Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Zeng Guofan already had a deep understanding of metaphysics, and he had already reached the level of reciting. Folk manuscripts such as "Mai Shenxiang", "Divination Authentic", etc., almost bought them whenever he came across them. And after reading it, his physiognomy has risen to another level.Zeng Guofan once observed Changshun very carefully, and felt that this man was a great noble, but also a disaster of lying dead on the street, which was a sign of great fortune, great wealth and great disaster.So Zeng Guofan was very careful every time he talked with Changshun, so as not to plant the seeds of bad luck in the future.

After getting along all the way, Changshun also has admiration for Zeng Guofan's conduct.Zeng Guofan's character of respecting his superiors without flattering his superiors, making his subordinates not bully his subordinates, admiring the powerful but not dedicated to the powerful is very suitable for Changshun's temper.Although Zeng Guofan paid too much attention to money, Changshun also felt a little disdainful, but it was precisely because of this that Zeng Guofan's "cleanness" was caused, and the Manchu dignitaries' style of domineering, perfunctory, ignorant, and pleasing the royal family, Changshun hated it since he was a child.In terms of martial arts, the Manchus are stronger than the Han people, but in terms of cultural principles, the Han people belong to the forefront of all ethnic groups in the world.Doesn't this reality exist if we don't face it squarely?Not only the prince of the royal family, Baylor, didn't look directly at him, but even the bachelors who were directly working in the Military Aircraft Department didn't look directly at him. How could Jiangshan not be cowardly!

After he was released from prison, Zeng Guofan changed his old style and consulted with Changshun on everything, which naturally made Changshun deeply grateful.This is also the good fortune of Zeng Guofan himself, in fact, it is the good fortune of the Qing Dynasty.Because Changshun is Sushun's closest and most trusted person.Sushun really rose later. Ten days later, Zeng Guofan and others arrived in Nanyang.Nanyang was the secluded place of Zhuge Wuhou during the Three Kingdoms period. Thirty miles west of Nanyang is the world-famous Zhuge Lu.According to legend, there is "Jiangyuan" written by Wuhou in Zhuge's cottage.Zeng Guofan has been heartbroken for Zhuge Lu in Nanyang for a long time.

Zeng Guofan had already made up his mind that when he arrived in Nanyang, no matter sooner or later, he would definitely visit Zhuge Lu.Marquis Wu's unrestrained and unconventional style, Marquis Wu's integrity and strategizing, and Marquis Wu's worry about the world in a thatched hut have always been regarded as a model and model in his heart. When Zeng Guofan and his party arrived at Nanyang Chengguan, it was late in the afternoon, and the streets were not very lively.Going out of the city to the west, the population gradually became scarce, and it was only after an hour that I saw a young man carrying a burden leisurely approaching me.It was only when he got closer that he realized that the young man was humming a ditty.Chang Shun rode his horse forward to block the way, pointed with his whip and asked, "Brother, how far is it to Zhuge Lu?" He passed with his head held high.

Zeng Guofan clasped his fists in the sedan chair and said, "If you dare, there is Zhuge Lu in front of you?" The younger generation nodded, but still didn't stop, just humming a tune in his mouth. Zeng Guofan couldn't help admiring: "It really has the legacy of Zhuge Wuhou!" Tai Zhuang sneered and said: "Based on my humble opinion, I don't know if I may be dumb!" The group continued on and soon came to a village.Zeng Guofan got out of the sedan chair and raised his eyes to look around. He saw that the village was not very big, only about a hundred families.Under a crooked neck tree at the head of the village, a few children surrounded a stone table, shaking their heads and reciting something.An old man in a long gown walked up and down next to the child with his hands behind his back, muttering words, obviously a private school teacher with a scholarly background.

Zeng Guofan walked over with square steps, bowed to the old man, and said with a smile, "Xiaofan, is this Zhugelu?" The old man hurriedly returned a big gift, shook his head and said: "You are welcome, this is Wolonggang. To find Zhuge Cottage, the guest officer has to pass through the village. There is a cross road outside the road. There are more than a dozen thatched cottages outside the road. They are famous people. Zhuge Cottage is the most popular place in Wolonggang. If people buy things here, they must go to Zhuge Cottage. The things there are the most complete. Of course..." Seeing the old man talking, Zeng Guofan stopped He asked more questions and listened more, said "thank you" casually, then turned around and walked back.

But the old man stood behind him relentlessly, saying again and again: "If you can't find the guest officer, you can just turn around and ask. I am a scholar, so I don't think it's annoying. The so-called..." Zeng Guofan was so frightened that he didn't dare to turn his head. Hurriedly getting into the sedan chair, a group of people hurried into the village. Just passing through the center of the village, before going out of the village entrance, I saw a large area of ​​thatched cottages outside the village and the bustling scene in front of the thatched cottages.Needless to say, this is the famous Zhuge Hut all over the world.

When they arrived at Zhuge Hut, the bearer rested the sedan chair on an open space in front of the door, and the chief and the platform also got off their horses.Zeng Guofan got off the sedan chair and saw that Zhuge Hut, which he had admired for a long time, was a bit dilapidated, but still had a good atmosphere.On the left side of the gate is a long row of vendors selling food, shouting words that only locals can understand, and there are all kinds of frying, frying and frying.The right side of the gate is full of stalls selling groceries, ranging from big pots to small ear picks, and there are many people around them.

Zeng Guofan stepped into the gate together with the Chang and Tai Er guards, first paid homage to the bust of Marquis Wu, then walked around the Chunshui Thatched Cottage and several other rooms, but did not see a single ancient relic.Zeng Guofan couldn't help being greatly disappointed, and said to himself as he paced: "How can this be called Zhuge's House?" Chang Shun interjected, "From my humble opinion, it's more appropriate to call it Caishi House!" Taizhuang just laughed and couldn't answer a word.The three walked out of the gate, and Zeng Guofan accidentally discovered that there were two stalls selling books between the stalls selling groceries.Zeng Guofan walked over and opened his eyes to browse.

Looking at it, Zeng Guofan suddenly found a set of ten volumes of antique "Jiangyuan" in one of the stalls. After sniffing it, I immediately identified it as a folk engraving in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.The biggest difference between this engraved edition and the engraved editions that are popular in the capital is that there are more than 50 pages of maps of generals in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods attached at the back.Based on the knowledge and achievements of Marquis Wu, Zeng Guofan believed that this "Jiang Yuan" should be written by Kong Ming.Even if it is a fake copy, there are lessons to be learned.

Zeng Guofan pretended to be careless and asked about the price, and the stallkeeper also casually replied: "Five liang of silver, and I won't sell it for a penny less." Zeng Guofan took out five liang of silver and handed it over without thinking. Said: "I am in a hurry, so I won't bargain with you." The stall owner opened his mouth wide at once, looked at Zeng Guofan, took the money hesitantly with both hands, and weighed it, but his mouth was still closed. In the stall owner's mind, this set of "Jiangyuan" was only worth fifty copper coins, and it sold for a sky-high price! Zeng Guofan had already carefully picked up the book and walked towards the sedan chair with the chief and the stage. Before getting on the sedan chair, Zeng Guofan patted "Jiangyuan" lightly, and said with a smile on his face: "It's finally a worthwhile trip!" When they arrived at Danjiangkou, Zeng Guofan and his party abandoned their sedan chairs and boarded a boat, and chartered a merchant ship together with a group of cloth merchants. Taking advantage of the smooth sailing, they entered the border of Hubei within a few days.From this day on, Zeng Guofan began to write a diary.Although Zeng Guofan was no longer responsible for investigation at this time, he still took detailed notes of what he saw and heard along the way as his daily homework. There was no need to land in Hubei, and the three of Zeng Guofan and two salt dealers took a small boat to go forward.The chief and the stage were overwhelmed, but Zeng Guofan was the only one who was still very busy. Changshun privately sighed to Taizhuang: "We Manchus can have half of Zeng Hanlin's diligence, why is the national destiny so decadent!" The waterway was smooth for a few days.On the boat, apart from keeping his diary, Zeng Guofan played a few games of Go against Changshun.Taizhuang was originally a restless and illiterate martial artist, but he didn't know how to play chess. He screamed like a monkey every day. In the cabin, he either complained that the boat was going too slowly, or scolded the boatman. Too lazy, the whole boat ignored him. The two salt merchants were very quiet, except for occasionally going ashore to buy some small supplies and food, they just slept drowsily, and never struck up a conversation with Zeng Guofan and others, revealing the vigilance of merchants.Zeng Guofan was happy to read and write undisturbed. After passing Hankou, I abandoned the boat and traveled in a sedan chair for many days, only then did I see dark and lofty mountains in the shadows in front of me, and there were more wheelbarrows on the road.Zeng Guofan knew that he had entered Sichuan.