The fierce peasant woman is busy farming

What the teacher in the town school asked us to memorize were all too easy.

If the teacher tests you on the Four Books and Five Classics, then you're doomed.

Old Man Cui seemed to know what Xuan Mo was thinking and said, "You don't have to be afraid. My test is not difficult."

The more I say this, the less easy it becomes.

Zhou Yue gave Xuan Mo a look, encouraging him to stay calm and just work hard.

Old Man Cui said, "Well, recite to me what you know. I want to listen."

That’s it. What you can recite by yourself are the simplest ones that any elementary school student can learn.

What should I do? I can’t really memorize all that.

He turned to look at his mother.

Zhou Yue pronounced silently: "Tao Te Ching".

Forget it, let's give it a try. Just listen to my mother and recite the "Tao Te Ching". It's more advanced than the "Hundred Family Names" and "Three Character Classic".

"Teacher, can I recite the Tao Te Ching?"

"Oh? Who did you learn the Tao Te Ching from?"

"My mother."

The "Tao Te Ching" is exactly what Old Man Cui likes to study.

Although he was a graduate of the imperial examination system and a serious Confucian student, after thousands of years of development, the distinction between Confucianism and Taoism is no longer so clear.

Therefore, many Confucian scholars also like the Taoist philosophy of tranquility and inaction.

Being poor cares themselves, being wealthy cares the world.

"Your mother?" Old Man Cui followed Xuan Mo's gaze and looked at Zhou Yue. He didn't quite believe that such an ignorant village woman would understand the "Tao Te Ching".

It is more believable when she says she understands "The Analects of Confucius", but what about "Tao Te Ching"?

snort!

Zhou Yue bowed respectfully to Old Man Cui.

Old Man Cui nodded in response.

No wonder she raised such children. This village woman is quite interesting and so generous.

Well, actually what Old Man Cui was thinking was, how shameless.

"Okay, recite it to me."

"The Tao can be spoken of, but it is not always the Tao; the name can be named, but it is not always the name.

Namelessness is the beginning of heaven and earth; name is the mother of all things. Therefore..."

"Stop, are you reciting it correctly?"

"Yes, that's what my mother taught me."

Xuan Mo is very innocent.

Zhou Yue knew where the problem lay.

What she taught her children was the silk book version of "Laozi's Five Thousand Words" unearthed in Mawangdui.

During the process of its circulation, the "Tao Te Ching" was divided into two versions, A and B, in the Han Dynasty.

Because people in the Han Dynasty still used written letters to record events and essays, which were easily scattered and corroded or burned by fire.

This results in many errors and omissions in the article. During the copying process, some people may make mistakes, while others may add their own understanding and intentionally rewrite it.

This further aggravates the numerous errors in the circulation of the article.

The "Tao Te Ching" has been passed down for a long time and has been loved by people in all dynasties. It is regarded as the "first of all classics", which has led to its numerous versions.

Zhou Yue had to stand up and say something.

"Uncle, I also saw a book in my collection at home and memorized it.

Now that there are no books at home, I teach my children to recite when I am bored. "

"Oh, your version is rare. Can you lend it to me? I promise it will not be damaged and I will return it after I finish reading it."

“I’m sorry I can’t lend them out, these books belonged to my father from my mother’s family, and he has passed away.

Because he loved books so much, all the books in his collection were burned at his grave, so..."

Zhou Yue stopped, as if immersed in memories.

Xuan Mo pulled her sleeve to comfort her.

Zhou Yue smiled at him.

Seeing that the man was talking about someone else's sad story, Old Man Cui stopped asking any more questions.

"Do you know what this paragraph means?"

"know a little."

"Oh, tell me then."

Xuan Mo immediately became more confident. His mother had taught him this. He straightened his back and said loudly:

“Tao is the ontology of the world and the universe, and the source of the evolution of all things.

All explanations and statements about Tao are superficial and empty, but they are not Tao itself..."

Old Man Cui nodded.

Xuan Mo continued: “Everything has no name, but in order to describe it, we can only give it a name.

This name is empty, it is not it, it is just a label..."

"Okay, let's talk about this later. What else can you recite?"

"Is the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine okay?"

"Recite it and listen to it."

"In the past, Huangdi was born with divine spirit, could speak when he was young, was loyal when he was young, was kind and intelligent when he grew up, and ascended to heaven when he was an adult.

I asked the Heavenly Master: I heard that people in ancient times lived to be a hundred years old and their movements were not weakened. But people nowadays are fifty years old and their movements are weakened. Is it because of the difference in the times? Are people losing it?

Zhou Yue was still confident in Xuan Mo's memory. He could remember most of it after watching it once, and remember most of it after listening to it once.

He is a typical picture memory and listening learner.

Teachers all like such children and think they are dedicated.

Of course, he must listen carefully to remember it.

Old Man Cui was very satisfied and asked him to explain.

Xuan Mo said: "Huangdi was born a child prodigy. He could speak very well when he was a baby and knew everything around him when he was young. When he was a little older, he was honest and diligent. When he grew up, he became the Son of Heaven..."

"How long have you been learning this?"

"I studied the two books for a month, but I haven't finished the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine. The Tao Te Ching only has 5,000 words, but I've finished it."

It's only 5,000 words, how dare you say such nonsense.

"Okay, I'll accept this apprentice..." Old Man Cui said quickly.

Zhou Yue and Xuan Mo were delighted. Although they didn't know the old man's background, judging from his well-spoken manner and arrogant expression, he should have a high status.

Maybe it was some great Confucian figure.

Just look at how he was able to teach Xuan Mo's calligraphy to that level in just one hour. He is a good teacher. It is worthwhile to become his disciple.

Xuan Mo immediately understood the elegant meaning of the music, and prostrated himself to become his master.

Old man Cui seemed to have known that Xuan Mo would do this, and he laughed loudly as he accepted his gift.

"From now on, you will become my Cui Renjie's inner disciple, and most likely his last disciple.

You have many senior brothers who will protect you in the future."

Old Man Cui waved to an even older old man next to him. The old man was called Cui Da, and he was Old Man Cui's follower.

Old man Cui whispered something to him, and Cui Da took the order and left.

What Zhou Yue didn't know was that, unexpectedly, this Cui Renjie was a person of no ordinary background.

He came from the Qinghe Cui family, a prominent aristocratic family.

He was the prime minister during the reign of the late Emperor Taizong, and he and the late Emperor had a close relationship since childhood.

The first young top scholar in the Dahui Dynasty was chosen by Emperor Taizu to be the teacher of Emperor Taizong. He was only eight years older than Emperor Taizong.

At the age of thirty, he was appointed as the Prince's Junior Tutor by Emperor Taizu, and at the age of forty, he was promoted to the Prince's Grand Tutor, a well-deserved top-ranking official of the dynasty.

He made outstanding contributions to stabilizing the government of Emperor Taizong at that time, establishing a new dynasty order, calming the people, restoring people's livelihood, and prospering all industries.

As a civil official, his achievements were comparable to those of the founding military generals, and he was ranked seventh in the Lingyan Pavilion's list of meritorious officials.

However, even such a high-ranking official of the dynasty could not escape the fate of having different ministers under different emperors.

The current saint has been on the throne for seven years. Although the queen mother is not the saint's biological mother, she is keen on power.

As for the saint, he has a youthful mind and yearns for the life of a knight-errant.

I have always been somewhat resistant to being an emperor.

But he was disgusted by the Queen Mother's strong and arbitrary character, and the two of them fought constantly in secret.

As the prime minister, he was caught between the mother and son, and was bullied by both sides and could not please anyone.

Especially in the past two years, the saint has been searching for his prince among the people like crazy, completely disregarding the queen's face and the dignity of the royal family.

A while ago this year, Cui Renjie finally angered the emperor over the issue of offspring, and he scolded him.

There were many restrictions on the emperor's power in this dynasty, and the emperor himself did not have the right to directly dismiss the prime minister.

However, the sage is the Son of Heaven after all.

If he wants you to resign and retire, he has a hundred ways to hint at you and make you retreat on your own initiative.

Therefore, after the sage had given him many hints and instructions, Lord Cui decided to leave the capital where he had lived since he passed the imperial examination.

Originally he wanted to return to his hometown Qinghe, but then he remembered an old friend who had passed the imperial examination with him many years ago and was also sent to Lingnan at the same time.

Over the years, I have been up and down in my career, busy pursuing fame, fortune and power.

I actually forgot the ten-year agreement with my old friend.

When the old friend returned to the capital from Lingnan, his father had passed away, so he went back to observe mourning.

Before the mourning period was over, the mother passed away again, and another three years passed.

Five years later, he wanted to make a comeback, but his wife fell ill again.

He quickly consulted a doctor and bought medicine, and sought treatment from many sources, but in the end his wife passed away.

That was his childhood sweetheart, his first wife who had shared the good and bad times with him.

The successive deaths of his relatives dealt him a heavy blow. He was devastated and didn't even want to seek a comeback.

Later, the old friend stayed in the countryside, accompanied by poetry, books, flowers, wine and tea. He no longer had to work hard for a living and became a free and easy small landlord.

And he drifted away.

Now that he has retired, he suddenly thought of his old friend and the agreement he made with him.

Reading history for three thousand years, it is nothing but fame, wealth and power; after ninety thousand miles of enlightenment, it is ultimately about poetry, wine and pastoral life.