"I ask to see the crown prince." Feng Yuanhui met Li Mingrui and unceremoniously made a request.

Li Mingrui became more and more disgusted with this lawsuit. If it weren't for the fact that he really couldn't figure out how to deal with the clan problem, this litigant wouldn't be able to see himself even if he wanted to! At this moment, he dared to see the crown prince with confidence, what a fool's dream!

"I'm going to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, do you think this official will be like this?" Li Mingrui took a moment and looked at Feng Yuanhui coldly.

"Now that the people up and down the Dali Temple can handle the affairs of the clan and the patriarchy, I am afraid that it will be difficult to find the second one except for the humble position." Feng Yuanhui said confidently.

Li Mingrui wanted to lash out at a "joke".

There are fifty or seventy people up and down in Dali Temple, is there no one who has ideas about the clan?

Besides, who doesn't have a clan? It's just that there are big and small.

"Taixu Gong, they are only about twenty years old, do you know what is home? What is a clan? What is Zong? Feng Yuanhui smiled familiarly: "The prince has been an official in the court for decades, how long has it been since he returned to his hometown?" In addition to letters and children, what other impressions do you have in the clan exchanges? The public knows whether your sect is fighting privately with its neighbors this year for the sake of Tanaka's drainage? Do the clan juniors walk around the county with your prayer stickers? ”

Li Mingrui had to admit that staying away from the clan was indeed the problem of the entire bureaucracy.

After entering the city, the power of the clan was weakened a lot. Although many people will return to their hometowns to worship their ancestors during the New Year's holidays, if it is just a small people, the clan will not care too much, and the two are more like relatives, each doing their best.

As for the public family members who are officials and officials in the city, they are the umbrella for the clan and the god of wealth, who only take care of the clan and not be oppressed by the powerful. Donate money and materials to help the public welfare of the family: such as building ancestral halls, expanding sacrificial fields, and establishing sectarian schools.

The clan only had great influence on the people who still lived in the countryside, and it was like the imperial court. And because of the tradition of shameful litigation in China, the clan itself has the role of mediating disputes and even adjudicating trials. In many places in the south where transportation is difficult, lynchings are even used.

Some people may think that such a clan wants him to be of any use?

It can be roughly said from two aspects: virtual and real.

There is a premise on the virtual side. It is to know what the clan is.

The clan of the ancestors is called the clan!

Everyone has in their hearts the fear and longing for the world of life after birth.

Because of this fear and longing, the Chinese ancestors gave rise to ancestor worship: after death, their gods were put into the ancestral hall and accepted the incense sacrifices of their descendants, so that they could completely complete the transformation from humans to gods and become the "ancestral spirits" who sheltered their descendants. As long as the incense is endless, the gods of nature are not ambiguous. And the children and grandchildren are their own bloodline, so although they are still alive, they are still alive. If you think about it this way, you can maximize "happy life without bad death".

So. Ancestor worship is the spiritual sustenance of the Chinese ancestors and the belief of the Chinese people (Note 1).

In another time and space, some people believe that there is no faith in China, so they worship Buddha and ghosts. In fact, it's just the tooth wisdom of Matteo Ricci. After Matteo Ricci entered the Ming Dynasty, he proposed that ancestor worship in China was not a religion and that it was to make room for Christ Jesus, but in fact it was not recognized by the mainstream of the Society of Jesus (Note 2). If you think about it, Matteo Ricci is obviously more cunning.

On the practical side: the clan is a military decision-making body in private fights.

Huaxia's private fight is not a duel with the Tessie Knights. It's not a two-by-two. Rather, it is a small war with the family as a unit and the tools of production as weapons. At that time, Qi Jiguang thought that the Zhejiang soldiers were unusable. I wanted to choose the northern soldiers, but later saw the private fight of the Yiwu miners, completely changed the concept, took the Yiwu heroes as soldiers, and finally created a strong army that shook the past and the present.

However, it is said that there are many reasons for private fighting, and the most common one is the fight for water.

Because the need for water in the fields is enormous. If the water flows through the channel through which the water is opened, and the canal water is infiltrated, the crops will naturally grow well. But there was too much water in front of them, and there was no water in the fields at the far end of the canal. At this time, each village can only agree on the time of water release, and try to let the canal irrigate as much land as possible.

This gentleman's agreement is quickly broken by the "smart people" of the village: secretly digging a canal at night. Irrigate your own acres.

So "guarding the water" came into being.

If someone steals and someone guards, there will inevitably be a conflict, and soon there will be a private fight (Note 3).

The water network in the south is dense, and there is no need to fight for water, but there will be competition for mineral veins, forests, and even boundary markers in the fields may be secretly moved.

At this time, it shows the importance of the clan, if the clan is weak, it will inevitably be plundered and bullied by the strong clan. In order to avoid this situation, on the one hand, it is necessary to unite and prepare for the armed forces, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to support as many scholars as possible with the strength of the clan, so as to become officials and ensure the strong position of the clan.

Therefore, the clan infighting in the novel is extremely rare in reality, because most clans are facing the situation of "strong enemies around", always facing the encroachment of different surnames, and do not have the mental strength to fight.

This pattern has continued until 400 years later, and after various movements, there are still places where villages support a college student, which can be said to be in the same line.

"The lowly post has been in the countryside all the year round, and later he served as a referee in the county, fighting for land and water, and I am afraid that there will be no less than 100 cases." Feng Yuanhui raised his head and said: "If the Imperial Captain doesn't plan to make His Highness wait for a long time, I'm afraid I can only recommend the humble position." ”

"Your Highness can afford to wait," Li Mingrui said quietly, "This official can also afford to wait." ”

……

"Do you want to go for a walk together?" Zhu Cihong put down his chopsticks, washed his hands, wiped his face, and asked the silent crown princess Duan on the side.

Duan ate very little at night, and he was already full. Seeing that the crown prince had finished eating, she washed her hands and withdrew from the table. Hearing her husband's invitation, Duan was a little surprised: "Don't you have to be busy with political affairs tonight?" ”

"Hmm." Zhu Cihong nodded in response.

There were originally arrangements for tonight, but before dinner, Zhu Cihong suddenly Lu Suyao canceled all arrangements for tonight and tomorrow, and all matters were postponed. This kind of thing is extremely rare, if not unprecedented. When a person who takes pleasure in his work suddenly stops, everyone wonders if something has happened.

Lu Suyao even had to enter the palace to tell the middle palace lady so as not to be caught off guard if something went wrong.

The queen was obviously mentally prepared and did not disturb her son. did not let go of this suspicious clue - she sent the imperial doctor to stand by outside the Zhong Cui Palace, ready to rescue at any time.

Zhu Cihong was really stumped this time.

If it was in his previous life, he would find an ancient temple deep in the mountains and watch the clouds surge for two days...... Of course, this is only three or five times in his decades-long career.

Now he thinks of a walk.

The reason why I invited this young newlywed wife, who almost has a generation gap, is because of my loneliness.

Faced with the question of "clan". Zhu Cihong is the loneliest person in the whole world.

All opinions that are critical of the clan are all after May Fourth, and in this era, no matter who you ask, you will not say that the clan has any problems.

Duke Zhou can enjoy such a high status precisely because he sorted out the clan relationship and formulated a mediation between the clan and the family, the clan and the clan, and the clan and the clan. Rules between clans – etiquette. From that time on, Huaxia officially entered the stage of patriarchal society, and took off the last vestige of the tribal system.

Since then, except for a special historical period, any child who sees his father and mother, as well as his parents, brothers and sisters, must show politeness and courtesy, which is the most direct patriarchal social manifestation.

In this case, Zhu Cihong knew that the clan was a stumbling block to social reform. I can't afford to challenge it alone. Even just fantasizing is a kind of quixotic absurdity.

"Master seems to have something on his mind." Duan carefully carried the lantern. Walking beside Zhu Cihong through the cloak, a white mist erupted as soon as he opened his mouth.

After the winter solstice, it's as cold as a day, and few people are willing to hang out these days.

"Xiaoqian, do you worship your ancestors?" Zhu Cihong asked suddenly.

Duan was slightly stunned, and blurted out: "As long as it is not broken, how can there be people in the world who do not worship their ancestors?" ”

"Can you remember the names of your ancestors?" Zhu Cihong asked again.

The Duan clan became more and more unable to understand the meaning of the crown prince. Secret Dao: This young master thinks that only the heavenly family in the world remembers his ancestors? Or do you look down on me from a small family?

"My family started with Emperor Taizu Gao's conquest, and from that generation of ancestors upwards can still be traced up to five generations." Duan was a little angry, and his tone hardened.

Zhu Cihong didn't pay attention at first, and suddenly reacted after taking two steps, this is the crown princess saying that she is a generation higher than the ancestors that the Zhu family can catch.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang can only chase the fourth ancestor. Anything further up is already broken.

"Do you think the clan is of any use to you?" Zhu Cihong asked again.

Duan was almost fainting, why did he suddenly ask all the strange questions? Is this an examination school? Duan lowered his head and glanced at the cloak that was slightly kicked by himself, and said, "If there is no ancestor, where did I come from?" ”

"No, I mean, what has the clan done to you since you were born?"

- Of course, this impact is very great, if there is no help from a few uncles in the clan, how can my father be given the position of Changle Teacher? If they weren't of the same clan, how would those uncles help?

Duan's knew that he shouldn't say this, otherwise he would be denying his father's talent.

Zhu Cihong took a deep breath, didn't wait for an answer, and walked forward. The Duan clan trotted up to keep up, vaguely feeling that the crown prince's question tonight was very meaningful, but he didn't know what the point of the road was.

"Don't say these words, especially don't say them to the royal father and the imperial mother." Zhu Cihong stopped, took a look, and said, "You go back first, I have something to do." ”

Duan hesitated and slowed down, but saw Zhu Cihong walking faster and faster, and almost trotted up at the end. She suddenly felt that her nose was sour, but she didn't know where the bitterness in her heart came from.

"Niangniang, let's go back first, be careful of freezing." The female official who served closely stepped forward to mix with Duan's and persuaded softly.

Duan refused slightly, stood firmly, looked at the direction in which the crown prince was running, and spit out a cloud of white mist: "Go to Kunning Palace." (To be continued......)

PS: I have to say a few more words this time, and I can't just ask for a monthly pass and a recommendation ticket.

In fact, this matter is more complicated, I didn't think to write so much about the clan problem in the original outline, it was just a vulgar routine of throwing out problems and solving problems. I didn't expect that when I first started, I found that the current readers and friends are already very unfamiliar with the clan, so I have to spend a little more pen and ink to write a little more thoroughly, otherwise it is estimated that many people will not be able to understand the protagonist's approach. Even if it's a bit boring to read, please forgive me.

Note 1: The belief of Chinese civilization is not only ancestor worship, but also the worship of natural spirituality in Chu and the worship of stars in Shu are the sources of belief in Chinese civilization. Since this is a novel, it will not be expanded, but ancestor worship is mainstream, which is understandable. The worship of natural spirits was mostly reduced to witchcraft beliefs, while the cult of the stars was absorbed by Taoism.

Note 2: After Matteo Ricci's death, Long Huamin changed Ricci's law and forbade ancestor worship, so there was a Nanjing teaching plan.

Note 3: Last month, Xiaotang also went to the countryside to see "Shoushui", although there was no fight, but it was also very exciting.