Taihu Lake, which has not changed for tens of thousands of years, is parasitic with customs that have not changed for thousands of years. Deep in the hearts of those who worship the lake, when worshiping the Dragon King and other gods, they are actually paying tribute to their ancestors from all dynasties and ancient times.
They also prayed for the destination of the ghosts on the lake who died for it, and at the same time prayed that the people they went out to hunt on the lake would have smooth sailing and return home with a full load.
And the joy of returning home with a full load contains the bitterness of the fishermen; and behind the smooth sailing, there are the bitter tears of the fishermen women. The hearts of the fishermen women are filled with Taihu Lake, and can the fishy smell of the Taihu Lake water be said to be...
Melted into the tears of the fisherman woman.
A storm started with the "Lake Festival".
Qi Xuguang waited for more than two hours, and the sky had already darkened. After Si Weiqi finished handling the things in the mourning hall, she remembered that there was another guest waiting to be received in the back hall.
At this time, I was talking to Sima Jingjing in the room. The reason why I didn't say anything in front of Qi Xuguang before was to prevent him from hearing. The reason was that when Sima Jingjing was meditating in the backyard, Qi Xuguang walked in front of her.
However, Sima Jingjing did not hear the footsteps, which made her very alert. I wonder how an old man, even with a martial arts background, could do this.
"If this Qi Xuguang is not a master of Huawai, he must have incredible skills." Sima Jingjing said with certainty, "With my ears, it is easy to hear a person's footsteps, but I can hardly hear him.
footsteps."
"Yes, this is unreasonable. You were meditating at that time, and the surroundings should have been extremely quiet. It seems that this Qi Xuguang is indeed not simple."
Not long after, Si Weiqi came with Xu Qian. Qi Xuguang still had the same obedient and polite attitude, and he could be said to have great respect for Si Weiqi. After the two exchanged greetings, Qi Xuguang said
revealed the true purpose of his coming here.
"Condolences are of course the first priority. On the other hand, Lao Chen is not far away and wants to discuss a major matter with Miss Si."
"Speak directly if you have anything to say, no need to be polite."
"You are Mistress Yuling, and you govern everything in the clan. According to the old calendar, it is time to hold the 'Lake Festival' ceremony this year." Qi Xuguang explained, "In the past, this 'Lake Festival' was done without bothering Mistress.
It's up to you to decide, but this year is different from the past. Firstly, Qi Gong died of illness, so a big sacrifice should be held to comfort the heroic souls. Secondly, it coincides with the meeting of thousands of years between ancient and modern times. The Yin time and the Yang time overlap and intersect, so the 'Lake Festival' is held.
The ceremony is old, so I came here to report to Miss Si and see how Yu Ling decides."
Si Weiqi thought for a while and said: "Mr. Qi has worked hard in hosting the 'Lake Festival' for many years. Your opinions are well-founded. Naturally, I have no objection. From what you see, when do you think the 'Lake Festival' ceremony should be held?"
."
"The intersection of Yin and Yang will be in three days. Time waits for no one. If Miss Si agrees to hold the 'Lake Festival' ceremony, I think the time will be three days from now on the third day of August."
"Okay, let's set it on the third day of August."
Qi Xuguang probably didn't expect Si Weiqi to agree so happily, but he was stunned for a while. After a while, he said, "Miss Si, since you agree to hold a grand ceremony of this scale, how should the ceremony be properly prepared?"
"Follow the old system."
"Okay, I understand."
The conversation between Si Weiqi and Qi Xuguang was crisp and clear, without any sloppiness. It was obvious that she had been prepared in her heart.
Xu Qian did not say much. After Si Weiqi explained the relevant matters, she left the backyard. Xu Qian was responsible for the rest of the handover matters.
Xu Qian later told me about this moment, and I told Xu Qian what Sima Jingjing said. Xu Qian was not very surprised, smiled and said, "The show has just begun."
"Sister Qian, don't you think it's strange? Why is the Lake Festival held at this time? We are in enough chaos now. The cause of the Yunrong incident in Faqiumen has not yet been found out, and we Yuling ourselves are responsible for it.
Why are you holding this 'Lake Festival' ceremony when you have so many things going on and you have too much time to take care of yourself?"
Xu Qian just smiled lightly and said: "You know, the storm is about to come, but Master Biao, don't you think there is only one thing behind these myriad things?"
"A storm is coming? One thing?" I thought over and over again, nodded, and said, "If you put it this way, it's really not difficult to recognize this. In fact, I also understand that the person behind this is completely
There is only one purpose for making such a big noise, and that is to come towards us!"
"To be more precise, I am here for Sister Qi!" Xu Qian said, "The biggest problem in Yuling is the internal and external disputes. Yes, but the internal and external disputes have existed since ancient times and cannot be completely resolved. Historically,
, it has always been the case that the greater the role of the mistress of the family, the more severe the internal and external disputes. To put it bluntly, it is a matter of transfer of interests."
I nodded, "I have thought about this issue before. It is like the 'Tianfa Order' issued by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to make a difference, he had to strengthen the centralization of power. The biggest damage to centralization is
Even the princes, the same is true for us in Yuling now. If Sister Qi wants to make a big difference, internal and external disputes are inevitable. At that time, the only ones we will offend are the famous and capable relatives like Aunt Ning, the princes."
Perhaps in the eyes of historians, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's favor order can be said to be the most perfect vassal reduction policy in feudal society. The push order not only achieved the purpose of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty weakening the strength of the vassal states and strengthening the centralization of power, but also perfectly avoided
It opened up the risk of rebellion in the vassal states and preserved the country's strength. However, a policy cannot be perfect. Although the extension of grace was the most perfect policy that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty could come up with, it also had fatal drawbacks, and this drawback
A few years later, it directly led to the decline of the Western Han Dynasty.
The most amazing thing about the Tweeting Order is that this policy can be said to have insight into the nature of people's hearts. The Tweeting Order does not forcefully order the princes to return power to the central government, but perfectly avoids the feudal thoughts of the princes.
This sensitive area has been replaced by a new approach to gradually weaken it internally.
In other words, the purpose of the imperial edict was not to weaken the princes across the board by the Han royal family, but to let them slowly weaken like boiling frogs in warm water. Perhaps the princely states knew that they would become more and more divided under this policy, but
But he had no choice but to watch his power being gradually weakened.
However, the Tweeting Order still had one of its biggest drawbacks. Perhaps its advantages were so obvious that even wise emperors like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ignored its disadvantages.
In the final analysis, the Tweeting Order solved the threat to the central power posed by the descendants of the Han Dynasty royal family. However, it ignored that when the centralized power system was not perfect, when the emperor was weak and a third party emerged, no one could assist the emperor.
This is the most fatal problem of the exclusive power of foreign relatives in the Western Han Dynasty. In fact, this problem has always been a problem that the entire Han Dynasty could not completely solve.
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Empress Lu's exclusive power created a huge Lu family's concubine group. However, in the end, due to the counterattack of Liu's royal family group, the Lu family group was finally wiped out. This was the struggle between the royal family's children and the concubine group.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the order of favor, the power of the Liu family's descendants gradually weakened, but the phenomenon of autocratic power by relatives has not been alleviated. When Huo Guang was in power, he could even depose the emperor, but there was no Liu family power that could compete with them.
The phenomenon of autocratic power continued to exist in the Western Han Dynasty. By the time of the Hancheng Emperor, the Queen Mother Wang Zhengjun almost covered the sky with one hand and completely enveloped the government. The Wang family group of the maternal relatives also completely controlled the court, and it was at this time that Wang Mang began to gradually plan to replace the Han Dynasty.
Self-reliance, but at that time, no one inside and outside the court could compete with the Wang family's relatives group.
At this time, the Liu family's royal family's power had been extremely weakened by the implementation of the Tuien Order. Excessive differentiation made the princes' power weak and completely unable to compete with the powerful foreign relatives' group.
If Yuling is now facing the same predicament as it was at the end of the Han Dynasty, it is because the power of the entire Yuling family is weakening. Si Weiqi single-handedly turned the tide from falling and helped the building to collapse. It was difficult for him to have enough capital to fight against it.
The relatives fought against each other, so even if Si Weiqi completely defeated Aunt Ning, she did not dare to take any rash action against the relatives, or even escalate the matter to avoid triggering a chain reaction.
The next day, Huzhou South Taihu Fisherman’s Wharf.
This is the city I have lived in for four years. It is so familiar that I cannot be more familiar with it. The feeling of returning here is extremely warm.
Our boat unmoored at the pier and drove slowly to the middle of the lake.
The reason why we set off by boat was Si Weiqi's suggestion. We arrived in Huzhou one day in advance to check out the situation on the spot and to avoid potential stalkers.
That night, we headed into the endless darkness.
The dock was quickly left behind in the vast distance, and the lights quickly shrunk and faded. In an instant, they turned into a few glows like fireflies.
I glanced at Si Weiqi behind me and sighed in my heart.
Xu Qian sat next to Si Weiqi and asked, "Master Biao, are you nervous?"
I sneered and said, "What's there to be nervous about?"
"The rain is coming, so this trip might be troublesome again."
Si Weiqi looked at it for a while and said: "It is twenty-three fifty-one now, and the lake festival will be held at four o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow."
Si Weiqi happened to be looking sideways out of the window. From this angle, her face with clear lines was so beautiful that it was particularly dazzling.
"Sister Qi, why are you so early?" Xu Qian asked curiously.
"Qi Xuguang has never determined a specific time. If that's the case, let's help him set it."
"Sister Qi, I have a question I don't know whether I should ask?" I calmed myself down and asked, "Are you sure there is such a thing as a lake festival?"
Si Weiqi retracted her gaze and said seriously: "When I first learned about this matter, I had doubts in my heart, but what Qi Xuguang said is true. The Lake Festival is indeed a tradition of Yuling, but it has only been around for many years.
No one mentioned it at all, so if we talk about it now, there must be something behind it."
"Sister Qi, Qi Xuguang is a simple and reclusive person. People in the village just think that he is a harmonious old man. Are you sure he can make such a big splash?"
Chapter completed!