In the days after Ping Wu, Zhuge Liang has been handling the remaining military and state affairs in Jianye. After receiving Chen Chong's appointment, he followed Deng Yu's practice when he entered the customs. In the name of the emperor, he reviewed Jiangdong household registration and appointed court officials. He did not discard all the offices promoted by Sun, but searched for their good and evil. After hearing his political voice, Zhuge Liang carefully selected the best to stay, and for those officials who were deposed, Zhuge Liang also published the reasons on the cloth. After that, he frequently issued orders to release the various governors and subordinates, disbanded the old private soldiers, ordered the mountain goats to return to the mountains, and the Han people to return to their hometowns. They divided their fields among themselves, and loaned military funds to the people. In just two months, Jiangdong had returned to peace. . The people of Wu had seen Zhuge Liang sleeping and eating every day, and devoted himself to governing the country. They all admired in private and said: With such a talented person in charge of the Han Dynasty, it is no wonder that the Han Dynasty can decline and revive.
But on September 1, Zhuge Liang rarely put down his affairs and went out of the city to Yanziji. This caused the people in Jianye to talk a lot, saying, is there some big shot coming? So many people curiously climbed up to look far away, hoping to see what happened. However, the boats coming and going from Yanziji were just small and medium-sized fishing boats, and no large boats were seen floating across the vast river. Just when everyone was wondering, Zhuge Liang had already stepped forward and picked up an old man in a green shirt and wide sleeves from a small boat carrying more than 20 people. Judging from the difficulty in moving, the old man was probably blind. So everyone guessed that he should be Zhuge Shijun's elder relative. He didn't want Shijun to be so frugal and treat relatives and friends as simply as usual.
No one would have thought that this shambling old man was Chen Chong, the current Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.
Although he had heard about it on the road, Zhuge Liang was inevitably a little sad when he saw with his own eyes that his teacher was blind and could only rely on help to walk. After he welcomed Chen Chong back to his mansion, he immediately asked for details. But Chen Chong was very calm. After his eyes could no longer see, he simply closed his eyes. As a result, his formerly ferocious eyebrows gradually softened, and his whole expression became peaceful, as if all the burdens in his heart for decades had been let go. He waved his hand and said slowly to Kong Ming: "It's okay. The eyes on my head can't see clearly, but the eyes in my heart are open. Sakyamuni said that the five colors are blinding, which makes sense. I heard people along the way. When you laugh, you know you are doing a good job in Jinling."
Then Zhuge Liang told Chen Chong some of his policies and plans in Jianye. Chen Chong listened for a while and then asked Zhuge Liang to stop. He directly said to Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, please prepare and wrap up the major events in a month." We will return to Luoyang within a few days."
Kong Ming was surprised when he heard this. He originally thought that the teacher asked him to stay in Jiangdong because he planned to accumulate two years of experience before being promoted. Unexpectedly, he guessed wrong. At this time, I asked myself to go to Luoyang quickly. Is there something unexpected?
Chen Chong seemed to hear his thoughts from his silence, and said naturally: "I am already old, and I feel quite powerless in many things. What's more, I am blind now, and I am no longer qualified to hold the important task of prime minister." He paused here for a moment, then looked at Zhuge Liang and said to him seriously: "This time when I return to Beijing, I want to confirm my status. From now on, I will leave this important task on your shoulders." The implication was that Zhuge Liang was to take over as prime minister.
This sentence shocked everyone present. Although there were many speculations about Chen Chong's death, the fact that he said it so bluntly still made people feel uneasy. Zhuge Liang quickly stood up and asked: "Thank you for your wrong love, teacher, but this matter Did the Emperor know that? Since the teacher intends to give up the throne, but does not return power to the Emperor, I am afraid he will give the villain some leverage!"
Chen Chong actually didn't want to talk more about this issue, but after all, it was a big deal, so he still said patiently: "Your Majesty is only twelve years old. Returning power to him is actually returning power to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother has a poor background and has trouble doing things. Regardless of the overall situation, I'm really worried." He stretched out his hand and motioned for Kong Ming to come forward. After holding it, he continued: "Kong Ming, I will do everything you need to do for you, but why did I choose you? You have to remember , not for favoritism, not because you are my student."
He stared at Zhuge Liang with his dull eyes and said word by word: "It's for the sake of my great man and the common people in the world."
Having said this, he took out a thin stack of paper from his arms, handed it to Kong Ming's hand, and said: "These are some of my ideas, some of which I had planned for a long time, but haven't had time to do yet. Now I put these wishes into your hands and hope you will not disappoint me.”
When Zhuge Liang heard these words, he had mixed feelings for a while. The excitement of being about to take on an important task, the fear of being placed on high expectations, and the sadness of the teacher's heroic death all came to his heart at this time. He accepted Chen Chong's article, knelt on the ground with great solemnity, held the teacher's hands and said: "For the sake of Mr. Chen's ambition, I am willing to work hard."
When Chen Chong heard this, the wrinkles on his face suddenly bloomed. He smiled and said, "Okay, okay! Then I can go see Guan Youan confidently."
After the explanation with Kong Ming, Chen Chong did not intend to stay in Jianye for a long time. He originally planned to climb Zhongshan Mountain and look at Xuanwu Lake in the distance to see the magnificent scenery of Jianye's tigers and dragons, but since he was blind, There is no need to waste all this effort. For Chen Chong, the blurry shadow in front of him is like a sure reminder. He is already convinced that his life is not long. He has to race against time to explain everything before he dies, as well as those unfinished agreements. .
After briefly staying in Jianye for two days, and making an appointment with Zhuge Liang to meet again in Luoyang, Chen Chong left Jiangnan by boat again. While he was slowly rising and falling on the river, he listened to the breeze on the river, and it was inevitable that he felt a little regretful. After all, the reason why he visited the south in the first place was to take another look at the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River when he was young, but he failed to do so. But this is fine, Chen Chong thought, this way there will be no regrets. He can repeatedly ponder the memories of his youth and keep the best images in his heart.
After setting foot on the land of Jiangbei, the weather seemed to have returned to what it was like when Chen Chong left Luoyang. The sky was amazingly blue, and the bright sunshine was shining in the sky. Even if Chen Chong could not see it, he could still feel the carefree feeling in the sunshine. The warmth and the gentle swaying of thousands of leaves in the wind reminded Chen Chong of his mother's arms when he was a child. There is neither heat of summer nor coolness of winter in the air. Even between exhaling and inhaling, there is a kind of clean happiness from the inside to the outside.
The journey to Beihai can be said to be very long. Starting from Jianye, Chen Chong and his party first had to cross Chaohu to Hefei, then go north to Shouchun to cross the Huaihe River, and then go northeast around Mount Tai. After passing through Mount Tai, they finally crossed two rivers before finally reaching their destination. Where Zhu Xu is. The journey was close to three thousand miles, so the followers inevitably complained. Chen Xiu and Zhao Qiu and others said: "Your Excellency is the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, and his position is higher than that of Duke Zhou. How dare Guan Ning ask Your Excellency to travel thousands of miles to see him?"
Zhao Qiu explained: "Guan Longwei is a world-famous scholar, whose integrity is better than ice and snow. But once he leaves his hometown and comes to Beijing, he will probably be ridiculed by villains, saying that he is just trying to gain fame. And the teacher came to see him, first of all, it has been fulfilled. Guan Longwei's ambition, the second is to show that the teacher is polite and virtuous." Even so, Chen Xiu still felt aggrieved, so Zhao Qiu comforted him and said: "It doesn't have to be like this, Guan Longwei and the teacher are collectively called the East and West Erlong, This meeting between the two of them is destined to go down in history."
Chen Chong listened on the sidelines and just smiled. The word history is too heavy, but for people who don't care, it is just a few light words, and most people cannot feel its weight. Today it is a meeting, but hundreds or even thousands of years from now, it will only be a meeting that no one will remember. But he didn't say it. For young people, they need this kind of meaning to inspire themselves.
By the time we entered Beihai County, it was already October. After seeing the boundary monument, the group was extremely happy. The fatigue from the journey was gone. They were happier than winning a battle. Chen Xiu immediately asked the local pavilion chief for a map and directions. Unexpectedly, the chief of the pavilion said that there is no need to look for it specially. All the people in Zhuxu know where Mr. Youan lives. You can just ask all the way. This made everyone stunned, and they didn't know what to say for a moment. Although everyone knew that Guan Ning had a high reputation in Beihai, they unexpectedly underestimated his influence.
The group of people followed the instructions of the pavilion chief and asked about Guan Ning's residence. The people along the road heard that someone came to visit Mr. Longwei, and they were able to guide him home, and all showed their admiration for Guan Ning. When they arrived at Guan Ning's rumored residence, they saw a town in front of them. It was said that there were thousands of families settling here. There is only one reason for these families to settle down, that is, they hope to receive Guan Ning's teachings in person. UUReading ueIt can be said that Guan Ning relied on his own virtue and reputation to build a small city in Beihai.
Chen Chong listened all the way in the car. He could hear neither joy nor worry among the prisoners. He only felt as calm as the sea. This made him chant Guan Ning's name repeatedly in his heart, You'an, You'an. How many people can suppress the restlessness of youth? From this point of view, Guan Ning is indeed an amazing person.
Continuing to ask about Guan Ning's whereabouts, it turned out that Guan Ning's residence was not in this small city, but by a small lake three miles north of the city. Beihai people loved Guan Ning, but at the same time they respected Guan Ning, so they did not dare to be adjacent to him. Chen Xiu and others became more and more uneasy after hearing this, and could not imagine what kind of person Guan Ning was. But for Chen Chong, it was time to make peace with what he had come. It was noon, and after he bought some cooking cakes at the market to satisfy his hunger, he walked to his final destination with the help of others.
After walking for two-quarters of an hour, everyone saw Guan Ning's residence. It was a thatched cottage next to a small lake and a willow forest. It occupied a small area, but it was extremely conspicuous. When everyone got closer, they found that the thatched cottage was taken care of with great care. The fallen leaves around it had been swept away, and the low lintel was also extremely clean. There were several vegetable patches on the left side of the house, and they were surrounded by Fence, very popular. And to everyone's expectation, there was a yellow dog lying at the door. When it saw a stranger coming, it immediately stood up vigilantly, and then let out a low roar. This made the entourage look at each other, and they were a little confused about what to do. .
Fortunately, Chen Chong walked over slowly, patted the yellow dog's back gently, and said: "Good dog, good dog." The yellow dog tilted its head and looked at Chen Chong for a moment, then squatted down with a whimper, wagging its tail. He exhaled as if he had known each other for a long time.
Chen Chong smiled. He stood up, slowly touched the door knocker of the thatched cottage, and clicked it gently, twice.
