Liu Biao was wearing a loose Confucian scholar's uniform, and the crown on his head was not the crown or the official crown often worn by princes, but the Three Liang Jinxian crown often worn by Confucian scholars.
In fact, Deng Hong also wore the Jinxian crown, but he wore a beam.
The so-called beam is something erected on the top of a crown like a bridge. Confucian scholars often use this method to distinguish knowledge.
If the crown of advancement on your head has three beams, it means that you are recognized as a knowledgeable person or a powerful person, such as a great Confucian family. If you are not a powerful person or have no knowledge and wear the crown of advancement with three beams, you will be laughed at. Lost reputation.
However, Liu Biao did not look down upon Deng Hong because he only had one talent crown on his head. He just settled in Jingzhou the year before last, and this year he fought a battle with Liu Zhang. He was preparing to recuperate and recruit talents, so he often took exams at Jingzhou Chu School. He was born and promoted to an official.
Deng Hong was recommended by Huang Zu, and he was from the famous Deng family in Xinye, so he would naturally pay attention to him. He hoped that he would be a useful talent, so he was very happy to meet him.
I just didn't expect Deng Hong to enter the palace of the Duke, with a child beside him, which was surprising.
"Deng Hong, Shen Chen has met the envoy."
After Deng Hong and Shen Chen entered the middle hall, they first greeted Liu Biao as usual.
Liu Biao nodded and said, "Sit down."
After they sat down, Liu Biao asked: "Are you the descendant of the Deng family in Xinye? Who is this child? Why is your surname Shen and not Deng?"
Deng Hong replied: "Hui Shijun, Yuanhou is Hong's great ancestor, Tianzu is Jinghou, Gaozu and great-grandfather are hereditary Yehou, great-grandfather was forced to commit suicide during the reign of Emperor An, and grandfather took his family to move to Xuzhou. It has been three generations so far. The genealogy is recorded in detail and can be verified. Ah Chen was born to my cousin's daughter and is my grandson. He has been very smart since he was a child, so I brought him to visit rashly. Please forgive me."
The Yuanhou he mentioned was Deng Yu. Deng Yu was the great-grandfather of Deng Hong's grandfather, that is, the sixth generation ancestor. Deng Hong's generation was already the seventh generation. His grandfather's grandfather was Deng Xun, Deng Yu's sixth son.
Deng Xun gave birth to Yehou Deng Kui, and Deng Kui's eldest son Deng Guangzong inherited the title of Yehou. Because Empress Dowager Deng died of illness, Emperor Han'an took charge and began to persecute the Deng family.
At that time, the Deng family had numerous high-ranking officials in the court, and there were as many as seven or eight princes. As a result, they lost power, and the top officials were deposed. General Deng Zhi, his son Deng Feng, Yehou Deng Guangzong, and Xihuahou Deng Zhong, Henan Yin Dengbao, Wuyang Marquis Deng Zun, general craftsman Deng Chang and others were forced to commit suicide.
After their death, the younger generations below also suffered. They had to flee the capital Luoyang and the Xinye area and move to various places to settle down. Deng Hong's grandfather was the son of Ye Hou Deng Guangzong. After the Deng family was implicated, he moved to Huangmenting in Xuzhou .
So if we look back, our ancestor Deng Hong was still very prominent about seventy years ago. But after all, so much time has passed, and times have changed, and a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken, and the original power has long been gone.
After hearing Deng Hong's words, Liu Biao nodded noncommittally: "I see, it doesn't matter. Since you have moved to Xuzhou, why do you want to come back?"
Deng Hong said bitterly: "In the Great Rebellion in Guandong, Cao Cao, the herdsman of Yanzhou, and Tao Qian, the herdsman of Xuzhou, were at odds with each other. The two sides attacked each other, which led to the ruin of Xuzhou. Later, Cao Cao massacred several counties in Xuzhou, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people. The corpses blocked the river, and the Surabaya River was If you don't flow, if you stay any longer, the clan will perish."
"Is this happening?"
Liu Biao was greatly surprised and said: "This Cao Cao does not practice morality and angers innocent people. This is not benevolent."
Deng Hong said: "It is for this reason that the clan decided to return to its ancestral land. In the world today, only the people of Jingzhou, led by Shijun, are rich and strong. This is all because Shijun cultivates benevolence, righteousness, virtues internally, and dominates the kingly way outside."
After complimenting Liu Biao a little, Liu Biao was really happy: "Hahahaha, I am a member of the clan, and I am responsible for the emperor's pastoral duties. Naturally, I have to do my best. Since you are from a famous family, you must be well versed in the classics. I don't know which classic to treat?" "
"On the Analects of Confucius."
Deng Hong was a little embarrassed. When he fled, he could not bring long books with him at home, but only short books such as "The Analects of Confucius" and "Book of Changes", so he actually read very few books.
Liu Biao thought for a while and said: "Then tell me, "If a state has the right, speaking out of danger will be harmful to its deeds; if a state has no right, its deeds will be dangerous to its descendants." How should we explain it?"
Deng Hong glanced at Shen Chen and replied: "This is the sages warning the world that they should speak uprightly and be cautious in their words and deeds."
"Only this?"
Liu Biao was a little disappointed. Isn't this something everyone knows?
"Of course not."
Shen Chen suddenly said: "My uncle once said that Confucius said that Sun Fei is afraid of disaster, and if disaster is useless, then a gentleman will not do it. Therefore, it is known to advance and retreat without losing its integrity, which is also the way of the times."
"oh?"
Liu Biao was quite surprised.
Since the Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars have begun to interpret and annotate Confucian classics.
The Analects of Confucius only has a few thousand words in total, so it is not difficult to memorize it by rote.
The difficult thing is whether we can analyze the meaning that Confucius wanted to express through the situation and context at the time.
Different schools and schools often have different interpretations of these classics because of their different ways of understanding the text and sentences.
There are even some Confucian scholars who like to be unconventional, and the words they analyze are contrary to Confucius' thoughts, but they are so far-fetched that the world cannot refute them, and they have become a family tradition and have been passed down.
For example, in Zhao's "Book of Changes", Zhao Bin, whom Shen Chen mentioned before, analyzed "Ji Zi" in "Ji Zi Zhi Ming Yi Li Zhen".
He believes that this is not a person's name, but the origin of all things, saying: "The yin and yang qi are destroyed by the Jizi; the Jizi is where all things are."
Because Zhao Bin was extremely eloquent and no one could speak against him, this statement was recorded and became "Zhao Shi Yi".
However, there is no ambiguity in understanding Liu Biao's sentence, "If a state has the Tao, threatening words and deeds will be dangerous; if a country does not have the Tao, deeds will jeopardize the descendants." There is no ambiguity in understanding, but what can be learned from it naturally depends on the thoughts of the Confucian scholars who study the classics.
Deng Hong only translated this sentence at first, but Shen Chen's supplement was extraordinary. It was his own understanding, not a simple translation, and the content and interpretation were also very clever.
Hearing these words, Liu Biao nodded appreciatively and said, "Yes, you are very knowledgeable. So what's the explanation for "Master wants to make the most of his faults but fails to do so"?"
"Forehead"
Deng Hong murmured: "This is because Confucius saw the envoy's own moral character."
Liu Biao frowned, showing such a superficial understanding again.
Shen Chen immediately took over the words and said: "That's why Confucius praised the envoys for respecting their masters and envoys. It is said that if they want to do more than they want but still fail to do so, they will be self-restrained and self-restraint, and the meaning of failure can be seen. The envoy's The more you say, the more you humble yourself, the more virtuous your master is. He can be said to know the gentleman's heart well and be good at speaking. Therefore, the master always pays attention to beauty when he speaks again. According to Zhuang Zhou, "Boyu was born in the fiftieth year of his life." "Know what is wrong in forty-nine years." He also said: "Bo Yu was sixty years old and sixty years old." Because of his contribution to virtue, he was old and tireless. Therefore, he practiced hard and preached brilliantly. Not only the messenger knew it. , and Master also believes in it.”
Liu Biao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded slightly and said: "Shan! You handled it very well. Not only Boyu can improve virtue, but people can also improve virtue. I think you and your grandson understand it well."
"To make you reward me, this is what my uncle told me on a daily basis. Although I don't quite understand it, I have written it down and read it silently in my heart from time to time."
Shen Chen again gave all the credit to Deng Hong. There were some things that Deng Hong, an adult, could do more easily than him.
Therefore, pushing Deng Hong to the front desk is a top priority.
Originally, Liu Biao had recognized Deng Hong's talent and wanted to conquer him, but something went wrong and he suddenly said: "Then let's talk about it later. "A gentleman will go up and a villain will go down." What's the explanation?"
Deng Hong was hesitant for a while. He hesitated for a long time before moving his lips and said: "A gentleman grows upward, while a villain sinks downward."
At this time, he wanted to get into a hole in the ground, because Liu Biao's brows wrinkled again.
"A gentleman follows the laws of heaven, so he advances to the next level. A villain sacrifices his life for others, so he becomes a filthy person. Just like Shi Changshi, who manipulates power and deceives the emperor for wealth and fame, this is what a villain does. Party members rise up and fight. This is It is said that a gentleman is upright and upright, and it is based on the laws of nature. The distinction between superior and inferior is only a slight thought, and the opportunity to realize it is inevitable."
Shen Chen replied in a neither humble nor overbearing manner, and at the same time complimented Liu Biao without leaving any trace. His horse skills were much better than Deng Hong's.
But he didn't know that it was already the third time and it was almost time to reveal the secret.
Liu Biao first looked at Deng Hong, and then at Shen Chen, who was sitting upright with a serious face. Now even a fool could see that Deng Hong was not the protagonist, but the child was.
After all, how can an adult be unable to answer anything, but a child can answer it fluently?
Unless Deng Hong wants to help his grandson become famous.
The problem is that Liu Biao also knew what Deng Hong was doing. He just wanted to establish himself in Jingzhou and seek an official position.
But if you don't behave well yourself and let a child behave, can Liu Biao really let a seven or eight-year-old child become an official?
This is obviously impossible.
So there is only one truth.
That is to say, this child's level of knowledge far exceeds that of Deng Hong.
Thinking of this, Liu Biao looked at Shen Chen with a meaningful look.
He didn't speak, and the atmosphere inside the venue became a little awkward.
The grandfather and grandson looked at each other. Both of them were very nervous. If Liu Biao saw that Deng Hong had no knowledge, would he kick them out?
In that case, the money would be wasted, and the clan's life in Jingzhou would be miserable.
But what they didn't expect was that Liu Biao was not furious. Instead, after a while, he looked at Shen Chen with piercing eyes and asked, "Is this really what your uncle taught you?"
Shen Chen cupped his hands and said: "Back to you, my uncle, these are the principles that my uncle often told me when he taught me how to read. It's just that my uncle has always been dull and not good at words. Maybe he was a little nervous when he first met you and forgot what he had learned before. It's normal. The boy is not very old and sees that the envoy is amiable, so he doesn't have so many worries about what he says."
"is that so?"
"That's right."
"nonsense."
Liu Biao pretended to be furious and said, "You are deceiving me."
Shen Chen stiffened his neck and said, "I have not deceived you, everything is true."
Deng Hong was afraid of offending Liu Biao, so he hurriedly said: "I am a childish child, and I ask you to forgive me for scolding me."
"Hahahaha, you are so childish, you are quite interesting."
Unexpectedly, Liu Biao burst out laughing, looked at Deng Hong and said, "Your clan will be greatly prospered if you have this son."
At this age, one has many secrets of scripture that even Confucian scholars in their thirties and forties have not been able to understand. Is this more than just a genius?
If you can cultivate them well in the future, you may achieve great things.