Cheng Daliang saw it and heard it, but he remained unmoved. He clasped his hands behind his back and read silently——
"People are not born with knowledge, how can they be free from confusion? If you are confused and do not follow the teacher, you will be confused, and you will never understand... He was born before me, and he heard the Tao before me, so I followed him to learn from him. He was born after me, and he heard the Tao before me, so I learned from him... My teacher is the Tao, I don’t know if he was born after me at the same age? Therefore, there is no high or low, There is neither long nor short, where the Tao exists, the teacher exists..."
Cheng Daliang muttered words, but when these words reached Han Chunrong's ears, they were as harsh as the chirping of cicadas in dry summer. Han Chunrong covered his ears in pain. These words pierced into his ears like thousands of needles, causing him endless pain.
"Stop reading it——! Stop reading it——!"
Han Chunrong hit his head hard against the cage. His forehead was bloody and bloody, and his appearance was terrible. But Chengda Liang was not distracted, still ignoring Han Chunrong's painful struggle, and continued to read——
"A man of witch doctors, musicians, and craftsmen is not ashamed to be a physiognomist. In the clan of scholar-bureaucrats, when someone says "master" or "disciple", they will gather together and laugh. When asked, he said: 'He is similar to that year, and the Tao is similar. . A low position brings shame, and a high official brings flattery.'... The way of a teacher can no longer be known. A man who is a witch doctor, a musician, and a master of various skills is looked down upon by a gentleman, but now his wisdom is beyond his reach, which is strange.椤......Confucius said: When three people are walking together, there must be my teacher. Therefore, the disciple does not have to be inferior to the teacher, and the teacher does not have to be better than the disciple. There is a priority in learning the Tao, and there is a specialization in the art, that's all."
After a long time, Cheng Daliang finally stopped reciting. He looked at Han Chunrong in the cage with a calm face, unable to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Han Chunrong sat down weakly and leaned against the wooden railing, looking in a daze. Hearing that Cheng Daliang no longer read the "Teacher's Statement" and just looked at himself in ecstasy, he put down the palms covering his ears and stared at him dreamily.
Cheng Daliang walked to the wooden cage and slowly squatted down. Seeing Han Chunrong's miserable state of being deserted, Cheng Daliang couldn't help but smile disdainfully, as if to say: The famous Mr. Han of Daliang has ended up like this.
Seeing Cheng Daliang so close to him, Han Chunrong weakly raised his hands mixed with dirt, sawdust and blood, trying to grab Cheng Daliang's sleeves.
Cheng Daliang moved away in disgust, not letting Han Chunrong's fingertips touch his sleeve. Then, he stood up and looked at the extremely miserable Han Chunrong in a condescending manner, without concealing the disdain in his heart.
After a long time, Cheng Daliang said coldly——
"Haha, Brother Han, do you really think that I am someone inferior to you?"
Han Chunrong heard this sentence clearly. He looked at the aloof Cheng Dalian with dull eyes. The arrogance and arrogance of the past were completely replaced by other emotions - anger, unwillingness, humiliation... Tens of thousands of emotions surged into his heart at once. , and the scene in Taiyuan University back then appeared in his mind unconsciously...
Han Chunrong's reputation spread far and wide, and the Cold Examination was regarded as a hot topic, and there were endless praises. Not only the students of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but also the students of the New Tang Dynasty believed that Han Chunrong should be inseparable from this Cold Examination.
In the preliminary examination, Han Chunrong was selected into the list of thirty people as the first place, and he deserved it.
Before the re-examination, all the students in Taiyuan University spoke kindly and praised him, and even flattery was not an exaggeration. Even Han Chunrong himself was sure that he was the one to take this cold examination.
While Han Chunrong was enjoying the praise of everyone, he suddenly discovered that a student with a simple appearance and even shabby clothes was sitting alone in the corner. This person neither came to express blessings to him nor came up to him. , not even the most basic greetings were exchanged. He just sat alone in his seat, holding a copy of "Mencius" in one hand and a pen in the other hand. He muttered something in his mouth, and from time to time he would pick up the pen to circle on the book. Drawing circles and making notes non-stop, it looked like he was not here to take the re-examination but to study at Taipei University.
Seeing that the man was so out of tune with the other students in the Imperial College, Han Chunrong thought that the man was self-reliant or a person seeking fame, so he walked forward curiously and asked -
"May I ask your surname, brother, and where he studied?"
Seeing someone taking the initiative to talk to him, the person quickly put down the book and pen in his hand, raised his head and looked at Han Chunrong blankly, looking a little embarrassed.
Seeing that the man didn't say a word, Han Chunrong introduced himself: "I'm Han Chunrong, the next big beam, may I ask my brother..."
After hearing the name 'Han Chunrong', there was no look of shock on Cheng Daliang's face. He replied in a thick local accent: "My name is Cheng Daliang and I come from Bashu."
After hearing the word "Ba Shu", many students unconsciously showed contempt. In the eyes of the Central Plains people, Bashu is an uncivilized land of southern barbarians. It is a small and unpopular place. In addition, Chengdaliang's strong local accent makes it sound a bit funny, so some students can't help but cover their mouths and snicker. .
Han Chunrong suppressed his laughter and asked, "May I ask who Brother Cheng studied under?"
Cheng Daliang looked at Han Chunrong in confusion. He didn't understand why Han Chunrong asked him this question. He just felt that he was reading "Mencius" quietly, so why did these people focus all their attention on him.
Seeing that Cheng Daliang was silent, Han Chunrong explained in a friendly manner: "All the students here may have studied under famous masters or formed their own sect. They are all people with long-standing reputations for their talents, but I don't know that Cheng Daliang... oh ! Brother Cheng, don’t get me wrong. What Han means is that all of you here are very talented people. Even if you can’t get into a poor family, you will still have a bright future in the future. Now that we are friends of the same age, it’s better to get to know each other early so that you can fight easily when we meet in the future. Hello……"
After listening to Han Chunrong's words, Cheng Daliang suddenly looked embarrassed. He didn't want to answer this question, but Han Chunrong's eyes were blazing, and the eyes of other students present were also shining towards him like the scorching sun, leaving him nowhere to hide. Under extreme tension, Cheng Daliang hesitated and said——
"I...my teacher is Zhang Xiucai from across the street...I come from a carpenter's family and I don't...have no money to go to a private school..."
Cheng Daliang's voice became smaller and smaller, but before he could finish speaking, a burst of laughter broke out in the Taiyuan Academy——
"Hahaha--!"
"It turned out to be the son of a carpenter——!"
"What happened to Taiyuan University! Let these servants pass the preliminary examination?"
"Shame on you! Shame on you! What a shame on us!"
Han Chunrong's face was full of disdain, and he did not even hide the disgust in his eyes. He was only half a step away from Cheng Daliang. At this moment, he felt that what he saw in front of him was not a person, but something lowly. He didn't want to stay for a moment longer, so he hurriedly left, not forgetting to pat himself when he left. The sleeves and robe seemed to have touched something dirty. Later, Han Chunrong returned to the crowd and whispered something, and more harsh laughter broke out among the crowd.
Cheng Daliang looked at everyone with a look of fear on his face, as if he was the only alien in this Taiyuan Academy.
Confused, confused, helpless.
At this moment, Cheng Daliang was a little at a loss. He had no choice about his life experience. He was born in a carpenter's family, but he was very talented and highly savvy. He had watched his father use those strange tools to make various wooden tools since he was a child. He was influenced by his ears and eyes, and he learned to use these tools at the age of three. He was able to work with his father at the age of six. At the age of nine, he was able to invent and create some wooden tools and instruments that even his father could not make. By chance, he ran to Zhang Xiucai's house across the street and saw a book on the table. He curiously picked up the book and started reading. He taught him how to read in his spare time, but he didn't expect that this boy was very talented. Although he came from a carpenter's family, he was still diligent and studious. Zhang Xiucai often lamented that if Cheng Daliang could get the guidance of a famous teacher, he would become a great person in the future! Cheng Daliang also endured a lot of hardships. He worked at home during the day and studied hard at night. Now he took part in the cold examination and lived up to expectations. He actually got good results and was admitted to the list of thirty people.
Cheng Daliang originally thought that he, like other students of Taiyuan College, was an admirer of a poor family and a student of the same year, but now...but now the laughter from students is endless, which makes him feel even more tormented.
Cheng Daliang's eyes were slightly red, his face flushed, and the veins on his forehead popped out, and he murmured to himself: "What carpenter? What's the difference between a carpenter's son? Are you going to laugh at me?"
Continuously, some incomprehensible words were vaguely heard among the students, such as "low status brings shame", "high officialdom brings close to flattery" and "wishful thinking", etc., which caused everyone to burst into laughter. The Taiyuan Academy was full of people. An air of banter...
Cheng Daliang just sat in a small corner and looked at them blankly.
He really couldn't understand - are people really different?
…
…
Seeing Han Chunrong lying in the wooden cage like a useless person, Cheng Daliang couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. Then, he ignored Han Chunrong, who was like a walking corpse, and walked slowly towards the forest alone...
Not long after, the sound of Cheng Daliang reading loudly came again, and it persisted for a long time——
"The ancient saints were far away from others, and they still asked if they were teachers; today's people are also far away from the saints, and they are ashamed to learn from their teachers. This is why the saints are better than the saints, and the fools are better than the fools. The reason why saints are To be holy, is this why fools are fools?"
