Bailu, the fifteenth day of the twenty-four solar terms, dew comes to the grass and trees at night, and swan geese travel south to avoid the cold.
Weize County, Ningzhou, as an upper county, has two county lieutenants. At the end of last winter, Song Keli, a foreigner, came here to take up his post. In the summer, this little Lieutenant Song was resigned from office without warning by Ningzhou Governor's Mansion, and he has been idle at home for several months. Well, that woman is Xiaobiyu from a middle-class family in Weize County, and she can't be called a noble family or a lady from a scholarly family. Compared with the former young captain Cheng Jinxiu, she is suspected of being superior, but compared to Bai Dingzhi later. Song Keli was naturally wronged. The marriage changed, and there were not many disturbances in Weize County. After all, Ningzhou is located in the south of Gyeonggi, and everyone in the state is staring at the restoration of the Western Chu Kingdom on Guangling Road. Who cares about the daily necessities of a down-and-out scholar? The neighbors have a good relationship, and they will call Xiao Song Duwei when they meet each other. Most people don't like to talk to this official who has no backing. However, one evening at the time of Bailu, an old Confucian scholar with frosty temples entered the county seat, and without asking for directions, he went straight to Song Keli's private house, which had long since moved away from the county government. Feeling that the house is empty, the old Confucian scholar looked at the handsome face in the corner of the curtain, looking miserable and distressed. The woman was a little surprised to see a visitor to this house, slowly lowered the curtain, and the carriage drove out slowly. alley. The old Confucian scholar pushed the door open and entered. Song Keli was flipping through a report from the imperial court in the courtyard. After seeing the unattractive Confucian scholar, he put the residence report on the stone table, hurriedly stood up, and bowed. He saluted and said, "Wan Sheng met Mr. Yuan."
The visitor was none other than Yuan Pu, the withdrawn old Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy, and it was this senior Hanlin who talked to him better than reading ten years of sage books. Almost every day, Song Keli had to think carefully about the words written by Mr. Yuan in the Hanlin Academy on the rice paper that day, "Scholars have three disregards, the family does not care about self-cultivation, the country does not care about the family, and the world does not care about governing the country." The cause of the two-word disaster is not "Jijian". The rise of the family and the country in the world cannot be separated from the merits of the word "Jijian." At the beginning, the whole city of Tai'an was watching the jokes of their Song family. He died of illness, his reputation was ruined, his father was demoted from the capital, and he could not be an official for the rest of his life. And he, the former young Phoenix of the Song family, was also exiled to Weize County, Ningzhou, which was plagued by thieves and horses. In Ningzhou Governor's Mansion, there were people who successively suppressed him, but for Song Keli, there was no accumulation of depression in his heart. What really made Song Keli feel at a loss was one thing, those who had received many favors from Captain Song in just half a year The common people, instead, rolled their eyes and taunted with those county government colleagues. But Song Keli didn't want to complain to anyone, except the Yuan Huangmen Yuan Pu in front of him. Because Song Keli had a belly out of season, he wanted to consult with this gentleman who was not popular in the Imperial Academy.
After Song Keli and Mr. Yuan took their seats, he asked respectfully, "Why did you come to Weize County, sir?"
Yuan Pu, who originally liked writing more than talking, picked up the mansion newspaper, probably because he read too much and had bad eyesight, so he lifted it a little higher, read it carefully, put it down lightly, and spoke, still slurred. "I haven't left Tai'an City for too many years, so I want to go out and have a look."
Speaking of this, the old gentleman said with some emotion: "After Wang Xianzhi left Wudi City, an old friend in Tai'an City also left."
Yuan Pu looked at Song Keli, and said straight to the point: "Ningzhou's horse troubles are long-standing, and there are roots. This is just a pawn on the chessboard. You can say it's big or small, but you are an outsider who wants to move the pawn. , the old chess players will let you die."
Song Keli nodded, and said in relief: "Sure enough, as I expected, the horse thieves who have swarmed Ningzhou these years are the descendants of Cao Changqing."
Yuan Pu said indifferently: "Cao Changqing has not been idle in the past twenty years. There is also a Xichu who has achieved the high position of Zhao Gou's third in command. In the early spring of this year, the first year of Xiangfu, most of the spies who have been lurking for many years have become captains and captains. To be precise, there are 367 spies, half of them died suddenly, and half of them died suddenly. He has become the backbone of the Western Chu rebels. This action was completely unexpected by the Ministry of War, which has been planning with Zhao Gou for more than ten years. Lu Baijie, Minister of the Ministry of War, is currently struggling, which has a lot to do with the disaster. Otherwise, you Do you think Xichu has so many elites who can fight to the death as soon as they go to the battlefield?"
Song Keli was stunned.
Yuan Pu rubbed his fingers together on the stone table, and said hoarsely: "The bureau is divided into big and small, and if it is bigger, it is to cut down the vassal, to gather the national power, to promote the imperial examination, to suppress the military, and in the final analysis, to swallow Bei Mang, to rule the world, to accomplish a feat that the Qin Dynasty failed to achieve in eight hundred years, and to take a step back, is someone's eternal emperor."
Yuan Pu swiped his finger vertically, "To put it mildly, it is to force the king of Beiliang to use all his wealth to contain Beimang, and to confine Gu Jiantang to the northern line. The strength and ambition of the various vassal kings including Wang, compromised the local military strength of Gu Lu's family, and used this to catch Yan Chi Wang Zhao Bing, a big fish that occupies a favorable location and people. This is a conspiracy. Two generations of Northern Liang kings, The scary thing is that there are 300,000 strong troops, the respectable thing is that the father and son hold power, but they will not rebel, the pitiful thing is that the Liyang court will ruin your Xu family regardless of whether you oppose Beiliang or not."
Yuan Pu spread out his palm and wiped it on the table, "Life is helpless, just like Xu Xiao tried every means to kill me, but even if he had an army of 300,000, he still couldn't kill me after a wave of dead soldiers went to Beijing. Just Like Cao Changqing, who was born in Western Chu due to bad luck. Like Zhang Julu, who devoted himself to the well-being of the people of the world, but had to face the current situation of the world. Like Xu Fengnian, who defeated Wang Xianzhi, and the next You have to face millions of cavalry in Beimang. Compared with their helplessness, Song Keli, is it bigger or smaller?"
Song Keli was dumbfounded, "Mr. Yuan?"
Yuan Pu smiled.
Song Keli suddenly stood up, bowed to the bottom, and said anxiously: "Song Keli pays homage to Mr. Yuan!"
This obeisance is to that Tai'an City Emperor's teacher, who has a half-inch tongue "Yuan Benxi"!
Yuan Benxi ignored Song Keli's solemnity, and said calmly: "I shouldn't have seen you so early, but I have stayed in that city all my life. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, I was just an unknown person. That Xun Ping's word , is more useful than a few catties of saliva. At the end of spring and autumn, there is nothing for me to do. Now that the chessboard is rooted, according to Huang Longshi's view, the fun of going to the fields is not waiting for a good harvest at home, but Go to the edge of the field and take a look at the golden color in the field ridges. And you should not stay in Weize County, you might as well take a look at the scene of gunpowder and smoke with me, otherwise we scholars just talk about it, even if we really think about mourning people's livelihood in our hearts It's so difficult, but in the end, the common people don't even understand what kind of suffering it is, it's too ridiculous."
Song Keli's eyes sparkled, and he said happily, "Wan Sheng would like to be Mr. Yuan's pawn."
Yuan Benxi nodded, and asked: "Just now I saw the woman in the alley, how do you think it compares to that princess who secretly left the capital just to see you?"
Song Keli was speechless for a while, not knowing how to answer.
One is the golden branch and jade leaf with brilliant appearance, and the other is Xiaojiabiyu with the appearance of a man, how do you compare
Yuan Benxi's eyes were a little erratic, and he sighed: "In the relationship between men and women, some people are good people. It is a blessing to treat you well, but it may not be because the other party really likes you. Some people have bad tempers and are willing to change a lot for you. But she really likes you. That woman surnamed Zhao is willing to take the risk of leaving Beijing to find you, but she will never abandon her family. When it comes time to choose between the two, she will abandon you. A woman surnamed Liu has a gentle temper, but most of them can do nothing for you, and live and die with you. People in the world always think that someone with status has given something, and they are grateful. The husband who sent his wife to teach his son didn't feel deeply."
Song Keli said with a bit of bitterness: "The late students have been educated."
Yuan Benxi sat back on the stone bench suddenly, "Talking is indeed much more tiring than doing things. Bring some wine."
Song Keli hurried to the house to find wine.
Yuan Benxi said to himself: "If it weren't for Beimang, there are 300,000 people in Beiliang, what about Western Chu, how can Zhao Bing and Zhao Yi, the clan and vassal kings?"
Yuan Benxi laughed at himself: "I am also a helpless person."