Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 178 After you've finished cursing that tyrant, you're not allowed to curse me anymore!
Four days later, on the fifth day of the fifth month, Zhang Ji, the Minister of Works, passed away suddenly in his residence.

The emperor, crown prince, and empress all wore white mourning clothes for three days, and the crown prince personally went to the Minister of Works' residence to offer condolences.

Looking at the coffin in the center of the main hall, Liu Bian couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness.

Upon entering the mourning hall, the crimson coffin stood out against the white curtains. Liu Bian paused, then straightened his back and respectfully bowed three times to the coffin.

As the Crown Prince turned around, Zhang Ji's family and all the guests saw tears slowly sliding down his sharply defined jawline.

"Heaven has taken away Lord Yuanjiang from me!"

Liu Bian's voice was hoarse as he wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. It wasn't that he had deep feelings for Zhang Ji; he was simply still unable to adapt to the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

If he were to live to a normal age, he would likely face countless separations and deaths throughout his life, since his retainers are all much older than him.

After lamenting, Liu Bian took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and waved his hand to signal Lu Cui, the Crown Prince's attendant, to step forward and read the imperial edict.

Lu Cui stepped forward with his head bowed, his face calm and sorrowful, his eyelids lowered, concealing the barely suppressed excitement in his eyes.

Since the spring hunt at Shanglin Garden that day, he had often accompanied the Crown Prince. In addition, he was quite talented in literature and did not fail his teacher Cai Yong's teachings. Therefore, the Crown Prince often entrusted him with the task of drafting imperial edicts.

Drafting imperial edicts may seem like a trivial matter, but it actually reflects the emperor's trust and high regard for him. If the crown prince had already ascended the throne as the emperor, the responsibility of drafting imperial edicts would be handled by the Imperial Censor or the Attendant-in-Ordinary, which shows the crown prince's trust and high regard for him.

As for the matter of reading the imperial edict on behalf of the Crown Prince at Zhang Ji's funeral, it was an opportunity that came only once in a lifetime.

When the Three Dukes died, even if they disliked Zhang Ji, all civil and military officials in the court were required to attend the funeral and pay their respects; this was the established custom!

Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince personally attended the funeral in mourning clothes. What gives you the right not to come and pay your respects? Are you planning to go down and pay your respects in person?
Announcing the imperial edict in front of all the civil and military officials would also draw their attention to him, much like the Crown Prince introducing himself to the court, and would make everyone understand the Crown Prince's trust in him.

Lu Cui flicked his wrist, unfurled the silk, and solemnly proclaimed the imperial edict in a loud voice.

"Lord Yuanjiang, the Minister of Works, was a pillar of the court, revered throughout the land, and highly respected for his virtue and reputation. His sudden passing has deeply saddened me. I recall his past service as a lecturer in Huaguang, and I originally intended to suspend court for three days to express my grief. However, the soldiers on the frontier are serving their lives on the battlefield, and their safety is of paramount importance. How could I allow personal feelings to override public duty?"
If Zhang Qing's spirit dwells in the netherworld, he will surely understand my painstaking efforts. In remembrance of his family's meritorious service over generations, I hereby bestow upon him special honors: He is granted a special imperial edict and secret artifacts adorned with pearls and paintings, his meals will contain twenty-six kinds of pearls and jade, and he will be dispatched by the General of the Five Offices with an imperial edict to deliver the decree. He is posthumously awarded the title of Minister of Works with a gold seal and purple ribbon, the honorary title of Grand Master of the Palace, and the posthumous name of Marquis Gong.

This was an imperial edict, a rare opportunity for Emperor Liu Hong to personally issue. In the edict, he expressed his recognition of Zhang Ji's life achievements and his condolences for his passing.

Back then, Yang Ci, Zhang Ji, and Liu Kuan served as lecturers for Liu Hong in the Huaguang Hall, which can be considered as a teacher-student relationship.

Now that Zhang Ji has passed away, Liu Hong must fully express his grief, both emotionally and logically, while the Crown Prince personally formulated the regulations for Zhang Ji's funeral.

The posthumous bestowal of the seal of the Minister of Works is not unusual. Since the reign of Emperor Xiaoshun of the Later Han Dynasty, officials were often posthumously granted seals of office as an affirmation of their achievements throughout their lives.

At the same time, the seal of office also represents good wishes for the subject in the other world. People believe that the deceased will live in another world, which is why they hold sacrifices every year. The seal of office is meant to elevate the status of the deceased and help him receive better treatment in the other world.

Of course, the imperial seal was not supposed to be buried with the coffin. If the emperor did not grant it by special permission, it would be a violation of regulations to bury the seal.

As for bestowing upon him a coffin painted with cinnabar, a meal, twenty-six kinds of pearls and jade, and the honor of being given the title of General of the Five Offices with an imperial insignia, these were considered normal honors for the deceased Three Dukes.

However, the civil and military officials were still somewhat dissatisfied, as this treatment was far too generous, especially given to a eunuch like Zhang Ji. Liu Bian noticed the whispers among the mourning guests in the hall, but he didn't pay much attention to them; these dissenting voices were exactly what he had expected.

Although the edict was issued by the Emperor and not the Crown Prince, everyone knew that it was actually issued by the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince personally visited the ailing patient and convened the ministers to discuss the posthumous title. Who could not see that this was the Crown Prince's intention?

But the Crown Prince had just imprisoned the Yuan family of Runan, using them as a stepping stone to maintain his authority, and no one dared to criticize the Crown Prince on this matter.

Besides, some things shouldn't be done too excessively. The person is dead, and there was nothing particularly heinous about it, so we should at least show some mercy.

Otherwise, what if I die in the future and my political enemies oppose the king's bestowal of gifts upon me?

However, the scholars of the Later Han Dynasty were absolutely not happy if they didn't curse others, so these scholars who were dissatisfied with the gifts Zhang Ji received chose to... curse the emperor!

This was something Liu Bian had not anticipated, so he decided to choose selective deafness.

The imperial edict was issued by the emperor, not the crown prince. After you've finished criticizing that tyrannical ruler, you're not allowed to criticize me!
Seeing the prince's behavior, the scholars understood and began to whisper in his ear about the emperor.

Since the Crown Prince has given them a way out by not issuing an edict himself, they might as well pretend to be stupid and curse the Emperor who is about to become the Retired Emperor. Anyway, the Emperor has been cursed by them for so many years, he should be used to it by now.

But this posthumous title... it still makes one's teeth ache a little.

To correct one's mistakes is called respect; to serve one's superiors with reverence is also called respect.

Absolutely a beautiful posthumous title!
If the Crown Prince hadn't decided on the posthumous title himself and told Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, Fu Qian, and others, requesting the Ancient Literature School to propose posthumously honoring Zhang Ji as "Marquis Gong," no one would have been willing to give a high-sounding posthumous title to a minister of the eunuch faction. Giving him an ordinary posthumous title would have been considered as a favor because he was also a member of the Crown Prince's faction.

However, the Crown Prince will soon be promoted to Emperor, and the investment of the Ancient Literature School will soon bear fruit. Even if they are unwilling, the scholars of the Ancient Literature School will not quarrel with the Crown Prince at this critical juncture over a posthumous title.

This attitude pleased Liu Bian greatly. Scholars, after all, should grovel at the feet of the monarch and obediently obey his commands.

The Classical Literature School rose to prominence by working from the bottom up, gradually moving to the forefront by modifying the interpretations of the classics to suit the needs of successive emperors and catering to the preferences of generations of Han emperors.

The ideology of the scholars of the New Text School was to turn the monarch in power into a puppet who only knew how to reproduce, and to instill the idea that "the sage emperor governs by doing nothing, and the court is filled with virtuous and upright officials" was the model of a wise and virtuous ruler. In some ways, this is quite similar to a constitutional monarchy.

The Classical Literature School, on the other hand, was a staunch royalist, advocating feudal centralized power. Or rather, because the emperor desired centralized power, the scholars of the Classical Literature School also supported feudal centralized power in order to cater to the emperor's preferences.

This led to the fact that although the ancient literature school, which catered to the emperor's rise to power, gradually gained status, they could never escape the status of being the emperor's tools. If they wanted to consolidate their position, they had to rely on the emperor's favor.

At least for now, it will take at least one or two hundred years for the classical literature school to break free from the shackles of pandering to the emperor.

-

Historically, Zhang Ji, who served as Minister of Works, resigned due to illness in April 184. That is to say, by April, he had been on sick leave for more than three months. There are no further records of him after that. All that is known is that he died during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. It is generally speculated that he died around this time.

(End of this chapter)