General, please be a loyal minister!

When Sun Yao was away, Liu Yun arranged for Han Zhao to live in Yaomen temporarily, so that he could take better care of Yaoguang while avoiding crowds.

Han Zhao, on the other hand, was very concerned about Cheng Ju's affairs, and it was hard for him not to pay attention to this famous official and virtuous minister who single-handedly assisted Ming Emperor to start the prosperous age, which took up a lot of space in the system's annals.

When Liu Yun mentioned Cheng Ju, she said a key word in her short words: inner sect.

Where there is inside, there is outside. What is the difference between Xuanzong's inner sect and outer sect?

Fortunately, this is not considered a secret within Xuanzong, as long as you ask, you will know.

There are two types of Xuanzong disciples, one is ordinary students who come to Xuanzong to study and will leave after graduation; the other is the core disciples who are accepted by the elders of Xuanzong as true teachings and taught their whole life.

Xuanzong internally distinguishes the titles of these two kinds of disciples as outer sect and inner sect.

Xuanzong didn't have any strict requirements for the disciples of the outer sect, as long as they clean themselves up and don't cause trouble for Xuanzong during their studies, and they have no interest in Xuanzong after graduation.

However, the disciples of the inner sect are in charge of Xuanzong's core inheritance, and they are very closely related to Xuanzong. For them, Xuanzong has extremely strict requirements for birth and entry into the world.

Anyone who is born in the world must be self-reliant, must not rely on the influence of the sect, must not borrow the name of the sect, and has nothing to do with Xuanzong's honor or disgrace; and those who live in seclusion, especially those in the territory of the sect, must never interfere in secular disputes, especially political power struggle...

Although it sounds a little unreasonable, this move is to protect people in the sect from being dragged into disaster by the turmoil caused by the disciples.

What Cheng Ju committed was to interfere in the power struggle.

According to scattered information from Xuanzong's disciples, Han Zhao almost knew the reason.

One month after the fall of Liangzhou, Bingzhou took advantage of the puppet dynasty's consolidation of the northwest to launch an attack on the northeast of the puppet dynasty, not to mention opening up the east, and seized a large area of ​​fertile land from the puppet dynasty.

This made the Puppet Dynasty's attack on Liangzhou outweigh the gains.

Han Zhao had heard about this matter before, and he had also lamented Bingzhou's straightforward actions, tricky intrusion angle, and exquisite overall planning and integration, but he didn't expect Cheng Ju's handwriting to be involved.

But Han Zhao couldn't find out the specific details of how Cheng Ju helped Bingzhou attack the puppet dynasty.

He simply bought a jug of wine and went to find the young man who was still guarding the yard.

However, as soon as he reached the door, before he had time to call the door, the closed door of the main room in the courtyard was slammed open, and a hale and grey-haired old man in gray clothes came out, angrily smashing a package into Cheng Ju's arms, shouted:

"Go away! Go and avenge you! Go and fight for your world! Let my inheritance be cut off. Let me be like your Master Ye, white-haired give away black-haired, and die alone!"

Cheng Ju took the package and replied calmly: "Master said something angry again, Cheng Ju is still alive. I will come back to serve your old man in the future."

How could Mo Jinglun harden his heart when his beloved disciple said such soft words?He scolded with red eyes: "Sometimes I really feel that it would be better if I didn't have you as a debt collector!"

One has already died, and Cheng Ju still has to plunge headlong into this meat grinder. The emperor's dominance sounds majestic, but does he know how many bones and blood are behind it?

Mo Jinglun couldn't bear to see Cheng Ju again, turned his head and entered the room, and closed the door again.

Cheng Ju finally stood up, he stretched out his hand to open the package, and there were two books lying inside, one was Mo Gong's strategy and the other was governing the country, which was the work of Mo Jinglun's lifelong painstaking efforts.

He reached out to touch the two books, his expression choked up, his fingers trembling.

Han Zhao, who stood behind the fence for a while, sighed, "You have a good master."

Hearing that someone, Cheng Ju quickly covered the two books with a package, and looked up again.

Seeing that it was Han Zhao, he smiled slightly and sighed, "I heard that there is a gentleman from Yaomen, so it's you."

Han Zhao once had a brief conversation with him in a tavern, and both of them had a deep impression on each other.

Han Zhao didn't take Cheng Ju's action to heart. He didn't see the cover of the book, but he could guess that it was a very important work, and it wasn't just for outsiders to know.

Just as he gave Zhao Ji the "Han's Art of War" written by himself, the meaning of Mo Jinglun's act of giving his own book to Cheng Ju is also obvious. It means that they will accept all the glory or shame brought by this disciple.

Han Zhao asked, "Do you regret it?"

Cheng Ju shook his head: "Since I have made up my mind to enter the world, I don't regret it. I just can't let go of Master, and I want to ask for a little understanding before leaving, so that I can leave with more peace of mind."

Mo Jinglun always hoped that Cheng Ju would devote himself to his studies, inherit what he had learned all his life, and study their theories in depth.

But the world is unpredictable, and now Cheng Ju can only live up to Master's expectations.

Han Zhao can't say comforting words, but he knows a trick that will prove everything. He raised the wine jar in his hand: "Drink?"

Cheng Ju responded quickly, "Drink!"

……

Inside the house, Mo Jinglun touched a letter with tears in his eyes.

It was from an old friend of his, a lifelong feisty old fellow who wrote this letter full of remorse.

He said that he should not calculate the hexagram of "destiny is in the west", and should not let his disciples enter the world in order to promote the theory and glorify the sect.

For scholars like them, personal disciples are more intimate than sons, and they are spiritual continuations.

If the inheritance is broken, all that is left in this life is nothing but endless emptiness and regret...

The disciple's life and death also made that guy turn gray overnight. He broke his fortune-telling chip, took an old cow, and carried the master's scriptures to the depths of Qishan Mountain, intending to die of old age in the mountain.

At the end of the letter, there is something like this: old man, don’t worry, I will still ask someone to send you Qishan pine mushrooms every year, but don’t be afraid if you don’t receive it some year, it’s just that my soul has returned to Qingshan that's all...

Mo Jinglun trembled and closed his eyes. The most heartbreaking thing in the world is a white-haired man giving a black-haired man. He was afraid that Cheng Ju would follow in the footsteps of his senior brother.

……

Outside the house, Cheng Ju and Han Zhao had already set up a banquet on the stone table.

Han Zhao cut to the chase: "How much did you participate in the affairs of Bingzhou?"

Cheng Ju also replied simply: "The overall situation."

At first, Tong Rong was powerless and had no intention of stabbing the puppet court, but when Cheng Ju gathered all the weather, location, and people together, and he only needed to raise his hand, he had no reason to refuse.

Cheng Ju took a sip of wine and explained: "Liangzhou is already destroyed. If we don't plan a way out for Duke Zaiyu, I'm afraid he will return to the puppet dynasty soon."

Han Zhao asked, "Why did you do this?"

Cheng Ju replied without hesitation: "The puppet dynasty has no way, and the people of insight in the world should attack it together."

Han Zhao didn't believe it: "This reason is not worth a person who devotes himself to academics to step into the torrent of troubled times."

Cheng Ju glanced at Han Zhao, smiled meaningfully, lowered his head to drink, and did not answer.

"Do you know Jing Xiu?" Han Zhao suddenly asked Cheng Ju. He heard some news in the past two days before he knew the relationship between Cheng Ju and Jing Xiu.

Sure enough, upon hearing this name, Cheng Ju's expression froze, and he looked at Han Zhao seriously.

Han Zhao continued, "My name is Han Zhao."

They didn't know each other's first and last names when they met briefly in the tavern, but now they are officially acquainted.

Cheng Ju didn't know the relationship between the name Han Zhao and Jing Xiu, his pupils shrank when he heard the name, and he was extremely shocked.

After a short period of sluggishness, he clenched his wine glass tightly and gritted his teeth and asked, "Brother—how did you die?"

He was still too far away from Liangzhou, he only knew that Jing Xiu was murdered by the puppet government, but he didn't know the specific murderer and the details.

Han Zhao replied in a deep voice, "It's an assassination. Xu Zhongyan sent someone to do it."

Cheng Ju suddenly laughed, and then he began to laugh sadly and sarcastically, but at the end of the laugh, he wept uncontrollably.

Assassination?

How ridiculous is it that a mere assassin destroys a person who can change the world?

After a long time, after Cheng Ju calmed down, he told Han Zhao a story:

"A long, long time ago, a rough stone was unearthed from a jade field. When it was unearthed, colorful brilliance appeared in the sky, and the phoenix came to visit..."

"The jade digger said: This is a precious jade that can be a national treasure! So he dedicated it to the best jade carver in the country."

"After seeing the original stone, the jade carver also said: This is a precious jade that can be the treasure of the town! I want to make it into a sacrificial vessel, enshrine it in the temple, and protect my country for thousands of years! Then he spent decades to make this A block of rough jade is carved bit by bit."

"Finally, the jade was finished. It was carefully sealed by the jade carver and prepared to be dedicated to the king of the country the next day."

"But that night, a group of robbers broke into the jade carver's house. They killed the jade carver and started looking for food. They also found the jade."

"The robbers didn't know what it was, so they handed it over to the boss to identify it. The leader of the robbers picked it up and took a bite. When he found that he couldn't eat it, he threw the jade on the ground and broke it into pieces..."

After Cheng Ju finished speaking, he looked at Han Zhao, who smiled sadly with red eyes: "It's a very ironic story, isn't it?"

A gentleman is like jade, Cheng Ju is talking about Jingxiu.

In Cheng Ju's heart, Jingxiu is an unparalleled scholar in the world, a talented Wang Zuozhi who can restore peace to the troubled times. His early death is not the sorrow of one person, but the misfortune of history.

Jing Xiu is not a disciple of Xuanzong, but his master is the inheritor of Qishan School, so Cheng Ju only calls him senior brother instead of senior brother.

At the age of 14, Jingxiu came to Xuanzong with his master to study abroad. It was at this time that he met Cheng Ju.

At that time, Cheng Ju was 13 years old. Because of his outstanding talent, he overshadowed all the disciples of his generation at a young age.

However, the appearance of Jingxiu changed his mind.

Although Jing Xiu can win every time in the competition with his extraordinary adaptability, he always feels that he is the one who loses.

Cheng Ju sighed to Han Zhao in a drunken tone: "Sir, you understand. Whether it's running a country or fighting a war, it's no child's play. It's useless to be smart, and it's not as good as doing it on paper. Although he won the senior brother, Ju also knows that governing the country Anmin, Ju is not as good as senior brother."

"Brother Xue is calm, rigorous, loyal, benevolent, and down-to-earth. He knows the living conditions and customs of the people everywhere, what crops should be planted in different places and different seasons, and how to plant them. Specific differences..."

These people's livelihood information was obtained by Jing Xiu when he followed his master on a study tour, and he knew the places he walked as if he had lived there for more than ten years.

"This kind of character, this kind of knowledge is really needed to govern the country and the people! At that time, my brother was only 14 years old, and at that age, Ju had only empty arrogance, and only knew how to be obsessed with winning or losing a debate."

One of the reasons why geniuses are better than ordinary people is that they can always recognize their shortcomings and use actions to make up for them.

From that moment on, Cheng Ju's mentality changed, he no longer stared at anyone, but there was a clear figure, let him look up and chase...

And Jing Xiu, who has always been praised by his teacher as a "talent from heaven", also regards Cheng Ju, who has repeatedly defeated him, as an "old enemy" and strives to surpass him.

The two chased after each other, no matter whether they won or lost in the end, they left behind a legend of "Ting Tao Shuangbi" in the college.

The time when Jing Xiu and Cheng Ju were studying together was the bleakest time for the students of Xuanzong to learn the art of governing the country.

The sun and the moon compete for glory, how can the stars and fireflies talk about glory?

It wasn't until Jing Xiu left with his master and Cheng Ju devoted himself to his studies that the students in the college breathed a sigh of relief.

Recalling the old times, Cheng Ju smiled reminiscently: "Brother's master Ye Shibo is a competitive person. When he was young, he always loved to compete with the master. When he was old, he began to compete with his disciples."

"Really, what is the rivalry between their elders and me and my senior brother involved in?"

"Every time my brother loses, he will be taught by Uncle Ye. I feel sorry for him, but his stubborn temper won't allow me to let him go."

Moreover, he is more willing to spend his time trying to please Jing Xiu after he wins than Jing Xiu to get angry with him when he is found out for cheating.

After losing, Jing Xiu, who was upset and depressed, was much more lively and cute than his usual rigid and rigid appearance.

"Brother Xue is a person who is very demanding of himself. It's easy to get into a dead end. It's hard to coax when you are angry." Although Cheng Ju complained, there was a gentle smile on Cheng Ju's mouth.

He was drunk, whispering incoherent whispers, recounting bits and pieces of the past, with a lingering tone, filled with indescribable emotions.

——His senior is so dull, he probably didn't understand the meaning of Qianqiu Sui until he died.

Han Zhao looked at Cheng Ju in surprise. He felt that he had noticed something, but he couldn't say it, and it was inconvenient to say it.

"Throw me a papaya, and repay it with Qiongju. A bandit repays it, and it will always be good! Throw me a peach..." Cheng Ju sang "Wei Feng·Papaya" in a low voice, with a lingering tone after he was drunk.

I can no longer find the person who wants to tell the unspoken thoughts, and can only express them in the shallow pours and low singing after drunkenness.

... Vote for me with wood and plums, and return with Qiongjiu.It is always good to repay the bandits!

The author has something to say: Jing Xiu and Cheng Ju can't say who is better than the other, both of them are gods in each other's heart