After leaving Puban, Chen Chong led his army to the northwest and arrived at the foot of Liang Mountain in one day. Then he turned southwest and crossed Luoshui from Ya County, then passed through Suyi and Qi, and rested at the foot of Saga Mountain.
Late one night, five thousand cavalry took advantage of the darkness to cross the Jingshui River from the mouth of the valley, and then stopped at the foot of Qishan Mountain.
This journey was nearly 700 miles, and he passed through dozens of rural pavilions. Naturally, it was difficult to completely hide the marching tracks. Therefore, Chen Chong rushed around for days, making the soldiers take off their armor and stomach, and did not raise their flags. Others thought they were horse bandits.
They didn't dare to delve deeper into their dealings. However, when a few people came to inquire and investigate, Chen Chong revealed his identity and acted with emotion and reason. In the end, no one stopped him.
Shortly after arriving in Qishan, he sent Hu Zhen personally and more than ten riders to the pavilion of Chencang Township. While contacting his old troops, he also inquired about the news. Only then did he learn that Chencang Ling was still Zhang Ji.
Since Zhang was a scholar recommended by Fengyi County the year before last and served as the magistrate of Hu County last year, his governance performance ranked first among the three counties in Sanfu. Therefore, Chen Chong attached great importance to him, so he was assigned to Chen Cang's important position.
Location. When Lu Bu unexpectedly attacked the capital, Zhang Ji thought that the world would be in chaos again, and was about to abandon his post and live in seclusion at the mouth of the valley. At this time, he heard that Chen Chong was alive and well, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He rushed to welcome Chen Chong in at night. This way there was no need to fight at all.
, all the weapons in Chencang's arsenal fell into Chen Chong's hands.
After taking control of Chencang, Chen Chong was not in a hurry to raise troops. He knew very well that the Longshang Liang people were extremely powerful. Once exposed at this time, they would be sandwiched between the east and the west. No matter how tight the defense of Chencang City was, it would be difficult for them to resist. Therefore, he still gave in openly.
Zhang Ji and Chang'an pretended to be snakes, and secretly recruited troops and horses. After one month, they had nearly 30,000 Liang people, but they were all hidden in the surrounding countryside, and no one was aware of the carriages and horses coming from Longshan to Guanzhong.<
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After Li Kan left on that day, Chen Chong had nothing to do, so he studied in the county government. Due to his appearance and status, Chen Chong could not appear in public. He had to hide in Zhangji County Mansion for this month, so his affairs were also complicated.
I didn’t think as much as I thought. Apart from trying to figure out the situation and analyzing the general situation every day, I only spent time reading.
Although he became famous because of his discussion of historical classics, in the past few years, apart from writing books and commentaries, Chen Chong has gradually stopped reading history books, and instead gradually picked up poems and poems. Recently, when the heavy snow stopped, he would read Zhang Heng's ""
"Guitian Fu" and Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions" and "Li Sao", the subtle feelings in them are really difficult to describe to others.
At lunch time, Dong Bai knocked on the door and delivered the meal. She came in and saw Chen Chong lying on the couch in his clothes and asleep. She put the meal on the eucalyptus, walked forward gently, put away his robe, and put on his cold clothes.
Covering the quilt. Just when he was about to turn around and go out, Chen Chong suddenly woke up, took Dong Bai's hand and asked: "What time is it?" Then he laughed again, covering his head and said: "It turned out to be a nap, I forgot, what time is it?"
I thought it was just a dream that it will be gone tomorrow."
Dong Bai saw the frown on his face, stretched out his fingers to rub it for him, and asked him softly: "What are you dreaming about?"
Chen Chong hesitated to speak, and finally said: "I dreamed about my father. He told me that I couldn't survive this difficulty, but if the whole family died on my behalf, I would be able to live."
Having said this, he stood up and walked to the window, opened the south window, and suddenly, a ray of golden sunlight came into his eyes. The sun was in the middle and west sky, separated by a thin layer of gauze-like clouds, glowing golden yellow
The rays of light. The rays of light spread to countless green and white hills. The green mountains are bathed in warmth and prosperity. There is no profit or dispute, waiting for the passage of time. Everything is peaceful, but the mood of the people observing the things is different.
Chen Chong looked at the still world and fell into deep thought for a moment. Dong Bai didn't know what to say, so he could only hug him quietly and feel his body temperature. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and he suddenly realized
Awakening.
The door opened, and first a Cangtou from the county government came in, and then Chen Cang ordered Zhang Ji. Chen Chong closed the south window, walked to the table, handed him the maza, and sat cross-legged on the table, asking him what he said.
: "How is the situation? Is Li Kan suspicious?"
Zhang Ji nodded and said: "Everything is fine, but I encountered some accidents when I came back." He briefly talked about the situation of Liang Jun, and soon mentioned Kong Ming and others, and said to Chen Chong: "These imperial students are making assumptions about you.
Since I am here, I am willing to introduce them to the envoy. I am very embarrassed, I am afraid that they will leak the news and I will not let them go; but most of them are from the family, and they may attract attention if they are detained."
Chen Chong laughed when he heard this. He suddenly remembered that when he was young, he was basically the same without scruples. He nodded slightly and said: "Then let's meet. If they are interested in Chang'an, I can't hide it here.
of."
So he ate some hastily, put on a brown Confucian suit, and a cashmere robe, and waited quietly for these young people to come.
After a while, a total of twelve young people came in and looked at him curiously. Chen Chong smiled and asked Dong Bai to arrange a seat for them, and brought two more braziers in, waiting for them to sit down one by one.
I asked their names again. Then I learned that these young people are all young elites from Jingzhou. They are Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Wen Ying, Xiong Xi, Liu Yan, Zhao Yan, Shangguan Sheng, Lu Yi, Huang Zhu, and Ma.
Qiu, Du Qi, Liu Gan, and Deng Zhi. Although they were similar in age, they were obviously headed by Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, and they greeted Chen Chong nervously.
Chen Chong did not bother about his identity, nor did he ask them how they guessed that he was here. He just asked them: "How have you been in Xijing these days since Your Majesty took charge? Has there been any trouble?" <
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Pang Tong replied: "It was true that the Liang army was in chaos when they first entered the city, but since Lu Bu left Hedong and the emperor and Jia Wenhe took control of the court, there has been no chaos and everything has been stable. It's just that we heard that the Shu army was heading north.
Later, the government and the public were in panic, and many people fled to Jingzhou."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Chairman Chen Chong's expression and found that he was not disappointed at all, but very peaceful. He couldn't help but ask again: "You have been running Guanzhong for seven years, and once it fell, there was no big chaos. Don't you feel regretful?" p>
Chen Chong smiled faintly and replied: "When a gentleman hears the Tao, he listens to it in his ears, hides it in his heart, and observes it with benevolence. He takes the world's worries as his worries and takes the world's happiness as his joy. If I say that I have no sadness in my heart, then naturally
It’s a lie. But people can’t act with emotion. Since there is no chaos in Guanzhong, it means that the people are still safe. It can be seen that your Majesty has listened to my teachings to some extent, and I can comfort myself."
Pang Tong was obviously a little stunned, and a look of shame gradually appeared on his face. Lu Yi, who was standing aside, interrupted and said: "How can we say that the people are well? The common people who came to Beijing to seek refuge in October had nowhere to stay, and the court also
The charity warehouses were all closed, and they could only starve there for nothing, and they basically froze to death. When we came out, we saw hundreds of people digging holes near the city, and countless people were buried in them!" p>
Chen Chong was speechless. Seeing his sad expression, the young people in the room kept silent and did not dare to say anything. After a long time, Chen Chong changed the subject and asked: "Since many people have gone to Jingzhou, and most of you are from Jingzhou, why do you still stay?"
Where are you here? I heard that Liu Jingsheng opened a school in Guangdong, and the momentum is not inferior to that of Xijing! If you return to Xiangyang, your family will feel at ease."
At this time, Zhuge Liang bowed and replied: "We have read Shijun's "Reorganization Examination of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", "On the State System", "Historical Theory", "Confucius and Mencius" and other books in Longzhong, and we are very fond of Shijun in our hearts.
You admire me so much that you think he is the first person in contemporary Confucian classics, but unfortunately you don't have the opportunity to visit him. Although there is quite a chaos in Guanzhong today, I guessed that you are here, so we thought that this is a great opportunity to learn more.
If I ask you to see me, my life will be considered worthwhile, so I traveled hundreds of miles to come here, and I will not regret it even if I die."
Chen Chong unexpectedly answered like this. Did he travel thousands of miles to study? He suddenly realized in his heart: Yes, there are so many confusions in a person's life! Answering students' questions and helping them avoid some detours in life means that teachers are respected.
What’s the reason? It’s not surprising that you come here for this. Young people are called young people because they often disregard fame and fortune!
But he suddenly remembered that Xu Shu came and Yuan Zhi died in the Bohai battle. I wonder if Cao Cao would erect a monument for him? Xu Shu still has his mother in Yingchuan, how should he answer it? He also has many questions in his heart.
Who can I turn to for answers and to be my teacher?
It took Chen Chong a while to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his mind. He raised his head and smiled at Kong Ming and others: "Being my disciple, ordinary people think that it is a smooth road to officialdom, but in fact it is not like this."
Seeing that Chen Chong was so solemn, the others felt a little timid. Deng Zhi asked cautiously: "I wonder what the envoy meant by what he said?"
"You may endure hardship?" After asking this question, Chen Chong said slowly: "This time there is another war in Guanzhong, I'm afraid the war will not stop for four to five years. If you are my disciple, I'm afraid you will have to accompany the army all the time. If necessary, you will have to
Go into battle and kill the enemy. If there is trouble in the area, I am afraid that you will be asked to appease and provide relief. And in order to avoid suspicion, even if the task is completed, the reward will be halved afterwards. If the task is not completed, I am afraid the punishment will be doubled. In this case, you are also willing
?"
Everyone was dumbfounded for a moment, but Zhuge Liang asked: "Are you the same as us?"
Chen Chong nodded slightly.
Zhuge Liang then laughed and said: "With you as our example, what is there to be afraid of? We came here because we believe that what you said is the right way, and we will be able to clarify the world and pacify the nine provinces."
Chen Chong asked back: "If we can't pacify the world, then we can't practice the way of a gentleman?"
Zhuge Liang paused after hearing the words and fell into deep thought, but Pang Tong said: "What your envoy asked is beyond our ability to know. Only by practicing it every day can we have a reply."
Chen Chong smiled, knowing that he was already making things difficult, so he waved his hand and said: "To be respected as a teacher is not only your wish, but also my long-cherished wish!" The implication was that he was willing to take them all under his wing. The young people were overjoyed and paid homage to Chen Chong as disciples. After Chen Chong accepted the offer, he asked them: "Before you enter my door, I first want to ask you what your ambitions are in life."
Some said they wanted to be governors to appease the people, and some said they wanted to be generals to help the country to eliminate Hu Ping's rebellion. There was a lot of talk in the room. Seeing that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were silent, Chen Chong asked them: "What are your ambitions?"
?"
Pang Tong hesitated for a moment and said: "It is my wish to be like a teacher, a teacher of the emperor, who can transform all people with one word, govern the world and pass it on to hundreds of generations." When everyone heard this, they were all amazed.
When it was Zhuge Liang's turn, everyone's eyes were glaring. Unexpectedly, he thought for a long time and finally said: "I haven't thought about it yet. I hope the teacher doesn't blame me."
When everyone went down to have a rest, it was already evening. Dong Bai was clearing up the seats and tables in the room, while Chen Chong was sitting in front of the window, watching the sunset slowly sinking into the mountains in the southwest. Dong Bai whispered to him.
: "Among your new students, Kong Ming seems to be the most talented, but he can't tell you his ambition. It's really strange."
Chen Chong did not answer immediately, but watched as the sky gradually turned blue and black, and the mountains became fainter. When a few faint stars appeared in the western sky, he continued: "This is normal, don't talk about ambition lightly.
, it shows that you have your ambitions in your heart. Among these people, there are many talented people. Pang Shiyuan is probably a wizard, but only Zhuge Kongming is a true talent who can achieve immortal achievements."