Chapter 4 4. Wang Kaiyun's untimely move: refusing to see Lu Futai and welcoming Zhang Blacksmith instead

After the expansion, Chuanshan Academy, with its reputation for cultivating great Confucianists and its beautiful and elegant environment, soon became a famous academy in Sanxiang. Not only students in southern Hunan regard it as the highest institution of learning, but even in central Hunan, western Hunan, and the neighboring province of Jiangxi. A large number of students from Guangdong, Guangdong and other areas also came here.The gentlemen who teach in the academy are old Confucian scholars who have lived in school, and the head of the academy who presides over the academy must be a highly respected and talented old man.Last year, after the death of Luo Wenhui, a former cabinet scholar who returned to his native place after the former head of the mountain, Dou Shide, the prefect of Hengzhou, went to Yunhu Bridge in Xiangtan to invite Mr. Wang Kaiyun to preside over the academic affairs of the academy.Mr. Renqiu first came to feel the kindness of the prefect of Dou, and secondly, he studied in Dongzhou Academy in his early years, and he had a great affection for this place, so he brought a few entourages to the academy.Since the arrival of Mr. Renqiu, the reputation of Chuanshan Academy has grown even more. Talented students from Yuelu, Chengnan, Lujiang and other academies went south one after another, and it was known as Chuanshan Academy for a while.

This morning, Mr. Renqiu was drawing up a lecture outline in his study. He was going to give a lecture to the students who had been in the academy for a long time, and he would focus on the "Spring and Autumn Gongyang Biography" written by He Xiu.Wang Kaiyun studied Confucian classics very deeply.Among all the scriptures, he is especially good at "Spring and Autumn", and "Gongyang" is more important in "Spring and Autumn".He has unique views on "Gongyang", and believes that Confucius' narration of "Spring and Autumn" can convey its essence only in "Gongyang".At this time the concierge brought a large envelope.Wang Kaiyun put down his pen, took the envelope, and saw a long purple seal stamped on it: Hunan Governor's Yamen.He smiled faintly, slowly opened it, and took out a beautiful name card: Imperial Scholars and First-born Governor Lu Chunjiang of Hunan.He looked inside the envelope again, but there was no letter.Just when he was wondering, he turned over the name badge and saw a line of small characters written on the back: "Mr. Renqiu: I would like to make a special trip to visit the academy on the afternoon of the eighth day of the lunar new year. Please wait then." Wang Kaiyun snorted softly in his nose , casually threw the name badge into the wastebasket, and asked the concierge standing beside him with a sullen face, "Who sent it?"

Seeing Mr. Wang throwing the governor's badge in the wastebasket, the porter was horrified, and hurriedly replied tremblingly: "It was sent by the head of the prefect's yamen, Mr. Fu." "Lu Chunjiang is so arrogant. It's been six or seven days since I arrived in Hengzhou, and I just remembered to see me. I didn't even have a letter, so I just wrote a few words on the back of the famous thorn. I don't know which gentleman taught it to be a bastard student! Old man When he was famous in the capital, he was afraid that he was still wearing crotch pants, what kind of style would he put on in front of this old man!"

The concierge saw that the head of the mountain didn't pay attention to Mr. Futai so much, he was so scared that he was at a loss, and he didn't dare to slip away. "Is Shorty Fu still there?" "Yes, yes." The porter quickly replied, "He is still waiting for your reply!" "Go and tell him, just say that I don't want to see Lu Chunjiang, and tell him not to come." Wang Kaiyun waved to the porter. "Yes Yes." The concierge agreed, and hurried out of the study.When he met Bantou Fu, he didn't dare to speak directly, and lied: "Shanchang Wang has been very ill recently and can't get up. Please tell Mr. Futai. I'm really sorry."

Bantou Fu had no choice but to return to the mansion.Unexpectedly, a person happened to pass by here at this time, and he was shocked when he heard this.This person is the personal woman who serves the head of the mountain. Her husband's family name is Zhou, and everyone calls her Mother Zhou.Zhou's mother is also from Xiangtan, thirty-eight or nine years old, short and fat, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a flat nose bridge, and a wide mouth.Her husband is a fool, he can neither farm nor do crafts, and he only lives in drunkenness all day long.Mother Zhou has a daughter and a son.The daughter is eighteen years old this year, and the son is also sixteen years old.Three years ago, the two parents-in-law had a big fight over housework.In a fit of anger, Zhou's mother left home to join Wang Kaiyun's house and became an old lady in the house.Unexpectedly, Zhou Ma's vote was really like Han Xin's vote for Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty.It turned out that Wang Kaiyun's wife Mrs. Cai and concubine Mo Liuyun passed away before he was 60 years old, and the 60-year-old Wang Kaiyun was still strong and vigorous, and he was still vigorous and romantic.He also stopped remarrying, and used the old women in the family as his wives: doing rough things during the day and warming his bed at night.Inside and outside the mansion, people talked tsk tsk, but Wang Kaiyun adhered to the demeanor of celebrities in the Six Dynasties, doing his own way, and didn't care.As soon as Zhou's mother came, she was doted on by the old gentleman, and gradually she became a little doting on the private room, which made the other old women feel jealous in their stomachs, but they couldn't get angry.

It stands to reason that the status of an ugly and vulgar old lady like Zhou Ma is quite different from that of Wang Kaiyun. How could old celebrities like her?It turns out that although Zhou's mother looks ugly, she is very spiritual in her heart.She has several great strengths.One is capable.She did all the chores in the house neatly and neatly, no one else could fault her, and the old man convinced her.The second is to be considerate and understand the old man's temperament clearly.When the old man moved his eyebrows and blinked his eyes, she could know what he was thinking, so she said and acted according to his will, so that the old man would feel comfortable with her, and would be unhappy without her.The third is scheming.Although she was illiterate, she knew the books the old man read and the articles he wrote.Wang Kaiyun read and wrote articles, and often made a mess of the study. Every evening, Zhou's mother cleaned it up.The next morning, Wang Kaiyun asked for the books and articles he had read yesterday, and Zhou's mother immediately found them for him, which was not messy.The old man often praised her for her talent.

Because of these three talents, Wang Kaiyun couldn't do without Zhou's mother for a day, and Zhou's mother gradually became the mistress of the palace.Although Wang Kaiyun's many sons and daughters are uncomfortable, but in the face of their father, sometimes they make her three points, so Zhou's mother is even more proud.Last year, Wang Kaiyun became the head of Chuanshan Academy, and Zhou Ma naturally followed her to Dongzhou.A few days ago, Xianjue, the abbot of Huayao Temple, came to Dongzhou to look for Wang Kaiyun. When the head of the mountain was teaching the students, Zhou Ma came out to receive him.Xianjue said that the Linjiang Salt Company set up a warehouse and occupied the vegetable field of Huayao Temple. The lawsuit has been going on for more than two years, but the Hengzhou government has not dealt with it.I heard that Lu Futai has arrived in Hengzhou Mansion and will visit Wang Shanzhang in two days.I beg Shanzhang Wang to speak a few words of justice for Huayao Temple in front of Futai, and to take back the vegetable fields in the temple.After finishing speaking, Xianjue took out two hundred taels of silver from his bosom and asked Mama Zhou to transfer it to Chief Wang Shan.

Seeing so much white silver, Zhou's mother smiled and squinted her eyes with joy, took it and hid it, and said to the monk: "You just need to rest assured, Mr. Futai is the old man's student, as long as the old man speaks, he will give you money." It has to be done accordingly. The vegetable field in Huayao Temple will be returned by the salt shop in a short time." In fact, the so-called "students" and so on are purely Mama Zhou's nonsense.Xianjue is not an honest person, so before leaving, he added: "If the matter is not handled well, please return the two hundred taels of silver to me." Zhou's mother agreed.She remembered that it was time for her daughter to get a dowry, and her son would have to marry her in two years, and she needed money for it, so she kept the two hundred taels of silver privately, and only told Wang Kaiyun to ask him to say it in front of Lu Futai. In a few words, take the vegetable field back.Unexpectedly, Wang Kaiyun didn't want to, saying that he thought that guy was tricky. It's hard to say whether the vegetable field belongs to Huayao Temple, so he can't interfere in this matter.Zhou's mother was anxious when she heard it, and she talked softly and softly, and finally made the old man reluctantly agree.Unexpectedly, he didn't even see Mr. Futai. Isn't this just blowing up?How could Mother Zhou be willing to withdraw the two hundred taels of silver in hand?She thought about it and had an idea. Zhou Ma went into the kitchen and boiled a bowl of lotus seed soup with rock sugar, and then cut two thin slices of ginseng and put them on the soup.She took the bowl of soup to the study and said with a sweet smile: "Old man, take a rest and drink this bowl of soup!" Wang Kaiyun put down the pen, picked up the bowl, saw the ginseng slices, and asked, "Why did you put this thing?" Zhou's mother said: "I see that you are too tired these days, and your energy is not as good as before. Let me refresh you." Zhou's mother walked behind the old man, rubbed his neck, pinched his shoulders, beat his back and rubbed his waist.The old man immediately felt comfortable all over, and asked, "Where did you get the money to buy ginseng?" Mother Zhou replied: "It was the Xianjue monk from Huayao Temple who forcibly fortified two hundred taels of silver last time, saying that he was filial to you. I think you only need to say something to Lu Futai, are you afraid that he won't listen? This matter must be done." Come on, take it." "Why didn't you tell me in advance?" The old man turned his face away, apparently displeased. Zhou's mother hurriedly smiled and said: "I don't tell you, it's for your own good! I know you love children very much, but children don't know how to love you. Miss Seven will get married in two days. If you I knew I had these two hundred taels of silver, and I was going to use it to add a dowry to Miss Seven. So I kept quiet and bought a catty of the best ginseng at Jingyitang. The clerk just delivered it yesterday afternoon. Put two tablets for you every day. I didn’t expect that you don’t want to see Lu Futai, old man, and come to ask for money later, how can I deal with it?” Seeing that Wang Kaiyun didn't answer, Zhou's mother massaged more attentively.After a while, he tentatively said again: "Old man, you have an idea! Or, return the uncut half to Jing Yitang. However, Boss Xiao of Jing Yitang never takes back the medicines he sells. Yes!" Wang Kaiyun listened silently, without making a sound, thinking all the time in his heart.He was born in a poor family, and his family has no ancestral property. The current family property is all earned by him alone.Mrs. Cai gave birth to four sons and four daughters, and Mo Liuyun gave birth to six daughters.The eldest son, Daigong, and the third son, Daiyu, all got married and had children, but both of them are still studying and cannot add a little income to the family.The second son Daifeng died of illness a few years ago, and his daughter-in-law stayed at home with his heir.The fourth son, Dai Yi, is not married, and studies with him in the academy.Six of the ten daughters were married off, and four were at home.More than a dozen people, including sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, all ate what the old man cultivated with his tongue alone.In addition, there are eleven male and female servants, plus the constant guests all year round, and the relatives who make money. The sum of the income is not bad, but the expenses are too huge, and he often has to worry about the money at home.The ginseng that Zhou's mother bought for herself with good intentions, is there any reason to return it?For a while, he couldn't come up with two hundred taels of silver to make up for this shortfall, not to mention that Xianjue was a treacherous person, and his silver was also ill-gotten wealth obtained by pretending to be a ghost, and he felt worthy of spending it.Thinking of this, Wang Kaiyun said to Zhou Ma: "Go and ask the porter to come in." Knowing that the old man had an idea, Zhou's mother hurriedly kicked up her two little feet and ran quickly to the gate.When the concierge walked into the study, Wang Kaiyun pointed to a note that had just been written on the desk and said, "When the Xianjue monk from Huayao Temple comes, you can show him this note." The gatekeeper picked up the note and read: "The head of the mountain has never been in contact with monks. If the monks and nuns have something to ask, I must pay you two hundred taels of silver." When Zhou's mother heard this, she laughed until her chubby face was covered with flesh. In the evening, Wang Kaiyun was accompanied by Zhou Ma for a walk in the peach forest as usual, often followed by a group of students, and today is no exception.He is quick-witted and eloquent by nature, and when he was old, he relied on his old age to sell his old age, and he was carefree and unrestrained.He is sometimes aloof and arrogant in front of the powerful, and he likes to play tricks on the wicked, play tricks, and try to please him, but in front of the students, he is a kind elder, approachable, and friendly.Especially for those poor and motivated young people, he tried his best to help, and for the outstanding ones, he did not hesitate to condescend and make friends with them.Because of this, the students respected him and liked him. In front of him, they could chatter freely and express all kinds of opinions at will, even if they shocked the world.He often said that he has made many shocking actions. To live, the first thing to do is to be comfortable and not to be too constrained by the rules and regulations of the world. "Mr. Xiangqi, when you were young and old, you had many good stories with Zeng Wenzhenggong and others. Tell us two of them!" The speaker was a poet monk who came to Dongzhou to study recently. He is also from Xiangtan at the age of 10 years old. His lay surname is Huang and his first name is Dushan.Jichan lost his parents when he was young, so he picked up dung and herded cattle.Once under the eaves of a private school sheltered from the rain, I heard the children in the school read a Tang poem "It's early to be a guest when you are lonely, but it's too late to know the king", and she burst into tears.The school teacher pitied him for being lonely and poor and studious, and accepted him as an apprentice on the condition of cooking and boiling water.Not long after the school teacher died, he also left the private school.From then on, he worked as a servant during the day and read books under the lamp at night.Occasionally, I saw peach blossoms being destroyed by wind and rain, and I was moved by the impermanence of the world, so I became a monk, but my heart was always sad.Jichan secretly raised a dog in the monastery. One time, he was feeding the dog food. When the elder came, he was afraid of scolding, so he drove the dog away and ate all the leftovers.In the middle of the night, he remembered what happened during the day, and he felt nauseous and vomited profusely.After vomiting, he suddenly realized: eating dog leftovers during the day is not difficult, but thinking about the scene at night is uncomfortable. It can be seen that beauty, ugliness, good and evil are all in one thought.From then on, Jing An had a profound understanding of life, no longer felt miserable for himself, and enjoyed chanting scriptures, paying homage to Buddha, reciting poems and visiting friends for the rest of his life.At the beginning of Jichan, he aroused the favor of the Hunan poetry circle at that time with the sentence "Dongting wave sent a monk here". Later, he traveled all over famous mountains and temples, sang with poets from all over the world, and wrote better poems, becoming a famous poet monk.But Jichan knew that his foundation was shallow, admired Wang Kaiyun's erudition and talent, and often went to Wangmen for advice.Wang Kaiyun appreciated his poems and accepted him as a disciple.A few days ago, he returned to Hunan from giving lectures at Tiantong Temple in Ningbo, Zhejiang. He heard that Wang Kaiyun was teaching in Hengzhou Prefecture, so he rushed to Dongzhou to talk about poetry and essays with Mr. Renqiu. After listening to Jing An's questioning, Wang Kaiyun felt at ease.He likes to be asked about his contacts with Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and others, which is a history that he is proud of all his life.He thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Let me tell you one!" When the students heard that the head of the mountain was going to tell the story of the ZTE period, their interest suddenly increased, and all the students behind stepped forward and surrounded him.Mother Zhou leaned close to the old man like a personal bodyguard, and yelled, "Don't crowd the gentleman!" "It doesn't matter." Wang Kaiyun was overjoyed, and said with his unique loud accent, "That year I went from Shandong to Qimen, Anhui. At that time, Anqing and Jinling were still in Changmao's hands. Zeng Wenzheng had just been awarded the governor of Liangjiang and supervised the yamen. There is no place to put it, so Zeng Wenzheng chose Qimen as the place to stay. As soon as I arrived in Qimen, I saw that it was not suitable for setting up an old camp, because it was in the middle of the mountains, and once the road out of the mountain was cut off by long hairs, it would be very difficult. I lost contact outside, so I had to sit and wait. I told Zeng Wenzheng, but he didn't listen to me. There was nothing he could do if he didn't listen to me. I said it once and never said it again." After Zeng Guofan's death, he was given the posthumous posthumous title of Wenzheng. At that time, people called him Zeng Wenzheng Gong to show respect, while Wang Kaiyun only called him Zeng Wenzheng without adding the word "gong". He did this to show that he and Zeng Guofan were equal friends. , no need for extra respect. "Sir, I heard that Li Zhongtang also said the same thing to Mr. Zeng Wenzheng." A student interjected. "That will happen in the future. It is for this reason that Li Shaoquan left Qimen because he was unable to intercede for Li Yuandu. Li Shaoquan has always been well-behaved." Wang Kaiyun laughed and continued, "Acquaintances in the Qimen shogunate Many people chatted casually when they had nothing to do at night. Once I told them a joke: People knew that Confucius had a disciple named Gongye Chang, but they didn’t know that Gongye Chang had a brother named Gongye Short. Gongye short went to see his elder brother Gongye Chang, and saw the endless strings and songs by the Zhusi River, the sound of books, elegant and gentle, he was very envious, so he also wanted to study under Confucius' school. Gongye Chang took his younger brother to meet the master. The master was having a meal at that time, and the two brothers sat beside him on the floor. The chief Gongye explained his intentions and presented the Shuxiu on behalf of his younger brother. The master agreed. He asked Gongye, "Your brother can speak bird language, so can you?" Duan replied respectfully, the student did not understand the language of birds, but the language of dogs. The master was very satisfied. At this time, there happened to be two dogs fighting for a piece of meat and bones under the dining table. They fought very vigorously and barked. Master Ask Gongye Short, do you know what the two dogs are talking about? Gongye Short listened and answered, one dog was gnawing on a bone, and it said delicious, delicious. If you can eat it, so can I." Wang Kai pronounced "eat" as "cha" with a heavy Xiangtan dialect, which greatly enhanced his sense of humor and made the students around him burst into laughter. "Who knew that this joke got into trouble." Seeing the students laughing happily, the husband was also very happy. "The next day it was heard by Zeng Wenzheng, and he was very upset. I found out later that the subordinates of Jiushuai a few days ago When fighting with Bao Chao's subordinates for the spoils, Bao Chao lost his temper and said, "Why can't my people get it when Lao Jiu's people get it?" Zeng Wenzheng said that I was mocking his brothers and subordinates. In fact, this was wronged, and I didn't know it in advance. " "No wonder Zeng Wenzheng didn't keep you in the shogunate, I'm afraid that's why!" Jichan laughed. "Zeng Wenzheng recruited talents from Sanxiang, but he didn't use me. There are many reasons, and I'm afraid this is one of them!" "Sir, I heard from others that after the death of Duke Wen Zheng, Mr. Zeng Huimin didn't post the elegiac couplet you always gave us. Is there such a thing?" The person who asked the question was in his thirties, named Zhang Dengshou, another strange student of Mr. Renqiu's school.Two years ago, Zhang Dengshou was a blacksmith at Wushi Mountain in Xiangtan.When he was blacksmithing, he didn't hang a rice cooker over the fire like ordinary blacksmiths did. He hung a book high on the stove, and read while blacksmithing.This blacksmith Zhang especially loves poetry and songs. He often composes some poems, recites them by the stove, and appreciates himself.Others told him that if he wants to make progress in poetry, he must join Mr. Renqiu's school.On a snowy day, blacksmith Zhang wore a bamboo hat, wooden clogs, and shabby clothes. He braved the rain and snow and walked for more than 30 miles to Zhaotan Academy where Mr. Xiangqi taught.At this time, the king was having a banquet, and the officials and gentry of Xiangtan County gathered together.Seeing Zhang's rough skin and shabby clothes, the porter refused to let him in.Zhang stared wide-eyed and said, "I am blacksmith Zhang from Wushishan Mountain. I must see you! You won't let me in, so please show me this poem." Seeing Zhang's ferocious expression, the concierge was a little frightened, so he went on his behalf. He sent in the manuscript.Wang Kaiyun had heard about Zhang Tiejiang's name for a long time, so he flipped through the manuscripts of poems at the banquet, and after reading a few poems, he sighed: "Sure enough, he is a real poet in my hometown." So he went out and welcomed Zhang Tiejiang in. , please take his seat.Those officials and gentry were afraid that the mud and water on the blacksmith's body would spoil their fox fur robes, so they all stayed away.From then on, Zhang Tiejiang stopped forging iron, and followed Wang Kaiyun to write poems and lyrics. "It is true that Zeng Jiegang didn't hang up my elegiac couplet. He thought I didn't praise his father enough. In fact, what I said was the most fair, and future generations will judge. Sigh!" Wang Kaiyun sighed slightly, "Zeng Wenzheng's heart It's not lenient, and his heir is worse than him." "A few years ago, Peng Yongzhao put it in the most prominent position in the couplet that you used to call Peng Gang straight to your father." Jichan interjected. Wang Kaiyun smiled and said, "That's all good words. How could he not hang on to him with such face?" A student said: "Bazhi Toutuo, how did you write the elegiac couplet, read it out for us to study." Ji Chan said: "Mr.'s elegiac couplet is written like this: Poetry comes from a famous master, and his achievements are more brilliant, and the price of plum blossoms in the painting garden increases; The building and the boat want to cross the sea, sighing that the hero is old, and he can't bear to say the bloody battles in the south of the Yangtze River. People commented, It is said that this couplet is the first among hundreds of elegiac couplets written by Mr. Peng Gang." Wang Kaiyun smiled and looked at the small fishing boats returning late on the river, feeling very comfortable. The student who asked the question sighed: "Mr.'s talent is truly unparalleled, and no one else can match it." Zhang Dengshou said: "The moonlight was bright last night. When I chanted my husband's poems about the moon, I felt clear and clear in my chest. The trivial things were swept away, especially "Yueyue is as bright as jade, and the empty mountains can't distinguish flowers. Clouds come to a dark court." , The wind blows away the hundreds of branches, and the words are so vivid that Tang Xian can't match them." "Zhang Tiejiang, you have won the prize! Your moon-chanting poems are natural and straightforward, I can't match them!" Wang Kaiyun suddenly turned his face and interjected, "The moon is clear in the sky, and I know that there is no lust. The peaches are flattering me today, so much is my love. Listen to everyone, this is really vivid!" "Hahaha!" The students around burst into laughter, which made Blacksmith Zhang feel embarrassed. "Father." Dai Yi hastily separated from the crowd, approached and said, "The eldest son of Xia Futai is here." "Oh, Wu Yi is here, I'm going to meet him."