Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 704 Catcher in the Rye

The funerals of Tang Dynasty emperors were complex, diverse, luxurious and grand.

In short, the most important thing for a person is life and death. No matter who he is, his birthday and death anniversary are the most important days in his life, no doubt about it.

Therefore, the funerals of the Tang Dynasty emperors were so grand and solemn that they were a bit scary, so much so that later dynasties could hardly match them.

The imperial mausoleum had to be hundreds of miles away from the imperial palace, and the location had to be "remotely echoing".

If the funeral procession does not have several thousand people, it would be disrespectful to the late emperor. All civil and military officials, as well as the emperor's confidants, must see the late emperor off.

However, it seems that Li Lin did not build an imperial mausoleum for himself, and it is impossible for his descendants to build one. Even if he proposed it, Fang Zhongyong could evade it with a sentence "the country is in a difficult situation, so everything should be kept simple."

Emperors without imperial mausoleums all understood. As for the complicated rules of funerals, they were also deliberately omitted.

Everything can be saved except the burial procedure, because no matter what, the dead must be buried in peace.

So the question is, where should Li Lin be buried?
The imperial mausoleum of the Li Tang royal family is located in Guanzhong. Even if it is shabby, it is not convenient for the emperor to be buried outside Guanzhong.

Yan Zhuang did not sleep all night, arranging Li Lin's funeral. He was busy until the sky turned pale. Then he came to Fang Chongyong's house with a map.

"Your Majesty, everything else about Li Lin's funeral is easy to arrange. The only problem is where to bury him.

Bianzhou is not the traditional burial place for the Li family. If you are the emperor, you must return to Guanzhong at the very least."

Yan Zhuang said solemnly, with unspeakable fatigue on his face.

"The exiled princes who died in a foreign land were buried directly in other places. This has been the practice since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Since the emperor died in Bianzhou, he should be buried in Bianzhou, keeping everything simple."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand gently and said, he also did not sleep all night, constantly thinking about how to deal with this matter. In the court of Bianzhou, Li Lin was only the nominal master, and Fang Chongyong was the actual controller, which was very important.

Since he is in actual control, no matter what happens inside or outside the court in Bianzhou, Fang Chongyong must be responsible and cannot evade the responsibility for the aftermath.

"That's what I think. There are several places here, you can choose any one of them.

It’s only half a day’s walk, so it won’t waste time.”

Yan Zhuang said cautiously.

This matter is not easy to handle, and it is even more unpleasant. But who made him the left prime minister? These things have to be done, there is no way to avoid it.

The two of them stared at the map in the study, and no one spoke for a while.

Looking at the places selected by Yan Zhuang, Fang Zhongyong frowned slightly, wondering what he was thinking.

"These places are so well located. Do you want every traveler and merchant who comes to Bianzhou to pay homage to the late emperor? Do you think this is reasonable?"

Fang Chongyong asked with an unhappy look on his face.

"After all, he is the Son of Heaven..."

Yan Zhuang nodded and dared not say more.

"Why not, I'll be buried next to the wheat field in Guoqiao and become a wheat field watcher."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand and gave a surprising answer.

What is there in Guoqiao?

I didn’t know what was going on before, but now, Shanyuan Villa is in Guoqiao. Yinqiang Xiaojie has a vanguard army, and its camp is also in Guoqiao.

That place is not a must-go place for the canal, so it is relatively deserted.

Fang Zhongyong arranged to bury Li Lin in Guoqiao, apparently for those who participated in the "reform through labor" in Shanyuan Villa to see. I'm afraid anyone with a discerning eye can understand what he meant.

A puppet should be treated as a puppet! How can he take over the master's position?

If everyone paid homage to Li Lin after his death, what would happen if Fang Chongyong died in the future?

There is a lot to this!

"I will do it now. The burial will be held at Guoqiao at noon today. Everything will be kept simple."

Yan Zhuang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said.

“Time is tight and the task is heavy, please bear more responsibility.

Go ahead, and see you at Guoqiao at noon."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand tiredly and sent Yan Zhuang out of his mansion. Looking at the rising sun and the clouds in the sky dyed red, he sighed helplessly.

Political stuff is really troublesome, but we can't just ignore it.

The news of Li Lin's death will spread throughout Bianzhou this morning. At noon, the "civil and military officials" will arrive at Guoqiao to attend the so-called "funeral."

After attending the funeral, all officials will come to the imperial palace in Bianliang City to attend the "coronation ceremony" of the new emperor.

There are two groups of people, each preparing their own things.

Yan Zhuang was responsible for arranging a series of funeral affairs for Li Lin, while Zheng Shuqing was in charge of the coronation ceremony for the new emperor Li Wei. After getting out of bed unwillingly last night, Old Zheng was shocked to learn that Li Lin was killed by Gao Shang, and took the initiative to offer to take charge of the coronation ceremony for the new emperor Li Wei.

It has to be said that Zheng Shuqing's political sense is indeed superior.

Given his status, it was obviously inappropriate for him to hold Li Lin's funeral, as that would give people the impression that "the five surnames and seven families sympathized with Li Lin and were secretly dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty."

However, the change to Zheng Shuqing presiding over the enthronement ceremony for Li Wei sent out a signal that "the five surnames and seven families support the new emperor." If we add the rumor that Li Lin was assassinated, the water is even more muddy.

The two events seemed similar, but they were actually very complicated. Zheng Shuqing was able to figure out the twists and turns in a very short time, which showed that he had been in the court since the time of Brother Ji, and he had been standing firm for many years, which was not just luck.

In the imperial study room of the Bianliang Palace, Li Lin's body had been taken away as soon as possible. As for finding a coroner to perform an autopsy, that was completely impossible.

In other words, Li Lin was dead, and the government would not make the real cause of his death public. As long as the crown prince Li Wei succeeded to the throne normally, it would be acceptable, and no one would say anything, let alone speak up for Li Lin.

Reality is so cruel.

At this moment, Li Wei, who had not yet participated in the coronation ceremony, sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face. Zheng Shuqing did not urge him, but waited quietly by the side. As for the specific affairs of the coronation ceremony, other officials of the Ministry of Rites would naturally be responsible for it.

The Bianzhou court has been operating for so many years, and its functions have been gradually improved. Naturally, there would not be a joke where the new emperor is about to ascend the throne and they don't know how to arrange things.

"Minister Zheng, can I not ascend the throne?"

Li Wei raised his head and looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be the emperor. Even if he is a puppet emperor, it is better than a puppet prince!

The problem is, you shouldn’t ascend the throne now!

Now that he has ascended the throne, Li Wei has a hand in Li Lin's death. Once he falls into this pit, he can't get out, and he will never get out for the rest of his life!

"Your Majesty, I shouldn't have said anything.

However, as I said before, there are too many things in life that are not satisfactory and beyond our control, and this one is really not the worst.

You should think about it again."

Zheng Shuqing saluted and spoke to Li Wei with his arms folded. His words were very tactful, but his attitude was extremely firm.

"Minister Zheng, can you tell me how my father died? Is it really that..." Li Wei hesitated. Of course, he was not saying that Gao Shang killed him. After all, this was already clear. It was like saying that an assassin killed the emperor. Did the assassin just want to kill people?

It has been confirmed that Gao Shang killed Li Lin, but that does not mean Gao Shang wanted to kill him. There is most likely an invisible hand behind the scenes!

Li Wei just wanted to ask if it was Fang Zhongyong who ordered it.

"Your Majesty, this matter was definitely not done by the government. I can guarantee it with my life. However, I don't know who is behind Gao Shang."

Zheng Shuqing said calmly.

"What will happen if I don't become the emperor?"

Li Wei asked somewhat unwillingly.

As soon as he got up in the morning, Zheng Shuqing brought officials from the Ministry of Rites to block the door, and then these people told him a shocking piece of news: his father Li Lin was dead, killed by his personal eunuch Gao Shang, and he, the prince, would ascend the throne today!
Then the current conversation in the imperial study came about.

"If your majesty refuses, you may be killed."

Zheng Shuqing said seriously.

"Fang Qing actually dared to kill the king!"

Li Wei slammed the table and stood up, his face full of shock and anger! He never expected that the situation had reached such a dangerous point.

"Your Majesty, what I said is just a hypothetical situation, which cannot be true.

Suppose one day you accidentally slip and fall down the stairs of your attic, and become bedridden due to your physical disability.

At that time, you were neither the emperor nor the crown prince. Who would care about what happened to a prince?

The so-called talk of regicide is not even a joke, and I, a humble official, cannot comment on it.

To kill a king, you must at least be a king. You are a king only if you are the emperor. If you are not the emperor, then... how do you think I should address you?"

Zheng Shuqing hadn't slept all night and was very angry. He couldn't help but ask back in a sarcastic tone.

Li Wei sat down slowly, his chest heaving violently and his face changing from gloomy to bright.

Zheng Shuqing almost pointed at Li Wei's nose and asked: Who do you think you are to be able to negotiate terms?
As if he felt that his words were too harsh, Zheng Shuqing sighed and consoled him, "As the saying goes, the law of nature goes round and round. Man's words have no say. Everything is God's will. Your Majesty is willing to accept God's will and become the emperor. This is a great deed. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should consider your wife. Who doesn't have a few people at home?"

"I understand. After the late emperor's funeral is over at noon, it will be my coronation ceremony, right?"

Li Wei asked weakly, looking just like a poor client who visited a brothel for the first time but was humiliated by the madam.

He has to be the emperor no matter what, even if others slap him in the face.

People should stop being cheap.

"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case. Your Majesty should bathe, change clothes and get ready now. Time is short."

Zheng Shuqing saluted Li Wei and said.

"Got it. Zheng Aiqing, go and get busy."

Li Wei waved his hands helplessly. He knew that Zheng Shuqing was Fang Zhongyong's confidant and they had a close personal relationship. No matter what he said to Zheng Shuqing, the other party would tell Fang Zhongyong the truth, so it would be useless to say anything.

After leaving the imperial palace in Bianliang City, Zheng Shuqing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

If Li Wei was a truly ruthless person, he would be willing to sacrifice the lives of his entire family and drag Fang Qing into the water.

He can really do it, it's no joke.

When the weak face the strong, they must have the courage to fight to the death, because apart from courage, they really have nothing in terms of power comparison!
However, a good death is worse than a miserable life. An emperor who is sitting on pins and needles is still an emperor.

How could Li Wei have the courage to sacrifice his entire family, drag Fang Qing into this, and embarrass Fang Qing?

How many people would be willing to make such a deal where the whole family dies and the other party's reputation is damaged?
With Li Lin's unexpected death, the pace of dynasty change is about to accelerate!

Zheng Shuqing sighed in his heart, not feeling excited at all. He just felt that this vortex was too huge, and the boat would capsize if he was not careful!

As an old bureaucrat who always "wears shoes", the last thing Zheng Shuqing wants to see is this kind of situation.

Even those who boarded the ship early could still fall into the water if the sea was too rough. The rapid change of dynasties meant a great loss of lives.

The only difference is whose head will fall off.

……

At noon, next to a wheat field in Guoqiao, Bianzhou, Li Lin's coffin was carefully placed into a dug grave by a local funeral team in Bianzhou.

There was no mausoleum or burial chamber at all. Even the burial objects were made of paper in a very casual manner.

Not to mention the emperor, even a slightly wealthy family in the common people would not bury their deceased relatives in such a shabby way.

Fang Chongyong had a blank expression on his face the entire time as he watched Li Lin's coffin being buried. No one knew what he was thinking.

In fact, giving dignity to the dead is not a difficult task for the living. There was no need for him to make Li Lin's funeral so hasty and shabby.

However, Fang Zhongyong still chose this method. The dead can't see or hear, and everything is done for the living.

Being too courteous to Emperor Li Lin would send the wrong signal to some people.

Compared to killing people, Fang Zhongyong still prefers such gentle methods, and in the end only kills the blind people who deserve to die.

"Your Majesty, the late emperor has been buried. It is time to bury him."

Yan Zhuang walked over and whispered in Fang Zhongyong's ear.

"Well, seal the ground."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly.

Yan Zhuang continued, "Minister Zheng has already taken care of it. All officials can go directly to the palace to attend the coronation ceremony. This matter has been settled."

Emperor Li Lin died, and then... just died like that, without any earth-shattering event or any sorrow.

People should still do what they should do.

Soon, everyone will forget him. This is the reality faced by the puppet emperor. The dead puppet emperor has lost even the last bit of value.

“After death, I know that everything is empty, but I am sad that I can’t see the whole world together;

When the royal army conquers Youyan in the north, don't forget to inform your father during the family sacrifice.

The next step is to settle accounts with Shi Siming."

Fang Zhongyong snorted coldly, turned around and left.

The "professional team" behind him is building Li Lin's tombstone.

It will be here, acting as a watcher in the wheat fields, watching the prisoners of Guoqiao's "Shanyuan Villa" working every day.

Work at sunrise, and rest at sunset.

(End of this chapter)