Three Kingdoms

Taiyuan.

Jia Qu took some guards to the Taoist temple in the southwest suburbs. He thought it was a Taoist temple, but he didn't expect that it was actually like a manor. Moreover, because there were so many people coming from afar, the houses in the Taoist temple were not enough to live in, so he Some temporary shacks were built around the Taoist temple. Fortunately, it was still early autumn. Otherwise, the simple shacks that could not shelter from the wind or rain day and night would have caused a group of people to come out immediately infected with the wind and cold.

The lecture place was probably in the courtyard of the manor. Some curtains were built and some mats were laid out, but outside there were long wooden benches. Well, it can't be said to be wooden benches at all. The trees were cut down and then The branches and bark were removed, and it was just placed horizontally on the ground, barely enough to sit on.

In a corner of the Taoist temple, there are some sheds set up by merchants and shops, selling some water, food, and some groceries, which are quite decent...

Jia Qu did not reveal his identity immediately, intending to listen to a lesson quietly first. Just as he was about to find a mat to sit down, a servant with a smile came next to him. Before he could speak, he bent down and saluted, "Your Excellency is coming." Are you following Mr. Zheng’s lessons?”

Jia Qu nodded, "Exactly."

The servant nodded and bowed, and then pointed his finger to the place where some curtains were set up near the center of the manor, "Noble sir, please look, there is a curtain residence over there, which can accommodate five or six people, with seats for all, and there are also full-time servants. Morning Free tea and snacks are provided three times in the middle and evening, and you only need one Zhengxi gold coin a day..." The servant had obviously said this many times, and he did not hesitate at all after the long list.

"...You're still charging money?" Jia Qu was a little surprised.

"What the noble man said..." the servant smiled brightly, "Is it always necessary to have just the right amount of food..."

Jia Qu shook his head, wondering if he didn't have the money. On the one hand, Jia Qu was a poor kid, so he never spent money lavishly. On the other hand, if he got there, there was no guarantee that someone would take him. After realizing it, the original plan of quietly listening to a class couldn't be done.

"That's it... If you feel that the curtain is not right, you can still take the front seat over there..." The servant's smile became colder, "One seat can seat three people, and you can have tea and snacks once a day. If you need anything, you can call the servant. Do it for you... One seat per day only costs three Zhengxi silver coins..."

"No need..." Jia Qu still refused. That side was also closer to the front, so it was better to be more hidden here.

The servant still nodded, but with a fake smile on his face, "Well...hehe, a table here costs ten bucks, and there is no tea or snacks. Please help me if you have anything to do...and I don't know how many seats you want?"

"Oh? How much does such a mat cost?" Jia Qu pointed to the long benches made of trees in the outer circle, "How much does it cost over there?"

The smile on the servant's face gradually stiffened, "There are many children from poor families there, and each person earns a fortune a day..."

"Oh..." Jia Qu nodded, "Then let's go here... get three mats for someone..."

"Yes, yes...Sheng Hui thirty dollars..."

Jia Qu rented three mats and spread them out with his guards. He sat down and looked around, shaking his head a little. Although he had always heard that Zheng Xuan and Zheng Kangcheng were educated without distinction, from high-ranking officials to low-ranking officials. Traffickers and lackeys can all attend the lectures, but now it seems that they are naturally divided into different levels. The rich nobles can listen to the lectures in the inner circle, while the poor ones can only attend the lectures on the outside. As for the ordinary traffickers and lackeys, I am afraid they can only attend the lectures. Maybe I stood far away and listened to a few words...

It was relatively early when Jia Qu came. After sitting for a while, the sun gradually rose and the early morning mist dissipated. More and more people gathered, but generally it was in order. There was not much noise and noisy. I don’t know what it was. Did the servants who guided the seats and collected money play a role, or was it because Zheng Xuan had been teaching classes for four or five days and everyone was already used to this pattern...

It was probably about 4 o'clock when a clear gong sounded, and then a young disciple carrying a small incense burner walked out from the center of the Taoist temple, and then another disciple supported an old man with white hair and walked slowly. to.

Jia Qu looked intently and saw that this old man had white hair and beard, his back was slightly bowed, his legs and feet seemed to be clumsy, and his steps were a little staggering, but his face still looked rosy and his overall spirit was quite good. He was probably the famous Zheng Xuan and Zheng Kangcheng. Bar.

With the support of his disciples, Zheng Xuan went to the central stage and sat down. Without any preamble to introduce himself, he started preaching directly. Because Zheng Xuan lectured alone, he was old and could not speak loudly, so he could not be heard from a distance. Therefore, after he finished speaking, a disciple on the side would repeat it loudly, which can be regarded as a kind of amplification effect.

"Today's story..." Zheng Xuan said, "At that time, Jiazi was ignorant, and the dynasty went to Muye in the suburbs of Shang to swear an oath. The king held a yellow ax on his left and a white jade on his right, and said: "Ti, we are from the Western Land! "

"The king said: "Alas! My friend, Mr. Zhong, has the following royal officials: Situ, Sima, Sikong, Yalu, Shishi, captain of thousands, captain of hundreds, Jiyong, people from Shu, Qiang, Liu, Wei, Lu, Peng, and Pu. Call him Ergo and Bilgan, set up your spear, and swear to him..."

Zheng Xuan said something, and the disciples on the side conveyed it at the same time. After finishing the main text, they began to annotate, such as explaining the origin of the word "Mei Shuang", its meaning, and so on. Then he spoke for more than half an hour, then stopped, and then another disciple with the same loud voice came up and started preaching again. After speaking for about half an hour, he ended his morning class. With the help of his disciples, he returned to the courtyard.

"Book" refers to Shangshu. What Zheng Xuan taught this morning was quite satisfactory. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The explanations of words and so on were based on allusions, and there was no nonsense like the people in Jinwen Jingxue who talked about trivial matters. It was relatively A normal class.

Then another person came on stage and introduced himself, saying that he was from Shanyang, Xi Lu, whose courtesy name was Hongyu. He was now studying with Duke Zheng and lectured on "Poetry" on behalf of Duke Zheng. Then he also talked about an article in the Book of Songs, which could be regarded as Ruderujue, probably because the previous ministers were too obscure and difficult to pronounce, so the Book of Songs was aimed at some ordinary people, so he didn't talk for long. In less than half an hour, he stood up and saluted, indicating that all the classes this morning were completed. It's over, and then it's Q\u0026A time in the afternoon, when will it start...

The flow of people gradually began to disperse. It was naturally impossible for so many people to gather together to eat. Some brought their own food, and some were delivered by servants. Of course, more people gathered in twos and threes to discuss scriptures with each other. Others started to argue, perhaps because they understood the above differences. Coupled with the sounds of vendors selling food and other goods, the whole scene gradually became noisy.

Jia Qu observed for a while, stood up, had the mat returned to the servant who collected the money, and then walked towards the center of the Taoist temple, but was stopped by Xi Lu in front of the Taoist temple. Xi Lu cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry, my master is old and exhausted, and I don't see any outsiders...and I don't know what your distinguished guest wants to do? If you want to become a disciple, you can go to the side to find a certain senior brother Ren Zhaoxian..."

Perhaps it was because there were so many noblemen who came to worship Zheng Xuan in the past few days, so Xi Lu basically said the same thing many times, without even asking about Jia Qu's origins as usual.

Jia Qu bowed his hands in greeting and said, "I am not here to become a disciple... I am a Party Guard, and I am asking to see Duke Zheng..." He waved his hand and had someone hand him his famous thorn.

"It's Jia Shijun in person! I'm so rude!" Xi Lu apologized quickly, and then said while holding the famous thorn in his hand, "Please stop here for a moment, I will report it immediately..."

Not long after, Xi Lu came out again and said that it was Zheng Xuan who invited me.

But what Jia Qu didn't expect was that Zheng Xuan would see him lying down in the main hall...

Weren't you fine on stage before? Why are you lying down again now?

Xi Lu on the side explained: "My master is old, his blood is blocked, his waist and thighs are swollen and painful after sitting for a long time, and he can't do it by himself... Therefore, after teaching, he needs to lie still for a long time before he can recover. This is not rude and neglectful." also……"

Before Xi Lu could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zheng Xuan: "How can you lie down high when you see a guest? Don't say that Zheng is rude? Please help me get up..."

Jia Qu hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "Qu has no integrity and does not wear a seal or ribbon. It is rude to come unexpectedly. It is an honor to meet Mr. Zheng. How dare you make Mr. Zheng work hard? Mr. Zheng can rest in peace. There is no need." Got up..."

Zheng Xuan smiled slightly, but didn't mean to be strong, "In this case, I am neglecting..."

Xi Lu quickly brought a brocade cushion to the side and helped to raise Zheng Xuan's backrest so that Zheng Xuan could lie down and talk to Jia Qu. Then he stepped back and knelt down to accompany him.

"In the past, I heard that Duke Zheng was teaching in Gaomi, and I longed for it. However, the mountains were high and the rivers were far away, so I couldn't listen to Duke Zheng's teachings..." After Jia Jiaqu exchanged a few words of greetings, he got to the point. He raised his hands and said, "I am honored to be here today. Duke Zheng’s conferring books will be of great benefit... I wonder if Duke Zheng is here to set up a school here and teach?”

Of course, everyone can understand Jia Qu's subtext. Zheng Xuan sighed and said: "I am dying, and my body is about to be buried. If I didn't have to do it, why would I leave my hometown? Alas..."

Xi Lu, who was on the side, added in a low voice: "Zheng Gong's son... served as an official in Kong Beihai, but then..."

It turned out that Zheng Xuan received high-standard treatment from Kong Rong when he returned to Gaomi from Xuzhou. In addition, Kong Rong had good attainments in scriptures, among other things. Therefore, Zheng Xuan followed suit and gave birth to his son. I started working as an official next to Kong Rong. I thought that following Kong Rong would be a good starting point for my son. However, I never expected that when something happened, Kong Rong, a birdie, would run away on his own. Not only did he He left his wife and daughter behind, and even ignored Zheng Xuan’s son...

Well, it should be said that Kong Rong couldn't even take care of his own wife and daughter, how could he take care of Zheng Xuan's son?

Therefore, Zheng Xuan's son died tragically in the hands of Yuan Tan's soldiers.

In recent times, Yuan Tan has gone crazy. Not only did he marry Kong Rong's daughter, he even sent people to Gaomi to find Zheng Xuan, with the intention of recruiting Zheng Xuan as an official. Yuan Tan killed his son, how could Zheng Xuan become an official under Yuan Tan? So of course Zheng Xuan could not continue to stay in Gaomi, and he did not dare to stay in Jizhou, so he secretly passed the Taihang Mountains and came to Taiyuan.

Zheng Xuan sighed softly and said: "I am already old, and death is nothing. However, Zhaoxian and Hongyu have been with you for many years, how can you bear to have their career as an official interrupted because of me?" So I came here with a shy look..."

Jia Qu nodded. Jia Qu knew about Yuan Tan's attack on Kong Rong, but he didn't know that one of Zheng Xuan's sons died in this battle... But in this way, Zheng Xuan came to Taiyuan with more reasons, and since then From a certain point of view, it is impossible for Yuan Shao to send him to cause trouble, at least that is more or less the case.

Jia Qu gave a few words of consolation, and then said: "Mr. Zheng is a teacher without distinction, and his heart in teaching a wide range of subjects really makes him admire him... However, today the place is simple and simple, and living here is very inconvenient. If Mr. Zheng agrees, you might as well go to Pingyang." How about it?" This time Jia Qu came, naturally not because of his own fame, but because he had received orders from Fei Qian.

On the one hand, it is because Cui Jun from Taiyuan must know about Zheng Xuan, so no matter how he comes, it is impossible to say that he does not know that Zheng Xuan is coming. It must be business versus business as soon as he appears, and as a Shangdang As far as the prefect Jia Qu is concerned, he can choose to handle this matter privately or in the name of Hussar according to the actual situation, and he will naturally be able to choose with ease.

After thinking about it, Jia Qu felt that Zheng Xuan's reason was more credible. After all, the death of his son could not be faked, and it would be clear after a little investigation. In addition, Zheng Xuan could not be allowed to continue teaching in Taiyuan, and Pingyang's Shoushan could not be allowed to continue. The academy formed a rivalry, so since it was considered a relatively normal academic exchange activity, it was natural to send them to Pingyang Academy to compare.

Zheng Xuan shook his head and said with a wry smile: "A certain person's body is broken and already unbearable. He crossed Taihang and almost died... Now he really can't bear the hardship of the journey... But these disciples of me, if they go to Pingyang Academy, It’s doable…”

Xi Lu kowtowed to the ground and said, "Sir, you need your disciples to serve you. How can I leave you alone? I would rather follow you to fulfill your filial piety..."

Zheng Xuan was a little angry, but Xi Lu and others just kowtowed.

Jia Qu was silent for a moment and said: "If Mr. Zheng is worried about the difficult journey, there is no need... Mr. Zheng doesn't know something. Now he is in Bingzhou and has refined his official roads, which extend in all directions. Even if he travels slowly, he can reach Pingyang within ten days. In addition, he can reach Pingyang in ten days. Riding a newly developed four-wheeled carriage, the journey will be even more comfortable, spacious and comfortable, and there will be no bumps. If Mr. Zheng doesn't believe it, someone will send one tomorrow and he will know..."

Zheng Xuan worked so hard to come to Taiyuan, didn't he just want to have a better future? Even if it's not for himself, he's still thinking about his disciples. In the Han Dynasty, the word "master" was not used casually.

If it is just to escape the world, then why teach in Taiyuan with great fanfare? I didn't want to go to Pingyang before, but I was really afraid that my old bones would be lost in the bumps on the road. Originally, I was thinking of taking a rest for a while, but now I heard that there are more comfortable horse-drawn carriages, and the roads are smooth and smooth, unlike myself. Zheng Xuan could not help but feel a little moved as he imagined such a painful journey, but he was also a little worried. He hesitated for a moment, then looked at the disciples beside him, and finally nodded and said: "In this case, I'll trouble you, sir... If it's true... To avoid the fatigue of the journey, I...I am also willing to go..."