In the fourteenth year of the Han Dynasty, the winter and October were Yuanshuo.

Almost at the same time as piles of bonfires were lit in Changle Palace, a late autumn rain made Chang'an, which was already shrouded in silence, even more desolate.

Today, it is the first year of the year, the great court, and the new year;

Whether it is the people, or the meritorious princes and courtiers who participated in this year's first court meeting, they should all bring the joy of the New Year.

However, the death of the prime minister and prince Marquis Xiao He heralded the complete farewell of the Han family to an era, and at the same time, the entire Chang'an was pulled into a mood called 'mourning'.

Xiao He died, and there was a light rain, Liu Yingzi lost his nature, so he simply ordered: simplify the Great Dynasty Ceremony as much as possible, and remove all activities that need to be carried out outside the palace.

Therefore, it was supposed to start before dawn and end at noon, so the courtiers and officials followed Liu Ying to the southern suburbs of Chang'an to worship the Taimiao, Gaomiao, and Sheji respectively;

After that, the planned procedures such as ploughing, courtesy, and worship to the gods were omitted, and the process of the great court ceremony directly fast-forwarded to the stage of the Yuanshuo Dynasty in the palace of the princes and ministers.

Even so, the first issue of the Yuan Shuo Dynasty still failed to proceed as originally planned······

"I am very sad for the death of the master."

"Zongzheng and Fengchang have a family to go to the Marquis Mansion and mourn on my behalf;"

"Give the Taishi a yellow intestine inscription, a golden jade clothes, and all kinds of dark lamps and dead vessels, and Xu Taishi will bury them with the rites of the princes."

"In addition, the imperial historian will order Guanzhong on behalf of the prime minister: the whole country will mourn!"

Hearing Liu Ying's words, the courtiers and officials in the palace all raised their heads in surprise, but saw Lu Pheasant on the side nodding silently, and then took over the conversation softly.

"Taishi Xiao is the founding father of the Han Dynasty, and he is the 'first marquis of the Han Dynasty' appointed by Emperor Taizu Gao, and he should be the first merit of the Han Dynasty."

"When he was alive, he was the emperor's teacher; That is, if he is the emperor, he is a minister of my Liu family······"

As he spoke, Lu Pheasant nodded to Liu Ying with a sad face, and then said: "That is, if the emperor wants to mourn the whole country, he will be ordered by Mrs. Cao: the emperor is sad and can't help himself, so the whole country will mourn for three days; ”

"During the period of national mourning, all Han people are not allowed to marry, have fun, hold banquets, drink alcohol, and eat meat."

"When the country is mourned, everything will be as it ······"

Seeing that the Queen Mother all stood up and expressed her support for Liu Ying's move of 'mourning the whole country', the courtiers and officials had no choice but to bow in unison to express their acceptance.

After saluting, hundreds of people in the hall all lowered their heads, secretly envious of Xiao He's 'posthumous name'.

Not to mention that in the past few years, the Queen Mother Lu Pheasant and the Son of Heaven Liu Ying have expressed high praise in public more than once that 'Xiao He, Liu's retainers are also', and they also temporarily put aside the three-piece set of Xiao He's praise and worship, not entering the court, and going to the palace with swords;

The 'national funeral' alone is enough to make Xiao He's personal honor reach the peak and ensure that 'there will be no one afterward'!

- Except for Liu Ying today, as well as the former emperor Liu Bang, the king of the future, who dares to mourn the whole country for the death of his subordinates?!

And which courtier can afford a state funeral that is theoretically only used when the queen, emperor, queen mother, and emperor dies to be eligible for 'enjoyment'?

Even if Liu Ying only gave Xiao He an extremely low-profile version of the 'National Funeral Three-Day Experience Coupon', it would definitely be the pinnacle of honor for the courtiers, and it would even be far beyond the range of honors that the ministers could obtain!

As for the latecomers, don't think about the national funeral, and there is a high probability that there will not be a second person like the 'head of the ancient three princes' like Taishi; it is more practical to think about how to strive for the three-piece set of not entering the court, praising and worshipping the unknown, and going to the palace with a sword.

Especially Liu Yingfangcai, the sentence 'Zongzheng and Fengchang have a prince to go to the Marquis Mansion and mourn on behalf of me', which made everyone in the palace completely believe: Before today, Xiao He was only one, and in the future, it is absolutely impossible to have a second foreign minister who can be compared with Xiao He.

The reason is very simple: according to the etiquette system, when a courtier dies, the only one who can come to the door to mourn for the Son of Heaven is Fengchang.

After all, the Son of Heaven, as the lord of the world, naturally did not come to the door in person to mourn for the dead ministers;

But if you don't send someone to express it, it will be a bit 'mean'.

But this time it was different: in order to mourn Xiao He, Liu Ying sent Zongzheng in addition to Fengchang.

As we all know: Zongzheng, theoretically Han Jiuqing, in fact, is the eldest patriarch of the Liu clan, or the acting patriarch (the actual patriarch is the emperor).

And Liu Ying sent Zongzheng and Fengchang together to mourn Xiao He for himself, which can only show one thing.

——In the past few years, the Queen Mother Lu Pheasant, the Son of Heaven Liu Ying's mother and son have been talking about 'Xiao He is a retainer' all day long, not for fun!

"So ······"

Thinking to themselves, everyone involuntarily turned their heads sideways, looking for the unfamiliar figure in the crowd around them.

And on the royal steps, seeing that the courtiers and hundreds of officials were looking left and right without hesitation, looking for the heir of Xiao He's political legacy: Xiao Lu, the prince of the Marquis, Liu Ying's heart couldn't help but feel a touch of bitterness.

"O Marquis······"

"Hou Hou ·········"

"Why didn't you live a few more years?"

"Why don't I have a second marquis?"

Recalling last night, Xiao He stared at himself on his deathbed, saying the sentence 'After I die, Xiao will never set foot in Chang'an', Liu Ying surged with endless reverence for Xiao He.

It can be said that blessing the descendants and sheltering future generations is the most common instinct of the Chinese nation;

And under this instinct, for the sake of the country and the nation, it is extremely commendable to give up the privilege of 'blessing future generations'.

It is true that Liu Ying, as the Son of Heaven, could not really drive all those surnamed Xiao out of Chang'an and drive them to the feudal country far away in Kanto, as Xiao He entrusted before his death;

But at least in the future, when the important post of the minister of the DPRK and the Central Government becomes vacant, Liu Ying does not need to rack her brains anymore to think about how to veto a spare candidate who is useless, but the resume reads 'The eldest son of Xiao He, the late marquis of Yuwen, the late prince and prime minister, and the marquis of the world'.

Of course, if one day in the future, there is a handsome man who can take on a great responsibility, Liu Yingzi will not be stingy with Jiuqing, and even the position of the third duke, so as to be virtuous.

But the memory of his previous life repeatedly reminded Liu Ying at this moment: after Xiao He's death, within three generations of the Marquis family, there were no more descendants who could be reused.

In the original history, it was not until more than 100 years later that Xiao Wangzhi, the seventh grandson of Xiao He, served as Guangluxun in the Ping Dynasty, and finally let the Marquis family, which had been absent from the political center of the Han Dynasty for a long time, once again return to the ranks of the ministers of the Chang'an court······

"The prince died, I mourned the country for three days, and the son of the world mourned for seven days, and the princes should discuss together for a few days to determine the merits and demerits of the Taishi's death, and to cover the coffin."

"Wait for the funeral of the Taishi, and there will always be a Si to cast the main card of the Taishi."

"——Taishi has worked hard all his life, has made outstanding achievements, and has done his best for my Hanzuo, and deserves to enjoy the high temple ······"

As Liu Ying threw out a bombshell again, the courtiers and officials gave up their orders with a numb expression, and they didn't seem surprised by Liu Ying's words.

——Compared with the three privileges of praising and worshipping the name, not entering the court, and going to the temple with a sword, as well as the identity of the 'Liu family' and the glory of the national mourning, it seems that the Taimiao is the most common one in this series of honors······

At this point, Xiao He's aftermath can be regarded as being properly arranged.

This is followed by a topic that will inevitably arise.

"Your Majesty."

After a short silence, he saw the tomb of the Inner History King standing and bowed his hand to Liu Ying.

And at the moment when Wang Ling stood up, everyone in the Changxin Palace, including Liu Ying, the Son of Heaven, and Lu Pheasant, the Empress Dowager, had already expected what would happen next.

"The minister has heard that the country cannot be without a king for a day, and the family cannot be without an owner for a day."

"Today, the Taishi, Your Majesty's sorrow, the ministers dare not say what the Taishi is wrong;"

"However, when the Taishi was still alive, he used to be the prime minister, and now the Taishi is the prime minister, and the prime minister's mansion has no leader, and all kinds of government decrees cannot be carried out smoothly······"

With a solemn expression, he said these words that were not unexpected by anyone, and saw Wang Ling solemnly tidy up the crown belt, and then solemnly bowed to Liu Ying and Lu Pheasant on the royal steps.

"Therefore, the tomb of the Marquis of Anguo in the internal history, a hundred worships on death, in order to advise the Queen Mother and Your Majesty: among the old ministers of the court, choose the best choice, in order to succeed the prime minister, the prime minister's affairs, and make the world peaceful······"

With that, Wang Ling slowly bent down and lightly pressed his forehead against the wooden floor.

Regarding Wang Ling's 'proposal', Liu Yingzi was also noncommittal.

As for Wang Ling's 'choose a suitable person to be the prime minister', Liu Ying didn't listen to a word.

- Is there a choice?

"What An Guohou said is very true."

Secretly slandered, said such a scene, and saw Liu Ying turn sideways, a little pair with his mother Lu Pheasant, and then turned around again, looking at the hundreds of officials and courtiers in the palace.

"Master Tai, I am very sad, but as the internal history says: the country cannot be without a king for a day, the family cannot be without an owner for a day, and the court cannot be without a face for a day."

"However, when it comes to succeeding the Taishi, in order to be the prime minister, when Emperor Taizu Gao was still alive, he had an instruct······"

After saying that, Liu Ying turned sideways, bowed respectfully to her mother Lu Pheasant, and retreated to the royal couch slightly.

Seeing Liu Ying's posture, Lu Pheasant also nodded to Liu Ying with a kind face, and then got up from the royal couch.

"When Emperor Taizu Gao was seriously ill and was about to collapse, I asked him on the side of the sickbed."

"At that time, the Marquis of Pingyang and the Marquis of An Guo also stood beside them."

As he spoke, Lu Pheasant did not forget to nod to Cao Shen and Wang Ling respectively before continuing: "I asked: After Xiao He, who can succeed him as the Han Minister?" ”

"Emperor Taizu Gao replied: After the Marquis, the Marquis of Pingyang can succeed as the prime minister;"

"After the Marquis of Pingyang, the Marquis of Anguo can be the prime minister, and the Marquis of Qu Rebellion, Chen Ping, will be on the side to jointly govern the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"Because of this, when Emperor Taizu Gao was about to die, he had a will: what is the prince of the prime minister, the marquis of Pingyang, the prince of the imperial history, and the prince of the prince of Anguo, each of whom is the ······ of the prince."

With the tone of reminiscing about the past, he said the selection arrangement of the former emperor Liu Bang about the 'next few Han ministers', and Lu Pheasant gently sat back on the royal couch and nodded to Liu Ying on the side.

saw Liu Ying bow and salute, and then returned to the royal couch, looking at the hundreds of officials and courtiers in the hall with an indifferent expression.

"In the position of prime minister, Emperor Taizu Gao has already had an edict, and as the son of Emperor Taizu Gao, I have not violated the principle of disobeying the emperor's father."

"That is, Emperor Taizu Gao, with the imperial historian Pingyang Marquis Cao Shen as the prime minister, then wrote the internal history Bu Zhengwen in Guanzhong to ask the local counties."

"Within thirty years, if no one can say Cao Shen's ability and embarrass the burden of the Han Minister, then the Queen Mother will know about this matter."

After that, Liu Ying also sat back on the royal couch, followed her mother's appearance, and put on a posture of 'sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai'.

As for Liu Ying's words, the courtiers and officials in the palace were unsurprisingly surrendered their hands again, indicating that they received the order.

Fang Cai's scene, if people who don't know about it see it, they may really think that Cao Shen as Xiao He's successor may still be in the 'consideration' stage.

But in fact, not to mention the Chang'an court, even the people near Chang'an have already heard about this matter.

——Nearly two years have passed since Cao Shen stepped down from the post of Qi Xiang and returned to Chang'an as the imperial historian.

In the past two years, Cao Shen's attention has hardly been focused on the work of the Imperial Doctor's subordinate government.

The reason is very simple: Cao Shen returned to Chang'an, not to be a doctor of imperial history at all, but from the day he stepped down as Qi Xiang two years ago, he had already shouldered the task of 'preparing to take over Xiao He'.

After nearly two years of handover, even if Cao Shen has not officially become the prime minister, in fact, he is only one name and procedure away.

Therefore, Liu Ying's seemingly inexplicable words just now are actually just the inherent political procedures before the prime minister's visit.

Including 'publicizing it in Guanzhong for a month to see if anyone opposes Cao Shen as prime minister', it is also a political gesture made out of the consideration of 'people's cooking'.

In short, on the surface, what Liu Ying said was 'to investigate whether Cao Shen can be the prime minister', but in fact, the political process of worshipping the prime minister has been started.

Cao Shen's official succession as prime minister is a certainty, and the time is not far off.

Xiao He's funeral arrangements were completed, and Cao Shen's succession to the prime minister was finalized, and the sun was close to midnight (9 o'clock), and the first topic in the original plan finally appeared on the first day of the year.

"Imperial Doctor Pingyang Marquis Ginseng, start Your Majesty."

"At the time of the first year of the year, His Majesty first sacrificed to the Taimiao and Gao Temple to be full of filial piety, and then he cultivated the fields in Sheji to persuade the people of the world to cultivate."

"However, it should be done in the silkworm ceremony of Weiyang, but there is no owner in the bitter pepper house, and there is no way to make the trip······"

Saying that, Cao Shen also learned from Wang Ling's previous appearance, solemnly tidied up his clothes, and then solemnly knelt on the ground and bowed.

"The minister tastes and hears: the farmer is the foundation of the country; Sericulture, Ben no Fu also. ”

"And if the people do not farm, they will not be satisfied; If women don't do sericulture, there will be no warm clothes······"

"Therefore, the imperial historian Pingyang Marquis and Chenshen, a hundred worships on death, please play the Queen Mother, Your Majesty:"

"——Only the temple community plan, when the selection of the virtuous lady to the main pepper house, so that the world can get the gift of silkworms, so that farming, sericulture can be complete, and the people have no food and clothing······"

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