Chapter 2601: Both sides
The dining table is placed in the flower hall, a carved lacquered wooden table, with a plate of freshly steamed carp in the middle, clear white soup, and a few green scallions. The steam is thick and fragrant. In addition, there are a few side dishes, all delicious and delicious, and a jar of old wine is placed on the table, which is quite simple.
Xie Yan invited Xiao Yu to take a seat and said with a smile: "This humble house is not as good as the aristocratic family with its bells and bells ringing in its heyday. They only drink and eat, and they are neglecting the Duke of Song Dynasty."
Xiao Yu chuckled, waved his hand and said: "Before the age of thirty, I always wore silks and satins, ate seasonal delicacies, drank nectar, and slept with beautiful women in pink... But now, I often lament the absurd times at that time. Vulgarity and despicableness do not understand the way of life. Silk and satin are no more than coarse linen clothes. Seasonal delicacies are no more than coarse tea. What's the difference between plain rice and wine, and how is a beautiful woman in pink like an old wife? Fortunately, I live longer than ordinary people and still have time to understand the true meaning of life. It doesn't matter if I was blinded by lust when I was young. If you know your mistakes and can correct them, you can enjoy your old age and your family in peace.”
"Haha..."
Xie Yan's eyes twitched, he patted open the mud seal of the wine jar, and a fragrant aroma of wine filled the air. He held the small wine jar and poured wine into the wine bowl in front of Xiao Yu. He teased: "I'm afraid Song Guogong has accumulated experience. Therefore, I have some understanding of life, but my energy is gradually declining. I can't get used to wearing silk and satin, eating seasonal delicacies, drinking nectar and jade liquid, and playing with pink beauties, right?"
"This is unreasonable!"
Xiao Yu blew his beard and glared, and defended: "What are you talking about? Although I am old, my body is still strong, and there are countless maidens in the curtain, still like wolves and tigers!"
How can a man be told no?
Even if it's just a conversation or a joke, or even if there's a hint between words, it's still unacceptable to admit it.
Anyway, you don’t know if it’s just bragging, so you can’t follow us into the tent to watch the battle, right?
After the wine was filled, Xie Yan put down the wine jar, raised the wine bowl, and said with a big smile: "Perhaps Song Guogong is still as vigorous as before, but you have just walked through the world and experienced the prosperity of the world. You have eaten enough of all the good things and are tired of playing, so Anyone who can return to his original state But for those who have not experienced it, even if they are buried in loess at the age of one hundred, they can eat and play once, enjoy the ultimate in the world, and even die in peace!"
Xiao Yu also raised the wine bowl, gave a wry smile, and sighed: "I am obsessed with life. I always feel that the scenery I have not seen is the most beautiful, but I always refuse to listen to the advice of those who have been there. I insist on going my own way, and the future will be miserable."
The two wine bowls touched each other, and Xie Yan said: "As long as a person lives, he must climb high and look far away, overlooking the world. If you know that the top of the mountain is not far away, but hesitate to move forward with worries, your soul will return to Jiuquan in the future. , I will sigh with regret for the rest of my life.”
After Xiao Yu heard this, he knew that this man had become determined by the weight and could no longer persuade him...
He brought the wine bowl to his mouth and drank it all in one gulp.
The spicy wine entered his throat, like a burning flame passing through his abdomen, boiling the blood in his limbs. Xiao Yu exhaled and praised: "Good wine!"
He stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. The fishy smell of the fish was covered by the smell of wine and it was soft and sweet in the mouth. It was extremely delicious.
Putting down his chopsticks, he looked at Xie Yan and drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp. He clicked his tongue and said, "This wine is a fine wine from the house, right?"
Xie Yan said: "The fish meat has an earthy smell, so it must be neutralized with strong wine to show its delicious taste. But this Fangfu wine is distilled. It has a strong taste, but it is extremely sweet when it enters the throat. It is most suitable to accompany fish. Shrimp is a perfect match.”
With that said, he poured wine for Xiao Yu again.
Xiao Yu picked up the wine bowl, took a sip, and did not dare to drink it again. He tasted the sweet wine and said slowly: "This Fang Erlang is really extremely talented. His ancestors have been drinking wine for thousands of years. Why did he just start drinking wine?" Has anyone ever thought of distilling it to get a more mellow drink? And what about the gunpowder? It is said that he spent several months in seclusion, read ancient and modern elixir literature, and figured out the formula, which made the Tang Dynasty's combat power soar. He rose to be invincible in the world! It was also said that there were glass, shipbuilding, bamboo and paper... one after another. In the past, if someone could make one, they would be proud of the court and go down in history, but now they are all ruined by this kid. Come on, who can achieve such feats in the world? Such a person is truly an unparalleled genius. His talent is unparalleled in the world, and no one in the world can match him."
He is still working hard, trying to make Xie Yan realize that his reckless behavior is not only a crisis for the alliance between Shandong and Jiangnan, but also to make him not blinded by power and realize that his measures to support the Jin king's fight for the throne have already If the prince and Fang Jun were involved, once Fang Jun launched a counterattack, the consequences would be very serious.
Of course, more of them hope to use their prestige and sharp tongue to pull Xie Yan back from the edge of the cliff, so that the alliance that is about to be completely broken can be brought back to life. Only then can he have more power and be able to At the center of the core group.
Publicly and privately, Xiao Yu felt that Xie Yan's influence was too bad.
Xie Yan took a bite of food, took a sip of wine, and said disapprovingly: "So what? I admit that he is a genius, but throughout the ages, the most indispensable thing is genius! Each of his things is enough to go down in history, but in the end, Don’t all the benefits go to Your Majesty?”
After a pause, he added: "So, only those who have power can control the world, and even control life and death!"
Xiao Yu sat there and tried his best to persuade: "You usually don't go out or take a step forward. You only focus on learning, so you don't fully know Fang Jun's energy. Don't be instigated by others and it will be irreversible. You and I have known each other for decades, and I really can’t bear to see you being bewitched. Confused, and ultimately ended up in a dismal end. Listen to my advice and give up the unrealistic dream of fighting for the throne. Even if the fight for the throne succeeds, it will just end in the death of the cunning rabbit and the death of the lackeys. It is better to return to the south of the Yangtze River and live in peace. It’s better to do some learning during the year.”
Xie Yan did not appreciate his earnest words. He sighed sadly and asked: "I was born in the Xie family of Chen County, but now I am the Xie family of Chen County, so where is my home?"
Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment and then fell silent.
Xie Yan's ancestors fell into the hands of the Yuwen family of the Western Wei Dynasty during the Hou Jing Rebellion. They traveled to the north for many years, and then got the opportunity to return to their hometown. However, they left Xie Yan's tribe behind in the Northern Zhou Dynasty at that time. At first, they were homeless, hungry, cold, and miserable. Xie Yan, who is now famous in Shilin, almost starved to death, had to beg for a living several times, and was seriously ill many times, but he finally survived.
Today, Xie Yan looks gray and old, but in fact he is only in his fifties. He looks like an old man in his seventies. The reason is that his body mechanism was damaged during the hardships in the past, and he was plagued by illness and accelerated aging.
It wasn't until Xie Yan grew up and spread his literary name throughout Guanzhong that he gained the favor of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and entered the official career as a member of the San Congzheng.
It has only risen since then.
But even though he is now one of the most eminent scholars in the world, and he still bears the name of the Xie family of Chen County, he has never left Guanzhong in his life, and he has never returned to his ancestors.
Now that he is old and has retired from his hometown because he offended the powerful people of the dynasty, how can the Xie family of Chen County have a place for him?
Perhaps it was precisely because of this regret that fallen leaves could not return to their roots that Xie Yan was so stubborn on this matter, completely regardless of whether the Jiangnan nobles would suffer losses as a result, let alone whether the entire empire would be in turmoil as a result. His ancestors were living abroad, and his family bloodline had been diluted. If he wanted to recognize his ancestors and return to the clan, he had to bring something back.
All I want is to be successful and famous, so that one day when I'm old, I can return to my hometown in glory and glory.
Xiao Yu pondered, feeling troubled. He originally thought that he could successfully convince Xie Yan with his own prestige, but he didn't expect that this man actually wanted to make a great contribution and then return to his hometown with honor, which made it difficult to handle.
Human life and death may be lighter than a feather or heavier than Mount Tai. If you can honor your ancestors and show off your family's lintel, what's the harm even if you die?
What's more, offending the prince or Fang Jun may not mean death.
Not to mention whether the prince or Fang Jun dared to kill Xie Yan in public, at least Xie Yan had no chance of success.
He suddenly realized that maybe keeping Xie Yan as a "nail" might not be a bad thing...
After thinking about it for a long time, Xiao Yu said: "That's what I said, you can make your own decision. But you and I have been friends for decades. If things change and we are unable to do it, I hope Go to my house quickly, don’t say anything more, maybe you can save your life.” (End of Chapter)