Four years have passed since the last night outing on the Lantern Festival. The time has come to the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, and Li Zhi has also grown to twelve years old.
In the past four years, he has been practicing the "Five Animal Opera" left by Sun Simiao, and Li Zhi has a special liking for the "Qin Family Boxing". At the age of twelve, Li Zhi's height is almost close to that of an adult.
Li Shimin also confirmed his suspicions. It was just out of consideration for protecting his son. Only he and the empress Changsun Wugao knew the truth of the matter.
The Cheng family brothers and Qin family Kunzhong who accompanied Li Zhi on a night outing didn't even know what Li Zhi wrote that night. Even though they heard rumors about the "little genius", they didn't think about Li Zhi.
.
When he was eight years old, Li Zhi was arranged by his father to enter the Imperial Academy. Together with the royal family's heirs, he went to school step by step, but he was not allowed to show his handwriting in front of others.
In the eyes of outsiders, Li Zhi is still the same Li Zhi, and his "Heavenly Leakage Body" is still unable to practice literature and martial arts.
With his rising height and increasingly strong figure, and with the great god Qin Shubao standing behind him, everyone knew that Li Zhi was "forced to have no choice" and chose the "body training technique" in the military.
This kind of "body training technique" only repairs skin, flesh, muscles and bones, and has nothing to do with internal strength. Even if you practice it to the extreme, you will never touch the threshold of innateness.
"Pheasant slave, is marriage between close relatives really as scary as you say?"
Ever since Li Zhi accidentally described the dangers of incest marriage in front of his parents, Changsun Wugou could no longer remember how many times he had come to Li Zhi for confirmation.
Li Shimin and Changsun Wugou didn't pay much attention to this matter at first.
Since ancient times, there have been many cousins and aunts. Apart from tabooing marriages between people of the same clan, getting closer to each other is highly respected by people.
Unfortunately, Li Zhi's words were like a thorn, piercing into the hearts of the emperor and the empress, and they quietly ordered people to go among the people to seek confirmation.
It was found that, as Li Zhi said, children born after "close relatives" got married did have many deformities and strange diseases.
As a result, Changsun Wuga hesitated about the marriage between Princess Li Lizhi of Changle and Changsun Chong, and postponed the wedding for another four years on the pretext of Changle's "qi illness".
Naturally, it was not Li Zhi's turn to worry about such a headache, but he also had his own worries.
It is already the fifteenth year of Zhenguan. According to the records in "History", both Changsun Wugou and Qin Qiong did not survive until this time. Is there something wrong somewhere?
Li Zhi has always wanted to be a low-key person, and when it comes to martial arts training, according to the divisions of this world, he broke through to the innate realm as early as last year.
Especially that set of "Qin Family Boxing", after thirty-six rounds, the sweat pores all over Li Zhi's body were clear.
He liked this boxing technique more and more, and subconsciously he felt that this boxing technique might have a great origin, but even Qin Qiong himself couldn't explain it clearly.
What surprised Li Zhi even more was the "Five Animal Exercises" that he believed could only be used to strengthen the body.
"I have a skill called the Five Animals Game: the first is tiger, the second is deer, the third is bear, the fourth is ape, and the fifth is bird."
This is the opening sentence of the "Five Animal Opera" booklet. There is no signature at the end, and I don't know which sage the "I" refers to?
As the name suggests, "Wu Qin Xi" imitates the postures and actions of five animals to allow people to exercise.
After reaching the innate realm, Li Zhi practiced "Five Animal Play" again, but it always caused him to have some hallucinations.
For example, when practicing "Tiger Play", the limbs should be raised from the ground, three throws in front, but two throws, the waist should be extended, and the side feet should be raised to the sky, that is, walking back to the distance, but seven passes in front.
Li Zhi actually felt that he was no longer Li Zhi, or that he was no longer a person, but was turning into a fierce tiger. If there was not a trace of enlightenment in the spiritual platform, Li Zhi would not even care about being in the palace.
He's about to hold his head high and roar.
When practicing "Bird Play", stand with both hands, raise one foot, stretch out both arms, raise your eyebrows and drum up strength, 27 points each, sit and stretch your feet, hold the hands with the distance between the feet, 7 points each, and retract and extend the arms by 7 points each.
When he got into the practice, Li Zhi also felt that he was like a big bird. He spread his arms like two wings and could fly into the sky with a slight flap...
In fact, when he "came to his senses", Li Zhi was actually standing with one leg on the ridge of the "Lizheng Palace".
How did he get up to such a ridge of the palace, which is over three feet high?
After several such weird incidents happened, Li Zhi no longer dared to practice "Five Animal Opera", at least he did not dare to practice it in the palace.
Moreover, after breaking through to the innate realm, Li Zhi's appetite increased sharply again. He didn't understand why he could eat so much?
Especially since he has become fond of eating meat, he can completely cook a roasted whole lamb weighing dozens of kilograms by himself whenever he is happy.
This made Li Zhi dumbfounded, thinking that maybe it was not him who had time-traveled into Li Zhi, but the "second senior brother" who had time-traveled into his body.
Because he was going to the Imperial College to study, Li Zhi went to the Qin Mansion less often, but it was the only mansion he visited.
I don't know what Qin Qiong was thinking, but he actually stuffed his youngest son Qin Huaiyu into the Imperial College, under the pretext of sending a book boy to His Highness the King of Jin.
"Your Highness, Prince Jin, did you really write this poem 'Like a Dream'? It's a masterpiece, but why haven't I seen you write other poems on weekdays? It's a pity that this piece of bad writing is really good.
It’s an eyesore—”
The Summer Internal Examination hosted by Kong Yingda personally at the Imperial College was held in the lobby of the Imperial College. Each person wrote a poem about the summer scene, but most of the submissions were leftover poems.
This change also made Li Zhi somewhat unexpected. You must know that the Tang Dynasty is definitely a sea of poetry. If you pick up anyone on the street, they can recite a few lines for you.
Li Zhi's poem "The Case of Qingyu" four years ago never expected to completely elevate Shiyu's status in one fell swoop. In "Pingkangfang", if a guest can make a good poem, he will even
Can be used as an overnight stay.
In the past two years, Li Zhi relied on his "young age" to escape the internal examination of the Imperial College again and again. Unexpectedly, this time Kong Yingda actually moved the two empresses, Li Shimin and Changsun Wugou, over.
Li Zhi saw that he was unlikely to be spared, so he simply made another "official copy".
Like a dream
It was raining and windy last night, and I couldn't get rid of the remaining wine after a deep sleep.
When I asked the person behind the curtain, I found that Begonia was still the same.
Do you know, do you know? It should be green, red and thin.
"Pheasant slave, have you learned to drink now?"
Hearing that Kong Yingda, the first contemporary Confucian, praised Li Zhi so much, Changsun Wugou was also a little curious, so he took Li Zhi's answer sheet.
Then, an "old mother"-like worried question popped up.
"Pheasant slave, it's a little early for you to drink, but there is an aura of powder in your words. Did your kid also go to 'Pingkangfang'?"
Okay, Li Zhi has a headache, what kind of parents are these?
We are in the Imperial College, a place where everyone discusses knowledge. How could you think of going to "Pingkangfang"?
If I had known this, I would have chosen the sonorous and powerful "Summer Quatrains" to copy.
Li Zhi muttered in his heart, but did not dare to make a mistake with his mouth.
"Master Kong, I'm really not good at writing. I can't practice this calligraphy well. Why don't you write one for me and let me copy it when I get back?"
Kong Yingda was a great scholar of the time, and now he was Li Zhi's doctor of literature. Old man Kong asked the question first, so Li Zhi naturally had to answer him first.
"Well, children can be taught! Your Highness's song 'Like a Dream' should not be inferior to the song 'The Sapphire Case'. The old man is also working hard today, just copy your song 'Like a Dream'——
"
Li Zhi just said it casually, but he didn't expect Kong Yingda to actually agree.
At this time, even Li Shimin, who was sitting aside, was not calm anymore.
Everyone knows that Li Shimin is good at calligraphy, but Kong Yingda's calligraphy in front of him is not just calligraphy.
This is the existence of a "half-step scholar and spiritual master", that is, the realm of "half-step great Confucianism". It is no exaggeration to say that his words can be posted at home.
Li Shimin knows his trade, but Li Zhi doesn't know the depth.
Because of the existence of the strange little gun in his dantian, his "heavenly leakage body" was transformed, and he was able to practice martial arts normally and break through to the innate realm in a short period of time.
However, he could not find any clue about the exploration of literary education.
At this time, a waiter had already prepared pen and ink for Kong Yingda. The old man rolled up his sleeves and stood calmly in front of the desk.
A wolf hair was in his hand, moving slowly from top to bottom, and a song "Like a Dream" appeared on the paper.
Kong Yingda also wrote regular script. In terms of calligraphy alone, he was inferior to the well-known "Three Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty".
I can see that his brush strokes are round and his posture is upright, which is very close to Yu Shinan's style.
At the same time, the stippling is clear and plump and round, the pen is calm and vigorous, the characters are flat but not stiff, upright but not rigid, making it look energetic and refreshing.
It can be seen that although Kong Yingda studied Yu, he was able to come up with his own ideas.
Li Zhi discovered that every time Kong Yingda started writing, a little white light seemed to flicker on the tip of the pen. After finishing writing, a breath of fresh air seemed to spread across the entire paper, as if the words were like beating black pearls.
This... am I hallucinating again?
"Okay, what a good regular script. The word "Chongyuan Gong" is worth a thousand pieces of gold——"
Li Shimin took the lead in applauding. With his greedy eyes, everyone could see that he wanted to take it for himself.
Unexpectedly, when Kong Yingda saw him, he picked up the pen again and wrote another series of small characters on the side.
"Given to the King of Jin for the purpose of copying——"
"Haha, Mr. Chongyuan is worrying too much. Pheasant slave, Pheasant slave, what are you doing in a daze? Why don't you come over and thank Master Kong for this generous gift——"
Back then, Li Zhi was able to sensationalize the entire city of Chang'an with his song "The Sapphire Case", and now he has produced a "Rumeng Ling" that is no less than "The Sapphire Case". However, because of Kong Yingda's own handwriting, the "Rumeng Ling"
The attention itself has dropped a lot.
"Pheasant slave thanked Master Kong. After returning, Pheasant slave will practice diligently and live up to Master Kong's expectations——"
Li Zhi, who was immersed in thought, was awakened by Li Shimin's shout and hurriedly came over to give Kong Yingda a deep salute.
Today, Li Zhi truly believes that it turns out that people who have cultivated literature and Taoism to a certain level can have such wonderful things!
Li Zhi respectfully took the dried manuscript from Kong Yingda's hand, but he was still immersed in the aftertaste of what he had just said, and did not notice the envious and jealous eyes on the side.
"Ninth brother, you have to keep it. Although I don't know where you got the 'Rumeng Ling' from, it was written by Master Kong himself, so it is a priceless treasure."
King Li Tai of Wei shook his fat body, and anyone could see the jealousy in his eyes.
"Haha, Qingque, even though you are the best at practicing Chinese among our brothers, it's hard for you to write such a fresh and refined poem as 'Like Meng Ling', right?"
"Master Kong loves his diction. He wrote it in his own hand just to encourage the pheasant slaves. Could it be that you, the elder brother, would be jealous of Xiao Jiu?"
Before Li Zhi could reply, His Royal Highness Li Chengqian, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and defended Li Zhi.
Li Zhi knows better than anyone about the overt and covert struggle between these two people. His Highness the King of Shu, who was praised by Li Shimin personally as "English fruit is like me", is also secretly accumulating strength, but he has been sent to a fief after the year.
went.
…
"Pheasant slave, how far have you reached in your martial arts training now?"
In the "Li Zheng Hall", the palace lanterns were hung high, and Li Shimin retreated to everyone around him, not even Zhang Anan, his always trusted chief internal officer.
When only father and son were left in the royal study, Li Shimin, known as the "Khan of Heaven", asked solemnly.
The strange little gun in his Dantian is Li Zhi's biggest secret. He has never and will not mention it to anyone.
Even though he was able to practice martial arts normally, he never mentioned it to anyone explicitly.
However, Li Zhi also knew that at least he couldn't hide it from Qin Qiong's eyes. Unexpectedly, even his father could see it?
"Father, my son doesn't know much about this matter. Ever since he woke up from the coma, he seems to be able to practice martial arts."
"But my son is worried that something will go wrong again. He has only practiced the 'Five Animal Opera' and the 'Qin Family Boxing' in these years. He should...should have broken through to the 'Innate Realm' -"
Li Zhi replied weakly.
"What?--"
Hearing this, Li Shimin's face became very wonderful. I don't know whether it was shock, joy, or bitterness?
"Does Qin Shubao know about your situation?"
After all, he was an emperor, so Li Shimin quickly calmed down his mood.
"Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't know. My son didn't tell him clearly, but based on my son's thinking, Uncle Qin should be able to guess something."
Li Zhi answered truthfully that he didn't think whether he could practice or not, or what level of practice he reached would have any big impact.
"Pheasant slave, you are my son. I hope that no matter what happens at any time, you will not hide it from me."
"Perhaps you are able to achieve what you are today because of the blessings of your ancestors. When you become stronger, if you can really break through to the realm of 'tongshen', maybe the shackles of the royal family can be broken in your hands——
"
Li Shimin suddenly felt inexplicably excited, even more excited than when he heard that Li Zhi had broken through to the "innate realm".
"This matter is of great importance. You try your best to hide your clumsiness and don't let anyone know about it. As for the matter between the prince and Qingque...hey, it's okay not to talk about it——"
Isn’t this dad’s thinking too jumpy?
Li Zhi was really uncomfortable with the way he hesitated to speak.
"Did the pheasant slave bring the 'Meng Ling' that Old Man Kong wrote?"
Perhaps because he felt that the topic just discussed was a bit heavy, Li Shimin finally remembered the purpose of bringing his son here tonight.
"Father, Master Kong's calligraphy is second to none, but the literary spirit contained in it is extraordinary——"
When the old eunuch Zhang Anan went to find him, Li Zhi guessed that his father must be here for this copybook, otherwise there might be something important that would force him to come over so late.
Spreading out the rice paper with "Ru Meng Ling" written on it, the father and son stood in front of the desk, one on the left and the other on the right.
If Li Shimin was not the emperor, he could definitely be called an all-rounder. Apart from his military command ability, which ranked among the top three in the entire Tang Dynasty, he was also outstanding in economic diplomacy.
As for martial arts training, he has entered the "innate realm" more than ten years ago, and his literary and Taoist career has also been wandering around the "gentleman" realm, only a few centimeters away from the innate "destiny" realm.
"Slave Pheasant, carefully observe Old Man Kong's writing skills and write it again in your best state for me to see."
Seeing that Li Shimin was speaking so seriously, Li Zhi couldn't refuse.
I held my breath and closed my eyes slightly, recalling the scene when Kong Yingda was transcribing during the day, and Li Zhi's "Liu Ti" version of "Ru Meng Ling" appeared vividly on the paper.
"Well, with six points of fire and perfect 'virtue', it would be great if I could worship Confucius."
Li Zhi's "literary education", which he had no clue about, actually reached the state of "virtue" in Li Shimin's words?
"Father, how should we practice 'Wen Dao'? My son seems to have been unable to find the right method in the past few years."
If it weren't for the fact that this was his own son, Li Shimin would have wanted to step forward and kick him.
Listen to the person who said this, are they human words?
You still don't know how to do it, but you can achieve "innate" martial arts and "virtue" in literary arts at the age of twelve?
"My father is not very clear about this. There are many people who practice 'Wen Dao'. It is not easy to break through to the innate world, unless you are a genius in the Wen Dao, such as Qingque and Changsun Chong."
"Some people have achieved innate ability by practicing calligraphy, some have achieved innate ability by composing, and some have achieved innate ability by writing poems and songs. But if you really want to go one step further, it is said that you need to cultivate the 'Haoran Zhengqi'."
"'Haoran Zhengqi'? What is that?"
Li Zhi asked puzzledly.
Unfortunately, Li Shimin also shook his head helplessly.
"It is said that it comes from a poem, and the name seems to be called 'Song of Righteousness'. It's a pity that I am not a Confucian, so I have no chance to see it -"