Drinking wine and being forgiving to the gentleman, human feelings are overturned like waves.

Prime Minister Bai knew that he was still pressing the sword, and Zhu Men Xianda smiled and played the crown.

The grass is all wet by drizzle, and the flowers and branches are about to move in the spring breeze.

Why do you ask about the clouds in the world, it is better to lie down and eat.

The night was too long.

In just a few hours, the Han Empire ushered in an unprecedented dilemma. At this time, a bunch of questions were placed in front of Wang Zhengjun and the ministers to be solved urgently: should the festival after sunrise be held normally? If it is held normally, then when will the death of His Majesty the Emperor be announced, and when will the state funeral be held. Who will sacrifice to heaven and earth instead of the emperor at the ceremony? If it is not held, how will we deal with the delegations of various countries and representatives of the northern nomadic forces who have gathered in Chang'an a few days ago?

After a night's time, a solution was finally discussed, and the ceremony continued, with the Emperor Mang of Zaiheng holding the ceremony of sacrificing to the heavens. After the ceremony, the death of Emperor Ping was announced, the whole country mourned, and a new monarch was enthroned, and the world was amnesty.

As the saying goes, people are shameless and invincible in the world, and this sentence is even more true for Wang Mang, who is 54 years old. Everyone heard the emperor's deathbed accusations, and appointed Wang Mang, Kong Guang, Liu Xin, and Kuang Xian as auxiliary ministers, but when discussing the selection of the new monarch, two distinct factions were formed, one was Wang Mang and Liu Xin, who advocated the establishment of the great-grandson of Liu Huan, the king of Chu filial piety, and the two-year-old baby was the crown prince, and the other faction was Kuang Xian, who advocated the establishment of Liu Chengcheng, the king of Zhongshan, as the emperor, and left Kong Guang in the middle of the dilemma.

Seeing Kong Guang's indecisiveness, Kuang Xian couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and couldn't help but urge loudly: "Why is Da Situ so delayed? When Emperor Xiaomourn died, it was you who advocated the establishment of King Zhongshan as the emperor, and warned everyone with the words of "Shangshu", saying that the king of Shang had no children, and his brothers and brothers succeeded each other. Why are you so indecisive today? And the great-grandson of King Chu Xiao is only two years old, what Zai Heng thinks in his heart, don't you know! ”

Wang Shun took a step forward: "Kuang Taichang, don't think that Your Majesty can act arbitrarily by appointing you as an auxiliary minister on his deathbed, don't forget, in this palace, any person who is brought out is much higher than your official rank." Moreover, Emperor Xiaocheng once said: King Zhongshan ascended the throne, what identity will he be worthy of the Taimiao! Now that the bones of the first emperor are not cold, you are making waves like this, what do you want! Besides, Da Situ is an old minister of the three dynasties, with high morality and respect, and everything he chooses is for the sake of the country. ”

Kong Guang's old face froze suddenly. Wang Shun was right. When Emperor Cheng of Han was alive, he had no heirs. Once discussed with several ministers about the establishment of the prince, Kong Guang, who was the imperial historian at the time, proposed to set up Liu Xing, the king of Zhongshan, as the crown prince, which caused Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty to be unhappy, and later Emperor Cheng set up Liu Xin, the king of Tao, as the prince, Liu Xin also deliberately neglected himself for a lot of time because of this matter after ascending the throne, and now Wang Shun recalls the old matter, this result is not obvious?

Thinking of this, Kong Guang also had to say: "The Empress Dowager, the old minister thinks that the words of the Taibao are reasonable. In the past, Emperor Xiaocheng had stated this matter, and now that the past has reappeared, the old minister is willing to seconded Zai Heng's proposal, taking the great-grandson of King Xiao of Chu as the crown prince, and asking the Empress Dowager to make a holy judgment. ”

"You! Old Situ, are you worthy of the kindness of the first emperor to your Kong family? Are you worthy of the hereditary title of Praise Chengjun? Are you worthy of the cultivation that the Liejun has cultivated you? Kuang Xian was so angry with Kong Guang that he couldn't speak, at this time, he really wanted to run over and press Kong Guang to the ground and beat him violently, what a weak old thing!

When Kong Guang heard this, he was speechless.

Wang Mang saw that the scene was a little stiff, and came out to play a round and said: "Kuang Taichang, Kong Situ is a veteran of the Three Dynasties, and what he plans must be for the country and the people, so don't speculate too often." Moreover, it is true that the King of Zhongshan is the filial piety of Emperor Chrysostom, but at that time, Taichang was still under the protection of Prime Minister Kuang, and it is not an exaggeration to know about it. ”

Du Wu stood behind and listened to the exchange of words between these actual rulers of the empire, and felt a chill hit him. This imperial court, looking at both rank and seniority, is like himself, a tree without water and roots, it is impossible to bargain at all. Kuang Xian must also understand this truth, without pulling Du Wu out to stand in line, and even if Du Wu came out, his words would not have much effect.

Fortunately, before sunrise, all the processes were finally finalized.

By Zai Heng, An Han Gong, and Sima Wang Mang instead of the emperor to sue heaven and earth, the rest of the civil and military officials participated in the ceremony according to the previous drill, Kuang Xian presided over the whole sacrifice ceremony as the chief priest, Wang Mang read out the sacrifice, and Kong Guang announced the matter of sealing the marquis. The whole ceremony will be cut in half the original time in case of emergencies.

On the eighth day of September in the first five years of Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty (6 AD), in the sixth year of coming to the Han Dynasty, Du Wu, a new young man in the 21st century, finally saw the ancient sacrifice ceremony in the true sense for the first time.

When the time came, the drums rang out. The princes and princes walked slowly to the long music of the bronze bells, and when they arrived at the Ming Hall, the periphery was already full of guests from various countries and representatives of nomadic forces. A large number of Confucian scholars crowded on the outskirts, all eagerly waiting, waiting for this sacred moment to come. You must know that holding a sacrifice ceremony in Mingtang is an honor that only Zhou Tianzi had, and now that hundreds of years have passed, he can finally see this grand event in his lifetime, and the Confucian scholars are going crazy.

At this time, the sound of drums and bells stopped abruptly, and everyone quickly fell silent. Taichang Kuang Xian stood up, stood on the jade steps, and said loudly: "The Great Sacrifice Ceremony, the beginning!" ”

Under the leadership of Wang Mang, Kong Guang and Wang Shun, the ministers entered the Ming Hall in turn on the left and right. Wang Mang first sacrificed heaven and earth for Emperor Ping, and everyone knelt down in turn. Du Wu's expression was a little gloomy. It should have been the 14-year-old boy who was standing in front of him to worship heaven and earth, but he died a few hours ago. Although it was not him who used rabbits to guide poison, he was still heartbroken. Such a studious young man, a promising emperor who might rise to prosper, died in the dark night before the dawn in this way. In fact, Du Wu understands that even if Emperor Ping is in power, he may not really be able to fight Wang Mang and others, but he is young, only fourteen years old, and he has not graduated from junior high school in the 21st century, he has a lot of time to fight wits and courage with the old foxes in the court. It's just that it's useless to say anything now.

Suddenly, Du Wu's cold sweat broke out. When Du Yi sent the rabbits, he obviously said that he bought them for his own big supplement, if it weren't for the fact that Shiso saw them cute, stopped them from moving, and cared about himself with the pipa, he would definitely make more delicious food for himself to eat, and then the time would ......

Thinking of this, Du Wu's legs and stomach began to turn, and he cramped.

After the ceremony, you must send someone to find out the details of the rabbit seller, this person is like a poisonous snake, staring at himself, not knowing where to come out of the next moment, and suddenly disappears again after a bite.

At this time, the prostrations have ended, and Wang Mang's sacrificial text has been recited. I have to say that Wang Mang is a super actor, after reading a sacrificial manuscript, he was depressed and frustrated, full of emotion, his expression was in place, and he actually choked up at the end of the recitation, and he heard the Confucian students outside hiding their faces and crying.

At this time, the ministers came to the jade step again, only to see a team of dancers running quickly to the jade step, Du Wu counted with his eyes, eight rows and eight columns of a total of sixty-four people, holding the gong in the left hand and Zhai in the right hand. The bamboo is shaped like a flute, and the wood is stuck with three feathers. Sixty-four people strode forward neatly, pointing to the east, Zhai Chong to the sky, starting and turning left and right, until they reached the door of the Ming Hall, and then lined up on both sides of the class in turn, and began to do various sacrificial actions.

Du Wu was a little puzzled, and quietly asked the sacrificial wine beside him, why is this dancing. The sacrificial wine glanced at him in surprise, and still explained: "This is the Eight Hundred Dance, which is the dance of the sacrifice of the Son of Zhou Tianzi, and it is the most noble dance of this dynasty, and it can only be used when the Son of Heaven sacrifices, otherwise it is a great rebellion." ”

Only then did Du Wu come to his senses, thinking that this was a rare opportunity and he couldn't miss it, so he put aside his distracting thoughts and stared at the field with great interest.

The Eight Hundred Dance was performed for a long time, and this kind of dance born from the sacrifice itself was relatively boring, and Du Wu felt bored after watching it for a while, so he looked around. happened to see Chong Zhai, who was driving six horses, parked far away outside the Ming Hall, and Du Wu knew that this was Wang Yan's carriage. The Son of Heaven drove six, the princes drove five, the Qing drove four, the doctor three, the scholar two, and the Shuren one, which is clearly recorded in the "Zhou Li". The heavy Zhai of the six horses, only Wang Yan, the queen, can afford it. Du Wu knew that Wang Yan came to see him.

Last night's incident, in addition to catching everyone off guard, hit Wang Yan even harder. Emperor Ping died, and she went from being an empress to being a queen mother. If that two-year-old child was really made the crown prince, she could only spend the rest of her life in this deep palace compound. Thinking of this, she quietly ordered someone to drive to the outside of the Ming Hall, just to be able to take a look at the person who had made her think about it for almost two years from a distance.

The Eight Dances are over, and the festival is coming to an end. Because this festival is a grand ceremony, there are 28 princes and kings, 120 princes, and more than 900 descendants of the clan who accompanied the ceremony. Everyone knew that after the end of this ceremony, there would be promotions and knighthoods, and everyone was quietly waiting for Da Situ Kongguang.

Finally, Kong Guang appeared under the watchful eye.

He first said a bunch of polite words, then took out a silk book, solemnly cleared his throat, and began to read: "Add the title of Yanxiang Marquis Liu Xin as the marquis, grant the gold seal purple ribbon, the fief Dongping Kingdom, seal Liu Xiao as the liehou, confer the gold seal purple ribbon, the fief Huainan Kingdom, seal the ......"

Du Wu pouted, at the beginning, Gaozu Liu Bang gave birth to so many sons, so that now there are twenty-eight princes who are kings, and there are no twenty-eight states in the entire Han Dynasty. Now, in order to win over the support of the Liu clan, Wang Mang once again wantonly sealed the marquis, and the marquis is the highest title below the king, and the status is second only to the three dukes.

Slandering, he heard Kong Guang read again: "Feng Taizhong Doctor Liu Xin is the liehou, and Feng Confucian Chen Chong is the liehou," he paused, and raised his voice again: "Feng Zaiheng, An Han Gong, and Da Sima Wang Mang are the kings of Chu, plus Jiuxi, and the four auxiliaries and three dukes will report by transmission!" ”

Liu Xin and the others, who were still proud of being crowned a marquis just now, were uncomfortable at this time. Recognize Wang Mang's position as the king of Chu, this is a person with a foreign surname riding on his head to and pee. Don't admit it, I was named a liehou just now, shouldn't I repay the favor? Fools know that Wang Mang has the final say in today's court, but if he openly opposes it, isn't that tantamount to being included in the blacklist of assassination, Shen Tugang, who died some time ago, is naked proof!

When everyone was at a loss, the chief priest Kuang Xian suddenly stood up and said loudly: "The minister has objections! Colleagues, Emperor Gaozu once made it clear that if it is not the Liu family but the king, the world can fight it together! Now that the descendants of the Liu family are only marquis at the ceremony, how can the Duke of Anhan steal the throne! ”

This is said heavily, it is indeed heavy, not only did the title change to Duke An Han, but also used the word "plagiarism" in front of all the princes and princes, which can be said to be insignificant. Before Old Situ Kongguang could open his mouth to refute, Wang Mang walked over with a smile and reached out to pat Kuang Xian's shoulder: "Kuang Tai often says that it is reasonable. Emperor Gaozu clearly ordered that he must not be disrespected, and the founding of the Han Dynasty for more than 200 years, except for the Gaozu Dynasty, there is no one who is not surnamed Liu to be the king. ”

There was a burst of joy inside and outside the Ming Hall, and when the news spread outside, there were even Confucian scholars who made an endowment for Wang Mang on the spot to praise his noble character. Du Wu looked up at the sky, and he knew that day was finally coming.

The chaotic rituals have finally come to an end. Du Wu walked out in the chaotic crowd, and saw Kuang Xian arguing with Wang Shun from a distance, but the scene was too chaotic to hear what they were arguing about.

When he walked out of the Ming Hall, Du Wu deliberately glanced in that direction, and the six-driver carriage was gone. Du Wu rubbed his aching knees and got into his carriage. Too many things have happened in the past two days, he has to sort it out, in addition, the day of Emperor Ping's funeral will be set immediately, he has been identified as Situ Changshi, and he has also been crowned General Zhenbei and received Jin Wuwei, and the days to come will only be more busy. However, it is urgent to hurry to Qingfeng Tower and quickly spread out his hands to find the traces of the rabbit dealer. It's never a good thing to be remembered all the time.

The emperor's funeral was held with great pomp. Wang Mang summoned a group of Confucians, including Kong Guang and Liu Xin, to give the young emperor the title of honor. After discussing for a long time, everyone decided to set the temple number as Yuanzong and play filial piety. So he collected filial piety, served in Canadian dollars, and buried Kangling. Wang Mang also ordered all officials in the world to mourn for three years if they had more than 600 stones, as a sign of grief. Then there was amnesty for the whole world.

Wang Mang finally resigned from the title of King of Chu, but still moved into the Chu Palace, and the Great Sima Mansion was empty. Wang Mang has left, Du Wu left the Da Sima Mansion on the grounds of unjustification, and bought a house near Qingfeng Building with pipa and small tea.

The Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun kept her promise very much, rewarded Zhan Lu Xinshi with 100,000 yuan, and named him the county marquis, and coincidentally sealed him in Taoxiang County, Taishan County, but Du Wu did not know at this time, and the two had met for many years.

Empress Xiaoping Wang Yan was named the head of the Yellow Imperial Family, and since then she has been raised in the deep palace and almost isolated from the world.

After all, Wang Mang still set up the two-year-old great-grandson of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty as the crown prince, and since then he has begun to monopolize the government and almost become the emperor. All the courtiers, including the three dukes, had to greet him when they saw him, and the performance must begin with "dare to speak". After the renovation of the Chu Palace, the original black lacquer gate was changed to a vermilion gate, and the eaves also exceeded the steps outside the gate. Wang Shun also invited the Empress Dowager to assign Wang Mang a special clan official, a blessing official, a divination official, a historian, a family order, and a family servant, who were provided by the imperial court to assist Wang Mang in handling official affairs and housekeeping. And put the 300 tiger guards that Wang Mang had originally raised privately on the bright side to guard the gate for the Chu Palace. Since then, the Han world has been decided by Wang Mang alone.

End of this volume.

See the third volume, "The Thieves Rise".