Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 370: On the 15th Day of the First Lu Month, the Lü Sect Was Suppressed
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Chang'an still had a festive atmosphere.
It is said that Guanzhong is in a state of disrepair and most of the population have migrated from Heishan. Even food needs to be provided by Xuzhou. There is no condition for celebrating the New Year like in Nanjing.
However, because Liu Xie was preparing to hold another sacrificial ceremony on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the scene became a bit more lively.
Liu Xie was not stupid. He knew that there was no time for a grand celebration. The main thing was to create an atmosphere...
Although there are legends about Yuanxiao in the pre-Qin period, according to historical records, it only appeared in the Song Dynasty and became a special food for the Lantern Festival.
The name of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month comes from the Three Yuans of Taoism. However, the term Lantern Festival only came into being during the Tang Dynasty, when the concept of the Three Yuans was first proposed by Zhang Lu. The concept of the Three Yuans originated from the Three Tongs of the Taiping Dao.
Therefore, even if Liu Xie was beaten to death, he would never call the fifteenth day of the first lunar month "Shangyuan Festival".
However, the custom of celebrating the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has existed since the Han Dynasty. It was first observed by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty in order to commemorate the fact that Zhou Bo and others pacified the Lü clan and helped him ascend the throne on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Later, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, it became customary to offer sacrifices to the Taiyi God, who was believed to be the "Emperor of Heaven" in the Han Dynasty, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
When Liu Xie celebrated the 15th, he also used the name of offering sacrifice to Taiyi God, but at the same time he also specially asked Shangshu Pushe Shisun Rui to draft an article to commemorate the elimination of the Lu kings...
After Bai Tu returned to Jinling on the 14th day of the first lunar month, he heard that Liu Xie was holding back - after all, Liu Xie had no intention of hiding it. Instead, he wanted to commemorate the killing of the Lü clan with great fanfare.
A group of princes with the surname Lu were enthroned after the death of Liu Bang, when Empress Lu was in power. They were the first group of princes who were not from the Liu family and were enthroned after the "White Horse Alliance".
Now Liu Xie's sacrifice to eliminate the Lü clan also has the meaning of "drawing little people".
After Bai Tu found out, he did not deliberately ruin the festive atmosphere, but specially found Ni Heng - although this stubborn nitpicker was in the Ministry of Rites, he was completely unable to help with the founding of the country, and he hindered the progress everywhere...
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." When Ni Heng saw Bai Tu, he was very shameless . He didn't care that Bai Tu had not yet been crowned king in name, and he just called him first.
"Zhengping, I heard that you have nothing to do recently? Help me write a few articles." Bai Tu said as he handed the information about the Chang'an Suppression of Zhu Lu to Ni Heng.
Ni Heng took it and looked at it, then stretched his neck and said, "Your Majesty, should we vindicate the Lü clan and denounce those despicable villains who slaughtered meritorious officials for their own selfish interests?"
Bai Tu grinned when he heard this, and felt a little toothache - I haven't seen you for a few days, and you dare to mock Emperor Gaozu of Han like this? Can you harvest Liu's spiritual power remotely?
"Nonsense! Of course not... The court wants to commemorate the suppression of the Lü clan, and we must also be consistent with the court! I asked you to write an article to commemorate Zhou Bo, the hero who suppressed the Lü clan. By the way, there is also Zhou Bo's son Zhou Yafu. These are all heroes and generals who should be commemorated. We should promote their deeds and make sure to write them in a moving way. Do you understand?" After Bai Tu reprimanded Ni Heng, he put on a righteous look.
Ni Heng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he seemed to have thought of something, and asked with a bright look in his eyes, "Should we write down the life stories of the Zhou family's marquises clearly?"
"That's right, it should be more comprehensive, but... it also needs to have a focus." Bai Tu said suggestively.
"I obey your command!"
"Well, hurry up with the manuscript. It will be sent to the printer this afternoon, and the court bulletin will be printed ." Bai Tu silently urged the manuscript.
“Yes.”
Bai Tu knew that Ni Heng already understood what he meant.
Liu Xie wanted to commemorate the victory over the Lü clan, so Bai Tu naturally had to support the imperial court.
Speaking of pacifying the Lü clan, we can't avoid mentioning Zhou Bo, the Marquis of Jiang, who led the army to kill Lü Lu and Lü Chan and supported Emperor Wen, who was then the King of Dai. His life should be introduced, and we can also focus on the fate of the Marquis of Jiang.
For example, in his later years, he was dismissed from his post as prime minister because of Emperor Wen's fear of him; after returning to his fiefdom, he was worried all day long that the court would execute him, and was in a state of panic; when he was falsely accused, he was even bullied by the jailer, leaving behind the words "How do you know the value of the jailer?"
When talking about Zhou Bo, we naturally have to talk about his second son Zhou Yafu, a famous general who quelled the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. In the end... he was often feared by Emperor Jing. When he was unemployed due to illness, he was falsely accused of treason because he was preparing 500 sets of armor for burial. After it was proved that they were burial objects, he was humiliated and said that he "wanted to rebel after his death". In anger, he starved to death.
However, there are also "bad people" in the Zhou family. Ni Heng also criticizes Zhou Yafu's nephew Zhou Jiande. This person is not famous, but it was he who lost the title of the Zhou family.
Why was it lost? The gold that was offered to the imperial court of insufficient quality.
Why not famous?
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, this reason was used to strip the titles of more than a hundred marquises. Who knows who Zhou Jiande is...
In short, if Liu Xie wants to commemorate the victory over the Lü clan, Bai Tu will definitely help. This must be made clear to your Liu family.
Not only the court reports, but also the scripts.
After Ni Heng, Bai Tu specially invited Cao Bang - although he was Cao Cao's nephew and still a hostage, Cao Bang had a high creative ability in scripts.
In comparison, Bai Tu can only provide the direction of the story. After all, when writing a script at that time, the lyrics have to be in rhyme, otherwise it will be awkward to sing. And a pure stage play is not well received by the public because it is not lively enough.
"The outsider pays his respects to Lord Bai." After Cao Bang arrived, he still called him "Lord Bai".
I don’t know why, but as soon as Cao Bang came in, Lu Lingqi instinctively frowned her nose, as if something was wrong.
"An Guo, how are you doing in Jinling recently? Have you encountered any problems at the post station?" Bai Tu showed his symbolic concern.
After all, Cao Bang did not work in the General's Mansion and did not receive a salary. He couldn't appear to think of him only when he had something to do, right?
"Replying to Mr. Bai, everything is fine, but... after Mr. Bai's wedding, I may have to leave Jinling." Cao Bang said with some regret.
A hostage cannot leave whenever he wants, but Cao Cao's hostage is Cao Pi, and Cao Bang is just a nephew, at most a bonus. As long as Cao Pi doesn't leave... given the current relationship between Bai Tu and Cao Cao, there is no need to stop Cao Bang.
After all, by next year, Bai Tu and Cao Cao may not meet each other by land. Given the current situation, the new "Three Kingdoms" may not be a tripartite relationship, but a "sideways" relationship. Naturally, Cao Cao and Bai Tu will get along well.
Bai Tu was stunned when he heard this, but then he realized that the reason Cao Bang was in a hurry to set off was probably to take advantage of the fact that the road from Wancheng to Xu County was still accessible, otherwise he would have to cross the sphere of influence of Fu Han in the future...
"Okay, bring some local specialties with you when you leave. I'll ask the Ministry of Rites to prepare some gifts as well." Bai Tu said with some disappointment, but did not stop him.
Cao Bang was a little depressed when he thought about leaving Jinling, where there was ice cream in the summer and theater in the weekdays, but he still asked, "Mr. Bai specially asked me to come here, but what's the important matter?"
"Originally, I wanted to hand over a few scripts to An Guo, but since An Guo is leaving, I should prepare my own things first."
Bai Tu did not force it. After all, the script had a lot of lines, and Cao Bang even understood the storyboard himself, so it was not something that could be written immediately.
If we delay for too long and something happens in Xu County, we might face more danger on the road...
However, after a slight struggle in his eyes, Cao Bang took the initiative to say, "I'm afraid there won't be such an opportunity in the future. If Mr. Bai doesn't mind, I'll finish writing and go home!"
