The whole family travels through time: escape from famine! No cheat codes yet!

Chapter 330 The strong man returns in the new year

The second thing that shocked them was that in this long line, not even the smallest child was missing.

The ones who were too young were carried on their own father's back and they also wore white mourning hats. However, the little one's hat was a little special, as it had a piece of red cloth sewn on it.

From the moment their figures came into view, someone in Baimi started shouting "kneel down" and calling for Li Zhaoyuan to follow.

Look at the mud on his knees, he must have been kneeling all the way!

In fact, not only Fu Huaian and Ah Chi were moved, but many soldiers were also infected by the atmosphere, their eyes were red.

Although they were only informed before they came that the people who would greet them today were the old Duke's personal guards,

He had followed the old Duke through life and death many times, and when he was seriously injured and could no longer go to the battlefield, he took the initiative to go to the south to be a spy.

Now it was his family, carrying his armor all the way back to the North.

Perhaps, no one could understand better than them what it meant to enter the Fu family cemetery after death in the hearts of the entire Fu family army.

It can be said that every soldier who becomes a soldier of the Fu family army definitely wants to live if they can, but if they die, what they want most is to enter the Fu family cemetery.

This kind of feeling may not be understood by ordinary people, and perhaps as a modern family of three, we do not understand it deeply enough.

This matter, if Shen Zhiqiu, an old hand, were to analyze it, it would be dangerous.

Because in his opinion, why did so many soldiers follow the general to rebel when people in ancient times valued loyalty and filial piety?

These soldiers once followed the general through life and death. Many of them grew up from small soldiers and experienced a lot in the process.

In ancient times, soldiers would spend more time with their generals, who were responsible for the soldiers' salaries and food.

The same goes for routine training. After they join the army, they are basically under the command of the general.

The emperor was far away in the court, far away from the battlefield, so their relationship with the generals must be better. After all, they were their superiors and they paid their salaries.

In addition, the ancients’ thoughts were relatively simple. When ordered to kill the enemy on the battlefield, since they were under the general’s command, they had to perform well.

Their so-called loyalty is actually their loyalty to the general. The general can see their performance on the battlefield.

If you perform well, you can get promoted and make money.

But it’s different for the emperor. He cares more about the success or failure of the war. No matter how well a soldier performs, he has no chance.

Moreover, in a large army, there is only one outcome for standing on the wrong side, so if the general rebels, the soldiers have no other choice.

Therefore, in ancient times, there were so many people who were more powerful than their masters and were feared or even eliminated by the princes.

“When the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked; when the birds are dead, the bow is put away” is never just talk.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, almost eliminated all the founding heroes after he ascended the throne. There was also Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, who was more moderate, who gave up his military power with a toast.

Especially those founding generals, their endings were often not very good. Although they had made great military achievements for the emperor, the emperor was still very wary of them.

Any general who holds military power will arouse the emperor's vigilance, regardless of whether he is the founding emperor or not.

This is why Shen Zhiqiu is unwilling to hug a thick thigh even though he has one. He was a businessman in his previous life. He has backbone, but he is definitely not the pedantic type.

He said that he relied on himself, but honestly he felt that only by relying on himself could he be down-to-earth and the foundation of the "high-rise building" he would build in the future would be solid.

As Shen Zhiqiu and his men got closer, A Chi dismounted and waved his hand. Eight soldiers behind him carried up an oil-coated vermilion lacquered coffin.

Shen Zhiqiu felt a surge of emotion: "This..."

Ah Chi hurried forward and told Shen Zhiqiu: "The old Duke personally went to ask His Majesty. Although Lord Li had resigned his official position, he still served the court and should be reinstated. No, it should be said that Lord Li was originally a thousand households, and now he is buried with the specifications of a third-rank commander."

Shen Zhiqiu didn't expect that this was what the old Duke meant when he said he was preparing a coffin. You have to know that in Daqing, the specifications for which coffin to use for burial are very strict:

The coffins of high-ranking civil and military officials were made of oil fir and vermilion lacquer, and the outer coffins were made of earth fir.

For funerals of the nobles and commoners, the coffins were made of hard wood, with cedar being the best, cypress being the second, and then earth, fir and pine being the third. They were painted black or gold, but not vermilion.

This means that only the coffins of officials of high rank must be made of red lacquer and cedar, while the coffins used by scholars and commoners must be made of red lacquer.

But depending on the family's financial situation, if one cannot afford oil shirts, pine, cypress or other woods will do, but vermilion lacquer cannot be used.

Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty also recorded in "Family Rites": "When choosing wood for coffins, Chinese fir is the best, followed by cypress, and earth fir is the worst."

That’s because the wood of the Chinese fir tree comes in large pieces, so the coffin does not need to be made of panels.

If you use puzzle boards, you need to use adhesives. In ancient times, adhesives were mostly protein adhesives such as fish bladder glue and bone glue, which had very poor water resistance.

Second, the resin content of Chinese fir wood is high, and it has good corrosion and moisture resistance.

To be honest, Shen Zhiqiu was really moved, very touched.

Li Jingshu and Shen Youyou, who had just got off the ox cart, were also very moved, as were Li Quan, Dahu and Erhu. Everyone who heard A Chi's words was touched by the old Duke's kindness.

At this moment, they truly understood why Shen Zhiqiu's father-in-law was still thinking about his old master before he closed his eyes.

Eight soldiers carried the coffin. A Chi opened the coffin himself and asked Li Jingshu to put the armor in his hand into it.

Shen Zhiqiu saw that there were also court robes of the third rank and five officials, seals and other items placed inside.

As for why the coffin has to be carried, it is because nowadays it is required that once the coffin is lifted, it cannot fall to the ground before burial, as falling to the ground is considered unlucky.

The next step was to follow the court's regulations. The nine clans had no idea what was going on, so they just followed the court's instructions.

When they set out again, the funeral procession was even more spectacular and huge, with soldiers escorting it on both sides.

The soldiers at the front were holding spirit-calling banners and various paper offerings. They looked serious and marched in unison.

Behind them came a group of Song funeral musicians dressed in white, playing the suona. The music sounded heavy, but with a solemn and murderous atmosphere as if one were on a battlefield, which was quite tragic.

Shen Zhiqiu held an ebony tablet, which was also prepared by the Duke's Mansion. Dahu and Erhu held mourning sticks and led the team forward.

Behind them were Li Jingshu, Shen Youyou, Shen Luming and the people from the Nine Clans, crying sadly.

In fact, everyone's mood was even more complicated, with sadness and happiness for Mr. Li.

Following closely behind was the coffin carried by eight people, also carried by soldiers.

Fortunately, to go to the Fu family cemetery, you don’t need to pass through Shuntian City, otherwise it would definitely cause quite a stir.

When the team arrived outside the cemetery, they saw the carriage of Duke Fu. Shen Zhiqiu's heart skipped a beat. Before he could think about it,

The old duke in black lifted the curtain and walked down. The deputy steward behind him was holding a tray with the flag of the Fu family army on it.

Duke Fu personally placed the flag on the vermilion coffin and sighed, "Zhaoyuan, I will carry the coffin with you, which can be regarded as welcoming you back in person."

Just at this moment, a cold wind blew and rolled up a few pieces of yellow paper money.