Spring and Autumn I Am King

At the end of February in the second year of Song Gongjiu's second year, it was the mid-spring season. It was a sunny day, and the sky was high and cloudless. 【Full text reading..】Located on the north bank of Jishui in the border of Wei, a mighty motorcade crossed Jishui from the wide pontoon bridge.

At the head were armored soldiers with crossbows and swords and halberds on their backs, there were as many as a thousand people! Scattered around are a brigade of cavalry servants, the cavalry officers are dressed in fresh clothes and angry horses, vigilantly scouting the surrounding area. At the center of the convoy was a huge four-wheeled carriage, richly decorated and striking, followed by a hundred carriages of dowry.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a team of wedding cars that are personally married.

The warm spring breeze swayed more than a dozen flags held high above their heads, embroidered with the flaming sun black bird symbolizing the Zhao family, and the family emblem with the character "Asia" symbolizing the imperial family of the Song Dynasty. After they crossed the Jishui River, they went all the way unobstructed, and poured into the gate of Pingqiu Yi by the water. It was not blocked, because even the city head of Pingqiu, which belonged to the Wei Kingdom, also fluttered the flags of Zhao and Song.

The city was already under martial law. As the conquered, the people of Wei were not allowed to go out. They could only peep out carefully through the cracks in the door. They saw that the occupier of Pingqiu City, Zhao Guangde, a descendant of the Zhao family, with a high crown and a sword, had been standing there since the morning. Looking at the city head, seeing the convoy entering the city, they quickly came down to meet them.

On the other side of the convoy, there was also a gentleman who rode a fat horse, wore a light fur, and wore a crown of Yuanyou.

Zhao Guangde's eyes lit up when he saw the person who came, that's right, he's back!

He hurriedly walked over and saluted, "Congratulations to my cousin! It's been a long journey from Qufu to Shangqiu to welcome you in person, and then to go back to Wenxian to get married.

After the visitor dismounted, he also greeted the chubby Zhao Guangde: "Cousin, you have worked hard to guard Jibei and Punan."

This person is Zhao Wuxi, the general of the Lu Kingdom. He has not seen him for more than half a year. The two sagittal whiskers on his lips are a little thicker. Although he is busy, his face has the joy of the bridegroom.

While the two brothers were talking, the convoys that drove into the city were also divided under the guidance of the defenders: the soldiers went to the barracks, the servants also had a place to settle down, and the large wedding car slowly drove towards the most prosperous nobles in the city. Li Lu.

Zhao Guangde looked over there and said with a smile, "Doctor Pingqiu of Wei was expelled by me, and I expropriated his mansion, which is equipped with pavilions, pavilions, gardens and ponds, and it is no less comfortable to live in. Yule's palace. Can my cousin go over there to accompany my sister-in-law?"

Wu Xun smiled wryly and shook his head: "Cousin, you are going to kill me. Fu Mu of Le's family and Yousi, who is in charge of etiquette, are by the bride's side for twelve hours a day. Welcome, but I can't even see her veil along the way, and we can't meet again until the wedding night."

The so-called personal greeting is a Spring and Autumn wedding custom, that is, the groom goes to the woman's house to meet the bride in person.

At the beginning of February, Zhao Wuxi took five hundred cavalry from Lu State to Shangqiu in Song State. On a sunny evening, he let the messenger hold a torch and light the way, and visited the mansion of the Sicheng Le family with gifts.

As the female parent, Le Mi set up a feast at the family ancestral temple and greeted him outside the door. Zhao Wuxi held the wild goose and asked him to ascend to the hall and worshipped. After Le Mi had finished admonishing Lingzi, the couple gave Jin Yueyue. He quoted Lingzi and Kong Jiao, who was his concubine, to board the car and drive the wheel in person. After three laps, he was handed over to the driver to drive, and he rode first. On the next journey of hundreds of miles, he couldn't turn back and talk to the bride...

The Spring and Autumn Ritual System is complicated. Even if Shiqing Shilu is overthrown one day, and "everyone is equal under the Tao of Heaven and the Son of Heaven", it will not be able to eradicate this kind of ritual and custom that continued to the Ming and Qing Dynasties and even modern times.

Although Zhao Wuxi was powerful in Song and Lu, no one dared to say anything even if he had the will to overstep, but he respected Le Lingzi and didn't want others to think that he was treating this marriage frivolously. Endured all the way.

So Wu Xie could only watch helplessly as the bride and concubine wore the deep white clothes admired by Yin people, got out of the ink cart, sat on the chariot, and walked away surrounded by Fu Mu and the maid.

Zhao Guangde laughed behind him and said, "Since this is the case, the Yi Temple has already been vacated, so my cousin should just squeeze with me."

Wu Xie was in a good mood, he withdrew his gaze on the slender back, turned around and punched Zhao Guangde heavily in the chest, and scolded with a smile, "You will soon marry the daughter of the Meng family, Yan'er, and then the ups and downs will be self-sufficient. I'll know all of them!"

The shogunate officials behind Zhao Wuxi looked at each other in dismay, and several of the Lu country scholars who had recently been promoted to his side as note-taking assistants couldn't help but stunned.

They thought to themselves that when the general was in the state of Lu, he was majestic and powerful, and he spoke every word. Who would dare to disobey? Dongdi doctors, Ji clan, Meng clan, the sons and grandsons of the Sishang princes, and even the Lu princes were trembling when they talked to him, and only the blood relatives of the Zhao clan dared to talk to this Hu Qing. Laugh?

They were envious and thought to themselves, "Shiyan, you are a **** for drinking. It's not bad if you have brothers, and you are happy and nurturing."

After chatting and laughing with Zhao Guangde for a few months, Zhao Wuxi said again, "Don't be in a hurry to go to Yi Temple, you know what I like, every time I go, I must first go to the local scenic spot to observe it. My condolences. Although the horseshoes of Song and Lu Zhishi have traveled all over the southern border of Wei in the past six months, I have not personally visited the Pingqiu area. You are the host, why don't you take me to the Pingqiu Huimengtai in the east of the city? ?"

...

Half an hour later, Zhao Wuxi was already standing on the Pingqiu platform, looking down between the heavens and the earth, with all the fields in sight.

The high platform at the foot was once beautifully decorated, but now it has gone through years of vicissitudes of life, weathered by wind and rain, and the half bricks and remnants left after being eroded by wind and sand seem to still tell the glory of yesterday.

As for the open field in front of me, I think it was a man-made martial arts field back then. How many Jin men raised their spears here, followed the flags and drums and shouted and performed martial arts for their monarch and for the Jin State's soldiers. Domineering and show off martial arts. Now it is empty, only the wind and dust swept past.

"Sure enough hegemony is emerging..."

Zhao Wuxi let the spring breeze blow on his face, he was silent for a while, then sighed, pointed to the high platform under his feet, and then stretched out his hand and waved to the wide plain in front of him, and said to Zhao Guangde and the others behind him:

"Thirty years ago, Duke Zhao of Jin held a meeting of Pingqiu here. Under the stage, 4,000 Jin people lined up in chariots for a full ten miles, and 100,000 Jin soldiers were like a forest. It is said that the first military parade of the Jin army , the flag was erected without streamers (built without streamers), and the princes did not have much fear; the next day, all the troops added streamers to the flag, and thousands of black cloths rushed into the wind with murderous aura, and all the princes in the Central Plains Intimidating."

"Therefore, there were many participants in the meeting of Pingqiu, and there were Zhou Qing Liu Zi, Qi Hou, Song Gong, Wei Hou, Zheng Bo, Cao Bo, Ju Zi, Zhu Lou Zi, Teng Zi, Xue Bo, Qi Bo, Xiao Zhu Lou Zi and other feudal lords came to cheer, the future Duke Zhao of Lu was severely condemned, Lu Qing Ji Pingzi was directly detained, and was almost killed by Jin people."

Except for Zhao Guangde and several Wen County military officials who were from Jin, most of the entourage were from Lu. Hearing this was a bit embarrassing. The newly appointed secretary, Xiang Lu, who was only fourteen, was even more dissatisfied.

He disregarded his colleagues pulling the corners of his clothes behind him, and protested boldly: "The meeting of Pingqiu, with power rather than virtue, is Jin people unrighteous!"

Those Lu people were horrified, this child, you don't know that the general is a Jin himself, and this time he is going to bring his bride back to the ancestral temple of Jin to get married! ?

Zhao Wuxi glanced back at Xiang Yu, but he was not angry, he nodded and said, "Yes, the Pingqiu Society is indeed an unjust alliance that bullies the weak, and even the gentleman Qianqian told him that although the morality of the Jin state is insufficient, the public is still available. !"

There are many people who are assistant officials by his side, from the earliest Cheng Tuan to the later Kan Zhi and Gong Xichi, but for those who have some talents but are not enough to be independent, Zhao Wuxi will keep him by his side, and then he will be delegated. Go to the grassroots to roll in a circle. It is no wonder that the shogunate officials regarded following the great general as a pen-officer as a smooth way to become the general's cronies and superior officials.

Now, Kan Zhi and Gong Xichi have successfully "graduated", and the people around Zhao Wuxi have been replaced by Xiang Lu.

But Zhao Wuxi ignored him, and said directly to Zhao Guangde: "What is hegemony? This is what I want to teach you today. The emperor sent his uncle, and entrusted the hegemon to maintain the order of the Xia and even the barbarians of Chu and Yue, and seize this place. A honor, and at the same time, you can enjoy the tribute of the princes, this is the essence of the struggle for hegemony."

"At the time of Qi Huan and Jin Wen, the feudal lords still respected propriety and respected faith, which was the time of the prosperity of the hegemony. But after the meeting of Pingqiu, no matter how the Jin and Chu struggled, the hegemony could not continue. Why? Collapse, only relying on the alliance will no longer be able to restrain each other, and because the order of the Central Plains can no longer be maintained, the ritual and music expedition no longer comes from the princes, but also from the lords, the hegemony who only has a false name, is far away. There is no real possibility of annexing the land and the people.”

He asked the ignorant Zhao Guangde seriously: "Do you understand what I mean?"

"Brother is stupid..."

Zhao Guangde was a little flustered~www.wuxiahere.com~ His knowledge was limited, his vision was limited to the competition for one city and one place, and he was excited by the strength of the Zhao clan. But he did not think carefully about the pulse of the times contained in it.

Xiang Lu hurriedly said, "I know what your lord means. The era of mergers and acquisitions will come when the lords, officials and officials compete for power. In the past six months, Wei Guo was the first sacrifice!"

Zhao Wuxi showed a smile: "You are right."

This son has the name of a child prodigy. Zhao Wuqi likes to polish and polish him, and he is not stingy to praise him occasionally. Sure enough, Xiang Tu looks overjoyed after receiving the praise.

In fact, Zhao Wuxi knew this, not only among the princes, but also among the ministers. He knew very well that the Jin State was about to usher in a major change in the merger of the six ministers to become stronger!

Although in Si Shang, where the situation was complicated, he followed the old path of Qi Huan and Jin Wen, but within the Jin state, he wanted the Zhao family to take a new path.

Not the Spring and Autumn-style hegemony road, but the Warring States-style merger road!

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