In this midsummer, the sun is blazing. Emperor Cao Fang, who was originally quiet and a little timid, seems to have been affected by the weather, and his temper has become more lively and active.
This summer falls in July of the first year of Zhengshi for the little emperor.
Cao Fang is currently practicing archery in Hualin Garden with his friend Sima Jun of the same age, who is a regular attendant of Sanqi, a captain of Tunqi, and has natural supernatural powers. Cao Yan, the fifth brother of General Cao Shuang, as well as Zhong Yu, Xun Yi, etc.
Riding a regular attendant, he was also accompanying him at this time.
Cao Fang and Sima Jun were both young, so the four relatives of the infantry colonel Bian Lin, Changshui colonel Guo Zhi, Yue cavalry colonel Zhen Yi, and archery colonel Zhen Chang who were waiting for the escort set up archery targets only forty paces apart.
The little emperor held a small carved bow and a golden arrow. He performed well despite his family background. He first shot a decent arrow, which hit the target, and then followed it up with a series of arrows. Among the four arrows,
Only the last arrow was slightly off target.
When Guo Zhi, the captain of Changshui School, saw that the emperor had almost missed his target, he immediately raised his palms and praised:
"Second of three in a row, Your Majesty is good at shooting!"
Cao Yan had no attainments in martial arts. As a layman watching the excitement, he saw that the emperor had indeed hit all the arrows, so he cheered along with him.
Cao Fang was overjoyed when he heard the crowd applauding. After all, he was a young man at heart and liked praise from others, and his shooting skills had indeed improved. Naturally, he couldn't help but be happy. Full of pride, he threw the bow and arrow to the attendants and pointed towards
Sima Jun shouted:
"Captain Colonel Tun, it's your turn!"
Sima Jun picked up his own pair of small but high-quality bows and arrows, and looked at the Emperor's Archer, who was next to his target and surrounded by arrows. [Note 1: The Archer is the target.
] His heart suddenly burst with enthusiasm. At this moment, he temporarily forgot what his father Sima Yi had told him: Never compete with the Venerable!
I saw him silently moving back a foot towards the direction where the emperor was standing. The king shoots with his ministers, and cannot stand side by side with the king. This is the ceremony of supporting a ruler in the ancient archery ceremony. Although Sima Jun was ambitious, he did not forget his ministers.
The etiquette of archery with the king is enough to reflect his strict family education and family education.
Standing beside him were Infantry Colonel Bian Lin, Changshui Colonel Guo Zhi, Yue Cavalry Colonel Zhen Yi, and Archery Colonel Zhen Chang. Their evaluations of this little eight-year-old nobleman were unknowingly higher.
Not long after, Sima Jun had somewhat calmed down his originally turbulent mood, and his hands holding the bow and arrow had become more stable. Everyone saw that Sima Jun, who was young but already had the air of a general, was able to use the stone without strength.
The low horn tip of the bow was drawn like a full moon, and a long wolf-toothed arrow that was slightly longer than an ordinary arrow flew towards the target with a whoosh like a meteor. Sima Jun's arrows were continuous, and they were also like Emperor Cao Fang's continuous arrows.
, but his arrows were more swift and powerful than those of the emperor.
When everyone took a closer look, they discovered that Sima Jun's arrows not only surpassed the emperor in speed and momentum, but their accuracy and power were even more shocking:
I saw Sima Jun's four arrows neatly and squarely gathered in the center of the target. Moreover, the arrows passed through the target, revealing the white arrows. This series of arrows hit the white arrows shot by Junzi Wu.
The five skills of Shenlian, Yanzhu, Xiangchi and Jingyi are all displayed vividly, which is really amazing.
After everyone couldn't help but cheer for Sima Jun, they realized that they had made an extremely serious and inferior mistake, that is, their cheers for Sima Jun were louder and more sincere than those for the emperor.
heart.
Although Cao Yan was young and did not have the talent for maneuvering, he was talented and intelligent after all, and he saw the clues, but kept silent. Zhong Yu, who was older, mature and prudent, and Xun Yi, who was very intelligent, had always been
He was very sober, he had not lost his composure just now, and he naturally took it calmly at this moment.
Just when Bian Lin, Guo Zhi, Er Zhen and others were feeling uneasy, the emperor showed his rare tolerance, magnanimity and innocence as an emperor.
In fact, Cao Fang seemed more excited and happy than all the relatives at the moment. His cheers were actually much louder than the voices of all the relatives.
"Sima Jun, well done! I will give you the 'Prison Ox Bow' that is treasured by the inner palace!"
Sima Jun, who was a little concerned about the city, was originally complaining secretly about his recklessness and the stupidity of his relatives. But to his surprise, the emperor not only did not show any suspicion of him, but also felt sincerely for him.
Happily, at this moment, Sima Jun's heart that was originally stained by the sinister habits of his father Sima Yi and his brother Sima Shi, Sima Zhao suddenly felt an indescribable warmth and clarity, like a pearl that had been covered in dust for many years, suddenly gained.
Wetting with warm water is normal.
At this moment, Sima Jun discovered that what a great father-like figure said may not be true.
Who said that the Tian family is ruthless and the Cao family is vicious?
At this moment, in his opinion, the emperor in front of him was really his rare mentor and helpful friend.
[Note 2: "Zhou Li·Di Guan·Bao Shi": "To raise a country's sons with the Tao is to teach six skills: the first is the Five Rites, the second is the Six Joys, the third is the Five Shootings, the fourth is the Five Controls, and the fifth is the Six Books.
, Six is the number of nine." Zheng Xuan's note quoted Zheng Sinong as saying: "Five shots: white arrow, Shenlian, Yanzhu, Xiangchi, Jingyiye." Jia Gongyan Shu: "If the cloud is a white arrow, the arrow is on the Hou and penetrates the Hou.
When passing by, you can see that the arrowheads are white; if the clouds are connected, one arrow will be fired in front, and the three arrows will go away continuously; if the clouds are sharp, it means that the feather head is high and the arrows will be low, and the arrows will be sharp; if the clouds are close to the ruler, the minister and the king will shoot
, If you don’t stand side by side with the king, Xiang (let) the king step back a foot; the cloud well instrument, the four arrows penetrate the marquis, just like the appearance of a well."]
After they were tired from playing, they changed out of their sweat-soaked clothes with the help of servants. After washing themselves, they bid farewell to the emperor and left the imperial palace.
The rest of the casual knights and regular attendants, except for Zhong Yu who had resigned early, the remaining Cao Yan and Xun Yi had no other affairs, so they were still staying in the palace for the time being.
In the Taiji Hall, there happened to be a document sent from the Chancellor's Desk, waiting for the emperor to personally handle it.
Cao Fang opened the bamboo slips and looked at them. It turned out that it was written by Gong Zun, the prefect of Daifang: It was said that the Japanese country on the East China Sea admired the majesty of China and prayed for exchanges.
Generally, Cao Shuang and Sima Yi would leave such small matters directly to the emperor for practice.
"Xun Yi, Cao Yan, what do you think of this matter?"
Cao Fang handed the note to Xun Yi and Cao Yan, who were at the side. After reading the note, the two of them started to worry about it.
Cao Yan was the first to say:
"Wei Chen believes that this matter can be given generously but not generously."
After hearing this, Cao Fang asked with interest:
"Oh? What is a heavy gift? What is a generous gift?"
Although Cao Yan is still young, he is well versed in classics and has a keen mind. He does not have much embarrassment or hesitation at this moment:
"Your Majesty, the so-called generous gifts are those who revere their names and positions, so that they will be grateful and grateful to us, China; those who are generously gifted are those who are given more gold, silver, property but few poems and books, which will make them greedy and disrespectful.
.”
After hearing Cao Yan's answer, Cao Fang felt very satisfied. He held up his palms and laughed and said:
"You and I, the monarch and my ministers, have thought of it together."
After discussing with the two of them, Cao Fang finally decided to let the governor of Daifang, Gong Zun, send Jianzhong School Wei Tijun and others to carry their emperor's edict and the golden seal and purple ribbon of "King to the Japanese King of Wei" on a mission to the Japanese country, and granted these two things to the Japanese country.
Queen Himihu. In addition, Cao Fang also sent a small amount of gold, silk, brocade silk, swords, bronze mirrors and other items to the Japanese country to show sincerity.
Not long after, a chamberlain handed over another note sent from the Chancellor's Desk. Cao Fang didn't want to be lazy, so she immediately ordered someone to hand over this note.
This is a memorial sent by Li Sheng, the new magistrate of Luoyang County.
Li Sheng was originally a man who was enthusiastic about fame, and he was a new official, so he was naturally very attentive. After some on-the-spot investigation, he found that there were still many people in the mountains and fields on the outskirts of Luoyang who were half-clothed and hungry. This memorial is exactly what he said.
He was asking the imperial court to allocate food relief.
After reading the memorial, the emperor frowned slightly. Although Cao Fang was only eight years old, he was already familiar with Confucian classics, firmly believed in benevolent governance, and was naturally full of love and compassion for the people.
At this moment, a palace maid brought a bowl of ginseng porridge.
Cao Fang picked up the bowl of ginseng porridge and looked at the porcelain bowl, which was delicate and warm to the touch. She still thought about the people who didn't have enough to eat. Although he was born in a royal palace and raised in a deep palace, he still felt hungry.
He has also experienced that even he, who has a noble status, will not choose what to eat when he is hungry. However, those hungry people in the countryside who usually eat chaffy vegetables may not be able to find even rough food at this moment.
After thinking for a long time, Cao Fang's eyes once again rested on the porcelain bowl in his hand. He understood that all the treasures in the inner court were priceless and precious. If these things were exchanged for rice and noodles, what would happen to the people?
I don’t know how many people will be spared the hardship of hunger.
In the end, the young emperor made his decision. This was also the first edict issued purely by himself since he ascended the throne:
"The people are in short supply and the imperial government produces a lot of gold and silver. I order the imperial government to produce 150 kinds of gold and silver items, totaling more than 1,800 pieces, to be sold and smelted for the use of the army and the people."
After He Yan, the Minister of Li Cao, heard this decree, he had a deeper understanding of the young emperor. He thought to himself: He had long planned to co-author the classics of Confucianism and Taoism, but now the emperor likes Confucian classics
, advocating benevolent government, if you gather a group of talented people of the current dynasty, combine the Taoist principle of inaction with the Confucian principle of benevolent government and love the people, write an unprecedented big book, and then dedicate it to Your Majesty, in this way
, not only will he achieve his lifelong wish, but he will also make the Emperor Longyan happy, and his name will be remembered in future generations. Isn't this a beautiful thing that kills three birds with one stone?
Thinking of this, He Yan's restless heart became even more enthusiastic.
Although there were many celebrities in the dynasty, each of these talents had their own strengths. Some were good at planning, some were good at astronomy and geography, and some were good at laws and regulations. There were only a few people who really knew the academic classics of Confucianism and Taoism. He Yan was
After thinking carefully in my mind several times, I finally roughly determined four candidates: Sun Yong, the Marquis of Guan Nei, the elder of the three dynasties, Guang Lu, the great general, Zheng Chong, the great scholar of Zhonglang, Xun Yi, the Marquis of Guan Nei, the sixth son of Xun Yu, and Cao Shuang, the third general.