Legacy of the old dynasty

The 15th year of Shenzong Wanli is destined to be an unusual year.

On the third day of March, an earthquake occurred in Henan, the hinterland of the Central Plains.The sound was like thunder, and the embankment of Kaifeng Fu City was completely destroyed, and countless houses collapsed.Dozens of state capitals were shaken together, causing disaster to the capital, and the old birds flew together.In April, there was a severe drought in Gyeonggi, but in June, there were continuous heavy rains, which eventually became floods.The houses of officials and civilians were all destroyed, and countless people were crushed to death and drowned.On the ninth day of the seventh month, the river broke through Kaifeng, and there was heavy rain in Fuzhou in Henan, and people and animals drifted away.On the tenth day of the lunar new year, there was a heavy wind and rain in Tongzhou, and all the water transport ships were destroyed, and the 170 three stones of grain they carried sank to the bottom of the river. On the 21st, locust plagues in the north of the Yangtze River, severe drought in Shaanxi, and heavy rain in the south of the Yangtze River.The hungry people in the Yellow River ate grass and trees, and the counties in Guanzhong even ate earth and rocks for a living.Feeling the disaster of the world, Shenzong made a dental plaque in the palace, and wrote twelve warnings: "Beware of the heavens, be virtuous, be close to virtuous ministers, stay away from courtiers, be rewarded and punished, be cautious in going in and out, be cautious in daily life, eat abstinently, and be careful about your income. Be at ease, be in awe, accept faithful advice, and save money.”Hanging on the right side of the seat, always alert, in order to rule the world by self-cultivation.However, on the night of the third day of October, in Suzhou, Songjiang and other prefectures, the east wind was raging, the strong wind tore down the wooden servants' houses, and the fields and crops were completely destroyed.The water in Taihu Lake is more than three feet high, and no boat on the lake is spared.

Wu Xie lowered his head.The cuffs of the padded robe were loosely stitched, and a thread was hanging out, and it couldn't be pulled any longer, but it was biting into his flesh.

Prince Wang said: "Songjiang line, he was the one who ran it himself, and I don't know the specific situation when the accident happened. Fortunately, people are fine in the end, which is exactly what the sentence says - auspicious people have their own celestial phenomena. It’s not like hurting your muscles and bones for a few ships of goods..." He sighed again, and said, "However, I lost several family members, and the boss of the boat that punted the boat when we traveled together last time. Buried at the bottom of the lake, alas."

Wu Xie only felt that his mouth and tongue were dry, but his limbs were cold and unable to move, he stared blankly at the prince.

Prince Wang said: "There is an old saying, 'Walking by the river often does not wet your shoes'. They are used to walking by water, and they will never escape their fate. Moreover, they are all old servants of the Zhang family. Someone will take care of their family. , don't take it too seriously."

Wu Xie nodded, and asked with difficulty, "Little brother...how is he now?"

Prince Wang frowned: "I heard from Zhang's family that when people were rescued, they were all out of breath. Thanks to holding a wooden plank in their arms, they floated on the lake overnight. Now, they should be fine now. When I went out, I heard Said it was time to get out of bed."

It's already winter, and the house is not very warm yet, but Wu Xie is drenched in sweat.For a moment just now, he was really ashamed.Now that he heard that he was fine, his limbs and bones seemed to be slowly becoming conscious.He tried his best to calm himself down a bit, looked at Young Master Wang, and said, "Nowadays Huguang is not at peace, why do you go out alone? You and I are destined to meet each other here today."

But Prince Wang became cautious, looked around, and then approached and said: "I heard that Huangzhou has changed..."

Wu Xie turned pale with shock when he first heard it.Prince Wang winked at him vigorously, but he didn't shout out, he couldn't help getting closer, and asked in a low voice, "Are you talking about Liu Ruguo who caused chaos in Qizhou?"

Prince Wang nodded.

Wu Xie said angrily: "Could it be that you are crazy! Okay, what are you looking for!"

Prince Wang smiled inscrutably, and said: "As the so-called seeking wealth and wealth, if you don't come out and travel around, how will you know what ways to make money in the world..."

Wu Xie hurriedly interrupted him: "Still talking crazy! Do you know why Liu Ruguo came to Huangzhou? It was Qizhou Meitang that was strangled by the government. This is a matter of losing your head every now and then. You are so, so confused!"

Seeing that he was really angry, Wang Gongzi lowered his eyebrows and dared not do it again.After a while, he said: "It's not that I didn't find it..."

Wu Xie slapped the table violently: "If you find it, you will be gone!" The tea drinkers around all looked sideways.Prince Wang was so frightened that he dared not speak for a long time.

But in the end, I couldn't bear it anymore, and after a while, I whispered again: "The two of you went to the capital that day, but only Brother Zhang came back. When I asked where you went, everyone said that you went on a trip. I am so envious Very, always thinking that since you can go, I can too..."

When Wu Xie heard this, he felt something was wrong, and asked tentatively, "You left home without saying goodbye, too?"

Prince Wang nodded, but his brain suddenly became bright again, and he asked: "What do you mean by 'also'? Could it be that you ran away secretly?" After speaking, he rubbed his hands and kept muttering, "So... ..."

Wu Xie nodded in embarrassment, and said, "I also have difficulties."

Wang Gongzi didn't realize it, he babbled for a while, and then asked: "But even Brother Zhang didn't know about it? No wonder he came back from the capital with a bad temper..." He looked at Wu Xie, and then asked again. It was a smile, "It turns out that you have run into bad luck."

Seeing that Wu Xie didn't answer, he glanced him up and down again, and said, "Why didn't you even tell him? Aren't you two very nice?" After speaking, he smiled again.

Wu Xie had no choice but to tell the truth about the reason for leaving home. After the prince heard it, he remained silent.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long time before Prince Wang heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I haven't read much since I was a child, and I haven't read many books about sages. There is only one "Zhuangzi", and because it is written in fantasy, I have only read it a few times. It is said in "Xiaoyaoyou" that "the world praises it without persuading it, and the whole world does not want it without being discouraged. It is determined by the distinction between internal and external, and the distinction is between honor and disgrace." This kind of person, Is it possible to find it in the world? It must be a sage’s joke. Later, when I got to know Brother Zhang, I realized that there were such people in the world, but I had never met them.”

Wu Xie looked at him, but said nothing.

"If a person really has no desires or desires, he should go back to the mountains and forests as a co-author. But Brother Zhang is not a hermit after all, he just asks for what he can't ask for. In this way, it is really like Zhuangzi said 'there is still no tree'. "

Wu Xie clearly understood what he meant, but just because he understood, he was even more unable to speak.

Prince Wang said again: "Let's not talk about me, you are also a scholar, just as Zhu Zi said, 'Filial piety, loyalty and trustworthiness are all the principles of heaven. .”

Wu Xieben lowered his head and listened quietly, who would have thought that he would say such stupid words, and looked up at the prince in a daze.

"If you want me to say, the principle of heaven should be conscience, and conscience is the heart that knows good and evil. If you remove the human heart, you will not see the law of heaven. If the human heart sincerely seeks to live with compassion, that life is the law of heaven. If you seek love, then love is the law of heaven. A desire to survive and seek love, naturally aware of it, is a conscience. If you really abandon your conscience, isn’t the principle of heaven you’re talking about a joke?”

Seeing that Wu Xie couldn't answer, Prince Wang couldn't help but feel a little proud, and then said: "The so-called loyalty, filial piety and trustworthiness are just the expression of the true nature of the human heart. It's just because the human heart is like this, so those good words are deliberately created because of the human heart. It’s good, it’s conscience. The Four Books and Five Classics only talk about this mind and body. If you don’t understand, just reading those Four Books and Five Classics will eventually lead you to nowhere.”

Wu Xie said, "Then according to what you said, how should I obtain the Fa?"

"You have read these books, but now you want to ask me?" Prince Wang patted his stomach, seeing his earnest expression, he couldn't be more funny, and replied seriously, "Because conscience is the essence of the heart, so you When you see your father, you will know filial piety, when you see your brother, you will know your younger brother, and when you see women and children entering the well, you will naturally feel compassion. He said, "You don't have to hide it from me. I'm not blind. It's just that the heart of courtship is the same as that of filial piety. Why do you give up love because of filial piety and treat one more than another. Now tell me, you can be worthy of your own heart." , and can he be worthy of his heart?"

After Wu Xie listened quietly, he was so emotional that he couldn't say a word.

During the silence, there was a sudden noise downstairs, and then the sound became louder and louder.Everyone upstairs looked at each other in dismay, only to see the waiter running upstairs, shouting: "The big thing is not good..."

Prince Wang sat close to him, and relying on his stature, he stood up and grabbed the waiter by the collar, and asked sharply, "What happened!"

The man was shaking like a sieve, and he couldn't speak anymore. He shrank his neck and pointed out the window.

Only then did Wu Xie see that the sky in the north was already red.I just heard the waiter in the shop tremblingly say: "Then... King Shuntian... has come into the city..."

The king of Nashun is not Liu Ruguo.Upon hearing this, Prince Wang let go of his hand with a "hey" and was about to get up.Knowing his temper well, Wu Xie also hurriedly stood up and grabbed him across the table.

"Listen to me," Wu Xie said anxiously, "Since the beginning of autumn, the officers and soldiers have been besieging and suppressing Liu Ruguo, but they have been unsuccessful, and now the city has been demolished. This is no joke, so don't be impulsive."

Prince Wang was born in a wealthy township, but he always had a dream of being a hero in his heart.Tang Chuanqi has read a lot of story books, even the Water Margin, I don't know how many times.Standing on the second floor of the teahouse at this moment, looking at the chaotic market, I have already begun to imagine how to hold a sword to help the dangerous Lord, and I brushed off my clothes after it was over.But I saw a group of people galloping past downstairs, the people on the horses were all fighting with open flames, and the one tied to the horsetail dragging and rolling on the ground was a human head.

When Wang Gongzi saw the head, he was startled at first, and then he heard people shouting "The county magistrate was killed" everywhere in the street, and Wang Gongzi felt terrified.At this time, there was already a group of people walking downstairs of the teahouse. They were all dressed strangely and had different weapons. Some even held sickles and hoes. They all looked up together.

Prince Wang shivered and retracted his head. As soon as he turned around, he saw Wu Xie rushing towards him, and he took off his robe with his hands.The prince didn't know yet, so just as he was about to cover it, Wu Xie yelled in a low voice, "Take off if you want to survive!" He finally came to his senses, removed all the accessories on his body, wrapped it with his clothes, and threw it from the back window .Wu Xie still thought his underwear was too white, so he made him roll on the ground a few times.

Even so, that body of flesh can't be hidden no matter what.Sure enough, after the volunteers went upstairs, they looked around the crowd, but stopped in front of them.

A big black-faced man with an ax pinned to his waist, even though it was a carpenter's small ax, still had a murderous look on his face.Pointing to Prince Wang, he asked, "Where is this man from? Why was he born so fat in such a hungry year! He must be the son of an official and gentry family! Bind me!"

People around rushed up.At this time, Prince Wang's banditry also came out, he rounded his arms left and right to block a few times, stalked his neck, and shouted in his mouth: "I am clearly..." Before he finished speaking, he saw Wu Xie Stepping in front of him, he said: "He is clearly suffering from diabetes, that's why he's so fat!"

Everyone around was taken aback, and someone asked: "Then who are you? You don't look like poor people!"

But Wu Xie said calmly: "I am a poor scholar, and I set up a stall downstairs in this teahouse every day, if you don't believe me..." He looked around.The shopkeeper and the waiter hid at the stairway, not daring to vent his breath. Seeing Wu Xie looking at them, he closed his eyes and nodded indiscriminately.

Afterwards, Prince Wang also asked Wu Xie how he could be sure that the shopkeeper would help.

Wu Xie smiled and said, "It's a businessman after all, and he doesn't want to see our blood stain his place."

After hearing this, Prince Wang felt a chill on the back of his neck.Only then did I realize that I was afraid.