Before I knew it, the sun was already overhead. Zhao Xiangxiang and Luo Yanran were still not enjoying themselves and wanted to continue shopping. Zhao Xiangxiang's personal maid, Xiao Ju, couldn't help shouting: "Miss, let's not go shopping anymore. Yun'er and I can't take it anymore!" The arms of the two little maids behind them were filled with all kinds of gadgets bought by their ladies. Of course, rouge and gouache were indispensable. There were also many various gadgets. In short, the two girls liked them as soon as they saw them. , they bought them all, and before they knew it, the two little maids couldn't hold them anymore.
Zhao Xiangxiang and Luo Yanran couldn't help but smile when they saw the two little maids looking embarrassed. Zhao Xiangxiang said to Luo Yanran, "Sister, it's really getting late. Let's go back." Luo Yanran didn't want to go back yet, so she said, "Sister, When I was in Yangzhou, my little sister had heard for a long time that Tianjing Hotel is a place where delicacies from all over the world gather. Why don't we go there to have lunch." Zhao Xiangxiang has a gentle personality, so naturally she won't have any objections when Luo Yanran said this. So a few people turned east from the street corner not far ahead, heading towards Tianjing Hotel.
When the four maids arrived at the Tianjing Hotel, they saw a sea of people in the lobby, and there was not a single empty seat left. Luo Yanran came excitedly and couldn't help but feel disappointed when she saw this scene. Zhao Xiangxiang smiled and said: "The business of Tianjing Hotel is very good. Even if you come in the morning, you may not have a seat. Let's go back." Luo Yanran sighed, and the others were ready to leave. At this moment, a maid from the Tianjing Hotel ran up to her. She bowed Yingying and then said, "A gentleman invites four girls to come over for a drink!"
The four of them were slightly surprised. Luo Yanran asked: "What uncle?" The maid raised her right hand and pointed to the window in the distance, "It's the uncle who is looking over here from the window." The four of them followed him. Looking in the direction of the finger, I saw a person waving and smiling in this direction. The four girls couldn't help but feel happy, because the person waving to them was none other than Yang Peng, whom they had just met last night. The four girls hurried over.
Yang Peng smiled and said: "What a coincidence!"
Zhao Xiangxiang smiled, and Luo Yanran's expression couldn't be seen, so she must have smiled too. The two women immediately noticed a person sitting next to Yang Peng. He was dressed in a red and black warrior costume, with a black-sheathed sword leaning against his thigh. He had a fierce temperament, but his lips were red and the white teeth were very gorgeous. He was clearly a woman disguised as a man. , but it was not the Chai Yonghui they met last night. Both women thought of one person, and that was Han Bing.
Yang Peng pointed to the empty seats, smiled and said: "Everyone, please take a seat."
Zhao Xiangxiang and Luo Yanran sat down, and the two maids put the pile of things bought by the two ladies on the ground beside the table. They straightened up and beat their sore and numb arms, with a look of relief on their little faces. appearance. Yang Peng smiled and said: "You two little girls have worked really hard, come and sit down." Ju'er knew Yang Peng's temper, and smiled, then walked to sit down next to her young lady, and Yun'er He was hesitating at first, but seeing Ju'er already sitting down, he followed suit and walked over to sit next to his own lady.
At this time, the maid came up, bowed and asked: "Excuse me, my guests, do you want to add more dishes?" At this time, there were only a few side dishes and a jug of wine on the table, which was obviously not enough for so many people. . Yang Peng asked Zhao Xiangxiang and Luo Yanran: "What do you want to eat?" Zhao Xiangxiang said: "I don't care," he turned to look at Luo Yanran beside him and said: "But this is the first time for sister Yanran to come here. I think, I think ,..." Yang Peng understood what she meant, smiled slightly, turned to the maid and said: "Pick out two light ones of your signature dishes, plus two pounds of braised beef, and a pot of tea. Wine." The maid responded and withdrew.
Immediately, a maid brought up the cups, chopsticks and dishes for the other four people, then bowed and left.
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Eat first, the food and wine will be served soon." The two women responded, but did not move their chopsticks. Yang Peng picked up the chopsticks and continued to eat and drink. The two women began to taste the food in small sips, while the two maids waited until their own ladies started to move. It was the first time that Yun'er had a meal with the legendary King Yan. She couldn't help but be very excited, but naturally she was also very cautious. She picked up a peanut and dropped it to the table. She panicked and quickly stretched out her chopsticks to pick it up. Unexpectedly, the more panicked he became, the harder it was to pick it up, and the peanuts rolled in front of Yang Peng. Yun'er looked at Yang Peng at a loss. Yang Peng chuckled, picked up the peanuts, put them into Yun'er's bowl, and said with a smile: "Eat it." Seeing this scene, Yun'er was so moved that she had no idea that she was just a lowly person. Little girl, but King Yan is so kind to me! Thinking this in my heart, I couldn't help but twitch.
Seeing this, Yang Peng asked with concern: "What's wrong, little sister? Is there anything unhappy?"
Yun'er quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, slave, I'm happy!" Yang Peng smiled. The well-dressed woman next to her took out a pure white silk scarf and handed it to Yun'er, smiling and saying: "Wipe it." Yun'er quickly stood up, took the silk scarf with both hands, and said emotionally: "Thank you, thank you, empress!" The woman smiled. Yun'er sat back in her seat.
Luo Yanran glanced at the woman next to Yang Peng and asked, "I wonder who this is...?" The other three women also showed concern. Although they guessed that this woman must be a princess of King Yan, , but I don’t know which one it is.
Yang Peng and the woman looked at each other, and Yang Peng said: "This is Han Bing, my general and princess." The four women suddenly realized, and said to themselves: "Sure enough, it is so." Luo Yanran praised: "Only Princess Han Bing has such a temperament! Princess Han Bing is a hero among women. The little girl has heard countless stories about Princess Han Bing. The little girl is really in admiration!" Han Bing said with a smile. : "You're so honored, Miss!"
Yang Peng said to Han Bing: "These two are my adopted sister Zhao Xiangxiang, and this is Zhao Xiangxiang's close friend Miss Luo Yanran." Han Bing cupped his fists at the two women and said, "Nice to meet you!" Yang Peng pointed at the two women next to them. The little maid smiled and said: "These two little girls, the one on the left is Ju'er, and the one on the right is Yun'er." Han Bing smiled and nodded towards them. The two little maids were so flattered that they quickly stood up and returned the greeting sincerely, as if they were frightened. It's no wonder that the two little girls are just maids. They usually treat the so-called talented people with arrogance. Now when they see Han Bing, who is Princess Yan, actually greets her, how can she not be sincere and frightened.
Han Bing said with a smile: "You two little girls, please sit down." The two women responded, sat down carefully, and glanced at Han Bing, they just felt that this princess was really, really good!
The two maids came to the table carrying food trays, bowed slightly to everyone, and then placed all kinds of delicacies and drinks on the table. Then he bowed again, and one of the maids said: "Guests, please be patient." Then the two maids withdrew.
Yang Peng reached out and opened the lid of the large celadon soup bowl. A burst of heat and rich aroma hit his face, making people move their index fingers. Luo Yanran saw many round and white tofu-like things floating in the steaming soup. She had never seen it before, and couldn't help asking: "What is this?" Yang Peng smiled and said: "This is Tianjing University One of the hotel's signature dishes is steamed lion head." Luo Yanran asked doubtfully: "Lion head?"
Yang Peng chuckled and said, "Don't you think their wrinkled appearance looks like a lion's head?" Luo Yanran looked at it, nodded and said with a smile, "They are somewhat similar. These ingredients must have nothing to do with lions." Are you related?" Yang Peng picked up the spoon and scooped one for each of the four women, and then scooped one for himself and Han Bing. When the four girls saw that Yang Peng, the king of Yan, actually scooped vegetables for them, they were really flattered and panicked.
Yang Peng picked up the chopsticks and opened the lion's head in the bowl, took a deep breath into the rising heat, and sighed: "The aroma of the meat is combined with the aroma of tofu, and it is also mixed with the aroma of several other ingredients." The fragrant aroma is really exciting!" Then he picked up half of it, took a bite, and exclaimed while chewing: "It's fat but not greasy, the meat is rich in flavor, and it's delicious!"
The four girls had been walking around for a long time and were already hungry. Now that they saw Yang Peng looking like this, their index fingers moved and they started to move their chopsticks. Luo Yanran gently opened a corner of her face with her left hand, revealing her small red lips and smooth chin. Then she picked up a bit of 'lion head' with chopsticks in her right hand and put it into her red lips. She chewed it gently and felt The lion's head melted in your mouth, was fat but not greasy, and had a rich aroma. It was truly wonderful, and I couldn't help but nod in appreciation.
Yang Peng smiled, stretched out his left hand, and opened another large blue and white porcelain bowl. He saw that there was also a porcelain plate in the large blue and white porcelain bowl. The plate was red, green, black, and white. It turned out to be all kinds of colors. Among the precious vegetables, the red ones are saffron, the green ones are green radish, the black ones are cliff fungus, and the white ones are snow-capped tremella. Although they are all vegetarian, they are all very precious.
Yang Peng introduced the girls: "This is called Si Duan Jin. It is stir-fried with four precious vegetables. There are no seasonings except a little oil and salt. It is all about their natural fragrance. Try it." "The four girls took a little bit and ate it into their mouths. They immediately felt as if they were in nature. The fragrance of nature's grass surrounded them, and they seemed to be floating in the clouds.
Luo Yanran nodded and said: "This dish is so good!"
Yang Peng smiled and said, "Eat more if you like it!" Then he picked up the chopsticks to pick up the Si Duan Jin, took a bite, and said, "It's all up to you, just go ahead and eat! Throw away all the bullshit rules!" The four girls ate and drank as instructed. They were a little cautious at first, but gradually they were influenced by Yang Peng and relaxed, temporarily letting go of all the rules. The four girls just felt that eating with Yang Peng, without any restraint, was an extremely enjoyable thing.
"Prince Yan..." Luo Yanran said suddenly. Yang Peng waved his hand while eating and said: "This is not a formal occasion, just call me big brother like Zhao Xiangxiang." Luo Yanran was silent for a moment, then softly called: "Brother!" Yang Peng chuckled, "Okay, I There's another girl!" Han Bing next to him gave Yang Peng a piece of braised beef and rolled his eyes at him.
Luo Yanran said: "Brother, there is one thing that little sister has been unable to figure out?" Yang Peng said while eating: "Tell me." Luo Yanran paused and asked: "Little sister has never understood, since elder brother does not use Confucian scholars, So how should we manage domestic affairs and deal with foreign affairs?" Yang Peng glanced at Luo Yanran with a smile and asked, "My sister has been staying in Yangzhou. She has never been to the Central Plains, right?" Luo Yanran shook her head, "I haven't been here. Khitan before. When the army marched southward, our family fled to Jiangnan and returned to Yangzhou a year ago. Speaking of which, thanks to my eldest brother, otherwise our family would never be able to return to Yangzhou."
Yang Peng thought: "I heard that the big gentry in Yangzhou were not the three families of Zhou and Zheng, but the Luo family. The Luo family must refer to Yanran's family, right?" Luo Yanran nodded, "Exactly, but because of many years In the past, our Luo family began to be involved in commercial handicrafts. The big gentry in Yangzhou thought that we had lost the virtues of a big gentry, so they could not recognize our Luo family as a gentry who passed down poetry and calligraphy." At this point, his tone seemed a little depressed. happy.
Han Bing said: "I think this noble family has always succeeded more than failed. It would be better not to be a noble family. Sister Yanran, don't worry about it!"
Luo Yanran smiled bitterly and said: "My little sister is not as heroic and free-spirited as sister Han Bing. Although I don't want to think about it, those things always creep into my thoughts unconsciously and I can't get rid of them! Alas!"
Yang Peng said: "Yanran's family was originally the largest gentry in Yangzhou, and everyone in the Luo family must be proud of it. But now that the gentry are completely denied their identity as a gentry, they will naturally feel disappointed. This is It's human nature, it's very normal, I believe you will be able to get out of this shadow after a while."
Luo Yanran nodded, raised her head and looked at Yang Peng, and said angrily: "Brother, you haven't answered my little sister's question yet?"
Yang Peng laughed, ate some food and drank a sip of wine, and said: "You asked me how to govern the country without Confucian scholars? This kind of governing the country is not the specialty of Confucianism! The Confucian approach is just pretentious, how can it be practical? Statecraft? Taking it for granted, avoiding human nature and talking about benevolence and righteousness, what's the use of it!" After a pause, "What Confucianism is most proud of is probably the golden mean! Hehe, in my opinion, this The golden mean is nothing more than making peace with each other. It is useless and will never solve the problem! For example, if two parties have a dispute over the ownership of a piece of land, and if it is handled by the golden mean, it means shelving the dispute and jointly developing it. Isn’t this problem still there? , has not been dealt with at all, it has only temporarily eased the situation, but the situation has temporarily eased but will intensify one day. This temporarily put aside problem must be solved! This kind of golden mean that Confucianism is proud of is actually nothing more than It’s just avoiding the question!”
"This has been the case in all dynasties. There are this inexplicable way of dealing with problems everywhere. For example, when the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom reached the Tanyuan Alliance, those Confucian ministers gained face but lost it. As a younger brother, the Song Dynasty is an elder brother, which seems to be quite prosperous, but in fact, the Song Dynasty has to donate a large amount of military supplies to the Liao Kingdom every year. This is a typical result of the golden mean. Often the Central Plains dynasty gets a little face, but the benefits are taken by outsiders. Gone. The monarchs and ministers are still proud of this, and the Confucian scholars even brag about how many people have been saved by restoring peace!"
"Hey, these nerds don't even know the simplest truth. If the Liao Kingdom really had the ability to invade south at that time, would they have made peace? As far as I know, the Liao Kingdom took the initiative to seek peace at that time, because the situation was not favorable to the Liao Kingdom. It is very disadvantageous for the country. All peace treaties that can be negotiated in history are because the opponent is simply unable to defeat you. In this case, the peace you reached at the expense of the boss is actually in vain. It is purely because your head was caught in the door. The ridiculous things you have done are completely useless except to benefit the enemy. This is the result of the golden mean. And if the enemy can defeat you or even destroy you, it is useless to ask for peace! This is not how to govern a country. ! The golden mean uses a self-righteous concept of balance to deal with problems, or uses an attitude of avoiding problems and making peace with them. In fact, it is just self-deception!"
"Internally, the doctrine of moderation also shows the characteristics of avoiding problems and pacifying people. In fact, in many cases, it is not so opposed to the corruption of courtiers. As long as there is an explanation for all aspects of carelessness, it can calm people down and make big things into trivial matters. , this kind of thing is really fucking ridiculous! When doing anything, you must be cautious and considerate of all aspects. Therefore, throughout the dynasties, there has been a golden rule that the laws of the ancestors cannot be changed, but they don’t know that this will inevitably lead to policies that have no enterprising spirit and cannot follow. The development and changes of the past times have meant that in a world of drastic changes, there is only one path to defeat.”
Yang Peng glanced at Luo Yanran and said with a smile: "In short, the Confucian golden mean is either a mess, or a way of doing things that is divorced from reality and avoids problems. To be honest, anyone who is an official is better than a Confucian scholar. Officials are much stronger!"
Luo Yanran lowered her head and pondered. She couldn't help but feel that what Yang Peng said made sense, but she also felt that words that were divorced from the safe and unchanging golden mean of Confucianism seemed to make people feel confused and unsure of what to do. He raised his head and looked at Yang Peng and said, "But if I don't have a basic idea, my little sister will always feel like a rootless duckweed!"
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Of course we must have basic ideas, but it is not Confucianism. It should naturally be the doctrine of any family. There is only one basis for any policy, and that is to make the Chinese nation prosperous and powerful. Only when the country is prosperous can the people live and work in peace and contentment. All policies should serve this purpose. As long as it is conducive to this point, we should do it. As long as it is not conducive to this point, we should change it. This is not the case with Confucianism. It is a slave mentality that serves the rule of the king. The so-called In the final analysis, the doctrine of golden mean is just to teach people to deal with things smoothly and no one can be offended. Hey, if this method is used in national policy, it is completely wrong. The Central Plains Dynasty has been unable to escape from the cycle of chaos for thousands of years. Because the core of the king's use of Confucianism to govern the country is to maintain his rule, not to make the country prosperous and the people happy. Sometimes he will even actively castrate himself in order to maintain imperial power. This kind of thinking is fundamentally wrong. All the emperors care about is just As for the governance of their family, if they go further and further down the wrong path, the country will naturally become weaker and weaker, and in the end there is only one way to perish!"
"The country's demise was not actually caused by the so-called faint emperor. If you read the history books carefully, you will find that many of the last emperors were actually much better than many of their predecessors! But why did the country perish in his hands? The reason is simple. , going further and further down the wrong path, it is difficult to return, and destruction is the inevitable result!"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "So, in order for the Chinese people to break out of the cycle of chaos, we must first start by eradicating Confucianism! Everything done in all aspects of military and political affairs must serve to enhance the country's strength. Those who think they are righteous must All nonsense and self-righteous thoughts of benevolence and righteousness should be thrown away!"
Luo Yanran sighed and sighed: "After listening to what you said, I really feel that all the books I have read over the years have been in vain!"
Yang Peng chuckled. At this time, a secret guard hurried into the hotel lobby. After looking around, he saw Yang Peng. He rushed over, clasped his fists and bowed: "Master, there is an urgent military situation!"
Everyone's hearts were moved. After all, Zhao Xiangxiang and Luo Yanran, the master and maid, were women from a scholarly family. When they heard that there was an urgent military situation, they couldn't help but become nervous. Yang Peng and Han Bing were unmoved at all. Yang Peng asked while eating food: "What's the emergency military situation?"
The secret guard said: "The Liao Kingdom has taken great action against the Mongols, and the Tubo Kingdom has used troops to attack the remnants of Xixia!"... Yang Peng and Liang Hanbing strode into the palace hall, and all the civil and military officials who came to the hall first came to worship together. : "I've met King Yan, I've met the empress!" Yang Peng walked up to the top and sat down, while Han Bing stepped to the left and stood down. At this time, all the important civil and military officials in Tianjing New City arrived. Yang Peng glanced at everyone, his eyes fell on Jiang Li, and asked: "Where are the military reports?" Jiang Li was about to submit the two military reports. Yang Peng received the military report and first looked at what was happening on the Tubo side: Tubo divided its troops into two groups with 150,000 troops, attacking Xuanhua Prefecture and Xiliang Prefecture from the east and west at the same time. The Xixia army resisted desperately, and now the war is at a stalemate. state.
Yang Peng put down the Xixia military newspaper, picked up another military newspaper, and read it: Because the Mongolian Khan died suddenly during the conquest of the Liao Kingdom, it was too late to establish a successor, so the three sons and two brothers of the Han Dynasty , was already fighting for the position of the Great Khan; the Liao State sent people to spread rumors inside Mongolia, saying that the Mongolian Han was killed by his son and brother. Yeqianhucheng was the commander-in-chief and led an army of 500,000 people out of Linhuang Mansion to directly attack the hinterland of Mongolia. At the same time, General Xiao Loushi led 100,000 cavalry to bypass Jinshan (Daxingan Mountains) and penetrate directly into the side of the Mongols. back.
Yang Peng put down the report, immediately got up and walked to the map, looking at the map and thinking. Chen Xiao asked: "Meier, what do you think?" Yelu Hanyu said: "The Khitan people chose a very good time. The internal chaos in Mongolia was a great opportunity to defeat them in one fell swoop! It's just whether they can win, but it's not certain. If These five Mongol forces work together in front of the enemy, and this war will be fought!"
Yang Peng thought for a moment and said: "We are short of food and grass now. It is impossible to take any action. Let's wait and see what happens." After a pause, his eyes moved to Xixia and said: "We should first of all Solve the Xixia problem."
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
