Although the plan for a year lies in spring, the spring of the first year of Xiangfu, but once Qingming is over, it will come to an end. The ancient capital of Western Chu on Guangling Road had been renamed from the Divine Phoenix City to the Lost Ding City full of humiliation after being trampled by the Xu family's iron cavalry. There was a Mozhuan Temple in the mountains on the outskirts of the city. The name of the temple came from a famous Buddhist gate. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the incident of sitting meditation intensified, and the anger was lowered, because the abbot of the Mozhuan Temple said that grinding bricks cannot make a mirror, so how can sitting meditation become a Buddha? This day at dawn, the morning birds were singing, and the three of them were walking on the tree-lined path. The old man was very old, with white hair and snowy brows, and he climbed the mountain with a green bamboo cane. Stagger, but don't want anyone to help. The Confucian scholar in green shirt is not young anymore, his temples are frosty white, but his gaseous state is particularly clear and dusty, and he forgets the vulgarity at first sight. The woman is the youngest, with a stunningly beautiful face, not like a woman in the world, with a red sandalwood sword box on her back, and her steps are light. Probably to take care of the elderly who were too old, the three of them did not speak a word when they climbed the mountain. When they entered the Qingjing ancient temple where there were no pilgrims, there was only the rustling sound of a young monk sweeping the floor with a big broom. It was the time when the Buddha was exterminated in Liyang, and even the gates of the two Buddhist temples were closed. The Mozhuan Temple has been lightly incensed for the past twenty years, but it has escaped the catastrophe. There are still some monks who continue to hide in the mountains to eat fast and chant the Buddha. See you The three pilgrims and the young monk hurriedly put the broom under their armpits and saluted with clasped hands, especially after glancing at the woman out of the corner of his eye, his bald head lowered even more, for fear of violating the precepts and losing his bodhicitta. After returning the gift, the old man brought Confucian scholars and women to the hall of five hundred arhats. They were not the golden makeup arhats that are common in grand temples, but painted and wooden bodies. What is even more rare is the five hundred arhats. Sitting or listening or clasping palms together, or even staring people beating gongs and drums or scratching their ears and cheeks, there is very little spirit of immortals and Buddhas, but the atmosphere of the market is not light. The old man led the two of them to a venerable, holding a mirror in his left hand, and his right hand actually tore open the vicissitudes of the benevolent face, revealing the handsome boy's face, which was enough to make the onlookers dumbfounded.
The old man stood at the foot of this wooden arhat and said calmly: "The old minister heard that Zeng Xiangqi, the Minister of Rites, brought a large jar of wine into the temple alone on a snowy day in the first year of Yonghui, and died of drunkenness here. The last words are all drunken words. The old minister knows that in the past, the old Zeng never drank alcohol, and he always advised us to drink too much. I remember that once His Majesty drank too much and missed the early morning, the old Zeng blew his beard and stared. So I rushed into the palace to scold His Majesty, if the empress did not stop her, His Majesty would have fought this old guy. Afterwards, His Majesty was still angry, and told the old minister privately that the old guy was the last one at the celebration banquet the night before. It's not kind, he doesn't drink anyway, but he can drink other people's wine, even he didn't let it go, and turned his back on him the next day. Who would have thought that such an old man who hated alcohol like a bandit all his life , In the end, I fed myself to death in a muddle-headed way?"
Zeng Xianglin, Minister of Rites, is naturally not the second-rank minister of Liyang, but the last Minister of Rites of Western Chu. He is a brother of the same school as Qi Yanglong, the great sacrificial wine of Yinxue Palace, and the mentor of Wang Mingyang, who has been guarding Xiangfan for ten years.
The old man stretched out his hand to caress the slightly cool Arhat pedestal, and said softly: "I think the old man came to look for Tang Shangshu of the household department. Tang Jiahe was the most knowledgeable among the veterans, and originally he didn't look down on Buddhism, a foreign religion, unexpectedly. He ran away from Zen to grind the brick temple. As for whether he really devoted himself to the Buddha, he was still disheartened, God knows. The old minister and Tang Jiahe had disagreements all their lives, but that was still a dispute between gentlemen. Fighting for power and fighting against each other is not a battle between a gentleman and a villain. Now it seems that it is more like a smug between a gentleman and a gentleman. The paths they take are different, and it is inevitable that literati will look down on each other, which will lead to great disasters. However, Tang Jiahe said two words very insightfully. He said that all living beings in the world, and those they love, can die. Warriors die on the battlefield, and civil servants die in the temple. , not only men and women are obsessed with each other, since people can only die once in this life, so they always keep it in their hearts, so that they can die well. People are like grass, and they also think about the period of five winds and ten rains, let alone people are not plants, But if Tang Jiahe really wanted to die one day, he would die, and he would never live. But in the end, Tang Shangshu, who once lost sixteen games in a row to our side Cao Touxiu on the chessboard, also regretted it. He escaped from Mozhuan Temple for a few years, and then maybe he was afraid that the old officials and Lao Zeng would find him, so he fled further into the mountains, and no one knows whether he is dead or alive."
The white-haired old man continued: "The great general Song Yuan who was often taught by His Majesty to read more and read more, don't always make jokes in the temple. Such a stubborn old urchin is really crazy. The only grandson in the family, who had been a Jinshi secretly in the sixth year of Yonghui, was burnt to death like that, and burned himself to death in a dilapidated library with few books. When our Great Chu was in its heyday , Wufu has no sword spirit, scholar has infinite sourness, women have no fat powder, mountain people have no smoke, monks have no incense, this is a prosperous scene that has not been seen in the eight hundred years since the Great Qin Dynasty. It was a small dynasty, where the vassals and towns had been separated for fifty years, and the eunuchs had been involved in politics for fifty years. The eunuch Fan Gongliang killed one emperor, two kings and six concubines in his lifetime, and he was able to spend his old age peacefully. Such a dynasty never understood what etiquette is. , how could he transform himself fifty years later and become the princess of the world inexplicably? And our Great Chu, why do we say that the country will be subjugated? The monarch is wise, and the fault is not the king. Civil and military loyalty, the fault is not the ministers. The people are hardworking, the fault is not the people So the veteran Sun Xiji really wanted to know what happened. Since death is already an extravagant hope, he wanted to give himself peace of mind and know a passable answer before he died. The veteran is not afraid to bear the infamy of the two surnamed slaves, so Standing on the sidelines in the temple of Tai'an City for more than ten years, but in the end, I still can't figure out why Da Chu lost, and lost so badly and quickly. However, the old minister recognized two people, one is Ren Tu Xu Xiao, one is Zhang Julu, the blue-eyed boy, who immediately conquered the world and ruled the world immediately. It was they who made the old officials have to accept their fate. Xu Xiao did the right thing. A good knife, as long as it is held in the right hand, the faster the knife, the faster it will be. The people shed less blood. Zhang Julu did a good job. He took the risk of being known as the emperor in private with Han Shengxuan, and took care of the Zhao family's yard to make it airtight. The old minister had already accepted his fate. It's just that Changqing asked the old minister to come to see you, and the old minister came, nothing else, an old guy just wants to die in his homeland, which is better than anything else."
The three are Sun Xiji, the old grand master of Western Chu, Cao Changqing who achieved the realm of Confucian saints on the site of Xileibi, and Jiang Ni, the subjugated princess whose real name is Jiang Si.
They drank a pot of tea at the Mozhuan Temple. The old grand master was probably tired of walking and talking, so he stopped talking, and then the three of them went down the mountain and returned to the city. The official residence is on the former site of the six official residences outside the imperial city of Lost Ding City. The Guangling Prince's Mansion is not in the city, but the Guyu City in the southeast of the vassal king's jurisdiction. The current Lost Ding City has left, most of them at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. After the decision, all the survivors of the subjugated country, those who should be left behind are also left behind, and those who remain are all survivors of Western Chu. With the city of Lost Ding as the center of the circle, six towns and eighteen cities in four weeks, only the character of Zhao was not torn off. In particular, Lost Ding City, with the mansion of Jinglue Envoy and Bailu Mountain as the skeleton, came back to support a brand-new and vibrant new temple. It will be replaced by Hou Chu.
When the three of them went down the mountain, more than a hundred elite euphorbia warriors rode horses to escort them back to the city. The old grand master brought the two of them to a restaurant in Dongcheng, saying that he wanted to invite Her Royal Highness to taste shad, and after taking a seat on the second floor, The old man laughed softly: "Your Highness, this shad is delicious in the world. The old minister has to show off a few words of knowledge to enjoy himself, so don't be too noisy. Food is the most important thing for the people, and good things on the table are often eaten from time to time. The reason why shad is called shad is that it is like a migratory bird. It will flow up the Guangling River in the spring outside the Chunxue Building in Guyu City every spring. It stands to reason that when it comes to our place, it must be Xiaoman Lixia at the time, fat Plump and plump, if supplemented with chicken head rice, which is a specialty of Copper Paper City, it will be the best in the world. In the future, once the shad arrives in Xiangfan City, it will be difficult to eat. I don't care about the particularity of the sages and old gourmets."
Jiang Ni hummed, but did not continue. The meal was served soon, and she held the chopsticks to pick up the food. The old man saw her holding the chopsticks and joked with a smile: "His Royal Highness, we all believe that the higher the chopsticks, the longer the chopsticks are. In the future, it will be easier to find a partner." The farther away, I remember that when the old minister was young, the older generation in the family always used this to talk to us, because they were afraid that the women among us would marry too far away, and the men would marry women who did not know their origins when they grew up. We were It's just holding the chopsticks down according to the elder's heart, and at the same time disapproving in my heart, and it's just a rumor, but I didn't expect to wait until I became an elder, and started talking to my children again. This is probably inheritance, a family is like this, So does a country."
The ginger paste that was holding the chopsticks very high really took the opportunity to hold it down, amused the old man, and laughed: "Your Highness, don't take it seriously, the old minister just said it casually. In fact, it doesn't matter if a woman marries far away, and she can still change the military orders abroad." by."
Jiang Ni smiled lightly, lowered her head to eat and ate fish, the fish bones were very soft and did not sting, even she ate a lot even though she did not eat fish in the past. Cao Changqing asked for a jug of wine, and drank slowly with the old man, without persuading him to drink, and poured himself out. Satisfied with wine and food, the bill was settled, and the three of them walked out of the century-old restaurant. On the bustling street that was no longer there, the old man suddenly stopped and said wait a while. Cao Changqing sighed, but did not make a sound. Not long after, an old watchman in ragged clothes came out of an alley, knocked on the watch in broad daylight, and crazily yelled, "Everyone is dead, everyone is dead", "Keep your eyes open, there is no one in Dachu!" I'm alive." The old watchman just walked on the street, knocking and shouting, heartbreaking, but the passers-by on the street were obviously used to it, and they didn't even bother to make jokes, and turned a blind eye to each of them. The disheveled watchman came In front of the three people, seeing them, they were stunned for a moment, pointed at Sun Xiji with a hammer, and laughed hoarsely: "Dead!"
Pointing to Cao Changqing again, he laughed and said: "Half dead, not far from death!"
When he saw Jiang Ni with the sword box on his back, the old lunatic's eyes were blank at first, and then he burst into tears, "A living person? Why is there a living person? Go, go!"
Seeing that the woman was indifferent, the old watchman froze for a moment, turned around and ran away, continuing to knock and scream.
Sun Xiji looked at the watchman's back, and said calmly: "Jiang Shuilang, once in charge of Dachu Chongwen Academy, in charge of 100 curators of the third academy and 600 editors of the secret pavilion classics, is so crazy. Liyang court and Guangling king Zhao Yi deliberately If we don’t kill this old lunatic, we want all the outsiders who come to this city to take a look at the joke.”
Sun Xiji walked towards the carriage, bowed and said, "Your Highness, the princess, can ask Zhang Qing to take a look at the house. The old minister still has matters to deal with."
Home.
Jiang Si's home was, of course, the Great Chu Palace, which was so perfect that later generations of Tai'an City had to imitate it.
So is it really Jiang Ni's home
Jiang Ni followed behind Cao Changqing, looking around in a daze, she was young when she left here, her memory was vague, she had already forgotten what she saw in front of her, and she vaguely knew why it was hailed as the most glorious scenery in the world. Seeing them, the men and women in the palace were sincerely awed and full of hope. Cao Changqing walked all the way to a pavilion in the northeast corner of the old palace. After taking his seat, the Confucian scholar with gray hair sat there without saying a word. Cao Changqing, born in the wealthy Cao family of Longli County, is a well-deserved child prodigy of that generation. He learned chess from Li Mi, the most intelligent national teacher before Huang Sanjia. The Chief Chess of Chu is waiting for the edict. He has talked with His Majesty the Emperor many times in this gazebo. This Cao Touxiu even made the first-class officials in the palace take off their boots and pour wine. A proud talent? Cao Changqing looked out of the pavilion with warm eyes. The pavilion was further to the northeast. When I was still young, I once saw a woman humming a local tune, with an unrestrained personality that did not match this palace. When she first entered the palace, she saw Seeing him, seeing that he was like a dull goose, she even made a face at him. Afterwards, she became a concubine and a queen, and Cao Changqing was still the talented chess player who always succumbed to chess and waited for orders. Back then, those chess games with the emperor in harmony with the emperor and his subjects were far inferior to the Cao family's pride. The king is always frowning and staring at the chessboard, she is staring at the king, and the young Qi Daizhao, who is said by Li Mi to be invincible because he has never won or lost, sneaks a few glances at her occasionally, which is enough. When he bowed his head, he could always see her embroidered shoes, which were not in accordance with the etiquette of the royal palace. They were ordinary, but he couldn't forget them. Why couldn't he forget them after so many years
Jiang Ni said softly: "Uncle Qi Daizhao, I know Grand Master Sun's intention, he wants me to be a good princess, I will do it."
Cao Changqing came back to his senses, and smiled softly: "Your Highness, don't worry about the old man's nagging. Fighting the country is a man's business, and women can just watch the country."
Jiang Ni smiled knowingly, and then became worried, "The secret letter said that the master of the eunuch Song Tanglu, who was in charge of the eunuch, was an old Diaosi guarding a coffin and going south. It is clear that the high tree dew that Huang Longshi said was specially used to deal with chess masters. Uncle, I am calling you. Under heaven and man, all are ordinary people, not gods. Under heaven, all are small ways, not great ways. But this big devil, after all, is wearing a legend that is even better than land gods. the boundary."
Cao Changqing smiled and said: "It's okay. The courage of the common man is not bad for the servants."
Jiang Ni hesitated to speak, Cao Changqing said softly: "Princess, you might as well take a walk and have a look, and I will sit down for a while."
Jiang Ni nodded, and the negative box went away.
Cao Changqing sat alone in the gazebo and closed his eyes.
After a while, Cao Guanzi, who was the only one in the world, seemed to step back in time. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer the master who walked around the Liyang Palace like a corridor, not some subjugated maniac who brought out the ultimate bravery of a martial artist to the fullest. It turned into that young but high-spirited chess player, with a smile on his face, his two fingers clasped together like a chess piece, on the empty stone table, the grapes fell like flying.
Western Chu has Tsing Yi, and the country's scholars are unparalleled.