"It's up to you to take care of it!" Swordsman Aqin rolled his eyes, "Young master, you should worry more about your own affairs. My ambition is to become a great swordsman in the north. Young Master Bai Ze is my idol. Can I get married? I don’t even worry about it, but the young master takes it to heart every day.”
"That's what I said." Chen Shouren said with a smile, "Bai Ze has not read many books, but after all, he still has three ounces of ink in his stomach. When he was studying in the academy, this kid even wrote poems, although he had no literary talent. But you can write a song after all. You regard Bai Ze as your idol and don’t study with me. When you meet him in the future, you always use vulgar words when you talk to him. Doesn’t that make him look down on you?"
"Young hero Bai Ze has written poems?" Aqin's eyes lit up again when he heard this, and he grinned, "What did you write about?"
"Alas, I think you are really a piece of rotten wood that cannot be carved into stone." Chen Shouren shook his head and sighed, "Don't you understand the principle of 'Guan Guan Jiu Jiu, in the River Continent. A fair lady, a gentleman likes to quarrel'? A girl's family is bold and unrestrained. It’s okay to be a little quieter, but it’s better to be quieter, do you understand?”
Aqin opened his eyes, looked at Chen Shouren, and said, "Don't be angry, young master. I don't understand what the problem is. I just want to know what poems Young Master Bai Ze wrote back then."
"Okay, since you keep asking, I'll tell you." Chen Shouren said, "It's called Yongxue. The poem goes like this: The sky and the earth are unified, and there are black holes in the well. A black dog's body is white, and a white dog's body is swollen. .”
Aqin was stunned when he heard this, "No more?"
"No more." Chen Shouren nodded.
Aqin fell into deep thought, read the poem over and over again, suddenly realized it, slapped his forehead, and said in surprise: "Oh, sir, I just discovered today that I also have a talent for poetry!"
Chen Shouren's mouth twitched.
But he couldn't bear to hurt Aqin's fragile little heart, so the young gentleman from Jixia Academy took a friendly sip of tea and said, "Come and listen?"
In the uncertain tone, even Chen Shouren himself could hear the guilt in it.
So the Confucian scholar took another sip of tea.
"Master, please listen!" Aqin looked at the world and the boundless moonlight outside the pass, and said: "The sky and the earth are vast, and the moon is like a big window. The river is roaring, covered with white moonlight!"
Chen Shouren almost choked to death on that sip of tea.
The sword attendant Aqin still said seriously: "Let's call this poem Yong Yue! Master, I can't write, why don't you help me write this poem down so that I won't forget it in two days. From now on. If I have the opportunity to meet Young Master Bai Ze, I will show him my book so that others will not look down upon me and think I am uneducated and will embarrass the young master."
It would be a shame if you really took it out.
Chen Shouren's expression was extremely exciting, and he simply said, "No problem, I will write it down for you when the young master is free. Then I will find someone to frame it for you, so that you can hang it in your room for appreciation."
"Then young master, don't forget this matter." Aqin ordered.
"Don't worry, I'll never forget it." Chen Shouren couldn't laugh or cry.
The young general from Jixia Academy turned his attention to the camp where the Song army was stationed outside the pass.
Song Zhiwen's recent behavior is very abnormal.
As for the reason for the abnormality, Chen Shouren knew very well that it was because of one person, and that was Zhang Yan.
Chen Shouren knew Song Zhiwen very well.
Although the two had never met before. But no matter their origins or growth experiences, they are too similar.
People who become famous at a young age are lonely deep down.
This kind of loneliness is not loneliness, but the loneliness where no one can listen to the voice deep in his heart.
In other words, it’s hard to find a true friend.
Chen Shouren could have had a close friend, but that close friend only stayed at Jixia Academy for one year. The time was too short, too short for him to grow up, too short for the young man nicknamed Mr. Little to have time to exchange a few words with the unlearned junior brother.
This is the saying that all masters are lonely.
In Jixia Academy, only the Master and the old scholars could see the loneliness deep in Chen Shouren's heart.
But they have all experienced that kind of loneliness. People who have been there and those who are still on the road can't say much.
Because everyone is proud enough in their hearts, no one can shake the other's belief.
Song Zhiwen was seeking defeat.
The name Confucian Sword is by no means a false title.
Although Chen Shouren had never met Song Zhiwen before, the only one in the entire northern border that could barely compete with Jixia Academy in terms of knowledge was Yuelu Academy.
Although this kind of comparison is still a big difference between cloud and mud.
But at least Yuelu Academy still has the qualifications to compete.
As the most prestigious Confucian swordsman of Yuelu Academy for fifty years, Song Zhiwen's character far exceeded his years. But there were too many obstacles that hindered his path forward, whether it was his background or his fame and fortune.
Whether it is a scholar who studies the relationship between heaven and man and observes the changes in ancient and modern times, a monk who holds Yuan Shouyi and asks questions in his heart, or a Buddhist disciple who chants sutras and rings bells in the ancient Buddha of Qingdeng, he wants to be successful on the path. To make progress, you must abide by the rules of being born first and then entering the world.
This is the so-called practice on the mountain and questioning the mind at the foot of the mountain.
There are too many ties in the world, and it is easy for people to forget their original intentions.
If your original intention is confused, you will stray further from the path.
Song Zhiwen reached the Dzogchen realm of the Four Realms at a young age. For many years, he could not make any progress in cultivation and became a sage of the Five Realms. This is the reason why.
Chen Shouren is the same as him.
So in this battle, when Song Zhiwen picked up the battle flag, he never thought about winning.
He wanted to use one failure to take off his Confucian sword hat, take off all the ties on his body, become a mountain man, ask questions in his heart, and complete the transformation in spiritual practice.
Song Zhiwen was like this, and so was Chen Shouren.
But the path he took was exactly the opposite of Song Zhiwen.
He wanted to use his success to become famous and be worthy of the name of a young gentleman, so that his virtue would be worthy of his position and he would have a clear conscience.
In this way, he can cut off many shackles on his body and leap to the fifth realm.
Therefore, Chen Shouren understood Song Zhiwen very well.
Both of them also want to pass this battle to complete their own journey of questioning. The only difference between the two is that one wants to win and the other wants to lose.
For Chen Shouren, his mountain is exactly the opposite of Song Zhiwen.
Chen Shouren's mountain is in this world.
So in the dead of night, Chen Shouren would always think that Song Zhiwen was more like a monk than a Confucian scholar.
It was true that Song Zhiwen wanted to kill him, because if he killed him, no matter the outcome of this battle, he would lose completely.
But Song Zhiwen missed the best opportunity to kill him.
Chen Shouren went to the Sishui meeting to give him that opportunity.
Because opportunities are equal, he wanted to kill Chen Shouren and lost completely. Chen Shouren also wanted to kill him and won simply.
So in the end, Zhang Yan became the biggest variable in this war.
Chen Shouren saw the changes in the Song Army after Zhang Yan arrived.
Before Zhang Yan came, the Song army also committed immoral acts of burning, killing, and looting, but at that time Song Zhiwen did not stand idly by, but intervened in time to stop the further development of the situation.
But after Zhang Yan arrived, Song Jun's actions were extremely cruel.
Such as the massacre in Iron City.
Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that a considerable part of the command power of the Song Army no longer belongs to Song Zhiwen.
Previously, even among the generals of the Song Army, there were many voices that were secretly dissatisfied with Song Zhiwen, believing that his virtue was not worthy of his position and that at such a young age, it was impossible for him to hold a big position. However, due to the trust that Song King Junzi Qi had in him and the support given to him by Song Army generals Li Lu Yunshan, Yang Cheng and others, those people did not dare to say anything openly.
Song Zhiwen knew this very well.
Therefore, when those people allowed their soldiers to commit evil acts such as burning, killing, looting, etc., Song Zhiwen only stopped this behavior and did not go to war to expose the real mastermind behind such evil acts.
Things are different now.
Zhang Yan's arrival put the issue of dividing military power on the table. Those generals of the Song Army who were secretly dissatisfied with Song Zhiwen were naturally happy that the two were fighting openly and secretly, and the wind was unanimously in Zhang Yan's direction.
Zhang Yan's seizure of power went smoothly.
But probably the inspector general of the Song Army would not understand until his death. He thought that Song Zhiwen had been manipulated by him and was allowed to be controlled by him. In fact, he was the chess piece in Song Zhiwen's hands.
If the military power is not taken away, how can we lose completely?
But with Song Zhiwen's character, he would never sit back and watch the Song army suffer a complete defeat and suffer heavy casualties.
"Ru Jian, Ru Jian, you must be suffering in your heart right now." Chen Shouren looked at the Song Army's camp stretching across the Sishui River through the misty moonlight and said softly.
The moonlight was bleak, and the cold wind blew away the dark clouds in the distant sky.
Chen Shouren knew that the Song Army's upcoming tenth siege would be the last round of competition between the two armies, and it would also be the last confrontation between him and Song Zhiwen on this battlefield.
After this battle, the outcome will be determined in the history books.
There is a thin line between failure and success.
The night is long.
Song army camp.
After the late-night meeting, all the generals and the arrogant inspector general had left.
Song Zhiwen turned on the lamp and pressed the sword, flattened the letter paper on several cases, and polished the ink with his own hands.
The candlelight swayed gently, and the young general looked tired. He dipped his hand into thick ink. After hesitating for a long time, he finally started writing.
"Miss Yu personally approves."
"The battle between Zheng and Song Dynasty is coming to an end. Just now, in the military meeting, Zhang Yan took out a jar of abyssal black fire. Miss Yu should know this thing, it is terrifyingly powerful. Zhang Yan wanted to use it to break open the water. Close the city gate. I think, if nothing happens, the final battle between me and the young gentleman, Sishui Pass will become a purgatory on earth."
"There is news from Suiyang City that because Sishui Pass has been unable to be conquered for a long time, your Majesty has become suspicious of me. The head of the family ordered me to end the war before Zhang Yan arrives at Sishui Pass. Only in this way can I win back the victory. Your Majesty placed your trust in me. But I failed to do it. I was thinking, maybe this is not a bad thing for me."
"I am tired of living like this. Maybe you will feel hypocritical to say this, but Suiyang City is indeed just a huge shackles to me. I am trapped in it and cannot break free. These days, I have been thinking more than once , maybe this war is my only way to escape."
Before Song Zhiwen finished writing, footsteps suddenly came from outside the military tent.
The young general frowned slightly, briefly brushed the letter on the paper, and put the letter into the box hidden under the desk.
The candlelight flickered, and I saw that the wooden box was neatly packed and filled with letters that had been written but had never been sent.
…
