The young man's skin was like jade, shining with a faint brilliance. Compared with the old, withered, and even beginning to show age spots, Sima Hui's complexion opposite him, there was a huge difference, but they blended together strangely.
Maybe they are all from the Sima family, or maybe they all have the same deep thoughts.
"Otherwise, what else can be done?" Sima Hui raised his glass, drank tea, and said lightly.
Not to mention, since Fei Qian, the general who conquered the West, liked tea, he also invented the method of brewing it with boiling water. At first, many people disagreed, thinking that drinking tea in this way lost the essence of tea, and no tea soup could be called tea soup.
What?
But as time goes by, this light and bitter tea taste gradually becomes a more elegant way of drinking tea that is recognized by everyone.
The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, as light as water, isn't it just like gentlemen?
Although Sima Yi is young, his mind is definitely not young. He said: "In this case, wouldn't Sima be the target of public criticism?"
"Haha..." Sima Hui smiled.
Sima Yi heard Sima Hui's ridicule, and his little face became a little tense and darkened.
Sima Hui put down the tea bowl, looked at Sima Yi, and seemed to switch to an unrelated topic, saying, "Have you heard that General Zhengxi proposed marriage to Pang Tong and Pang Shiyuan?"
"Uncle, you mean...Wang family?" Sima Yi raised his eyebrows.
"This matter..." Sima Hui raised his head, sighed slightly, and said, "King Taiyuan, Hongnong Yang... during the Conquest of the West... do you think there will be no one left if you don't do it?"
Sima Yi fell silent.
"Why did your father write so many satires?" Sima Hui said with a smile, "Could it be that they were written for fun?"
"Uncle!" Sima Yi glared over.
Sima Hui stroked his beard in a leisurely manner and said: "Okay, since the son doesn't blame his father, you can't say it...but I can say it...even if your father comes, I will still say the same thing!"
Sima Yi frowned and said, "Father is coming too?" For Sima Yi, it was not a good thing that Sima Fang was coming. Sima Fang was famous for his strict family upbringing and the most dignified manner. Any slightest violation would either result in a whipping or death.
Scolding, it is better to be more relaxed here with uncle Sima Hui. If Sima Fang really comes, wouldn't the good days come to an end?
Sima Hui laughed a few times, nodded and said, "So while that's the case, do whatever you want... so that you won't be able to do anything you want to do..."
Sima Yi stood up with a whoosh, cupped his hands and said, "Uncle, my nephew wants to go to the city."
"Okay, let's go." Sima Hui waved his hand lazily.
After a while, Sima Yi turned back, his little face twisted, standing with his hands on his sleeves, but did not speak.
"You kid..." Sima Hui shook his head, took out a money bag from his arms, and threw it to Sima Yi, "...look how well your father controls you...you can't even open your mouth to ask for money!"
Sima Yi tried his best to keep a straight face and wanted to refute his uncle Sima Hui's evaluation of his father again, but he held the money bag in his hand, hesitated for a moment, acted decisively as if he hadn't heard anything, saluted again, and left the academy.
, happily took a few servants and headed to Pingyang.
During this period of time, I saw that Sima Yi basically lived in the Academy. I originally thought that I wanted to go to Pingyang City anyway, and I had plenty of time. However, I didn't expect that after going back and forth, I have lived in the Academy for almost a year, and I haven't really gone around.
We passed Pingyang City, so although it was still winter this time, my heart was already restless and joyful.
On a winter morning, the sun is looming in the clouds, milky white fog and frost float between the eaves of the buildings, and the red bricks and stones are hidden among the patches of light white fog, just like the Jade Palace floating in the sky.
Pingyang City now has a second ring. Of course, the fun and delicious places are still within the original first ring. The second ring is probably some functional areas and newly built squares, as well as some small-scale wine shops and markets.
.
The original two cities, East and West, were expanded outwards. Not only did they have a small enclosure, they even built some warehouses to store materials and conduct some small-scale transactions on the spot.
Although it is winter now and there are fewer caravans, there are still many people coming to buy coal and colored glaze. The people coming and going cannot be quiet at all. It is extremely noisy every day. For Sima Yi, naturally he has not gone to the market.
I was interested in visiting the trading place, so I went directly to Pingyang City.
Sima Yi abandoned the carriage and asked his servants to follow him. He stepped on the stone slabs with his hands behind his back and staggered forward. General Zhengxi called this main street North Street without any creativity. Then, of course, there is East Street.
, West Street, and South Street. Sima Yi curled his lips. If he were to choose a name for this street, like this one at his feet, it would be good to at least call it Kanlao, or Xuan Shuo, or even more superficially, Fu Fang.
The street is really tacky to the extreme.
Sima Yi hummed and ridiculed General Zhengxi for his totally inelegant way of naming his name, while slowly walking forward along North Street. Anyway, for him, since he was out for a stroll, there was no need to limit where he should go.
Wherever you go, where you stop, where you eat, it all follows your heart. Along the way, the brick and wood structures on both sides of the road are staggered, and the shop fronts are hanging out one after another. From time to time, there are waiters standing by.
We greet you at the door, and when you meet familiar customers passing by, you still greet them with a smile even if you don’t enter the store.
The name of the street is tacky, but the content, well, the street is not tacky and is very lively and energetic.
Whether it is the main road in the middle or the civilian roads on both sides, they are all covered with stone slabs. The middle of the stone slabs is also smeared with the kind of plaster from Huang's Workshop. It is very smooth, so you don't have to worry about it even on rainy days.
Open ditches and underground ditches on both sides will quickly carry away rainwater.
The main road and the private road are separated by huge long stone plates, and some shrubs and flowers are planted. Of course, it is winter now, so most of them are bare branches. If it comes
In spring, there are inevitably some flowers to see, which are very elegant and unique.
As Sima Yi walked, his eyes couldn't help but glance at the central main road.
Except for special personnel such as messengers and postmen, ordinary people are not allowed to walk on the central main road. The only people who have the right to walk on the main road are the emperor's relatives, local officials, and the general who conquered the west.
When was the last time you saw the Zhengxi ceremonial guard?
It seemed that it was the celebration of General Fei Qian's son, the flag-filled scene, the fierce cavalry and the well-equipped armor, which left a very deep impression on Sima Yi...
While walking, Sima Hui suddenly noticed something special about Pingyang City.
clean.
Although Yecheng is also very big, and even the main road is half wider than Pingyang North Street, but when people walk on both sides of the street, they can always smell some faint smell of feces and urine, and here in Pingyang
, there is the smell of wheat cakes, the mellow smell of wine, the smell of barbecue, and the smell of the sweat of horses and men on the street, but there is no smell of feces and urine.
You have to know that when you stay in Yecheng, the first thing every store in the store does every morning is to clean the floor in front of their store. This is not because these stores are hygienic or something, but because after a night, there is always something indecent.
Things were left on the corner of the street and then stained all over the place...
Sima Yi wouldn't be surprised if the hygiene in the palace was good, but this was in the city, and the people coming and going were not students, but ordinary people. How could this be done?
If you have enough food and clothing, you will know the etiquette. If you have enough food and clothing, you will know the honor and disgrace?
interesting.
Another point, beggar.
After walking for so long, including rushing by a few times before, Sima Yi didn't see any beggars in the dark parts of the street.
Sima Yi occasionally talked with his uncle Sima Hui about refugees and beggars. He once thought that Yecheng was already a very good city, but in fact, in Yecheng, beggars can be seen everywhere in groups.
Go, even the government seems too lazy to deal with these beggars.
Sima Yi can often see the phenomenon of buying a head and selling a child and a daughter in other places. Of course, for those people who can't survive, they sell their children into a wealthy family and work as slaves.
Although he has lost his freedom, he doesn't have enough food and clothing. If he has a good master, he will be lucky.
Of course, there are also those who are unlucky.
Anyway, this kind of behavior always appears again and again, especially in disaster years.
When the year is better and the harvest is larger, there will be fewer such situations, but there are always some. If the year is bad, for example, a river will flood every few years or other natural and man-made disasters, or something like
After several consecutive melees between Jizhou and Youzhou, there were more beggars.
There are also homeless people who are worse than beggars.
Beggars can more or less sneak into the city and find a place to stay under the eaves and bridges of other people's houses, but refugees don't even have a place to stay.
Whenever there are many refugees, even Sima Yi's hometown Wen County is no exception. The city will always be tense for a period of time, and the city guards will strictly guard the city gates and prevent refugees from entering the city. At this time, the county magistrate will often summon the big households in the city for discussion.
But in fact, they are asking for money and food, and then giving some of it, and sending these refugees to other places...
If we encounter a winter like now, there will always be many people in and outside the city who will freeze to death in the middle of the night. Sima Yi has seen people who have been frozen to death. Their whole bodies are extremely stiff, but there is a kind of expression on their faces.
A very strange smile that makes people feel a little chilly when they see it.
However, there were no refugees in Pingyang City, not even beggars.
Here, it seems that as long as you have the strength and are willing to work, you will not starve to death after all...
Perhaps it is precisely because of this that the ordinary people coming and going all have a smile on their faces.
This kind of smile is not the kind of chilling smile that freezes to death, but a smile of happiness that seems to overflow from the heart.
Happiness often comes from unhappiness, and prosperity always comes from contrast. For Sima Hui, who has seen several big cities in Jizhou and seen many soldiers and generals along the way, what he saw here in Pingyang may not be the same.
It's not as prosperous as Yecheng, and perhaps not as quaint as Taiyuan, but it seems to be the most natural place. A relaxed smile seems to hang on everyone's face, whether they are soldiers or civilians.
Ordinary people are always the easiest to be satisfied. If they can gain food and clothing, they can smile happily.
Sima Yi once heard his father and uncle talk about some good years and good times in those years. He also mentioned that before the Xiqiang rebellion, the Han Ling Emperor was not completely stupid, and the Shi Changshi was not so greedy.
At that time, it seemed that those years could be regarded as peaceful and prosperous, and the country was peaceful and the people were safe. However, with the rebellion of Xiqiang again and the Yellow Turban Rebellion that almost swept the country, this happy smile gradually disappeared and never appeared again.
Sima Yi did not have any idea of saving the Han Dynasty or protecting the entire Han people and building a lasting legacy, nor did he have the passionate ideas that ordinary noblemen at his age always had that were difficult to understand. In Sima Yi's mind, he could only
It is extremely naive to think of a career that lasts for hundreds or thousands of years if you live for decades.
Although Sima Yi may not be out of the childish range in the eyes of others, it does not prevent Sima Yi from thinking that others are childish.
If you have something to eat, something to drink, something to play, just live your life well, that's all.
Isn’t it a very shallow ideal?
Sima Yi smiled slightly and shook his head. But in fact, such an ideal is not simple at all. Can ordinary people want to eat, drink and have fun? If they can't, they have to be busy all day in order to survive.
How is it possible to eat, drink and have fun? So you must have power, at least not too little power, so that you can ensure that your food, drink and fun are not delayed...
Therefore, when his uncle Sima Hui wanted to use General Zhengxi's action to enhance the status of the Sima family and expand its influence, Sima Yi naturally agreed and felt that he should also play a role in it, so that he could have
You are eligible to eat, drink and have fun in the following period...
The winter wind was still a bit cold, so Sima Yi put his hands into his sleeves, raised his head slightly, and walked forward slowly while running some ideas in his mind.
"Everyone who establishes a country thinks about governance! Seek diligently, use it diligently, do not let the throne go unused, and do not let the orders be empty. Only then can you govern in a kingly way! The people's great desires are food and clothing! If they are not hungry or cold, then
No resentment. When there is no resentment and a gentle breeze, then the world will be in great order, and we can naturally expect it!" Suddenly a clear voice floated out from the sky. Sima Yi looked up and found that there seemed to be someone on the second floor of the restaurant not far behind him.
He was standing in front of the window, his back to Sima Yi, talking eloquently.
"The most important thing for a country is peace of mind. The most important thing for peace is farming and mulberry trees. There are old, young, young and strong men and women, but there are few who can nourish their lives without food and clothing. Therefore, Yao and Shun plowed the land, and your Majesty cultivated it himself.
This is the education of the people! The only one who upholds benevolence and righteousness when they are hungry and cold is a gentleman. However, in this world of chaos, the number of gentlemen is rare!"
It's kind of interesting...
Sima Yi turned around and entered the restaurant, climbing up the steps and listening.
"One man plows, and a hundred people eat. Is it okay for one woman to cultivate silkworms, and to clothe a hundred people? If so, where is the court's land tax? Where are the official carriages and clothes? What is the official salary? It is not easy to cultivate one silkworm and provide for the needs of a hundred people.
Is it like ascending to the sky? Therefore, it is necessary to observe the time of the sky, match the earth and the earth, and use the power to control the mulberry tree! However, there are people who claim to be gentlemen. One is not clear about the time, the other is not clear about the geography, the third is not sweating, and the fourth is not burning the back of the cheeks.
Applying grease and powder during the day, drinking and singing at night, borrowing money to become a chef, gathering people to invite praise and praise, can he be called a scholar? Can he be called a gentleman? "
Sima Yi smiled slightly and saw the impassioned man.
The man had his back to the window, and the sun shone in from behind him, shining on his head and shoulders. He couldn't see his face clearly, and could only vaguely see his eyes as bright as stars.
"According to your words, we all need to stain our backs with sweat, pound the mud and soil, succulent our faces, burn our backs, wait for the rain in the day, and long for the rain at night, before we can be called scholars? If so, why don't you go?
?" In the restaurant lobby, someone said disdainfully and sarcastically.
"That is, in ancient times, there were categories to build a country. Scholars passed down poems and books, farmers worked on the grass, workers specialized in making ink, and merchants traded goods. Everyone performed their duties and got their own places. Now if a scholar goes to farm mulberry trees, his hair will be like a bush, and he will be in danger.
What's the use of farming if you're walking in danger and swinging a hoe? Who will pass down poems and books? Farmers? It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous..." Someone else said in agreement.
"Ha!" Sima Yi couldn't help but said loudly, "A scholar's biography of poems and books? That's right! But do you have any poems and books to pass on? You might as well give it a try! The crown of a scholar, the uniform of a scholar, and the books of a scholar can make him a scholar.
How can one be called a scholar if he doesn't know how to read, can't speak the scriptures, doesn't know anything, and has useless hands and feet? Zhongni still said that he is not as good as a farmer, but today's people actually betray their ancestors and forget the scriptures, which violates the wishes of the ancestors! How can it be surprising?
Yes!"
"You...who are you! How dare you make such nonsense!" Someone pointed his halberd at Sima Yi. Seeing that he was young, he shouted, "Where is your lord? Stop making trouble, go quickly, go quickly!"
"Sima Yi in Xiawen County..." Sima Yi ignored the people gesticulating on the side, but went straight to the person at the window and cupped his hands, saying, "I have met my brother."
"I'm Wang Chang of Taiyuan." Wang Chang returned the salute to Sima Yi and asked, "I wonder if Brother Sima and Mr. Shui Jing..."
"Mr. Shui Jing is my uncle..." Sima Yi said.
"Oh... I've admired you for a long time, I've admired you for a long time..." Wang Chang raised his eyebrows and saluted again.
Both of them smiled slightly, seeming to have reached a tacit understanding.
In the lobby of the restaurant, Sima Yi was just accused of lying, and the person with no identity also shut up. If Mr. Shui Jing, Sima Hui was only slightly famous in Jingxiang, Hanoi, but now he has a name in Shoushan Academy
, and I heard that General Zhengxi was once given the title "Yinkun", so naturally everyone in Pingyang knew it.
"Ahem..." Someone in the lobby coughed and said, "Sima's younger brother's words are wrong. Confucius said that he was not as good as a gardener. It was Fan Chi who asked him to learn from farming. Confucius said that he was not as good as him. He also said that a villain is not as good as a farmer.
Alas, Fan Xuye! If you are good at etiquette, the people will not dare to be disrespectful; if you are good at righteousness, no people will dare to disobey; if you are good at trust, then the people will not dare to be unkind. If you are like this, the people from all over the world will bear their sons.
Well, how can we use crops? We also respect the words of Confucius, learn etiquette clearly, and be trustworthy and sincere, so what is wrong? Or is it possible that little brother Sima misinterpreted the meaning of the sage?"
"That is to say, Confucius also said that a gentleman seeks the way, not food. Plowing is where discouragement lies; learning is where salary is. A gentleman worries about the way, not poverty! If it is true as what you two said, isn't it true that everyone is busy with their plans?
When it comes to food, who seeks the Tao? It can be said that the two of you are putting the cart before the horse!"
Sima Yi turned around and stood side by side with Wang Chang, his eyes flowing, and he secretly thought to himself that if I dig a hole casually, someone will jump down, it’s really not interesting at all...
Wang Chang smiled and said, "How about I answer for Brother Sima?"
Sima Yi stretched out his palm and turned it slightly, signaling Wang Chang obediently.
"When you are hungry and thirsty for food, this is what people want. When you are poor and discouraged, you have Fan Chi's intention and study as a farmer to benefit your family. Is this wrong?" Wang Chang said loudly, "Confucius attaches great importance to Fan Chi. You
When you know that you ask the farmer, you should also know that he also asks the three questions of benevolence, including knowing, advocating virtue, cultivating one's profession, and debating doubts, etc. Confucius also said that this is the best!"
Wang Chang said, then glanced at Sima Yi, as if asking whether this answer was in the right direction.
Sima Yi nodded slightly, and then continued: "Farming mulberry trees is good for maintaining health. Farming carefully is no match for natural and man-made disasters. Therefore, Confucius said that Fan Chi seeks the way of a villain. A gentleman should not think about poverty and food.
, use your heart to act clearly, become an official in politics, and achieve great virtues. The old master said, if a person has no long-term worries, he will have immediate worries. You talk about Confucius and Saints, but there is no Zhongni in your heart. You only know one, but don't know the other.
!What Brother Wang just said is the Great Way of Confucius and Saints! It should be noted that when Zhongni was young, he also had a lowly career, so he was able to do many despicable things! Confucius was poor since he was a child, tending to warehouses, herding cattle and sheep, plowing acres of land, and enjoying the wind and the sun
Sun, Fifty Years of Fang is determined to learn! Knowing the hard work, there is a saying, 'Plowing is the source of discouragement, and learning is the source of salary.' That's right!"
"Hey! Those who don't know how to farm mulberry trees but eat their salary are no different from harming the country and harming the people! Scholars should govern the world, and farmers should cultivate the land. However, only those with clear and bright assistants can understand the way of governance, so as not to disturb the times. 10.
Sheep Jiu Mu, he doesn’t know what to do, he just wanders around and doesn’t know what to do. The most important thing for a gentleman is to know farming, military, craftsmanship, and business. He can establish himself as a politician, follow his rules and imitate them, and determine his power.
Ye. In ancient times, gentlemen always calculated things in temples and then worked on them. Therefore, there was a time for their response, and their success was tangible. People thought it was a long process that could not be understood, but gentlemen thought it was inevitable, just like everything cooked is cooked, and everything planted is born.
That’s why it uses less effort and achieves success quickly.” Wang Chang continued, “If you don’t experience farming in person, how can you know the world? If you don’t go to the battlefield in person, how can you understand the blood and courage? Sitting down to discuss politics, orders are changed in the morning and night, and their development
A government is just a trial implementation. Whether it will help or not is not known. The benefits and harms of the previous government were not seen, and then the subsequent government has relapsed. How can the people adapt to this? "
"That's why, those who talk without any reality will be ashamed to be in company!" Sima Yi said, shaking his sleeves, "Brother Wang, why don't you go back?"
"Go back, you should go back!" Wang Chang laughed, then extended his hand as an invitation, and Sima Yi took his arm and walked out together.
Everyone in the hall was embarrassed and did not dare to say anything. Seeing that although Wang Chang and Sima Yi were not tall, they were very powerful and did not dare to block them, so they subconsciously made way for them and watched Wang Chang and Sima Yi walk away.
