Lai Gong was in his early thirties this year. He was seven feet three inches tall, with big ears, eyebrows that looked like splashed ink, eyes that looked like paint, and a beard that added a bit of heroism to him.
Lai Gong was born in the Lai family, a large family in Lingling. He was the 73rd generation grandson of King Lai Shu Ying. It can be seen that his family has a long history.
He is a famous scholar in Lingling and a famous scholar in Jingnan. After Liu Biao took control of Jingzhou, he recruited local celebrities from all over the country, and Lai Gong was among them. He is now serving as a post in the provincial governor's department, so it is rare for him to rest at home today.
As for Liu Zhongda, who was widely known in Xiangyang, at first he was not associated with his sister's Uncle Ji and his former disciple Liu Jing, although Liu Jing was also named Liu Zhongda.
In his impression, Liu Jing was an uneducated and unskilled person. How could he write calligraphy that was praised by Handan Chun and Liang Hu? How could he write "Encouraging Farmers" and "Standing Cloud" so widely praised by scholars from the north and the south?
The poem comes from?
Until he once asked Zhizhong Deng Xi face to face and learned that the copybook was obtained from his elder brother Deng You, and that Liu Zhongda was his "loved son-in-law".
Lai Gong knew about the finger-tip marriage between Liu Jing and the Deng girl, and it was only then that he finally realized that the two Liu Zhongdas were the same person.
This incident had a great impact on Lai Gong. Even if the facts were in front of him, he could not accept it. Finally, he wrote a letter to his sisters Lai Ci and Liu Jing each to try to find out.
Now, I have Liu Jing's reply in my hand. The words written on the paper are like palaces and temples, majestic and majestic. They are exactly the same as Liu Zhongda's widely circulated calligraphy in Xiangyang, or even better. After all, all of his copybooks are now copied.
, which is handwritten by a real person.
The two were indeed the same person, and the last doubt in Lai Gong's heart had disappeared.
What puzzled him was that the Liu Jing in the letter was calm, modest, courteous, talented, and ambitious... and had no resemblance to the Liu Jing in his impression.
Through his sister's handwritten letters, everything that happened since Liu Jing's return to his hometown was revealed before his eyes. The changes were so drastic that if he hadn't understood his sister's personality, Lai Gong would have mistakenly thought that his sister was deliberately flattering Liu Jing.
.
In the past, Zi Lu listened to the teachings of Confucius all day long, and it was difficult to change his mind. However, Liu Jing only spent half a year to completely transform himself. He couldn't figure it out, he couldn't figure it out!
A servant wearing a blue scarf came in and reported: "Master, Pan Chengming has arrived."
"Please come quickly." Lai Gong immediately came to his senses and went out to greet him.
Pan Jun was about the age of the weak crown, of medium height and dignified appearance. He wore a small black gauze crown and a brown brocade robe with curly grass pattern. When he walked, his big sleeves fluttered, which made him very elegant.
"Chengming, you haven't been to my place for a while." Lai Gong stepped out of the room and took Pan Jun's hand.
One of them is from Lingling County and the other is from Wuling County. They both belong to the Jingnan area and are considered half of the same hometown.
Pan Jun smiled heartily and said: "Lai Jun works for the Governor's Department and is busy with official duties. How dare I disturb you? I wonder why Lai Jun called me here?" The two of them did not have a close relationship, so Lai Gong came to see him this time.
There must be something going on.
Lai Gong invited Pan Jun to sit down and said, "I corresponded with Liu Zhongda a while ago. In his reply, he sent back ten volumes of books and asked me to return them to you. This is Liu Zhongda's letter to you."
Pan Jun suddenly realized it. After receiving the letter, Lai Gong said again: "I always knew that Chengming and Liu Zhongda were friendly, but I didn't expect that you would lend him Song Zhongzi's "Notes on Zhouyi"."
"I feel pity that his family has suffered a big change, and it will probably be difficult for him to return to Xiangyang in the future, so I lent him Master Song's "Zhouyi Notes" in the hope that he can continue his studies even if he stays in his hometown." After saying this, Pan Jun When I opened the letter and took a look, I was stunned on the spot.
Lai Gong couldn't help but laugh and said: "I'm afraid Chengming didn't expect it, right? The Liu Zhongda who is rumored in Xiangyang right now is this son."
Pan Jun was no less shocked than Lai Gong, or even more so. After two years of getting along day and night, he thought he knew Liu Jing quite well, but now it seems that he doesn't understand him at all.
…………
There is Xian Mountain in the south of Xiangyang City. From Xian Mountain to Yicheng for more than a hundred miles, wealthy noble families such as the Cai family, the Kuai family, the Pang family, the Xi family, the Yang family, the Ma family, and the Xiang family all lived here.
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, there have been ministers, scholars, governors, and dozens of people with two thousand stones. Zhu Yuan is shining, and the canopy is connected to the shade. They meet at the foot of the mountain. Because it is named Guan Gaishan, the county is named Guan Gaili.
Zhuge Liang, wearing a turban on his head and a Confucian robe with wide sleeves, came alone to Yuliang Island on the Mian River south of Xian Mountain today. On this island lived the Pang Degong family of the Pang clan.
Not long after Zhuge Xuan arrived in Xiangyang, he married his two nieces to the Kuai family and the Pang family respectively. Zhuge Liang came to Yuliangzhou nominally to visit the young lady and her brother-in-law Pang Shanmin, but in fact he came to meet his brother-in-law Pang Shanmin's father Pang Degong.
Pang Degong was the leading celebrity in Jingzhou, but he was not interested in fame and wealth. He lived in seclusion on the Mianshui River in Xian Mountain. He never went to the city and plowed the fields himself. The husband and wife treated each other with respect as guests. When he was not resting, he would sit upright in his scarf and entertain himself with music and books.
Liu Biao failed to conquer the land many times, and even went to personally invite him, but he could not make Pang Degong surrender. In the end, Liu Biao could only sigh and return.
Pang Degong had both a good reputation and good knowledge of people. Zhuge Liang very much hoped to gain his respect. In the name of visiting the lady, he ran to Pang's house every two days and worshiped under Pang Degong's bed, but Pang Degong never stopped him.
Zhuge Liang walked into the Pang family gate with ease and went straight to the hall to meet Mr. Pang De, only to find that Mr. Pang was talking to a dark-faced and blunt young man.
This young man's name is Pang Tong, whose courtesy name is Shiyuan. He is seventeen years old and is the son of Duke Pang De.
Pang Degong has a handsome face and a fine beard. He is sitting upright on the bed with a solemn expression. Compared with it, Pang Tong's appearance is somewhat dwarfed.
However, Zhuge Liang did not judge people by their appearance. "Yi Zhuan" said: "If you have appearance but no reality, you are a sycophant; if you have reality but no appearance, you are a Taoist." Pang Tong was a Taoist man who was not impressive in appearance but talented, but was limited by His age is not yet known to the world. After all, there are only a handful of successful young people like Liu Jing and Wang Can in the world.
"Kong Ming, you're here..." Pang Tong saw Zhuge Liang arriving and immediately stood up to greet him.
Pang Degong sat peacefully on the bed and nodded slightly to Zhuge Liang.
"Pang Gong..." Zhuge Liang entered the door and first paid homage to Pang Degong, and then greeted Pang Tong.
Pang Tong didn't wait for Zhuge Liang to sit down, and said impatiently: "Kong Ming, have you heard that the emperor has arrived in Hongnong Huayin?"
Zhuge Liang looked excited, nodded and said, "I've heard about it."
"It's exactly what Liu Zhongda said!" Pang Tong sighed with a complicated expression. Ever since he made friends with Zhuge Liang, the latter would often mention Liu Zhongda's name, which almost made his ears tingle. As for Zhuge Liang's high regard for Liu Zhongda, Pang Tong originally didn't like it. I was a little unconvinced, but now it seems that I am arrogant.