Chapter 344: The great Confucian gives lectures, and the prince comes to Beijing
To the east of Binhai Road, adjacent to the East China Sea, there are towering green mountains.
At the foot of the Qingshan Mountain is the "Wudi City" that was expanded from a small town over hundreds of years.
On the long official road, Chai Keqiao, who had returned from a long journey, stepped forward.
Her hair is messy and dusty.
Chai Keqiao stood at the gate of the city, raised his sunburned face, and suddenly opened his mouth, revealing his white teeth:
"I'm back!"
There was no grand welcome, no one even paid attention.
Until Chai Keqiao walked into the city, sat down in a familiar restaurant, had a meal, dropped a piece of silver, and left gracefully.
The warriors in the city who came from all over the world to make a pilgrimage to the foot of Qingshan Mountain just heard the news and were disappointed to find that the city lord's personal disciples had already left.
Chai Keqiao passed through the city, arrived at the foot of Qingshan, and began to climb along the rugged and steep mountain road.
Along the way, he could still see warriors trying to climb the mountain.
However, as he went higher and higher, the number of people he encountered on the road also decreased.
On Qingshan Mountain, every few hundred steps along the long mountain road, there are platforms dug out by humans.
There were disciples from the Emperor Wu City cultivating on the platform, as if no one else was around.
There was a young man who was shaking his head and shaking his fists, sweating like raindrops.
There is a young man who sits cross-legged and meditates, holding his chin in his hands and thinking deeply. After a long time, he suddenly jumps up, picks up a branch from the ground and pricks it in the air several times, then drops it, cross-legged on the ground and continues to think hard with his head in his hands.
There was a middle-aged man who was shirtless and bumped into the giant tree again and again. Every time, yellowing leaves rustled down like goose feathers and heavy snow.
Every time he walked higher on the green mountain, there was a new layer of scenery. Chai Keqiao kept walking, and no one even looked at him.
In the Jianghu, Qingshan, which only exists in the legendary Emperor Wu City, seems to be completely undefended.
Unknowingly, Chai Keqiao walked into the clouds, and he clearly felt that there were lines of sight in the clouds coming and going away.
He knew that it was Shoushan's senior brother, and after confirming his identity, he ignored it.
"You're so indifferent, you won't even come out to say hello."
Chai Keqiao sighed, and when he walked out of the clouds, he had already reached the top of the mountain.
Looking down from this height, the entire Martial Emperor City is shrouded in a sea of clouds. The mushroom-shaped pillars of cloud make you as small as an ant.
At the end of the line of sight, there is a cliff extending from the mountain towards the sea.
"Whoosh-"
The sea breeze blows in your face, sweeping away the fatigue of the journey.
Chai Keqiao walked respectfully to the cliff and looked at the figure with his legs crossed and his back turned to him, looking at the East China Sea.
"Master, the disciple is back."
The man sitting alone on the cliff is as his name suggests. He has a tall and burly frame. He is also dressed in coarse linen clothes. His rough and messy hair is mixed with black and white, and is tied back casually with a ribbon.
Wu Xiankui has a face that looks like that of a middle-aged man in his fifties. His appearance is not too distinctive, except for the mark between his eyebrows that is as big as a red jujube.
The only real martial arts master among the four "celestial beings" in the world opened his eyelids and asked calmly without looking back:
"Why are you back so late?"
Chai Keqiao scratched his head in embarrassment:
"It's a pity that I was unable to have a fight with the young monk Tianhai during this trip. On my way back, I took a detour to find someone to learn from. I came back a little late."
Wu Xiankui said: "I heard from people at the foot of the mountain that it was Dayu worship that stole the limelight this time, and his surname..."
"The surname is Zhao, Zhao Du'an," Chai Keqiao thought for a while and said, "My disciples didn't expect that this person would win the championship. But it is said that he relied on Tai'a Sword."
Wu Xiankui said indifferently:
"Victory is victory, why do you care about relying on fists, feet, and swords? It seems that the royal family has a successor. What about the female emperor?"
Chai Keqiao thought for a while and said:
"From what my disciple has heard and seen, the empress is extremely diligent in government affairs. She must be someone who wants to be a wise king."
Wu Xiankui said disappointedly:
"Human beings are born in heaven and earth like mayflies, and their lifespan and human strength sometimes end. I thought that the royal family would produce another son with extraordinary talents, but it is a pity that he squandered his time on mundane things."
Chai Keqiao blinked and said, "That hundred-year battle..."
Wu Xiankui closed his eyes and said, "You should go all out."
In the past, the "Martial God" developed by the Dayu royal family competed with the two inheritances of Emperor Wu City. They imitated the fighting methods of Buddhism and Taoism and agreed to a gambling battle once every hundred years.
However, it is different from the Buddhist and Taoist rules of sending young disciples to fight.
The gambling battle is about the peak combat power of each person.
In the past hundred years, it was not the emperor who attended the appointment on behalf of the royal family, but Hai Chunlin, the number one priest in Ouchi who was at his peak.
In that battle, Hai Chunlin suffered internal injuries and retreated instead of advancing. He fell from the threshold of pseudo-celestial beings back to the realm of the world.
In this century, only Xu Zhenguan can keep the appointment.
Now that the battle between Buddhism and Taoism has ended, the gambling battle between Emperor Wu City and the Dayu royal family is no longer far away.
Chai Keqiao smiled and said:
"The female emperor has not yet entered the realm of true heaven, so she is no match for Master."
Wu Xiankui said:
"But that's not necessarily the case. If he can be promoted to heaven and human before the gambling battle, and be blessed with the emperor's dragon energy, it will be a different world."
Chai Keqiao wondered: "Didn't Master say that she devoted herself to government affairs and delayed her spiritual practice? Can she go further?"
Wu Xiankui suddenly said:
"In the past, Taizu Taizu of Dayu was really amazing. Not only was he powerful in martial arts, he was close to human immortals. He also created a method of promotion that was unique to the emperor. He gathered the emperor's dragon energy and added luck to him. He was only the first. If he could be granted the title of Zen Luoshan , it may not be possible to go further.”
Fengchan Luoshan?
Chai Keqiao was stunned for a moment and wanted to ask more, but he saw the first martial arts master sitting alone on the cliff waving his hand:
"Go ahead, stay in seclusion in the mountains and travel for a while. It's time for you to step into the worldly realm."
…
…
One evening, the road was closed.
On the official road to the capital.
Somewhere in the leeward mountain col, carriages stopped.
Seven feet tall and over fifty years old, Song Juren, dressed as a scholar, jumped out of the car and began loudly instructing his servants to clean up the camp where they had spent the night.
Then, this Juren master, who had dealt with Zhao Duan in Taicang Mansion that day, walked to the team almost diligently, outside a simple but special carriage, and said respectfully:
"Sir, the sun is setting, and we can't catch up with the villages and towns ahead, so we have to spend the night here."
The scholar in his twenties who was driving raised the curtain, and a middle-aged man wearing a Confucian robe, a large cloak, a square hat, and a beautiful beard under his chin stepped out of the car.
The moment the middle-aged man appeared, scholars of different ages coming from behind all saluted in unison: "Sir!"
Such a momentum attracted strangers who were also preparing to camp nearby and started to inquire.
After learning that this was "Mr. Zhengyang of Yunfu Dao", everyone was shocked.
Song Juren was not surprised by this. He raised his head and looked behind the car.
I saw Mr. Zhengyang's carriage followed by dozens of vehicles, many of which were carts pulled by donkeys or oxen. Several people could ride on a single cart.
This does not include those who followed on horseback, and those scholars who tried to follow on foot but were not left behind.
There are hundreds of people in Wuyangyang.
A few days after Zhao Duan left, Song Juren learned that his mentor Mr. Zhengyang was going north and passed through Linfeng.
As a "disciple of the Zhengyang Sect", Song Juren immediately greeted him with great grandeur. Only then did he learn that Mr. Zhengyang came from Yunfu Road and wanted to enter Beijing this time. Known as the "first hermit of Dayu", his reputation in the literary world is almost as famous as that of the Grand Master Dong Xuan, and his reputation in the south is even greater. Mr. Zhengyang, who is vaguely known as "Dong of Nanyang and North", is in Yunfu Road. He is almost like a saint in this world.
He guarded the tomb of his elder brother for many years, and wrote books to organize and expound the opinions of Confucian saints of the past dynasties. His comments were even referred to in the examination papers to a certain extent.
It can be said that almost the entire Yu Dynasty recognized him as the only candidate for the next generation of Confucian leaders after Dong Xuan.
Although he lived in Yunfu, scholars from all over the world came to worship him. He occasionally gave lectures and his remarks were spread to temples through the mouths of his disciples.
Mr. Zhengyang, who had been guarding the tomb for ten years and never left the mountain, made his first stop out of the mountain and went north to Beijing.
As soon as the news came out, it attracted the attention of countless readers.
When Zhengyang walked out of Yunfu Road, there was only a book boy beside him.
When he met Song Juren, there were dozens of followers around him.
Song Juren was lucky enough to encounter this important event and could not resist the temptation of leaving his name in history. He left his family business and followed his teacher northward.
Now that the capital is in sight, there are already hundreds of followers behind him.
There were countless literati watching and watching along the way. He could imagine what kind of sensation they would create when they entered Beijing.
"Let's all rest."
Mr. Zhengyang bowed his hands to everyone, and everyone returned the disciple salute.
Then, everyone started to set up camp in an extremely orderly manner. Many scholars rolled up their sleeves and went to pick up dead branches and leaves nearby and gathered them into piles.
When the sky dims, the sunset fades, night comes, and the sky is covered with stars.
In this mountain valley, clusters of fires have been lit, centered on the middle-aged people.
These disciples who had listened to Zhengyang's lectures and were scattered in various places, but now gathered with the teacher, took out dry food from the packages, boiled water and ate them.
Because Song Juren had family wealth and brought servants, he did not have to do chores himself and was able to serve his mentor.
He held the hot meal, passed by the fires, came to the carriage, and said to the middle-aged man who was cross-legged on the ground and meditating with his eyes closed:
"Sir, please have some food."
Mr. Zhengyang, who was wearing a Confucian robe and a large cloak and a beautiful beard, raised his eyelids and glanced at this disciple, but did not refuse his kindness.
He reached out and took the warm earthen pot, picked up the chopsticks in his hands, but was not in a hurry to eat, but said:
"In a few days, it's time to enter Beijing. It's time to disperse after you get here."
Song Juren was shocked: "Sir, you..."
Zhengyang, who is similar in age to Song Juren but has a more generous bearing than a generation above, smiled and said:
"We see each other after thousands of miles, but we will eventually say goodbye. I came to Beijing as a teacher, and was entrusted by Prince Mu to correct my studies and debate etiquette with the female emperor of Sichen.
This is disrespectful. To me, the capital city is like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. You don't need to be implicated by me. You sent me here with intention. The next road is for you to walk by yourself. "
As soon as these words came out, not only Song Juren, but also a group of scholars sitting nearby became anxious.
One after another expressed their willingness to follow him to the death and never leave.
Zhengyang shook his head helplessly, but said nothing more.
Seeing the dull atmosphere, Song Juren said, "Sir, please give us another lecture on ethics."
The eyes of everyone around him brightened, this was knowledge they would never tire of hearing.
Zhengyang did not refuse. Although he was in the wilderness of a mountain and had a bonfire gathering, he did not waste his time teaching:
"What do you want to ask?"
One person said: "Sir, let's talk about studying things to achieve knowledge. I still don't understand it very well. "The Great Learning" says that learning should follow the order of studying things, developing knowledge, sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world.
The latter part is easy to understand, but why should we first study things to gain knowledge before we can be sincere and correct? The study of things to achieve knowledge appears only once in ancient sage texts without further explanation, so how should we explain it? "
Another person next to me said:
"This gentleman has explained it many times. Everything in the world has its own principles. If we cannot exhaust the principles, we cannot know everything. Therefore, as students, we should exhaust the principles of all things and explore the roots of things. Over time, we can Suddenly enlightened and understood, he is almost a saint.”
The first person was confused and said:
"But I think the predecessor Zheng Gong said that Ge means 'come', and things are like things. Ying Da also has a similar view. Good things come when people do good things, and evil things come when people do evil things. …
It seems to be saying, if my heart is kind, good will come close to me, if my heart is evil, evil will come close to me, just like a gentleman is close to a gentleman, and a villain is close to a villain... This is different from what the teacher said, I can't understand it. . "
For a moment, a group of disciples started quarreling with each other.
Song Juren was helpless and coughed lightly: "Let's ask sir."
Zhengyang faced the eager gazes of the disciples, but remained silent for a moment and did not answer immediately.
The four words "investigating things to achieve knowledge" can be said to be a great example of Confucianism in Dayu. Confucian scholars of all dynasties have different opinions and try to restore the true meaning of the sage.
Zhengyang annotated classics and Haoshou spent many years before he came up with the above-mentioned insights of "investigating the principles deeply".
If Zhao Duan studied his theory, he would probably be able to taste some of the flavor of "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires".
But in the past two years, Zhengyang has been shaken by himself. He always feels that his moral knowledge is not strong enough, but he has no new direction.
This time I was asked by a disciple, and when I was about to answer, I suddenly heard the neighing of horse hooves.
Everyone in the mountain col turned their heads to look, and saw another convoy arriving on the dark official road, but the direction was from the east.
The fleet is low-key and luxurious, far more than a team of scholars.
Russian qing.
There were more servants holding lanterns in the motorcade, escorting several noble-looking figures. Before the people arrived, the voice came first:
"Haha, is Mr. Yunfu Zhengyang in front of you?"
Zhengyang and others got up, and with the help of the bonfire, they saw three figures walking towards a wealthy slave surrounded by a famous man.
The leader was a handsome man in his thirties, with red lips and white teeth, but an uncomfortable look in his eyes.
Beside the young master, an old man with his hands above his knees followed him every step of the way.
He walks like an ape. If there are practitioners present, it can be seen at a glance that this old man is always in a posture that can cause violence and hurt people.
Next to the two masters and servants, one step behind was a woman in her thirties.
Her temples are dotted with white jade pearls, and she has a face that looks peaceful and peaceful to the people. She wears a horse-faced skirt embroidered on a dark-green floral silk ground, and her upper body is wrapped in a shawl, but her eyebrows are lowered as she walks.
"How many of you dare to ask your name?" Mr. Zhengyang frowned.
A young boy holding a lantern said with a haughty expression:
"This is His Royal Highness Prince Heng of Qingzhou. He went to Beijing with Mrs. Xiao, the head of the Xiao family in East Lake. On the way, I heard that Mr. Zhengyang was here, so I took a detour and came to see him."
Prince Heng?
The first female widow in the Yu Kingdom from the Xiao family in East Lake?
Mr. Zhengyang, who also has the title of "The First Hermit", was stunned for a moment with a strange expression.
…
…
Time is pulled back.
Beijing, Zhao family.
Zhao Duan returned from the Yamen, and after fooling his stepmother and sister by casually saying "I was busy with official duties last night", he returned to the bedroom impatiently.
After closing the door, from the palm-sized "Taixu Scroll", pour the leaf-like treasure, which is as white as jade and scattered with light flakes, into the palm of your hand.
——
Plot preview:
That's right, Yangming's Xinxue is shamelessly plagiarized by the protagonist again.
(End of chapter)