Half River Autumn Moon and River Spring [Rat and Cat]

When it comes to the first encounter between Mouse and Cat, it really started when Zhan Zhao first entered Kaifeng Mansion.

Back then, Zhan Zhao was also a carefree and heartless young man. He was originally like those green forest heroes in the Jianghu. He did whatever he wanted, and occasionally acted bravely. It was another well-known ancient famous sword, which was crowned with the reputation of "Southern Xia", until he met a person who completely overturned Zhan Zhao's cognition of "Xia" at that time.

That year when Zhan Zhao went out to travel, he was also young and energetic, and whenever he went to a place, he asked if there was any injustice in the local area. Naturally, a boy who was only [-] or [-] years old was crowned with the reputation of "Southern Xia". I even fantasized about sweeping away all injustices in the world with a sword. One day, I passed by Haiyan County in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, and heard someone discussing the county's affairs in a small teahouse.

"Oh, that old ninth son of the He family is really miserable. He thought he was looking for a beautiful girl, but he didn't even have time to lift the bride's hijab before he was robbed of his wife by Chen Yuanwai, and he was beaten into a disability... Sigh ..."

"He Laojiu is a good person, and now he is really out of shape, and he probably won't be able to get a wife in the future."

"Why are you begging for a wife? Now both of his legs are useless. Whether he can survive in the future is still a question. You and I both know that He Laojiu is such an honest farmer. How can he farm without his legs?"

"I heard that He Laojiu's several acres of land were rented out by Mr. Chen before. In addition to paying the rent every year, he also had to pay the grain to support the old man. Mr. Chen let it go, saying that if He Laojiu couldn't pay the grain , not only take back the land, but also break his two hands!"

Hearing this, Zhan Zhao felt that he couldn't bear it, so he got up and asked the two men, "Isn't the government responsible for taking over someone's wife and wealth like this, Mr. Chen?"

The two people who were talking in low voices couldn't help but sneered when they saw the handsome but angry young man asking, "Little brother, you're not from the local area, right? Chen Yuanwai is so arrogant because there are people in the government, who would dare Fight him?"

The other also echoed: "What is Mr. Chen's identity, what are our identities, if Mr. Chen falls in love with my wife, then I will have to obediently give her my life, He Laojiu is also ignorant, she is just a picked wife If Chen Yuanwai likes it, you can give it to him. What are you fighting for? You see, it’s a good thing now. Not only did he not snatch it back, but he even broke his own two legs, alas..."

"Such a bully, no one can deal with him?"

"How do you deal with it? Haven't you heard of officials protecting each other? No matter how capable you are, can you sue the capital, can you sue the emperor? Even if you really have the ability to sue the emperor, does the emperor have time to take care of you? "

Zhan Zhao was still young at that time, so he said, "How can this be reasonable? If officials are like this, how can the country be saved? Isn't the king's law a violation of the law?"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone beside him interrupted with a smile: "A single view is a partial generalization."

When Zhan Zhao turned his head, he saw a very noble middle-aged Confucian scholar sitting there drinking tea, beside him was a young scholar and a middle-aged man with dark complexion. Seeing Zhan Zhao looking at him, that person was just smile slightly.

Zhan Zhao said: "Senior, you said that I'm a 'single view, and a generalization'?"

The noble man smiled and said: "It's not about you, but if you just listen to other people's words, then it's the same."

Although Zhan Zhao was angry in his heart, he was well-educated since he was a child. He bowed to the man and said, "Please enlighten me, senior."

"Look, you don't know that He Laojiu and Chen Yuanwai either. You just hear it and feel righteous indignation. Since you haven't witnessed it yourself, how do you know what those two people are saying is the truth? The other two are the same, How do you know that Chen Yuanwai has someone in the government, and how do you judge what officials are protecting each other? Now, if these are just rumors, how can you swear that what you say is as good as your own experience?"

The two people on the side were speechless for a moment, those government officials were recruited and protected by each other, and they did pass on word of mouth because of the people here.

Zhan Zhao repeatedly chewed on the man's words, and said, "Senior's words are indeed reasonable. Most people in the Jianghu are reckless. For the sake of so-called arrogance, they can't help but copy what others say. I have written down what the senior said. I will investigate this matter myself. Peep the leopard in the tube."

The man smiled: "Your name?"

"I will show you next."

Before he could react, the young scholar beside him interrupted, "Zhan Zhao? Nan Xia Zhan Zhao?"

Zhan Zhao blinked and nodded, and the people at the other tables immediately whispered to each other.

The noble middle-aged man made a clear mouth shape, and smiled again: "Fangde, these two are my friends, it's a pleasure to meet you, a pleasure to meet you."

At that time, Zhan Zhao didn't know who these people were in front of him. He only thought that he had made a few more friends, and said politely: "If Senior Fang is interested, I will inform Senior of the results of my personal investigation at this time and place tomorrow. .”

Fang De nodded with a smile on his face.

At the same hour on the second day, Fang De and his party really waited for Zhan Zhao.

"Senior Fang, after my investigation, I found that it was not as simple as Chen Yuanwai robbing the woman by force. In fact, the woman despised He Laojiu's poverty and secretly seduced Chen Yuanwai. Chen Yuanwai and the woman had already had an affair. It's just that He Laojiu knew that the two of them were having an affair and insisted on marrying the woman, so Chen Yuanwai sent someone to snatch the marriage. As for He Laojiu's leg, it was not Chen Yuanwai who interrupted it. While chasing the woman, he accidentally fell off the cliff, and people other than Mr. Chen rescued him. It's a pity that his leg was crippled at that time. As for the rumors that he would lose his hand if he had nothing to say, it was nothing at all. Those good things My neighbors are only afraid that the world will not be chaotic."

"Also, there is only one distant relative of Mr. Chen who is an official in a small county in Shanxi. Basically, he has nothing to do with him. Even if something happens to him, there is no way to help him, let alone any officials to protect him."

Fang De asked, "Did you go to verify these yourself?"

Zhan Zhao nodded: "Yes, I have verified both Chen Yuanwai and He Laojiu, and it is true. He Laojiu also said that many of the radical remarks made by the villagers were actually made by himself at the time. I didn’t expect that the more it spread, the more outrageous it would become.”

After Zhan Zhao finished speaking, he showed a confused expression, and Fang De asked again: "If you didn't check it out yourself, but only listened to their explanation, how would you deal with this matter?"

Zhan Zhao frowned: "According to my previous temperament, I was afraid that I would directly kill that member, but now, I can't tell which is right and which is wrong..."

That Fang De rolled up his sleeves and said: "The so-called good and evil, it sounds like two words, it seems to be a very simple thing, if you do good things, it is good, if you do bad things, it is evil , Tsk, but things in this world are not so simple, you can't define right or wrong in absolute terms."

"Those ordinary people who face the loess and their backs to the sky always think that being an official is easy, but it's just a matter of judging right from wrong, not only how difficult it is to judge right from wrong..." After finishing speaking, he suddenly asked the black-faced person next to him, "Hey, I'm talking about Lao Bao, how do you judge this case?"

The black-faced man glanced at Fang De and said, "If no one reports to the officials, then this matter is a family matter. The so-called family affairs are difficult for an upright official, so naturally there will be no judgment."

"Then what if one of them reports to the official?"

"If someone reports to the official and finds out that it is true, then He Laojiu slanders others, confuses the people, and slaps his mouth twenty times, but he is disabled, so this crime can be avoided; It caused He Laojiu to be disabled for life, and he has to take care of He Laojiu's remaining daily needs; as for the woman, Mo Xing will serve her."

Zhan Zhao was stunned: "Mo punishment?"

Fang De explained: "Since ink punishment is tattooing, it means tattooing words on people's faces, and then painting them with ink or other paints. The tattooed words will become permanent marks. Although it is not a severe punishment, it does affect people. For a lifetime, for a woman, it is equivalent to losing her reputation."

Zhan Zhao frowned: "Is this a good sentence?"

Fang De smiled and said: "Thinking about it carefully, there is nothing wrong with it. This matter was caused by that woman. If she hadn't been promiscuous, He Laojiu would not have fallen into such a situation. As for Mo Xing, even though it is for a woman It is indeed not light, but if the man is sincere with her, he will not care whether the appearance changes or not, if both men abandon her, it will be considered the woman's retribution..."

Zhan Zhao sighed and said, "It seems that the officials really have a lot of knowledge, and they are completely different from the morals of the world. When I think about it, I didn't think much about what I did back then, and I only cared about being a hero. I'm really ashamed. The name of 'Nanxia'."

That Fangde smiled "haha" and said, "How do you think the word 'Xia' should be explained by Xiaoyou Zhan?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a while, then replied, "Eliminate the strong and help the weak, act chivalrously and fight for righteousness."

Fang De nodded, suddenly picked up a chopstick on the table, dipped it in tea, wrote the character "Xia" on the table, and then said: "Look at the character "Xia", it is composed of four characters for "human". , these four people unite together to level the sky and earth above their heads. With the power of one person, saving ten or a hundred people is enough to carry a tripod, but to protect ten thousand people, protect the country, and protect the world of the Great Song Dynasty, but It’s beyond the reach of one person.”

Zhan Zhao is thoughtful.

Fang De said again: "Look at the character for chivalry again. The right side of the character for "herringbone" is a character for 'clip', so the so-called hero, if he makes a mistake, he will behave like a man with his tail between his legs, trying to survive in the cracks."

Zhan Zhao said with a relieved smile, "I really learned a lesson today!"

After that, Zhan Zhao was invited to go north with the others, and when he went to the capital, he discovered that Fang De was the rumored Eight Sage King——Zhao Defang, and the black-faced man was killed because of the "Duanyan Incident". The emperor appreciates Mr. Bao Zheng, who is about to go to Beijing to serve as the supervisory censor. The scholar beside him is Gongsun Ce who went to Beijing with Bao Zheng.

Unknowingly, Zhan Zhao was "sold" by the Eight Sage Kings to the Kaifeng Mansion, and became an imperial bodyguard. Therefore, every time Zhan Zhao saw the Eight Sage Kings, he felt a chill down his spine, which was also true. It's a later story...

The author has something to say:

The Eight Sage Kings here feel like they fit together with Dongfang Shuo, _(:з)∠)_