According to the Daqing ritual, the emperor should be buried on the 27th day after his death. If the imperial mausoleum has not been built yet, the body should be placed in the Fengxian Hall first. However, the mausoleum of the deceased emperor has been built, so there is no need to postpone the burial.
"The court has decided to posthumously title father as 'Xiaocheng'. What do you think, Master?" The prince suddenly asked before the class.
Looking at the increasingly spirited prince, Hua Zhi closed her lesson plan book and said, "How can this matter be discussed by me? However, since the prince has mentioned it... could it be that the posthumous title was chosen by the prince?"
The prince smiled happily. It turned out that the Grand Tutor understood him best. "The names they chose were too derogatory to our father. Even if something happened, it would not be right for a son to step on his father's face. Of course, there is another possibility. They were setting a trap for me to fall into, but I didn't fall for it."
Xiaocheng, filial piety, and maintaining the status quo are quite suitable. Although the late emperor never made any contribution to the country, he also tried his best to protect Daqing. It is barely suitable. Hua Zhi looked at the overly happy face and said suddenly: "The 32nd chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean."
Such sudden questions were not unfamiliar to the prince. When he was at the Hua family, his tutor would often ask him questions. At this moment, he subconsciously recited, "Only the most sincere people in the world can govern the world and establish the foundation of the world..."
As the prince was carried on his back, his voice became quieter. It seemed that he was a little too proud recently.
After listening to him recite, Hua Zhi didn't say anything more. She nodded and started today's class.
The prince and Bolin looked at each other and shrank their necks at the same time. The angry tutor was not to be messed with.
The empress dowager, who had been listening outside the door for a while, laughed. The prince was a young man with a young mind. If the person standing in front of him was an old minister, or his tutor was someone else, he would probably not listen to anything they said. But Hua Zhi subdued him just by asking him to recite an article. This is the law of one thing conquering another. Although it was not a good thing for the prince to be conquered by someone, she could tolerate it if that person was Hua Zhi.
"Calculate the time and send some cakes and warming soup to them when they rest. Master, thank you for your hard work."
"yes."
Although the late emperor passed away and the young prince was in power, Daqing seemed to be unaffected and everything was running in an orderly manner. No, it seemed that the court officials were more united. After all, except Hua Zhi, the others had little merit in following the emperor. This gave everyone a chance to play a fair game. They were all trying hard to show that they wanted to catch the prince's eye, and the whole court seemed to have a positive feeling.
But the crisis never passes.
On the day when the Spring Examination ended, the sound of hurried horse hooves could be heard outside the East City Gate. The riders on horseback put flags for guarding the pass on their backs, raised their tokens high, and galloped away, shouting in hoarse voices that broke the sound, "Urgent message from guarding the pass!"
This is a messenger!
The city gates were immediately opened, and all pedestrians retreated. The messenger rushed into the city without slowing down, and two other riders followed closely, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Urgent report, pedestrians retreat!"
The shouts and the sound of horses' hooves intertwined, tightening the somewhat loose atmosphere in the capital due to the end of the Spring Examination. Many people stopped and watched the horses run away, looking at each other in panic. To the east... is the Shouai Pass, the first checkpoint of Daqing!
The messenger entered the palace as quickly as possible. He almost fell off his horse, his feet were shaking and he couldn't stand up at all.
The guards came over and two of them took turns carrying him into the hall. He fell to his knees with a plop. His mouth was dry and bloody, his hair was disheveled, and his voice was so hoarse that it seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. "The Chaoli tribe invaded Shouai Pass, and the defending commander, General Sun... was killed!"
The completely unexpected news caught the prince off guard. He stood up suddenly, then sat down again with all his self-control. "Announce the regent, Duke Dingguo, and the six ministers to enter the palace."
Lai Fu agreed and went to make arrangements immediately. Before leaving, he secretly glanced at Hua Bailin. Bailin understood and moved forward a little, closer to the prince.
The prince closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had calmed down a lot. "Pour him a glass of water."
The messenger thanked him and drank the water in one gulp. His throat finally felt better.
"Tell me the details."
"Yes, until I was ordered to come to the capital, I still didn't know how many people from the Chaoli tribe had come. They didn't attack from the direction of the island where they lived, but came from the north along the river. They were caught off guard and that's why..."
Thinking of the tragic scene at that time, the messenger fell to the ground, his voice choked with sobs, "They came for General Sun, and they knew General Sun very well. They knew that General Sun usually led the left vanguard himself. Most of their troops were concentrated on the left vanguard. The other battalions were tied down and unable to rescue. General Sun, General Sun finally ordered us to retreat back to guard the pass. The entire left vanguard... was wiped out!"
The prince clenched his fists. He had met his maternal grandfather only a few times, but in his heart his maternal grandfather was like a mountain. He guarded the pass, suppressed the evil spirits and monsters, and brought peace to Daqing. In his heart, his maternal grandfather was an invincible hero.
But now, the mountain has collapsed.
The mountain collapsed!
"Unfold the map."
Hua Bolin quickly took out the map and spread it out. The prince's eyes fell on guarding the pass.
He had never been there, but when he was in the study, he heard the old gentlemen of the time talk about guarding the pass and the Chaoli people who were driven to the islands in the east. They spoke with such pride, but they never mentioned the generals of all generations who were stationed at the pass.
Those people, the more loyal they are to the country, the more they owe their families. His grandmother is invulnerable to swords and guns and guards the Sun family alone. He has only seen his grandmother three times since he was old enough to understand. His old wife is sick and cannot go home, his daughter has passed away and cannot go home, and his grandson was bullied. By the time he knew about it, things had changed. It seemed that the big and small things in the family have nothing to do with him. His home is in the capital, and the most ordinary days for others are the most precious memories for him. He guards the border day after day, trains soldiers day after day, and he has devoted his life to this country, and now he is dead!
Who still remembers the days when he was betrayed
He was also a domineering young man when he was young, but who still remembers him
Everyone took it for granted that General Sun was guarding the pass. No one took over, no one replaced him. He guarded the pass for twenty years, from a young age to an old man with gray hair, and finally died in a foreign land.
This is his life, General Sun’s life, and his grandfather’s life.
He could even imagine that at tomorrow's court meeting, all the officials would be eager to punish him first, rather than discuss his merits, because he lost. History can only remember the victors, and the people who read history only know them. But among a hundred or a thousand generals, there may only be one famous general. What about the others? What about the remaining nine hundred and ninety-nine? They also worked hard to train their troops, they also had great ambitions, they also defended a place for several years, and they were also loyal to the emperor and patriotic.
Perhaps they were just like my grandfather, who was attacked first because he was too feared by others.
PS: I was tearful when writing this on New Year’s Eve. If you cry while reading this, please don’t blame Kong Kong. Kong Kong is with you! Happy New Year’s Eve.