In the past, it was belittled as the "Northern barbarian" Liyang Dynasty. Unlike the Western Chu where the literary style was at its peak, there was never a grand master or grand tutor. The chief officials of the two provinces were also suspended, until Huan Wenwen and Qi Yanglong broke the old rule in recent years. Qinqianfang is the study place for the sons and grandsons of the dragon and princes and princes. The masters who give lectures here are all Qingliu masters with both ability and political integrity, but the official ranks are not high, and even some famous scholars who have written books are worthy of entry. Even Chen Wang, the current leader of the Qinqinfang, has the title of Shaobao on his head, which is only a honorary title, and his actual salary is lower than that of ordinary Huangmen Lang in the Imperial Academy. So when Chen Wang was born to succeed the diligent Fang Shaobao, Tai'an City was only regarded as the second "little prince" of Yin Maochun, and he had to work step by step for more than ten or twenty years before he could truly enter the center. Importantly, a thunderous gossip soon spread that this person would not only rush to take up an important position in Menxia province, but might even take food from Yin Maochun, who had been in charge of the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years! As if to testify to the rumor that came from an unknown mansion in Beijing, Tan Tanweng and Guozijian Zuo Jijiu Yao Baifeng came to visit Chen Shaobao together. Looking back at that Jin Sanlang, compared to the previously unknown Chen Wang, although he was also proud of his success, he has never been given such a privileged treatment among the top executives of the dynasty. Kung Fu, Chen Wangyuan is more natural and smoother than Jin Lanting, the servant of the Ministry of Rites. All of a sudden, Wangjun Street in Tai'an City, where the royal relatives, relatives, and nobles gathered together, this small and inconspicuous county mansion was suddenly full of traffic. The grandfather of Chen Wang's wife was not born in the same lineage as the late emperor, and he spoke lightly, but stood firmly behind the late emperor during the Spring and Autumn Wars and waved the flag. The eldest son was able to inherit the king of Cheshire. When today Zi Nian was loyal to the two generations of Chejun kings, they made an exception and appointed her to marry Chen Wang. Now it seems that it was not Chen Wang, who was poor, but the king of Cheshire. The kung fu of picking up leaks is unparalleled in the world.
Chen Wang and the princess have already moved out of the palace, but the new mansion is not far away. His wife wanted to go back to her mother's house for a cup of tea. At first, King Chejun was afraid that his daughter would go home frequently and make Chen Wang unhappy. After seeing people's hearts for a long time, I realized that this virtuous son-in-law's mind is really extraordinary. Now that Chen Wang is young, he is about to enter a family with increasing power. Treat people with gentleness and respect. Because the Chen Mansion closed its doors all the year round to thank guests and never saw strangers. This was an iron rule established by Chen Wang before he made his fortune. Many speculators who wanted to burn hot stoves had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and bring gifts to Lord Shaobao. The mansion of the old man’s father-in-law, which made Chejun King, nicknamed "the cold bench king", look brighter. The slightly older county king smiled and went to visit neighbors on the street with his hands behind his back when he had nothing to do. It was all gone.
The city of Tai'an ushered in the second snow. The old snow had not melted yet, and new snow was spread again. The tired door simply stopped sweeping the snow. The snow scene can be enjoyed, but the winter cold is scraping the bones, and it is hard for them old bones who are dying.
However, while sighing, the old people often call their friends to chat around the stove. The people in the capital under the emperor like to give pointers, especially these old guys who have experienced two or even three dynasties of Liyang Emperor. The Northwest Frontier Fortress and the Guangling War, which came to an end, make people unhappy, but they are generally optimistic. After all, after more than 20 years of cultivation in this dynasty, Liyang has a solid foundation in the spring of Yonghui. The wind and rain old man in the capital firmly believes that the world will be completely peaceful at this time next year. Some old people still think that if they can see the scene of the dynasty's annexation of Beimang before lying in the coffin, they will die without regret.
Tai'an City, which is called Junwang Lane by the people, vaguely puts on a posture of confronting the lane where Zhang Shoufu's mansion is located. It’s just that the situations of the two sides are completely opposite. The latter is full of traffic every morning and retreat, while the former is rarely seen in the streets. Most of the government affairs are embroidered pillows that are not useful. Since Yonghui, they have been excluded from the center of the court by a certain purple-bearded and blue-eyed man. It was launched as a decoration during the imperial court ceremony, and the streets of the latter were extremely noisy, and everyone was dressed in Zifei official robes. However, since the beginning of autumn in the first year of Xiangfu, driving on Junwang Lane, which has always been dead, has gradually become more frequent. This place, which was used to standing on its own hill, has begun to accept many new faces.
In the twilight, in the Chen Mansion, whose threshold height in Junwang Lane could only be ranked at the bottom, the young owner of the house took the initiative to take a strange guest home for the first time. He couldn't recognize who was the middle-aged man who was still wearing a court uniform, and he could make the master so solemn. Looking at the man's official patch, it showed that it was a third-grade peacock made of brocade. Not a family member, the old concierge is confident that he can recognize it at a glance, carefully sizing up the guy who crossed the threshold with his master, he always feels that this person's aura is a bit contradictory, he is obviously a civil servant, but he seems to have just walked out of the battlefield He is a meritorious military general who came down, but he is not like those rough people who often went in and out of the military department Gu Lu and made jokes in the early years.
The number of servants in the mansion is sufficient to ensure that the four-entry mansion runs without hindrance, so when Chen Wang and his guests entered the mansion and walked all the way to the study, they did not meet anyone, not to mention the high-end mansion built according to the prince's specifications, it is the nearby According to the ancestral system, there are three ways and five ways to enter the compound of the county king's mansion. During this dinner, who is not busy with people coming and going, and when it snows heavily, there is no reason to hold a bowl, about one or two best friends, in a high position, and talk freely. How happy it is . On the contrary, this Chen Mansion, which is dwarfed in terms of scale, has the richest and deepest artistic conception of the courtyard.
After the host and guest were seated, a tall, middle-aged woman rushed over after hearing the news. When she entered the house, her husband was making tea himself. Added a bit of warmth. Chen Wang looked up at his wife, and introduced with a smile: "It's Xu Shilang from the Ministry of War."
No matter how high or low, there are no ignorant and ignorant people in the county king alley. The woman who was appointed as the princess of Changle immediately knew the multiple identities of the person who came. She is a young and strong general who is now ridiculed by the county king alley as the "newcomer's little daughter-in-law" in Tai'an City. She also heard that Xu Shilang seems to be not very popular. Like Tangxi Sword Immortal Lu Baijie who quickly and successfully integrated into the temple of the capital city, it is as difficult as reaching the sky. The clan woman whose real name is Zhao Song has never been interested in government affairs. Why did her husband lead the servant of the Ministry of War home? As usual, she didn't think about it. The visitor is a guest. She naturally knows how to deal with it, and she can't break her own man. Therefore, after greeting Xu Gong tepidly, he quickly took over the task of cooking tea from Chen Wang, poured two cups of tea for the two men, and left immediately.
Xu Gong jokingly said: "You are blessed to have less protection, I really can't envy you."
Xu Gong has always been an out-and-out local official, and has never deliberately managed any connections in Tai'an City, the "Chaozhong" where "someone in the court is easy to be an official". This time he was able to enter Beijing, as rumored by the outside world. I only got it by relying on the old people of my family and several seniors on Jiangnan Road to "sell their old faces". In the future, it is really a master who leads in the door to practice and sees the individual. Therefore, after he entered Beijing, he was extremely restrained and introverted, and he hardly ever went out. The reason why he was able to connect with Chen Wang was because Chen Wang had a history with Xu Gong during the "big plan" when Yin Maochun was in charge of the local evaluation as the doctor of the examination department. A deal once, a friendship between gentlemen, it's not too late to meet each other. At that time, Xu Gong broke his head and didn't expect that Chen Wang would stand out so quickly and become one of the important ministers and ministers at the center of the dynasty.
Chen Wang was not too humble, nodded and smiled: "Chuo Jing is among so many golden branches and jade leaves in Zhao's family, so he really has a good temper."
Having said that, Chen Wang paused for a moment, his face softened, and subconsciously added, "I cherish it very much."
Xu Gong hesitated for a moment, then asked: "May I ask, although the Xia family has hoped that I could enter the Ministry of War for many years, but I don't know why the old people in the family are so surprised by this summoning to Beijing, especially the elder Yu. Before leaving, they gave me a four-character message of "Full of blessings and misfortunes", and there were some inexplicable emotions in the words. It is obvious that Jiangnan Road wants me to enter Beijing, but whether I can enter Beijing is not theirs. I can control it. Dare I ask if anyone in Shaobao Capital has spoken good words for me?"
It is the friendship of gentlemen who can say what they can say and say what they can say. Xu Gong knew that it was not in line with the official rules for him to ask straight to the point, but he just thought that he had a sincere friendship with Chen Wang, so he didn't bother to cover it up.
Chen Wang smiled and pointed at himself.
Xu Gong was stunned.
Chen Wang corrected his expression, and said: "At first, the Yu family went to Zhuguo to go to Beijing. There is no doubt that they had the idea of introducing Brother Xu to Beijing, and they also had plans. At the last moment, I still felt that Brother Xu should not be allowed to come to Tai'an City to wade into the muddy water for the time being. At that time, I had not yet entered the hardworking room to serve as the young security guard. His Highness the Crown Prince said some words. Of course, they were all icing on the cake, if it wasn’t for Brother Xu’s own ability to put it there, and let me talk about it, His Highness the Crown Prince would not have any ideas.”
Xu Gong was a little dumbfounded.
Chen Wang said frankly: "Yu Jiankang of Shangzhu Kingdom has his considerations and balances, and I also have my own ideas. The current situation is turbulent. I always feel that with Brother Xu's literary and martial arts strategy, when will I stay out of the mountain at this time? Could it be that Brother Xu Hope to miss the Spring and Autumn War once again? May I ask, how many twenty years and how many opportunities can Brother Xu miss? Of course, out of prudence in Shangzhu Kingdom, I also understand that Xu Brother, you can live as a rare commodity, wait until the situation gets worse, maybe at that critical juncture, a servant of the Ministry of War will not be able to 'send' you, General Long Xiang, who is in the abyss."
Xu Gong nodded and said, "I listened to what Shao Bao said."
Chen Wang smiled and said: "So this time, brother Xu was sent to patrol the borders of the Liao and Liao, and was treated as a laughing stock by Tai'an City. Don't blame me for superfluous. Otherwise, I will replace wine with tea and punish myself with three cups?"
Xu Gong laughed openly and said, "Brother Chen's words are so hypocritical!"
Chen Wang confronted him tit for tat, "After calling me Shaobao so many times, I only called Brother Chen. How dare you call me hypocritical? Who is hypocritical?"
Xu Gong, who was burly and tall like a mountain, said cheekily: "I implore Master Shaobao to forgive me."
Chen Wang was drinking tea, and there was a woman standing at the door of the house who hesitated for a long time but still didn't knock on the door. She turned back to tell her husband that she was going to her mother's house to pick up some things and go home. With a wide smile, she is both sincerely happy and also has unspeakable guilt. She is happy that her husband is a spouse that no picky woman can find fault with. She is glad that he finally has a friend who can reveal his heart and drink tea together Let's chat together. Princess Changle feels guilty because she never knew how to share something for him since she got married. With a woman's intuition, she could feel his hidden deep depression, probably because he has been by the emperor's side for a long time. Because of the tiger, she is walking on thin ice everywhere, and she is always worried, and her so-called golden branches and jade leaves, and her father's so-called royal relatives, have always been her man's shackles, not help. Chen Wang never drank alcohol, even on the day of his marriage, he would read as soon as possible. He would turn on the light and read at night, going to bed much later than her, but getting up much earlier than her, as if he always had endless books to read He is busy with government affairs, but what is rare is that he never made her feel left out because of this. Although she is not a smart woman with a delicate and clear mind, she is not stupid. She believes that he really cares about herself, let alone In the outside world, Chen Wang's cleanliness is unsurpassed among the dozens of mansions in Junwang Lane.
He cares about her.
And she loves him very much, but she doesn't know how to do something for him. The two most talented men of the Liyang Dynasty in the house drank weak tea and talked freely, she left quietly.
Chen Wang asked Xu Gong about the trend of the Guangling Road war. Xu Gong was worried and his tone was a little heavy. "The Ministry of War initially expected to put down the chaos in half a year. In fact, it was not all blind optimism. If Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenchun didn't talk about a big victory at that time, they just had to hold on. Then the restoration of Western Chu to the country is tantamount to a slow suicide, but the defeat of the two veterans has contributed to the "leading" of Xi Chu's new sword, which has given the two young geniuses Xie Xizhen and Kou Jianghuai enough leeway Go to fight to support the war, and the more you fight, the more brave you are. Now that the Western Chu is getting more and more wings, it is difficult to make a quick victory. In addition, the coach Lu Shengxiang has always been a nameless one. His real enemy is not only the Western Chu rebels, but also the imperial court. The battle for power and profit in the army, but the Xichu side is united, one goes up and down, this battle is difficult to fight. Fortunately, the court finally did not push all the crimes on Lu Shengxiang's head, and did not change the commander before the battle, otherwise... "
Chen Wang nodded and said: "His Royal Highness said that he is already mentally prepared for the remnants of Western Chu to kill the army in Gyeonggi."
Xu Gong turned pale with shock, and hurriedly looked around.
Chen Wang said calmly: "Don't worry, even if this kind of words reach His Highness, nothing will happen to you and me, His Highness still has such a big heart."
Xu Gong was emotional.
In Chen Shaobao's simple sentence, too many secrets have been leaked.
At first glance, he praised the prince Zhao Zhuan for his tolerance and his negative attitude towards the Western Chu war. The deeper meaning is that Chen Wang is conveying a hidden message to him, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a tolerant heir, worthy of your support. If he digs deeper, Xu Gong will feel a little terrified. The crown prince is only a sensitive moment to oversee the country, and His Majesty the Emperor is still alive. Is it too early to persuade or remind a military minister to take a clear position? Could it be that there is some mystery here? One must know that there has not been any shocking secret news that His Majesty is ill in Tai'an City these years.
Could it be that
When Xu Gong was in a fierce battle between heaven and man, Chen Wang seemed to have just said something that could not be more salty, and quickly jumped to the next question, "How long can Beiliang be defended? What if the Northwest Gate cannot be guarded?" Hold on, how to guard next?"
How old-fashioned Xu Gong is, Chen Wang, who sat quietly opposite him, remained calm, and there was absolutely no emotion on his face. He had already prepared a draft for this kind of internal affairs, and immediately replied: "Generally, it is only by the north. The Liangbian army can defend for two years, but this is based on the premise that there are no major mistakes or conspiracy on both sides. But in fact, when the two armies confront each other, you will never guess whether the opponent's next move is amazing or stupid. There are many classic battles, and many are created by accidents. Some people make mistakes, and some even win by making mistakes, so that some people lose inexplicably, and some people feel incredible when they win. If it is In an ordinary confrontation between two armies, the leader's use of troops is average, it is nothing more than a comparison of the background of the two sides, there is no suspense, but a reckless battle, it cannot be deduced like this, because both sides have too many famous generals."
Xu Gong was a little fascinated, and his eyes appeared in a daze, "Beiliang has Chulu Mountain, Yuan Zuozong, Yan Wenluan, Chen Yunchui, He Zhonghu... which one is not a general who can be alone after a scene of gunpowder smoke? There is Tuoba Bodhisattva in Beimang , Dong Zhuo, Liu Gui, Huang Songpu, Yang Yuanzan..."
Xu Gong sighed: "Almost everyone can make the whole battle situation unpredictable."
Xu Gong was getting better and better, and once he opened the chatterbox, he couldn't close it at all. He held a cup in one hand but didn't drink tea, and raised his hand to point in the air, "Before Beiliang was included in the territory of Liyang, the nomads in the north invaded the south. There are two ways to choose. One is Beiliang, which is the head and neck of the Central Plains, as the first choice. The army is condescending and often overwhelming. To be able to plunder and return, the second is that the Jizhou border guards will go south through the gaps, and the rangers will be sent to search in batches to clear the idle and fragmented obstacles outside the pass. In the stronghold, the city is like an island hanging between the cities, the frontier defense is paralyzed, and the northern barbarian cavalry is taking advantage of the trend to invade the south, unimpeded."
"Nowadays, Beimang seems to have chosen an unwise route. In fact, there is no other way to take immediate worries and abandon long-term concerns. Mang can't afford it, but our dynasty can afford it the most. If we wait until Guangling Dao Xichu is destroyed, then Beimang will go to war again, then there is really no need to fight. A land of Central Plains with a stable interior, and a court of the Central Plains that is determined to make progress Undoubtedly, this is bad news for the nomads in the north. If Beimang attacked their western line first, that is, the two Liao defense lines built by our court with half of the national power, laymen may think that this line is the closest to Tai'an City, and Beimang should use troops like this. But the truth is that Beimang will not be able to go all out to the south at that time, because the 300,000 frontier troops of Beiliang are destined to echo the two Liaos on the eastern front and launch an active offensive against Beimang and the Southern Dynasties. At that time, even if the Beimang army is lucky enough to push all the way to the foot of Tai'an City, it will end without returning, maybe the Southern Dynasty is gone, and even the northern royal court will be smashed."
"Now that Beimang has chosen the tough Beiliang as a breakthrough point, let's take a step back and say, assuming that Beimang really knocked out Beiliang with all his strength, it's not time to take a breather, because the next thing will happen soon." There are two vicious battles to be fought, and the deadliest thing is that these two wars are carried out at the same time. Bei Mang, who has been severely injured, has to fall into the situation of fighting on two fronts. Chen Zhibao is in command of the Western Shu, and the Great General Gu Jiantang is on the Eastern Front. Leading the army. It is still not a soft persimmon in front of Beimang."
"If you take another step back! Chen Zhibao failed to contain Beimang, and Gu Jiantang's so-called impregnable eastern line was completely broken up, so what? Let Beimang give you Tai'an City. I still have the strength to fight! "
Speaking of this, Xu Gong pulled his hand from north to south, "We can retreat to the south of Guangling River in one breath, don't forget that there is also the army of Yan Chi Wang Zhao Bing, with Zhao Bing's army as the core Combat strength, His Majesty can easily win over an army of 500,000, it is definitely not difficult."
Xu Gong suddenly laughed at himself, "Speaking of which, Bei Mang is really able to push us to this point, it's their ability. If they win the world in the end, no one will tell. Anyway, I, Xu Gong, will be convinced. Anyway, the worst thing is to die in battle."
Chen Wang said softly: "All of this also has a premise."
Xu Gong nodded after a moment of silence and said, "The premise is that Beiliang is willing to fight to the end."
Chen Wang said to himself, "I know that person is willing."
Xu Gong hummed, "No way, who made him Xu Xiao's son. Anyone can retire, but he can't!"
Chen Wang smiled and said: "It's hard for me to connect the young son who spent money to buy poems with me, and the king of Beiliang who dares to fight now."
Xu Gong didn't know how to deal with it.
Chen Wang murmured: "The snowflakes in Beiliang are as big as a mat. If you come to Tai'an City, it will be snowing like this. My hometown will only be even colder."
Xu Gong somewhat admired this scholar who was more than ten years younger than himself, a young man from Beiliang, who went to Beijing to rush for the Jinshi examination, and never said a bad word about Beiliang in the official circles of the capital, and never He had concealed the "incense love" between himself and the son of Beiliang at that time, even if it was so, he could still remain in the heart of the emperor, step by step to a high position, and even hope to reach the top, to fight for the top spot of the future civil servant leader. Xu Gong couldn't believe the story during this period, and he didn't expect Chen Wang to take the initiative to tell it, and even if Chen Wang was willing to tell it, no matter how courageous he was, Xu Gong wouldn't dare to listen. Unless one day in the future Chen Wang really removes the prefix from the word "Chu Xiang" and becomes the second Zhang Julu, and he, Xu Gong, needs to become the second Gu Jiantang of the Liyang Dynasty.
The conversation between the two of them was like drinking tea. After seven or eight minutes of enjoyment, there was still a second or third aftertaste.
Xu Gong got up to say goodbye.
Chen Wang also got up to see them off, and sent them all the way to the door, smiling: "Brother Xu will go to the northern line tomorrow, and I have to go to the hardworking room on time, so I won't send it off."
Xu Gong nodded and said: "It's okay, you and I will have a lot of opportunities to meet in the future."
Xu Gong drove away slowly in the wind and snow in that unremarkable carriage, and the traces made by the wheels were quickly covered by heavy snow.
Chen Wang turned and stepped up the steps, looked up at the night, and suddenly told the old concierge: "Old Song, prepare the carriage, and want to go enjoy the snow. Also, remember to let someone inform her."
The old man was surprised: "Night ban?"
Like Xu Gong, Chen Wang, who didn't have time to take off his official robes and court clothes, said with a smile: "Just go out of the city without changing."
The old man immediately felt very proud, and smiled knowingly: "The old slave will go now."
Not long after, a carriage left the south city gate and stopped at a small ferry.
Chen Wang got off the carriage. For some reason, he was standing at the ferry to the south, and the direction he was looking at was the west.
Chen Wang took out the small piece of object that he carried all year round and sniffed it lightly.
When I was young, when I was studying, I saw an old saying: the third generation cultivated good karma, and in this life, we can smell the fragrance of chinensis.
In his hand is a piece of Chinanwood that is invaluable.
At that time, he was just a poor young man who had studied hard for ten years and still had an uncertain future. He often sat on the shady ferry overgrown with reeds and read, and she often listened to him while pounding clothes.
He said that if he became famous in the imperial examinations, he would definitely return to his hometown, and he would definitely bring some of these Qinan fragrant woods to her.
besides.
Will definitely marry her.
Then, he came all the way to Tai'an City, the most benevolent city in the world, and successfully jumped over the dragon gate in the imperial examination on the single-plank bridge with thousands of troops.
It's just that in the end, he got married and took off the red hijab, but that pretty face in the candlelight.
not her.
He only sent the four words "Don't read, don't wait" to the woman in his hometown.
For so many years, what he feared the most was not the unpredictable Emperor, nor the restrained Prince, nor the all-pervasive Zhao Gou.
He was most afraid of talking in his sleep, afraid of calling out her name, and even more afraid that the path he had chosen with enthusiasm at that time would hurt that graceful woman far away in Beiliang.
She once blushed but said to him solemnly that if she got married in the future, he would not be allowed to do farm work, why? Because he is a scholar.
Chen Wang squeezed the piece of Qinan tightly, his lips trembled, and he closed his eyes.
It was snowing heavily in mid-winter, and it still covered his shoulders, not to mention that he didn't pay attention to the falling snow at all.
Chen Wang.
Wang, the name of the full moon, the sun is in the east, the moon is in the west, looking at each other from a distance.
The well-deserved young prime minister slowly opened his eyes and said softly, "Have you found a good family?"
If not, don't wait any longer.
If you get married, you should also find a scholar who knows how to cherish you more than yourself. You must be resenting me, a heartless person, right
Chen Wang's face was full of tears.
What he didn't know was that the ferryman was still waiting for him, but he was standing at the ferry, but now he was lying in the reeds, and he would wait forever.
People who have died don't complain, and those who haven't returned don't know.