After the Battle of Surabaya, the winter snow melted in the blink of an eye, and it was already the spring of the fourth year of prosperity.
The setting sun in February is still light yellow, quietly dyeing the ripples of the Wei River in Chang'an, reflecting the Dongwei Bridge with constant traffic and horses. This bridge is north of the Chucheng Gate in Chang'an and spans the Wei River.
One of the three main bridges connecting the north and south of the Wei River. Because the foundation of this bridge is made of large bluestone,
There are stone walls on the south and north of the bridge for inscriptions, so the scholars who passed by liked to watch the moon and inscribe here, and it became a scene in Chang'an.
But this was all two hundred years ago. After Shizu established his capital in Luoyang, Chang'an inevitably fell into decline. To the people of Chang'an five or six years ago, the prosperity of Chang'an during Zhongzong's reign seemed to be just a traceless event.
fantasy,
Only in front of the bluestone of Wei Bridge covered with ink stains,
Only then can they find some traces.
But after Chen Chong took control of Chang'an, Chang'an once again became a veritable Xijing.
The Wei Bridge, once sparsely populated, is now once again occupied by crowds of people. The bluestone that literati used to complain about now has inscriptions by high-ranking officials and celebrities. The Wuling years that once disappeared in legends seem to have revived at this time.
Now there was a Confucian scholar about forty years old, leading his horse and walking slowly down the bridge. He paused slightly and saw a group of young people in Confucian uniforms gathering in front of the bluestone in the south of the bridge. They pretended to wave their sleeves and nodded.
Curious and amused, I couldn't help but come closer to see what they were gesticulating.
When he came closer, several young people saw it, but they didn't care. Maybe they were actually more excited. Only one of them said in a tone of reluctance: "Among these people,
Mr. Cai's handwriting is obviously the best. You can see that when it is sparse, it looks like a weeping willow, and when it is close, it looks like a silkworm's head. Each word has no vines or branches. From a distance, it is fresh and lovely. How can it be compared with other princes?"
Another person said: "Cai Gong's calligraphy is certainly valuable, but how can it be compared to Zhang Gong's? Zhang Gong's calligraphy is completely natural. It is not just the beauty of one word, but the work of the whole text. It is like a flowing water wine cup, involving up and down, and the charm is free.
I'm afraid it's difficult for ordinary people to understand the subtlety of the writing technique!" These words contained a gun and a stick, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of others, and the argument gradually turned into a quarrel.
The Confucian scholar heard that these young people were arguing about calligraphy, so he tied his horse to a willow tree on the bank, bypassed the crowd, and went directly to read the writing on the bluestone. After hundreds of years of wind and frost,
The surface of the human-height bluestone is still rough, but the protruding stone lines appear rounded. Glancing over, the Confucian scholar saw several sets of newer ink marks,
Apparently they were written at the same time, and upon closer inspection, they turned out to be several poems.
He read the first song and said:
"Drink with pleasure at the bright moon and laugh at the talents of Kyushu.
The spring breeze wants to untie the sword, but the remaining snow is still floating in my heart.
The river Wei Ming Sanfu, the red clouds shine on the old platform,
Farewell to the clear night, the warrior's ambition is always there."
The poem was not bad, but its words were like a dragon floating in the clouds, with a natural and unrestrained style, which made the Confucian scholar nod his head repeatedly. Then he continued to read, the next few poems were mostly ordinary, only the last two poems were unique and worthy of
Take a look.
One of the poems is like spring swallows and yellow willows, small and simple, and the poem says:
"I used to sit under a long forest, pick hazelnuts and then swim in the stream.
Several handfuls of wild plums will be inserted into your head."
There is almost no stinky reputation in this poem, and it comes from an extraordinary realm. Confucian scholars admired it in their hearts, and then looked at the last poem, which said:
"Lin Xiao, who was stationed in Majiang, exposed his clothes after changing clothes for the fifth time.
The Chu moon shines on Jianghan, and the Qin envoy goes up to Longyun.
The cold rhythm of the vernal equinox brings new wine to the Ba Ling cup.
Why should a gentleman remember his old friends in Dunhuang?"
This poem corresponds to the first poem, but the writing and ink are far less lively and lively than the first poem. Instead, it is precise, full of edge in operation, and the layout of the argumentative section is unforgettable.
After reading the poem, the Confucian scholar read the inscription at the top of the stone. It turned out that one month ago, around the spring equinox, Han Sui and his bandits in Liangzhou led their troops to attack the north, and faced off against Lu Bu, the herdsman of Liangzhou, in Qingshan. This battle was fought by Lu Bu.
After a great victory, four thousand people were beheaded, so he ordered Zhang Chang to come to the court to report the victory. Chen Chong, the captain of the Sili School, was very happy when he heard the news. He sent an envoy to Liangzhou to reward Liangzhou, and personally sent Zhang Chang to the bridge to set up a trap here.
They had a banquet and drank. They were accompanied by Cai Bojie (Cai Yong), Sun Shuran (Sun Yan) and other princes. When the wine was in full swing, Zhang Changshi asked the princes to write poems on the bridge stones to see him off, and all the princes agreed.
Among them, the sentence "enjoying the moonlight and drinking" was written by Zhang Chang, the sentence "originally sitting under the long forest" was written by Cai Yong, and the sentence "standing in the old forest at dawn" was written by Chen Chong. After looking at it, the Confucian scholar turned around and saw behind him
The young people were still arguing, which made him laugh and thought: If it had been twenty years ago, I might have been among them.
He untied his horse leisurely and saw a shop not far away selling Hu cakes. The aroma was fragrant. Then he remembered that he had not had lunch yet, so he went up to sit down and asked the shop for a piece of Hu cakes and a bowl of chicken soup.
When the shopkeeper handed over the rice and soup, he saw that he was still giving old five baht, so he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Sir, he is from Guandong, right! Didn't you ask the uniform official to exchange for new money when you entered the customs?"
The Confucian scholar smiled and replied: "There were too many people changing at that time, the queue was too long, and I didn't bring much money, so I didn't change. Couldn't it still be used all the way?"
The shopkeeper weighed the copper coins in his hand, sprinkled them into the money jar on the side, and said: "It can be used, but it is more expensive than new money. But it seems that this is your first time coming to Xijing, and I don't have much money."
Collect it. When you enter the city later, you can go to the West Market to find Junshu Division. There is no queue here."
The Confucian scholar thanked him and began to eat. It was already past two o'clock, and the meal time had already passed. There were only three or four diners in the shop. The shopkeeper was bored for a while, so he talked with the Confucian scholar about interesting stories in the city.<
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In addition to the great victory at the beginning of the year, there was another major event at the end of January: Yizhou Shepherd Liu Yan sent an envoy to deliver a white tiger, saying that it was caught in Mianzhu in October last year. It was an auspicious sign from heaven, so it was presented to the emperor. The emperor got it
After seeing it, he was extremely happy, so he made a special sacrifice to the Ancestral Temple and ordered the white tiger to be displayed in Taiye Pond. After hearing about it, the people in the whole city went to see it, and they all marveled at it.
Speaking of this, the shopkeeper smiled at the Confucian scholar and said: "Last year we had a series of successes and auspicious blessings came to the world. It seems that the time when the country will be unified is not far away!"
The Confucian scholar said "Oh" and retorted calmly: "Now that the two states of Qing and Xu are not in peace, and Hebei is uncertain about his return, it must be too early for the shopkeeper to say so!"
The shopkeeper was not disappointed, but rather as if he had been scratched, he said: "Since the great victory in Surabaya, people from Guandong like Mr. Hua have come to Beijing every day, such as Hua Xin Huajun who has traveled far away to Liaodong, and Shentu who has lived in seclusion for many years.
Pan Shen Tu Gong also settled in the capital. The people's aspirations have been clear for a long time, so how could they say it earlier? Besides, no matter how stubbornly the rebels resist, they will never be able to defeat the imperial court."
The Confucian scholar heard this interestingly and asked, "How can you see it?"
The shop owner laughed and said, "Among the famous generals in the world, since the death of Huangfu Chaqi, is there anyone who can surpass Chen Shijun?"
The Confucian scholar was silent for a moment, and then said: "Indeed, it has been more than ten years since I saw the dragon head at Luoyang Imperial Academy, and it is true that no one can beat him."
Unexpectedly, the store owner said that he had met Chen Chong, and was immediately suspicious. The Confucian scholar saw his appearance and explained: "It was during the Guanghe period, when Long Shou was working as a doctor in Taixue, and I was studying in Taixue. He was only ten years old at that time.
Seven, I am five years older than him, but I am listening to his lectures in the audience!"
The store owner was immediately relieved and his attitude became much more polite. He said with emotion: "Isn't that gentleman a descendant of a noble family in Guandong? He came to Beijing to seek an official position?"
When the Confucian scholar heard this, he laughed at himself and replied: "It is indeed true." He had eaten and drank enough, clasped his fists in thanks to the store owner, then started to get up, pack the parcels, and go to pick up the horse outside the store.
Before leaving, the store owner asked him: "Sir, since you have been to Tokyo, you don't know how prosperous it is compared to Xijing?"
The Confucian scholar glanced around and replied: "There are slightly fewer people, but the difference is the same. It's just that on the Chi Road in Dongdu, there are constant traffic of large cars, and the canopy is like a canopy, but there are only a few cars in Xijing. It's really strange." p>
The store owner was not disappointed when he heard this, but said proudly: "That's because Chen Shijun was simple in administration and strict in checking property. At the end of last year, he found eleven corrupt officials worth two thousand yuan and dismissed them all.
, It is said that the senior officials in the DPRK can’t eat or sleep well. They are afraid that they don’t have a few patches on their clothes, so how can they dare to ride in a big car..."
Before the shopkeeper could finish what he said, the Confucian scholar had already got on his horse and headed towards the kitchen gate. It was not that he didn't care about what he had seen and heard before. On the contrary, according to what he had just said, his mind was constantly thinking about the upcoming dynasty.
situation, and discern the key points from it. Suddenly, he remembered the past many years ago, which made him open up all the joints in an instant, so that he showed an obscure smile.
"Will the world be at peace?" the Confucian scholar whispered to himself, then showed a sarcastic smile, and he didn't know who he was laughing at, and said: "No, it is still far away!"
Then, he immediately rode his horse to the city gate, checked the road certificate, and found out the way to Taixue, and then headed south along Zhangtai Street. Zhangtai Street ran through the entire city of Chang'an and could accommodate eight cars traveling in parallel.
However, because there were many Goulan brothels, gambling houses and restaurants along the road, there were so many people coming and going. Even though the road was wide, it was difficult for the Confucian scholar to move quickly. It took him nearly two hours to walk for more than ten miles before he passed through Anmen and arrived at
Longshouyuan in the south of the city.
Walking three miles east from Anmen, Confucian scholars will see the location of Chang'an Imperial College. Unlike Luoyang Imperial College, Chang'an Imperial College does not have clumps of green bamboos and quiet spring paths. Instead, it is shaded by cypresses and forests of strange rocks.
As the Confucian scholars walked through, they could see that in many newly built pavilions, some students were holding scrolls and reciting, and the sound of books continued, as if the world was irrelevant to them.
When a student passed by him, the Confucian scholar stopped him and asked him where he lived. When the student heard that he was an old friend of the doctor, he naturally did not dare to neglect him and immediately led the Confucian scholar to Taixue.
After half an hour, Cui Yan, a doctor of "Han Poetry", opened the door of his house and saw his old friend standing in front of the door after not seeing him for many years. He was so excited that he was speechless. After a long time, he asked: "My dear sir, didn't you go to Hebei?"
When will we come to Chang'an?"
Dong Zhao patted the horse's back and said with a smile: "I just came to Xijing. I have nowhere to stay and no money. I want to beg for food at Ji Gui's house!"
Cui Yan hurriedly welcomed Dong Zhao into the door. While sighing in his heart, he joked: "You, Dong Gongren, are now famous in Hebei. Are you afraid that you won't be able to get a thousand pieces of gold with your head alone?" Dong Zhao laughed after hearing this.
In the past few years, many of Yuan Shao's ministers have become famous, and the court is aware of them, such as Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, and Xun Chen. But when it comes to governing the place and playing tricks, no one can surpass Dong Zhao.<
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In the second year of Chuping, Yuan Shao succeeded Jizhou as the shepherd. There were many great chaos in the state, especially in Wei County. There were about 29 chaos in each county. After Dong Zhao took office as the prefect of Wei County, he issued forty-seven decrees.
After beheading 2,000 people, in February, all counties were in peace. His reputation was so great that people in the court also heard about it, saying that he had the wisdom of Yu Xu.
Logically speaking, Dong Zhao has a bright future under Yuan Shao, and he is a trusted advisor. How could he come to Chang'an today? Cui Yan was full of doubts, but he still arranged a banquet for Dong Zhao.
Unexpectedly, when the two of them were sitting quietly, Dong Zhao suddenly said: "Ji Gui, would you like to introduce him to me?