Oriole Line

how to explain.

After the king of Chu and Qi Yan left the banquet, the prince soon left the banquet early because of his tired look.The conversation will become lively.The guests present and Yuan Huagong talked about hexagrams and metaphysics, and introduced the commentaries of Wang Bi, Xiang Xiu and others on Lao Zhuang from the previous dynasty, which was very lively.

"I don't know what the young general thinks about King Wen's 64 hexagrams?" Seeing that Pu Chen lacked interest and didn't speak much, Duke Yuanhua asked him.

Pu Chen said bluntly: "Talking about the country is harmful to the country. Now that Nanjing is troubled by internal and external troubles, His Majesty is seriously ill, the great Sima is newly mourned, and there are powerful enemies around outside. I really don't want to talk about it."

As soon as this remark came out, all the guests were in an uproar.The so-called clear talk is to avoid the talk of the world, not to talk about state affairs, not to talk about people's livelihood.When Pu Chen said this, he almost offended all the guests present.Without changing his expression, he made a bow to Duke Yuanhua and continued: "Thank you sir for bestowing on my father the word 'a hero in troubled times'. My father has been a soldier and horse all his life, helping Nanjing, Mr. Duo Cheng, thank you for his kind words. But, I'm full of vulgar things, so I won't disturb everyone's chat here." After saying that, he got up to leave.

"Wait a minute, Major General." He only heard Qi Dai's words to persuade him to stay, he stood up with a smile and said, "Although this is a meeting of Duke Yuanhua, it is rare that the Deputy King is present, and the Major Generals are all present. What the Major General said is not bad, Now it is the autumn when Nanjing is in danger of survival, and everyone here is a person of insight. Why don't you use this precious place to talk about political affairs, and see how Nanjing can get rid of the dark and weak situation in a remote corner, revitalize the people's livelihood inside, and get rid of powerful enemies outside."

Seeing what Qi Dai said, the guests nodded one after another.

Pu Chen became excited and said in a loud voice: "Nanjing is dark and weak, which is naturally due to the lack of troops. Back then, the Jing Dynasty had a vast territory and strong troops, but now its strength is only three or four tenths of what it was back then, except for my father's Wuchang Army and Jiankang's Forbidden Army. , the world has no more soldiers to use, how can we talk about revival?"

Zhou Yu didn't interrupt much at first, but when Pu Chen talked about the soldiers of the world, he stood up and said: "If you want to have a strong soldier, you must first have people, and second, you must have food. Back then, most of the population in the Jing Dynasty was in the north, but now all the people in the north are in the north." In the hand of Yan. This king accepts Nandu refugees in Luzhou. It is difficult to identify one of the household registrations. How to recruit soldiers? Second, most of the good land in the world belongs to the powerful family. Now, even if there are refugees from Nandu, they can't divide their fertile land. No one has no food, how can we strengthen the army?" Zhou Yu has been a refugee commander in Luzhou for several years, and he has a deep understanding of the bad government in Nanjing.

"If according to Dai Wang's words, the southern scene is dark and weak, so it is the family's fault?" A guest heard that Dai Wang mentioned the family's disadvantages, and was quite annoyed, "The young general was born in the Pu family of Jinyang. Nan Jing? Mr. Qi comes from Guangling Qi Clan, if there is no Qi Clan, who will assist His Majesty? Above the court, everyone here, who is not from a family, if there is no family, there will be no Nan Jing. The family is the foundation of Nan Jing Without the support of the aristocratic family, how can Nanjing build a country and fight against Beiyan?"

This remark was filled with righteous indignation, and all the guests present were from aristocratic or small families, and they all echoed.

"Sijun, what do you think?" Seeing that Qi Dai didn't agree, Duke Yuanhua frowned, as if he was thinking about something.

Qi Dai looked around, and his eyes fell on Zhou Yu: "It is an indisputable fact that the Jing Dynasty died in the chaos of the aristocratic family. After moving to the south, the aristocratic family is not only the foundation of Nanjing, but also the obstacle to the revival of Nanjing. The rise of the Jing Dynasty, based on blood relationship, annexed the land and cultivated children. Those who cultivate literature can be ranked in the court, and those who practice martial arts can recruit soldiers and become heroes. It is true that the aristocratic family provided support for Nanjing and trained civil servants and generals, but the existence of the aristocratic family It also hinders the advancement of the Han family. It is precisely because all the courtiers here are from aristocratic families, it means that countless children from poor families have no land to plant and no official to do. Even if they are far more talented than you and me, He will also be rejected from the court because of the views of the powerful, and will be displaced for life."

"According to Sijun's opinion, how can we solve the disadvantages of the family? If there is no family in Nanjing, where do the talents come from?" Zhou Yu stared at Qi Dai.

Qi Dai seemed to hesitate to speak, looked around and sighed softly: "There is no solution."

Zhou Yu took a deep look at Qi Dai, and among the crowd, their gazes met, finally turning into the sound of wind in the bamboo forest.

8, 8.

As dusk approached, the guests left one by one.Because Zhou Yu had to rush back to Luzhou in time, he bid farewell to Pu Chen in the bamboo forest.When the two were saying their goodbyes, Qi Dai came over and saluted the two of them: "Today I talked about political affairs with the two of you, and Qi has benefited a lot."

Zhou Yudao: "Brother Sijun knows Zhuoyuan, and this king admires it." He looked at Qi Dai's breezy demeanor, and then remembered his hesitant answer just now, so he couldn't help adding: "Brother Sijun is good at interpreting hexagrams. The king also got the hexagram of Duke Yuanhua, and I want to ask brother Sijun to explain it for me."

Qi Dai smiled and said: "Qi will return to Guangling Academy in a few days. Whenever the Dai Wang comes to visit, he must sweep the steps and wait."

Zhou Yu laughed and turned to leave.Just as Pu Chen was about to ride away, Qi Dai suddenly stopped him: "Young General, please stay."

Pu Chen was full of doubts: "What's the matter?"

Qi Dai looked at the surrounding guests who had almost left, and said in a low voice: "Maybe Qi is abrupt about this matter, but it is not appropriate to discuss it here. I wonder if we can allow Qi to go to the Major General's Mansion to talk about it?"

Pu Chen thought that Qi Dai came from the Qi family of Guangling, and he only met today, so he wondered if there was something he wanted to discuss with him in secret.But at the meeting just now, seeing that this person doesn't look like a person fighting for power and profit, and he himself has benefited from the family's remarks, so he nodded and said: "Naturally."

When the two arrived at the study of the General's Mansion, Pu Chen ordered the doors and windows to be closed tightly, and then asked: "What advice, Mr. Qi?"

Qi Dai seemed to have made up his mind, and said in a deep voice: "Qi came to Jiankang for the sake of the Major General, did the Major General arrest someone?"

"Oh? Why do you ask?" Pu Chen was startled, could it be that Qi Dai came to inquire about the assassin?

"The major general just needs to tell me, yes or no. If not, then Qi will be abrupt and leave immediately." Qi Dai no longer smiled at this moment, but his expression was very solemn.

Pu Chen stared at Qi Dai's face, and tentatively said, "Yes. Sir, do you know him?"

Qi Dai asked eagerly: "But a boy of eighteen or nineteen years old, with excellent looks and excellent skills?"

"So, you really know him?" Pu Chen tapped the desk with his fingers, "Who is he?"

Qi Dai took a deep breath and said, "Young General, this man is a student of Guangling Academy, and also my best friend, Wen Ji."

"Oh? He's from Guangling Academy?" Pu Chen was a little surprised.Guangling Academy was established by King Wu in imitation of Jixia Academy in Qi State. It lasted for hundreds of years.After the Jing Dynasty moved to the south, the Guangling Academy recruited almost all the children of the Wujun family who had not yet entered official positions, and many children of the family who were displaced during the war in the last years of the Jing Dynasty were also included.

"Although this person is from the Guangling Academy, I can't let him go. Since the master came to me, he must be able to guess why I arrested him." Pu Chen looked sternly, and approached Qi Dai, "So, he came to assassinate me Father, do you mean Guangling Academy?"

Hearing the words, Qi Dai said sincerely: "I hope that the young general will forgive you. Guangling Academy is indeed dissatisfied with the power of the Pu family, but when the situation forced the southward migration, the Zhou family was able to survive, and the Pu family did make great contributions. Xuegong In the past few months, the debate about powerful families and powerful officials has been raging. As for Wen Ji, the major general can probably guess that he does not advocate that powerful families control the government."

"So, he thought that if my father was killed, the Pu family would be gone, right? Even if the Pu family was gone, did he think that the Zhou family would be able to sit safely on the dragon chair?" Pu Chen sneered and asked Qi Dai.

Qi Dai was oppressed by Puchen's aura, and explained: "Wen Ji did not think carefully, and I have persuaded him many times. Da Sima has outstanding military achievements and has the important task of fighting Beiyan. He cannot be just a powerful minister. See it. However, he didn’t seem to listen to it. When he heard that Da Sima came to Jiankang, he disappeared from the academy that night. I was very anxious and guessed that he followed Jiankang. I never heard from him again news, so I took the liberty to come here to ask."

"He just came to kill my father, so what else is there to say?" Pu Chen said.

"Qi has the guts to ask, since the Major General captured him, he must have interrogated him. Did he admit to assassinating Da Sima?" Qi Dai said.

Pu Chen sneered: "Which assassin would admit that he killed someone? What's more, he killed the great Sima of the court."

Hearing this, Qi Dai sparked a glimmer of hope: "So he didn't admit it. Major General, if Wen Ji didn't admit it, he didn't kill him. If Wen Ji really did it, with his temperament, he would definitely admit it, and he definitely wouldn't dare to do it." Be a person who dare not be!"

"If it's not him, why don't you tell who he is?"

Qi Dai sighed: "He definitely doesn't want to implicate Guangling Academy. If Guangling Academy offends Jinyang Pu, with the soldiers and horses in your hands, how many times can you crush the Academy..."

"Mr. Qi doesn't have to think so badly about Mrs. Pu. We all know that the Guangling Academy is full of future pillars of the imperial court, and our Mrs. Pu also cherishes talents." Pu Chen's voice was a bit bitter, "So, this article Ji Youxin came to kill my father, but he wasn't the one who did it in the end?"

"Qi doesn't know the details. But Qi can trust Wen Ji's character. He is amazingly talented, his martial arts are also top-notch, and his left-handed sword is superb..."

"What?" Pu Chen interrupted Qi Dai, "He used the left-handed sword?"

"Exactly, is there any problem with the Major General?" Qi Dai said.

If he usually uses the left