Chapter 34 second quarter

Night came, and as far as the tasks assigned by the officials were concerned, they had completed them well, and as far as they were concerned, they had spent a very pleasant half day.Now they exchanged glances, ready to say goodbye.The wise teacher saw this evil plan in their eyes. "It's rare for you two to come," she immediately stopped them pre-emptively. "Xuan Zan is visiting here again for the first time. Now that I'm gone, I don't know when we will meet again? How can we just leave so easily. You must stay for a glass of water and wine today. You must not let us down. "

Ma Kuo didn't know whether he should stay or not, so he gave Liu Kai a questioning look for the second time, and Liu Kai immediately gave a positive signal.Of course, he understands the market in Tokyo best, so it is not surprising that Li Shishi came forward to persuade the officials to invite them to come here. It is the biggest honor they can receive if Shishi personally treats them with hospitality. There is no more elegant banquet than this, even the imperial banquet can't compare with it.Only a fool would refuse her invitation! All this could not escape Shishi's penetrating eyes, and she hoped that they would judge her invitation from the point of view of friends and not from the usual Tokyo people's point of view, since she was a sincere friend and not a singing girl. to invite them.Ma Kuo should make his own judgment on this.She even felt a little sorry for Ma Kuo's childishness.

"Xuan Zan always consults the four quarters for instructions on everything." She smiled lightly, carrying a small hook, hoping that it would not hurt him. "He really is an obedient brother." So they stayed to pay respects to the teacher, and silently chewed and savored this great honor.Shishi prepared a very high-grade "Ruhong Baijiu" for them, a few simple but very delicate dishes, and "Dragon Girl Yihu Pearl" that Shishi personally cooked on a whim. I have spent a lot of time with the teacher, and compared with her teacher in terms of cooking skills, I am naturally suspected of being "fake it". It is worthy of the comment of "Yunmei".

After dinner, in Zuixinglou, the conversation stopped temporarily, and suddenly a quiet world appeared.A wisp of delicate fragrance condenses in the lonely air, as if freezing the whole pavilion, only the jubilantly burning candle trembles from time to time and makes a "chi-chi" sound, which slightly breaks the uniformity of the room. feel. The fine brushwork painting of figures on the terrace of "Jade Tower People Drunk Apricot Blossoms" has long been removed, and the painting donated by the government has also been temporarily removed.A branch lay obliquely in the vase, and the drowsy apricot blossoms temporarily filled the space between the walls covered with the dark purple barrier.She was originally arrogant and self-admired, but now she is folded down, and she seems to be lying carelessly and carefully structured in a gall vase with the wall hangings as the background, reveling in this harmonious spring, and is being caressed. She stretched her arms freely, letting people appreciate her charming posture.

The apricot blossoms seem to be made of a piece of ice and snow, lightly folded into several layers, and cut.On the snow-like transparent texture of the petals, a layer of blush faded away.Which pair of dexterous hands poured a thin layer of rouge evenly on her pink dimple?If it is thicker, it will be too gorgeous, if it is lighter, it will be too plain. Only when it is moderately thick like this can it be just right.Or no matter how thick it is, it will not be too gorgeous, and no matter how light it is, it will not be too plain, because in this cozy atmosphere, there is no arrangement that is not in the right shade, and everything that exists here is beautiful. Room for nitpicking.

But this seemingly invisible layer is not like the rouge applied from the outside, only the thin halo that melts from the inside can be so well-proportioned and just right.surely not!She has never had enough rouge, this is the crimson color on her cheeks after drinking a little wine.That's right, the slight drunkenness has already had an effect on her.Her valerian eyes are springy, her halo is full of flowers, and she leans weakly on the purple satin pillow.It is baked by the abundant warmth in the room and reflected by the bright candlelight in the room.She was like a thin layer of wax that was slowly melting until it was about to melt into a thick, runny pool.

Xinghua is drunk. At this time, Shishi was thinking of a more advanced praise from the official: "Drunken apricot blushes, full of desire to flow, it is really embarrassing to kill the 'Ruizhu Palace' girl." Ruizhu Palace is a palace in the sky, and it is also the palace of the official family. This pun that elevates her to an unparalleled position in the heaven and earth, pleases her so much that she, who seldom smiles on weekdays, has to feel sorry for her. Zhi Yanran smiled. But the most beautiful moment passed in a flash.Gone are the mellow conversations before drinking and the still world after drinking.The taste seems to be very mellow, but the actual temper is very violent. The milk wine not only had the same effect on Shishi, but also on the other two guests.

The wine entered the heart of sorrow and turned into a cavity of grief and indignation.Their moods were not so peaceful before, but now that the sixty-five-degree alcohol seeps into them, they are suddenly filled with thoughts, and waves of waves are surging in their hearts.When they brought up the topic of Jurchen again and continued to talk, a heavy sigh and continuous sighs filled the thick air. Ma Kuo predicted in his first conversation at Liu Kai's house that once the powerful Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it would surely turn its spearhead against me.At that time, he had just returned from Huining Mansion, and he was deeply wary of the powerful and greedy Jurchen chieftains.Recently, he has lived in Tokyo for a long time, the more he has contacted with the current ministers, and the deeper he understands our weaknesses, the more he feels that his views have very realistic significance and are by no means unfounded worries.He said: When a person's foundation is lost, all kinds of diseases will take advantage of it.A big tree is rotten from the root, and people can cut it down without much effort.The fact now is that the heart of this big tree has long been rotten, and the logger with the ax has been stalking the side. How can we ignore this kind of crisis!

Since he had the clearest understanding of both internal and external factors, Ma Kuo was the party most entitled to raise this serious concern.He has discussed this with the authorities more than once, urging them to pay attention, asking them to pre-plan countermeasures to prevent the Jin army from entering the invaders in the future while considering the invasion of Liao.But the speaker is earnest, and the listener is contemptuous. They are elated and only want to pick up a bargain at the front line. How can they listen to his disappointing words and plan for a rainy day? Not in Shishi's boudoir, but above the temple, a humble member like Ma Kuo with no strong backing is indeed of little use.Although the dignitaries appreciate his talent very much, they disassemble him from head to bone and make full use of it, but they only use him as a diplomatic tool, and they don't allow him to participate in the secrecy and talk about big plans (in the dignitaries There are some differences between them. Tong Guan sometimes listens to him, at least pretending to be listening to him. Wang Fu and Cai You are not even willing to pretend).Ma Kuo's many suggestions were shelved by them.This group of people arbitrarily monopolized the decision-making and execution powers of the war against Liao, but as far as Ma Kuo knew, they were the most shallow, ignorant, and irresponsible on this issue.It was very unpleasant for him to be their subordinate and have to deal with them constantly.He held back his sulking breath, desperately wanting to vomit quickly.Now Shishi's pair of catkins has lifted the bondage of his heart, at least in Shishi's boudoir and beside the dressing table, he can talk freely about everything.

He sneered at the authorities and said: "The discussion of the North-South attack has been discussed for more than three years."These people don't even know the direction of Jurchen's east, south, west, and north in Liao.Cai You said self-righteously two days ago: "Emperor Tianzuo fled to Yunzhong and happened to enter the Jurchen's old lair without permission. Didn't he throw himself into a trap?" The place where the Jurchens haunted, there are clear texts in the history. The map you drew has not been corrected with the ancient version, and if there are mistakes, how can it be accurate?"

The rich and powerful have big appetites and big eyes, and they can't talk about foresight at all.He cited an example: "When I accompany the Jin envoy, I have always advocated that it is better to take the road farther away, and the defense should be tighter along the way, so that the Jin envoy will not know the direct route and the reality of our border defense. After Wang Fu knew it, he did it instead He blamed me for being troublesome, and said something: "A country of alliances, why should there be suspicion and suspicion." Where did I listen to his nonsense, this time I brought the golden envoy, but I still took that long road. Wang Fu After inquiring about the truth, he was furious and said to Tong Guan, "Ma Kuo is arrogant and dared to disobey the prime minister's instructions. If you don't think he has done a good job in being a companion, he will be dismissed from the post of companion immediately." "What you say is reasonable, and I will follow you. What you say is unreasonable, so don't even think about paying attention to you. It doesn't matter if you let go of my errand!" Ma Kuo became more and more annoyed as he spoke, "Someone must take care of the affairs of the world, and you big officials don't care. We have to let our subordinates take care of it. Don’t say that it’s better for me to do it for you than to let it rot on its own. In the end, we can’t ruin the world of the Song Dynasty in their hands!” "Brother, don't be angry," Liu Kai advised, "The nobles in the court only want the people of the world to worry about the worries of the people of the world, but they themselves only want to enjoy their own happiness. You see, Wang Fu is dealing with several concubines all day long. How can you spare time to deal with border affairs? My brother lived in Tokyo for three years and smoothed out the edges and corners. At that time, he was not surprised at all, so he naturally calmed down." "It's fine if they don't care about the world's affairs to the end." Shi Shi analyzed further, "It's just that they themselves don't want to worry about the world's worries, and they don't allow the world's people to worry about the world's affairs. There is a man named Gao The Tai students who read it said that "the affairs of the world are discussed by the people of the world", and they were framed by them. This is causing endless disasters! Didn't Xuan Zan say that riding and archery combat is an extremely strong strength of Jurchen? Skills, so what is my family's solid theory and Ji Lie's long skills? This four-compartment knows it most clearly." In fact, it's not just Liu Kai, the three of them are so aware of the skills of my family's solidarity Bo Jilie.They exposed and supplemented each other sentence by sentence, and quickly outlined a "Picture of the Present Situation of Xuanhe Officialdom". Developed to the historical stage at that time, the feudal country showed an unprecedented prosperity.But it is only an illusion, and perhaps a sign of rapid decline.Anyone who can see through the colorful Tokyo city and look around, can see the tens of thousands of migrants who have no clothes and food, waiting to be fed, or who can't bear it, stand up and prepare to fight with the government and gentry to the death.History has shown that a false prosperity must be accompanied by a real devastation. The Xuanhe period was on the verge of such a devastating blow, but only the most sensitive people could feel the imminent disaster. The teachers were worried, fearing that they would not win the war against the Liao Dynasty; Ma Kuo was afraid that the Jin people would succeed and would turn to seek me; Xing Liang was afraid that the teachers in the upper class would not be safe; While living a life full of red and drunken green, I am also afraid that the good dreams will not last long, and the good times will not last forever, so let's not wait for the rest of the day.This fragile psychology is a reflection of their dim awareness of a disaster coming from a certain angle.But they can only find the reason superficially and partially, but it is impossible to understand and solve the problem fundamentally. They just blame people for the appearance of these ominous omens, and blame some typical characters who are more responsible for the appearance of these omens. Such typical characters can be found in any historical period, and in some historical periods, these characters are particularly prominent.The elite groups in the Xuanhe period typically concentrated the despicability of shameless politicians, the cruelty of feudal bureaucrats, and the greed of the landlord class, prominently placing themselves on the opposite side of society.They are working hard to demolish a huge building, which is precisely the mother body of their parasitic life-the Song Dynasty and the Zhao regime.Objectively, they are taking a path that completely deviates from their subjective wishes. Without the support and appointment of the court and officials, they would not be able to stand in the court for a day.Subjectively, they also hope that this dynasty will last for thousands of years and be passed down for a long time, but this does not prevent them from sparing no effort to tear down its walls and replace its pillars. They were crushed into powder with their belts and bones and buried in the rubble.But they didn't have such self-consciousness at all. Instead, they were complacent, thinking that they were building a foundation that would last forever. They're too smart to be stupid. They have become objects of disgust and hatred for everyone.Except for their supporters - officials. Although Shishi, Liu Qi, and Ma Kuo have different social backgrounds and life experiences, their philosophy of life is on a similar level, and their likes and dislikes are basically the same. Therefore, the arrows they fired intensively concentrated on Wang Fu, Cai's father and son, Gao Qiu... and other living targets. But they all have varying degrees of illusions about officials.Even if it is blamed on others, their attacks only reach the powerful group, and they dare not push it up.The traditional concept of supremacy dominates them, and at the same time, it is impossible for them to realize that the fate of the officials has long been tightly bound with the powerful. Yu Ren.Officials sometimes reprimand some of them, which is his momentary joy and anger, and has nothing to do with the fundamental relationship between them. If Ma Kuo and the others want to break through this hurdle, and even dare to criticize the officials themselves and take positive actions, then unless it is compared with the supreme status of the officials themselves, they have a more important choose.That's when they clearly saw that if they had to abandon the official family, they would not be able to save the dynasty and millions of people.It took countless political practices and repeated alternations of hope and disillusionment to make him painfully reach this conclusion and resolutely make this choice.Ma Kuo's extraordinary experience in the future will prove this point. After this venting, the concentration of alcohol also evaporated, and they all felt a little happier in their hearts. At this time, Shishi suddenly remembered an interesting thing. "You two, do you want to know what decent work Xue Shangshu did here yesterday?" She asked in a more relaxed tone.Then he replied on their behalf: "Such precious and pleasant news, you must hear it." The maid Jinghong who was standing by the side laughed foolishly when Shi Shi mentioned Xue Shangshu. She laughed so vigorously that she lost her normal laugh, which shows that this matter has something to do with her, and it must be a big gimmick. "Don't laugh!" Shi Shi ordered, "First, Xiao Xun and Xiao Xun bring up the pot of 'Yi Chi Huang' from the porch, let Xuan Zan and Si Xiang admire the flowers first, and then listen to the news." "No need." Liu Kai was eager to listen to the news, and blocked him, "We had already met 'Yi Chi Huang' by chance when we came in. Didn't the teacher say that there are many articles in it?" Shi Shi thought it was right, nodded and said: "Forget it, you two have already admired the famous flowers, and come to appreciate my family's Gulun Bojilie Xue Shangshu and his deeds." Shishi began this story. "Yesterday at noon, Xue Shangshu sent an official from the mansion here. Does Xuan Zan recognize this Xue Shangshu, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Chief of the Prime Minister's Mansion Xue Ang? This is a very famous and wonderful man in Tokyo!" "I've heard of his name since I came to Tokyo, and I've had dinner with him a few times," Ma Kuo replied, "It's just that I don't have the chance to talk to him." "Xuan Zan didn't hear him speak brilliantly in Qiantang Mandarin. It's really a missed opportunity. Sixiang often listens to him. Yesterday, the officer brought his books and famous badges and said he wanted to borrow 'Yi Chi Huang' for a few days. It wasn't too late to return on a date, but Jinghong rejected him, and he left resentfully. "Unexpectedly, after an hour, Xue Shangshu came running by himself. How could we have the time to entertain him, so we sent Jinghong to stop him under the steps of the court and asked him what he wanted to do? He first kept shouting: There is something important Have a private conversation with the nobleman. When I saw the surprise, I fell silent. I said some polite words such as greetings from the mansion that has not been built for many days, uneasy, etc., and then begged: Tong Taishi and Dong Shi are about to go out, and the minister is going to hold a 'Peony Party' , plan to collect all the famous species of peonies in the world, and have a farewell banquet. I have heard for a long time that there is a pot of 'one foot yellow' planted in the Zunfu, which is unique in Beijing..." At this point, Shishi couldn't help himself and laughed first, indicating Jinghong asked her to continue talking.Jinghong had already collapsed from laughter, holding the handkerchief in one hand, covering his mouth, unable to speak for a long time. "Look at your frivolous smile!" Shi Shi pretended to be angry, "You two are waiting to hear, do you want to say it or not?" "Mother laughed first, so I can't blame others for laughing. Let's wait until the servant girl stops laughing." But she still couldn't stop laughing, so she could only continue talking intermittently while laughing: "After Xue Shangshu said the phrase 'the only one in Beijing'," she especially emphasized the word "Jing", but the words below could no longer be clear, "He, Xue Shangshu thought about it for a while, and suddenly he was stunned. The servant girl didn't know why he slapped her on the back of the head so loudly, with a clear and crisp sound, and spit again and again, as if to wash away that sentence with that pickled saliva... …The servant girl thought in her heart that it must be because of his wind disease. He heard that all the high officials had the wind disease, so she called out loudly: "Come on! Your officials are sick..." Who would have thought that, he suddenly Turning around, putting down his head, bowing to the air respectfully and casually, and saying, "Xue Ang, a lowly official, has nothing to do... negligence for a while, ignorance of high and low, mistakes... breaking the taboo of the public, He deserves to die, I beg you, Mr. Haihan!'” Jinghong's last words imitated Xue Ang's accent in Hangzhou Mandarin, and mixed with his own wild laughter and violent body twisting, he spoke in a babbled and indistinct manner.Ma Kuo couldn't understand, and he kept asking, "What did he say?" Jinghong immediately straightened his body from imitating Xue Ang's stooped, frightened posture, but he couldn't control his wild laughter .I had no choice but to point at Liu Qi and said, "Ask him, ask Liu Sixiang, he knows." Liu Kai, who was familiar with Xue Ang, his voice, his face, and his behavior, could naturally understand Jinghong's words.Liu Kai translated Xue Ang's words to Ma Kuo, and added: "Xue Ang is the best at flattering people. He sets rules at home. Anyone who violates the respect and taboo of the Lord Minister will be severely punished. He has the worst memory and often violates it. His family finds out his faults. He even patted his cheeks and said, "Damn, damn. The officer Xue Ang is really guilty and deserves to die!"" "That guy Xue Ang, he is ignorant." The teacher added again, "I like to make up a few crooked poems. Last year, the official family visited Cai Jing's house, and he wrote a poem on the spot: 'Blessings should be more than ten thousand times' The Tai student laughed and twisted his mouth, and everyone called him 'Xue Wanhui'. Now according to Sixiang, his 'Xue Wanhui' should give way to 'Xue Wanshi'." "What about Xue Wanhui, what about Xue Wan's death, all because of that Cai Jing who can't die, fall down, and whose skin is thicker than iron." Jinghong scolded bitterly, "This Cai Jing's name stinks worse than manure , why not offend him. Cai Jing, Cai Jing, vegetable soup, vegetable soup, the maid wants to offend him a thousand times, ten thousand times. Throw the soup into the latrine and trample Cai Jing on the soil. It's time to go back there. The maidservant scolded and insulted him, let's see how he treats the maidservant again?" Jinghong's righteous indignation made everyone laugh, and then Shishi continued the story: "The Lord wants to please the Grand Master, and the Minister wants to please the Lord. They each have their own ulterior motives," the tone obviously became serious, "Why should an outsider intervene in the dirty deal between them to make him beautiful? Immediately let the surprise Hong refused him. The little girl had a good idea and said to him, "Shang Shu came at an unfortunate time. In the past two days, a distinguished guest is waiting to come to enjoy the flowers. Please don't take it for granted that I can't borrow it!"" "Xue Shangshu will never die until he reaches the Yellow River," Jinghong hurriedly continued, "He was begging for nothing to find out who this distinguished guest was, and he guessed who it was. Answer him: "Shangshu don't make any guesses, this is an important person, bigger than Shangshu's official Cai Jing, and even more important!" One sentence cured his pretending to be crazy, and he immediately changed his color, bowing and bowing again and again, sorry Said: "Offend, offend, don't bother!" Pick up the sedan chair and leave. The servant girl held back her smile and sent him out. He also said, "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it." I washed and washed, rinsed and rinsed the dirty places where I stood, and rinsed away ten loads of water, and my back still hurts to this day!" This immediate real story happened on the eve of the imminent outbreak of the war, and the parties involved were the ministers, grand masters, and ministers of the Ministry of War. Seeing the guests deep in thought, Shishi followed their thoughts again, citing a popular ballad at that time: "'Break the tube, splash the vegetables, and it will be a good world on earth!' This song can be sung by four- and five-year-old children in Tokyo, and the two of you have heard of it before." The complaint said, "Under Cai Jing, there are the second general Huo Ha and his sons-in-law, and under Tong Guan there are a large number of Lili customers. How many officials who talk about the world and are good at power and prestige are not theirs?" Under the door? Under the insatiable demands of the officials, the common people have toiled all year round, their hands and feet are swollen, and they want to be full. They only want to wear a sarong but can't get it. The daughter of a poor family is like a spinner, and she can't make her own. My lord, if you want to go on the market like a Jurchen girl, it is impossible to find a good husband. Sixiang has known us for many years, do you know how we were sold into this sect? It was the government that killed my father, There is no way for us to go to the sky and no way to enter the earth, so we sell ourselves here to do this business of making fun of people. If we don’t blame the government, who should we blame?” Then she pointed at Jinghong and continued: "Leaving aside our background, why aren't our two little girls like this? You can see how stupid she is when she smiles. Once someone from her hometown comes to talk to her, her eyes will be swollen like walnuts from crying! Sixiang, Xuanzan, please inquire about our business, how many sisters are not born in a poor family, which one does not swallow a mouthful of bitterness? I am afraid that they will laugh at the banquet, and they may not all be willing to tell the truth That's all. It's all the officials who tricked us. If the officials hadn't forced the common people to ruin their families and their wives and children, how could he climb high branches, curry favor with the powerful, and make fun of us? From our point of view, From Cai Jing, Tong Guan, down from Kaifeng Mansion and Xiangfu County, including the subordinate officials and servants, they all vent their breath from one nostril and speak with one mouth. How can there be a tube that is not broken? How can there be one that is not broken? Vegetables? We are afraid that if we break a tube and spill a bowl of vegetables, there may not be a good world in the world!" This is not dissatisfaction with a certain official, but an opinion about the entire officialdom. This is not a general complaint after drinking, but a voice of change from the heart.Liu Kai, Ma Kuo didn't know that once Shishi linked the affairs of the world with his childhood life, he could no longer restrain his grief and indignation.She believes that all officials with tall crowns and belts and jade waists are responsible for her childhood and people with similar fates all over the world. But she obviously regarded the two guests in front of her as exceptions.She finds reasons to excuse them.This is not only because she has a good impression of them, but also because she has common love and hatred and close language with them.Although they also receive the salary of the imperial court, they do different things.Shishi firmly believes that the cause they care about and are doing is beneficial to the public, and it is a cause that dignified men should do.They are not responsible for her childhood. Shishi regarded them as his friends from the very beginning, and when it came time to say goodbye, this view became more solidified.She repeatedly agreed with them to meet later, hoping to see them again. From the end of March, at the gates of Lize Gate, Xinzheng Gate, Wansheng Gate and other cities, there was a yellow list with the imperial decree from the three provinces announcing the opening of Jinming Pond, allowing "scholars and ordinary people to parade inside".The weather has gotten warmer recently, and the outskirts of Xicheng are full of tourists.Shishi was very interested and asked them to accompany her to visit the annual dragon boat race.Dragon boat races, held on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, are another great event in Tokyo city life.Held every session.They must stir Ninetowns and make the audience mesmerized.It's rare for a teacher to have such a good interest, and to make a request on his own initiative, so they should accompany him.It's just that the situation in front of us is changing rapidly, and people's actions and behaviors are bound by the current situation, and they are not allowed to be free.They can only promise that if they stay in Tokyo by then, they will accompany them as promised, although they all know in their hearts that the possibility of this is very slim. They made an agreement, and they returned home. Shishi herself took off the pretense of being reserved and charming, which made her show Lushan's true colors.The real Li Shishi is very different from Ma Kuode's rumors and the Shishi Liu Kai has come into contact with in the past.She was their dear and respectable friend, and they were connected by common thoughts and feelings.