Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

There's no need to expand the ancestral home for now; we'll deal with that when the good-for-nothing son grows up. If he can't become an official, we'll just send him back to his hometown to guard the ancestral home.

Bai Sheng traveled along the Han River, going upstream from Xiangyang to Xixiang County.

Officials along the way were extremely hospitable, all trying to take the opportunity to curry favor with the commander of the guards.

By the way, Bai Sheng also got a title this time; he got a count without doing anything.

The fleet first stopped at Daming Township, where the docks were becoming increasingly lively, but the population was actually less than when Village Chief Zhu was in charge.

Because many families have moved out, Daming Township, which has developed from Daming Village, has produced more than a hundred prominent figures.

The highest-ranking officials were Zhang Guangdao and Liang Yi; the former was now a Duke, and the latter was in charge of the Tongzheng Yuan (Court of State Affairs).

There are also many generals and mid-to-high-ranking officers who, no matter how badly they've fared, can still command a hundred or so soldiers.

This type of person has such poor abilities that they are gradually phased out by the military.

Moreover, being middle-aged, he was assigned to be an officer in the garrison troops stationed in various places.

Some of them transferred to the canal transport system to become officers.

Chapter 3504 Returning to the Old Ground

Bai Sheng strolled around the town but couldn't find many familiar faces.

Suddenly, a middle-aged landlord arrived with his wife and children to greet him: "This humble citizen, Zhang Lin, pays his respects to General Bai... General Bai."

Bai Sheng laughed heartily, grabbed the man's hand and said, "Zhang San, does His Majesty still remember you? He sent me to bring you two bolts of Zhangrong."

"This Zhang velvet is a rare find, even in the capital. You can't necessarily buy it even if you have money!"

"Your Majesty is so good to me!" Zhang Lin said, wiping away tears of emotion.

Zhang Lin was the shop assistant who sold rice to Zhao Yuan back then, although he didn't receive any official position or title.

However, they received a tea mountain and a tea-making workshop in Daming Township, as well as thirty mu of paddy fields in Daming Village from the father and son.

Bai Sheng glanced at Zhang Lin's children and nodded in praise, "You are blessed with many children."

Zhang Lin said, "Thanks to His Majesty's blessing, I also have a son who is studying at the county school. When he gets a little older, I will send him to Yangzhou Academy."

"Master Min had already agreed to accept him; who knows, he might even pass the imperial examination in the future."

Yangzhou has long been changed to Yangxian, but the name of the academy has not been changed.

Bai Sheng asked, "Is the academy still headed by the same Dean Min?"

Zhang Lin shook his head and said, "It's not like that anymore. This man is the old headmaster's nephew now."

Bai Sheng and his entourage were all led to Zhang Lin's home.

After carefully observing along the way, Bai Sheng remarked, "This Daming Township is even more prosperous now."

Zhang Lin explained, "The number of villagers has actually decreased. Those who are doing well have moved their entire families to other places, and even sold their land in their hometown."

“There are also some poor mountain people who, upon hearing that the dynasty has changed and taxes are not so high, and that they can get land when they go down the mountain, spontaneously come out of the mountains.”

"If it weren't for these mountain people supplementing our workforce, I wouldn't have been able to recruit enough tenants and tea workers."

“I see that the docks are more prosperous than before,” Bai Sheng said.

Zhang Lin laughed and said, "The toll booths along the way have all been removed, and there are more merchant ships traveling on the Han River now."

"This is also the place where the dragon rose to power, and merchants like to stop in Daming Township, saying that they can get some luck and make a fortune."

"The inn in town was given to Master Tian by His Majesty, and it is often full of merchants."

Bai Sheng suddenly remembered Tian Er: "I haven't seen that fellow Tian Er in a long time."

Zhang Lin said, "Master Tian was a quartermaster, and he moved to Huzhou many years ago."

“He came back the year before last to repair the ancestral graves and then left again. His son runs this inn.”

We had lunch at Zhang Lin's house, and Tian Er's son and daughter-in-law also came to visit.

In the afternoon, Bai Shengxing went hiking, hoping to see the Black Wind Village from back then.

The large waterwheel built by Wen Huanzhang is still there, and it needs to be maintained and repaired every year.

But after Bai Sheng climbed the mountain, he found that Black Wind Village had long been abandoned and the house where Zhao Yuan lived was rotten.

There's land right down the mountain, so why would anyone want to live up there?

Even those mountain dwellers who moved here in recent years have been allocated sloping land where they can grow corn, and they also rent some land for farming.

However, the mountainside of Black Wind Village is covered with a large area of ​​tung oil trees.

At the beginning of the uprising, the rattan armor was soaked in tung oil produced here, but now it has completely become an economic crop.

Bai Sheng toured the ruins of Black Wind Village, initially full of enthusiasm, telling his entourage stories from that time.

As we talked, our enthusiasm waned, and we realized that many of the acquaintances from that time were no longer around.

As they descended the mountain, Bai Sheng pointed to the tung oil forest and asked, "Whose forests are these?"

Chapter 3505 Dark Clouds and Feng Shui

Zhang Lin replied, "In the past, it was always the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty who distributed it. The Emperor Emeritus gave the order, and it was distributed to the villagers who hadn't left yet."

“Every household has a share; pruning branches can also be used as firewood.”

"The tea plantations downstream have also been divided up and are now called Jubao Mountain. It is said that His Majesty encountered the divine steed Jubao Basin there."

"Hahaha, that was indeed a divine steed; it even kicked me back then!" Bai Sheng laughed heartily.

Bai Sheng has another secret mission upon his return: to deal with the BMW in the mountains.

Dismantle everything that can be disassembled and bring it back to the capital. If you really can't disassemble it, just burn it. Anyway, those things are hardly useful in ancient times.

When Bai Sheng arrived at Shangbai Village, the body of the old Bai family man had not yet been buried.

The ancients had their own methods to prevent the body from decaying, such as placing ice nearby to cool it down and using spices like Sichuan pepper to prevent rotting and odor.

Lime mixed with glutinous rice was used as a desiccant, and the body was wrapped in cloth to reduce contact with air. Some even used mercury for preservation.

It seems that the longer the body is kept in the morgue, the more elaborate the funeral becomes.

Throughout history, the imperial court has advocated for frugal burials, while the common people have preferred lavish funerals.

Song Qi, a Hanlin scholar during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, advised his son to have a frugal funeral for himself, specifically by preparing his body for burial three days after his death and burying him three months later.

Forget about yin and yang or feng shui; just use mixed wood for the coffin and don't bury valuables with it.

The grave should only be three feet high, and five cypress trees should be planted in the cemetery. Do not put up any stone figures or stone beast statues.

From the above, it can be seen that Song Qi truly wanted his son to give him a simple burial.

Even with a simple burial, the body must be kept for three months, strictly adhering to ancient rites!

Ordinary families naturally don't have the financial means, so they usually bury their dead within seven days.

Cremation was becoming increasingly popular, and the government repeatedly tried to prohibit it but to no avail. Only the Mohists and Buddhists advocated cremation, which was inconsistent with Confucianism, so the imperial court opposed cremation.

When Old Master Bai was still alive, he had a cellar dug for himself so that if he died in the summer, it would be difficult to store his body.

The cellar was lined with lime to prevent moisture, and lime mixed with glutinous rice was placed in the interlayer of the coffin. Spices such as peppercorns were also used to remove the odor.

Every winter, ice was stored in the cellar, and if he died, these ice blocks would be used to cool him down.

Bai Sheng, representing the royal family, came to offer condolences. Bai Chongwen and Bai Sheng, brothers, rebuilt the mourning hall and carried out the coffin.

The magistrate and registrar of Xixiang County also rushed to pay their respects upon hearing the news.

This memorial service was conducted with the etiquette due to a fourth-rank official.

Bai Sheng said to the two filial sons, "His Majesty asked me to convey a message: the old master's funeral can be either lavish or frugal, but no gold, silver, or bronze artifacts should be buried with him."

"From now on, even if a member of the royal family dies, they will not be buried with gold, silver, or bronze artifacts."

Bai Sheng said, "A virtuous person should naturally have a simple funeral."

The more lavish funerals were popular among the common people, the more Confucian scholars and gentlemen advocated for frugal funerals.

The most typical example is the rivals Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, who both requested to be buried simply after their deaths and advised scholars and wealthy merchants to do the same.

There is a very famous story from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yan Shu and Zhang Qi were buried not far from each other, and their tombs were robbed one after the other.

Zhang Qi's tomb was filled with gold and silver treasures. The tomb robbers only took the treasures and did not damage the remains or the coffin.

Yan Shu's burial was extremely meager; even the gold-wrapped belt was made of wood with a layer of gold powder on the outside.

Chapter 3506 Luoyang Imperial Palace

Enraged, the tomb raiders used the remains to vent their anger, smashing Yan Shu's bones to pieces.

This matter sparked heated debate in society at the time, with those advocating for frugal funerals and those advocating for lavish funerals arguing back and forth.

Those who advocate elaborate burials argue that Zhang Qi buried his body lavishly while Yan Shu buried his bones simply, thus concluding that simple burials are detrimental to the deceased.

However, most great Confucian scholars advocated for simple burials.

Zhu Xi even said that it is best not to put any worldly things in the coffin.

The great Confucian scholars naturally had their influence, and both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties had "funeral decrees".

It was stipulated that no gold or silver jewelry could be placed in the coffin, and that stone slabs were not allowed to be used to build the tomb chamber and coffin.

The area of ​​the burial plot, the height of the tomb, and the number of stone beasts and funerary objects were all strictly regulated according to the official's rank.

Zhao Yuan posthumously conferred the rank of fourth-grade official upon the old Bai family man, mainly to elevate the scale of his tomb.

Bai Dalang is already having the potters refire the funerary objects. The funerary objects of a fourth-rank official can use Fangxiang (a kind of deity that can exorcise evil spirits).

In addition, several tomb guardian beasts can be carved.

Soon, the burial ceremony was held—thirty days had passed since the death of Old Master Bai, and Bai Sheng had been delayed on the road for a long time.

The brothers Bai Chongwen and Bai Sheng built a shack next to the grave and took turns keeping vigil for their deceased father every night.

Bai Sheng claimed he had another mission and secretly led a dozen men to find BMW.

.....

The capital had just been moved, and neither the emperor nor his ministers were familiar with it yet.

Zhao Yuan renamed the palace buildings, choosing the most pleasing names from various palaces and halls across the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties.

For example, the place where grand court assemblies were held was renamed Taiji Hall.

It retains names such as Longtu Pavilion from the Song Dynasty, and also adds names such as Wenyuan Pavilion from the Ming Dynasty.

The two main gates of the imperial city, one in the north and one in the south, were renamed back to the names of the Luoyang Palace of the Tang Dynasty, namely Zhuque Gate and Xuanwu Gate.

The Luoyang Palace built by Zhao Kuangyin was quite different from that of the Tang Dynasty.

The area of ​​the East City (the outer city wall to the east of the Imperial City) is too large, almost half the size of the palace city, and it is impossible to use it all for the Crown Prince's residence and office.

Zhao Yuan planned to renovate the palace and create a special Eastern Palace.

As for the current East City, it was converted into the imperial court's office area and rest area.

For example, the Inspectorate is planned to be located in the East City.

The Dengwen Drum was set up outside the East City, and the Censorate could hear it immediately when the common people struck it.

In addition, officials would wait patiently in the tea room in the east of the city before going to court or to meet the emperor.

If officials need to work overtime, they don't have to go home at night; they can stay directly in the rest area of ​​Dongcheng.

The eastern part of the city will also have a station, stables, and parking lots specifically for officials to use for official shuttle buses within the imperial city.

The main gate of the eastern city, Xuanren Gate, was renamed Donghua Gate by Zhao Yuan.

The Vermilion Bird Gate and its left and right side gates will no longer be opened daily, and will only be used for various large-scale ceremonies.

The Guanglu and Xingyao wards outside the Zhuque Gate were completely demolished and leveled, and rebuilt into a square directly south of the imperial city.

Currently, small-scale renovations are underway both inside and outside the imperial city.

There's no need for major repairs; Emperor Huizong of Song has already overhauled it.