The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 184 Liu Mu: I, Liu Mu, am a direct descendant of Emperor Gaozu of Han.

After traveling all night, the army arrived safely at Changling as the sun rose. Surprisingly, more than 20,000 civilians accompanied the army, and more continued to travel afterward.

Instead of immediately offering sacrifices, Liu Mu rode his horse around Changling to see how the third emperor in history had chosen his burial site.

Changling is located north of the Wei River. I don't know what the mausoleum was like in its heyday. Now, all that's left is a rammed earth mound covered with weeds. There's not even a tombstone, let alone any other buildings.

All I could see was desolation.

When Zhao Ning first took office, he submitted a memorial requesting permission to repair the cemetery ahead of schedule. Even if there wasn't enough money, he suggested that they could at least build a wall around it and plant some trees.

Liu Mu immediately rejected the order, only instructing him to send troops to guard the area and prevent the tomb raiders from making any further moves.

He wanted to see with his own eyes what Changling had become after 1,800 years of weathering, since it had been repaired in later generations.

Looking at it now, it is indeed a terrible sight.

The rammed earth in the burial area was covered with countless tomb raiders' holes. Liu Mu went up to take a look and found no fewer than eighty of them, the largest of which was the size of a well.

Shaking his head, Liu Mu summoned Zhao Ning.

"Afterwards, I will allocate 300,000 taels of silver. You are to organize the impoverished people in your family to repair the three mausoleums of Changmaoyuan. This is my way of showing respect to our ancestors!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ning's face almost turned green.

Of the three mausoleums, Maoling is the largest and the most severely damaged. If it were to be repaired according to royal standards, 300,000 taels of silver would probably not be enough to repair even this one.

After all, there are three major excavations recorded in historical books, conducted by the Red Eyebrow Army, Dong Zhuo, and Huang Chao.

The key is that they made a lot of money each time, which attracted many tomb raiders. Now the entire Maoling Mausoleum is full of tomb raiding holes.

Of these three mausoleums, only Liu Xiu's original mausoleum is considered decent. Back then, Dong Zhuo ordered its excavation, but there was nothing inside. This infuriated Dong Zhuo, and it was recorded in history. After that, no one bothered to excavate it anymore, as it wasn't worth it.

Seeing that Zhao Ning was about to agree through gritted teeth, Liu Mu immediately waved his hand and pointed to the tombs of Empress Lü and other meritorious officials.

"There's no need for major construction. My idea is to deal with these tomb raiders' holes, clear the tomb passages, then surround all the tombs with walls, and finally build a temple!"

Upon hearing that these were the only steps, Zhao Ning breathed a sigh of relief and immediately bowed in respect.

"Your subject will certainly do everything in his power!"

If it were to follow royal tradition, it would require the construction of various palaces, as well as sacred paths and various stone tablets. These are all meticulous tasks, and it would cost at least a million taels of silver.

An hour later, the eastern corner of Changling was filled with various sacrificial flags and ritual objects, with three sacrificial animals placed at the front, and the accompanying officials lined up in two rows to wait.

Because this place is closest to Liu Bang's mausoleum and is the best location for sacrifices, a temple was also built here.

Liu Mu stepped onto the makeshift bluestone slabs and walked step by step to the place of sacrifice, which was in front of a bronze cauldron that was one meter high, with a raging fire already burning inside.

The accompanying Vice Minister of Rites stepped forward, holding a proclamation.

"On the third day of the eighth month of the year 1877, Emperor Hongwu of Han, Liu Mu, a descendant of the Liu family, swept away the Manchu barbarians from China, exterminated their descendants in Liaodong, and restored the Han Dynasty to the Central Plains. Respectfully submitted!"

In fact, this proclamation was quite long, covering the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Shu Han Dynasty, the Han Zhao Dynasty, the Liu Song Dynasty, and now the Hongwu Dynasty of the Great Han Dynasty. However, Liu Mu indicated that it should be simplified.

After the Vice Minister of Rites threw the proclamation into the cauldron to burn, Liu Mu, holding incense, performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

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Then, facing Changling, seeing the rammed earth mound, it was as if Liu Bang was looking at him meaningfully.

It's as if it's saying: I'm just watching you perform!

However, Liu Mu was not intimidated. It didn't matter whether Galdan was a descendant of the Liu family or not, as it was impossible to find out. But in his previous life, Liu Mu was a legitimate descendant of the King of Changsha.

"I am a descendant of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, and a descendant of the Xiongnu who were married off to the Xiongnu. We have been wandering in the northern desert for a long time. Now the Manchu Qing Dynasty is causing chaos in China, changing the people's clothes and enslaving the people. I now inherit the rightful lineage of the Han Dynasty, raise an army to fight against the Qing, and restore the land of my great Han Dynasty to comfort the world."

It is Chinese etiquette not to refer to one's ancestors as "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I" or "the Emperor").

It is said to be respectful and filial!

Liu Mu didn't know how to involve Liu Bang in the Oirat Mongols. In the end, Xie Bo'an, the top scholar, was the wise one and suggested that Liu Mu recognize Liu Yuan as his ancestor.

On this vast grassland, no matter how powerful you are, even the Mongols who swept across Eurasia, none of them could deny the existence of the Xiongnu, after all, the Xiongnu were one of the ancestral lineages of the grassland.

Upon seeing Liu Mu light the incense, the Vice Minister of Rites immediately shouted.

"All subjects of the Han Dynasty, kneel before Emperor Gaozu!"

After the Vice Minister of Rites finished speaking, he was the first to run behind Liu Mu and shout "Long live the Emperor!" He was even faster than Zhao Ning, who was about to rush forward, and he was the first to shout!

"Your subject Chen Youde pays his respects to Emperor Gaozu of the Great Han Dynasty!"

This is the emperor's ancestral worship ceremony, the very ancestral worship ceremony of the Han Dynasty. I didn't see any historians, but they've already written about it in detail. It's better to be close to the emperor; your name will be recorded in history today.

Seeing this, the surrounding people also knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Changling, but they were not worshipping their ancestors, but making a wish to Liu Bang.

For example, a middle-aged woman with three little children is making a wish in a wheat field, with incense sticks burning in the ground and her hands clasped together.

"Emperor Gaozu of Han, please bless my men to be invincible in battle, bless my three sons to be both learned and skilled in martial arts, and bless my wheat fields with favorable weather and abundant harvests!"

That's not all; there are many others making wishes around here, some even wishing for a son. This is the simplicity of the people of the Central Plains—they pray whenever they have a spare moment.

No effect? ​​Then I won't pray next time!

After paying homage at Changling, Liu Mu immediately set off for Maoling to pay homage to Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. As for Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, he paid homage at Yuanling in Luoyang on his return journey.

In fact, Liu Mu only needed to worship Liu Bang and Liu Xiu, because one was the founder of the country and the other was the restorer.

As for why he insisted on worshipping Liu Che, it was because Emperor Wu was Liu Mu's idol.

Historical records offer mixed reviews, with some believing that while he did achieve the feats of defeating the Xiongnu and expanding the territory, he was also seen as a warmonger who exhausted the people. Even in later generations, he faced a barrage of criticism online.

But in Liu Mu's mind, Liu Che was the greatest emperor, because the foundation of China's later history was almost entirely established during his lifetime.

Unlike Li Shimin's tributary system, Liu Che would conquer a place, annihilate the foreign tribes, and relocate Han people to cultivate the land, thus increasing the proportion of Han people in the local area.

He exterminated twelve tribes and decimated dozens more in his lifetime, truly embodying the ideal of bearing infamy for a lifetime so that future generations could enjoy happiness.

And this is also Liu Mu's goal!

……

Less than half a month after returning to Chang'an, Zhu Xin gave birth to a son, who was also Liu Mu's second son.

Liu Mu's感慨 (gǎn kǎi, deep feelings) arose on the way to the imperial tomb.

The name is to be Ling, Liu Ling!

Just as Liu Mu was holding his son and looking at the finances and taxes of Guanzhong, Zhou Peigong walked in with a subordinate general who looked to be nearly sixty years old and of ordinary appearance.