Zhang Yaner and Jiang Yingying made two large pots of tea from the kitchen of the restaurant, and the nine of them drank it to quench their thirst.
After drinking a cup of tea, Bai Yutian asked in a low voice: "Feng Daxia, are you really going south this time just to visit the beautiful mountains and waters of Jiangnan? Or are there other things?"
Feng Wanli took the tea cup that his disciple had poured for him, called him away, took a sip of tea, and whispered: "A few days ago, news came to Biluo Lake. My master was extremely shocked after hearing it. My senior brother In order to find out what happened, he invited me to go south with him. As a junior brother, there is no reason to shirk."
Bai Yutian asked casually: "What news?"
Feng Wanli replied: "The news said that a young man in his early twenties killed the abandoned monk Zhishan of Songshan with just one palm. It was not a sneak attack. The level of martial arts is incredible."
Bai Yutian smiled slightly and said: "The Supreme Good Monk's powerful Vajra Palm can be said to have been practiced to a very high level and is very powerful. However, he has a violent temper and is eager to kill me. He neglects to defend himself, which is why I have a chance. If you take advantage of it, you can catch him by surprise, so you can't subdue him with just one palm."
Feng Wanli said: "Although the young master's martial arts has not reached the state of enlightenment, it is still much better than that of the Supreme Master. Once you take advantage of him, even if he gives you no chance to take advantage of it, it will be difficult to escape unscathed." It’s like ascending to heaven.”
Bai Yutian smiled slightly and said: "Feng Daxia, my Chunyang Sect has always been a single lineage. I have never cheated in the world for the sake of reputation. The scope of my activities is also limited to the Yangtze River Basin. I can say that I am no different from you in the northwest." . You came here because of the death of the Supreme Monk. It is enough to find out the truth. Why does your senior brother Cheng Wanpeng want to kill me?"
Feng Wanli said: "Young Master Bai, when people go to higher places, water flows to lower places. For ordinary people, when they reach a high place, they don't want to be pulled down easily, no matter whether they are worthy of their talent or virtue." As the saying goes Well, don’t be embarrassed by the rabbit that goes up the mountain. The rabbit that comes down the mountain is a bowl of soup. Those who are greedy for high positions, if they don’t want to be the rabbit that comes down the mountain and become someone else’s meal, they naturally have illusions and think that eliminating all potential threats as soon as possible is to prepare for a rainy day. .”
Bai Yutian said: "Feng Daxia, the so-called destiny is impermanent, and only the virtuous live in it. If a dynasty or a sect wants to have long-term stability and not be easily replaced by others, what it should do is to constantly improve itself and benefit others. , rather than trying every means to harm or stifle the new forces. From the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to today's Song Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty has changed hands many times. This is true for a dynasty with overwhelming power, let alone a Jianghu sect!"
Feng Wanli sighed: "Young Master Bai, who can say otherwise? But saints are saints, mediocre people are mediocre people. Saints can help the world, ask questions to heaven, and work hard on their own talents; mediocre people can't, except To stand still is to draw a wall and treat whoever is stronger than yourself as a potential enemy, trying to get rid of them as soon as possible."
Bai Yutian said: "No one in the world wants to take a step forward and realize their life ambitions perfectly. The reason why society progresses is because heroes do not ask where they come from, and they take the green from the blue and the green from the blue. If they are better than you, then they are better than you." Enemies must disappear. If the imperial court opens schools and craftsmen recruit apprentices to teach their skills, wouldn't it be just looking for trouble and unnecessary efforts?"
The summer sun is scorching hot and you are sweating profusely. Drinking water to quench your thirst is the most important thing.
Feng Wanli asked himself what Bai Yutian was thinking. He had nothing to argue with and started drinking tea.
Infected by it, Bai Yutian also drank water. After quenching his thirst, he changed the subject and asked: "Feng Daxia, have you ever heard of an evil organization called the Dragon Slaying Society?"
Feng Wanli was quiet, thought for a while, and replied softly: "Bai Shaoxia, you may have asked the wrong person. I have never seen any dragon-slaying meeting."
Bai Yutian smiled slightly and said: "To be honest with Feng Daxia, since I met you in Black Tiger Village, I thought that you were going to Jiangnan this time, just like the Dragon Slayer Club, for the official silver escorted by Longwei Escort."
Feng Wanli said: "Robbing official silver is like rebellion. The Dragon Slayer Guild is a small gang. Even if it is lent a hundred courages, it will not become so rampant."
Bai Yutian said: "Feng Daxia, as far as I know, the Dragon Slayer Society is rampant in the Jianghu martial arts world, committing all kinds of evil, collaborating with the enemy and treason, and helping the party members to fight against the Song Dynasty. It is extremely rampant. You, Biluohu, are based in the northwest. Did you really not listen at all? Has anyone mentioned it?"
"Bai Shaoxia, most of the great talents in the world think that they have extraordinary abilities. If they cannot fully display their talents and knowledge, their life will be in vain. Everyone has their own ambitions. If they cannot deal with them all, what can they do if they have heard about it? What will happen if they do not hear about it? What can we do?" Feng Wanli sighed with a bitter look on his face, and said loudly: "Wuding fought against Yunni with his sword, straight up to the emperor's base under the Tianhe River. After fighting three million jade dragons, their scales and armor were flying all over the sky."
The four lines of the poem are magnificent and the words are astonishing. After listening to it, people feel inexplicably that the poet has a bold personality and an open mind, and is by no means an ordinary person.
"When autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, when my flowers bloom, hundreds of flowers will bloom. Chang'an will be filled with incense, and the city will be filled with golden armor." Although Bai Yutian doesn't like such poems, it's hard not to be attracted by the heroic spirit. Infected, I picked it up unconsciously.
After taking a sip of tea, he continued: "Feng Daxia, you sing about snowflakes and strengthen your determination to bring trouble to the world, and Huang Chao sings about chrysanthemums and establishes the ambition to change the day. They are really the same in the same way, and they are harming millions." Tens of thousands of hardworking people. However, talent belongs to its own, whether it is bringing disaster to the world or changing the world, it is just a feat of one person. If it cannot represent the aspirations of the working people of the world, it is really not advisable."
Feng Wanli chuckled softly, took a sip of tea, and said: "Young Master Bai thinks very highly of me, Feng. I, Feng, am a reckless martial artist. With such great talent and ambition, I am just moaning for no reason and harmonizing with other people's poems." .”
Bai Yutian was startled and said quickly: "Who is so ambitious and dares to compete with Huang Chao?"
Feng Wanli replied softly: "A scholar from Huayin County, Huazhou, whose surname was Zhang and whose given name was Yuan, took part in the imperial examination, but failed repeatedly. He thought that his talents were difficult to display, so he decided to rebel against the Song Dynasty and join the Xia Dynasty. He is now Li Yuanhao's military advisor and Zhongshu Ling. He is a very popular minister, has a great reputation in the northwest, and is a big threat to the border."
"Hey!" Bai Yutian let out a sigh of regret and said: "Such a grand, heroic and chivalrous poem was paired with a Zhang Yuan who was unlucky, unrecognized for his talent, and arrogant because of his talent. It was really a blessing for the Song Dynasty court. The Song Dynasty A disaster for the people.”
Feng Wanli also sighed: "Who says it's not the case? If you want to have ambitions, people in the upper class must not only pass the imperial examination, but also have the grace of their ancestors; people in the lower class must not only pass the imperial examination, but also have military merit, otherwise they can only occupy the mountain and become the king." , gathered a crowd to rebel. But there are few people who are as lucky as Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty."
Bai Yutian said: "But no matter how talented you are, no matter how arrogant you are, how resentful, or full of complaints, you can't collaborate with the enemy and treason for your own selfish interests and become a sinner of this nation. The millions of people of the Song Dynasty have not offended him. How could he be so cruel as to put tens of millions of compatriots on the fire and ignore the feelings of family and country?"
Feng Wanli couldn't help but laugh when he saw Bai Yutian's childishness, and said: "Young Master Bai, if you don't care for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth. How many people in this world are so ruthless? Who does the emperor rely on for his three palaces and six courtyards? Who does the official's three wives and four concubines rely on? ? Who does a businessman rely on for his delicacies? Even neighbors who see other people’s melons growing well want to take a bite, let alone a pitiful person like Zhang Yuan who blames others. "
Zhang Yan'er came over with a teapot to add tea to the two of them. When she heard the words "poor person", she asked curiously: "Master Feng, what kind of pitiful person are you?"
Feng Wanli replied: "I mean, Zhang Yuan was a pitiful man before he collaborated with the enemy and treason."
"They have all collaborated with the enemy and treason. No matter how pitiful they were before, they can no longer be pitiful. All that is left to others is hate, quite hateful." Zhang Yan'er filled up the tea for the two of them, smiled softly, and walked away.
Bai Yutian raised his tea cup and paid tribute to Feng Wanli: "Feng Daxia, what kind of person is Zhang Yuan? You might as well tell him in detail."
Feng Wanli drank the tea and said casually: "I just heard something about it, so I can't do it accurately."
Bai Yutian smiled and said: "Isn't it just hearsay now?"
After Feng Wanli chuckled, he slowly told what he had heard:
"Zhang Yuan has been smart and studious since he was a child. He is proficient in literature and martial arts. When he was young, he was a chivalrous and suave. He believed that he could bring peace to the country in literature and the world in military affairs. He had the talent to run a country and help the world. He took part in the imperial examination and successfully passed the examination. , provincial examinations, but during the palace examination, he had bad luck and his reputation fell into the mountains. Later, he suffered repeated defeats.
In the first year of Jingyou's reign, the Jiaxu Examination was held. Zhang Yuan took part in the examination again, but he still failed. Although he was disillusioned with the road to the imperial examination, he still had ambitions and lofty ideals. He felt that he was too talented to die in a village. Seeing the rise of the party members in the northwest, Li Yuanhao disrupted the northwest border and became a danger to the northwest of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Yuan decided to join the army and provide advice to border generals to identify the rebellion in the northwest, serve the court, and expand his ambitions.
But things went counterproductive. When he and his two friends came to the border to join the army in great spirits, the general at the border looked down on the three poor scholars and thought they were wishful thinking, so he kicked the three out of the border without any courtesy. city.
After repeatedly failing in the imperial examination and having no hope of making achievements at the border, Zhang Yuan and others inevitably had complaints in their hearts. After returning home, in order to vent his anger, he did something that violated etiquette and law, but was arrested by the Huayin County Magistrate and severely beaten and scolded.
Since the founding of the country, the Song Dynasty has valued literature over military affairs and held scholars in the palm of its hand. As a scholar, Zhang Yuan had great ambitions and was arrogant about his talents. Being so humiliated by the local magistrate could be said to have lost his dignity as a scholar, and he became completely disappointed with the Song Dynasty court.
In order to establish a country, Li Yuanhao, who was traveling in the northwest, was on an equal footing with the Song and Liao Dynasties and was eager for talents. Zhang Yuan saw that Li Yuanhao was bound to be successful in the future, so he defected to Li Yuanhao just to realize his ambition. "
