Chapter 12 1. A generation of Confucian scholars

Linglong Valley is located in the mountains and forests at the southern end of Luhun County, Yuzhou. It was once the place where Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu's troops were stationed. Stepping over the cable bridge at the mouth of the valley, turning along the plank road, you will be greeted by rolling mountains covered by green clouds on both sides. A river rushes through the valley, and fishes are wrapped in the rushing water like arrows. The rampage is so dizzying. Along the winding plank road, the more you walk inside, the more you feel the quietness of the valley.With great excitement, Sima Yi looked at the corner of the eaves and huts at the bottom of the valley in the distance, which was hidden among the thick green shades. past.

"Ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai In Guli, there is not much difference between a moment earlier and a moment later." This book boy is Niu De's youngest son and Niu Heng's younger brother Niu Jin, who is two years younger than Sima Yi.Although he looks delicate and weak, in fact he is a master of martial arts - the luggage rack weighing more than 100 kilograms is lifted on his shoulders, and it is as easy as a goose feather.Even after walking tens of miles all day long, I never saw him panting, sweating, resting, busy with Sima Yi, talking and laughing, as if he had endless energy.

"You don't understand, you don't understand." Sima Yi didn't look back, but still ran towards Ziyuan Academy at a fast pace, and said in his mouth, "Confucius said: 'It is better to see good than to be late. , Seeing bad things is like exploring soup." Master Xuan Tongzi is a great Confucianist who has gathered all kinds of goodness and virtues in the world. How can I not be eager to worship him?" Niu Jin listened behind him, couldn't help but shook his head with a smile, and didn't say much anymore, just buried his head in carrying his luggage and books, and followed him unhurriedly.

After about two cups of tea, Sima Yi rushed to the gate of Ziyuan Academy.But he saw that under the steps in front of the courtyard, two young men dressed as Confucian scholars had already knelt down.Seeing Sima Yi approaching, the Wenxiu young man kneeling on the left seemed to guess that he was also a scholar who came to Ziyuan Academy to study as a teacher, so he raised his head and smiled at him, pointed to his left side with his left hand, indicating He too knelt down and waited. Seeing this, Sima Yi understood, nodded without hesitation, knelt down to the left hand side of the Wenxiu young man with a plop, and asked in a low voice, "Is Teacher Xuan Tongzi inside?"

"Teacher Xuan Tongzi seems to be teaching his disciples inside." The Wenxiu young man turned his head to him and replied softly, "When he finishes teaching this class, he will probably come out to see us. I am a Confucian student from Yingchuan County. Hu Zhao, may I ask your brother Gao's name?" "The Hu family of Yingchuan? So you are a member of the Hu family of Yingchuan. I have heard for a long time that the Hu family of Yingchuan is a scholarly family and a family of poetry and etiquette. It is a pleasure to meet you." Sima Yi was slightly surprised when he heard it, and immediately smiled. , hastily bowed and said, "I am Sima Yi, a Confucian scholar in Hanoi County. By the way, who is that brother?"

Hu Zhao knew that he was asking about the young man in black shirt kneeling on his right, so he replied in a low voice: "Mr. Sima, I have admired you for a long time. This brother is Zhou Xuan from Yizhou, and you Like me, naturally I also came to Master Xuantongzi to learn from my teacher and seek the Tao." Hearing their whispering, the young man named Zhou Xuan straightened his upper body from the ground just now, turned his head, and glanced at Sima Yi's face.When he saw it, his complexion changed abruptly, he was very surprised, and he fixed his eyes on Sima Yi's face for a long time without moving his eyes.

Sima Yi was a little uncomfortable being stared at by him, and he couldn't say much, so he smiled back at him.At that moment, Zhou Xuan seemed to come back to his senses. With both hands supported, he stood up, quickly ran to Sima Yi, looked him up and down carefully, clapped his palms, and laughed. Said: "This Mr. Sima was born with a good face: his head is tall and horny, his brows are cloudy and his eyes are full of stars, and his bearing is majestic. In the future, he must be a great talent who can help the world!" Seeing him suddenly jumping in front of him and saying these crazy words, Sima Yi couldn't help but secretly jumped in fright, but there was no wave on his face, and he just stepped back quickly.That Niu Jin had already put down the luggage rack, took a step over, and suddenly half-covered and half-shielded him in front of him, staring at Zhou Xuan with piercing eyes.

Zhou Xuan was blocked by Niu Jin's sudden stepping over, and he couldn't help but took two steps back.He glanced at Niu Jin's face, and then snorted, and said in surprise: "You are also born with a heroic character, and you will undoubtedly be a fierce general who will lead thousands of troops in the future!" "Second Young Master, it seems that this scholar is a bit crazy," Niu Jin stared at him warily, and hurriedly reminded Sima Yi, "You have to be more careful—it's not good to be bitten by him." .” "You... what nonsense are you talking about, kid?" Zhou Xuan couldn't help being so angry that he said angrily, "The verdict for the two of you is based on Zhou's actual research based on photo books and albums. Oh...don't slander Zhou's family background! Hey, have you read the book "A Hundred Appearances"? Have you read the book "Xing Ming Hui"? If it weren't for the two of you to have extraordinary appearances , Zhou is too lazy to look at the two of you."

Hu Zhao also hastily raised his body and explained to Sima Yi: "Brother Zhou is from a family of divination in Yizhou. According to what he said just now, his ancestor Zhou Jian once studied under the master of divination, Jing Fang, and served as the head of the Taishi Ling. Officer, Brother Sima and this little brother don't have to be suspicious." Only then did Sima Yi understand, and hastily drank Niu Jin back, got up and thanked Zhou Xuan: "My servant and I don't know how good brother Zhou's numerology is, so I was rude just now, please forgive me. It's just what brother Zhou said to me just now. , but it is really absurd praise, I dare not take it!"

"Hehehe, in Zhou's opinion, your personality is very peculiar and outstanding." Zhou Xuan refused to give up, grabbed his left hand again, and said to himself, "Your personality is very unique after seeing it." It's like a qin appraiser seeing a precious Yaoqin with excellent texture, if you don't allow me to appreciate it thoroughly, I will never let it go... Come, come, come, stretch out your left palm Let Zhou take another look." When Sima Yi heard this, he was so flustered that he didn't even dare to say no, and he didn't stretch out his palm, he just refused.

While the two of them were chatting, they suddenly heard the door of Ziyuan Academy creaking and slowly opening behind them—for a moment, Hu Zhao, who was persuading him, withdrew his expression and knelt down on his knees.Needless to say, Mr. Xuan Tongzi should have opened the door and came out. Seeing Hu Zhao's behavior, Zhou Xuan hurriedly let go of Sima Yi, ran back to his original position and knelt down. Sima Yi also adjusted his clothes, and when he was about to kneel down, he suddenly looked up and saw a boy in Tsing Yi standing on the stone steps at the door, looking at them solemnly, and said coldly: "Thank you, you are still a Confucian scholar." ——Come to study with a teacher today, but there is no etiquette outside the gate of the academy, pushing and pulling, making a lot of noise, what's the proper way?" Sima Yi and the others couldn't help but blushed, their faces were ashamed, they all hurriedly knelt down on the ground, and they all respectfully replied: "Xiaosheng, I know I was wrong." The boy in Tsing Yi saw that they were very polite, so he changed his expression, pursed his lips into a smile, and declared loudly: "Master, please move the three young masters to the hall to see you." The Mingdao Hall of Ziyuan Academy is bright and clean, bright and spacious enough to accommodate three or four hundred people.There are twenty-four cypress columns standing on the hall, scattered on the twenty-four heavens of Xuandu drawn in the Heluo atlas, and propping up the roof high, looking majestic and majestic. Sima Yi and the others followed the boy in Tsing Yi into the hall, and walked slowly to the back hall. Along the way, they saw lines of cypress pillars engraved with lines of classic mottos: "The Great Learning" The way of a university lies in Ming Mingde, in Xinmin, and ends in perfection"; in "Book of Rites", "the great virtue is not an official, the great way is not a weapon, the great faith is not consistent, and the great time is not uniform"; Learn to gather together, ask to distinguish, be lenient to live in, and benevolent to act"; there is a saying in "Mencius" that "Heaven is born to the people, so that they can be aware before they know, and they can be aware before they are aware"; In "Xunzi", "Wood is straightened by the rope, and gold is sharpened to benefit. A gentleman is knowledgeable and self-examining, and he is wise and can do nothing wrong." Harmony; nourishing it with virtue will bring harmony among the people"... While browsing the profound and meaningful inscriptions and mottos on the pillars of the hall, they slowly approached the back hall, and saw a large ebony table in the middle, which was full of classics from various schools of thought.Behind the ebony desk is a square couch with mottled bamboo.But there was no one on the square couch. Seeing the puzzled expressions of Sima Yi and the others, the boy in Tsing Yi quickly explained: "My lords, please wait a moment. Master probably went to the backyard to change clothes and rest. He will be here in a while." Sima Yi and the others naturally didn't say much at this time, so they all respectfully knelt down on the lower couch on the left side of the ebony table and waited. While waiting, Sima Yi couldn't help turning his eyes to the frosty snow gauze sandalwood screen on which the mottled bamboo couch was leaning against.Looking intently, I can see that there are two inscriptions written in thick ink on it. The one on the right is what Li Zengzi said, "Scholars must be resolute. The responsibilities are heavy and the road is long. Ren takes it as his own responsibility, isn't it too important? After death, it's not too important." Far?" The one on the left is "There is no benefit greater than world governance, and no harm is greater than world chaos." The reason why the Three Emperors and Five Emperors successfully established their names and made them known to later generations is that they can bring benefits to the world and eliminate harm. Same thing, same job." "This gentleman's calligraphy is really exquisite!" Hu Zhao, who was sitting beside him, also raised his head to look at the screen, and couldn't help admiring.Sima Yi was only looking at the words and sentences just now. Hearing what Hu Zhao said, he looked up at the handwriting and could only marvel at the handwriting: the inscriptions on the screen were written neatly and vigorously. The point is like a meteor flying, horizontal like a flying rainbow in the sky, hooked like a green peak reflecting the moon, vertical like an arm holding the sky, left like a dragon entering the sea, and pressed like a horse galloping across the plains.He smiled slightly, nodded to Hu Zhao and said in agreement: "Brother Hu said it is true, it is really a wonderful calligraphy, rare in the ages! However, although the writing is good, it is not as good as the two inscriptions on the screen. !" He looked at the two inscriptions on the screen quietly, as if to Hu Zhao, and as if to himself, he sighed deeply: "Mr. Xuan Tongzi wrote these two inscriptions on the screen. Judging from his ambition, he can be regarded as our immortal teacher who preaches, teaches, and dispels doubts! We are lucky to be able to use such a sage as our teacher!" "Well, Mr. Sima is right, and Zhou feels the same way." Zhou Xuan, who was sitting at the head of the seat, heard his words, looked at the inscription on the screen, and nodded repeatedly, " In Zhou's opinion, Mr. Xuan Tongzi's handwriting is upright and majestic, full of the majestic atmosphere of a great master of a generation, and he is indeed a good teacher that can be met but not sought after!" At this time, I saw the boy in Tsing Yi with a smile on his face, stepped forward and said: "Young masters, the master often says: 'You don't value the wall of the foot, but the shade of the inch.' If you don't want to wait for a long time, you can go ahead Pick up a few books and read while waiting—there are all kinds of books on the coffee table; you have each decided which book to choose to read, so let me tell you one by one to fetch it for you.” Sima Yi and the others looked at each other, and after a moment of silence, Zhou Xuan couldn't hold back at first, stood up from his seat, and blurted out: "My little brother, you...you take a copy and give it to Zhou Xuan." Somehow..." "Oh... yes. I remember, you have to read it." The boy in Tsing Yi nodded and turned his questioning gaze to Hu Zhao.Hu Zhao pondered for a while, and replied lightly: "Thank you, my little brother, let me get a copy!" Sima Yi, who was sitting at the last seat, heard that both of them had already spoken, and his upper body straightened up. Just as he was about to speak to the boy in Tsing Yi to get a book, he accidentally glanced at a burly figure at the side door of the back hall. Stand still.He suddenly had a thought, thought for a moment secretly, and condensed his mind, but he looked up at the inscription on the screen, smiled leisurely and said nothing. "Young master, have you decided what book to take?" The boy in Tsing Yi took a step closer to Sima Yi and asked. "Well... the book that Xiaosheng wants is probably hard to find among the books on the desk." Sima Yi said calmly, while reaching out to brush his sleeves, he leaned back a little. , looking squarely at the boy in Tsing Yi, and at the same time the smile on his face grew stronger. "This young man is joking! My master has collected more than 38,000 volumes of ancient and modern scriptures and classics from three religions and nine streams." The boy in Tsing Yi seemed to hear the biggest joke in the world, covered his mouth with a chuckle, and immediately restrained himself He said, "On his desk, how can there be books that cannot be found in this world? I am afraid that the library in the palace does not have as many collections as he does—don't jump to conclusions, and tell me the title of the book." stop." "Okay! Then I will trouble this little brother. The book Xiaosheng wants is a book that can really teach Xiaosheng how to follow the words on this screen to 'bring benefits to the world and eliminate harm'." Sima Yi said slowly. He said slowly, but there was deep meaning in his smile, "Is there such a book here?" "A book that can really teach you how to 'make benefits and eliminate harms for the world'?" The boy in Tsing Yi couldn't help being startled when he heard this, frowned slightly, and glanced at the inscription on the screen, and then looked at it Then he turned his head to Sima Yi and replied hesitantly, "Is it "Xunzi"? "Three Strategies of Huangshigong"? Or "Taigong Art of War"? They can all teach you how to serve the world. A book that eliminates harm by benefit!" "That's right. From Xiaosheng's point of view, they are all such books," Sima Yi replied with a deep smile, "but they are not such books." "This... this..." The boy in Tsing Yi was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond at this moment.Hearing what Sima Yi said, Zhou Xuan couldn't hold back any longer, and burst out laughing: "Oh! You are such an honest man! You didn't realize that this Sima Jun was using those mysterious and crooked What he said is just teasing you! Don't be fooled by his words." Hearing this, the boy in Tsing Yi blushed suddenly, and wanted to question Sima Yi.But seeing Sima Yi listened to Zhou Xuan's words, he didn't make any excuses, just shook his head slightly and smiled without saying a word.Only Hu Zhao was thoughtful at the side, looking at Sima Yi with some surprise in his eyes, hesitant to speak. "The book he wants is indeed available—but it's really hard to find..." The burly figure who had been standing quietly at the side door of the back hall finally spoke, and at the same time walked in slowly, his voice was deep Concentrated and clear, "I don't know, what he actually wants is a book without words." When hearing the voice's first words, Sima Yi's face that had been facing the sandalwood screen with frost and snow gauze immediately showed a smug smile.He slowly turned around and followed the prestige: a thin elderly man wearing a crane cloak and a crown on his head, holding a mutton fat jade handle and silver silk stag tail whisk in his right hand, was approaching slowly with a faint smile.His face is like a pine tree, his complexion is simple and unsophisticated, five long beards fluttering behind his head, and when he looks forward to his demeanor, there is a sense of grace, elegance, purity and peace, which makes people dare not look directly at him. "Master!" The boy in Tsing Yi looked back, couldn't help but straighten his face, bowed to the side in a respectful manner, lowered his eyebrows, and stood quietly. At this moment, Sima Yi and the other three have already guessed who he is without any introduction from others.Sima Yi pretended to be in a daze for a while, and when he saw Hu Zhao and Zhou Xuan bowed their heads and bowed, he seemed to wake up, and hurriedly bowed down, and said respectfully: "Xiaosheng speaks lightly in Mingdao Hall, please sir Forgive me." "Where! Where! This young master's ambition is so great!" Xuan Tongzi slowly sat back on the mottled bamboo square couch, staring deeply at Sima Yi, his eyes were like two waves of ancient ponds, "It's a pity... how to 'make benefits and eliminate harms for the world' in troubled times-this book without words, I am afraid that I don't have a few pages in my stomach, so how can I teach you? According to my own In terms of understanding, such a wonderful book depends on you to spend your whole life to "learn and learn from time to time". If you want to learn it with one teacher at a time, such a thing may only be like Confucius' Only the world-famous sages who are born to know it will do." "Sir, please express your heart to Wen Xiaosheng: When Xiaosheng saw you today, he really understood that you are the title page and table of contents of this wordless book." Sima Yi knelt down on the seat with an extremely excited expression, holding his breath and being humble Zhiji said, "Sir, if you can accept Xiaosheng's introduction, it will be a kindness for Xiaosheng, and Xiaosheng is very grateful." When Hu Zhao and Zhou Xuan saw it, they hurriedly fell down and begged: "We also beg you to accept me as disciples, and I am willing to follow you to study Confucianism and Taoism." At this time, Xuantongzi didn't answer a word, his eyes were slightly closed, his left palm was gently brushing the silver tail on the whisk with a suet jade handle held by his right hand, and he was sitting on the couch as if he was asleep. In deep contemplation. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, moved his left palm away, flicked the jade-handled stag tail whisk in his right hand, and said to the boy in Tsing Yi: "Ke Ling, go and clear the backyard. Serve out the three cups of tea brewed for the teacher." After hearing this, the boy in Tsing Yi's eyes flickered, he didn't ask any more questions, he just responded, then he walked back to the side door of the back hall with his hands down, turned and went out. After Xuantongzi said this, he closed his eyes again and sat still. Sima Yi and the others didn't dare to be rude, they held their breath together and lay down on the floor waiting for him to speak. After half a cup of tea, I saw Ke Ling walking in cautiously holding a red lacquered wooden tray in both hands.On the wooden tray, there were three teacups carved from goose topaz, and there were wisps of white gas bubbling from the cups. "Ke Ling, serve tea to these three young masters." Xuantongzi did not open his eyes, his left palm was still slowly stroking the silver-threaded stag on the whisk with a suet jade handle, his face was expressionless, and his mouth was light. He said, "Let's talk about everything after you drink this cup of tea!" Hearing Xuantongzi's words, Sima Yi and the others had no choice but to take the teacups, held them in their hands, and looked at each other before they began to drink. Sima Yi bowed his head slightly, and saw that the tea in his cup was light green and crystal clear. When he sniffed it with his nose, there was a faint fragrance in the warm tea.He himself is also an expert in making tea. When he saw it, he knew that it was a rare tea that was rare in a hundred years. He took a sip of the teacup and put it to his lips. "Good tea..." Sima Yi gave a soft compliment, looked up and saw that Hu Zhao and Hu Zhao felt the same way as him.The three of them looked at each other and smiled, each raised their glasses and took another sip. After taking this sip of tea, Sima Yi felt abnormally sweet at first, and was about to open his mouth to praise again, but unexpectedly, the sweetness was fleeting, and the taste of the tea suddenly became extremely bitter.His complexion changed slightly, and he was trying to endure it. Zhou Xuan was already screaming at the side with a wow, and said: "It's so bitter! It's so bitter!..." He hurriedly turned his head to see that Hu Zhao was winking, with a bitter melon-like expression on his face. Although he didn't behave as badly as Zhou Xuan, he was holding a teacup but he refused to move any closer to his lips! Sima Yi himself was so bitter that he stuck out his tongue secretly, raised his eyes and looked up again, only to see that Xuan Tongzi had opened his eyes at some time and was looking at them with a smile on his beard!His heart suddenly brightened: I think this cup of strange tea, which is sweet first and then bitter, must be used by him to test himself and Hu Zhao and Zhou Xuan!After realizing this, Sima Yi gritted his teeth silently, braced himself, closed his eyes, raised his right hand, raised his neck, and gulped down the tea in the cup in one gulp! When the tea entered my throat, it was actually more bitter and astringent than the previous sip!Sima Yi tightly grasped the corner of his robe with his left hand, and tried his best not to cry out.The bitterness became stronger and stronger, and when it reached the extreme, it turned into a pungent taste again!This time, Sima Yi was so hot that he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, gasping for breath!However, even in such a situation, he still frowned and endured, without saying a word, and did not utter the word "spicy"! Xuan Tongzi turned his head to the side, and seemed to be looking at him with great interest, a hint of appreciation gradually appeared on his face. As the smile on Xuan Tongzi's face gradually became stronger, the spicy taste in Sima Yi's mouth gradually faded away, replaced by a trace of fresh fragrance and sweetness from between his tongue and teeth.Gradually, the tea taste became more and more sweet and attractive, which made Sima Yi's eyebrows and cheeks relaxed, his heart was full of joy, and he almost wanted to dance! Hu Zhao and Zhou Xuan, who were sitting next to him, couldn't help looking at each other and secretly surprised when they saw each other. They couldn't understand why he had such a strange reaction at this moment—as if he was drunk like drinking sweet wine. ! However, at this moment when his heart was fluttering, Sima Yi's self-cultivation and self-cultivation skills deeply influenced by his family finally came into play: although his heart was full of joy and emotion, his face became pale after a moment of trance. It quickly became as still as still water, with little ripples. "Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself, don't be scratched by suffering, and don't be confused by joy..." Finally, Xuan Tongzi's eyes lit up, and he spoke slowly, his face full of admiration, "Sima Zhongda, you A cultivation level of concentration and concentration is really impressive! Master Xun Shuang once wrote a letter to praise you as "a resourceful person who can travel thousands of miles, although the dangers are unpredictable and success or failure is uncertain, but you can keep the scriptures and make changes, like a mountain that does not move. Like the self-adaptation of a river'——I saw it today, and it really is true!" Sima Yi was shocked when he heard that: Xun Shuang Sikong's recommendation book was still in his suitcase and had not been taken out to show others, but unexpectedly, Xuan Tongzi had already seen through his origin at a glance!He hastily bowed down respectfully, and said solemnly: "Mr. is overrated. Xiaosheng actually couldn't bear the bitterness and sweetness in the taste of tea. Gritting my teeth with my own tenacity, I am far from the realm taught by the saints to be "calmly and moderately, without compulsion, and without thinking". It is finally caused by the impure cultivation of Xiaosheng. I also hope that Mr. Under the door, I will give advice with all my heart." Hu Zhao and Zhou Xuan also knelt down on their seats along with him, pleading endlessly. Xuantongzi was silent for a moment, straightened his face, waved the tail of the jade handle in his hand, and brushed slowly over his crane cloak, and said leisurely: "Forget it, wait and get back on your feet first. This cup of tea is a gift from my master." The gift for you to get started - everyone has different roots of wisdom, and naturally everyone benefits differently, so there is no need to talk about it. "Ke Ling, you take these three young masters to settle down in the backyard wing room first... Since tomorrow morning, they will come to this Mingdao Hall to attend lectures and study their homework. The seats should be set in the third row in front of this."