After Zeng Dun left, Wang Xiaolie said: "Xiangyang is an important transportation road between the north and the south. There are actually many scholars and generals living here. I was originally from King Qin's army. I don't have many soldiers and horses, and I haven't made any great achievements. These people look down on me. This year After winning two games in a row, it’s no better than before, or it should be different.”
Chen Yuyi was originally living in Xiangyang. After hearing this, he deeply agreed. Said: "If the defense puts out a notice to recruit officials, many people will come out to apply. Living in exile during the journey will actually be very difficult."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "That's right. By the way, I'll call the guest monk tomorrow to see how many people live in Lumen Temple now."
Lumen Temple is the largest temple in Xiangyang. It is next to the north-south transportation artery, so there must be many people living there. In addition to the Zeng family, there should be other officials living here. Last year, when the Jin army went south, large areas of land south of the Yangtze River became an area where bandits were rampant, but Xiangyang settled down.
After dinner, Wang Xiaolie returned to his residence. Sitting by the window, watching the rain outside.
Before entering the yard, he only saw a skirt, a pair of eyes, and a strange feeling. What kind of person he is, what age he is, what he looks like, I have no idea. There is only that feeling, which seems to be brought out from the soul and has gone through thousands of years without any change. Just like Wangfu Cliff, a woman turned into stone and waited there for her family to return.
After picking at the lanterns, Wang Xiaolie sighed. When I entered Lumen Temple today, I first met a strange monk called Zen Master Fa Deng, and I was shocked. No matter how you thought of it, you would meet such a person next.
Women in the world are all different, and there are always some who are extraordinarily beautiful. It's not uncommon to fall in love at first sight or fall in love with someone, there are all kinds of strange things happening. But it is very strange for someone like me to meet across from each other and not see the other person's face clearly, but still miss him.
Wang Xiaolie sat under the lamp, holding his chin, looking at the rainy night outside, and couldn't help but be lost in thought.
The rain stopped the next day, but the sun did not come out, and the mountain road was still slippery and difficult to navigate. To prevent accidents, Wang Xiaolie did not leave in the morning.
The guest monk came to ask for his blessings. Wang Xiaolie invited him to sit down and said: "Since the Jin army went south, the world has been in chaos. Many people from the Central Plains have had to leave their hometowns and go south to take refuge. Xiangyang is located on the main road between the north and the south, and there should be many scholars who want to come here. "
Zhike clasped his hands together: "What I'm talking about is defense. In the past two or three years, at least dozens of officials and scholars have settled in Lumen Temple. Most of them stayed for a few days and then left, and not many stayed for a long time. Last year Jinlu After crossing the river, there was turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River and the roads were blocked, so many people had to settle down. Now, in addition to more than ten people from the Zeng family, there are also dozens of people from the Fan family in Dengcheng and the Zhang Taishi family in Yincheng. There are also many people. There were also twenty or thirty people among the original imperial officials and failed candidates."
Wang Xiaolie said: "It is necessary to feed one or two hundred people every day, and it is not easy for the temple."
Zhike said: "If the guests stay here for a long time, they will have to pay some money to supplement the temple. If not, how can they afford it?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded. This is right. No matter how rich the temple is, it cannot support so many idle people.
Fan Zongyin, who held the most power in the court at this time, was from Dengcheng. He had various relatives and clansmen, and only a few dozen people were considered small. Now that Xiangyang is a dangerous frontline area, they naturally want to look for Fan Zongyin. Taishi Zhang in Yincheng was Zhang Zongxun, the prime minister of the Renzong Dynasty. Although nearly a hundred years have passed, the Zhang family is still a big family in the local area. As for the other little people, Zhike Monk didn't bother to mention them.
After asking the temple sergeants in detail about their situation, Wang Xiaolie didn't find any names of people he was familiar with, so he didn't bother to bother with them. After the turmoil of the past few years, there are countless scholars living among the people. How can they be managed?
After seeing off the Zhike monk, Wang Xiaolie said to Chen Yuyi: "Let's go back to the city when the rain subsides. After returning, the Zhizhi Si Yamen will issue a notice to recruit talents. To the north of the Yangtze River, the Xiangyang area is considered stable. It should be There’s a lot of talent.”
Chen Yuyi said yes.
While the two were chatting, a soldier came in. He crossed his hands and said, "There are two people, an old man and a young man, outside, asking for help."
Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but frowned. Asked: "Who are they?"
The soldier said: "It is said that he was originally from the Hanlin Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, but was temporarily living in Xiangyang."
"Waiting for calligraphy and painting?" Wang Xiaolie thought for a while, "Let them come in."
Although Emperor Daojun was not good at governing the country, his artistic attainments were extremely high. During his tenure, the Hanlin Painting and Calligraphy Academy was highly developed and many famous painters appeared. However, Wang Xiaolie was not proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was not familiar with these people.
After the great victory in Jingmen and a large amount of money stolen from the Jin army, Wang Xiaolie wanted to print his own banknotes. With the experience of later generations, Wang Xiaolie did not want to be as rough as the banknotes printed now. If you want to print well, you must have a good painter. Unfortunately, there has been no suitable manpower, so the matter has been delayed.
Not long after, two people came in. One is sixty or seventy years old, with white beard and hair. One was less than twenty years old, with a childish look on his face.
Looking at the two of them, Wang Xiaolie asked: "Are you all from the Painting and Calligraphy Academy?"
They both said yes together. The older man said: "My name is Li Tang, and my name is also in the calligraphy and painting academy, and the world knows a lot about it. This one is Li Di. He looks younger, but he is extremely talented."
Wang Xiaolie didn't believe that there was such a young person in the calligraphy and painting academy, so he turned to look at Chen Yuyi.
Chen Yuyi nodded: "When I was in the capital, I heard that there was such a person. He entered the calligraphy and painting academy at the age of fifteen or sixteen and became a sensation."
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but look Li Di up and down. Seeing that he looked handsome, there was just a heroic spirit between his brows and eyes. Seeing that Wang Xiaolie didn't believe it, he looked at him quite provocatively.
Wang Xiaolie smiled and said: "Since I am waiting for the imperial edict, and I am good at painting, my life will be good no matter where I go."
Li Tang sighed: "Observe, after the war, there are not many people in Xiangyang who know the goods, and it is difficult to sell our paintings. These days, we paint some murals in the temple to make ends meet. After a long time, we are also influenced by the monks in the temple. It’s ironic, but life is actually hard.”
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie asked: "What do you want from the imperial edict?"
Li Tang said: "When I was at Lumen Temple, there was a young lady from the Linguan family who moved south with the Zeng family and studied painting with me. I heard her say that Zeng Dun wanted to find a job in the Yamen and no longer lived in Lumen Temple. That little lady is very talented and smart, so she was a little reluctant to leave her. So she discussed with Li Di that if there is suitable errand in the Yamen, we will not stay at Lumen Temple. "
Wang Xiaolie said: "Daizhao from the Calligraphy and Painting Academy is the best painter in the world at this time. If you are willing, I will have a job for you. Although you may not be rich and powerful, you will always have enough food and clothing."
After hearing this, Li Tang bowed and said, "Thank you so much for your observation."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I happen to need a painter at this time, and it is your wish."
