"I would be happy to describe to you my impression of your mother, Thales."
"If I draw well enough, I can even write you a sketch."
"But I'm afraid, this is all I know. I don't know her identity before being a slave, and I can't see her origins." Xixer looked at him with regret and gestured gently to the surroundings: "
And now is not the time for us to sit down and talk about the past."
Facing Xixer's apologetic and helpless smile, Thales was speechless for a moment.
Xixer sighed and rubbed his crutches, unreadable emotions emerging behind the monocle.
"As for Grivet, I can only say that I am really sorry," his voice was hoarse: "Take care of yourself."
Thales seemed to wake up from a dream. The surprise he had just obtained from the information was instantly washed away by the threat in front of him.
The prince paused for a long time.
"No."
"It's me who should be sorry," Thales said with a forced smile: "You took a huge risk to save me. If the Palace of Heroes knew..."
"Don't worry about me, kid," Xixer shook his head: "My channels are normal and will not arouse suspicion that Putilai is worried about his missing prince. However, as a teacher, I came to find out about my old friend out of kindness.
The news...at least, the Yingling Palace, which is too busy to take care of itself, will not doubt it in the short term."
Thales was silent.
"But I'm still sorry that I couldn't send you out," Xixer said sadly with uneasy melancholy, "I suggest you hide around here for a night first, and we'll think about it later..."
Thales forced an ugly smile.
"Anyway, thank you, sir."
He looked at the dilapidated scene around him, and the shocking battle in the Shield Zone flashed through his mind.
Try not to think about the bleak future ahead.
Thales pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment: "I...I will find a way to get out on my own."
Thales was indeed disappointed and frightened when Grivet refused to help him.
After all, facing the heavily blockaded Longxiao City, the Fallen Star Hunters were searching throughout the city...
but……
Xixer has done enough for him.
He has no right to ask for more.
Xixer silently looked at the smile that the prince was trying to maintain and said nothing.
"Of course," Hixer smiled slightly bitterly, but for some reason, Thales always felt that there was something unreadable in his eyes: "Of course you can, then I will..."
The old man didn't say anything else. He bowed apologetically and turned around with his cane.
Walking towards Kevin who was waiting impatiently in the distance.
Thales looked at his back from a distance and suddenly remembered something.
"last question."
Thales' words made Xixer stop.
"Our first lesson, remember?"
Thales rubbed his hands, as if this could drive away the coldness of the night: "The limits of domination."
Xixer paused visibly, then turned completely around to face Thales.
"certainly."
Thales took another look at the desolate scene around him and faced the aging Xixer: "At the end of the day, you told us that in fact, all our speculations and conclusions in class that day were wrong."
The prince took a deep breath, took a few steps forward, and looked seriously into Xixer's eyes: "I originally thought you were going to tell us that history can be interpreted in many ways...but..."
"In the second class, although we have done a lot of homework, I can feel that you are not satisfied with our dá àn."
Xixer looked at him silently and said nothing.
Thales raised his eyebrows at him: "Why?"
"What is the meaning of dá àn in your mind?"
The carriage in the distance and the horse pulling it neighed in boredom.
Under the cover of night, the rickety old man and the boy with his head held high stood in a ruin-like corner, facing each other silently.
The old crow smiled.
"You know, I originally planned to talk about this a long time later, or when I finish school and suspend classes. I even didn't care about anything and let you realize it on your own..."
The old man's words were slightly stagnant: "But given your current situation..."
Thales still stared at him keenly.
"Okay," Xixer smiled helplessly like a grandfather who couldn't bear the annoyance of his children: "Why, why were all our discussions that day wrong..."
"Because times have changed."
Thales frowned.
Hixer closed his hands on the crutches again, tried his best to straighten his stooped back, and coughed lightly.
The old man suddenly became serious: "Let me clarify first, Thales, what we were doing at that time was the following: analyzing and discussing past events more than ten years ago, inferring the development and direction of people and things at that time, and trying to do our best to
Draw conclusions that are truly useful and can be used as a reference for us today..."
Thales nodded slightly.
But Xixer's words changed, and his eyes showed a rare sharpness: "But the problem is, time is different."
"time?"
Doubts arose in Thales's mind: "You mean..."
Xixer raised a hand and pressed his question:
"The world, little sir, our world is complex and changeable."
Seemingly to save time, Hixer did not give him another chance to interrupt:
"Time is moving forward, and the times are changing. People may see that in the past thousands of years, the iron hoof of mankind has created a prosperous age without borders, a powerful empire has ended the division of kings, the church of Mingjin has purified people's hearts, and the turbulent waves have set off
The decay of the imperial family has been overthrown, the division of the church has re-created the gods, and the final battle closest to us has determined the overall situation today."
Xixer's eyes changed: "But many people also ignore: Thousands of years ago, merchants on the earth were just accustomed to bartering, and farmers could only rely on iron and fire to collect crops, and people even
We still don’t know how to tame messenger crows, and communication between city-states can only rely on messengers. The courts of many kingdoms even look like gatherings of barbarians today.”
"Hundreds of years ago, eternal oil and lithium crystals were hidden deep under the sea and underground, and magic guns had not yet appeared in this world. The teachings of Mingshen spread across the continent and were unquestionable. Our voyage ships could only pray for smooth weather and hope for the faith.
The wind takes them far away..."
Thales lowered his head and silently thought about the historical process of this world.
Xixer tapped the cane gently, slightly lost in thought.
"But that's not all. Every year, every month, every day, every minute, every second, every part of the world is changing, not just the politics of the lords, not just the politics of the merchants.
Coins are not just the grain produced by farmers. Some changes are so small that they cannot be detected or even recognized. Some changes are connected to changes in other things and bring about changes in the final result."
Xixer spoke seriously and his eyes were serious. Even Thales unknowingly straightened up in the cold wind:
"But it is these trivial changes that are crucial as history progresses, making it difficult for those of us who try to summarize patterns, learn from experience, discover the truth, and deduce cause and effect."
"When many people talk about history, draw lessons from history, and compare history, they tend to ignore these changes unconsciously. Even if it only lasts for eighteen years, only after experiencing failure can they have enough energy to look back and look for the existence of these changes: Science
Emperor Mora established the Ancient Empire, King Kessel VI reestablished the Final Empire, and King Tormund established the Star Kingdom. They are often compared, but these three are not facing the same world and the same people.
It’s the same situation.”
At this point, Hixer coughed slightly: "We can't just focus on the things we care about, Thales. Every piece of history and every case has too many factors that determine it, and it's too easy to do so.
We have ignored them, and these factors have become too fast for us to grasp."
"So, on that day, when we confidently and complacently came to the conclusion of 'the limits of domination'..."
Xixer sighed deeply, full of emotion, as if he didn't expect the other party to understand:
"In our arrogance, we always think that there is nothing new under the sun, but in fact, everything under the sun is new."
Thales' eyes surged.
"What we have learned from history," the prince said unconsciously, "is that we have learned nothing from history."
Xixer, who was sighing, suddenly lit up.
"Well……"
"A thought-provoking paradox, interesting set of logic," the old crow chewed on the meaning of this sentence: "'Nothing learned'... Well, I can feel that it is not just the superficial layer of 'repetition'
It just means 'wrong'."
Thales came back to his senses and breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course it's not."
"Did you come up with this sentence yourself?" Hickser's eyes showed recognition and admiration.
"certainly……"
Facing the probing gaze of the old crow, Tails was discouraged as soon as he opened his mouth: "Of course not."
He said nonchalantly: "It was someone else who mentioned a great person who is no longer in the world. His surname is Hegel, if I remember correctly."
Xixer smiled.
"Very good, I guess it's not that sincerity and introspection are needed in my class, but that the last thing needed is ambition and vanity."
"so……"
Thales asked tentatively: "About the first lesson, what you want to tell us is..."
Xixer gently tapped his crutch and returned to the previous state.
"Secondly, as people who are far away from that era, any judgment we make about the past history can only be pale and superficial compared with the real past of that year."
Old Crow frowned and seemed to have a headache: "Since we can't restore the time, we have lost too much basis for judgment. We focus on the king's intentions and interests, but does King Nuen really think so?
?We appeal to the positions and behaviors of the princes, but what else did the earls do, and which one came first? We attribute Exeter's disadvantage to the untamable land they conquered, but what are the real actions of the people of the stars?
?Are there crucial historical facts that we have missed?"
There was infinite emotion in Hickser's voice: "Trying to simplify the interpretation and evaluation of history by using excuses like 'grabbing the essence' and ignoring the process and narrative of historical details. In every sense, this is
It is quite dangerous. Every time one of the details is omitted or misjudged, the deviation between our judgment and the real history will be huge. And if we use this as a basis, the conclusions and rules summarized on this basis are consistent with
The error between the actual situation is even more disastrous."
The old crow chuckled and shook his head: "As the old saying goes: A slightest difference is a thousand miles."
"Just like the warnings taught by the ancient elves to young shooters: if you don't miss, you will be wrong; if you miss, you will get within (a miss, a mile)."
Thales was stunned.
He remembered something.
"More than that," Thales said to himself as if he was saying it authentically: "There are also endogeneity and collinear interactions, sample infection, multi-level bias, causal inference, and when you expand individual behavior to the collective level,
when……"
Hixer was struck by a series of unfamiliar words and was confused. He frowned:
"What?"
Thales finally came to his senses and quickly shook his head and said, "Nothing, just talking to myself."
Xixer gave him a strange look and continued:
"So, on that day, after we experienced deductions and conjectures that we thought were rigorous but were actually biased and full of errors, we easily made assertions about what happened eighteen years ago and hastily attributed it to the 'boundaries of rule'
Even if it sounds somewhat reasonable, it is absolutely far from the truth we want, and it can never be used to adapt to our future history. Fu wu: Eighteen years is enough to change a lot of things.
And we are by no means omniscient and omnipotent.”
Hickser stretched out his crutches and made an unpleasant noise on the uneven ground, and said sadly: "So, whenever we try to learn from history, we will find that this mirror is not flat, and the image it reflects
It’s always distorted and blurry and difficult to exploit.”
Xixer took a deep breath.
"Remember, Thales, in Dragon Kiss Academy, even the most prestigious scholars must be cautious, full of humility, and handle the gap between cognition and reality with extreme caution when facing history, the world, and the crowd.
the gap between them.”
Thales frowned and looked at the old man in front of him without saying a word.
Hickser snorted mockingly: "And take that day as an example. In our daily lives, most of us self-righteously list out arguments and then state them with absolute certainty, such as 'The empire is so and so'
Conclusions such as "What and what made a certain kingdom prosper" and "Once there is no such thing, there will be no such thing", all have the savagery of a beginner and the innocence of a child.
.”
Xixer nodded his forehead and pointed at Thales, who looked serious.
"Your mind works very fast, Thales. I believe your eloquence also brings you a lot of convenience, but sometimes you need to stop, think more and speak less. Wise men rarely speak eloquently."
Thales still didn't speak. He stood silently, listening to Xixer's words.
"Humility," Hickser said earnestly:
"Tiles, humility, this is what you should really learn from the first lesson."
"Rather than from my bunch of bullshit questions that seemed open and reasonable, but were actually deliberately guided, through my carefully designed and intentional indoctrination, you or you came to the conclusion that you still firmly believe in it.
That’s how your own humility of thinking is often lost.”
Xixer seemed to be remembering the past and couldn't help but sigh: "Learning, this is the time when a person is most likely to lose humility and become self-righteous: when your empty brain is suddenly enriched by something, in the process of self-sublimation
When you are excited, you often rarely care whether what is filling your brain is a pile of shit or... many times the two look similar."
Filling your brain...
Thinking of this, Thales raised his eyes with a thought.
"Speaking of this, I remembered something..."
The prince said in a deliberation tone: "In the first class, sir, do you remember the book you used to refute us, "History of the Northern Territory War"?"
Xixer raised his eyebrows.
He coughed slightly.
"I went looking for this book specifically, so, um..." Thales seemed a little embarrassed. He observed the old crow's half-smiling expression, and then slowly spoke:
"The author's name is written on the title page of that book. That is..."
Thales waved his hand calmly: "Merry H. Hixer, from Dragon Kiss Academy."
Xixer's pupils narrowed slightly.
Thales looked helplessly at the original author in front of him: "Is that...dung?"
After a few seconds, the old crow burst out laughing happily.
"Hahahahaha..."
The old man's laughter was not pleasant, it was indeed as good as a crow's.
But it was obvious that he was very happy.
Xixer laughed so hard that he was a little out of breath. He leaned on the crutches, shaking his shoulders, and looked at Thales with a laugh: "You are really, you are really going... Hahaha...
"
Thales shrugged helplessly and gave an awkward fake smile.
Tracing the source of citations and looking through publication information... isn't this the basic quality of a graduate student?
"so……"
Thales twitched his lips in embarrassment and wanted to end the topic: "My thoughts have never been mine, but everyone's?"
Xixer's laughter stopped.
"Another interesting remark," Hickser said slowly, with a thoughtful expression on his face: "Is this what you thought of yourself?"
Thales shrugged: "I really want to say no, but this sentence? Yes."
"very good."
Xixer put away his smile and looked at him steadily and seriously.
"And the only thing that can ensure that your brain is not immersed in shit is Thales..."
Thales nodded respectfully and took over the teacher's words:
"humble."
Xixer smiled again.
But Thales then changed his tone: "But you said one less thing: reflection reflects on oneself."
"Remember those class rules you told us: before questioning something, it's best to ask yourself."
Thanks Bourdieu.
Thales smiled in his heart.
Xixer's expression changed slightly. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him again.
"More than, more than 'before', Thales."
He said calmly.
"But that's an advanced course, an advanced option."
"Not everyone has the qualifications to get to that point," Hickser blinked: "And we take it step by step: start with humility."
"Then we'll try something else."
Thales smiled.
step by step.
He looked at the inexplicably interesting old man in front of him, thinking that his future was uncertain, and he suddenly sighed.
Thales suddenly raised his index finger.
"gentlemen."
"I was thinking... Although you told me that the meaning of the first lesson is 'humility', 'wise men rarely speak eloquently' and so on," Thales narrowed his eyes, "But I thought about it again...
"
The prince clicked his tongue and looked at the old man in front of him up and down with the eyes of a suspect: "Is there a possibility that as soon as you turn around and return to the Palace of Heroes, you will say to Xiao Hua... to Selma...
…”
Xixer looked puzzled.
Thales cleared his throat, slowed down his tone, and imitated Xixer's usual accent in a rough voice: "'Dear Thelma xiǎo jiě, you have to know: a wise man is not afraid of eloquence.'"
"'Madam, what you need is to confidently put your opinion into other people's heads, even if it is a piece of shit...'"
Before Thales finished speaking, Xixer burst into laughter.
His expression was exaggerated, and his crutch kept hitting the ground: "Hahahahaha..."
Thales also laughed.
Under the moonlight, the old man and the young man, who were thousands of miles away from home, looked at each other and laughed.
In the distance, Kevin, who was holding his head and waiting, yawned again helplessly.
Finally, the laughter of both of them gradually weakened.
Thales closed his mouth.
Xixer also suppressed his smile and looked at him calmly.
it's time.
Thales spoke subconsciously.
But Xixer was one step ahead of him.
"You know, your mother did tell me where she was going." Old Crow said calmly, but Thales was stunned.
Xixer straightened up in the darkness and sighed longly at the vast starry sky:
"On the eve of departure, she turned her back to us alone, facing the blood-red sunset over the vast desert, and said with a chuckle..."
Thales felt a little inexplicable nervousness in his heart.
He knew that what came next were the person's original words.
Just listen to Xixer said calmly: "'Since I finally escaped, of course I want to go to a wider world... maybe I can shake up this boring world.'"
Thales was stunned.
Give it a try...
this……
Boring...
"I believe she did it," Hixer said softly, but his words reached Thales's ears clearly and unmistakably through the quiet night sky:
"Or will eventually."
A gust of breeze blew through the wall hole at the back, sending out a long whimper.
Xixer straightened his scarf, with a solemn expression, and nodded slightly to Thales.
"Take care, little sir."
Thales put away his thoughts and nodded solemnly as well.
"The same to you."
"gentlemen."
Ever since, Thales stood alone in the quiet night, listening to the sound of Xixer's cane slowly disappearing, and watching the old man's rickety figure gradually disappear.
He listened to Xixer boarding the dilapidated and low-quality truck that matched the shield area, and whispered to Kevin why the boy didn't come.
He watched from a distance as the truck ticked away amidst Kevin's whip and the dissatisfied neighing of the horses, never to return.
The prince took a greedy breath of air in the cold wind of the night, but his lungs were completely frozen.
Thales turned around helplessly, and the problems he faced and the sadness in his heart came to his eyes again.
From now on, he is alone again.
Just like in the past.
Thales was absorbed in kicking away a half-large piece of gravel that almost tripped him. He looked at the corpses left on the ground by Grievor, and then at the "grand scene" in the shield area in front of him. He felt a headache.
The entire Longxiao City is looking for him.
It’s not just Longxiao City, it also includes Lombard, including Count Lisban, Count Nazer, and various princes and vassals...
what to do?
Thales scratched his head painfully.
Go back to the secret passage? Find Putilai?
Hide in the shield zone and act according to the situation?
But he was short of clothes and flesh...
"Hey! Asshole!"
Thales looked up in shock.
Under the moonlight, half of his head with an anxious expression was exposed behind a broken wall in front of him on the left.
A rude voice was suppressing his tone and trying his best to whisper: "Why are you so stunned? Come here..."
Thales was stunned.
He looked at the man standing in the corner in shock: "Are you...that...Grevoir?"
Snapped!
The person behind the corner smashed the wall in displeasure.
The familiar wheelchair slowly came from behind the wall.
Thales blinked and couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Keep your fucking voice down!"
I saw Grivet, who had just left in anger, now looking at him angrily.
The veteran who lost his legs had an embarrassed and complicated expression on his face, and looked around warily from time to time: "And, how fucking polite are you! You just called me like that? 'That Grivet'?"
Thales ignored Grivet's anger.
He just stared at the other person blankly, scratched his head, trying to figure out what was going on:
"But why would you..."
Griveau in the wheelchair interrupted him, with the words "I see you are very unhappy" written all over his remaining eyes.
"Shut up!"
"follow me."
Go with...him?
Thales was startled again. He didn't want to understand the logic of the other party's actions.
"But you didn't say you would let me go and not take me to collect the reward..."
"Hey!" Grewal made a threatening expression like a wild animal: "I told you, shut up!"
The veteran drove the wheelchair in front of Thales, looked at the surprised prince, and snorted unhappily: "Aren't you going to leave the city? Come with me!"
Thales' eyes rolled three full times.
"Out of town?"
He smiled stiffly, waved tentatively, and pointed in the direction Xixer was leaving: "But didn't you just reject Old Crow..."
The impatient Grivet's expression changed, he held the wheelchair with his left palm, raised it a few inches, and raised his right fist towards him!
With lingering fear, Thales subconsciously stepped back and raised his hands to protect his chest: "Wait!"
Grivet's fist stopped in mid-air.
"Fuck! Are you looking for a beating?"
I just heard the veteran yelling angrily without any scruples: "Should we go out of the city to survive?"
Thales's loud voice made his ears rumble. He was dizzy and nodded subconsciously:
"Want, want...?"
In the awkward atmosphere, the two looked at each other, one angry and the other confused.
After a few seconds, Grivet put down his fist, exhaled a sigh, and turned the wheelchair around.
"Follow me obediently!"
"Bad boy!" he snorted disdainfully.
The frightened Thales then put down his hands.
He shrugged, as if he had figured something out, and followed thoughtfully.
So, amid the sound of wheels rolling over gravel, the shadows of a wheelchair and a boy slowly stretched on the rough ground in the shield area, moving forward side by side in the quiet night sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thales' right fist punched his left palm three times.
"I understand." Thales, who was walking on the road, carefully observed Griwal, whose expression was ugly, as if he was aggrieved or angry.
The young man seemed to have made a new discovery, and his voice was slightly surprised: "You will still help me after all, but you are not willing to submit in front of the old crow..."
Grivet's face froze.
"Shut up."
But Thales, who was immersed in the new discovery, didn't care about the other party's words at all. His eyes were bright: "And Xixer, that old crow deliberately left me behind. He also knows this. Xixer knows that you must
Will help me, so he..."
Grivet's face became even more ugly.
He gritted his teeth, twisted his mouth, and had a twisted face, and accelerated the speed of the push wheel:
"Shut up"
Thales caught up two steps, passed the opponent's accelerating wheelchair, and turned around to face the veteran.
"Wait a minute," Thales' eyes became brighter and brighter: "You also know this, right?"
"You know he knows you're going to help me..."
As if he had been told something that was on his mind, Grivet exhaled with a look of despair.
While pushing the wheelchair, he banged the wheels in dissatisfaction:
"Shut up!"
Thales had no intention of shutting up. He walked backwards, holding his chest with one hand and stroking his chin with the other. He looked like he was surprised: "So you know each other well, but... you are out of curiosity."
I don’t want to point it out for some reason…”
"Xixer, he also knows that you know that he knows that you will help me..."
Unable to bear it, Griwal raised his head in pain and wailed:
"enough"
The veteran stopped the wheel and interrupted Thales fiercely: "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Thales stopped talking and looked at Griwal in confusion.
"Yes, I know, and he knows too," Grivet said with an angry look on his face and waved his hands violently toward the sky:
"So what?"
He took a sip ungently and looked at Thales unhappily: "I also know that he already knows that I know that he knows that I will help you."
Thales nodded solemnly and encouraged him to continue speaking with his eyes.
"Fuck, I'm almost going crazy because of you," Grewal choked up and his face changed slightly: "Can't you just shut up?"
Thales blinked, showing a look of helplessness.
"Of course," the prince chuckled and scratched his head: "It's just that you may say so..."
"You know, you also scolded my mother."
Griward was stunned:
"What are you scolding?"
Thales pointed to the distance, smiled awkwardly, and kindly reminded him: "You seem to have scolded her with your words? My mother, Selantie... Well, you know her anyway."
The confused Grivolu paused for a few seconds before reacting.
The veteran raised his finger angrily and made a fierce face: "You fucking..."
"That's it." Thales coughed softly.
At that moment, Grieve's throat seemed to be stuck, and he paused suddenly.
He hesitated subconsciously, his expression subtle and changing several times.
But a second later, the veteran returned to his usual vicious voice and pointed at Thales again:
"What the hell..."
However, in front of Thales's friendly gaze, Grivet was choked by something unknown, and the muscles on his face trembled slightly.
"You he……"
The veteran opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came out.
His fingers were tangled back and forth in the air, as if he couldn't find the target.
The breeze blows.
Thales shivered due to the chill, but his smile remained unchanged.
"you……"
Finally, after hesitating for a few seconds, Drew Grewal, who was full of grief and anger, punched him hard!
Thumping the poor wheelchair hard.
boom!
"Dad, shut up!"
Regarding Hixer and his "History of the Northern War", there are indeed things that happened in reality.
One of my teachers, L, told me about her personal experience: When teacher L was graduating with her Ph.D., she submitted a paper to a top journal, and a professor who reviewed it anonymously responded with an opinion draft, to the effect of: "In your literature,
If you do not cite a certain work, it is an authoritative work in this field! This is a major flaw in your research, please make up for it quickly."
Teacher L, who had just graduated with a Ph.D., of course accepted the anonymous professor's advice with trepidation, and then searched for "someone's work" through poverty and deprivation. However, it was strange that it was "an authoritative work in this field", but she
After years of searching to no avail.
Finally, the perseverant Teacher L finally found information about "such and such a book" in Cambridge by calling famous publishers in the field one by one. The publisher replied: Oh, there are such and such works.
Yes, here we are, but the manuscript is still being proofread and will not be published until next year!
It won’t be published until next year, next year, next year~
Teacher L who is messy in the wind: I have a sentence mmp that I don’t know what to say...
Many years later, through an accidental channel, Teacher L discovered with a dark face: the professor who anonymously reviewed her thesis was the author of the unpublished "book of so-and-so" that had not yet been published.
Teacher L who is messy in the wind: I have another sentence mmp no...
Wu Jian will never forget the look of despair on the face of Teacher L, who has always been serious and serious, when telling this story.
How has the great thought of wishing her good health and a successful life ever been bound by the body of illness?