All your life is gentle

Zishi gives two lectures a day on topographical routes and knowledge of medicinal herbs.One in the morning and one in the afternoon, about two hours each time.Since the lecture began, the pace of refugee flows has increased markedly.With the prospect of a definite route, people seem to have a head start.He also heard from the heroes of the Baisha Gang that the soldiers from the West will soon attack the southern part of Chuzhou. Motivated and pressured, tens of thousands of refugees are actively marching to the south.

Although the local people in Chuzhou were also mobilized to evacuate as soon as possible, but it was hard to leave the country, and many people waited and waited and refused to leave.It has only been more than a month since the late rice was planted, and the field is green and lush. I want to leave it alone, feeling flustered like losing a child.Half a year ago, I heard that the black barbarian was coming, but after waiting and waiting, there was no sign of him, so I gradually relaxed, thinking that the rumors may not be true, and I can live as I want.

The missing person notice business was relatively deserted on this day, and work was done early.After dinner, Zi Zhou and Zi returned to the guest room to do their homework.I have been busy with charity work for many days in a row, and I have left behind a lot in teaching scriptures.The two of them first recited to the elder brother the few paragraphs that they had copied but didn't talk about. For a while, the sound of books in the room was very pleasant.

Zi Shi sat hugging the quilt, stuffed the pillow behind his waist, and leaned against it, which was a bit awkward.Just as he was hesitating whether to sacrifice another part of the quilt, a white shadow flew over and landed just in front of him.It's a pillow.No need to think about it, Gu Changsheng threw it away.The speed is too fast, there is no time to startle.Looking sideways, the person opposite was sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed and meditating, as if he hadn't moved at all.He recently competed with Hua Erxia to learn kung fu, and he always meditated like this for a while at night.

He looks more and more like an expert... Zi Shi thought longingly.Fluff the pillow, lean on it comfortably, close your eyes and listen to your younger siblings reciting.

"...A gentleman is prosperous but not arrogant, and a villain is arrogant but not prosperous. Gentlemen are harmonious but different, and villains are the same but not harmonious. Gentlemen are not compared with each other, and villains are not compared with each other. Gentlemen are grouped but not party, villains are party and Not group. Gentleman refers to righteousness, sees benefit and thinks of righteousness; villain refers to benefit, sees benefit and forgets righteousness..."

Chang Sheng suddenly let out a soft "Huh".

The two who endorsed stopped and looked at him.

Changsheng was a little uncertain Wang Wangzishi: "Here, after "the party is not the crowd", shouldn't there be another sentence?" After a little thought, "I remember that it is "a gentleman who is brave but not righteous is chaos; a villain Those who have courage without righteousness are robbers. "" Seeing that he didn't speak, I felt even more uncertain, "——Did I remember wrong?"

After a while, Zi Shi replied in a neutral tone: "There is such a sentence."

"No! Brother, although my father never said this before, I have memorized it long ago. Where is this sentence!" Zi Zhou immediately retorted.

"It's true that you didn't recite this sentence." Zi Shi stretched out his hand to signal him to be calm, and continued slowly, "Although the book "Zheng Ya" is the supreme classic of the Holy Gate, it has undergone several deletions and revisions. The most recent one, In Taizu Wood for 38 years."

After all, Zi Zhou Zigui's study career is not deep, and this is the first time he has heard of these sensitive and subtle allusions.Changsheng had never heard of this case.

"Taizu loved to read the words of sages in his later years, and he often asked Hanlin scholars to accompany him. Once he said this sentence "A gentleman is brave but unrighteous, and he is in chaos." The scholar got excited and scolded King Yan for being unjust and chaotic. Not long after, he was demoted to the western border."

"Ah? Why?" The three listeners couldn't comprehend the mystery for a while.

"Why else? It's a taboo. King Yan is certainly a traitor, but without him as the instigator, where would the heroes fight for hegemony and compete in the Central Plains? Where would the Taizu come from? Where would Jinxia come from? Really? When it comes to investigation, isn't it all "causing chaos"? It's unlucky for a Hanlin scholar to be more than loyal and brave, but not able to figure out the holy will."

These few words were too outrageous, Zizhou felt a little dizzy, and called out in a daze, "Brother..."

Zi Shi ignored him.When you hit this thing, you get used to it.Then he said: "Later, Taizu found a title and summoned a group of people to re-edit "Zheng Ya", and deleted many outdated sentences, including this one of course." Looking at Gu Changsheng, "Since then Well, the basis for scholars all over the world to participate in the scientific examination is this clean book "Zheng Ya". The original complete version is very rare. The master who teaches you reading is not an ordinary person."

I didn't expect that a sage's words could lead to such an inside story.Changsheng nana said: "There is no master, they are all taught by my mother. Those books... are my mother's dowry."

"Your mother must be a lady from a scholarly family."

"That's...it's a pity that I was playful when I was young, and I never listened to her words. When I was 14 years old, she... died of illness. I read a book once: "A tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop. A child wants to be raised and kissed." "Don't wait", I always feel pretentious, thinking about it now..." Speaking of this, sadness came from it, and his expression was sad.

The Li brothers and sisters knew this hatred very well, and they were silent at the same time when they heard the phrase "the son wants to support him, but his relatives will not wait for him".A pair of twins hung their heads with tears in their eyes.As a result, Zi Shi couldn't think of continuing to probe into why Gu Changsheng had read the entire "Zheng Ya".

The four people were weeping here, and the heartbreaker knocked on the door.Changsheng replied: "Please come in." Standing up to greet him.Mrs. Hua Daxia stepped in with her maid, holding a stack of maps and medicinal sketches drawn by the female family members in the backyard.

Zi Shi didn't expect Mrs. Hua to come in person, so he hurriedly sat up straight and wanted to get out of bed.

"Stay here, Zishi. It's cold at night, catch a cold carefully." Tell the maid to turn around and close the door tightly, and said with a slight smile, "There are not so many rules in the farmer's house. Zizhou Zigui is about the same age as my family's Luo'er, so you just treat me like me." Is it auntie?"

It was so hot that I couldn't bear to come out.After hearing this, Zi Shi shrank back obediently.

Mrs. Hua had seen the red eyes of the two small ones, and the disappointed expression of the two big ones, and felt pity in her heart.

These four children are well-bred, and one can tell at a glance that they are from a really good family.The young man surnamed Gu, Yunwen Yunwu, kung fu is not weak.This young man surnamed Li has read poetry and books and is full of economics.The two smaller ones are also well-founded in their advances and retreats, and their actions are well-planned.The most rare thing is that they constantly strive for self-improvement in adversity, give themselves up to help others in times of crisis, and are full of chivalry.I heard from my husband and brother-in-law that it is really not easy at such a young age to work tirelessly during the day to solve problems for refugees.At this moment, I'm afraid that thinking of the sad things in my family, I secretly shed tears.

Sighing secretly, he handed the pattern in his hand to Zi Shi: "Women and Taoists have never done such a learned job, so I don't know if it is suitable for use."

Zi Shituan was under the quilt, looking down at each one with his head down.Mrs. Hua pinched the corner of the quilt, turned her head and said to the servant girl, "Why don't you bring another quilt?"

The servant girl hesitated a little, and then said: "Ma'am, my uncle told me to take all the extra quilts to the cemetery..." Not only the extra quilts, but also the mattresses and cushions of the reclining chairs.Or let two guests squeeze into a room.

"Go to my room, inside the camphor wood box, there is a red satin quilt, bring it here."

Zi Shi and Chang Sheng spoke at the same time, one said: "No need." The other said: "Thank you Madam."

Seeing the coming of frost, the weather turned cold rapidly, and the plums shrank into a ball at night.Changsheng was thinking about how to talk to Hua Daxia, but it happened that Mrs. Hua proposed it.In fact, the most trouble-free way is to share a bed with two people.But at the moment, Gu Changsheng still can't think of such a sanctimonious and voluptuous idea.

"Thank you Madam for your concern. It's really unnecessary. "Cover April, freeze September", it won't be cold." Zi Shi thought to himself, the bright red satin quilt in the camphor wood box sounds so much like a dowry thing, no matter what Sorry to ask.

"You child, why are you being polite? Zigui said that you have just been ill and you are away from home. What is more important than your body?" Mrs. Hua recalled that when the four of them first arrived, the young man's face had no trace of blood. With long eyebrows and beautiful eyes, thin and light, he does not look like a mortal at first glance.Afterwards, it gradually got better, but it still caused the two sisters-in-law to find excuses to look at him secretly from time to time.

Before he could say anything, Mrs. Hua said without waiting for him to speak, "Don't refuse anymore, that's all. You are the eldest brother, don't worry your younger siblings."

Where did this come from?Zi Shi looked at the pair of twins.

"Brother..." Four dark eyes looked at him.My heart warmed up: "It turns out...they have grown up so much..."

After reading the drawings, I will stay here and bring them to the scene tomorrow.The lines of these patterns are not more complicated than the embroidery patterns, and the female relatives have drawn them meticulously and accurately, without any errors.

The quilt was also brought.Changsheng sent Mrs. Hua out of the door.Come in again, red is red, white is white, black is black, it is dazzling.It took two blinks before he got used to it: Li Zishi leaned against him with a smile on his face, the black part was his hair, the white part was his face, and the red part was his quilt.

"Let's get down to business. Let's finish this paragraph today." Zi Shi coughed lightly, "The sages focus on the difference between gentlemen and villains, and this is the article. The meaning is not difficult to understand, Zi Zhou, please talk about it first."

The boy stood up and straightened his clothes: "The sage said that a gentleman is peaceful and comfortable but not arrogant, and a villain is arrogant and arrogant but not peaceful and comfortable. A gentleman lives in harmony without blindly agreeing with him, and a villain agrees blindly but cannot be harmonious. get along……"

"Okay, okay, we are all sensible people, so there is no need to talk about such nonsense." Zi Shi interrupted him.Who said that the effect of acquired education is limited?Look at Li Zizhou, his words and deeds are simply a copy of Li Yancheng and Li Ge.Zi Shi suspects that maybe he is the adopted one.

"Zigui, tell me."

The girl thought about it, and said: "I think... these few words actually mean the same thing. A gentleman has a persistent heart, and he is unwavering. In appearance, he is tolerant and kind, and his heart is as modest as grain. This is probably The former so-called "circle outside and square inside" realm."

Zi Zhou was ridiculed, but he didn't take it seriously.Seeing the eldest brother nodding at his younger sister, he quickly took over the topic: "I think what the sage is talking about here is not only the way for a gentleman to cultivate himself, but also the way to conduct himself in the world." Pause for a moment, sort out his thoughts, stand up again, and stand upright. He cleared his throat and said with a straight face: "Guard the inside, don't be dazed or confused in the heart; be compatible with the outside, don't collude with others, don't fight. It is true that you are a gentleman. But if you only understand this step, you are just being alone. That's all."

Speaking of which, stop and look at Zi Shi.Facing the encouraging look from the previous one, my heart was greatly boosted, and my tone gradually became passionate.He didn't know that his elder brother had a kind face, but he was actually trying his best not to let his younger brother see that he couldn't help but want to laugh at him.

"Gentlemen are harmonious but different, Zhou does not compare, groups do not party - maybe, you can think about it in reverse: a gentleman is "different", but he must pursue "harmony"; a gentleman "does not compare", but pursues "Zhou"; a gentleman "does not Party", but we must pursue the "group"."

Well, that makes a lot of sense.Zi Shi straightened up and listened to how he continued.Changsheng over there also looked over, waiting for the next article.

"A gentleman sticks to morality, does not go against his will, does not flatter his heart, does not follow the trend of obedience, and refuses to be filthy, which is said to be able to abide by it. However, a true gentleman should take it as his duty to understand the way, and strive to explain this way to others and practice it in the world. This requires A gentleman tolerates and loves others, making people feel like they are enjoying the spring breeze and drinking nectar. In this way, people around them will naturally gather together, and then they can work together, help each other, help Mingjun, change customs, practice the right way, and promote good governance... Therefore, the sage A few words are not only the way of self-cultivation, but also the way of dealing with people and governing the country." After Zi Zhou finished speaking, he was touched and his face lit up.

"Papa papa..." Zi Shi applauded his younger brother, "Wonderful! Wonderful! This exposition has a great realm." But he was secretly worried: This kid, no matter how hard he can twist it, he always thinks about "Fu Mingjun, Hua "Customs" is such a bad thing, what to do.

Zi Guidao: "Speaking like this, it is really thorough. From this point of view, people today think that they are gentlemen if they straighten their bodies and be kind to others. It is too narrow."

Zi Shi tapped on the edge of the bed with one hand: "Being a gentleman is easier said than done!" Hua Zhaobai, the "loyal and straight prime minister", can be regarded as a rare true gentleman in the past century. The two sides were at loggerheads, and the emperor had neither the intention nor the power to suppress it, gradually forming a court of resistance, and since then there have been signs of factional struggle."

The twins knew a little bit about these past events, but how could Li Yancheng dare to explain them in place like Li Zishi, so it was very fresh to listen to.For Gu Changsheng, it was the first time he had heard such a specific story about the Jinxia Dynasty Hall.In fact, walking with Li Zishi is full of vivid and in-depth analysis of the enemy's situation, which can be encountered but not sought after.It's just that he often listens too much, consciously or unconsciously, and forgets to think about other things.

"Huaxiang has been in the position for eight years, and has always insisted on harmony without difference, week without comparison, group without party. Dealing with relatives and courtiers, overtly and secretly, coordinating the relationship between all parties, promoting the political process, and maintaining the emperor's authority... Finally To die young is really exhausting."

Zi Shi let out a long sigh: "Although he probably died without complaint... Humph, the "loyal prime minister", to put it bluntly, wasn't he considered by the emperor as a target to balance the party struggle? Otherwise, why did Emperor Renxiao mourn so much? Ten Eighty-nine times, it was because I felt ashamed. After Hua Zhaobai died, the party struggle intensified. We only asked about the position, not right and wrong, and the government was in decline.

"Brother..." Zi Zhou Zigui said at the same time.There is nothing to make a fuss about when the eldest brother speaks disrespectfully to the late emperors and sages.But actually said it with an excited expression, really rare to see.

"Ah, it's getting far away." Zi released a flat tone, raised his head slightly, leaned back, and raised his hand to rub the center of his eyebrows.

——Just said a few more words, why do you feel exhausted to the point of collapse?Thinking of the name that my father mentioned on his deathbed, I think about it in my heart when I have time these days, and then connect with a series of shocking injustice cases in the party strife more than ten years ago, the life experience of the two children is ready to be revealed.

Too heavy topic, but had to continue.I want to lift the weight as if it is light, but I can't do anything after all...

"Tired?" Changsheng got up and poured a bowl of water.

Zi Shi was too lazy to speak, and shook his head slightly.

Changsheng looked at him.There will always be a moment for no reason, feeling that Li Zishi is out of reach.However, it is precisely this unreachable distance that makes people feel as if they have glimpsed some kind of essence, as if they have seen something that they cannot see normally.Every time at this time, Changsheng strongly wanted to do something for him, but he didn't know what to do.

After resting for a while, Zi Shi said slowly, "Zi Zhou, you remember: the way of a sage is always easier to know than to do. There are things in the world that can be done and things that cannot be done. Except human power, There is still God's will. Time is also fate and situation, and the outcome is hard to say. Knowing what is impossible and doing it is martyrdom. This is the so-called giving up one's life for righteousness, and killing one's life to achieve benevolence. If you want to be a gentleman, you must first have this self-awareness."

Zizhou didn't hesitate to think: "That's natural. Wealth and honor cannot be promiscuous, poverty and lowliness cannot be moved, and might cannot be subdued. It should be so."

Hearing this, Changsheng and Zigui stared at him with wide eyes, unable to tell whether they were shocked or surprised or admired.

Zi Shi smiled.Knew it would be like this.Even if the lesson from the past is in front of him, this brat refuses to look back.Simply put another dose of strong medicine: "We have all heard about the deeds of General Bai Qibai, the general of the navy. It is said that the king of Xirong threatened the lives of his wife and children—"

"Brother!" Zi Zhou jumped three feet high, "Then Bai Qi defected to the enemy and used the massacre of his compatriots as a way to advance. Even if he has a big reason, he can't justify it..."

"Well said." Zi Shi nodded.The human heart is inertial.Many people, once they have crossed the hurdle in their hearts, they will break the pot and fall to the bottom in one go, which is really unforgivable.However, the world is too complicated, how can it be so easy to judge?Besides, there is a huge difference between falling on someone else's head and falling on oneself...

"Suppose," I closed my eyes, "I mean, if someone threatens you with my life, what would you do?"

Before Zizhou could react, Zigui exclaimed: "Brother..." Tears rolled down his cheeks, "Brother...you can't...you can't..."

"In this messy world, there is no guarantee that there won't be a day. Zizhou, you don't need to answer me. No matter what you decide, the elder brother will always support you. This question is also the same for Zigui."

"Brother." Zi Zhou stood up straight, staring at Zi Shi's face, "What if, I mean what if, someone threatens you with Zigui and my life, what would you do?"

Zi Shi gave him a white look: "You have no brains, no context, how do I know what to do? It's really inexplicable!" The quilt was pulled up, and the body slipped down, "Humans are mortal, should we compromise? See how you feel at the time... It's too late, I'm here today. You two, go to bed."