Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 621: Feng Gong Dao Gu
During the Han Dynasty, titles had not yet been issued indiscriminately, and the actual title of county princes was a symbol of the prosperity of ministers, such as Xiao He, Cao Shen, Deng Yu, etc.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although the Guannei Marquis and Ting Marquis were abused by the rulers, the county marquises still had a high status.

With the founding of the Southern Han Dynasty, those with non-military merit were not allowed to be granted the title of marquis, but those with non-military merit were not allowed to be granted the title of county marquis. County marquis was no longer a symbol of the prosperity of ministers. Especially since Guan Yu was granted the title of Duke of Hanshou County by Liu Bei, it was actually unavoidable for military generals to be granted the title of County Duke.

Having said that, the appearance of Duke Jiang Ling still had a huge impact on everyone. After Liu Chan disclosed the reward to Huo Jun, Zhang Zhao went to the palace that night to see Liu Chan, hoping to take back the reward from the county official.

Zhang Zhao used the old Han system as an excuse and hoped to persuade Liu Chan to be cautious about enfeoffing county officials to avoid bad effects.

Liu Chan is not like the old antique Zhang Zhao. He said that the number of titles has been overflowing, and the county princes have all received them in vain, and they can no longer satisfy the times. And if they are not given a higher title, the generals will lack the desire to go to the Northern Expedition.

After Liu Chan was frustrated, Zhang Zhao wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang, hoping to withdraw the decision through Zhuge Liang.

After Zhuge Liang received the letter, he replied to Zhang Zhao.

In the letter, Zhuge Liang said that Huo Jun was instrumental in building the tripod for the Han Dynasty. Without Huo Jun, there would be no Han Dynasty today. In the past, when the late Emperor was the emperor, he often felt that Huo Jun was treated poorly, and he had long wished that he could not be given a high-ranking official title. But now that we have a foundation, how can we treat the meritorious officials lightly?

As for the system of the Old Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang believed that the system was formulated based on the national situation, and the country did not have to implement the old system. Following the rules too much will not only chill the hearts of the military generals, but also chill the hearts of those who come after them.

Three requests and three concessions are too hypocritical, and Huo Jun is not willing to do it. And now the Duke of Jiangling is not a county prince or a county king. With Guan Yu's posthumous title of county prince and Zhuge Liang's letter, Huo Jun basically has no psychological burden.

After persuading Zhang Zhao, Zhuge Liang worried that Huo Jun was under psychological pressure and was unwilling to accept the title of Duke of Jiangling, so he wrote a letter to Huo Jun.

Huo Jun had a strange look on his face. In his impression, wasn't it true that only usurpers would ask for and give in three times?
"otherwise!"

Although the Han Dynasty was established, the Wei State still existed in the world. If the old title system cannot be reformed, how can it satisfy the appetites of generals. Those warriors who risked their lives to fight, didn't they pursue the idea of ​​leaving a noble family to inherit the family?

"Those who were virtuous in the past should make three concessions to reward the prince. Since the governor has accepted the county prince, he should follow the etiquette of the old times and respect the virtuous governance of the ancients." Liu Zhong suggested.

Huo Jun nodded and said: "According to Zitong's words, Your Majesty is the king, and I am the minister. You have given me titles as a reward for my merits, and I must not accept them now!"

Liu Bei fled to Xinye. Without Huo Jun's plan to go to Jiangdong, he didn't know how long he would stay in Xinye. And among these veterans, none of them followed Liu Bei to start their own business in Jiangdong, then established a foundation and became the founding heroes of the country.

Of course, Huo Jun was not too worried about accepting the title of Duke of Jiangling. After receiving Zhuge Liang's letter, Huo Jun was even considering how to accept the title of Duke of Jiangling County. After all, as the first general to accept the title of Duke of County, Huo Jun really had no experience.

Therefore, there was no huge military meritorious group under Liu Xiu's rule, which allowed him to easily implement the political measure of withdrawing meritorious officials and recruiting civil servants. But the late emperor Liu Bei was more like the great ancestor Liu Bang than the great ancestor Liu Xiu.

In his letter to Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang first praised Huo Jun's moral character, and then used Zigong to save the Lu people as an example, saying that Huo Jun's merits were great and he might not want to accept the county prince now, but judging from the situation, Huo Jun must accept the county prince.

A marquis has the qualification to be called an orphan, but due to the proliferation of marquises and various relationships, how can an ordinary marquis be called an orphan and a widower. But things are different, the level of the title has gone up. If you are not called a loner, you will not be able to show the difference between Gong and Hou.

Zhuge Liang undoubtedly supported the implementation of the hou-gong system. It was not because he led troops to fight, but because Zhuge Liang, who was familiar with history, had already noticed the direction of the current of the times.

In fact, at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the devaluation of county princes appeared. But at that time, it was mainly Liu Xiu who was able to fight. Liu Xiu often sent generals to take turns to conquer the territory, instead of holding on to one person to collect wool alone.

I have to say that what Zhuge Liang said was so beautiful. He linked Huo Jun's move to Jiangling Gong with the destruction of Wei, which gave Huo Jun a perfect stepping stone.

Jiang Ji cupped his hands and retorted: "Captain, how can it be the same as in the past? Your Majesty worships the county Duke, and if you ask for it three times and then accept it, it shows that the Governor is hypocritical. Therefore, since it is your Majesty's honor, It is enough for the governor to accept the title with courtesy. To ask for permission is to add insult to injury."

With the reminder of Jiang Ji's words, both civil and military officials stood up, saluted Huo Jun, and said in a deep voice: "See Duke Jiangling!"

The title is not high enough to promote generals. The status of military generals is not high, and in the future, culture will be higher than military skills. How can the great Han Dynasty have sufficient martial virtue?

"Three concessions?"

Jiang Ji smiled and said: "The governor will be the county magistrate. From now on, when you meet your subordinates, you should be called an orphan, and then you will be called a widow. Having no orphans and widows is not enough to show the dignity of the governor and the nobility of Jiangling Duke."

A wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat, and a dog travels a thousand miles to eat shit. It is impossible to let a wolf eat shit and expect him to do the same work as a wolf.

Because Huo Jun's merits are so high that he can only be limited to the county princes, then the remaining generals will not only be discouraged, but also lose their desire to fight due to the restriction of title. Now, for the sake of the successor generals and for the sake of the Liu family not to be indebted to Huo Jun, I request Huo Jun not to refuse the imperial edict of moving to the feudal state.

"Please get up quickly!"

Huo Jun stood up and helped everyone with his bare hands, and said: "I haven't been granted the title of Duke of Jiangling yet, so how can I call him the Duke of Jiangling? I feel the same robe as you, so it's better to call him the Governor."

With that said, Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and said: "Zi Tong announced to the horse attendants that the emperor on his behalf is approaching Shouchun. If you want to handle the ceremony of canonization, just follow his instructions. If troops and horses need to be mobilized, all the armies will try their best to cooperate."

"promise!"

That night, Ma Liang went to his house in person and talked about the ceremony of ascending to the altar to be crowned a duke. He also presented the county duke's crown, robes, and music. Then Ma Liang asked Huo Jun for three thousand soldiers and horses, and told him that he would confer Huo Jun as a duke in the south of Shouchun City in front of all the soldiers and horses.

From the next day, Ma Liang led his troops to build the earthen platform, which took three days to complete. Flags are placed on the altar and canonized at auspicious times.

Gengchen day in September is an auspicious day and it is appropriate to be canonized.

Shouchunnan, the altar of Feng Gong. On the altar, drums and shengs are lined up, musicians are singing, and flags are flying. The altar was surrounded by black soldiers, and their infantry formations were like squares, neat and uniform. If you don't look down from the altar, you can hardly see beyond.

In order to demonstrate Huo Jun's martial arts, Ma Liang was instructed by Liu Chan to summon at least 20,000 soldiers to attend the canonization ceremony on the day he was canonized as Jiangling Duke.

With the order, Ma Liangben wanted to select 20,000 people to participate in the formation. Unexpectedly, many generals learned that Huo Jun had been granted the title of Duke, and expressed their willingness to participate in the canonization ceremony. Today, after sorting out various ministries, 30,000 people were finally selected to line up around the altar.

On the left and right of the steps leading to the altar, burly soldiers holding spears and armor, Chen Qi holding a spear, stood proudly with their heads held high. The proud expressions on everyone's faces clearly showed that they were honored.

Huo Jun got off the carriage. Today he was not wearing a ducal crown, only a ducal crown. Accompanied by Qu Gai and Jin Yue, Huo Jun calmly arrived at the stairs of the altar.

The moment Huo Jun stepped onto the steps, the altar suddenly became lively. The drum music is loud in the sky, the shengs and songs are whispering on the ground, the drums sound like thunder, and the ritual songs are high-pitched, echoing around the altar.

Walking up the stairs, Huo Jun subconsciously looked back at the soldiers below. However, he saw Pang Tong, Lu Xun, Huang Quan, Jiang Ji and other Jianghuai generals all present to celebrate his being granted the title of Duke of Jiangling.

Looking back, Huo Jun looked slightly serious, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Ma Liang went down the steps to greet him, and then went up to the top of the altar with him.

Following Huo Jun to the top of the altar, two animals, sheep and hogs, were presented as shaolao gifts and displayed on the table. The autumn wind blew by, and the flag representing the duke on the altar rustled.

At Ma Liang's signal, Huo Jun knelt on the futon and listened to the canonization issued by Ma Liang's edict.

"In the past, when Cao Cao was in trouble for the country, he coveted the royal family. The first emperor traveled to the Central Plains, wandering in Jing and Chu, and met the emperor and established a foundation. This emperor's contribution was also great. Then the Sun family invaded our Yangzhou and extended it to the common people. The emperor went to Jiang Jian and invaded Ningjiang River. Zuo, this is your fault."

"Cao Cao dedicated his authority to the south to conquer Jianghan. You led the coalition forces to attack him, overcame his difficulties, defeated the enemy Jinkou, and restored our Jingchu. This is also your contribution. Zhang Liao followed Cao Cao's orders and went wild in Huainan and Hefei. During the battle, the enemy invaders took the lead and conquered the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. This was also your contribution."

"In the expedition to Hanzhong, Xiahou killed him, circled around Chengdu, and subdued Liu Zhang. This was also the result of the king. ... The leader was mourning the country's chaos, and Cao Pi relied on his troops to command troops in the Jianghuai River. At this time, when the country was in unrest, the king To hold an elite army, to be able to penetrate the sun, to use up one's martial arts, to use one's magical tactics, to reach Zhongli, to wipe out the ugly people, to save our country from danger, this is also your merit."

"Shou Chun was the ancient capital. He had Huai and Ru in his lap, controlled the rivers and Luos, and those who gained them were safe. This was called the key point. The king commanded the troops and attacked them, and his ambitions were great and his strategy was unparalleled. This was also the merit of the king. I heard that the former kings established Mingde, called them feudal vassals, divided them among the people, and shielded the royal family..."

"Recording the affairs of the minister, Chi Jie Yue, Xuzhou Mu, Da Sima, and Jiangling Houjun, restored my royal strategy and benefited the border gangs. Recording the above achievements, there are 18,651 households in Jiangling in Nanjun. All sixty-five villages, pavilions, and towns were given to the king, and he was granted the title of Duke of Jiangling County.

"My lord, Gongjun of Jiangling County, would like to thank Your Majesty!"

With that said, Huo Jun bowed his hands, prostrated with his upper body, knocked his head on the ground three times, and performed three bows and nine kowtows to thank Liu Chan for the reward.

"The ceremony is over!"

Ma Liang hurriedly helped Huo Jun up, handed the edict to Huo Jun, and said with a smile: "Liang congratulations to Duke Jiangling for establishing the feudal vassal and building the country."

"We have Rauma-kun!"

Huo Jun tried his best to maintain his previous attitude so as not to be hated by others.

"Dong Jiangling, this is the map of the vassal state and the official seal of the county."

Ma Liang handed over the map and seal of Jiangling County to Huo Jun, and said: "From now on, the Duke will appoint the Prime Minister of Jiangling to govern the county, and there will be 10 people including big farmers, ministers, and four orders to govern the country. I will have six concubines, in front of the car. There are 40 Sima soldiers and Luben soldiers. Except for fifty people, the county is not allowed to raise troops."

Those who become dukes and accept kings will usually have a territory delineated by the state, and this territory will be drawn on the map. Those who are granted the title cannot exceed the territorial governance, nor can they leave the vassal state without reason.

For Huo Jun, if he loses his official position in the future, Huo Jun will not be able to leave Jiangling County unless there is an edict from Liu Chan. After Huo Jun died, he had to be buried in the feudal land and was not allowed to go out to Jiangling County for burial.

After the Han Dynasty succeeded the Zhou Dynasty, whenever the issue of feudal vassalage was involved, it was all real feudalism and no virtual feudalism. However, the actual seal also brought restrictions, especially after the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion. Those who are called vassals are not allowed to leave the feudal country without the emperor's edict, whether they are alive or dead.

After a pause, Ma Liang added: "But there are those who are not listed here, that is, the number of forehead marks approved by your Majesty. The number of servants above the king, and the number of soldiers and horses must not exceed. Violators will be punished by Han law."

Immediately afterwards, Ma Liang put the seven crowns he had forgotten on Huo Jun, and said: "The county prince should be equipped with: gold medal, black and red ribbon, green and purple crown, three-beam crown, three-seed compilation, nine-slit skin, eight-seam leather seal." If someone wears a flag or Qizhao in a manner that exceeds the etiquette, they will also be punished by Han law."

"good!"

Ma Liang said a lot, and Huo Jun picked up the important notes. Later, there will be teachers who specialize in etiquette to train his ministers.

Huo Jun, wearing a Zhenggong crown, a gold medal and a red ribbon on his waist, walked towards the altar. Standing high and looking down at the soldiers in formation, Huo Jun couldn't help but feel heroic and salute him with military salute.

"See Duke Jiangling!"

"Great Sima is mighty!"

"Da Sima Wansheng!"

The silent phalanx seemed to come alive, shouting enthusiastically to the small figure on the altar and performing a military salute to show respect for that man!

"Han Ji Huo Da Sima Family": "In the ninth month of autumn, Emperor Gaozong sent his servant Ma Liangzhi to Shouchun to confer Jun as Duke of Jiangling and set up an altar in the south of the city. In order to admire the military merits, he ordered 30,000 soldiers to be killed and Chen Qi Drums and armor were used, and the ancestral temple was started to be built in the tenth month.

(End of this chapter)