I, Liu Bian, the hero

Chapter 114 Yuan Shao Surrenders Himself
On that day, the officials of two thousand stones and the royal family members went to the Yutang Hall to mourn the funeral, while the officials of thousand stones and six hundred stones bowed and cried outside the hall. The eunuchs and maids in the palace all wore mourning clothes.

While everyone was paying homage to Emperor Yu, He Miao, who presided over the national funeral, discussed a practical issue with Liu Bian, Lu Zhi, and Yang Xu in private, that is, how long the coffin of Emperor Yu would stay and how much money would be spent on the national funeral.

Traditionally, when an emperor dies, it is customary to have a funeral on seven days, but the funeral does not mean immediate burial, but according to Yu Li, nine funeral ceremonies will be held before and after.

Back and forth, it takes almost seven months.

As for if the corpse rots and stinks during the seven months, the only way to cover up the stink is by spices.

At the same time, during these seven months, the imperial court will also issue talismans to the princes of various states and call Liu's clan relatives to mourn the funeral, with the exception of the prefects in various places, so as to prevent the government offices from losing their operations.

Liu Bian ordered Zhang Mingzong, Taichang, and Shaofu to estimate the expenses, conservatively estimated to cost hundreds of millions, or even more.

Liu Bian also felt heartbroken about this, and shook his head secretly: If there is a spirit under the spring of Emperor Ling, I don't know what he would think.

After all, in his impression, Emperor Ling, no, Emperor Yu was willing to spend money, even extravagance, only on things he was interested in, but Emperor Yu was still very stingy when it came to things he was not interested in.

Therefore, Liu Bian was not sure that Emperor Yu would not be willing to spend a lot of money on his funeral.

However, even if Emperor Yu was willing to be buried in seven days like Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bian would not be able to mention it.

In the Han Dynasty, this was a sum of money that had to be spent. No, whether it was the Empress Dowager Dong, Empress He, or the ministers of the court like Lu Zhi, Yang Xu, etc., they all estimated the value of the Zongfu, Taichang, and Shaofu. There is no objection to the hundreds of millions of expenses obtained, and even Empress Dowager Dong tends to make the funeral more extravagant, so she said that she can spend a sum of money from Xiyuan money, but Lu Zhi, Yang Xu and others disagree , insisting on imitating Emperor Huan's specifications, which made the old lady quite displeased.

That night, Liu Bian led all the officials in the court to guard the spirit of Emperor Yu. Because of his age, in the middle of the night, Lu Zhi, Yang Xu, Cao Song, Cui Lie and others repeatedly advised him to take a nap in the side hall. , take a nap, but Liu Bian did not agree.

It's not that he wants to take the opportunity to show some filial piety, it's just that he has some reluctance to give up on Emperor Yu, even though he once regarded him as a foolish emperor.

Because of this complicated mood, Liu Bian didn't howl like other people in Emperor Yu's mourning hall, but his eyes were red when he thought of Emperor Yu being with him during his lifetime. This true performance made Lu Zhi , Yang Xu and other courtiers who were on the occasion were quite appreciative.

It wasn't until dawn the next day that Liu Bian couldn't hold it anymore, so he leaned against Cai Yan's shoulder and took a nap in a corner under Xia Houyuan's guard. It was only a moment before and after, and then he was cried by all the courtiers. The sound woke me up.

Seeing this, Zhang Rang also persuaded Liu Bian to go to the side hall to rest for a while, but Liu Bian still refused, and just ordered Zhang Rang to prepare the things needed for the funeral as soon as possible.

Three consecutive days of mourning, let alone Liu Bian's haggard spirit, and the ministers could hardly support them, so Liu Bian also tacitly allowed these people to go home and rest for a night.

The ministers were not hypocritical, and they discussed in private, and by way of rotation, let those ministers who really couldn't make it go home to rest.

Among them, Sikong and Yuan Wei were included.

Unexpectedly, when he returned home, as soon as he got off the carriage, a family order from the house secretly reported to him: "Master, the young master is here."

Yuan Kui's complexion suddenly changed when he heard the words, looked at the street, and then asked in a low voice: "When did you come here? Have you been seen by outsiders?"

The family order shook his head and said: "Master, don't worry, the family already knew that the young master Benchu ​​had committed a crime, so he didn't dare to say anything. Moreover, the young master Benchu ​​was also very careful when he came, and repeatedly told me not to say anything, so I placed him in another place." Yuan, ask your confidants to send food, most people in the mansion don't know about it, let alone outsiders."

Only then did Yuan Kai heave a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice, "Take me there."

Jialing nodded, and led Yuan Kai to a room in the other garden. Yuan Kai saw Yuan Shao lying on the couch, and sat up suddenly when he heard the sound. His vigilant eyes relaxed a little when he saw Yuan Kai.

"Uncle." He called with a smile.

"..."

Seeing Yuan Shao acting as if nothing had happened, Yuan Kai's face shook twice, he held back his breath and ordered the family order: "You step back first, and tell people not to come near."

After the family order left the house as promised, Yuan Kai quickly walked to the couch, suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth and said, "Benchu, you have done a great job!"

Seeing Yuan Kai's excited appearance, Yuan Shao spread his hands and said, "I don't want to see things come to this point. If uncle is afraid, why don't you ask someone to tie me up and turn me over to the court?"

"..."

Yuan Kai stared angrily at the nephew in front of him who had been very appreciative, sighed for a while, and asked, "What are your plans?"

"I do not know either."

Yuan Shao shook his head and asked back, "What is the current situation of the court?"

Yuan Kai looked at Yuan Shao and said, "The crown prince has dismissed the position of general and ordered He Miao to temporarily act as general..."

"The crown prince dismissed He Jin?" Yuan Shao was shocked when he heard the words, and immediately sneered: "It's ridiculous that He Jin was afraid of wolves and tigers that night, but he couldn't escape being dismissed in the end. If he had some courage at that time, he would raise his arms Huh, all the eunuchs in the palace are dead!"

Yuan Kai sneered when he heard the words: "It was because He Jin didn't show up in person that night that the crown prince spared him and even allowed him to live in the General's Mansion as usual, otherwise..."

"Otherwise? Otherwise, the crown prince would have killed He Jin?" Yuan Shao disagreed.

"Not necessarily..." Yuan Wei snorted coldly, and couldn't help recalling the gloomy look on Prince Liu Bian's face when he summoned the court officials.

In all fairness, he had never imagined before that a 12-year-old child could bring them such a strong pressure.

Shaking his head, he asked Yuan Shao again: "What are your plans?"

"I really don't know." Yuan Shao shook his head and said, "I came here just to discuss with my uncle."

Hearing this, Yuan Wei suddenly became angry: "That night before you and He Jin planned to eradicate the eunuchs in the palace, you didn't want to discuss with me?"

Yuan Shao was speechless: "What's the point of mentioning it now?"

Yuan Kui snorted softly, then frowned and said: "Yesterday, the crown prince ordered the city gate captain Zhao Yan to lead his army to arrest you. I know that you used to have contacts with the eleven city gate lords under his command, but at this moment, Better not expect them to risk malfeasance by letting you out of town."

After finishing speaking, he glanced at Yuan Shao and explained: "The crown prince personally ordered that Canglong Sima and dozens of guards who let you enter the palace that night were all executed, and Yang Xu personally imprisoned him."

Yuan Shao was relieved, then frowned and said, "Then what should we do? What if Zhao Yan catches..."

"Are you afraid now?" Yuan Kai glared at Yuan Shao, and then said in a deep voice, "Don't panic, although the crown prince ordered Yang Xu and Zhao Yan to lead the army to arrest him, but right now the palace is busy with the late emperor's funeral and has no time to mobilize There are too many troops to arrest you, but it is not that there is no chance of escaping from the city. It is just that you will be convicted of a crime if you escape. If someone arrests you, I am afraid that you will not be able to clean up your crimes in this life, and it will also damage my Yuan family's reputation."

Yuan Shao heard the meaning of Yuan Kai's words, and said in astonishment, "Uncle, you want me to surrender?"

Before Yuan Kai could speak, he gave up on himself and said: "The prince has never liked me, and Zhang Rang is instigating me. How can I survive if I surrender? If my uncle is worried that Yuan's reputation will be damaged, why not ask someone to tie me up and turn me away?" In the palace?"

"Fool!" Yuan Kai glanced at Yuan Shao, and said angrily, "Since I told you to surrender, how could I tell you to die in vain?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao hurriedly stood up and bowed down: "Uncle, please save me!"

Seeing this, Yuan Kai helped Yuan Shao up, and said solemnly: "If you listen to me, immediately go to the General's Mansion to ask He Jin, and ask him to surrender on your behalf, and say that after that night, you will hide in the General's Mansion If the prince wants to kill you, I will ask the Taishi to persuade him with the words "During the national funeral, it is inauspicious to kill people". If my prediction is correct, the prince will probably put you in prison and deal with it after the national funeral In this way, you will escape the catastrophe. After the national funeral, the crown prince will hold an enthronement ceremony, and then he will pardon the world, or you may be able to pardon you."

Yuan Shao hesitated when he heard the words: "If the crown prince doesn't forgive me, what should I do?"

Yuan Kai smiled and said: "The national mourning is at least three months, and at most it is half a year. This time is enough to contact famous people from all over the world to intercede for you... In the end, you just want to get rid of the eunuch, and you don't really want to rebel. Celebrities from all over the world have jointly signed a letter, begging the eunuch to be punished. What you have done before is not a big evil....Since it is not a big evil, the crown prince will not want to kill you again."

Yuan Shao suddenly realized, and said joyfully, "Thank you uncle for your guidance."

After finishing speaking, he couldn't help but resentfully said: "That little Liu Bian is ignorant and ignorant, he would rather trust eunuchs than come close to us and other scholars..."

"Stop talking too much, hurry up." Yuan Kai interrupted, frowning.

Yuan Shaosui didn't say anything more, disguised himself, went out from the back door of his uncle's mansion, and went straight to the general's mansion.

As Yuan Kai said, although Liu Bian ordered Zhao Yan, the school captain of the city gate, to arrest Yuan Shao, and Zhao Yan himself hated Yuan Shao, but firstly he did not have enough manpower, and secondly, he did not dare to mobilize the whole city during the national funeral. At best, the search and arrest could only make the city gates strictly prevent Yuan Shao from escaping from the city, which also made Yuan Shao arrive at the General's Mansion without much effort.

At this moment, he suddenly saw a group of people standing in front of the General's Mansion, who seemed to be hanging something, the leader of which Yuan Shao recognized was Song Dian of Gou Dunling.

"What is he doing?"

Yuan Shao was suspicious, hid in the alley and peeped at the General's Mansion from a distance, thinking about how to enter the mansion.

Suddenly, the door of the General's Mansion was opened, and He Jin led a group of servants, guards, and the mansion's official out of the door. Looking up, he saw Song Dian and a group of young mansion officials installing a horizontal plank on his mansion. The horizontal plaque is engraved with the words 'He Suigao, the leader of scholars'.

He Jin immediately said angrily: "Song Dian, how dare you deceive me?!"

Song Dian was also one of the ten permanent attendants in the past, and he was the order of the Shaofu. Compared with Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and Sun Zhang, he was not a big man, and he never dared to intervene in the battle between Changqiu Palace and Yongle Palace. Later, the prince Liu Bian's side gradually became stronger, and Song Dian, Bi Lan and others fell to the prince from neutral.

Seeing that He Jin was angry, Song Dian hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and said with a smile: "General, no, Uncle He Guo, how dare you bully you? It was the crown prince who ordered my young mansion to serve you. Carve a horizontal plaque... No, the smaller one will be brought to you immediately after it is carved."

He Jin's expression froze. After all, he had indeed heard what the prince said at the time. At that time, he thought it was just the prince's angry rhetoric...

With a second thought in his mind, he pointed at Song Dian and cursed: "That was just an angry remark by the crown prince, is it true? It must be you waiting... Zhang Rang, right? He is the one who gave the order to the Shaofu! And you, Come here to see my jokes!"

"how could be?"

Song Dian was smiling, but there was a bit of schadenfreude in the smile.

(End of this chapter)