In the end, Li Mu was forced by Zhu Xiang to read a passage.
Zhu Xiang decided to stop while he was ahead and did not force Li Mu to finish reading.
Even rabbits will jump when they are pushed into a corner. If Li Mu is pushed into a corner, he will definitely abandon him and go to other cities. He still needs Li Mu's help to intimidate the nobles of Chu State, so he can't let Li Mu run away.
When Zhu Xiang arrived at the mourning hall of King Qi of Chu, it had been almost two months since King Qi of Chu committed suicide.
When King Qi of Chu died, the lingering power of the autumn tiger was still there. After a long time of not being buried, the body of King Qi of Chu began to emit a foul smell of decay.
The mourning hall was filled with flies and insects, looking extremely miserable.
When Zhu Xiang arrived at the mourning hall of King Chu Qi in plain clothes, there was still a quarrel inside.
Some ministers hoped to be buried according to King Qi's will, but most of the royal family of Chu wanted King Qi to be buried in the mausoleum of his monarch and father.
The ministers thought that King Qi of Chu had been on the throne for a short time and had not built a tomb for himself. As the King of Chu, he was buried in the tomb of the previous king, which was too low a standard.
King Qi of Chu originally wanted to be buried with Chunshen Jun. The King of Qin also admired King Qi of Chu and Chunshen Jun and was willing to build a ancestral hall for the monarch and minister. Isn't this better than being buried with them
King Qi of Chu sacrificed his life for justice and deserves better sacrifices!
The Chu royal family believed that since Xiong Qi was the king of Chu, he should be buried in the king's mausoleum. Since he did not have a son, what was wrong with him being buried in the tomb of his father and king? This was filial piety.
Besides, if the King of Qin wants to build a temple to worship the King of Chu, he can also build it here.
As for King Qi of Chu's own wishes, didn't he say that he was ashamed to see his ancestors and that's why he didn't want to be buried in the royal mausoleum? We, the royal family, have unanimously decided that he was a very good last King of Chu and he can be buried!
The two parties were arguing so fiercely that they didn't even notice Zhu Xiang coming in.
They didn't know Zhu Xiang either, and didn't realize that this middle-aged man in plain clothes had a noble status.
Zhu Xiang listened silently and understood in his heart why the Chu royal family refused to allow King Qi of Chu to be buried in the north.
The root of this problem still lies with Mr. Bai.
Duke Bai set fire to the ancestral mausoleum of the King of Chu. The royal family of Chu was in a state of panic, fearing that Chu would be destroyed and the Qin would come again.
They did not want King Qi of Chu to be buried in the Tomb of King Chu after the capital was moved, but they hoped that the "ancestral hall" promised by the King of Qin to King Qi of Chu could be built in the Tomb of King Chu, so that they would not have to worry about the destruction of the Tomb of King Chu of successive generations.
It can be said that their hearts are good.
They also said that they could take a step back and let Chunshen Jun move his body to the tomb of Chu Wangyuan to be buried with him. It just so happened that Chunshen Jun and Chu Wangyuan were also an old monarch and minister.
But Zhu Xiang sneered. These people were too fanciful.
In order to preserve the tombs of the former kings of Chu, they wanted to bury Chunshen Jun and King Qi of Chu in the tomb of King Yuan of Chu, without thinking about why the King of Qin built ancestral halls for these two people.
"I heard that the nobles of Chu State never took the King of Chu seriously. In order to shoot Wu Qi, they even insulted the King of Chu's body. I thought they had to do it. But today, I see that it was not a last resort, but a normal situation."
Zhu Xiang spoke loudly, bringing the argument in the mourning hall to an abrupt end.
They looked angrily at the man who dared to insult them.
They didn't know Zhu Xiang, but they recognized Li Mu, who was guarding Zhu Xiang. The curse words were stuck in their throats and they hesitated whether to curse out loud.
Zhu Xiang ignored the anger of the group of people.
He walked to the coffin of King Qi of Chu, bowed and asked King Qi of Chu for forgiveness, and then ordered people to open the coffin.
As soon as the coffin was opened, a foul stench hit us in the face.
The body of King Qi of Chu had not been embalmed much and had already grown maggots.
Zhu Xiang's expression was calm, but there was a hint of trance in his eyes.
He thought of his good friend Wei Wuji.
When the foul odor came out, all the ministers and officials of the State of Chu in the mourning hall covered their noses with their sleeves and retched continuously.
Li Mu was used to the stench of the battlefield, and said calmly: "I handed over the body of King Qi of Chu to you, thinking that you would treat your king well. I didn't expect you to be so disrespectful to your king."
"The King of Qin has ordered that the King of Chu be sent back for burial." Zhu Xiang took out the King of Qin's token and without arguing with those people, he directly ordered, "Anyone who obstructs will be killed."
King Zheng of Qin had not actually issued the order yet, but Zhu Xiang took out the token bestowed by the King of Qin, which counted as the order issued by the King of Qin himself.
The Chu royal family immediately became dissatisfied and clamorous.
Zhu Xiang sneered: "I said, those who stand in my way will be killed. If you really want to stand in my way..."
Zhu Xiang asked the guard for the sword and threw the drawn sword on the ground.
"Since you are not afraid of death, why not fight for it with your own death?" Zhu Xiang said, "Who knows, if a few more people die, I can report to the King of Qin and make him change his mind."
The mourning hall was silent.
Zhu Xiang had heard from Li Mu that the body of King Qi of Chu was rotting, so when he came to pay his respects, he brought along craftsmen to deal with the body.
He ordered the craftsmen to rearrange King Qi of Chu's appearance, apply preservative oils and spices, and then put him back into another coffin.
When he was leaving, a senior official of the State of Chu hesitated for a moment and stepped forward to stop him.
They bowed and said, "Please allow us to carry the king's coffin."
Zhu Xiang's cold eyes softened a little: "There are still righteous people in the Chu State. If Chunshen Jun is still alive, he will probably feel better after seeing this scene."
"Who are you!"
The Chu royal family wanted to stop them, but they did not dare to stop them with their lives. Seeing the Qin envoys being so rude and arrogant, they could only complain angrily with their tone and expression.
Zhu Xiang turned around and glanced at the Chu royal family members who immediately became weak when they were threatened with death.
"Chunshen Jun's friend is Zhu Xiang."
Zhu Xiang said indifferently, no longer paying attention to the mosquitoes and flies in the mourning hall, and left without looking back.
There was shock and then uproar in the mourning hall.
Some people scolded Zhu Xiang, saying that he was just a commoner who didn't know etiquette; some people lamented that he was actually Duke Zhu Xiang, worthy of being Duke Zhu Xiang; and some people regretted why they didn't carry the coffin and didn't leave a good impression on Duke Zhu Xiang.
The current King of Qin is Zhu Xiang's nephew, and everyone knows that to please Zhu Xiang is equivalent to pleasing the King of Qin.
"I'll be back soon." Zhu Xiang said to Li Mu after putting King Qi of Chu's coffin on the carriage.
Li Mu said, "I'll go with you."
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "Isn't Chu still unstable?"
Li Mu said: "It's just some cleanup. Meng Tian and the others can handle it themselves."
Because the State of Chu was still unstable and Xiang Yan was not dead yet, Li Mu was worried about Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang was very self-aware about the war and never asked too much about it. After Li Mu made this decision, he went north with Li Mu.
Although Chunshen Jun's widow deeply hated the Chu lineage, with him as a lobbyist, and Chu King Qi also had a close relationship with Chunshen Jun, he should be able to convince her.
Besides, Chunshen Jun's family should still want the benefit of building an ancestral hall to worship him.
When Zhu Xiang left, Li Mu asked the Qin army to spread the message throughout the State of Chu.
King Qi of Chu died for his country and saved the people of Chu, but the royal family of Chu treated his body with disrespect. Two months after his death, King Qi's body was not buried and rotted.
When Chunshen Jun's friend Zhu Xianggong heard about this, he came all the way from Qin State.
When Duke Xiang of Zhu entered the mourning hall, it was surrounded by mosquitoes and flies and filled with smoke.
Duke Xiang of Zhu was furious and forced the royal family of Chu to release him with swords. Only then did he take the body of King Qi of Chu to the north for burial.
What an humiliation!
Zhu Xiang said to Li Mu: "Although it is the truth, why does it sound weird?"
Li Mu said: "If it is the truth, why is it so weird?"
Zhu Xiang scratched his head: "That's right, anyway, I'm telling the truth."
After this matter spread, Li Mu added a more detailed version.
The King of Qin wanted to build a shrine to worship King Qi of Chu and Chunshen Jun, in order to commend the fact that Chu also had wise ministers and wise rulers, and to warn future kings.
However, members of the Chu royal family said that King Qi of Chu did not succeed to the throne in a normal way and was not worthy of being worshipped. He could only be buried with the previous king's tomb. Even the specifications of his coffin were not as good as those of ordinary important officials buried with him, and even worse than those of the previous deposed king of Chu.
When Xiang Yan learned about this, everyone around him was wondering whether Qin was deliberately discrediting that group of people.
He sneered and said, "Qin is powerful, and the Chu royal family is just fish on the table. Why should Qin worry about them? From what I understand, this is something they can do."
After saying this, he drank the wine in the bowl, tears streaming down his face: "Wasn't I the same at the beginning? No matter how great my achievements were, those Mi nobles never looked down on me. Of course, they also looked down on the King of Chu whom I welcomed back."
Xiang Yan ordered that the troops of Duke Xiang of Zhu, who were leading King Qi of Chu to the north, should not be harassed.
Later, he learned that Li Mu had personally escorted the coffin of King Qi of Chu, and he burst into tears again.
Even the enemies respected King Qi of Chu, but the nobles of Chu did not respect King Qi of Chu.
He thought of Chunshen Jun who was escorted by the Qin army, and Xinling Jun who hanged himself in front of the two armies, and felt even more sad.
Xiang Yan was in a trance.
Was it really Qin that destroyed the six kingdoms
Even if there was no Qin State, could these six countries really survive
Xiang Yan finally began to waver in his determination to rebel against Qin.
But even if he didn't waver, he was already facing the end.
After Li Mu spread the news that King Qi's corpse was insulted by the Chu royal family throughout Chu, the people of Chu were all angry.
Because Zhu Xiang once escorted Chunshen Jun away, his reputation had spread among the common people of Chu.
Chunshen Jun's original fiefdom was in Huaibei. When Zhu Xiang escorted King Qi of Chu to the north, he once again passed through Chunshen Jun's original fiefdom.
The Chu people, who still considered themselves as the people of Chunshen Jun's fiefdom, met Zhu Xianggong again, put on coarse linen clothes again, and walked with Zhu Xianggong.
The farewell procession was huge and the cries were deafening.
The people of Chu then cried bitterly for the last King of Chu.
A scholar from the State of Chu composed a song, which echoed the insult to the King of Chu's corpse and the fact that Chunshen Jun was forced to commit suicide.
They cried bitterly, "Oh, God, if you have eyes, you will definitely bring disaster to the current State of Chu."
After hearing this, Zhu Xiang felt a pang in his heart.
He hurriedly said to the Chu people who were singing this ballad in the funeral procession: "The Chu court is so mediocre and immoral, how can God bring disaster upon you? The common people have done nothing wrong!"
But Zhu Xiang’s words were beyond the understanding of people of that time, so they continued to sing.
Zhu Xiang couldn't help but hold his forehead.
Li Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "They are just expressing their dissatisfaction, they don't really want to be punished."
Zhu Xiang said, "What if? Bad things can easily happen if you think about them. I hope that Chu will have a good harvest next year."
Li Mu couldn't help laughing.
Zhu Xiang always disliked the idea of gods and ghosts, and often denounced "superstition". But Zhu Xiang was sometimes more superstitious than others. How could such a natural disaster be caused by just wishing for it? The heavens could not stand the wish.
Zhu Xiang shook his head repeatedly.
He is not superstitious at all, he is really worried.
The Yellow River flooded last year. Although there was no problem this year, who knows what will happen next year
Since the floods and droughts during the reign of Xia Tong, China's summer weather has clearly entered a period of fluctuation. Good weather and good harvests are only intermittent, and extreme climate fluctuations may continue for many years.
Zhu Xiang vaguely remembered that when the Western Han Dynasty was founded, China's climate was in a stable period.
I hope this stable period will come soon, I hope it has already come now, alas.
Zhu Xiang was filled with worries and no one understood him. Even King Zheng of Qin, when he saw the worries in Zhu Xiang's letters, sneered at his uncle for worrying too much.
King Zheng of Qin prepared to offer sacrifices to heaven and proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang.
However, the ceremony still needs to be prepared, and important officials from all over the country also need time to return to participate in his coronation ceremony.
The world has been settled, there is no need to be impatient. Qin Wang Zheng let the court prepare for a year, and ascended the throne as Qin Shi Huang on the second day of the first lunar month of the following year.
It happened to be his birthday at that time, so I just regarded it as a birthday celebration for myself.
King Zheng of Qin wrote down a series of names, even Li Bing who was far away in Shu and Meng Wu who was far away in Nanjun had to return to Xianyang.
How could the elders who had taken care of him not come to see him ascend the throne and become Qin Shi Huang
King Zheng of Qin even went to the tombs of his great-grandfather, great-grandfather, and grandfather and stayed there for one night each to inform them that he was going to be the first emperor of Qin.
"Father, oh father, I can finally give you a posthumous title."
King Zheng of Qin patted the stone sculptures in front of his father's tomb.
Zhang Liang stood behind King Zheng of Qin, full of disgust.
Which monarch would worship his ancestors like you? You are too rude. You are like this, and you still claim to be a student of Xunzi? You really discredit Xunzi.
Xunzi had no objection.
Worshipping ancestors is something that needs to be done before the enthronement ceremony. Now Qin Wangzheng just went to the tomb of his elders to talk about ordinary things, and there was no need for too much formality. The former king would not blame Qin Wangzheng.
Xunzi's health became increasingly weak, and he spent more and more time dozing off.
Although he was not sick, he was old, weak in spirit, had loose bones, and felt uncomfortable all over.
However, he still managed to personally organize the coronation ceremony for King Zheng of Qin, and also prepared for the subsequent ceremonies that King Zheng of Qin wanted to perform in various places.
After King Zheng of Qin ascended the throne and became Qin Shi Huang, he would tour the country and offer sacrifices to gods in various places.
This was something that King Zhaoxiang of Qin wanted to do, and Xunzi had been preparing for it for more than ten years.
Now that the Qin State had finally unified the world, Xunzi was finally able to complete the task that had been suppressed for more than ten years.
As Zhu Xiang expected, with the Qin King's edict and Zhu Xiang's persuasion, Chunshen Jun's family agreed to exhume Chunshen Jun's body and bury him together with the King of Chu.
Chunshen Jun's widow had a cold face. Although she knew that this was better for her husband, she was still depressed.
After all, King Qi of Chu was buried with Chunshen Jun, so she could not be buried with her beloved.
Forget it, forget it. I will not be buried with my lover, but with my son.
After Li Mu sent Zhu Xiang to his destination, he hurried back to the State of Chu.
Zhu Xiang stayed and personally supervised the construction of the ancestral hall and the mausoleum.
Chunshen Jun and King Qi of Chu did not have many burial objects, and the ancestral hall did not need to be built too magnificently, so the winter fallow time was enough to complete the project.
When the temple was completed, many scholars from nearby areas came to pay their respects, including many from Qin. It was said that other scholars were coming from far away.
This is a model of monarch and ministers appointed by the King of Qin, worthy of worship and wishes from scholars now and in the future.
Zhu Xiang looked at the wishing cloth tied to the pine tree in the ancestral hall and the coins in the pond, and was speechless for a long time.
Could it be that tying wishing sticks on trees or throwing coins into ponds to make wishes is also something that our ancestors have engraved in their blood
What ancestors? Can you please stop engraving everything into your bloodline
Zhu Xiang held his forehead and reminded: "Remember to send people to collect coins every day, and regard it as the cost of maintaining the ancestral hall."
Chunshen Jun's widow lived in the ancestral hall and managed it personally.
When she heard Zhu Xiang say this, her face, which had been stern for several days, finally showed a smile: "Just do as Duke Zhu Xiang said."
Zhu Xiang said, "Also, it's time to write a letter to your son. Now that the Chu State has been destroyed, he can serve as an official. I will take him with me and teach him."
Zhu Xiang wanted to bring the descendants of Lord Xinling with him. But they refused, insisting that they would serve the State of Wei for three generations and that their great-grandchildren would not take up official positions. So he only sent some books from the Xianyang Academy and told them that even if they did not take up official positions, they could still go to the Xianyang Academy to study.
Chunshen Jun's widow said respectfully, "Yes, Duke Zhu Xiang."
The State of Chu was finally destroyed, and she felt proud.
You deserve it!
When she thought that the last king of Chu had finally found a better person, but his body was insulted, and it was only when Duke Xiang of Chu personally asked for the body of King Qi of Chu that he could rest in peace, the widow of Chunshen Jun pronounced the word "deserved it" even louder.
You deserve it!
When Zhu Xiang finished building the ancestral hall, the momentum of Chu's resistance was getting weaker and weaker.
Even Xiang Yan felt that it was meaningless.
Even if he resisted, what could he do? With the state of the Chu royal family, it would be better for them to establish themselves.
But Xiang Yan finally adhered to the bottom line of the Chu ministers, thought for a long time, and gave up on independence.
He originally wanted to commit suicide like King Qi of Chu, but Li Mu sent someone to ask him if he wanted to meet his family.
Xiang Yan sighed. Even if he wanted to follow King Qi of Chu, he still had to see his family again.
The current Xiang Yan is not as free and easy as the Xiang Yan in the original history by Zhu Xiang.
In the original history, although Xiang Yan was in the army, his family and clansmen were all taken care of, so he could sacrifice his life for Chu without any worries.
But now Xiang Yan's clansmen were captured by the Qin people long ago, and the rest of his family members were captured when Xiangcheng was captured. He was really worried.
Li Mu gave him a way out and he surrendered.
But Xiang Yan has already given up. He is only alive temporarily. After he confirms the safety of his family and clansmen, he will still follow King Qi of Chu after saying goodbye to them.
Even though he and King Qi of Chu might not have much of a relationship as king and subject, they were at loggerheads most of the time.
Li Mu also knew that Xiang Yan would not be used by him, he was just looking for an excuse to delay his death.
If they first sacrificed a king of Chu and then a general of Chu, the people of Chu might develop too much affection for Chu, making it difficult for Qin to govern this land.
Besides, King Qi of Chu probably didn't really want Xiang Yan to accompany him.
The momentum of Chu's resistance ended with Xiang Yan's surrender. The Chu royal family and most of the Chu nobles were escorted to Xianyang City, waiting for Qin Wang Zheng's disposal. Many students from Xianyang Academy came to Chu with their bags on their backs to serve as officials and teach the Chu people to learn Qin laws.
As soon as the Chu royal family and ministers left, most of the land was returned to Qin. After Qin Wang Zheng rewarded the Qin army for their meritorious service in this battle, a small part of the land was left, which he distributed to the local Chu people for cultivation according to Qin law.
The common people of Chu State did not expect that Qin State not only did not confiscate their pitiful few self-cultivated fields, but also distributed land to them. Their longing for Chu State immediately decreased.
When Zhu Xiang returned to Chu, spring ploughing could already begin.
Then, Zhu Xiang’s headache came true—extreme climate occurred again this year.
This year's winter was particularly long. It was still cold until April, and heavy snow fell in Fangling (now Hubei).
Not to mention the spring seedlings, even countless people froze to death.
At that time, a song was sung in various parts of Chu State, saying, "The Chu people will surely be punished by natural disasters for their treatment of Chunshen Jun and King Qi of Chu." The people of Chu now believed that they had really suffered retribution.
The culture of the Chu State was different from that of the Central Plains. Among the seven states, it attached the most importance to ghosts, gods and witchcraft.
When the people of Chu saw that the gods were really punishing them, they were terrified and did not dare to help or save themselves. They only knew to kowtow and pray to God for mercy. Some even buried themselves or their children in the snow as sacrifices to the gods.
Zhu Xiang was busy with disaster relief, but the superstitious Chu people not only refused to cooperate, but also caused trouble for him. Li Mu even advised him to stop and let these Chu people fend for themselves.
Those who don’t save themselves don’t need saving.
Zhu Xiang sighed, and asked Li Mu to send people to build a high altar and perform a ritual on it.
For superstitious civilians, you can only attack them with superstition. He had cut down mountains and destroyed temples in Yunmengze before, and now he is doing it again.
Zhu Xiang first performed a ritual to question the heavens, saying that he would kill the ghosts and gods that were harming the people of Chu, and then led his troops to eradicate obscene shrines in various places.
Every time there is a natural disaster, all kinds of strange small religious groups emerge like mushrooms after rain, and there are endless scams of money and lives. There are also many bandits who use the names of ghosts and gods to collect money, capture men and abduct women, and occupy mountains and build villages to become kings.
Zhu Xiang personally led the troops again, and he caught the bandits one by one, beheading them in the mountains or in the water, saying that this was killing the "descending spirit" of the god of evil.
Li Mu wanted to take over, but was rejected by Zhu Xiang.
"I have a reputation among the people for fighting against ghosts and gods, so their morale will be the lowest if I do it." Zhu Xiang said, "I will fight the bandits for you, and you will comfort the people for me. If we both fight the bandits, who will comfort the people?"
Li Mu had no choice but to temporarily give up his military position and exchange official positions with Zhu Xiang. When Zhu Xiang traveled all over the Jianghuai Plain to fight against bandits under the banner of ghosts and gods, Li Mu was responsible for disaster relief and spring ploughing and replanting in Chu.
Li Mu had the ability to govern a country, and he was very efficient in his new position. Lin Zhi wrote a letter to ridicule Li Mu, saying that Li Mu was acting as the Prime Minister of Chu, which was also considered as a chancellor.
Li Mu wrote back with contempt.
The cold and frost disaster affected the entire country, and the Qin area was also affected.
However, Qin was originally located in the north, and had much more experience in dealing with cold disasters than the Jianghuai Plain, which had been warm for many years. In addition, there was no belief in ghosts and gods to confuse the common people, and they were very active in disaster relief and replanting, so the situation of the people affected by the disaster was better than that of the Chu people.
Furthermore, Qin had a bumper harvest last year, and most Qin families had more surplus grain, and cotton cloth had become popular, so the number of people who froze to death or starved to death was slightly less than that of the Chu people in the south, which reduced some pressure on King Zheng of Qin.
The other five kingdoms also had a good harvest and were barely able to be self-sufficient. Southern Qin only needed to supply Chu with grain and cloth.
The Qin rulers and their ministers began to feel a headache as soon as they unified the country.
Originally, many Qin ministers were full of confidence after the Qin unified the world, and they wrote to the King of Qin to continue the expeditions to the south and the north to achieve unprecedented achievements.
They also had many novel ideas, such as asking the King of Qin to build palaces and roads in various places, and to carry out large-scale construction projects to demonstrate the majesty of the Qin State.
There's no war to fight, so shouldn't we have some fun
King Zheng of Qin suppressed these people's petitions one by one.
When the cold weather disaster struck in early spring, the cold wave not only killed the seedlings in the farmers' fields, but also froze the restless hearts of the Qin court.
They finally calmed down.
It was then that King Zheng of Qin handed them Zhu Xiang's letter requesting rest and recuperation for them to circulate.
Based on historical experience, Zhu Xiang wrote in his memorial about a series of problems that the Qin State might encounter after it unified the world and its territory suddenly expanded.
It is not easy to conquer the world, and it is even more difficult to govern the world. The "unification" of Qin has only taken the first step.
"My dear ministers, let us work together." King Zheng of Qin sighed deeply.
He was delighted when he destroyed the State of Chu.
But he was about to become Qin Shi Huang, and his mood immediately became heavy.
In his dream, he had been the Qin Shi Huang once, and it was not smooth.
Can he be a good Qin Shi Huang this time
Ying Zheng was unsure.
He has always been confident in what he does, except for this matter.
In his dream, the future of Qin would end in the second generation. Even though Fusu was the crown prince now, he did not dare to hope for too much.
If he himself could not do it, Fusu would be even less likely to do it. If Qin wanted to maintain long-term stability, the state affairs must be sorted out in his hands.
His great-grandfather, great-grandfather and grandfather restrained their ambitions generation after generation and handed the State of Qin firmly into his hands. He had to tread on thin ice and tremble with fear.
"Lao Zheng, do you think I can do it well?"
The young Ying Zheng sat opposite the slightly older Ying Zheng, showing a hesitation and uneasiness that he would not show even in front of Zhu Xiang.
He sat there for a long time and then left the crumbling dream room.
The slightly aged Ying Zheng opened his eyes and sighed softly.
(End of this chapter)