The cake is a very ordinary naan cake, but it is made with the new wheat harvested in the village this year. The cake tastes very delicious.
Master Jiang took a sip of rice porridge, "Old man, I asked some people, and they said that it is not easy to become a prince."
Seeing that Zhang Yang was still eating the cake and not paying attention to what he said, he asked again: "How did you become the disciple of King Wei and become the prince's disciple?"
"Me?" Zhang Yang paused and thought for a while, "Maybe God is blind."
Master Jiang murmured in a low voice, "How could God be so blind?"
Zhang Yang nodded and said: "That means His Highness King Wei is blind."
This excuse seems too perfunctory. Master Jiang is a simple man, but he feels that it is not right to say this.
He is not Li Shimin, nor is he Li Xiaogong.
Master Jiang is the most simple and ordinary person in Guanzhong, the same as the villagers of Lishan.
Zhang Yang changed his words and said: "I know Master Jiang may not believe it, but in fact, His Highness the King of Wei and I have a similar affinity."
Master Jiang said in surprise: "We have the same smell?"
Seeing that Master Jiang still didn't believe it, Zhang Yang sighed: "Well, His Highness the King of Wei is delicious and I can make some delicious food, so he took me under his wing."
Master Jiang nodded, "Men can't just cook food, let alone be a blacksmith. You are still literate, so you should find an official position with His Highness the King of Wei."
"That's what Master Jiang said."
Zhang Yang took out the drawing and handed it to him, "His Royal Highness the King of Wei drew this and asked the master to cast it."
Hearing this, he put down the empty bowl in his hand and wiped his hands before taking the drawing and looking at it carefully, "This is no different from the previous drawing."
Master Jiang looked at it carefully.
Zhang Yang explained: "The interior space of the tank is much smaller, and many of the parts have been replaced with smaller sizes, and some small parts have been added."
Pulling the beard on his chin, Master Jiang didn't speak for a long time, hesitating, "This thing is not easy to make. It is more precise than the previous one. Old man, I will try it."
Master Jiang walked to the stove and started to calcine the iron.
Zhang Yang sat in front of the door and continued to eat the cake. Seeing that the prince was coming, Zhang Yang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Old Wang, what do you think about it?"
The prince smiled and said: "His Majesty summoned me, and I came to inform the county prince."
"When you reach retirement age, will you come to Lishan?"
"This old slave is His Majesty's servant. He will serve you until he dies of old age. The Lord of the County will not mention this matter again."
It is the harvest season, the air is filled with the fragrance of grain, and there are dozens of water turbines turning by the Weishui River.
The trees are shady and the flowers are in bloom. The scenery is very pleasant to look at.
It can still make people feel comfortable in the morning, but the sweltering heat at noon makes people not want to go out.
Arriving at the emperor's residence, Li Shimin was holding a roll of paper in his hand. This was the paper produced in Lishan. The paper was thick and there were some ravines on the light yellow paper, which were the marks left when the paper was dried.
Since the pulp is not evenly removed at the beginning, it is inevitable that there will be ravines after it is dried.
This is a unique trace of Lishan paper.
"The story of this eunuch is really sad." Li Shimin sighed with emotion.
The daughter-in-law took this story to be printed, but she did not expect that it would fall into the hands of His Majesty so quickly, which is enough to show the extent of Li Shimin's surveillance of these factories.
All he had to do was reach into the factory and make it himself.
Zhang Yang added: "I wrote it when I had nothing to do, and it made Your Majesty laugh."
Li Shimin asked again: "Were these stories you heard when you were a child?"
“I heard it when I was a kid, and it’s still unforgettable to me now.”
The emperor walked back and forth, thinking over and over again, "There are many strange things in the Central Plains, and there are also many legends, many of which are passed down orally. I have heard many stories since I was a child, why haven't I heard these? "
"There was a man named Pu Songling. He wrote down stories in a place called Liaozhai. I have heard him tell them since I was a child. I plan to write down all these stories again and call them Liaozhai."
"Who is Pu Songling?"
Zhang Yang explained: "He is a scholar."
Li Shimin nodded in understanding, "The person who can write such a story must be a talented and knowledgeable person. Why is this person so unknown? I have never heard of him."
Teacher Pu Songling is still more than a thousand years away, so I thought it would be strange if Li Shimin could recognize him.
Zhang Yang explained: "Your Majesty, his name is unknown, and he is good at writing stories and poems. There are many book writers in the world. Some people write books for fame, and some people write books for their own identity. But Pu Songling is different. What he writes is all It is a strange story, and his stories come from the masses and are told to the masses."
"This is this man's lifelong ambition and his hobby in life."
After speaking, Li Shimin was silent for a long time, "Where is this person now? Since he can write it out, why should he borrow it from you?"
Zhang Yang let out a long sigh, "Your Majesty, it's a long story. My teacher, Pu Songling and even my close friends all like to stay in seclusion and don't like the disputes in the world. After the teacher passed away, Pu Songling also disappeared. As for where he is now, I don’t know.”
Zhang Yang is a weirdo, and most of Zhang Yang's teachers are also weird people, not to mention teacher Zhang Yang's friend Pu Songling, who is also a weirdo.
Li Shimin smiled, not asking whether what Zhang Yang said was true, and then asked: "Does your teacher have any friends?"
"There are quite a few. I remember another friend of the teacher. He also likes to write articles. He wrote a book called Diary of a Madman."
"Madman?" Li Shimin thought for a long time, "If there are such weird stories, you can send them all. No wonder you can write weird stories like White Snake."
Zhang Yang smiled reluctantly.
"I'm tired, so please step back."
"Here."
Watching him leave, Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Send Cen Wenwen here."
The prince walked away in small steps.
After reading another article, this story, Li Shimin took a sip of tea and sat alone in the room.
The house arranged by Lishan is not big. Unlike the houses in other places, the windows here are very large, with windows in the north and south.
Wind can often blow in during this time.
There is also a cloth hanging by the window, which can be used to cover the window, euphemistically called a curtain.
Li Shimin suddenly laughed. It was really interesting. Looking out the window, there was a large field of farmland in the distance. The wheat had been harvested, and there were still villagers working in the fields in twos and threes.
The fields were plowed again and water from the Wei River was introduced. Such paddy fields could also be used to grow rice.
Lishan has always used this method to maintain the fields and harvest two seasons of food.
It is winter when rice is harvested. Although the yield per mu is not high, we can harvest a certain amount.
Cen Wenwen came soon. When he walked into the house, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, straightened his official hat and saluted, "Your Majesty."
Li Shimin took out the eunuch's story and handed it to him, "Look at this story."
"Here." Cen Wenwen took it with both hands, frowned when he saw it, and said after reading the whole story, "It's a very strange story."
Li Shimin nodded and said, "I think so too. What do you think of this kind of weird will?"
Cen Wenwen returned: "Your Majesty, this kind of story has been around for a long time, and there are quite a few strange stories that have been passed down from word of mouth. However, this eunuch's story is vividly written, so it's worth reading."
Li Shimin turned to look out the window, his back to Cen Wenwen, "This story was written by Zhang Yang."
"I have always heard that Shilang Zhang is able to write stories such as The Red Mansion, and he has great literary talent."
"Don't you think it's strange?"
The words were interrupted by His Majesty. Cen Wenwen lowered his body and said, "Your Majesty means how could Zhang Yang write such an article at his age? A young man in his early twenties could write such a strange book as Red Mansions, and also write This kind of story touches people's hearts and describes the warmth and warmth of the world."
Li Shimin held the window sill with both hands, put all his body weight on the window sill, and looked into the distance, "Zhang Yang said that this eunuch was written by a friend of his teacher."
Cen Wenwen replied: "Zhang Yang's teacher is a strange person. It seems that this son has met many strange people since he was a teacher."
"It is precisely because of this that I suspected him, and I have been thinking about him until now." Li Shimin sat down again, "I asked Li Junxian to investigate, and there was no such thing as an old man from Qinling, let alone Pu Songling. who?"
"I thought that you also read poetry and books. If you are good at writing and writing, you would be one of the best in the court."
Cen Wenwen replied: "Your Majesty is so complimentary."
Li Shimin held his temples with one hand, closed his eyes and said solemnly: "What do you think? Which of Zhang Yang's words are true and which are false?"
"Back to Your Majesty, I have heard of a disease before. Some people with this disease are crazy, some have weird personalities, and some are just like ordinary people, and they often have some abilities that ordinary people cannot reach."
Cen Wenwen paced back and forth, thought for a while and continued: "Either they encounter a major change in life, or they are born with a congenital defect, they will see their deceased relatives still around and even be able to talk to them."
"In the former Sui Dynasty, there was a man named Chao Yuanfang. He wrote "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Diseases", which was a medical book based on the Nei Jing. It consisted of five volumes. His writings covered many difficult and complicated diseases and he was well-known among doctors."
"Among them is delusion. You can see dead people around you, and you can also talk and communicate with them. In normal times, they are no different from ordinary people. Once they are alone, they will mutter to themselves. Listen carefully. He was having a conversation with someone else.”
"This kind of disease is usually the patient's own delusion. Zhang Yang is only in his twenties. There is not much that a person can learn and understand in his life, let alone write Red Mansions and Liang Zhu. I have doubted it before. , Now after listening to what His Majesty said, I am more sure of my thoughts."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "You mean Zhang Yang is sick?"
Cen Wenwen saluted again, "I'm just guessing. Usually patients like this don't tell outsiders about their symptoms."
"Can I learn skills from someone who is delusional?"
"I also know very little. Back then, the Central Plains was in turmoil for many years. How many people lost their loved ones overnight and were left alone and helpless. Zhang Yang went from a refugee to Chang'an City alone. He had a lot of experiences. I think he also has more unspeakable secrets."
"How many good people were there during the war, but after a night of war, they almost went crazy and lost their minds. This is a disaster in the world."
"So, do you think Zhang Yang didn't have a so-called teacher at all? Even if he did! He is already dead, and in his delusions, those strange teachers were all created by him, and there were even his so-called classmates. "
Cen Wenwen nodded and said: "To cure this disease, it all depends on whether the individual is willing to move on from the past. In my opinion, Zhang Yang is no different from an ordinary person. He can talk happily with others on weekdays. Even if he really has Sickness, that’s not serious.”
"He said that he would become seriously ill when he was thirty. Is this related to this?"
"When I get back, I will check the classics to see if there are any relevant records."
Li Shimin didn't speak anymore, but stared straight ahead, whether he was really sick or for some reason that was incomprehensible.
After all, he is an ordinary man and a minister of the Tang Dynasty. As long as he can bring merit to the country, it does not matter if he is a patient.
Cen Wenwen took out a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, the old family members of Guanlong have mentioned the matter of their children becoming officials again. Zhao Guogong is trying to appease them. This is a memorial that records the events before and after. Your Majesty is invited to read it."
"I understand, just let it go."
"Here." Cen Wenwen put down the memorial and saluted, "I take my leave."
After exiting the house in small steps, Cen Wenwen looked at the scenery in front of him and had to say that Lishan was indeed a good place.
Just as he was about to return to Chang'an City, he met Wei King Li Tai sitting on the roadside holding a bowl.
Cen Wenwen took another closer look and saw that His Highness King Wei was chewing vegetable leaves.
How can a good person eat vegetable leaves?
It looked like King Wei was still enjoying the meal.
Cen Wenwen had a shiver. He felt strange when he walked into Lishan Mountain. What was this permeating atmosphere?
On the other side of Lishan Mountain, Zhang Yang explained the affairs of the blacksmith shop and took his wife to see Li Yuan.
For the sake of family harmony and for the husband and wife to resolve their past grievances, the daughter-in-law's natal family can often provide good help at this time.
Li Yue pushed forward to the door and called: "Grandpa Huang."
Li Yuan walked out of the door and smiled happily when he saw the family, "Let me see how big my great-granddaughter has grown."
The old man reached out and picked up the child, "Well, it is indeed a lot heavier than before."
Xiao Qingqing burst into tears again in her great-grandfather's arms.
This child is still the same as before, crying loudly when being hugged by an unfamiliar person.
Li Yuan coaxed, "Don't cry, don't cry. From now on, my grandfather will take you inside and outside the palace and let you sit in the Tai Chi Hall. Do you like the position of Erlang?"
The child cried even harder, and Li Yuan had no choice but to put the child down.
She settled back into the stroller and stopped crying.
Zhang Yang put his hands in his hands and asked, "What have you been doing these days?"
Li Yuan stroked his beard and said: "This kid Xiaogong always pays for money when playing cards, I'm so angry! I'm planning to do some tricks on the cards, and then I'll win him back."
"Playing cards all depends on your ability. This kind of method is not advisable."
Li Yuan snorted coldly: "Are you just going to watch him win my money?"
Zhang Yang looked at his wife who was silent and still sulking, "How about we, husband and wife, play cards with the Supreme Emperor for a while, just to relieve our boredom."
Li Yuan nodded, "That's fine."
