Three Kingdoms

No matter how heavy the snow is, it will eventually melt one day.

It's beautiful when it snows.

But it looks ugly when it melts.

Nature seems to be telling the parasitic humans in this way that it can give beauty as well as ugliness.

Fei Qian stood under the altar, sitting upright, not looking at Lu Bu, Chen Gong and others.

The altar has three floors, with earthen wood as the foundation, white stone as the railing, and flags placed around it. It is not built very high, it is only five or six meters high at most, but it is condescending enough to give the spectators on the ground a certain level of comfort. Feeling oppressive.

There should be a sense of ritual in life, and the same is true in the political workplace.

When an official takes office, he or she comes alone, or is sent by someone sent by the superior department, or is sent to the post by a dedicated person organized by the relevant department, or is it announced publicly in front of all employees at a special meeting, etc. The meaning behind each one is completely different, and the meaning they represent is also different.

Xun Chen acted as the ceremonial officer and stood in front of the steps of the altar. The drummers and musicians sat around the altar.

The day misses two moments of the hour.

The clerk in charge of keeping time watched nervously as the floating arrow in the clepsydra slowly pointed to the predetermined mark. He quickly grabbed the red corner flag on the side of the clepsydra and raised it high.

Bells ring.

Almost everyone trembled with the sound of the bell and couldn't help but straighten their bodies.

Xun Chen glanced at Fei Qian slightly, then raised his head and shouted: "Come in"

The sound of drums and bells sounded in unison, stirring up the atmosphere in all directions.

Yezhe trotted up to Fei Qian, then bent down to lead him.

Fei Qian wore a high crown and long sleeves, put his hands in his sleeves, and slowly followed the visitor to the altar step by step. The visitor bowed, stepped aside, and Fei Qian walked toward the altar step by step.

Drum a hundred times.

Fei walked up to the top floor of the altar [ . ] amid the sound of drums, and then stood still.

The drum stops.

Xun Chen raised his hands high and raised his sleeves, as if pulling out two flags, and worshiped while shouting: "Sacrifice"

Beat the drum nine times, and ring the gold nine times.

Fei Qian also paid homage to the sacrifices and tablets on the table in the middle of the altar amid the sound of bells and drums.

The guards at the four corners of the altar were half kneeling.

Lu Bu, Chen Gong and others also knelt down and worshiped together, as did the other officials watching the ceremony. Even the people watching the excitement in the distance knelt down and worshiped on the ground together, regardless of the muddy snow on the ground.

Han people kneel to the sky, to the ground, and to their parents in the middle. As for the king, most of the time there is no need to kneel down. The altar is a place where heaven and earth are announced, so you must kneel down and worship, otherwise it will be disrespectful to heaven and earth.

For a moment, everything was quiet, except for the fragrance rising from the table in the center of the altar.

Fei Qian was in the green smoke, clasping his hands and closing his eyes, praying silently.

After praying, Fei Qian stood up.

Xun Chen, the "Xian" ceremony officer, followed suit.

Fei Qian took the wine cup delivered by the attendant, then raised it high and offered it to heaven and earth.

Then offer three animals, and finally offer fresh fruits. Fortunately, Feiqian now has a greenhouse, otherwise these fresh fruits would have to be replaced with dried fruits...

Then the entire gift is over.

After the gift is completed, it is the memorial ceremony.

Sima Hui, who temporarily served as the priest, held the sacrificial inscriptions, spoke eloquently, and spoke at length, in an ups and downs, and impassionedly.

Since Sima Hui had expressed his willingness to participate before, it was impossible for him to be aloof and arrogant. When Fei Qian said that there was going to be a ceremony to enthrone the altar, Sima Hui was naturally the one to reveal his face like reading out the sacrificial inscriptions. willing to do.

It can be used as a stepping stone for the Sima family to enter the Zhengxi Group, and it also seems to have a high status. After all, the people who read out the sacrificial rites are always people of high status, such as great Confucians. Although Sima Hui thinks that his knowledge is good, after all, he is still far from being a great Confucian recognized by everyone. It's a bit off, so there are never too many things that you can add gold to.

Lu Bu was kneeling on the mat under the altar. Perhaps he had been kneeling for a long time, or maybe he hadn't had a good rest before. He suddenly felt a little dizzy and had to put his hands on the mat to stabilize himself. shape.

Lu Bu listened to Sima Hui's memorial service, but he didn't understand a word. He kept thinking about what happened in the past few days.

Last night, Lu Bu and Chen Gong talked for a long time.

Although Chen Gong tried his best, firstly, the time left for Lu Bu was short, and secondly, Lu Bu did not have many resources at hand. It was still difficult for the so-called clever woman to cook without rice. In addition, the position of governor of Bingzhou was indeed for Lu Bu. The temptation is great to wait for what others urgently need, so I can only bow my head and admit it first, and then think of ways to move around later...

For example, a more direct and simple way is to ask Emperor Liu Xie to officially confirm the canonization again.

In terms of specific operation, after Lu Bu takes office, he can pay tribute to the court in the name of Bingzhou Governor. If Emperor Liu Xie accepts it and gives a formal reply, it means that he can break away from Fei Qian's sequence and return to the orthodox sequence of the court. among.

It's like Liu Bei became Xuzhou Mu, and then he rushed to pay tribute in the name of Xuzhou Mu.

Of course, this plan is as simple as it gets, but after all, Lu Bu hated Liu Xie and Cao Cao before. Whether it can be realized in the end, there is actually not much hope...

There are other methods, but those methods are less popular than the previous method and cannot be made public openly.

Lu Bu was thinking a lot under the altar, while Fei Qian, who was above the altar, looked at Sima Hui and was actually thinking about some things in his mind, but these things had little to do with Lu Bu. To be honest, with Lu Bu in the situation he is in today, even if Lu Bu rebels in the future because of this or any other reason, Fei Qian will also gain fame. Today's grand ceremony will become something everyone talks about and spread to all directions. Everyone will know about it. Because of their previous friendship in Luoyang, Fei Qian gave Lu Bu treatment that exceeded the standard...

Since a guy like Lu Bu can achieve such a status, doesn't it mean that...

But similarly, such enfeoffment will also bring some disadvantages to Feiqian.

In fact, strictly speaking, the Han Dynasty’s system of prefectures, pastoral governors, and prefectural governors was a step backwards in history! Since ancient times, China has only become stronger if it has unified centralized power, even extremely strong!

The Western feudal system is actually not suitable for China, only centralization of power...

But now it can only be a temporary compromise.

In short, things are always like this, just like winter snow, it is beautiful and dreamy when it falls, but muddy when it melts. You can't say that it will never melt as long as it snows, right?

What's more, it is more important to recruit talents and promote Confucian restructuring.

Confucian restructuring is not Fei Qian's original creation. As early as Wang Mang's period, because of the sharp conflicts between the government and the opposition at that time, in order to ease such conflicts, Wang Mang launched a large-scale restructuring that involved many aspects, including Confucianism. Reform, but it is obvious that Wang Mang's restructuring touched too many interests, which eventually led to the rebellion of the whole country, the collapse of the court, and all the changes were overthrown, and even intensified.

This is a lesson before us, a bloody lesson. As the saying goes, the things of the predecessors are the lessons of the future generations. Fei Qian was naturally worried about whether he would make the same mistake again, whether he would have his head chopped off, his tongue pulled out, and then made into a specimen and placed in the court's arsenal...

When the wind and snow fall, they are loud and boundless, but when the snow melts, it moistens things silently and quietly.

Fei Qian raised his eyes and looked around, feeling slightly moved in his heart.

Since Confucianism was respected only, Confucianism has dominated the world. At that time, the selection of most virtuous people was mainly based on "setting up subjects and shooting strategies". In order to obtain fame, Confucian scholars had to stick to the principle of "learning from the teacher and the family law". Therefore, Confucianism could not It avoids becoming rigid and forms a cumbersome style of study that is "just chapters and sentences".

The reason is very simple. Not all academies or universities can adopt some questions according to local conditions like Fei Qian. In many cases, examinations are a form and means. In order to obtain a better ranking in such examinations, it is natural to There are corresponding tips and methods, just like the examinations in later generations also produced many high-scoring and low-energy people.

In order to highlight their differences from ordinary academicians, many Confucian disciples began to show off and study how many ways to write the word "Hui" like Kong Yiji. At the same time, in order to prove some of the shocking remarks they made, Confucianism gradually became more rigid and further With his deification, Confucius changed from a human to not a human and became a saint.

What followed was that Confucianism could neither educate the people with morality nor help the court stabilize the country, and chaos gradually emerged in the world.

Is it possible that during the whole process of becoming a big man, there were no sober people?

Neither.

There are many people who think of the need to improve Confucianism, and the representative figures among them are Yang Xiong, Liu Xiang, and Liu Xin's father and son.

Yang Xiong believed that to improve Confucianism, we must first learn from other scholars besides pre-Qin Confucianism, especially absorb the strengths of Taoism, and strongly demanded the restoration of orthodox Confucianism. This method was tantamount to negating Dong Zhongshu’s New Confucianism and Jinwen Confucianism, so no one paid attention to it. Liu Xiang and Liu Xin, their father and son, changed their approach and devoted themselves to reviving the pre-Qin scholars' studies, re-study and organize the works and theories of hundreds of scholars, absorb the advantages from the scholars' theories and improve the modern classics, and then launched an attempt Ancient Chinese classics that overthrew modern classics.

These people all disappeared together with Wang Mang.

There are many reasons for the failure of Wang Mang's restructuring, but the most fundamental point is that it harmed the interests of the princes, nobles, bureaucrats, and local wealthy people at that time.

The older generation of Confucian leaders are basically ideologically inclined to the ancient classics, but they have to use the modern classics. The main reason is that there are too many people studying the modern classics, which has been practiced for two to three hundred years. , has become the breadwinner of too many people, so even if there is dissatisfaction, it is not easy to cut off Jinwen Jingxue.

Today's situation is very similar to that of Wang Mang's time. The imperial power has declined, the courts are attacking each other, and the princes in various places are self-governing. The border areas are not peaceful and healthy, and there are wars and wars everywhere. It is impossible to restore the ancient system, because the ancient system is also It is impossible to adapt to the current environment, and it is impossible to respect the present, because many of the current systems are already rigid and lagging...

Fei Qian looked around, and as far as he could see, there were tiny people. These are ordinary people in Pingyang, people watching the excitement. Most of the time, these ordinary people are just watching the excitement. They cannot understand and cannot clearly see the exchange of interests at the political level. However, no matter what kind of exchange of interests, the ultimate bearers are these confused ordinary people watching the excitement.

"grant"

I don’t know when the memorial text was finished. Sima Hui stepped aside and gasped for air. Even Fei Qian could hear the huffing and puffing. Reading it loudly and cadencely for a long time was not an easy task for an elderly person. Pleasant things.

The sound of bells and drums was loud, and it sounded like the sound of gold and stone killing.

Fei Qian's thoughts were interrupted. He took the scepter representing the governor of Bingzhou and raised it high. The attendants on the side knelt on the ground and raised the lacquer plate containing the seal ribbon to their heads.

The golden bell struck, and as the lingering sound lingered, Xun Chen shouted: "Bye"

Lu Bu stood up, and under the leadership of the visitor, walked up to the altar on the first floor, and then performed a simple salute. After finishing, he walked to the second floor, bowed again, and finally walked to Fei Qian step by step.

"Dong dong dong..."

When Lu Bu was marching, the drums beat three times, and stopped when Lu Bu climbed the last step. Then after three breaths of silence, the bells and drums beat together, majestic and passionate, with a simple and magnificent beauty.

Twelve guanjia dancers lined up under the altar began to dance the great martial arts dance to the sound of bells and drums in front of the altar. The Dance of the Great Martial Arts is divided into six sections, and Fei Qian has only chosen three of them. One is about leading the army out of battle, one is about fierce fighting, and the other is about returning in triumph.

Feiqian is a prince, so he is naturally qualified to enjoy bell music, but his number cannot exceed that of the royal family, that is, he cannot exceed thirty-six people. Of course, when the royal family really puts on a show, it is often not thirty-six or even three hundred and six. Ten are possible.

At the end of the martial arts dance, the trumpets and drums sounded in unison, and then stopped at the same time. The only sound between heaven and earth was the sound of flags and banners flying in the wind on the altar.

Fei Qian held the staff flat with both hands and looked at Lu Bu with a smile.

Lu Bu lowered his head, as if hesitating for a moment, but finally half-knelt down on one knee, took the staff from Fei Qian, and then stood up. Immediately, an attendant hung the ribbon and sachet around Lu Bu's waist.

Lu Bu turned around and faced the altar, and suddenly the sound of drumming started again, accompanied by the cheers of the people under the altar, which seemed to shake the earth. The musicians worked hard to play the last movement of the whole session, the Gale Song.

"The strong wind is blowing, the clouds are flying, the Weijia sea is coming home, and the warriors are safe and guarding the four directions."

The tune of the Da Feng Song, which has been passed down for three to four hundred years, has just started to sing, including the Pingyang officials and ordinary people who are paying tribute, and they can't help but sing along. This song shows the heroic spirit of the entire Han Dynasty and also witnesses the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty.

The man is strong, the woman is tactful, the old man has experienced vicissitudes of life, and the young child is immature. They all sing in unison. Although it is only three sentences short, under the repeated chanting three times, and under the accompaniment of the sounds of bells, drums, gold and jade, there is a majestic atmosphere. The momentum soared into the sky!

As Lu Bu listened, he couldn't help but burst into tears. He roared loudly and joined in the chorus, "The wind is rising and the clouds are flying. The powerful warriors are returning to their hometown in the sea, and the warriors are guarding the four directions..."

Fei Qian stepped forward, stood beside Lu Bu, and raised his hand: "Brother, remember this moment...the cheers of these people are not for your and my official positions, but for...the warriors guarding the four directions! Protect us!" The people are happy!"

"!"

Lu Bu suddenly turned his head and saw Fei Qian's gentle smile, which seemed a bit dazzling under the sun...