Chapter 64 2. Wang Kaiyun prepared two special gifts for the disciples who came to Beijing to be officials

Hearing this, Yang Du was startled, got up quickly and said "Go and see", and walked out of the gate quickly. A lot of people had already gathered outside the door, and when they saw him coming out, several people shouted: "Young Master, congratulations to you!" Some rushed to introduce the person who announced the good news, "This is Young Master Yang!" The annunciator held a large envelope that was about a foot long, walked to Yang Du, handed it with both hands, and said, "Master Yang, Cen Futai sent you the emperor's imperial decree, and inside it is his personal letter to you. Master Yang, congratulations on your promotion!"

Someone in the crowd shouted again: "Young Master, you have been promoted!" "Young Master, you are amazing!" "Young Master, you want to invite us to drink!" There was a lot of clamor. It was really joy from the sky, Yang Du was very happy in his heart.He took the envelope and said, "Thank you for your hard work!" Then he asked, "How many came?" "Three." Annunciation replied. Yang Du turned around and said to the younger brother behind him, "Go quickly and give ten silver dollars to each of the three brothers." Mrs. Li pulled the gong player with a smile and said, "Brother, you are all from the province, so it's hard for you. Come in and drink!"

Yang Du also cupped his hands and said to them: "Brothers, let's go into the house for dinner, I'll go to read the imperial decree first." The person who sent the letter said with a smile: "It's a big deal to read the imperial decree, so go!" Mrs. Li said, "You go, I'll greet you." Mrs. Huang also came out to greet the guests with her mother-in-law, and invited some decent people into the room to chat with the guests. Yang Du hurried into Chongzi's study with the envelope in his hand, Wang Kaiyun got up happily and went to meet him, and said with a smile, "It's a coincidence that I have caught up with this happy event." Then he asked, "Have you read the imperial decree? How did it come about?" ?”

Uncle Ji also said happily: "Take it out and have a look." Yang Du said: "I am about to read it with my husband." Yang Du took out the edict sent by the cabinet, looked at it briefly, and handed it to the teacher.Uncle Ji also came over to watch.At this moment, Yang Du leaned on Mr.'s shoulder and read the last edict carefully. "Special reward for the title of the fourth grade Jingtang, and the governor of Hunan will send this person to Beijing as soon as possible, and he will be promoted by the constitutional editorial office." Wang Kaiyun looked at it and read it aloud unconsciously. "My dear son, this old man is really looking forward to this day. He was conferred the title of fourth-rank Jingtang all at once, which is quite unusual. Back then when Zuo Wenxiang became an official, he was only the fifth-rank magistrate!"

Shuji immediately remembered that Tan Sitong came to Beijing from Hunan nine years ago, and was also awarded the title of fourth-rank Jingtang.She respects Tan Sitong very much, and was about to use Tan Sitong's story to praise her brother, but thought that Tan Sitong had a tragic ending after all, and it is not appropriate to mention him at this time, so she followed her father-in-law's words: "It is exactly what father said, when Duke Zuo Wenxiang formed the Chu army later." His official title is also the fourth-rank Jingtang. The vigorous and great career started from the fourth-rank Jingtang, brother, this is a good omen!"

"Good omen, good omen!" Yang Du nodded and said with a smile, "There is still a letter from Cen Futai." He unfolded Cen Ruqi's letter and said: "Mr. Xizi's great lesson: Tian's grace is rich, and Tanzhou is full of glory. Congratulations to Mr. for being honored with an important task and making great achievements. Please let me know when you will leave. Brother, please prepare your car carefully and come in person Xiangtan welcomes you, and invites famous people from central Hunan to give you a farewell party for Mr. Tai'an. My brother Cen Chunling bows his head."

Yang Du sneered and said: "A few days ago I went to the Governor's Yamen and asked him to meet me to discuss constitutional matters. He sent out a third-rate master. The master crossed his legs and said to me in an official tone that Mr. Futai is very busy. The imperial envoys who come to the court all day long can't see you, and you can't read all the official documents under the court. How can I have time to see you. If you have anything to do, please tell me. I will be free now, and I have to go to Xiangtan Come pick me up, what a courtesy!" Shuji said: "People in the officialdom are like this. They only recognize the hat but not the person. Don't call him here. I don't see this kind of official. It's disgusting to see!"

Wang Kaiyun smiled and said, "Don't say that. Your brother is now an official. He doesn't feel comfortable hearing it." "I'm telling the truth." Uncle Ji insisted on her point of view, "Men all want to squeeze into the officialdom. In fact, being an official has both advantages and disadvantages. Before becoming an official, a good man, Once you become an official, it becomes bad!" Yang Du said: "You can't generalize. Some things go bad and some don't. Uncle has been a general soldier for many years, and he hasn't gone bad until his death. Don't worry, I won't change."

"Brother, you said this when you just received the imperial decree today. I will remember it. If the officialdom becomes bad by then, I will blame you!" "Beautiful words!" Wang Kaiyun clapped his hands in praise, "Uncle Ji really deserves to be a talented girl from the Yang family and a virtuous daughter-in-law of the Wang family. It is rare to have this insight! Xizi, I will prepare for you when you go to the capital. You leave Xiangtan Come to Xiangqi Tower, and I will see you farewell." Yang Du said: "The student has no idea, and I hope you can give me some advice. In two days, I will come to your old residence."

The father-in-law had a hard journey today, and after talking so much, the uncle knew that she must be tired, so she said to the father-in-law, "Lie down on the heavy bed first, and I will treat you to dinner later." Wang Kaiyun, who is in his seventies, is indeed tired. Seeing his daughter-in-law being so considerate and considerate, he feels very relieved, and even more blames his son for not living up to expectations.He got up and said to Uncle Ji: "Take Peng'er back tomorrow. Dai Yi is useless, he is not worthy to be your husband. For Peng'er's sake, go live at home. You don't have to be my daughter-in-law from now on. Be my female disciple."

The father-in-law was so reasonable, and my uncle was very moved. She nodded with tears in her eyes. Three days later, Yang Du came to Xiangqi Tower.In this building with a beautiful environment and a rich collection of books, the teachers and students have had countless heart-to-heart conversations over the years.They talked about learning, from the ancient Three Tombs, Five Classics, Eight Suspicions and Jiuqiu, to the poems and writings of Shi Xian; Coup d'état; talking about the secular world, from the richness of the years and social turmoil, to the hardships of life and the complexity of the family. In the eyes of the students, Mr. has experienced the four dynasties of Taoism, Xian, Tong, and Guang, traveled half the world, made friends with outstanding people, taught for more than 50 years, and wrote millions of words. He is the greatest wise man today. Gain endless knowledge.In Mr.'s eyes, a student is talented, talented, ambitious, and uncommon. He is a piece of pure gold, a piece of rough jade, which can be cultivated and carved into a great tool.Today's farewell is an extraordinary meeting, whether it is for the students who will be going or the husband who is at home. At this moment, they were sitting face to face in the corridor on the second floor, with a maroon carved coffee table with short legs in the middle.This is a gift carefully crafted by Qi Baishi for his teacher.There are two bowls of tea on the coffee table.On the gentleman's side, there is a copper hookah standing beside the tea bowl.On the student's side, a box of imported cigars lay beside the teacup.The sun hangs high in the blue sky, and its bright and warm light brings vitality to the Xiangqi Tower in the winter: the dark green orange tree leaves are thick and plump, the yellow-brown winter jasmine branches are soft and soft, and the bronze-colored wintersweet tree The ground is covered with plump buds, and within ten days and a half months, they will bloom in full bloom against the snow, decorating the vast plain world with beautiful colors and charming postures.A plum branch protruded obliquely on the tea table through the railing, adding a poetic touch to the conversation between teachers and students.Yang Du's mood was like the scenery in his eyes, shining brightly, he listened excitedly to Mr. "Xizi, I am seventy-six years old this year. I am very pleased to see you in such glory today." Wang Kaiyun was wearing a silver fox fur robe and a black satin mandarin jacket, leaning against the back of the wicker chair He said with great interest, "Although you can't compare with Jiang Ziya and Zhuge Liang who came out of the mountain this time, it is an honor in this dynasty to be recruited by the fourth-rank Jingtang. This is of course due to your study abroad in Dongyang. Thanks to Zhang Xiangtao and Yuan Weiting for their recommendation." "Sir, that's what you said." Yang Du nodded.Today he is wearing a green tweed hat inlaid with red agate, and what hangs down behind his head is a fake braid that was only put on in the past few days.He cut off his braids in Japan two years ago, and Mrs. Li always disliked him after returning home.On the second day of the announcement, she excitedly brought a braid and said to her son, "You are going to be an official next to the emperor. You can't do without a braid. It will be fine when your hair grows in two years." Yang Du thought about it, So I tied it according to my mother's order.Mrs. Li looked at her son again, and said proudly: "This is like a real man!" As soon as he arrived at Xiangqi Building today, Wang Kaiyun first noticed the braid on the back of the student's head, and he was very satisfied with the change , asked Zhou's mother to find a red cloth strip for the students to tie.Thinking of the scene of cutting the braids with a sharp knife two years ago, Yang Du felt as if time had flown backwards. "My son, all the officials, no matter how big or small they are, have always said that it is their duty to identify talents, but what they actually do is very little." Wang Kaiyun sighed, and his thoughts began to become restless. "At that time, Zuo Wenxiang, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, explored the Western Regions, and the court relied heavily on him. I sent him a letter saying that the world is so big, and there are so many princes and lords, and none of them can seek talents. In this world, someone who can really seek talents is Wang, and Wang is not in power, out of touch with world affairs, unable to recommend heroes, so he knows that the world will die. Zuo Wenxiang did not reply, he probably thought I was too arrogant, but this is the truth. Those famous officials in the Zhongxing period were famous for their knowledge. In fact, this is not the case. Hu Wenzhong seeks talents but does not know them; Zeng Wenzheng accepts talents but cannot use them; Zuo Wenxiang can visit talents but cannot accommodate them; Liu Wushen can know talents but cannot appoint them; all sages are like this, let alone others! The reasons are very complicated, and not all are the faults of those in power, but also include the ways of the world, opportunities, and fate, so since ancient times, many talents have been underappreciated. Your situation today is lucky, you should cherish it, and especially thank Zhang and Yuan. Without them, how could you have obtained this edict?" Yang Du said: "I can understand Zhang Xiangshuai's recommendation. That year, Teke was his master's exam. Later, I went to meet him for the Guangdong-Han Railway. Besides, he is an old friend of my husband. He loves the house and Wu. As for Yuan Weishuai, why did he Do you want to recommend me? I only met him once in my life, and I haven’t had a deep talk with him. I haven’t contacted him in these years. He can play with Zhang Xiangshuai, which makes it difficult for me to understand.” Wang Kaiyun picked up the copper hookah and lit a bag of cigarettes.He didn't answer the students' questions right away, he was grunting, as if he was engrossed in enjoying the pleasure brought by the hookah.When one bag was finished, he pulled out the tobacco stem, knocked off the ash, and took out a golden tobacco ball from the calico embroidered bag, put it in the recess at the top of the tobacco stem, and then blew on the burning paper to twist it, and squinted his eyes again. , wandering in the smoke.Knowing that the teacher was thinking seriously, Yang Du also took out a caramel-colored cigar, lit a match, smoked it calmly, and circle after circle of light blue smoke hovered over his head immediately. "I've met Yuan Weiting before." "When did you meet sir?" Yang Du was quite surprised by this sentence.He knew that Yuan Shikai had been working as an official in Tianjin, Jinan, and Baoding for more than ten years after returning from North Korea, and Mr. Yuan had never left Hunan for these years. Where did he meet Yuan? "That was thirty-six years ago." "Thirty-six years ago?" Yang Du opened his eyes wide. "Yuan Weiting is only forty-eight years old this year, and only twelve years old thirty-six years ago!" "Yes, he was just a child that year." Wang Kaiyun put down the copper snuff pot, stroked his gray beard slowly, sinking into the memories. "In the tenth year of Tongzhi, I went south from the capital, taking Shandong and Jiangsu all the way. I planned to go to Jiangning to meet Zeng Wenzheng for a while. When I first entered Jiangsu Province, I heard that Zeng Wenzheng had left Jiangning and was going to parade in northern Jiangsu. So I I took a boat down the canal to meet him on the way. When I arrived at Qingjiangpu, I happened to meet him. He received me very politely, and I gave him the few books I had with me." Yang Du asked: "Which books did you send, sir?" "It's inconvenient to bring more during the journey. At that time, I sent several copies: "Supplementary Notes to the Great Biography of Shangshu", "Yu Gongjian", "Zhuliang Shenyi", "Notes to Seven Piances of Zhuangzi", and "Xiangqilou Wen". Wang Kaiyun He has an excellent memory, and he still remembers clearly what happened more than thirty years ago. "Zeng Wenzheng said with a smile, he has written a lot. I once said that Li Shaoquan was working hard to be an official, and Yu Yinfu was writing books desperately. It seems that you, Wang Renqiu, are the ones who are working hard to write books. I asked him if he has any new books. , he said with a wry smile, do you think I still have time to be a literati? My body is so weak that I have to go on a military parade. Renqiu, I really envy you. Judging by his demeanor at that time, he was indeed very weak. I believe that his words of envying me are not false. Sure enough, he passed away five months later." This is Wang Kaiyun's greatest feature. Whenever he talks about Zeng Wenzheng and Zuo Wenxiang, he is full of energy and eloquence.Yang Du was also happy to listen. "Zeng Wenzheng said, we haven't seen each other for many years. It's not easy to meet once, but I can't talk to you all day long. How about it, I'll let you live on our boat and go to Xuzhou with me. We can talk to our heart's content along the way." I am very grateful for his sincerity and stayed on his boat. We talked for 20 nights. After arriving in Xuzhou, I changed boats and headed south. With Zeng Wenzheng’s status and prestige at that time, it is really amazing for scholars all over the world to be able to treat me so courteously. Envy, I don't take it seriously. The relationship between me and him was originally a friendship for twenty years, how can it be measured by the worldly status?" "Sir, you're right!" Yang Du admired Master Xiangqi from his heart for his honesty of giving clothes to princes without being humble or overbearing. "When we broke up in Xuzhou, Zeng Wenzheng gave me a five-character poem with a length of thirty-six lines. It was not for entertainment, but every line came from the heart. Due to his poor health and busy affairs at the time, he painstakingly recited this long poem. I can't help but admire it. I never thought that this poem would become the last poem in his life. Zeng Wenzheng naturally has his shortcomings, but his strengths are beyond the reach of thousands of people!" In order to introduce a meeting with Yuan Shikai, the story of his relationship with Zeng Guofan came out.For Wang Kaiyun, it was half nostalgia and half self-show; for Yang Du, it was a rare rumor, from which he saw the demeanor of his predecessors. "When I arrived in Jiangning, my old friend invited me to visit Mochou Lake. At that time, there was a new pavilion in the lake, and the literati from the south of the Yangtze River who visited me all wrote couplets, just praising how beautiful the scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is and how beautiful the women are. I didn't want to mention it, but I couldn't help it Si Guixiangting's begging, I thought about making a joke for them, or playing a different tune, so I wrote a copy of it, who knows that this group of talented scholars in the south of the Yangtze River was very dissatisfied." "What couplet did you ask?" This was also what Yang Du was most interested in, and he couldn't wait to ask, for fear that Master Xiangqi would go through the motions at such a critical point. In fact, the old celebrity was trying to whet the appetite of the students, deliberately attracting the students' special attention.He smiled and said: "The couplet is written like this: don't lighten his rouge from the north, see the first arrival of the painting boat, the children of the south of the Yangtze River have no color; all the gold and powder of the Six Dynasties, only the green mountains remain, and the spring returns to peaches and plums." Yang Du said with a smile: "Everyone says Jiangnan women are beautiful, even Mrs. Du was seduced by them, saying 'the more women are white', 'you can't forget'. Mr. Jiang said that the sons and daughters of Jiangnan have no colors, so they will naturally be unconvinced. " "Exactly, exactly." Wang Kaiyun was very proud. "They all said how could they look down on us like this. Gui Xiangting also said, we want to engrave your couplets, but we dare not engrave them like this. They will be so angry that they will smear them with mud. You should change them. It’s good to have a look at it. I wanted to make fun of it. I really looked down on the descendants of Xi Shi. So I said, okay, just change it! I picked up the pen and changed "no color" to "raw color" and "green mountain" Still' was changed to 'Qingshan Wuyang'. Now they all applauded." Yang Du was fascinated by Mr.'s suave and suave charm, and said with a smile: "The colors of the women in Jiangnan today are all born for them by Mr.'s wonderful pen!" Wang Kaiyun also laughed happily: "Okay, okay, let's not talk too far, let's get down to business!" He stroked his beard again, and got to the point: "I lived in Jiangning for a few days. I bought a boat and went west. When I passed by Wuhu, my old friend Ouyang Li heard about it and insisted that I go ashore for two days. Ouyang's kindness, I also Without brushing him off, he went ashore and lived in his yamen. It was mid-September, and he set up a table of wine in the yamen and invited a few people to accompany him. They were Liu Wei from Huaiyang Dao, General Wu Jiabang, Li Xingrui, deputy general Tian Enlai, and Cao Yaoxiang, a doctor in the household registration department, and another person, Yuan Baoqing, Yuan Weiting's stepfather, was doing Huainan salt law at that time. Yuan Baoqing also brought his heir Yuan Weiting. Weiting and Ouyang's son was studying in a private school. He didn't come to drink, but to play with Mr. Ouyang. Yuan Baoqing loved him very much and introduced him to everyone. At that time, Weiting was short and stocky, with round head and big eyes. He looks very smart and handsome, and I like him very much. I asked him what books he had read, and he said he had read hundreds of surnames, thousands of poems, and "Mencius". I asked him if he had read the three "Li", and he Said that I don’t read that kind of book. I asked him why he didn’t read it, and he said that reading three "Li" is useless. I asked him which book is the most useful to read, and he said that reading "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is the most useful, and he can command thousands of troops in the future Wanma conquered others. Yuan Baoqing reprimanded, what is conquering others is nonsense! Seeing that his stepfather was angry, Wei Ting left quickly. I thought at the time, this kid doesn’t read much, so his tone is not small.” "Later we started drinking and talking. Although Yuan Baoqing and I met for the first time, we had a very good conversation. He told me that he was the county examination in the fifth year of Xianfeng, which happened to be the same year as me, so we recognized the same year. That night was a bright autumn night with a bright moon in the sky, and it was a time when the beautiful scenery was beautiful, the joy was pleasant, and the four difficulties were at the same time, and everyone drank very happily." "Ouyang Lijian said, brother Renqiu, you are a poet, please write a poem to commemorate tonight's grand meeting! I said, okay, let me think about it. After half an hour, I wrote a seven-character song line, The title "Huaipu Night Drinking Songs" also wrote a few prefaces: Looking at the night in September, returning to Pingqiao from the Governor's Mansion, Ouyang General Soldier hosted a banquet in the courtyard, and the handsome party gathered for a while. ..." "Sir," when Wang Kaiyun was about to recite Ye Yinge, an idea suddenly popped up in Yang Du's mind, and he interrupted the teacher's enthusiasm. "The student has a request, Mr. Wang agrees." "What request?" Wang Kaiyun felt strange, "It's not too late to make the request after I finish reciting it!" "Sir, I would like to invite you, the old man, into the study and write out this song line, okay?" "You want me to write it out and give it to you, okay! Let's go into the study together!" The two teachers and students walked into the study.Yang Du grinds the ink and spreads the paper for Mr., and stands by, seeing Mr.'s pen running like a snake: