After leaving Puban, Chen Chong led his army to the northwest and arrived at the foot of Liang Mountain in one day. Then he turned southwest and crossed Luoshui from Yaxian County, then passed through Suyi and Qiyi, and rested at the foot of Saga Mountain. Then late one night, five thousand cavalry took advantage of the darkness to cross the Jingshui River from the mouth of the valley, and stopped at the foot of Qishan Mountain.
This journey was nearly 700 miles, passing through dozens of rural pavilions. Naturally, it was difficult to completely hide the marching tracks. Therefore, Chen Chong rushed around for days and ordered the soldiers to take off their armor and stomachs and not raise their flags. Most others thought it was horse bandits coming and did not dare to investigate further. When a few people came to inquire and investigate, Chen Chong revealed his identity and acted with emotion and reason, but no one stopped him in the end.
Shortly after arriving in Qishan, he sent Hu Zhen personally and more than ten riders to the pavilion of Chencang Township. While contacting his old troops, he inquired about the news. Only then did he learn that Chencang Ling was still Zhang Ji.
Since Zhang was a scholar recommended by Fengyi County the year before last and served as the magistrate of Hu County last year, his governance performance ranked first among the three counties in Sanfu. Therefore, Chen Chong attached great importance to him, so he was assigned to Chen Cang's important position. Location. When Lu Bu unexpectedly attacked the capital, Zhang Ji thought that the world would be in chaos again, and was about to abandon his post and live in seclusion at the mouth of the valley. At this time, he heard that Chen Chong was alive and well, and he couldn't help being overjoyed, and he was busy welcoming Chen Chong in at night. In this way, all the weapons and weapons in Chen Cang's arsenal would fall into Chen Chong's hands without any need for a fight.
After taking control of Chencang, Chen Chong was not in a hurry to raise troops. He knew very well that the Longshang Liang people were extremely powerful. Once they were exposed at this time, they would be sandwiched between the east and the west. No matter how tight the defense of Chencang City was, it would be difficult to resist. Therefore, openly Zhang Ji and Chang'an were still pretending to be snakes, but secretly they were recruiting troops and horses. After one month, nearly 30,000 Liang people had been recruited, but they were all hidden in the surrounding countryside. Unknown.
After Li Kan left that day, Chen Chong had nothing to do, so he studied in the county government. Due to his appearance and identity, Chen Chong could not appear in public. He had to hide in Zhangji County Mansion for this month, so his affairs were not as complicated as he thought. Apart from trying to figure out the situation and analyzing the general situation every day, he actually did not do anything. Just reading to kill time.
Although he became famous because of his discussion of historical classics, in recent years, apart from writing books and commentaries, Chen Chong has gradually stopped reading history books, and instead has gradually picked up poems and poems. Recently, when the heavy snow stopped, he would read Zhang Heng's "Gui Tian Fu" and Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions" and "Li Sao" from time to time. The secrets in them were difficult to describe to others.
At lunch time, Dong Bai came to knock on the door and deliver the meal. She came in and saw Chen Chong lying on the couch undressed and asleep. He put the food on the eucalyptus, stepped forward gently, put away his robe, and put on a cold quilt to cover him. Just when he was about to turn around and go out, Chen Chong suddenly woke up, took Dong Bai's hand and asked, "What time is it?" Then he laughed again, covering his head and said, "It turned out to be a nap, but I forgot about it. I thought it was just a dream." Until tomorrow."
Dong Bai saw his frown, stretched out his fingers to rub it for him, and asked him softly: "What are you dreaming about?"
Chen Chong hesitated to speak, and finally said: "I dreamed about my father. He told me that I couldn't survive this difficulty, but if the whole family died on my behalf, I could live."
Having said this, he stood up and walked to the window, opened the south window, and suddenly, a ray of golden sunlight came into his eyes. The sun is in the mid-west sky, shining golden light through a thin layer of gauze-like clouds. The light spreads to countless green and white hills. The green hills are bathed in warmth and prosperity, waiting for the passage of time without any gain or dispute. Everything is peaceful, but the mood of the person observing the object is different.
Chen Chong looked at the still world and fell into deep thought for a moment. Dong Bai didn't know what to say, so he could only hug him quietly and feel his body temperature. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and he suddenly woke up.
The door opened, and first a Cangtou from the county government came in, and then Chen Cangling Zhang Ji. Chen Chong closed the south window, walked to the table, handed him the maza, and sat cross-legged on the table, asking him, "How is the situation? Is Li Kan suspicious?"
Zhang Ji nodded and said, "Everything is fine. It's just that I encountered some accidents when I came back." He briefly talked about the situation of Liang Jun, and soon mentioned Kong Ming and others, and said to Chen Chong: "These imperial students are making assumptions about the emperor." Since I am here, I am willing to introduce them to the envoy. I am very embarrassed, fearing that they will leak the news, and I will not let them go; but most of them are from the family, and they may attract attention if they are detained. "
Chen Chong laughed when he heard this. He suddenly remembered that when he was young, he was basically the same without scruples. He nodded slightly and said, "Then let's meet. If they are interested in Chang'an, I can't hide it here. of."
So he ate a hasty meal, put on a brown Confucian uniform, and a cashmere robe, and waited quietly for the group of young people to come.
After a while, a total of twelve young people came in and looked at him curiously. Chen Chong smiled and asked Dong Bai to arrange a seat for them. He brought two more braziers in and waited for them to sit down one by one before asking their names. Only then did I learn that these young people were all young elites from Jingzhou. They were Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Wen Ying, Xiong Xi, Liu Yan, Zhao Yan, Shangguan Sheng, Lu Yi, Huang Zhu, Ma Qiu, Du Qi, Liu Qian, Deng Zhi. Although they were similar in age, they were obviously headed by Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, who greeted Chen Chong nervously.
Chen Chong did not bother about his identity, nor did he ask them how they guessed that he was here. He just asked them: "How have you been in Xijing these days since Your Majesty took charge? Has there been any trouble?"
Pang Tong replied: "It was true that there was chaos when the Liang army first entered the city, but since Lu Bu left Hedong and the emperor and Jia Wenhe took control of the court, there has been no chaos and everything has been stable. We just heard that the Shu army was heading north. Afterwards, the government and the public were in panic, and many people fled to Jingzhou."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Chairman Chen Chong's expression and found that he was not disappointed at all, but very peaceful. He couldn't help but ask again: "Your Majesty has been running Guanzhong for seven years, and once it fell, there was no major chaos. Don't you feel regretful?"
Chen Chong smiled faintly and replied: "When a gentleman hears the Tao, he listens to it in his ears, hides it in his heart, and observes it with benevolence. He takes the world's worries as his worries and takes the world's happiness as his joy. If I say that I have no sadness in my heart, then naturally It’s a lie. But people can’t act with their emotions. Since there is no chaos in Guanzhong, it means that the people are still safe. It shows that your Majesty has listened to my teachings to some extent, and I can comfort myself. "
Pang Tong was obviously a little stunned, and a look of shame gradually appeared on his face. Lu Yi, who was standing aside, interrupted and said, "How can we say that the people are well? The common people who came to the capital for refuge in October had nowhere to stay, and the imperial court also closed all the warehouses. They could only starve there in vain. , they were basically frozen to death. When we came out, we saw hundreds of people digging holes near the city, and countless people were buried in them!"
Chen Chong was silent and speechless. Seeing his sad expression, the young people in the room also kept silent and did not dare to say anything. After a long time, Chen Chong changed the subject and asked: "Since many people have gone to Jingzhou, and most of you are from Jingzhou, why do you still stay here? I heard that Liu Jingsheng opened a school in Guangzhou, and the momentum is not inferior to that of Xijing! If you return Xiangyang, I think my family will feel at ease."
At this time, Zhuge Liang bowed and replied: "We have read Shijun's "Reorganization Examination of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", "On the System of the State", "Historical Theory", "Confucius and Mencius" and other books in Longzhong, and we are very fond of Shijun in our hearts. You admire me so much that you think he is the first person in contemporary Confucian classics, but unfortunately you never have the opportunity to visit him. Although there is quite a chaos in Guanzhong today, I guess that you are here, so we thought that this is a great opportunity to learn more. If we can If I ask you to see me, my life will be considered worthwhile, so I traveled hundreds of miles to come here, and I will not regret it even if I die."
Chen Chong unexpectedly answered like this, is he traveling thousands of miles just to study? He suddenly realized in his heart: Yes, there are so many confusions in human life! Answering students' questions and helping them avoid detours in life is why teachers are respected, isn't it? It’s not surprising that we are here for this. Young people are called young people because they often disregard fame and fortune!
But he suddenly remembered that Xu Shulai and Yuan Zhi died in the Bohai battle. I wonder if Cao Cao would erect a monument for him? Xu Shu still has an old mother in Yingchuan, how should he answer? I also have a lot of questions in my heart, who can I go to to answer them and be my teacher?
It took Chen Chong a while to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his mind. He raised his head and smiled at Kong Ming and others: "Being my disciple, ordinary people think that it is a smooth road to officialdom, but in fact it is not like this."
Seeing Chen Chong being so solemn, the others felt a little timid. Deng Zhi asked cautiously, "I wonder what the envoy meant by what he said?"
"You may endure hardship?" After asking this question, Chen Chong said slowly: "This time there is another war in Guanzhong, I am afraid that the war will not stop for four or five years. If you are my disciple, I am afraid you will have to accompany the army all the time. If necessary, you will have to Go into battle and kill the enemy. If there is trouble in the area, I am afraid that you will be asked to comfort and provide relief. And in order to avoid suspicion, even if the task is completed, the reward will be halved afterwards. If the task is not completed, I am afraid the punishment will be doubled. In this case, you are also willing ?"
Everyone was speechless for a moment, but Zhuge Liang asked again: "Are you the same as us?"
Chen Chong nodded slightly.
Zhuge Liang then laughed and said: "If you have your example for us, what is there to be afraid of? We came here because we believe that what you said is the right way, and we will be able to clarify the world and pacify the nine provinces."
Chen Chong asked back: "If we can't pacify the world, then we can't practice the way of a gentleman?"
Zhuge Liang paused after hearing the words and fell into deep thought, but Pang Tong said: "What your envoy asked is beyond our ability to know. Only by practicing it every day can we get a reply."
Chen Chong smiled, knowing that he was already making things difficult, so he waved his hand and said, "To be respected as a teacher is not only your wish, but also my long-cherished wish!" The implication was that he was willing to take them all under his wing.
The young people were overjoyed and paid homage to Chen Chong one after another. After Chen Chong accepted it, he asked them: "Before entering my door, I first want to ask you what your ambitions are in life."
Some said that they wanted to be the governor to appease the people, and some said that they wanted to be a general to quell the chaos for the country. There were a lot of words in the room for a while. When Chen Chong saw that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were silent, he asked them, "What are your ambitions?"
Pang Tong hesitated for a moment and said, "It is my wish to be like a teacher who can serve as the disciple of the emperor, convert all people with one word, govern the present world and pass it on to hundreds of generations." When everyone heard this, they were all amazed.
When it was Zhuge Liang's turn, everyone's eyes were glaring. Unexpectedly, he thought for a long time and finally said: "I haven't thought about it yet. I hope the teacher doesn't blame me."
By the time everyone went down to rest, it was already evening. Dong Bai was packing up the seats and tables in the room, while Chen Chong was sitting in front of the window, watching the sunset slowly sinking into the mountains in the southwest. Dong Bai whispered to him: "Among your new students, Kong Ming seems to be the most talented, but he can't tell you his ambition. It's really strange."
Chen Chong did not answer immediately, but watched as the sky gradually turned blue-black and the top of the mountain became faint. When a few faint stars appeared in the western sky, he continued: "This is normal. If you don't talk about your ambition lightly, it shows that you keep your ambition in your heart. Among these people, there are many talented people. Pang Shiyuan is probably He is a genius, but only Zhuge Kongming can truly achieve immortal achievements."
