put in a coffin and ordered to be escorted back to Chang'an, and it was estimated that even if they walked fast, it would take more than ten days to arrive. In fact, theoretically speaking, Pei Pi's case has not yet been decided, and the body should not be transported away - maybe an autopsy will be required - and Fang Dongri, it will not be bad if it is left for a few more days. Wang Gong, Pei Xu, and others did this, in fact, there was also the intention of urging Pei to return to the east.

Because there is no body, Pei Gai can't officially pay tribute, but just soothes Pei Cui, Pei Bin and others with kind words. After all, they are all adult men, and they have just heard the bad news, they should have cried and cried, although there were tears on their faces, and their spirits were quite tired, but they did not howl in three sentences, which made it difficult for Pei to talk to them.

Pei should ask about the preparations for the funeral and whether he needs assistance in terms of money, materials and manpower, but Pei Cui waved his hand and politely declined. Immediately, Pei Gai said: "Brother Shenggong's wife is still in Henan, and she should be taken to Chang'an." Pei Cui nodded and said, "I have sent someone to get it." Pei Cai asked, "I don't know if you can choose a cemetery?" Is it a burial Wenxi? ”

Pei Cui shook his head and said: "My family has been away from my hometown for a long time, and it is quite alienated from the Hedong clan, so I don't have to enter the ancestral family...... In the past, I laughed and talked with Wen Ji, a hundred years later, if I don't return to my ancestors, where should I be buried? Wen Jiyun: 'Luoyang, Chang'an, choose a place, it depends on Wen Yue's intentions ......'"

Pei Caixin said Uncle, you have learned badly, just when you are mourning your nephew, why do you want to test me again?

"If we are buried in Luoyang and Chang'an, we should also follow the great achievements. Luoyang is still unknown, the terrain of Longshou Yuan outside Chang'an City is very good, and its name is good, I used to buy dozens of acres of mountain land, just used to collect the funeral merits - I don't know if the text is allowed? ”

Pei Gai bowed slightly: "Chang'an is very good, Chang'an is very good, so it's decided." ”

After saying goodbye to Pei Cui, he came out of the mansion and was about to board the car, when he saw that there were several circles of carriages and horses surrounded by Wu outside the palace - the generals heard that Da Sima was finally willing to leave the mansion, and gathered one after another, wanting to persuade again. Of course, it is impossible to rush up, stop Pei Gai's horse's head, hold his carriage, and even pull his shirt, and talk to each other, and definitely divide the order. Sure enough, Pei Cai had just gotten into the car, and he saw Pei Wei hurrying over.

Pei Gai didn't wait for Pei Wenji to speak, so he waved his hand: "It just so happened that my uncle gave me an order to summon the generals above the fifth rank of Xingtai to gather in the Great Sima Mansion, I have something to say." ”

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The scale of the Da Sima Mansion is very large, but this is compared to the private residence, if it is used as a government office, the front hall will inevitably seem a little cramped - because Pei Gai has 12 departments, and Chang Shi and Sima, all have their own government offices, and most people do not have to work in the Da Sima Mansion.

Therefore, there are as many as one or two hundred generals above the fifth rank in Chang'an, excluding Pei Cui, and they can't sit in the hall at all. Only Tao Kan, Pei Wei and others had to sit down in the hall, and the rest of the people gathered in the hall, standing with their hands arched, waiting for the big Sima to speak.

Pei Gai looked around at everyone and asked first: "Luozhong's accident, Brother Sheng Gong's murder, I think you have all heard about it?" Everyone agreed. Pei Gai asked again: "Changshi and others all advised me to immediately raise troops to go to Luo, ask the court for the murderer, and avenge Brother Sheng Gong-what did Qing and the others say?" ”

Xun Song was the first to speak: "What Changshi said is true, and I hope that Ming Gong will be as good as a stream." The generals also agreed. Pei should roughly estimate that seventy percent of the civil servants and almost all the generals agreed with Pei Wei's words, and the rest bowed their heads, seemingly disapproving, but they also refused to open their mouths to express their opposition.

Tao Kan was the same, with low eyebrows and squinted eyes, without saying a word.

The key is the content of Pei Xu's second letter, which is deliberately spread by Pei Wei, and most people know it. If Shangshu Province can give an explanation in time, and even capture the murderer who can be recognized by Youwei and Chang'an Xingtai, or it is inconvenient to deny, maybe someone will jump out, saying that Da Sima's actions are not in accordance with the system, and he must be cautious. But Xun Di and other bureaucrats only know how to delay and blame, which makes the people on the stage indignant, who dares to jump out to refute Pei Wei's proposal at this time, not only hurts his colleagues, but also may not be able to stand up in theory.

Who is my father? The official to the great Sima, the governor of the capital, the lord is the founding county duke, the bull's ear of the courtiers, really under one person, above ten thousand people, now that the family is dead, the court dares not to go all out to investigate the truth, and give my family a fair name? Shangshu is so, Shangshu is hateful, the Son of Heaven is like this, even the Son of Heaven is also virtuous! What else is there to talk about the laws of the country, the regulations of the imperial court, and the etiquette? What's the courtesy?!

And those generals who don't know the inside story will inevitably think, why are the Son of Heaven and Shangshu perfunctory? Just cut a few creeps, and the interrogation is full of loopholes, so you think you can solve the problem? Then Pei Shenggong's murder may be the conspiracy of the Son of Heaven or Shangshu! The bureaucrats in Shangshu Province still want to climb to the head of Da Sima? Before the thief is extinguished, does the Son of Heaven want to hide all the birds?!

- Actually, this is wronging Sima Ye and Zhu Shangshu. The reason why they failed to give a satisfactory statement to the Western Party in a timely manner was that they couldn't do it, and they really couldn't, where to find such profound political wisdom!

The mentality of more generals in Xingtai is: If the towering giant tree of Da Sima falls, all our dependents will be scattered, and they will be trampled into the mud by someone who originally looked at the glorious future-it is bearable, which is unbearable! Therefore, Da Sima must personally lead the troops to return to Chang'an, and by the way, clear the obstacles for our future!

Pei Gai looked around at everyone, bowed his head slightly, and then raised his right palm, slapped a few cases fiercely, and with a "snap", the noise stopped immediately. Then Pei Gai slowly stood up, raised his hands, hugged a ball in front of his chest, and said loudly: "I have a poem, wait to listen to it-

"My husband hit Hu in the north, but Hu Chen didn't dare to get up. Hu Ren cried under the mountain, and Huma died by the sea. The trilogy is full of princes, and the platform is also vermilion. At that time, how could he be slandered? I wanted to appease the smoke and dust, that is, from the beginning of crossing the river. Thousands of miles of blood. He has been generous in his life and has lived up to his life. Who is under the command of Yunjing, and the sound can be reduced?! ”

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