After the Battle of Surabaya, the winter snow melted in the blink of an eye, and it was already the fourth year of spring.
The setting sun in February is still light yellow, quietly staining the ripples of the Wei River in Chang'an, reflecting the Dongwei Bridge with constant traffic and horses. This bridge is located to the north of the Kitchen City Gate in Chang'an and spans the Weishui River. It is one of the three main bridges connecting the north and south of the Weishui River in Chang'an. Because the foundation of this bridge is made of large bluestone, there are stone walls on the south and north of the bridge for inscriptions. Therefore, scholars who passed by liked to admire the moon and inscribe here, and it became a scene in Chang'an.
But this was all two hundred years ago. Since the emperor established his capital in Luoyang, Chang'an has inevitably fallen into decline. To the people of Chang'an five or six years ago, the prosperity of Chang'an during Zhongzong's reign seemed to be just a traceless dream. Only the ink-stained Wei Bridge can be seen. Only in front of the bluestone can they find some traces.
But after Chen Chong took control of Chang'an, Chang'an once again became a veritable Xijing. The Wei Bridge, which was once sparsely populated, is now occupied by people again. The bluestone that literati used to complain about now has inscriptions by high-ranking officials and celebrities. Wuling, which once disappeared in legend, The years seem to have revived again at this time.
Now there was a Confucian scholar about forty years old, leading his horse and walking slowly down the bridge. He paused slightly and saw a group of young people in Confucian uniforms gathered in front of the bluestone in the south of the bridge. They pretended to wave their sleeves and nodded. Curious and amused, I couldn't help but come closer to see what they were gesturing at.
When he came closer, a few young people saw him, but they didn't care. Maybe they were actually more excited. I only heard one of them say in a tone of reluctance: "Among these people, Cai Gong's handwriting is obviously the best. You can see that when it is sparse, it looks like a weeping willow, and when it is close, it looks like a silkworm's head. Each word is neither creeping nor branching. From a distance, it is fresh and cute." , how can the rest of the public comment on it?"
Another person said: "Cai Gong's handwriting is certainly valuable, but how can it be compared to Zhang Gong's? Zhang Gong's calligraphy is completely natural. It is not only beautiful in one word, but also in the whole text. It is like a flowing water wine cup, involving up and down, and the charm is free. I'm afraid it's difficult for ordinary people to understand the subtlety of the writing technique!" These words contained a gun and a stick, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of others, and the argument gradually turned into a quarrel.
The Confucian scholar heard that the group of young people were arguing about calligraphy, so he tied his horse to a willow tree on the bank, bypassed the crowd, and looked directly at the writing on the bluestone. After hundreds of years of wind and frost, the surface of the tall bluestone is still rough, but the protruding stone lines appear rounded. Glancing over it, the Confucian scholar saw several sets of newer ink marks, obviously written at the same time. Looking closer, he saw that they were several poems.
He read the first song and it said:
"Drinking with pleasure at the bright moon, smiling at the talents of the Nine Provinces.
The spring breeze wants to untie the sword, but the remaining snow is still floating in my arms.
The river Wei Ming Sanfu, the red clouds shine on the old platform,
Farewell to the clear night, the warrior's ambition is always there. "
The poem is not bad, but its words are like a dragon floating in the clouds, with a natural and unrestrained style that makes the Confucian scholars nod their heads. Then he continued reading. The next few songs were mostly average, but only the last two seemed unique and worth reading.
One of the poems is like spring swallows and yellow willows, small and simple, and the poem says:
“I was sitting under a long forest, picking hazelnuts and then wandering in the stream.
Several handfuls of wild plums are placed in your head. "
There is almost no stinky reputation in this poem, and it is in the realm of ordinary people. The Confucian scholar admired in his heart, and then looked at the last poem, which said:
"Lin Xiao, who was stationed in Majiang, was exposed to the clothes he changed five times.
The Chu moon shines on Jianghan, and the Qin envoy goes up to Longyun.
The cold rhythm of the spring equinox moves, and the wine in Ba Ling's cup is new.
Why should I give it to a gentleman? Dunhuang reminds me of my old friends. "
This poem corresponds to the first poem, but the writing and ink are far less lively and flexible than the first poem. Instead, it is precise, full of edge in operation, and the layout of the argumentative section is unforgettable.
After reading the poem, the Confucian scholar read the inscription at the top of the stone. It turned out that one month ago, around the spring equinox, Han Sui and his bandits in Liangzhou led their troops to attack the north, and faced off against Mulu Bu of Liangzhou in Qingshan. Lu Bu won a great victory in this battle and beheaded four thousand people. Therefore, he ordered Zhang Chang to come to the court to report his victory. Chen Chong, the captain of Sili School, was very happy when he heard the good news. In addition to sending an envoy to reward Liangzhou, he also personally sent Zhang Chang to the bridge to have a banquet here. Also accompanying him were Cai Bojie (Cai Yong), Sun Shuran (Sun Yan) and other princes. When the wine was in full swing, Zhang Changshi asked all the princes to write poems on the bridge stones to see him off, and all the princes agreed.
Among them, the sentence "Drinking with the Bright Moon" was written by Zhang Chang, the sentence "I was sitting under the long forest" was written by Cai Yong, and the sentence "Zhu Ma Jiu Lin Xiao" was written by Chen Chong. After seeing this, the Confucian scholar turned around and saw that the young people behind him were still arguing. This made him laugh and thought: If it was twenty years ago, I might be among them.
He leisurely untied his horse and saw a store not far away selling Hu cakes. The aroma was fragrant. Then he remembered that he had not had lunch yet, so he went up to sit down and asked the store for a piece of Hu cakes and a bowl of chicken soup.
When the shopkeeper handed over the rice and soup, he saw that he was still giving old five baht. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Sir, he is from Guandong, right! Didn't you ask the uniform official to exchange for new money when you entered the customs?"
The Confucian scholar smiled and replied: "There were too many people changing at that time, the queue was too long, and I didn't bring much money, so I didn't change. Couldn't it still be used all the way?"
The shopkeeper weighed the copper coins in his hand, sprinkled them into the money jar on the side, and said: "It can be used, but it is more expensive than new money. But it seems that this is your first time in Xijing, and I don't have much money." Collect it. When you enter the city later, you can go to the West City to find Junshu Division. There is no queue here."
The Confucian scholar thanked him and began to eat. It was already past two o'clock, already past meal time, and there were only three or four diners in the shop. The shopkeeper was bored for a while, so he talked with the Confucian scholar about interesting stories in the city.
In addition to the great victory at the beginning of the year, there was another major event at the end of January: Yizhou Shepherd Liu Yan sent an envoy to deliver a white tiger, saying that it was caught in Mianzhu in October last year, and it was an auspicious sign from heaven, so it was presented to the emperor. The emperor was extremely happy when he saw it, so he made a special sacrifice to the Ancestral Temple and ordered the white tiger to be displayed in Taiye Pool. After the people in the whole city heard about it, they all went to see it and were all amazed.
Speaking of this, the shopkeeper smiled at the Confucian scholar and said: "Last year we had a series of victories and auspicious things came to the world. It seems that the time when the country will be unified is not far away!"
The Confucian scholar said "Oh" and retorted calmly: "Now that the two states of Qing and Xu are not at peace, and Hebei is uncertain about his return, it must be too early for the shop owner to tell you!"
The shopkeeper was not disappointed, but instead said as if he had been scratched: "Since the great victory in Surabaya, people from Guandong like Mr. Hua have come to Beijing every day, such as Hua Xin Huajun who has traveled far away to Liaodong, and Shentu who has lived in seclusion for many years. Pan Shen Tu Gong has also settled in the capital. The people's direction has been clear for a long time, so how could they say it earlier? Besides, no matter how stubbornly the rebels resist, they will never be able to defeat the imperial court."
The Confucian scholar heard this interestingly and asked, "How can you see it?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Among the famous generals in the world, since the death of Huangfu Chaqi, is there anyone who can surpass Chen Shijun?"
The Confucian scholar was silent for a moment, and then said: "It is true that it has been more than ten years since I saw the dragon head at Luoyang Imperial Academy, and it is true that no one can beat him."
Unexpectedly, the store owner said that he had met Chen Chong, and was immediately suspicious. Seeing his appearance, the Confucian scholar explained: "It was during the Guanghe period, when Long Shou was working as a doctor in Taixue, and I was studying in Taixue. He was only ten years old at that time. Seven, I am five years older than him, but I am listening to his lectures in the audience!"
The store owner was immediately relieved and his attitude became much more polite. He said with emotion: "Isn't that gentleman a descendant of our family in Guandong? He also came to Beijing to seek an official position?"
The Confucian scholar laughed at himself and replied, "That's true." He had eaten and drank enough, clasped his fists in thanks to the store owner, then started to get up, pack the parcels, and go to pick up the horse outside the store.
Before leaving, the store owner asked him: "Sir, since you have been to Tokyo, you don't know how prosperous it is compared to Xijing?"
The Confucian scholar glanced around and replied: "There are slightly fewer people, but the difference is the same. It's just that on the Chi Road in Dongdu, there are constant traffic of large vehicles, and the canopy is like a canopy, but there are only a few chariots in Xijing. It's really strange."
The store owner was not disappointed when he heard this, but said proudly: "That's because Chen Shijun was simple in administration and strict in checking property. At the end of last year, he found eleven corrupt officials worth two thousand yuan and dismissed them all. , It is said that the high-ranking officials in the court can’t eat or sleep well. They are afraid that they don’t have a few patches on their clothes, so how can they dare to take a big car..."
Before the shopkeeper could finish what he said, the Confucian scholar got on his horse and headed towards the kitchen gate. It's not that he doesn't care about what he saw and heard before. On the contrary, based on what he just said, his mind is constantly thinking about the current situation and analyzing the key points. Suddenly, he remembered the past many years ago, which made him open all the joints in an instant, so that he showed an obscure smile.
"Will the world be at peace?" the Confucian scholar whispered to himself, then showed a sarcastic smile, and he didn't know who he was laughing at, and said: "No, it is still far away!"
Then, he immediately rode his horse to the city gate, checked the road certificate, and found out the way to Taixue, and then walked south along Zhangtai Street. Zhangtai Street runs through the entire city of Chang'an and can accommodate eight cars running at a time. However, because there are many brothels, gambling houses and wine shops along the road, there are so many people coming and going. Even if the road is wide, it is difficult for Confucian scholars to move quickly. For more than ten miles, they After walking for nearly two hours, we passed through Anmen and arrived at Longshouyuan in the south of the city.
Walking three miles east from Anmen, the Confucian scholar saw the location of Chang'an Imperial College. Different from Luoyang Imperial College, Chang'an Imperial College does not have clumps of green bamboos and secluded spring paths. Instead, it is shaded by cypresses and forests of strange rocks. Confucian scholars can be seen walking through it. It can be seen that in many newly built pavilions, some students are praying. The scrolls are recited, and the sound of books is endless, as if the world is complicated and has nothing to do with them.
When a student passed by him, the Confucian scholar stopped him and asked him where he lived. When the student heard that he was an old friend of the doctor, he naturally did not dare to neglect him and immediately led the Confucian scholar to Taixue.
After half an hour, Cui Yan, a doctor of "Korean Poetry", opened the door of his house and saw his old friend standing in front of the door after not seeing him for many years. He was so excited that he was speechless. After a long time, he asked: "My dear sir, didn't you go to Hebei? When will you come to Chang'an?"
Dong Zhao patted the horse's back and said with a smile: "I just came to Xijing. I have nowhere to stay and no money. I want to beg for food at Ji Gui's house!"
Cui Yan hurriedly welcomed Dong Zhao into the door. While sighing in his heart, he joked: "You, Dong Gongren, are now famous in Hebei. Are you afraid that you won't be able to get a thousand pieces of gold with just your head?" Dong Zhao laughed when he heard this.
In the past few years, Yuan Shao's ministers have become famous, and many of them are well known to the court, such as Ju Sue, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, and Xun Chen. But when it comes to governing the place and playing with power, no one can surpass Dong Zhao.
In the second year of Chuping, Yuan Shao succeeded Jizhou Mu. There were many great disturbances in the state, especially in Wei County. There were about twenty-nine disturbances in each county. After Dong Zhao took office as the prefect of Wei County, he issued forty-seven decrees and beheaded two thousand people. In February, all counties were in peace. His reputation was so great that people in the court also heard about it, saying that he had the wisdom of Yu Xu.
Logically speaking, Dong Zhao has a bright future under Yuan Shao, and he is the right one to serve as his confidant. How come you came to Chang'an today? Cui Yan was full of doubts, but still prepared a banquet for Dong Zhao.
Unexpectedly, when the two of them were sitting quietly, Dong Zhao suddenly said: "Ji Gui, would you like to introduce him to me?
