The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 99 Zhang Jun and Kaiping Shrine

The rustling autumn wind made the withered grass sway on the ground, and Jingchuan County began to get cold.

The warrior sat on the earthen embankment and played the worn-out Xiqin. The barren Northwest cannot grow beautiful peonies, and the singing and playing here are melodious but also sad.

"The north is cold and the pass is filled with bitter fog. White snow condenses on the mountains during the day, and yellow clouds cover the trees at night..." The shogunate's envoy was inspired by the scene and recited an ancient poem from the Northern Dynasties.

This caused the warriors to laugh disdainfully: "If you want to write about the frontier, you can't just write about the frontier scenery. That's not the frontier."

"Then what to write?" The young envoy's heart trembled, and he asked fearfully.

"You should write about the snowstorm falling on the rough face, and the war horses galloping on the Tao River in the dark night! Write about the comrades holding iron spears under the frosty moonlight, and the cold wind from the Hehuang River blowing over the mountains to Xiaoguan. Write about the tombs in Qianshuiyuan and the pile of skulls in Changwu City. Write about the golden light of dawn shining on the sparkling Yangshui River. Write about the herdsmen driving cattle and sheep in the sunset. Write about the quiet New Year's Eve in Jingzhou, and the bitterness of stepping on the swords..."

"It's a pity that I can't write." The soldier shook his head and sighed.

"I am not talented enough to write." The little messenger was quite embarrassed. Since ancient times, autumn has been a sad and lonely season. When autumn and winter come, the atmosphere in the army becomes very depressed. Some cry, some run, some make noise. Is it only like this in Jingyuan? It exists in all border towns around the world to some extent.

Led by the soldiers, the soldiers and officers sat on the ground and sang military songs. The young envoy was also feeling a little melancholy, so he moved his butt to sit next to the soldiers, shaking his head and humming along.

The warriors of Jingyuan are fierce. They were humiliated and dared to march to the imperial city. Let the saint come out and answer - we abandoned our parents, wives and children and traveled thousands of miles to fight, but the court only gave us a simple meal. Is a life worth this little money? Saint, please speak!

But it is not certain how bad, brutal and domineering the Cao Jingyuan army was.

At least, the lives of the Han and minority people in the two states were peaceful.

Here there are green fields and pastoral songs in the snowy land. Children here can grow up, and generals here can have a good end. During the Chaos Rebellion, several Tibetan tribes took advantage of the situation to loot, but they did not dare to cause trouble for Jingyuan. On the contrary, they also took in many refugees who fled from the capital, Fuzhou, Longzhou, and Huizhou. The court was moved by their performance and awarded them the military title - Zhangyi.

At least, the Jingyuan Army had been active on the front line of respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians. They were present in the defense against Tubo in the west and the attack on Dangxiang in the north. They were present in the battles against Shang Rang at Longwei Pond and Lin Yan at Yanqiu Gate. In later times, when Emperor Zhaozong was humiliated by Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu, they could not stand it and coerced the Jiedushi to attack Bining.

Every winter solstice, people would offer some special products to the sage as a symbolic gift for the new year. If the imperial court was in trouble, they would help as long as everyone could get by and the opponent was not completely invincible.

Did the Jingyuan Army live up to the imperial court? They did not. The imperial court might not have let down all the old accounts of the Chan River Incident, and it did not feel that it existed. Among the various towns in the northwest of Beijing, they were very obedient compared to Qi, Bin, Tong, and Hua, who abused the emperor as if it was a daily routine. Compared to Fu, Xia, and Ling, who stood by and watched the country fall, they were still righteous.

It’s really fierce.

But these days, there is no warrior who is not fierce.

But you don't touch the Jingyuan Army's reverse scale - just give them a few bites of food and ask them to fight, do things that hurt their self-esteem, or like when they were fighting Huang Chao in the Zhonghe year, the imperial court was short of money and couldn't give them rewards, and they themselves were poor, and objective circumstances forced them to rob, so they were generally very kind.

They are also a group of unique warriors in the current chaotic world and a breath of fresh air within the Great Wall.

Perhaps it was the warrior spirit that was passed down from generation to generation by people like Guo Ziyi and Cheng Zongchu who taught them.

Perhaps it is the vastness of the grasslands, the storms of the snowy icebergs, and the hardships of the borderlands that do not breed narrow-minded people. People are always forced to bear a certain burden. Just like their huqin, pipa, and Qiang flute, just like their songs, they are always so desolate and sad.

Who knows.

Not far from the hill is the Queen Mother's Palace.

In the shrine filled with incense and smoke, the Taoist priests recited scriptures hoarsely. Jiedushi Zhang Jun knelt for a long time, crying silently.

His ancestors were trapped in a foreign land, his parents were made into exquisite bone tools for the royal palace by the king, his sister was bought by a merchant from the Arab Empire and never came back, and he and his brother were also captured and sold like pigs and sheep.

He had seen the oasis gardens of Damascus.

He participated in the construction of the city of Constantinople.

He had eaten rat meat in Suiye City.

He released camels in Jiayuguan.
He was a slave for more than 20 years. When his last master died of illness, he finally found a chance to escape with his brother. When he staggered over mountains and rivers and walked all the way to Wonju out of some latent instinct, he joined the army without any hesitation, so that he could avoid being captured and sold again and have enough food to eat.

After joining the army, I started to fight in wars again and again.

In the deserted mountains and riverbanks of Xianyang, he killed 37 scouts of the Chao army in two nights. He sneaked into Huizhou City alone, stole the map, and burned the hay field. He defeated the bandits with ten arrows at Qinggang Ridge and subdued more than a thousand horse thieves. With his eloquent words, he persuaded the clans of Tubo and Tuyuhun to swear an oath of blood to fight against the pseudo-Qi.

As a slave, he was elected as the Jiedushi of Jingyuan by the chieftains of the foreign tribes in the two states, the Han elders, and the Chinese and foreign troops in the states and counties. Until now, ten years have passed, no one has resented him, and no military men have made any fuss. Was it so easy?

Looking back sadly, he is already nearly sixty years old, and will be fifty-five after today. His aging body is suffering from pain and pain, and the end of his life is slowly approaching. Looking back on the past, he can't even remember what his parents looked like in his memory.

Tears fell like beads from a broken string, dripping onto the cushion one by one.

"The man has passed away, his soul has returned to the immortal world, why should you be sad?" The sound of the wooden fish suddenly stopped. After the ritual was over, the beautiful nun reached out to help the dying old man up and handed him a clean embroidered handkerchief.

All the Taoists felt a little bit reluctant.

The Marshal's life was full of legends, even though he was only a small governor of two states. In the past ten years, he protected the territory and the people, comforted the soldiers, sympathized with the orphans, the poor and the weak, and governed the country prosperously, which was a great merit. In this chaotic world, such a compassionate warrior is rare, and there may be only one in the interior of the country; they also love him very much.

But now, the Marshal is sick, and very seriously ill.

House seemingly endless rain.

Yesterday, an imperial envoy suddenly arrived in Jingzhou with an imperial edict. Deputy Jiedushi Zhang Fan and Military Supervisor Yu Quanyi received the order together.

The content of the edict was actually very simple. He first praised the soldiers of Jingyuan, and then the sage revealed his true intentions, saying that he would take on the title of General of Tiance, and order the commander-in-chief and the six towns of Xia, Fu, Ling, Jin, Pu, and Xiangyang to send thousands of elite soldiers to Chang'an to join the Tiance Army, which would be led by the sage himself.

The designated number of people for Jingyuan Town was two thousand.

The news spread, and the military government was a little uneasy. Although being a member of the Imperial Guards, he would have a luxurious life, a good house, and generous rewards, but...

However, the saint's name "blood-handed emperor" had already spread widely among the people. The corpses of the Fengxiang rebels that were wiped out filled a large lake. The thousands of Tongzhou soldiers killed in Changchun Palace were still piled up on the bank of Luoshui. Most of the captured surrendered soldiers had their big toes chopped off, and they had to do heavy labor all day long to fill the post roads, repair the palace, and dredge the canals, and they could only eat one meal a day.

Countless people died of exhaustion, starvation, illness, and beatings.

The families were worried that their warrior had committed a crime in the capital and was being demoted to a bad person, and the situation in the state was somewhat agitated.

The Taoists couldn't help but worry.

How long can the peaceful and stable life in these two states last?

"Thank you so much, Masters."

Zhang Jun did not use the handkerchief, but returned it to the beautiful nun. He only wiped his face with his sleeve, then bowed to the Taoist priests, saying, "Today is my birthday, and I thought of my ancestors who had a miserable life, so I lost my composure."

Everyone hurriedly bowed back.

"Offer 10,000 coins of incense money to the Queen Mother's Palace as a token of our gratitude to the gods." Zhang Jun ordered again.

"Yes." The shogunate official responded.

The Marshal was truly kind and righteous. The Taoist priests, male and female, were speechless. They just bowed their heads again and said goodbye.

"Master, please stay." Zhang Jun looked back as he walked out of the temple gate with his crutches.

Everyone followed silently without saying a word.

"Stop." Zhang Jun said again after walking down the stairs while touching the railing.

Only after repeated requests did the Taoists nod and watch the Marshal slowly walk out of the mountain gate.

"Sir." The eldest son Zhang Lian, who was the military secretary of the shogunate and the general manager of the cavalry and infantry of the Han and foreign troops in the yamen, the second son Zhang Ke, the military commander of Guiyi, and the eldest daughter Zhang Lian came to greet him.

"Did the angel receive you well?" Zhang Jun asked.

"The post station inspector has arranged a place for us to stay," Zhang Lian replied. She also worked in the shogunate, handling some paperwork and miscellaneous tasks for her father.

"Sir, I have asked around among the various armies in the yamen. The soldiers are not opposed to joining the imperial guards, but the common people are worried that their men will be demoted to the evil army, and many have petitioned."

Zhang Jun strolled up the hill, listening to the soldiers' erhu singing, facing the wind in silence.

What a good soldier! How wonderful it would be if he could be used by the country, fight to recover lost territory, draw his bow and rush west to Dunhuang, and take over the fifty states of Guanshan.

"Do you know how your grandparents died?" Zhang Jun did not answer Zhang Lian, but asked instead.

Zhang Lian, Zhang Lian and Zhang Ke only had a vague understanding of it because their father never explained it in detail and they only knew the general idea.

"They were killed." Zhang Jun walked on the grass and said, "When I was five years old, they were captured from the cattle pen by Tibetan officials, pinned to the ground and chopped, and blood splashed on my face. I didn't know what happened at the time, but later I heard that they were bought by nobles to be made into jewelry. The skulls were made into wine vessels, and the finger bones and spines were made into necklaces. I wanted to take revenge, but they were sold in just two days..."

Zhang Lian's face flushed, and Zhang Lian's heart trembled.

"The revenge for my father's murder can be avenged even in a hundred generations. But I can't eat, I can only wait for death with hatred. Even if I can live another ten years, with the narrow and barren two states of Jingyuan, the strength of 15,000 soldiers cannot reach Luosi and flatten the snow mountain palace." Zhang Jun paused, facing the bleak autumn wind, standing with his hands behind his back: "Depend on you, can you do it?"

"How dare you not fight to the death?" Zhang Lian asked back with gritted teeth.

"Where's your son? Where's your grandson?" Zhang Jun sighed slightly, "The first generation relatives, the second generation cousins, the third and fourth generations have forgotten. This is the common feeling in the world. People will not use their own lives to avenge an ancestor they have never seen. Just like the emperor listens to people talking about the hardships of life all day long, he may really care about the safety of the people, but how can he care about the people he can't see."

The children were all stunned when they heard this. "So the hope of revenge does not lie with you. It can only be possible if the emperor devotes all his national strength."

"Does your Excellency mean to let my brother lead the troops into the court this time?" Zhang Lian asked sharply. She knew that her father actually had little affection for the court. It was absurd to let a slave who was sold and plundered and should have died in a foreign country long ago but luckily escaped back to his homeland be loyal to the emperor and the country. In other words, Jingyuan, which her father happened to join, was deeply influenced by Cheng Zongchu.

General Cheng was a very loyal man. When he was in office, he often exhorted his officers and soldiers to be upright men and ministers of the king. He was eager to recover the capital for the sage when he fought against Huang Chao, and he led the troops and died in battle. To this day, his blood-stained clothes are still in his official residence, being worshipped by his father and officers and soldiers. He should be the last loyal minister in the northwest of Beijing after the Chao Rebellion began.

Zhang Jun nodded.

"What do you mean, my son?"

"If the saint wishes to recover the old land and avenge our family, I will lead the horse and hold the stirrup myself." Lian and Ke understood their father's thoughts and replied.

"Okay." Seeing that both of them understood, Zhang Jun didn't say anything more.

The Saint's edict must be obeyed. First, the Zhang family has no intention of rebelling, second, Jingyuan does not have the strength to resist the attack, and third, being a member of the imperial guard is not a bad thing, and the soldiers have no objection. In this case, obeying the edict is the only choice, so it is better to let the children of the Zhang family lead the team.

Given the court's current continued strength, this is also an opportunity for our children.

"Let's set off tomorrow. The Saint has defeated the bandit tribes of Qi, Feng, Tong, Hua and Bin, killing countless people. If the towns of Xia, Fu, Ling and Jin are not stupid, they will also obey the emperor's orders. You two should lead your troops to the court as soon as possible, so that you can leave a good impression on the Saint." Zhang Jun said finally.

"Sir, I heard that Bian and Chang'an have become enemies because of the saint's marriage to the Shatuo woman. Although both sides have maintained restraint, the situation is already shrouded in haze and a bloody battle is about to break out..." Zhang Lian frowned.

"Don't be stupid."

Zhang Jun interrupted, "The more difficult the court is, the more the vassal states in the northwest of Beijing will help if they are wise. The court is strong, and the vassal states are its subjects. As long as they do not act out of line, they can still be respectable. If the powerful vassal states invade the pass in large numbers, don't you see what happened to Shi Pu, Zhu Xuan, and Xing Mi?"

"I will teach you." Zhang Lian nodded and said what her father hadn't finished: "The interests of the yamen soldiers are in danger of being destroyed, and the wealth, family, and power of the military commanders are in danger of being destroyed."

"You should go to Chang'an too." Zhang Jun originally planned to marry this talented and intelligent woman to Fengxiang next door, but unexpectedly Li Maozhen was defeated quickly. In Guanzhong today, the imperial court is the only one in power, so the emperor is naturally the best candidate.

According to the rules, the emperor of the current dynasty should have one empress, four concubines, nine imperial concubines, nine beauties, nine talented women and eighty-one imperial concubines.

He heard from the official who reported to the emperor that in the current emperor's harem, there were only five favored women: Concubine He Shufei, Concubine Zhuye, Lady Chen of Fengling County, Lady Zhao of Tianshui County, and Lady Yang of Xinqin County. If you include Li Zhaoyi, Chen Zhaoyi, Concubine Wei, and Liu Jieyushi, there were only ten women in total, only one-ninth of the number stipulated by etiquette and law. It was still too rare.

It's a pity that my daughter is so talented, but she is buried in such a small corner of Jingyuan.

"As you command, sir." Zhang Lian nodded.

There was nothing to worry about. As long as it could benefit the family, she would not avoid death, let alone just marrying someone. She had prepared to marry Li Congyan, the son of Li Maozhen, but unfortunately, the marriage partner died in the crusade of the saint before they even met.

The changes in the world are really hard to predict.

"Go ahead. The sea is swallowing us up. The Jingyuan ship must sail steadily on this raging sea." Zhang Jun sighed.

……

On September 27th of the first year of Gyeongbok, a grand sacrifice was held in the East Inner Courtyard.

On the day of the army's return, the ministers congratulated the emperor and mentioned that they would build a shrine to collect the dead, erect a stele, and write a shrine text. After more than ten days of preparation, they built a floor, a pavilion, and two halls to accommodate the stele, tablets, and bone boxes. The floor, pavilion, and two halls are not big, with a crimson appearance and a dark blue main body. Together they are called Kaiping Shrine.

This was named by the officials of the Ministry of Shrines. The saint could not accept the word "shrine" and originally planned to name it "jingu". However, when he asked Zhao, he found out that jingu was another name for the ancestral temple of the saints.

When asked if the word "temple" was appropriate, the answer was: "A temple is used to worship the spirits of God, and a temple is used to honor the merits of the four rivers and five mountains."

In other words, the place where the dead were stored could not be called a temple, but only the word "she" could be used, which was widely applicable without losing its standard. She was a place for worshipping various gods. Using this word was equivalent to elevating the warriors who were placed there to the level of gods.

No matter whether they are good gods or evil gods, they are still gods, right?

After some inquiries, there was no room for maneuver. The saint gave up and couldn't help but feel angry at Xiao Ri, "You deserve to die!"
"Everyone, let's go." Zhao, the person in charge of drafting the Shinto text, will also recite the Shinto words on the spot.

The emperor and his ministers entered the East Inner Courtyard from Yanzheng Gate.

At this time, 15000 officers and soldiers from various cities had gathered on the streets outside Yanzheng Gate and in the East Inner Courtyard inside the gate. Most of them were led by the saint, and some were from other cities. This was not only to show off the prestige and military power in front of the ministers, but also to let the soldiers witness the ceremony with their own eyes.

If there are no rules, then establish them. If there is no sense of honor and disgrace, then cultivate it.

If you do nothing, and just keep saying that martial artists are just that, it's useless to do anything. If you do nothing, and don't educate or guide them, martial artists will of course be just that. This is not just true for martial artists, but for others as well.

If people are not taught, they cannot become adults.

"Long live the emperor——" When they arrived at Yanzheng Gate, the soldiers bowed their heads in greeting.

There were many exquisite wutou gates inside Yanzheng Gate. The sage took a look and thought they were the predecessors of torii.

"Your Majesty." Entering the East Inner Courtyard, officials from the Ministry of Shrines, the Taichang Temple and other departments cast their eyes at him.

The saint nodded and remained silent, standing on the sacred path with his hands clasped.

I glanced around.

On both sides of the Shinto road stood a row of warriors with solemn expressions. Well, in such an occasion, I was so affected by the atmosphere that I couldn't laugh anymore.

Going further ahead, there are several stone statues, stone beasts, and stone golden lotus lamps on both sides of the sacred road.

At the end of the sacred road, there stand five huge black stone tablets.

On the left is a Shinto poem describing the war, in the middle are the names, hometowns, official positions and military ranks of the martyred soldiers. On the right is the announcement of the establishment of the company, describing the date, place, purpose and participants of the event.

Da da da.

Zhao walked into the crowd, chanting: "The Great View is above, it is compliant and flexible, it is upright and observes the world. To observe, wash but not to offer, it is trustworthy and solemn, it is to observe and transform. Observing the divine way of heaven, the four seasons are not wrong, the saints use the divine way to teach and the world is convinced. Jingfu Chongxuan, the king Li family built a shrine based on this, hoping to commemorate the heroic spirits..."

Here, with the assistance of officials from the Temple of the Gods, the Taoist priests of Xuandu Temple also began to perform rituals to lead the spirits of the heroes into the shrine.

The Taoist men and women were either sitting and chanting scriptures quickly, or dancing gracefully.

People kept throwing paper money during the process.

Accompanied by various readings, the whole scene was solemn and eerie, really spooky, and it felt extremely politically significant.

The saint stood there, completely like a tool, his only role was to help people arrive at the scene.

"The Supreme Emperor has decreed that you enter the shrine!" Suddenly, an official from the Shrine Department shouted.

Crash.

The warriors standing in formation on both sides and watching made a noise, but then immediately shut up.

Officials who were temporarily transferred from the social offices outside Beijing to work were led into Yanzheng Gate carrying black pottery bone boxes. The soldiers pushed each other silently and quickly gave up the shrine.

Those who were welcomed into the shrine included their elder brothers, their younger brothers, their fellow comrades, their superiors, and their subordinates.

Anyone who makes a fuss in this situation should be killed by everyone.

"May the light of blessing shine forth, may the Dharma be opened wide, and may all the gods from heaven gather to save you. They will forgive all your sins, save you from all your troubles, and enable you to escape from them and gain eternal life. The country will be well-fed as long as the world is safe..." As the ceremony reached its climax, more than a hundred Taoists stepped in strange steps and spoke in unison.

Seeing this, many warriors on both sides couldn't help but urinate in tears. It was unclear whether they were pretending or were truly mourning over their dead brothers or friends.

Listening to the warriors crying and saying immoral things, many ministers and saints could not help themselves. But they also knew that the warriors could beat everyone to death if they got angry. So they all kept their expressions tense and maintained a heavy face.

In front, Zhao performed a strange dance.

It should not be a dance. The saint saw other female officials and Taoists dancing in the Sanqing Hall and Liesheng Temple in the imperial palace. It should be some special custom used in specific occasions and cannot be compared with dance in the conventional sense.

I really underestimated Zhao. She dances quite well.

Perhaps next time I can test the eunuchs' obedience to me by ordering them to dance.

Oh, forgot.

It seems that the Khitans like to do this.

Aguda, everyone else is jumping, why don't you stand still like a mountain? Are you unhappy and want to rebel?

Ugh.

Being forced to live a simple life is really disgusting.

The saint was lost in thought, and his mind gradually became absent-minded. He didn't know why, but he suddenly thought of Meng Cairen - what a beast I am!

(End of this chapter)