Chapter 128: Ritual
Shi Guang, who accompanied Rong Hong to Shanghai as an attendant, escorted Rong Hong's first batch of purchased supplies back to the base camp in the deserted village alone. Although it was transported back by the escort team hired by Big Peter, Shi Guang, who was in charge of a matter alone for the first time, was also tired enough. When they were already able to see the village, Shi Guang's convoy met the messenger of the Jiangnan camp, and then both of them were almost out of their minds by the sight of the deserted village in front of them.
More than 2,800 troops from the Guoxing Asuo Department were assembled, and neat phalanxes stood inside and outside the village. It seems that there has just been a snow in the small deserted village, and the sky is covered with white, and even the flag of the army is snow-white. The spirit flags are unfurled, the mourning music is noisy, and the sound of wails and big gongs renders a sad atmosphere, and the sound of gongs breaks people's hearts.
The Qing army still wore moon-white uniforms, but the red tassels on their hats were covered with white cloth or white paper, and their arms were tied with white strips of cloth. From a distance, you can see that a mourning shed has been set up in the open space in the village, and in front of the mourning shed are officers dressed in snow-white filial piety uniforms. Paper money was flying in the sky, and sobs were also drifting in the wind, and the young Shi Guang only knew that the base camp was holding a funeral, and he was still sad, and he didn't know which comrade-in-arms was unfortunately martyred. And Cai Qirong, the senior messenger of the Jiangnan camp, felt that his fingers were already a little cold.
The current situation of the Guoxing Asuo Department should be called the three armies hanging filial piety, unless the Son of Heaven dies or the main general dies, where will there be such a scene. Emperor Xianfeng must have drunk porridge in Beijing! The only possibility is that the main general will be killed. In more than half a year, Guo Xing'a has become the first fierce general of the Jiangnan camp, which can be called the signboard of the Jiangnan camp. Cai Qirong came with the edict of Beijing to reward and transfer Guo Xing'a, and Guo Xing'a died suddenly at this time, but it was too unexpected. Moreover, as the most brilliant young general in Jiangnan in the past six months, Guo Xing'a is now also very famous, and his sudden death has a great impact on the morale of the army.
"Damn, what a bunch of people! If the Lord doesn't report the death of the Lord in a hurry, how can he start the funeral first. Cai Qirong scolded Guo Xing'a's subordinates for messing around, and hurriedly urged Ma into the village to check the situation.
Although he was doing a lot of business, how could there be any negligence in the defense of the Guoxing'a base camp, and Cai Qirong was stopped by the sentry before he arrived at the entrance of the village. It was another report of identity, and another pass on the inside, and after tossing for a while, Cai Qirong was admitted to the village, but Cai Qirong never expected that it was Guo Xing'a, who was dressed in linen and filial piety, who greeted him at the entrance of the village.
"Your Excellency, which one of them died?" After the two sides greeted each other, Cai Qirong couldn't wait to ask. Since Guoxing'a is fine, who will have a funeral of this scale?
"General Cai misunderstood, there are no important generals in our department who died in battle." Goxinga explained.
"Huh?" Cai Qirong was stunned for a while, but he also found that Bo Ritu, Ji Ying, Sai Shang'a and other high-ranking people under Guoxing'a were there, and although these people were wearing heavy filial piety, their faces were beaming.
"Hahaha! General Cai, our unit set out to attack Wuhu the day before yesterday, attacked Chizhou Prefecture, an important town of the Taiping Army, and many county seats, and encountered our great enemy Huang Daping on the way back to the division. Lord Zuo Ling has avenged his father and personally killed Huang Daping, our enemy. Saishana proudly introduced to Cai Qirong.
"Then this is ......" Cai Qirong pointed to the spirit shed and was a little puzzled, since he had won a big battle, he should celebrate it! You are the spirit shed again, and you are wearing filial piety, what are you doing like the Lord will die?
"We are preparing to use Huang Daping's head to commemorate the first leader Hui Yanggong, as well as the soldiers who died before, and after the ceremony is over, General Cai will also put incense on the pillar!" Sezanne looked as if he was going to marry his daughter-in-law.
"Hui Yang Gong is loyal to the country, he is really a model for my generation, and he should be!" Since it was a false alarm, Cai Qirong naturally stopped panicking. Hui Yang is the first leader, and he can be regarded as the chief general of the Guoxing Asuo, so it is reasonable for these three armies to be filial piety.
"The auspicious time is coming, please General Cai to come in to watch the ceremony!" Doing such a big white thing finally had a filial piety, and everyone happily let Cai Qirong into the village.
After getting closer, Cai Qirong felt that the spirit shed built by Guo Xing'a and others was very strange, there was neither a spiritual position nor a coffin in it, but a few levels of cases were set up like a shrine. The couplet written by Fengsheng Ah is okay, hundreds of millions of "Hundred Battles Medal Names Remain in History", the next couplet "Thousand Autumn Wu Lie Ze Commoners", and the banner "Righteous Martyrs Through the Ages".
"Heroic Spirit, please!" The emcee opened the entire memorial with a sound of Xiande.
Guo Xing'a and other officers knelt down in front of the mourning tent, and all the officers and soldiers also began to salute with guns. Cai Qirong, who was watching the ceremony, and several Goshha around him all had seats, and when the funeral began, Cai Qirong was of course embarrassed to sit and hurriedly got up to mourn in silence. The guard platoon, who was Guoxing's personal domestic slave, wore heavy filial piety and began to walk with strange steps not far away. This pace is very strange, Cai Qirong has never seen it, it seems that they are walking on the ground, but the neat pace is accompanied by mourning, which makes people feel extra solemn. Guo Xing'a watched a Hong Kong movie and learned the steps of the Hong Kong police at the funeral, and Cai Qirong couldn't recognize it even if he wanted to break his head. But what surprised Cai Qirong the most was not the way the soldier walked, but what the soldier had in his hands. These soldiers did not carry the coffin out, but carried the urn.
Guoxing, who returned triumphantly, ordered all the departments to start packing up their things as soon as he returned, and as soon as the punishment of the imperial court came, he would prepare to move immediately. Grain, grass, gold and silver, tools, materials, etc., there are too many things in a dozen big stalls in Guoxing's house, and it is impossible not to prepare in advance. And even if the so-called punishment is something out of nowhere, Guo Xing'a has to prepare, and in a few months, Li Xiucheng will sweep the southeast, and Guo Xing'a still has to move.
However, on the deployment of vehicles, Cezanne and the others had a disagreement. He needed four complete four-wheeled carriages, and he couldn't put anything else on the cart, so Xiande, who was not enough to use the carts, was of course embarrassed, and finally had to report to Guoxinga to solve it. Guo Xing'a, who was eager to move all the underground fortifications, was reluctant to throw anything, so he came up and persuaded Saishan'a to give in and carpool his things with others. Saishana got angry on the spot, and almost beat Guo Xing'a, because he was carrying four coffins, and the people in the coffins were Guo Xing'a's cheap Lao Tzu and three cheap brothers.
"Let's do it according to our old Manchurian customs!" Guoxinga is still reluctant to go to the place, but the old custom of cremation of the Manchus can still solve the contradictions.
So what Cai Qirong saw today was already a white ash altar. Cai Qirong had also heard that the Manchurians had the old custom of cremation, but it was the yellow calendar before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, and he didn't expect that Guoxinga would still come like this today. However, dealing with his father's body like this is a family affair of the leader, where would Cai Qirong intervene in this.
Cai Qirong lowered his head again and mourned in silence for a while, but when he looked up again, he felt even more wrong. Hui Yang plus his three sons made a total of four people, but these officers and soldiers of Fuling moved out more than 100 urns. Cai Qirong was a little confused, your family has refined relics, and you can't use so many ashes! Loyal ministers and righteous men have copper skin and iron bones, but they can't be burned out more than others!
"Please lead the dead and the dead in braids!" It wasn't until Xiande shouted out this voice that Cai Qirong remembered that this memorial also included all the dead soldiers of Guoxing's department.
The soldiers of Fuling walked again, this time with braids, and after entering the mourning shed, they were all coiled on the urn according to their names. Guoxing's department all cut braids, and wanted the braids to return to their hometown with their souls, Cai Qirong had known about this for a long time, so he didn't think it was different. However, the way this columbarium is placed is very problematic, although the ashes of Hui Yang and his three sons are placed on the highest, but they are actually in the same column as the soldiers, which is too messy. An officer is an officer, and if he is dead, he is an official, and if he is dead, he is also a soldier, and if he dies, how can officers and soldiers be in the same ranks.
A soldier held a tray and placed Huang Daping's head on the offering table in front of the urn, and Guo Xing'a led all the officers to bow to all the altars. Cai Qirong, who was watching on the side, was uncomfortable for a while, if it was just the ashes altar of Huiyang and Brother Guoxing, there would be no problem for Guoxing A to bow down. But there are more than 100 ordinary soldiers' ashes altars in the mourning shed, although the deceased is large, but the Guoxing Atang Sanpin member kowtows to the dead soldiers, which is really a bit too much.
"Amma, eldest brother, third brother, fourth brother, all the brothers who have given their lives! Since we came to Jiangnan, Huang Daping, who has been fighting with us, has died, and your revenge is gone! After prostration, Goxinga did not have a sacrifice, but began to speak unscripted, both to the dead and to the living.
"Amma, don't worry! Our leader is very good, and the court has rewarded us many times! Guo Xing'a didn't have any impression of Hui Yang, so this sentence was a bit dry.
"Old Leader, don't worry! The fifth master is good, everything is fine! The head of the great enemy is cut off by the fifth master himself to pay tribute to you, you have a spirit in the sky, take a look! The old men behind Guoxinga, Saishan, Xiande, and Guiwu cried and cried, all of them burst into tears, and kept pounding the place with their hands. The funeral finally has a bit of a funeral appearance, but compared with several subordinates, it is said that Guoxing is not filial piety.
"Brothers, don't worry! The sisters in the family, and a few nephews, the younger brother will take care of them! "Manchu people don't have a sister-in-law, and sister-in-law is also called sister. Guo Xing's sentence is even drier than the previous one, he has no feelings for these close relatives at all, so much that he admires their ability to get married and have children, all three of them are married and have sons. After saying this, Goxinga paused for a moment to make sure that Saishana and they didn't howl any more, and then continued.
"Be of good cheer, brethren! Your wives and children, I am a good one. I swear to heaven that as long as my house of Yehnara does not die for a day, and my people have a bite to eat, they will have theirs. I will arrange for someone to teach the children to learn literature and martial arts, and they will all have a good future in the future. "The bannermen who died in the war have families in Gu'an, and of course Guoxinga has to take care of these martyrs. People who also have families are also warm in their hearts when they listen to Guoxinga's oath.
"There are also some brothers who were singles when they followed me Guoxinga, and I couldn't tell you about my daughter-in-law, I'm sorry for you. Be at ease! When the war is over in the future, I will build you a splendid temple, and as long as my Yehnara family does not die for a day, I will never let you lack incense to worship! "Now most of the bachelors are also warm, even if they die in battle, Lao Tzu can have a temple to worship, and he will be a god! And when he said this, Guo Xing'a was also a little choked, and he knew many people among the soldiers who died.
"Amma, brothers, brothers! Go all the way! Guo Xing'a picked up a big bowl full of wine, Cai Qirong thought that Guo Xing'a was going to do it! As a result, he shouted "Go all the way!" "Guoxing Ah Lian fell with a bowl of wine.
"Ready, put!" Following the command of the honor guard, the various phalanxes raised their rifles in unison and pulled the trigger at the same time.
"What a loud noise!" Cai Qirong was startled by the gunfire in the first row, and secretly slandered in his heart.
"Ready, put!" When Cai Qirong was still slandering, the artillerymen fired a 32-round salute.
"With such a funeral, you can close your eyes when you die!" Shi Guang's convoy of escorted goods could only wait at the entrance of the village for the end of the memorial, and a porter said enviously in the noise of cannons.