In the past few days, if there are any pedestrians passing by the Luoshui River or the intersection of Luoyang Street, they will definitely see a young man driving a chariot, who is working hard to train the "Shuishui Song" and "Dance" of Liuyu Middle School. Jiaoqu'.
He is the Marquis of Yishou Ting and the head of the Yu family, Yu Huan.
In the East Palace, today is more lively than ever.
On the table, there are tea, wine, meat and chicken. Although the guests were a little restrained, the atmosphere was still relaxed.
Cao Rui, King of Pingyuan, always had a rare and pleasant smile on his face.
During the banquet, Xia Houxuan, Li Feng, Cao Zhao, Cao Shuang, Bi Gui, He Zeng, Wei Lie, Guan Qiujian and other guests exchanged greetings. Cao Rui raised the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile:
"Today, it is rare for you all to gather together in the East Palace, and I feel so relieved to be alone. Come, today we will not care about government affairs, we will only talk about poetry and wine, and be sure to go home happily!"
"Wei!" What all the guests feared most was talking about government affairs, and Cao Rui's words were quite in line with everyone's thoughts.
The reason why Cao Rui ignored government affairs and only talked about poetry and wine was to test everyone's talents. As for actual talents, there will be plenty of time to polish and cultivate them in the future. At today's banquet, Cao Rui just wanted to meet two talented people who are famous in Kyoto. Which one is just a waste of fame, and which one is really Huaijin holding Yu.
"In that case, how about we all make a drinking order today to help get drunk?"
"Since His Highness has such elegant taste, I naturally have no objections."
Hearing this, Cao Rui looked around, and an idea came to his mind. He smiled and said: "In that case, let me come up with a question. Wei Lie, today, you will be the wine supervisor." [Note 1: Drinking wine. Zheng, the name of the wine supervisor in the Han Dynasty]
"Minister, I will obey the order of the palace." Wei Lie stood up from the table, raised his hands in all directions and said with a smile: "Everyone, the drinking order is as important as the military order. Today Lie has become the wine supervisor. No matter how high or low you are, you must obey me. , if you violate the drinking order, you will be punished."
"I respectfully listen to the palace's orders and obey the government orders of Wei Shang."
Cao Rui nodded, and then smiled and said: "Today, I have a drinking order. Although there is no flowing channel, I want to play with the flowing water. There is no flowing water today, so I will use this bamboo branch to make flying flowers and flowing water to protect the wine. Beat the small drum. When the sound of the drum stops, look at whose house the bamboo falls. The person holding the bamboo should compose a poem with the two characters civil and military as the title. The person holding the bamboo should have the word east in the poem, and the person holding the bamboo should have the word west in the poem. . If you can match the poem, you can do whatever you want. If you can't match it, you will have to drink three cups in a row. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Okay, for today's drinking session, Gu Ye will have some fun with you all. Wei Zhangzheng, let's start playing the drums."
"No!" Wei Lie responded and immediately started playing the snare drum.
Cao Rui smiled slightly and slowly handed the bamboo branch in his hand to Cao Zhao on his left. Cao Zhao passed the bamboo branch to Cao Shuang, and Cao Shuang passed it to Zeng, and then to Bi Gui's hand.
"stop."
Just when the bamboo branch reached Li Feng's hand, Cao Rui shouted stop.
Cao Rui smiled and said: "Master Li, it seems that you are very lucky today and got the top spot."
Li Feng smiled and replied: "Your Highness, I'm afraid it's too early to decide whether you want to take the lead."
"In that case, Mr. Li, please write a poem."
"No." Li Feng cupped his hands and lowered his head in thought.
His seat, like Xia Houxuan's, was facing east, so he himself was sitting in the west.
After Li Feng pondered for a moment, he nodded, left the table, stood up, and sang:
"Wen Fei Xixia, Wu Zhendong Mountain. Tomorrow, a gentleman will pick osmanthus toads with his hands."
"Okay!" After listening to Li Feng's poem, Cao Rui felt a big stone in his heart finally fall to the ground.
It seems that Li Feng is indeed a useful talent.
"Okay, okay, you are worthy of Mr. Li. The poem is really good!"
Everyone raised their glasses and toasted Li Feng.
"His Highness made such compliments that I was frightened." Li Feng was neither humble nor overbearing. He bowed and returned to his seat.
Cao Rui smiled and said:
"Young Master Li is so good at his poems. He is so precious. Everyone, let's continue."
Wei Lie listened to the order and immediately started playing the snare drum again.
The bamboo branch left Li Feng's hand, then passed into Xiahou Xuan's hand, then into Guanqiu Jian's hand, and then back to Cao Rui's hand. The last host Li Feng happened to call a stop.
"Your Highness, I hope you will forgive me for my sins."
Cao Rui held the bamboo branch in his hand and said with a smile: "Young Master Li is guilty of nothing. I just compose poems."
Cao Rui, who was the one who came up with the topic, didn't hesitate for long. Sitting north and facing south, he started singing in an instant:
"The stars are shining over Beichen, and the sages are assisting the sage. The civil and military sages are gathered together, and the two sides of Wu and Shu are at peace."
"His Royal Highness is a thousand years old. I wish His Highness to ascend to the throne as soon as possible. I wish the Wei Dynasty to rule the world and live in peace for thousands of years!"
Cao Rui listened to everyone's congratulations, and for no reason, he remembered the night when he was fifteen, a few years ago, when he and his father..., he and His Majesty the Emperor sat on the top of the palace together.
"Rui'er, only when you reach the highest place can you better protect yourself and the people around you..."
As if the emperor's instructions were still in his ears, Cao Rui drank them all in one gulp.
"Come again!"
Cao Rui drank it all in one gulp, his heroic spirit was gone, and Wei Lie played the snare drum again.
This time, it happened to be Xia Houxuan's turn next to Li Feng's banquet.
Xia Houxuan has already experienced two rounds of drinking, so naturally he has already written poems.
Xiahou Xuanwei adjusted his white shirt and stood up from the table. He held a bamboo branch behind his back in his left hand and a wine glass in his right hand in front of his chest. His hair on his temples was flying in the wind like a dragon and snake, and his eyes were as bright as the sun and moon. Everyone, including Cao Rui, couldn't help but have an inexplicable respect for Xia Houxuan.
"The bright moon is traveling to the west, and the sound is conveyed by plain gold. The nobles of the country are looking east, and the world is at home."
"Okay!" After hearing this poem, Cao Rui couldn't help but rate Xia Houxuan higher.
"Young Master Xiahou, his ambition is as bright as the moon, his arrogance dominates the world, and he truly deserves his reputation!"
Cao Rui originally thought that Xia Houxuan was only good at literary talent, but now it seems that this son really has the world in his heart and is so angry that he can swallow up the whole country.
Zhen Nai is the national scholar of tomorrow.
————
Cao Pi returned to the west, and the dragon boat fleet had sailed for three days without realizing it.
"What county boundary is ahead?"
Cao Pi stood on the dragon boat, overlooking the good land of distant traffic, and couldn't help asking Wang Xiang, the regular attendant and secretary supervisor beside him.
"Your Majesty, the front is the boundary of Nanyang County."
"Nanyang..."
When Cao Pi heard this, a cloud suddenly appeared on his originally smiling face.
The current governor of Nanyang is Yang Jun and Yang Jicai, who have tried their best to assist Cao Zhi today.
Yang Junnai is a native of Hanoi. He is the proud disciple of Chen Liu, a famous scholar.
This man was also a great talent. If he had been favored by Cao Pi, he would have been promoted to a general or prime minister long ago.
It's a pity that all that happened back then has already become a thorn in Cao Pi's heart that he can't remove.
Back then, Cao Zhi, who was still the Marquis of Linyi, was a close friend of Yang Jun.
At that time, Emperor Wu was still undecided on his choice of heir and was hesitating in his heart. This Yang Jun said countless kind words in Emperor Wu's ears, making Cao Pi's already shaky position even more precarious.
Few people know how much grievance and fear Cao Pi suffered because of this.
Therefore, Cao Pi often took this as a hidden hatred, and even wanted to find an opportunity to kill Yang Jun!
Wang Xiang saw that the emperor was deep in thought and was silent. He wanted to say something, but he didn't dare.
Seeing that Wang Xiang was hesitant to speak, Cao Pi asked: "Uncle Xi, do you have something to say? In front of me, you don't have to hide anything, you might as well say it directly."
Wang Xiang gave a careful salute and then said:
"I saw Yang Jun, the prefect of Nanyang. He is pure and luxuriant, he is loyal and solemn, his body is benevolent enough to nurture animals, he is solid enough to move people, he has restrained his strengths and advanced late, he is tireless in training, he is broad on the outside and straight on the inside, and he is benevolent and decisive. . Since the first time I played the crown, I have experienced many transformations. I have been guarding Nanyang again, and my kindness is flowing. The reign of Emperor Xi."
After hearing Wang Xiang's words, Cao Pi just frowned and said nothing.
If someone else had said these words today, I'm afraid I would have been furious.
Unfortunately, the person kneeling in front of him at this moment was Wang Xibo.
Wang Xiang, in the Yuedan Commentary of Luoyang, was said to be a man of gentle talent and gentle literary talent. Therefore, the capital praised him and called him the Confucian of this dynasty.
As early as the Jian'an period of the previous dynasty, Wang Xiang and Xun Wei from the same county knew each other when he was still the crown prince of Wei. At that time, he was a courteous and virtuous corporal, so he treated them with great courtesy.
Later, during the plague, his disciples Wang Can, Chen Lin, Ruan Yu, Lu Cui, etc. died of illness one after another. Among the new Confucian scholars, only Wang Xiang and Wang Xibo were the most talented.
Later, he became the emperor himself, worshiped Wang Xiangsanqi Shilang, and often served the rank of marquis.
Not only that, Wang Xiang was also ordered to write an imperial statement for himself. In that year, Wang Xiang became his secretary.
From the first year of Yankang to last year, Wang Xiang buried himself in his study for several years, and finally compiled more than 40 manuscripts of his books, totaling more than 8 million words.
Whenever Cao Pi saw Wang Xiang's gray temples because of him, he would feel grateful.
However, fate plays tricks on people, and Wang Xiang cannot survive without Yang Jun.
Wang Xiang knelt on the ground, thinking of many past events in his heart.
He was an orphan since he was a child, and later became a servant. When he was seventeen or eighteen, he was still shepherding sheep. Once, his master saw him secretly studying while shepherding sheep, so he chased him with a whip and thorns.
[The past is vague]:
"You bitch, I taught you to herd sheep. It's better for you to secretly read that shabby book and run away from my sheep. Can you afford to pay for it? Ah! Give me that shabby bamboo slip quickly and burn it for me. I'll forgive you. You little beast, let go!"
A local vigilante dressed in rich clothes, holding a whip, was whipping a young slave of seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Don't fight, please, ah! I don't dare to fight anymore!"
The young man held the letter tightly in his arms and curled up into a ball, shivering under the whip and sometimes convulsing due to severe pain.
There were traces of blood on his body, but the hand holding the letter tightened.
"stop!"
At this time, a young Confucian scholar who was passing by rushed over and stopped the arrogant local snake.
"Who are you, looking for death?"
"I'm from the Yang family in Xiahanoi, and that's Yang Jun!"
Young Confucian scholars are not angry but are proud of themselves.
"Hanoi……"
The local snake was stunned for a moment, then knelt down and kowtowed. No matter how rich he was, he would not dare to offend these powerful people.
"In the future, please do more good deeds!"
The young Confucian scholar threw a piece of broken silver:
"Is this enough to buy this young man's slave contract?"
"Enough! Enough! Enough!"
The local snake hurriedly sent people back to Wubao and obtained the deed of betrayal of young Wang Xiang.
The moment the young Confucian scholar tore up the contract of betrayal under the bright sky, the young man could no longer control his tears.
"Brother, can you tell me your name..."
The young Confucian scholar smiled slightly:
"Excellent, Yang Jun, Yang Jicai."
[Wang Xiang woke up from his memories. 】
Later, Yang Jun also hired a wife for himself and built a house. I finally learned something, and I still have it today. Life in heaven and earth, if you don't repay kindness, how can you be a human being?
Although Cao Pi was dissatisfied with Wang Xiang's recommendation of Yang Jun, he still suppressed his anger:
"It's better to go to Nanyang County first and then talk about it."
After hearing the emperor's words, Wang Xiang didn't know whether he sighed or breathed a sigh of relief.