Chapter 958: Good heirs keep the family

Chapter 958: Good heirs keep the family

Li Tai also participated in Duguxin's funeral. During the funeral process, he also felt more and more the end of an era.

This feeling was not very obvious at the previous funeral of Yuwentai. Firstly, Yuwentai had the identity of the former leader of the Bafu, and no one who attended the ceremony showed much emotion. Secondly, Li Tai had not yet performed the ceremony. The reform movement is too big, and the sense of existence is not as strong as it is now.

Although the interval between the two funerals was only ten days, the changes that had taken place before and after the current situation were huge. Dugu Xin himself was very popular, and the funeral standards planned by the imperial court were not inferior to those of Yu Wentai before, and the number of people attending the funeral was even worse.

Many Shiliu were not relatives and friends who had close contact with the Dugu family, and were not arranged in the funeral procession, but they spontaneously followed the procession and walked dozens of miles to follow the funeral procession.

Li Tai noticed that most of these people who spontaneously followed were Xianbei warriors. The reason why he recognized them at a glance was not only because the Xianbei people were naturally different from the Han people in appearance, but also because most of these people's uniforms were in the style of soldiers, tied around the neck. The hood, the narrow hakama pleats, the blouse to prevent wind and sand, and the Xianbei people’s iconic braided hair.

Tuoba Xianbei was formerly known as Suotou, so he was despised as Suolu by the Southern Dynasties. Suo refers to braids, and braiding hair all over the head is the decorative custom of Tuoba Xianbei. After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang during the Taihe period, he vigorously promoted Sinicization and changed customs, and many Xianbei etiquette and customs were abandoned. However, as Beizhen was the garrison area around Pingcheng in the old days, many Xianbei customs were preserved and entered the interior again as the townspeople moved south.

When Yu Wentai was still alive, in order to usurp the throne and reconcile the conflicts between Hu and Han in the country, he made many blends of etiquette, law, culture and systems.

However, his purpose in making this series of changes was not to completely integrate the Hu and Han people, but to eliminate the resistance of the Kansai Han people to him, a foreign ruler, so many policies seemed a bit contradictory and awkward. Institutionally, the system pursues a six-official system that changes the Zhou rites, but it also emphasizes the obedience of a clan tribe and gives the surname Hu. The purpose of swinging around in policy is to create the aloofness of the Yuwen family over the Hu and Han groups.

Now that Li Tai is in power, he naturally no longer needs to make any small moves like Yu Wentai did. Reforms such as the six-official system, which were already more nominal than real and of low practicality, were directly ordered to stop. In terms of other etiquette and customs, although there are no explicit regulations, they are no longer as awkward as the Yuwentai period.

For example, the funeral ceremonies of Yu Wentai and Dugu Xin, as well as Yu Wenyu and Wang Xiong, and other ministers who died, all used Han etiquette and customs, and no special elements of Hu Feng were arranged.

Today's funeral rituals all rely on Han rites. Of course, the so-called Han rites nowadays are actually the result of the blending of Hu and Han etiquettes. After all, since the Yongjia Rebellion, the Hu and Han mingling has been happening in the north for more than 200 years. Whether the relationship is hostile or friendly, after living together in this land for such a long time, whether they accept it or not, they will influence each other. It has already been a situation where you are in me, and I am in you.

However, the Zhenbing group, as a lagging part of the sinicization of the Northern Wei Dynasty, still retained some etiquette and customs that had not been assimilated and were still full of regional flavor.

Different from the solemnity of Han rituals, Xianbei rituals are somewhat chaotic and noisy. For example, Xianbei funerals often include a mixture of good and bad music, with encouraging songs at the end, and the main theme is liveliness.

There are also knights galloping around to look around, shouting and singing. It is said that the location of Beizhen was not stable in the old years, and battles often occurred. In order to avoid being harassed and ambushed by hostile forces on the way to the funeral, a warning was set up. As time goes by, it gradually turns into a custom.

When these Xianbei warriors who spontaneously accompanied the funeral just left Chang'an, they also sang and danced according to the old customs of Beizhen, which was very different from the heavy and solemn atmosphere of the entire funeral procession. The accompanying officials came forward to ask for permission to expel these noisy people, but Li Tai waved his hand to stop them.

On the one hand, he also knew that Xianbei people had such funeral etiquette and these people were not deliberately causing trouble. On the other hand, once they were expelled, it would inevitably cast a disharmonious atmosphere on the funeral.

As the funeral procession moved forward, due to the obviously different atmospheres and equally obvious sizes, the Xianbei warriors gradually restrained themselves, no longer deliberately flaunting the old customs, and began to behave like the people in the funeral procession. As we walked solemnly, the noisy atmosphere also turned heavy. Some town residents who were already quite old sang Xianbei ballads that had been circulated in Beizhen in a desolate tone, and shed tears as they sang.

Not only life will perish in this world, but other things will also. Certain customs and traditions may not come to an abrupt end, but when you occasionally think of them, you often find that they have not been seen for a long time.

The latter three kingdoms are a turbulent era, but also an era of integration. Not long after Li Tai came to this world, he had already begun to think about the integration of Hu and Han.

But when he truly grew into a powerful figure who could control the fate of the current situation, he discovered that at least this problem was not a problem in the Western Wei regime.

In the upper-level political structure of the Western Wei Dynasty, Hu-Han identity was not the main reason for the distribution of political resources. The differences in resource distribution caused by factors such as region, civil and military affairs, proximity, etc. all exceeded ethnic groups.

In the social ecology of the middle and lower classes, the presence of the Xianbei military people is getting weaker and weaker, and the Guanzhong Fu soldiers have become the mainstream force. As for folk villages, no matter whether you are Han or Hu, you have to be content with farming, weaving and paying rent.

Just like those Xianbei warriors who spontaneously followed Dugu Xin to his funeral, as long as they continued on the same path, it was inevitable to be assimilated and integrated.

But if you still insist on emphasizing this identity and being new and different, since it is not the same, then your body will be destroyed. Therefore, even if the Northern Qi regime had a relatively deep and intense conflict between Hu and Han, after the Jinyang armed forces were destroyed, this conflict no longer existed.

Leaders like Yu Wentai who are from the Hu tribe, or leaders like Gao Huan who represent the armed interests of the Hu tribe to a certain extent, need to win the support of the powerful Han people and win over the powerful Han people while ensuring the interests of the Xianbei armed groups. support, so ethnic policies are a focus for them to gain recognition and support.

But for a leader like Li Tai, who was born into a serious Han family, the national issue was not a problem. The problem was easily solved in the process of strengthening the political power itself. It was nothing more than my sword's strength or disadvantage. If we have to single out this issue and discuss it in detail, this issue will become a problem.

After Dugu Xin's funeral, the people who participated also went into the tent to bid farewell to Duke Tang. Putting aside those who came to see Dugu Xin off for the last time because of Li Tai, Dugu Xin's own personal connections were also a huge treasure trove.

Therefore, when Li Tai was accepting farewell from the crowd, he also had his brother-in-law, Duguluo, led out of the thatched cottage and stood beside him, giving him the opportunity to get in touch with the connections left by his father.

Duguluo was imprisoned in Zhongshan for many years by the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties. He was unfamiliar with the current situation and people. The people and customs here in the Western Wei Dynasty were even more unfamiliar. It was of great significance for him to get to know these people who were familiar with Duguxin and gain a foothold in Guanzhong.

Li Tai is now out of the stage of relying on his father-in-law's connections to benefit. On the contrary, these people need to use their friendship with Duguxin as an opportunity to communicate with Li Tai, hoping to be appreciated.

"Sorrow can lead to ruin, even if the etiquette is exhausted. However, considering that the eldest son is especially responsible for handling family affairs now, it is also an unfilial act to neglect personnel due to illness caused by etiquette."

Li Tai looked at Duguluo, who was grieving and haggard after a funeral, and couldn't help but give advice.

After hearing this, Duguluo hurriedly leaned over and said sadly: "You must remember the teachings of Duke Tang. I just think that until now, although I have my parents, I have never been trained in front of the court, and under the curtain of filial piety, I have never had anything in my life." It’s really sad to see people attending funerals..."

Hearing what Duguluo said, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh to himself. Being born a prisoner and then attending the funeral of his father after being released was indeed a tragic life experience.

He led Dugu Luo to meet everyone, and also wanted to take the opportunity to examine the other party and see what Dugu Luo's character was through how he treated people.

Although he had been under house arrest for many years, Duguluo did not lose his education. He first lived with his grandfather, grandmother and mother, and received a certain degree of enlightenment education, until he became alone after all his relatives passed away. Although he is a bit timid and sensitive in character, he still understands human ethics and common sense in dealing with others.

After some observation, Li Tai was quite satisfied with Dugu Luo and intended to make him Dugu Xin's heir.

After all, the Dugu family does not need a brave and shrewd head now. As long as they can keep their own rules, they can enjoy wealth for a long time. Duguluo's cautious character can even be called a virtue to a certain extent. Moreover, he does not have a complicated social circle in Kansai, which also helps to prevent some disputes outside the door.

However, considering that Dugu Luo is still relatively unfamiliar with his relatives and friends here in Kansai, rashly adopting him as his heir may also cause dissatisfaction among Dugu Shan and other disciples, which may lead to family conflicts, so Li Tai did not immediately announce Dugu Luo's letter. As for the choice of heir, Duguluo was arranged to live with his brothers for a period of time, and then announced after he was officially dismissed.

If Duguluo can handle the relationship with his family well during this period, it will undoubtedly prove that he is indeed a qualified heir to the family business. If conflicts continue to develop or even intensify, they can be resolved without exposing the situation in public.