Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 164 ancestor worship
At the end of the trip to the ancestral land,
The Xinxia delegation passed through Zhao State again.

Because when I came here before,
The Marquis of Zhao had gone out to meet the King of Wei for an alliance, so he did not see them.

In order to make up for this regret, Zhao Houyu specially met them in Handan this time.

The grandson of Zhao Jinghou Zhang sat on a high seat in the palace, wearing the robes of a prince.

Zhao Hui, the son of Gongzi Chao, sat below and kowtowed to him.

According to seniority,

Zhao Houyu should call Zhao Hui "uncle".

But after so many years,
There were some minor conflicts between their fathers and grandfathers, so there was no need to mention the friendship between them.

When he received the envoy from Xinxia, he was only handling official business and also responded to the "rude" request made by Zhao Hui when he first visited Zhao.

"Sacrificing to the Zhao clan's ancestral temple is the power of the clan leader."

"But Xinxia has a special status. Considering our common kinship, I still agree that you can visit the Zhao clan temple."

According to Zhou Li,

The ancestor of a "surname" or "clan name" can only be the major clan that has been passed down, and the minor clan can only offer sacrifices to the ancestors of its own branch at most.

Taking Qin and Zhao as an example,
Although they both have the surname "Ying", the ancestors of the two families even lived together for a long time and once shared the surname "Zhao".

However, thanks to the grace of the emperor, Fei Zi was not only granted the land of Qin, but was also allowed to continue the worship of the Ying surname. Therefore, he was called "Qin Ying" or "Ying Qin". The two lineages were completely separated and worshipped the ancestor of the Ying surname.

Zhao's side,

The king can only offer sacrifices to Zaofu's generation.
The smaller feudal lords under them could only offer sacrifices to the "first recipient of the title" of their own lineage.

So when Zhao Hui proposed to offer sacrifices to Zhao's ancestor Zaofu, Ying's ancestor Boyi, and even Boyi's ancestor Zhuanxu, he was directly rejected by Zhao's chief minister.

The small clans that have established their own countries outside the territory,

You actually want to worship the ancestor of the entire surname or clan name?
Do you even want to offer sacrifices to Emperor Zhuanxu?
Is this in accordance with Zhou rituals?

But Zhao Hui also has reasons:
"I know in my heart that this is very unethical."

"But Xinxia is too far away from our homeland. It's too difficult to go back and forth!"

"So I made such an excessive request to make up for the regret that my descendants have been in foreign lands for a long time and cannot stay in the ancestral land for a long time to worship their ancestors!"

He also said:
"Can the Lord Zhao lead us in a sacrifice ceremony so that we can follow him and worship our ancestors?"

"I'm willing to offer more treasures!"

then,

The attitude of the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan softened and became less harsh.

after all,

Xinxia really gives money!

Can observing the Zhou rites be used as money?

please,

How long has it been since the rituals and music were in chaos?

Therefore,
When the Duke of Zhao returned from the alliance, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan reported the matter to the king.

After the Marquis of Zhao obtained enough treasures, he also agreed to Zhao Hui's request.

In order to prevent others from thinking that he had no kinship at all and only cared about money, Zhao Hou also offered to buy one and get one free.

"After you visit the Ancestral Temple, you can also visit the Martial Temple!"

Temple of Martial Arts,

It is the ancestral temple dedicated to Zhao Huai, Marquis Wu of Zhao.

Because he was not officially called a king during his lifetime and his successor was not his son, although he was posthumously named a marquis, his ancestral temple was not included in the Zhao family's ancestral hall and was worshipped separately by his descendants.

According to Zhou Li,

Zhao Hui and his companions were also not allowed to pay homage to this ancestor.

But now that I'm here,
Lord Zhao took the money and said that he would definitely make people satisfied!
So soon after,

In order to express his joy over the return of relatives from overseas to their ancestral land, Marquis Zhao specially led the people of Xinxia to worship the ancestral temple and offer sacrifices to heaven outside Handan, reporting to Emperor Zhuanxu, the source of their bloodline, that the descendants of the Ying surname had multiplied outside the territory.

Only Lord Cheng Xiang was not very happy.

He is the grandson of Gongzi Cheng.

He is also the great-nephew of Gongzi Chao.

Lord Cheng Xiang had heard of this great-uncle.

After all, every time you worship Wu Hou, you can always see his eldest son next to his spirit tablet.

Even after Gongzi Cheng died, he could only be placed behind Gongzi Chao to distinguish between big and small.

Cheng Xiangjun was displeased and said:
Gongzi Chao died a long time ago.
He has no descendants.
It is my own lineage that is responsible for the offerings, how can I let others offer incense for free?
then,

He secretly threw away Gongzi Chao's tablet and forbade others to talk about it.

"My father and grandfather were kind and benevolent, and have been worshipping for two generations. Isn't it inhumane to move it away now?"

it's good now,

Throwing away the tablet secretly,

And secretly try to retrieve it.
Who made the descendants of Gongzi Chao suddenly show up?

Lord Cheng Xiang felt very depressed when he saw a group of Xinxia people kneeling and crying in the ancestral temple of their ancestors.

As for Cheng Xiangjun's mentality,
The descendants of the Zhao family in Xinxia were not aware of this at all.

They even felt that Gongzi Cheng's descendants had been worshipping their ancestors for so many years, which was really filial piety!

"Brother is still a loyal and honest man!" Zhao Ning held Cheng Xiangjun's hand and said sincerely.

Zhao Hui was also nodding and wiping tears.

Cheng Xiangjun became even more depressed when he was praised.

Fortunately, the Zhao family of Xinxia did not go any further.

They stated:
The reason why Wu Hou left a will to worship Gongzi Chao together was because he was worried that his son would have nowhere to go in the outside world, cut off his bloodline, and be forgotten in the corner of history.

Now that they are back, there is naturally no need for Cheng Xiangjun to work hard on this anymore.

The Zhao family of Xinxia should welcome back their ancestors, so as to avoid being embarrassed and eating and drinking in the ancestral temple of their younger brother's lineage.

Lord Cheng Xiang was delighted.

……

After the ancestral sacrifices were finished,

The last stop of the Xinxia Mission,
They come to the Zhang River to worship the most famous ghost and god here, who is also a friend of their ancestors.

They walked and stopped along the border between Zhao and Wei, offering sacrifices all the way to the Gaolang area where the Guan River flowed.

He Bo, who had come back from the Western Regions specially, was watching nearby. From time to time, he would stir up a gust of wind to blow the offerings into the water, proving that he accepted the offerings from the deceased.

“…A lot has changed!”

He Bo clasped his hands together and sighed softly, then said to the dead ghosts around him, "Actually, I still miss the scene back then."

He waved to Ximen Bao and said to him, "Ye County is very different now. How do you feel?"

As the war intensified,
The Three Jin alliance collapsed.

Long city walls were also continuously built on the borders of the three states of Zhao, Wei and Han.

Today, along the Zhangshui River,
There was the "Southern Great Wall" of Zhao State, which extended from Pingyang to Niecheng.

As a result, Ye County was completely transformed into a border military fortress and never regained its former prosperity.

A lot of people,
A lot of things,
It's gone.

In Nirvana City, the peace of the past was also lost.

Zhao Hui and his companions wanted to trace the traces of their ancestors' past, especially the city wall that was built with Gongzi Chao's sweat and flesh in his memory, but in the end they found nothing.

Because many people from Niecheng were conquered to build the Great Wall.

In order to collect building materials locally, not only were many trees cut down, but the city of Nie was almost completely demolished.

It's just a small town anyway.
What could be more important than building the Great Wall?

The population can be relocated elsewhere!

And all this,
It is just a small microcosm of today's world of great contention.

“I miss the past too!”

The old ghost, Doctor Ximen, who once worked in Ye County, also echoed the ghosts' sigh, "But the dead are gone, and cannot be turned back."

"I only hope that after all the suffering, the world can enjoy long-lasting peace and prosperity."

Although he did not approve of Shang Yang's methods,
But the goal pursued by Shang Yang is consistent with that of many scholars today:

To restore order to this world,

Whether by sword or fire,
Or a gentle and elegant morality.

As the State of Qin expanded eastward and grew stronger step by step, and successive monarchs seemed to be doing a good job, Ximen Bao relaxed and felt that Shang Yang's methods might indeed be suitable for troubled times.

Just follow this path,

When the world is unified, a monarch will come to rest and recuperate.

everything will become better.

……

at the same time,

In Ye County.

The Liu family moved again.

The peace and stability of Ye County no longer exists.
The friction between Zhao and Wei became more and more intense.
Moreover, the growing development of the Liu family also allowed them to seek a broader stage.

So after many discussions among the elders, the Liu family decided to move to Wei's capital Daliang.

Ten-year-old Liu Qing was carried into the carriage by his parents.

His parents are saying:
"Qing'er is very smart, and now the foundation of the family is very solid. We can find a way to make him an official of the Wei Kingdom, or even a doctor!"

"Ok!"

"I want to be a doctor!"

Liu Qing also waved his fist and made bold statements!

His parents touched his head happily and asked him to remember his oath today.

then,

When we arrived at our new home in Daliang,
Liu Qing began to study hard under the pressure of his parents.

"what!"

“I don’t want to be a doctor anymore!”

Liu Qing had a bitter face and shed tears silently in front of the book.

(End of this chapter)