Shen Shi (Four o'clock in the afternoon.)
The sky is still dark.
It formed an extremely sharp contrast with the ground covered with a layer of silver. @·No mistake first release~~
In mid-air, countless goose feathers of snow were flying randomly in the strong wind.
For a time, the visibility of the entire Chang'an City was reduced to a range of more than ten steps.
On the official road about seventy miles away from Chang'an City.
More than two hundred people formed an arrow array and slowly walked towards the Chang'an City using the bodies of their war horses as cover.
As soon as I stepped down, the snow directly covered my calves.
Inside a three-horse carriage in the center.
Yao Silian and Lu Zaizhong sat on opposite sides.
Compared to Yao Silian's sad face.
At this time, Lu Zaizhong was like an old monk in meditation.
Apart from the occasional bumping of the body with the carriage, there was no other movement.
Yao Silian looked at Lu Zaizhong from time to time, and from time to time opened a small crack to look out the car window at the falling snow.
As time went by, the sadness on Yao Silian's face became more and more profound.
By the end, his brows seemed to have turned into knots.
"Alas~!" Yao Silian couldn't hold it back after all.
He sighed and asked as if seeking comfort: "Senior brother, how many people do you think will die in this heavy snow?"
Lu Zaizhong closed his eyes slightly, as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Senior brother, senior brother." Yao Silian came forward, gently shook Lu Zaizhong several times, frowned like a child and said: "Senior brother, please talk to me, I am feeling panicked."
"What did you say?" Lu Zaizhong slowly opened his eyes and said expressionlessly.
Yao Silian sighed and repeated: "Senior brother, how many people do you think will die in this heavy snowfall? Are there already corpses littering the fields outside Chang'an City at this time?"
The words are over.
Yao Silian raised his head and stared at Lu Zaizhong anxiously.
As if afraid of hearing bad news from him.
But even if he didn't ask, he was really depressed.
Lu Zaizhong glanced at Yao Silian, slowly closed his eyes and said, "I don't know."
"How could you not know this, senior brother?" Yao Silian's expression changed and he asked hurriedly.
Lu Zaizhong closed his eyes tightly and said slowly: "You already know the answer, so why ask me?"
"I don't know the answer." Yao Silian paused and replied in a low voice.
"Is it because I don't know, or because I don't dare to know?" Lu Zaizhong said calmly.
Yao Silian lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
In the end, thousands of words turned into a thick sigh.
Don't know? Still don’t dare to know?
Of course I don’t dare to know!
Just as calm returned to the car.
Gu Dengyun's voice suddenly came from outside the car window.
"Master Jijiu, Mr. Lu, this place is still sixty-five miles away from Chang'an City. Let's take a rest for a while." Gu Dengyun said loudly while breathing heavily.
"Okay." Yao Silian, who was riding in the carriage, was anxious, but what else could he do besides agree?
Don't forget, at least he still has a shelter from the wind and rain.
But the soldiers actually faced the wind and snow and marched in the snow.
After hearing that he agreed, Gu Dengyun took a few deep breaths to regain some strength.
He immediately gave a loud order: "Rest where you are for two quarters of an hour! Continue to set off in two quarters of an hour!"
The words are over.
The team of more than two hundred people slowly stopped.
The moment they stopped, the soldiers did not rest directly. Instead, they each took out the cakes they were reluctant to eat and fed them to their horses.
Yao Silian tightened his cloak and slowly walked out of the carriage.
outside the carriage.
There was a vast expanse of white everywhere.
What he can see is only about ten steps in radius.
Gu Dengyun shook the water bag that was frozen into ice, but not a drop of water dropped.
In desperation, he had to grab a ball of snow from the ground and stuff it into his mouth.
While eating, he walked towards Yao Silian.
"Master Jijiu, five miles away is the first post station where we camped out when we left the city. After passing that inn, we have finally arrived in Chang'an City.
The boundary of the territory. "Gu Dengyun grabbed a ball of snow again and said while eating.
Yao Silian understood what Gu Dengyun meant.
At the current speed of advancement, it would be a great blessing to be able to reach the inn before dark.
Even though he was anxious, he would not joke with the lives of his soldiers.
Yao Silian nodded and said calmly: "We will stay at the inn tonight and wait until the wind and snow stop tomorrow before leaving."
Gu Dengyun grinned, quickly threw away the snow in his hands and clasped his fists: "Follow the order!"
Yao Silian looked at the soldiers sitting on the ground not far away, eating snow.
He turned to look at Gu Dengyun and asked, "How much dry food does the army still have?"
Gu Dengyun's face paused and he whispered: "No, the last dry food just now was fed to the horses."
Not only because the soldiers love their horses as much as their lives, but also because the key to whether everyone can continue to move forward lies in these horses.
Yao Silian turned around and glanced at the three horses pulling the cart.
Without any hesitation, he said directly: "When you get to the inn, kill a horse pulling the cart."
"Master Jijiu...this..." Gu Dengyun's expression changed and he stammered.
Don't wait for Gu Dengyun to finish speaking.
Yao Silian interrupted: "Saving one's life is important. What's more, the inn ahead is not rich. Now that the road is blocked by heavy snow, there may be corpses everywhere outside Chang'an City. It is difficult for Jingzhao Mansion to take care of the inn."
Gu Dengyun sighed and said nothing.
...
At night.
The wind died down, but the snow remained heavy.
It was as quiet as a ghost outside Chang'an City.
There is a vast expanse of white everywhere.
"Look! There's a light ahead! We're almost at the inn!" The soldier walking at the front straightened up and pointed at the two lanterns in front of him that were glowing with faint light and exclaimed loudly.
"We're finally here! Keep holding on!" Gu Dengyun straightened up, patted the heavy snow on his body, and smiled weakly.
inside the carriage.
Lu Zaizhong, who had closed his eyes to rest his mind all the way, heard the soldiers cheering and couldn't help but open his eyes.
Yao Silian, who was standing aside, stepped out of the carriage.
It is said that Wangshan is a dead horse. The short five-mile journey took everyone an hour or two.
One can imagine how big the wind and snow were, and how difficult the journey was.
After the party.
Everyone supported the war horses and moved forward slowly.
With every step, my knees dug into the snow.
The last hundred or so steps took everyone half an hour to walk.
Fang Yi approached the inn.
A strong aroma of meat hits your nose directly.
In an instant, a series of stomach rumblings sounded outside the inn. @
"Stew meat?" Gu Dengyun took a deep breath of the cold air smelling of meat.
Not only was there no joy on his face, but it was filled with solemnity.
Without him, the drought has lasted for so long, and a post station, even if it is close to Chang'an City, should not have the smell of meat.
As for wild game? Chang'an City has a radius of hundreds of miles, and there is no grass growing there.
The towering trees of the past have been stripped of all their bark.
Yao Silian walked through the snow to Gu Dengyun, his face was exactly the same.
The two looked at each other, and both saw sadness and solemnity in each other's eyes.
Can people who eat people still be considered human?
To kill or not to kill?
killed? After all, we are all compatriots.
do not kill? What if the other party tries to save some "food" for the winter in the middle of the night?
You can't wait for others to do it before taking action? Wouldn't this make him extremely passive?
Just when the two were about to make up their mind.
Lu Zaizhong, who had stepped off the carriage at some point, calmly said: "What are you doing standing still? Don't you want to drink mutton soup?"
"Sheep soup?" Yao Silian and Gu Dengyun exclaimed.
Then he quickly looked at Lu Zaizhong.
Lu Zaizhong ignored the stunned expressions of the two and said calmly: "Is it frozen? You can't even smell the mutton smell?"
The words are over.
Lu Zaizhong ordered: "Wen Su, go call the door."
Do.
Lu Wensu, who had met the coachman all the way, quickly stepped out of the carriage and said with a smile: "Yes, uncle."
"Dong dong dong" knocked on the door.
After a while, the postman with mutton bones in his mouth opened the front door and stuck his head out.
"You are?"
"Guozijian Sacrifice." Lu Wensu replied, pointing to Yao Silian and others not far behind him.
"Master Jijiu!" the postman screamed.
Then he quickly opened the door, cupped his hands and said loudly: "Master Jijiu, please wait for a moment, I will call the postmaster now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the postman shouted loudly and ran towards the post station.
...
After a while.
Yao Silian and others sat around in the lobby of the inn.
He watched with dull eyes as the postmen brought pots of steaming mutton soup.
And pots of mutton that still have the slightest hint of heat.
Yao Silian pointed at the mutton in front of him and said in surprise: "This...this..."
The inn grinned and explained: "It was sent by Lord Jing Zhaoyin."
When Yao Silian heard this, his doubts increased instead of lessening.
After calming down, he asked: "Didn't the weather change drastically last night? Didn't it become windy and rainy again after Mao hour? Didn't it become windy and snowy until now?"
The postmaster put down the mutton in his hand with a look on his face and sighed: "The successive natural disasters really caught everyone off guard. @*~~"
"According to the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion, the weather changed drastically last night alone, and more than 4,000 people froze to death outside Chang'an City."
"After that, there were strong winds and rain, and a sudden heavy snowfall. In those two or three hours alone, more than 7,000 people froze to death outside Chang'an City."
"More than a thousand people failed to carry it through during the day."
"Alas, on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, more than ten thousand people died outside Chang'an City."
The postmaster sighed heavily again.
Then he continued: "Fortunately, there is Jing Zhaoyin. If it weren't for Mr. Jing Zhaoyin, at least half of the more than 100,000 victims outside Chang'an City would have died during the day."
"Because of Jing Zhaoyin?" Yao Silian murmured in a low voice, and then asked: "What happened during the day?"
The postmaster paused for a moment, then slowly told what he knew in detail.
Of course, most of this came from what the government officials said.
The weather changed drastically last night, and Xu Yi rushed to the House of the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue in the rain at Mao hour.
After that, he rushed to the palace without stopping.
I asked for tents, cotton, soldiers and other items.
The postmaster paused and continued: "After Master Jing Zhaoyin walked out of Xuanping Gate, he immediately mobilized all the forces he could mobilize."
"Officials and government servants from Jingzhao Prefecture, medical officers from Imperial Hospital, officials from the Ministry of Industry, hundreds of Imperial Academy students, caravans from Pingyi's uncle's family, and carpenters in the city."
"All the power that Mr. Jing Zhaoyin can mobilize has been mobilized."
"One hour, just one hour! All the old, weak, women and children were arranged into the tent!"
"During this process, it is said that Lord Jing Zhaoyin burned countless pieces of wood. In the end, even hundreds of carriages were dismantled!"
"After the disaster situation improved slightly, Jingzhao Yin's life workshop and the carpenters built tools for playing cotton."
"More than a thousand cotton craftsmen were selected from the victims, and more than 3,000 women were summoned to make quilts."
"In addition, after knowing the news, the people in the city swarmed outside Xuanping Gate and donated extra quilts and other items from various households."
"In addition, the able-bodied men among the victims also joined in the disaster relief after regaining their strength."
"Also, I heard that when Lord Jing Zhaoyin stepped down from the high platform, the python robe was already harder than the armor."
"In addition, I also heard that Master Jing Zhaoyin was helped down when he walked to the high platform."
"It is said that my legs were frozen, and the sound of wailing outside Xuanping Gate shook the sky."
"And there's more..."
"besides......"
"And there's more..."
The postmaster talked incoherently about what happened during the day.
As he spoke, his voice became choked with sobs.
Talk and talk.
As he listened, he could no longer make a complete sound from his throat.
Yao Silian listened quietly.
Unconsciously, his eyes became blurred.
The postmaster's speech was incoherent, and his words did not match his words.
But that didn't stop him from imagining that scene in his mind.
I don’t know how much time passed.
Yao Silian just came back to his senses and wiped his wet face.
He slowly opened his mouth and said: "Hold up the building when it is about to collapse, and turn the tide before it collapses! Who else can I do? Who can I do without me?"
At this moment, everyone present, whether they had read the book or not, understood in their hearts who Yao Silian was referring to in his last sentence.
Just when everyone was silent as Xu Yi turned the tide.
Lu Zaizhong wiped the oil stains on his hands with Yao Silian's sleeves without any image.
Then he slowly stood up, rubbed his stomach and walked towards the guest room.
Lu Wensu looked at Yao Silian and the others, and then at Lu Zaizhong's back, which was showing a leisurely look.
I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, and then silently stood up and followed him.
In the guest room.
Lu Wensu asked cautiously: "Uncle doesn't like Jing Zhaoyin?"
Lu Zaizhong put down the book in his hand and said with a noncommittal expression: "A man, what do you like about him?"
Lu Wensu's expression paused and he couldn't help but say: "Uncle is joking again. Uncle knows that his nephew doesn't mean it this way."
Lu Zaizhong smiled, picked up the book and said calmly: "Wensu, uncle has taught you many times, why don't you remember it well?"
"Ah?" Lu Wensu scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "My uncle taught me too much. My nephew is so stupid that I can't remember it for a while. I hope my uncle will make it clear."
Lu Zaizhong said without raising his head: "I have not eaten all day long and stayed up all night to think about it. It is useless. It is better to learn."
Lu Wensu looked thoughtful and kept murmuring in a low voice: "If you don't eat all day long and stay up all night, thinking is useless. It's better to study. Thinking is useless. It's not as good as studying. It's better to study..."
"Snapped!"
Suddenly, Lu Wensu clapped his hands heavily and exclaimed: "I understand, uncle! Uncle, I understand!"
"Understand what?" Lu Zaizhong asked softly without raising his head.
Lu Wensu shook his head and said: "Confucius said, I used to not eat all day long and stay up all night to think about problems, but this was of no benefit at all. I might as well study!"
"This paragraph talks about the importance of practicing!"
"When my uncle mentioned this alone, he was telling his nephew that instead of wasting time thinking about Jing Zhaoyin's behavior, it would be better to have a good sleep, be energetic, and learn from Master Jing Zhaoyin."
Lu Wensu paused and continued: "If it applies to my uncle, it means that since my uncle has made up his mind to help Jing Zhaoyin in disaster relief, he must set his sights later."
“Refresh yourself enough to think about what to do next.”
"Instead of focusing on the past, go find out what Mr. Jing Zhaoyin did!"
Lu Zaizhong put down the book and looked at Lu Wensu, who was full of pride, in surprise.
He smiled and said: "Not bad, children can be taught."
The words are over.
Seeing Lu Wensu's face becoming more and more proud.
He couldn't help but said: "For the sake of your extremely high understanding, I will reward you by copying the Analects of Confucius twenty times after you return to the mountain."
"Reward...reward...reward me for copying...the Analects of Confucius twenty times?" Lu Wensu opened his mouth in an instant, his face full of disbelief.
Lu Zaizhong smiled, stretched out three fingers and said slowly: "It's thirty times now."
"Shocked." Lu Wensu hurriedly stopped talking, and God knows how many times he would end up talking if he continued.
"Uncle, I'm going back to my room first." Lu Wensu sneered, bowed his hands and left.
Before leaving the door.
For some reason, Lu Wensu unexpectedly turned around and asked softly: "By the way, uncle, what do you think of Jing Zhaoyin?"
Lu Zaizhong picked up the book and spoke slowly: "Zhilan was born in a deep forest. She is not fragrant because there is no one around her. A gentleman cultivates virtue and does not change his moral character because of poverty."
Lu Wensu couldn't help but look confused when he heard this.
Right.
"Zhilan grows in the deep forest, and it does not lose its fragrance because there is no one there." Zhilan grows in the deep forest, and it will not lose its fragrance just because there is no one to appreciate it. This sentence exactly contrasts Xu Yi, who was imprisoned by Emperor Zhengde for eight years. , still don’t give up learning.
"A gentleman cultivates morality and establishes virtue, and does not change his moral integrity because of poverty." A virtuous person cultivates morality and establishes virtues, and will not change his moral integrity because of poverty.
This sentence corresponds to Xu Yi's series of actions since he walked out of Zongzheng Temple.
Zhilan was born in the deep forest, and does not lose its fragrance because there is no one around. A gentleman cultivates virtue and does not change his moral character because of poverty. This sentence may seem ordinary.
But it is Confucius' self-explanatory words. If we think of Confucius's situation at that time!
"Hiss~!" Lu Wensu took a breath of cold air. The evaluation given by Lu Zaizhong was really not a high one!
Lu Wensu composed himself, raised his hands and saluted with a serious face, "My nephew understands."
"Well, it's good to understand." Lu Zaizhong nodded slightly and then put down the book.
An unexplainable smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Lu Wensu didn't hesitate at all. He raised his hands and saluted again: "My nephew, please leave. Uncle, please rest early."
After finishing speaking, he turned around quickly.
It's a pity that he didn't wait for him to open the door.
Lu Zaizhong's voice came slowly: ""Confucius' Family Sayings in Zai'e" twenty times."
Lu Wensu's body instantly froze on the spot.
Just as he was about to turn around, something suddenly came to his mind.
He hurriedly replied: "Yes, uncle. @·无码第一~~"
After finishing speaking, he quickly left the sad place.
Lu Zaizhong smiled, picked up the book and started reading slowly again. .
