All your life is gentle

Entering Lianjiang along the Hanjiang River and going eastward for three hundred miles, you will find Dongning, the largest seaport city in Yuezhou.From Tongcheng to Dongning, you can also travel by land, but there is a Cili Mountain in the middle, you have to climb the mountain or take a detour, which is much slower than the water route.

In the Jinxia Dynasty, the coastal foreign trade was developed, and the navy was once powerful and powerful overseas.In recent decades, due to the financial constraints of the imperial court and the fact that the navy is a bottomless pit of selling money, coupled with years of accumulation of power, the island countries in the southeast have not dared to do anything wrong. The budget has been cut again and again.As a result, in the past 20 years, many navy troops have worked part-time as water bodyguards, escorting cargo for merchant ships, and earning some extra money.

As this trend grows, it will soon intensify, and by the way, more and more smuggling and speculation.What's more, they directly started a business without capital at sea.The dignified Jinxia Navy has become a smuggler and pirate leader.

Xirong attacked the southeast, and the emperor hid in Shuzhou.Rich bureaucrats and businessmen along the coast happened to hire naval ships and put up their wealth to go to sea.As the situation grew tense, so did the price of hiring a boat, and only for real money.For a city like Tongcheng that is not close to the sea but has access to waterways, if the conditions are negotiated in advance, they are even willing to send a boat to pick them up.

Ever since Ding Qianru, the richest man in Tongcheng, and his family boarded the boat and left in the middle of the night, rich people who knew the news jumped up and down to contact the navy.It takes a long time to go back and forth by sea, and there are fewer and fewer ships every day.If the road is not wide and the strength is not enough, it will not be able to grab it at all.After Wang Taishou and General Lin found out about these actions of the rich people behind their backs, they accepted the suggestion of Mr. Li Ge and ordered the whole city to be guarded. It took a lot of effort to calm down the hearts of the people.

"Treason from the city of refuge is an unforgivable crime! It's because of you people..." Zi Zhou stood upright, his tone excited.

"Zi Zhou, sit down!" Zi Shi shouted.

Only then did he realize that it was just a guess, Zi Zhou was discouraged and lowered his head: "I'm sorry, Brother Gu..."

Chang Sheng never thought that one day he would be criticized so righteously by a child from the Xia, and felt extremely absurd, so he froze on the spot, not knowing how to answer, his face turned blue for no reason.As soon as I thought about it, I might as well follow the plan, so I slowly lowered my head and said: "It's nothing... I heard from them that I have to go by boat..."

Seeing that he was sad, Zi Shi patted him on the shoulder comfortingly: "Children are ignorant, don't take it to heart."

"Brother—" Zi Zhou's face was filled with displeasure.

"What do you want to do?" Zi Shi faced his younger brother, raised his head slightly, and asked softly.

"I...I, I can't get angry!" Zi Zhou sat down angrily.

Zi Shi sighed.Put down the bread in your hand and prepare to do ideological work.

"Don't say Mr. Gu may not know about it, even if he is really the one who intends to flee the city and betray the country, you saw him lying on the side of the road in the middle of the night, should you save him or not?"

"Whether he is, how would I know."

"What if you knew in advance? To save or not to save?"

Zizhou didn't speak.

Zigui Jiaojiao said softly: "Zi Zhou, you told your eldest brother yesterday, how could you refuse to save him? Did you forget?"

Zizhou raised his head: "Help!"

"That's it. What are you so angry about? Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. You act out of your own conscience and kindness, so you don't need to worry about other things. Besides, Mr. Gu doesn't look like a bad person."

"But..." Still unwilling.

"Zi Zhou." Zi Shi interrupted him, "It is the nature of all things to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages; it is human instinct to survive in desperate situations. It is human nature for those rich people to do everything possible to escape from the city when they see the situation is critical. They just escaped. Without collusion with the enemy, there is no treason."

"They fled without fighting, selfishly..."

"I heard that on the day when the soldiers from the West came to Yangyang, His Majesty the Emperor moved to Xijing in a panic, and even blew up the Xianlang Pass—Young Master Gu came from the capital. Is this true?"

"It's true."

Zi Zhou clenched his fists.Fleeing without fighting, selfishness, these eight characters can also be given to the emperor and the court.

"Look, it's because you set too high demands on them, so you feel disappointed and resentful. Think about it, if everyone has so much money and so many connections..."

If they all had money and connections, they might all run away.

Zizhou's eyes were red: "But Daddy..."

Seeing that his identity was about to be revealed while speaking, Zi Shi went to hug him: "Zi Zhou, the sage seeks benevolence and wins benevolence, and dies without complaint. But in this world, there are many sentient beings. You can work hard for what kind of person you want to be." .Don’t get angry because someone else doesn’t live up to your expectations.”

The brothers sat side by side.

The bright ones are easy to be dirty, and the dirty ones are easy to break.Previously, Mr. Li Ge's moral education was too successful, and Li Zizhou was born with a straightforward temperament. In such a chaotic world where morality is not spoken from top to bottom, the only way is to be cannon fodder.I have worked so hard to rescue these two children, but I don't want them to come forward and make targets for others.

Therefore, Zi Shi continued: "Actually...General Lin and the prefect ordered the city to be sealed and guarded. If the difference in strength is not too big, maybe we can give it a go. Otherwise... it is a battle for the spirit, so it will cut off the life of a city. ?”

"Brother! How can you say that? How can you... like this..." Zi Zhou couldn't accept it, and stared at Zi Shi with wide eyes.Zigui also understood what the eldest brother meant, and opened his mouth, tears welling in his eyes.

Gu Changsheng next to him didn't expect such a conversation to be triggered by his fabricated life experience, and he was also dumbfounded.Hearing Li Zishi say "fighting for spirit", thinking of the integrity I have seen these days, thinking of Mr. Li Ge, Wang Taishou, for some reason, I can't help but want to refute him.

"Li Zishi, how can you say that? Although Tongcheng was not defended, it resisted the Xirong army several times larger than itself with weak troops. It lasted for five days, and even though it was defeated, it was an honor."

Changsheng started, and the more he spoke, the smoother he went.I remembered the books I read with my mother and the principles I learned at once: "The ancients said: "People are mortal, and they are heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather." If the people in Tongcheng are allowed to flee for their lives, most of them will inevitably be killed. Killed. Now he died with the city, but he achieved a reputation through the ages. The battle of Tongcheng left behind a righteous spirit, which will be immortal forever!"

When he was seriously injured, he couldn't help but gasp when he said so many words in one breath.However, after finishing speaking happily, he was actually a little proud.After a while, I was at a loss again.What am I saying here?How can I say these things?Wasn't I the one who watched the city being slaughtered and ordered the burning of the city?I stopped, not knowing how to continue.

Zi Shi looked at Chang Sheng.Hey, this kid has a good eloquence.It seems that he has read a lot of books.

Walking back, he picked up the uneaten small piece of bread on the stone, and gnawed on it.He took two bites and sighed: "Mr. Gu said yes, but it's not because of this righteousness. However, Zi Zhou, there are people in the world who don't want this kind of righteousness, and you can't force them, right?"

Zizhou raised his face: "Brother, I don't understand."

"If you don't understand, you don't understand. It doesn't matter. Does Mr. Gu understand?"

Chang Sheng poked him with a finger: "Li Zishi, can you please stop calling me "Master Gu"?"

"Okay. Gu Changsheng."

Zi Shi didn't speak any more, he just gnawed his own bread wholeheartedly.After eating, I started to eat bayberry.From small to small, do not chew, swallow whole.After eating the small one, cut the big one in half and put it in his mouth, and then slammed down like taking a pill.He is slow, elegant and dignified.

I didn't expect someone to eat a few fruits with such a style, Changsheng was very impressed.Sensing his gaze, Zi Shi thought he felt strange, and explained: "It won't make your teeth sour, you can try it too."

Pinch a bayberry and put it in your mouth, and bite down like a reflex.Immediately, there was fluid in both cheeks, sour water filled his mouth, eyebrows and nose shrank into balls, and tears came out.

Open your mouth to spit out.Suddenly heard a scolding: "Don't spit!"

Trembling with fright, "Cough! Cough!" Choked.

"Haha..." The three Li brothers and sisters were overjoyed.

Zigui carried the clay pot of water over: "Brother Gu, I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose. It's all my fault, he said no waste is allowed, and whoever vomits can lick it back—it's disgusting to think about it..." The girl wrinkled Raising his eyebrows, Bai Zishi glanced at him.

Chang Sheng drank a few sips of water, regained his composure, and swallowed the whole pill like Xue Zishi.

"Yunhua Temple's bayberry, nicknamed "Lizhu", commonly known as "Fotan bayberry", is the best of all plums. If you eat it like this, it would be a waste of everything." Zi Shi sighed as he ate.

"This thing is overripe, what does it smell like?" Chang Sheng was curious.

"It's fresh and tender, sweet and fragrant, it's full of juice when you bite into it, and there's no dregs at all." Zizhou forgot the heavy topic before, and began to promote the specialties of his hometown, "It's not ripe yet, so it's pink .If it is ripe enough, it will be a little purple in the dark red color, which is very beautiful."

"That's right. The predecessors chanted Yangmei with a sentence of "If you don't love a lot of fire, you should be surprised to get the Lizhu first." It is written about the beauty of this thing." Zi Shi smiled suddenly, "If you want to talk about it, write it down. Yang Mei, no one can compare to Liao Qixuan, the former governor of Yuezhou."

Hearing the elder brother's intention to tell the story, Zizhou and Zigui became excited, and sat in front of them holding red bayberry, forming a circle.

"This Mr. Liao has been in Fengqi for eight years. After taking office, he inspected the place and came to Tongcheng. He ate the red bayberry from Yunhua Temple and was full of praise. Since then, the prefect of Tongcheng has sent it to the state capital every year. But the governor My lord thought it would be better to pick and eat now, so I decided to come to Jicui Mountain every year to escape the summer heat and stay there for two months. Then I had to leave, and stayed in the temple for the last time, and wrote a poem on the wall."

Zi Shi turned his eyes and raised his eyebrows, and his voice faltered, which was naturally fascinating.The three people who were eating and listening slowed down, waiting for him to continue.

"There is nothing else in this poem, except that there are two lines in it, which read: "A few times in the depths of Yunhuahong, stealthily stealing Lizhu."

"Ah? This...is too frivolous." Zi Zhou said.

Zi Shi said heartily: "It's not only frivolous, it's simply obscene. I'll explain it to you in a few years." Looking at Gu Changsheng, although he is much older, he seems to be very dazed. "It turns out that the handsome guy is a roommate with pure love."

He continued: "Yes. If such a frivolous sentence is inscribed on the wall of Yunhua Temple, think about it, what effect will it have? But what can the monks in the temple do if the governor himself wrote the calligraphy? Everyone feels very ashamed Embarrassing. Guess what Elder Gui Yuan said?"

"How to say?"

"The elder said: "Form is emptiness.It doesn't matter. ""

"Hee hee..." Several audience members laughed knowingly.

"Later Master Liao resigned and went to Beijing. Later, I heard that he was dismissed because he offended the emperor. Someone suggested that the abbot should cut off the ink. Elder Guiyuan kept the poem untouched."

"why?"

"The elder said: "Emptiness is form.Why bother? ""

"Ha ha……"

Changsheng thought: "This old monk is very interesting."

Laughed for a while, then ate.

Zi Shi picked up half a pink bayberry, and said: "If it is not ripe, there is a way to eat it. If it is soaked in sweet-scented osmanthus for a few days, or soaked in "daughter red", it will be soaked in well water. So half a cup, tsk tsk..." He threw the red bayberry into his mouth, narrowed his eyes slightly, and swallowed it with an intoxicated expression.

Changsheng thought: Why do you pay so much attention to eating a fruit?

A few people just talked about eating and eating like this, and it was really delicious.Chang Sheng wiped away all the sour red bayberries in front of him, and felt refreshed all over his body, with a fragrant fragrance on his teeth and cheeks, which made him very comfortable.

The next morning, Changsheng was awakened by a burst of sobbing.

"Zigui, sit over here. It is said that tears have the effect of detoxifying and reducing wounds, so don't waste them. Hehe..." Zishi's voice was hoarse and his tone was relaxed.

"Brother..." The girl wanted to laugh but couldn't, she wanted to cry again, and bit her lip hard.

"It's festering, right? No wonder I didn't feel any pain." Zi Shi's clothes fell to his waist, he lay on the ground, and directed his younger siblings, "Zi Gui pounded some Pteris spondylus—fortunately, he picked a lot of them, saving people and saving lives." Ji. Zizhou, the dagger was roasted on the fire, and dug up the festered place for me."

Chang Sheng turned his head, and immediately saw Zi Shi's back was colorful and swollen.There were large bruises and dark purple bruises, and there were two long wounds on the top. The middle had festered and festered, and the edges were scorched black.

Startled, I sat up: "How did this happen?"

"Running for your life... in a panic, I was hit by a burning stake." Zi Shi replied casually.

Holding the roasted dagger, Zi Zhou gestured to his back, shaking non-stop: "Brother, will it hurt? I'll be lighter... lighter." Muttering, the knife kept falling. not go down.

Chang Sheng ignored Zi Shi's words, got up and walked over.Fortunately, my head is still a little dizzy, but my strength has recovered a lot.

Chongzi Zhou said: "Give me the knife." Take it over and look at the wound.The suppuration should not be too deep, but scarring is inevitable.it's a pity.Such white and thin skin, like cheese.The fat-like back is lined with large swaths of blue, red and dark purple, criss-crossing, making Changsheng dazzled and heartbeat. (If Zishi can see it himself, he must be amazed: such a beautiful abstract painting, such a great performance art!)

Steady his mind, said in a deep voice: "Hold on, don't move." Fearing that he would suffer sudden pain and struggle, he stretched out his left hand and pressed it on his waist.When I press it, I feel that it is soft and soft at the touch, which is a fresh and wonderful feeling that I have never felt before.I thought to myself, this person looks so thin, but he can't touch his bones.Such a pair of smooth and delicate body bones, I really don't know how to raise it.

How did you raise it?

Tongcheng in Yuezhou is the first-class place in the world.The mountains here are warm and the water is soft, the grass is charming and the flowers are delicate. It is said that boys are easy to get fat and powdery.But Li Yancheng and Li Ge are always an upright and great husband, a noble and chaste gentleman, with a serious family style and strict family education.The son is disobedient, and when necessary, all the boards and sticks will go into battle.On the other hand, Mr. Li Ge has the deep-rooted elegant habits of Jiangnan literati.Not to mention such elegant things as admiring the snow and looking for plum blossoms, sinking plums and floating melons are indispensable all year round.The crab must be eaten that day, and the chicken soup needs to be simmered with purple sand for four hours before it can be served...

In this way, he raised a son full of poems and books, who is romantic, arrogant and handsome.Who doesn't know Tongcheng, who doesn't know?Only the eldest son of Li Ge's old mansion can truly be worthy of the words "ice heart and jade quality, bone beauty and abundance".

Not only did Gu Changsheng not think of these things, he had never even heard of them.

After a moment of ignorance and distraction, he felt that his palms were hot, and the temperature of the skin under his palms was abnormally high.From this point of view, it has been at least two or three days since he was injured, thanks to the fact that he endured it all the time.With the experience of living in the wild all the year round, Changsheng knew that the current situation would be very dangerous if not handled well.No more hesitation, just cut down with a knife.

Zi Shi let out a muffled snort, his body tensed up suddenly, but he fell silent again.

Changsheng's heart skipped a beat.For some reason, subconsciously, he felt that he must not be able to bear such suffering, and...he shouldn't have suffered like this.

Zigui had been waiting by the side, his face pale and nervous, but his eyes were staring at him without blinking.Seeing Chang Sheng's signal, he hurriedly applied the prepared fern grass on it, and picked up the white cloth strips prepared in advance to bind it up. After all, he had never done it before, and he kept trembling.

Changsheng took over: "Look, it's the right way to go around like this..." After careful handling, there was no movement under his hands, thinking that Li Zishi had passed out, but he let out a breath and said intermittently: "Zi Zhou, "Jiujielian" ...Do you still recognize it? You and Zigui went around to the back of the cave to have a look... There should be some, come back with more... Be careful..."

The two children nodded solemnly and went out.

Changsheng saw that his face was covered in sweat from the pain, and wanted to find something to wipe him off.Looking around, he found that most of his inner garment had been torn to keep his wounds wrapped up, and the cave was filled with stones and sand except for dry grass, so he had to reach out his hand to wipe the sweat beads rolling from his forehead.Zi Shi thanked each other: "Now we can feel sorry for each other."

Changsheng fell to his side.The two wounded looked at each other, their backs were patched, they were lying side by side in the same posture, it was very funny, they laughed at the same time.Laughed twice, Zi Shi couldn't help shivering slightly because of fever and chills.Changsheng tore off his clothes to cover him, and moved them to block him out.

"Thank you - Gu Changsheng, are you cold?"

"How can it be cold in this weather? ——What is the "Nine Festival Lotus"?"

"Wild vegetables that can be used as medicine. Clear away heat and reduce swelling, cure diseases and satisfy hunger." Zi Shi replied.

After this treatment, the wound started to burn and hurt again.Zi Shi was dizzy, feeling unspeakably uncomfortable, just wanted to distract his attention as much as possible, and babbled nonsense: "No wonder people say that "opening books is beneficial". "I won't let go of such a remote book, how can I save myself and others in times of crisis..."

This person is obviously in a mess, but he wants to be full of complacency.Impulsive in Changsheng's heart, he blurted out: "You are a local, what does it matter if you know a few herbs and wild vegetables? If you are in the northwest, you will not be hungry if you stay in the wild with me for a few years."

"Oh? Could it be that you often live this kind of desperate life?"

"What is a life of desperation? Because the family is doing business, it is natural to run around, and even went outside the customs more than once."

"Looking at the way you hold the knife, you are very proficient. You really seem to have some kung fu. But you were almost shot to death by an arrow from the Xirong soldiers, and your kung fu is probably limited."

"Looking at how weak you are, although it's only a flesh injury, I'm really afraid that you will cry in pain."

"Judging people by their cover is superficial..."

The two of them were arguing one after another, Zi Shi felt that the pain in his back seemed to be less so, and he was about to fall asleep in a daze.Feeling someone shaking his shoulders, he barely opened his eyes, but it was Gu Changsheng who grabbed a handful of Jiujielian: "Li Zishi, how do you use this thing?"

"Cook." Closing his eyes, before seeing Duke Zhou, he managed to utter the second word: "Eat."