Chapter 380: The Heart’s Wishes: Universal Harmony (Part 1)
The news about the surrender of Guo Yaoshi’s Changsheng Army spread throughout the city. In the past two days, it became the focus of everyone’s talk after dinner. At the same time, in Bianliang City, as Those people at the top of the Wu Dynasty pyramid who promoted the implementation of this matter are also feeling the joyful results in the afterglow of victory.
In the past year, the Jin people have been aggressively attacking and have conquered nearly half of the Liao Kingdom. Under the circumstances, it can almost be said that it has sounded the death knell of the Liao Kingdom. Many people in the Wu Dynasty's court believed in the principle that "the right person will get more help, but the wrong person will get less help." At this time, the ever-victorious army was brought over, which is the best evidence of this principle.
Since the beginning of the war, the forces of war and peace in the court have been tilted quite seriously, but there are still a considerable number of people in the peace faction. The main war faction was not united. In the subtle situation of successive defeats in the war, it gradually divided into two groups. One group asked the front-line troops to fight hard to win and show their strength, so that they would be able to speak better in subsequent negotiations with the Jin people. The other faction, due to repeated defeats, began to advocate that its own side should preserve its strength, use military tactics, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, wait until Jin and Liao were both injured, and then take advantage of the situation.
These two theories were present from the beginning, but they were clearly separated only after the war situation changed. But no matter what, the bottom line of the main war faction is to regain Youyan, at least not to let the main peace faction gain the upper hand. When the news of Chang Shengjun's surrender was confirmed, among the crowd, the voice of the latter prevailed. At this time, the north stood still, and Tong Guan led the imperial army to the north. Before the war started again, Yaoshi Guo surrendered, which was in line with the demeanor of a king in the Celestial Dynasty. For most people, this was a sign of the opportunity for the resurgence of the Wu Dynasty. .
The voice is enthusiastic and the people are united. At this time, the way to celebrate is of course various banquets and gatherings. In the past two days, the merchants who hosted various parties in Bianliang City made a lot of money. The brothels and Chu houses also made a lot of money. Several cultural gatherings were held in a lively manner. A talented man named Yu Shaoyuan was in the Jingsi Garden. The middle work "Ode to the King" has been rated as one of the few majestic works in the past century. It has the legacy of the Tang Dynasty. The article is eloquent and eloquent, explaining the inevitability of the Wu Dynasty's return to prosperity. The literary talent is breathtaking.
Prosperous culture can naturally be regarded as a manifestation of prosperity in the world, and no one will have any objection to this. After writing "Ode to the King", this young man from Shaoyuan won the favor of Ji Wanqing, the oiran of the capital. In the past two days, it became a good story spread in the capital. It was vaguely related to Zhou, who was known as the four great talents in the capital at that time. Bang Yan, Zheng Shuhe, Wang Yuanshi and Xie Dao are three equal.
These things are the most popular trends in this era, and they cannot be circumvented no matter where they are. In the Prime Minister's Mansion that afternoon, there were several people circulating the "Ode to the King" and discussing it. This is the east courtyard of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. It is very close to the study room where Qin Siyuan always works. There are many books and documents in the room, which also proves that these people are Qin Siyuan's trusted aides or masters. One of them is a middle-aged monk with a handsome appearance, and the other three are thirty, forty, and fifty years old respectively. All three have mature and steady temperaments, but their age seems to be written on their faces. , one look at it will make people feel like this.
"...Elegant and majestic, Yu Shaoyuan can be called a genius in literary talent... He is only in his early twenties this year, but it reminds me of Wang Zi'an..." After reading the poem, The speaker was an old man in his fifties, shaking his head in admiration. The Prince An he spoke of was Wang Bo, one of the four heroes of the early Tang Dynasty, who wrote the "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion". Those who can serve as aides in Youxiang Mansion are all people with outstanding literary talents. The fact that this old man can be more comfortable with Yu Shaoyuan than the prince is enough to prove the other party's achievements.
However, after he said this, he immediately received a rebuttal that he did not agree with. The speaker was a man in his thirties who was writing at his desk not far away. He raised his eyebrows and said: "The literary talent is good, but it is just an empty sigh and insufficient argumentation. If only the king's righteousness can rejuvenate the country... Well, Although it is not unreasonable, but in this case, Nian Gong, what are we doing?”
"He is only in his early twenties, so his literary talent is enough. Besides, the rejuvenation of the country should be based on royal principles. This is not wrong. Haha, Zhouhai, why should you mind." The old man known as Nian Gong laughed. He smiled, and in front of the window on the other side, the monk who was drinking tea raised his head: "If the article is brilliant, , it may be possible to be on par with Zhou Meicheng, but...I'm afraid I still can't compare with the one who is coming up..."
"That's a stranger, no need to compare." Thirty. The many-year-old man said something, and the monk by the window nodded.
Among them, there was a middle-aged man in his forties who looked dignified, but seemed to be relatively taciturn. Although he listened to a few people talking, he never participated in them. If they were placed outside, a few of the people here would be quite famous and could even scare people in many places.
The old man known as Nian Gong was surnamed Yao, and his name was Yao Zunian. He was Qin Siyuan's staff when he was young. He was knowledgeable. Although he followed Qin Siyuan before, he also had great influence in the officialdom and literary circles. fame. After Qin Siyuan resigned, he could still have a future, and even his own reputation was enough to switch to anyone's name. However, after experiencing the Blackwater Alliance, his utilitarianism also faded, but under Qin Siyuan's When he got up again, he came over to help.
The middle-aged man in his forties is named Ji Kun. He was originally a servant of Qin Siyuan when he was young. He later studied and learned with Qin Siyuan and became one of Qin Siyuan's first disciples. It's just that what this person is good at is not poetry and literary talent, but actually doing things and arranging others to do things. Although he looks dignified and even a bit dull, in fact, when Qin Siyuan was managing the Ministry of Personnel, many people had learned from this person. He is cruel and ruthless, early A few years ago, Qin Siyuan was dismissed from office. He did not want him to follow him to Jiangning and become a housekeeper, so he asked him to go to the north with the Secret Investigation Department. After Qin Siyuan came back to power, he came back from the Liao Kingdom. It seems that he has not changed much. , just more silent than before.
The man in his thirties was originally a disciple of Qin Siyuan. His surname was Cheng, his given name was Fang, and his courtesy name was Zhouhai. He had not studied with Qin Siyuan for a long time, but he had a rather cynical personality. He was quite talented in Daming Mansion. Some people in the capital also knew him. In the early years, he had used good poems to compete in other literary societies, and he had The entrance of the courtesan Bin, occasionally his name has appeared in the field of vision of some people, but until now, he has not made much achievements in officialdom and literary circles, and his ambition is not here. After Qin Siyuan came back to power, he recruited him. He also came over.
As for the monk, he was really famous in the capital. This man's religious name was Jueming. He was originally the son of a county prince. He was handsome and talented when he was young. Later he became a monk and shocked the capital. Although his talent and learning were not as profound as those of Yao Zu, his talent in poetry and prose was firmly above the other three. Since he was already a monk, no one in the capital included him among the four great talents. Compared to Zhou Bangyan, his reputation is not necessarily any worse. Although Zen Master Jueming became a monk, he did not practice asceticism. Instead, he traveled widely and made friends easily. At this time, he was not serving as an aide in Youxiang Mansion, but as a friend.
Qin Siyuan was not in the mansion this afternoon. A few people chatted for a while, and a servant came over to report the matter and talk to Ji Kun. Ji Kun went out for a while, and after a while, he brought someone in with a smile. Yao Zunian took one look at it, and then laughed: "Buer, I almost didn't recognize him."
The person who came was naturally from Wenren Buer, who came from the dock, stood at the door and bowed his hands in greeting: "Mr. Yao... Zen Master Jueming, I haven't seen you two gentlemen for a long time. Ah, Zhouhai..."
Wenren Buer's age He looks similar to Cheng Zhouhai, but looks younger. They had met each other several years ago, and several people in the room actually knew about the Secret Investigation Department. In fact, the identity and relationship behind Jueming, like Kang Xian, were currently supporting the Secret Investigation Department. one. Everyone already knew that Wenren Fuji was coming here, and everyone knew what he had done in Hangzhou, and they saw each other smiling. Cheng Zhouhai subconsciously looked outside the door several times. After Wenren Buer found out, he was a little confused: "What are Zhouhai looking at?"
Yao Zunian laughed at the side: "I'm afraid he is watching the one-night fish and dragon dance. Since Fuji has arrived, why didn't Mr. Ning come?"
Listening to him talking about Ning Yi, Wenren Buer laughed and told the story about Ning Yi going to find a place to live. Then he looked at Cheng Zhouhai and thought of the reason: "The behavior of Ning Liheng and Zhou Hai are indeed somewhat similar. Moreover, Zhou Hai was good at poetry in the past. Could it be that he was so happy that he wanted to find someone to discuss with him? "
Cheng Zhouhai is a bit cynical. Although his poetry is very good, he is not interested in literary competition. In the past, there was a bit of disdain. According to him, it was because he was very disgusted with those who were not up to par and deliberately showed off and complimented each other. This was something Wenren Buer knew in the past. But Ning Yi's poems should be able to suppress his disdain. He thought of this and said it, but Cheng Zhouhai shook his head with a smile and waved his hand: "It's not because of this... Hey, I'm afraid Young Master Sixteen will have to be criticized again..."
He murmured with a hint of joking. After a sentence, Yao Zunian and Jueming frowned and looked at each other: "Yes, where did Shao Yu go?"
Ji Kun said: "I'm afraid he went out to look for those young masters again. Let’s play.”
Wenren Buer couldn't help but be a little confused. After asking, he found out about him and Ning Yi's visit to Beijing. Qin Siyuan sent someone early in the morning to prepare for the reception. This person was a nephew of Qin Siyuan in his hometown. Although he had little contact with people from his hometown during the period of his resignation, after Qin Siyuan came back to power, many people from the Qin family came to Beijing to ask for care. In addition to getting money and food, those who wanted to become officials were also sent to several young masters of the nephew generation. , please ask Qin Siyuan to discipline them and give them a future.
Once he sat in the position of the right prime minister, there was almost an endless stream of such things, but Qin Siyuan couldn't refuse and ignore them. Although he could push away some, there were always some people who stayed in the right prime minister's house. After all, Qin Siyuan chose the one with relatively better qualifications. This sixteenth young master Qin Shaoyu is one of them.
It’s just that these people were already in their teens or twenties when they were sent here. Qin Siyuan could no longer teach him how to behave, he could only teach how to do things. But no matter how majestic he is, he can't really overwhelm his family. In the past year, as soon as these young men came to the capital, the first thing they contracted was all kinds of problems that wealthy young men cannot avoid. They went out in groups. Playing, participating in cultural gatherings, playing games in the brothel and Chu Pavilion, the words played out are in the name of the Young Master of Youxiang Mansion. Qin Siyuan has dealt with it several times, and even tried to change the family law, but in the Right Prime Minister's house, everything still seemed rushed. During this year, he mainly dealt with matters related to the Northern Expedition, making up for the vacancies in work over the past few years. There were no rules at home. It was beyond his power to completely shut down the accumulation of time.
This time Ning Yi and others came up. He estimated the time and asked Qin Shaoyu to wait at the pier every day to bring the two "brothers" to the house in time. In the old man's opinion, it might also be possible for Ning Yi and Qin Shaoyu to wait at the dock every day. Wenren Fuer has the idea of promoting the younger generation. It is always good for his nephew to make friends with capable people. But firstly, the estimated date was unclear, and secondly, there were various changes along the way. Qin Shaoyu doesn't have the temperament to really care about this matter every day. He will miss it at this time, and he will probably get scolded by the old man.
After hearing this, Wenren Fuer smiled bitterly for a moment. If Qin Shaoyu was scolded, he would inevitably turn his anger on himself. No matter how distant he was, it would not be a good thing. However, Yao Zunian and others could see his worries, and Cheng Zhouhai waved his hands: "Don't worry, success is not enough and failure is not enough. Teacher must have some discernment in these matters... To be honest, although This happens to every household of high-ranking officials, and there will definitely be people who seek out relatives to gain access to the family, but the Prime Minister's Mansion has done everything to start over. During this period, teachers and wives came all the way, and they couldn't bear to be disturbed. …”
He paused: "However, I really want to see Ning Liheng as soon as possible. The teacher also told him to come to the house as soon as possible... but you guessed the reason wrong."
Wen RenBuer frowned and thought for a moment: "I know he is with Lao The teacher is an old friend, but... isn’t it because of poetry?”
“It’s not poetry, and it’s not Liangshan. Although in these things, what he did is far inferior to us, but later the teacher and Nian Masters Gong and Jueming both discussed it , this Mr. Ning, thinks about things... his method of solving problems is probably a little different from ordinary people. The teacher said that he is a strange person, but there are not such people. But what really makes people think about this is this... I was the same at the beginning. I didn't notice..."
Cheng Zhouhai spoke seriously, and carefully took out a box from the cabinet on the side. After opening it, Wenren Buer took one look and recognized it. Come out, this is some information he sent from Hangzhou, there are a lot of things, bundled together. After sorting out this information, most of it was sent to the capital after the city was broken, because there was too much of it. However, most of the information sent to the capital after the city was broken was unimportant and was only used as a supplement to the entire situation.
“What information is this?”
"You only sent a few letters at the beginning. I took one look at them and threw them away. The same goes for Nian Gong and the others." Cheng Zhouhai said, taking out the bottom few letters and pulling out the papers inside. Er took it and looked at it for a while, but frowned firmly. Because these things were so unimportant, he finally remembered what they were after reading half of the article, and then read the entire article carefully: "These? Is there any mystery in them?" For him, it was too much. Childish and error-filled articles are also a form of torture.
"There is a mystery." Cheng Zhouhai patted a large pile of things next to him, "But I can't see it at once, I didn't see it."
Yao Zu Nian Yao over there He shook his head: "Ashamed, I couldn't see it at the beginning."
"I remember that this was Ning Liheng in the Ba Dao Camp. He forced the Confucian scholars to write articles about them, but they were mixed, and some were even nonsense. Could there be some secret code hidden in them?" Wen Renfuer looked at them word for word for a while, then raised his head, "But it's useless now. "Yeah."
"You can't tell it at once..." Cheng Zhouhai rubbed his forehead.
"You don't want to say..." After thinking for a while, Wen Renfuer came up with something, but for a moment, it was hard to put it into words, "Among these things..."
Cheng Zhouhai laughed meaningfully: "There are good and bad literary qualities in these things. If we talk purely about words, Ning Liheng really shouldn't give a grain of rice to those literati. You send them After we came here, none of us cared about it. It wasn't until a few times that I discovered that the teacher actually took these articles to read, and even found everything and picked them out one by one, that we realized there was something wrong. After telling us, we were...really a little scared..." He paused and lowered his voice, "This is a heart-breaking statement..."
"You're kidding." Wenren Fuji glanced at the people in the room, "I knew at the time that he had set up a trap, and over there... Miss Liu from Ba Dao Camp also believed it, but at that time Under such circumstances, he would be dead if he didn’t set up this trap. But it cannot be said that this is really possible. In that kind of environment, it was only two or three months before he was arrested... Is this really possible? "
“In the 13th year of Qi Zong’s reign, Hezhou scholar Lü Jifang spent all his wealth and implemented the ‘Great Harmony’ in the local villages. All things were owned by everyone, and everyone ate, lived, and worked together. After discussion, the 'good old people' decided together that in order to make the old have a happy life, the strong have usefulness, the young have something to grow, and the widowers, widowers, lonely and disabled people all have something to support..." Yao Zunian next to him spoke.
"This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened in the past, but every time, the idea was very good but ended up in vain. Lu Jifang lasted for three years. Later, it was said that the villagers became more and more lazy, and the village could not make ends meet. Lu Jifang persuaded the villagers to work, but also wanted to control them in the name of "good old man" , but in the end it triggered conflicts. Lu Jifang was killed in the conflict, and the villagers dispersed in droves. The local magistrate later heard about the matter and believed that Lu Jifang had the ambition to be a saint, but he was killed after dissipating his family wealth. Datian listened to the case. Later, twenty-three people were sentenced to death, and Qiu Hou executed them all..."
Wenren Buer said: "How can these two things be the same?"
"But they are actually similar." Cheng Zhouhai looked at him, "Teacher saw everything he did in the Hangzhou Ba Dao Camp , one link after another, one after another, he is not playing or lying. Wen Ren, he knows it well."
Wen Renfuer was silent for a long time: "Zhou Hai, tell me first whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."
"Of course it is a good thing. How can it be a bad thing?" Cheng Zhouhai spread his hands and said.
Wenren Buer breathed a sigh of relief, and Ji Kun handed him a cup of tea.
"The teacher said that when I first met this kid, he was good at chess and took the wrong side of the sword. Later, he wrote beautiful poems, and when disaster struck, he had the talent to manage the world and help the people. Later, he was calm and calm in dealing with the enemy. This is A general's style. These things are a pillar of talent in any person, but compared with the current situation, those things are nothing. "What's wrong?"
Ji Kun's tone was a little soft, but calm, and he repeated Qin Siyuan's words: "Everyone can be like Yao and Shun... This is Taoist tradition, I heard that Mr. Ning has the idea of great unity... …”
He paused: “It’s just a little dangerous” (End of Chapter)