Not two days after the Double Ninth Festival, Shi Wangtong, the chief minister of the Prince of Chu, fell seriously ill.
The long history of the royal family in the early Tang Dynasty still has some weight, not to mention that Wang Tong was still a great Confucian scholar at that time. After the completion of the "Continuation of the Six Classics", Wang Tong became famous, and scholars came from far away.
At that time, he not only had thousands of disciples, but also made friends with many celebrities.
His students include Chu King Li Zhiyun, Hedong Sanfeng; Xue Shou, Xue Deyin, Xue Yuanjing, Wen Yanbo, Du Yan and others. His friends include Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Chen Shuda, Li Jing, Dou Wei and others.
As the chief historian of the Prince of Chu, Wang Tong seldom taught Li Zhiyun anything, because when he came to Chang'an, his body could no longer hold up, and he was basically bedridden all year round. If it were not for the two brothers Zhen Quan and Zhen Liyan who took care of him, he would not have been able to teach Li Zhiyun anything.
Can't survive now.
After receiving the news that Wang Tong was critically ill, Li Zhiyun rushed to the palace. The person who received him was Wang Tong's son Wang Fuchou, who was currently an official in Chang'an and served as Dr. Taichang.
When he saw Wang Tong, he was already unconscious and only woke up when Wang Fuchou called him.
"I... want to talk to His Highness... alone, please go out."
"Yes." Wang Fuchou bowed and stepped back.
Li Zhiyun sat on the side of the couch and looked at Wang Tong.
"Teacher, I have sent someone to call the imperial doctor. You will be fine."
To be fair, he had no feelings for Wang Tong, and was even a stranger to him. However, Wang Tong was his teacher after all, and he still had the respect he deserved.
"Your Highness, there is no need to say anything. I know my body well."
Hearing this, Li Zhiyun sighed softly.
Wang Tong's sallow face looked a bit scary under the candlelight.
"Your Highness."
"The disciple is here."
"Xue Shou, Xue Yuanjing, and Du Ruhui all have the talents of Wang Zuo. Your Highness can't hide your request from me. Now that I am about to die, I have a few words to tell Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will listen carefully."
Hearing this, Li Zhiyun's heart was in his throat. This old guy actually guessed what he was thinking.
"Disciple, listen respectfully to the teacher's instructions."
Wang Tongtong: "I have experienced two dynasties, and I have seen the tragic events of seizing the direct descendants. Your Highness's background as a commoner is far different from that of the previous Sui and Shu kings. However, Your Highness's mind has not changed. I am suffering from illness, and I have no education and faults. In fact,
It’s my fault. Here’s my honest advice
Let me tell you. There are many people in the court today, and those who control the throne are not saints, but the world's famous families. If Your Highness wants to reach the top, remember to build a wide family, cultivate virtue internally, and attack thieves and bandits externally. In this way, you will not only have meritorious service, but also get the help of the famous family.
, only then can great things be accomplished.”
Having said this, Wang Tong coughed violently, and then said: "If Your Highness realizes that he has returned from his lost way, he can let go of the military and political affairs, focus on being free, and be absurd in the market, and he can be a free king for the rest of his life. I hope Your Highness will keep it in mind."
"
Li Zhiyun was startled, then pursed his lips and said, "Disciple, remember what the teacher said."
As a teacher, it is very honorable to be able to say this to him.
"Okay, okay." Wang Tong nodded and followed up: "Although the current prince is generous, the King of Qin is strong, and one day he will definitely bring trouble to Xiao Qiang. You should be careful."
Hearing this, Li Zhiyun sighed in his heart, Wang Tong is indeed a Confucian master. Although he is not in the court, his eyes are as vicious as ever.
"What the teacher says, the disciple will remember."
Wang Tong nodded. He wanted to say something else, but in the end he couldn't resist the disease and fainted.
Li Zhiyun walked out of the inner room, Wang Tong's clan brother Wang Gui also came after receiving the news, and then Xue Shou, Xue Yuanjing, Du Ruhui and others also came one after another.
After they visited Wang Chuang, Li Zhiyun and Du Ruhui came together.
"Back then, I talked with the prince about the weather, but now he is in danger. It's true that God has unpredictable changes, and people have misfortunes and blessings." Du Ruhui sighed, recalling his memories of discussing the weather with Dong Chang, Jia Qiong and others when he visited Wang Tong.
.
Li Zhiyun muttered: "Teacher Cai had a private conversation with me..."
He told Du Ruhui what Wang Tong said.
Du Ruhui said with emotion: "What a pity. It would be great if the prince was willing to help His Highness."
Li Zhiyun secretly thought that Wang Tong would not be able to help him, and would at most ignore him. If he had wanted to help him, he would have helped him long ago and would not have delayed it until now.
However, Wang Tong can ignore his actions, which is considered good.
On the other side, Xue Shou and Xue Yuanjing, who had been met by Wang Tong alone, were also talking privately.
"The teacher said that my uncle was helping the King of Chu seize the throne, but is it true?" When they met alone just now, Wang Tong accused Xue Shou in front of him of misleading the King of Chu, so Xue Yuanjing asked this question.
The sadness on Xue Shou's face did not fade. He rolled his eyelids and said calmly: "Didn't you already know this?"
Xue Shou had nothing to hide about his nephew who was as famous as himself and directly admitted that he wanted to help the King of Chu seize the throne.
Xue Yuanjing said: "I just had some speculation before, but I never dared to tell my uncle."
"Then do you think I'm wrong?" Xue Shou asked back. Thinking of the teacher's accusation just now, Xue Shou felt a little gloomy. He wanted to explain to the teacher, but the teacher didn't have time to listen to his explanation.
Xue Yuanjing thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "That's right."
"Oh?" Xue Ting smiled and said, "Do you also think His Highness has that strength?"
Xue Yuanjing nodded and said: "Now in Chang'an, the Crown Prince and the King of Qin are fighting endlessly. His Royal Highness the King of Chu also has great ambitions. How can he not win? It's just that it will be very difficult, and if you are not careful, everyone will die."
"Are you scared?"
"On the contrary." Xue Yuanjing said: "If we look at the famous officials in Qing history, most of them were born in Qiandi. Now the East Palace is all descendants of Shandong, and the Qin Palace is all descendants of Guanlong. If our Hedong Xue family wants to become famous in one fell swoop and shine on the lintel, this is
The fastest way.”
"That's good." Xue Shang said assuredly: "If there is an opportunity in the future, you can show your loyalty to His Highness."
"Yes." Xue Yuanjing had this intention for a long time, but he had never been sure of Xue Shou's thoughts. Now that he got the exact answer, he naturally agreed happily.
In the end, Wang Tong could not survive the day and died of illness at night.
Many people came to the palace to express their condolences, including the prince, King Qin, King Qi, Prime Minister Chen Shuda of the Political Hall, and even Dou Wei. Emperor Li Yuan also sent people to express condolences to the children of the palace and to give posthumous gifts to Wang Tong.
Since Wang Tong's family was still in Longmen, Hedong Province, Wang Gui took the initiative to host the funeral for his brother.
Although Wang Gui and Wang Tong both belonged to the Wang family in Taiyuan, they were not brothers from the same house. Wang Fuchou was very moved by Wang Gui's ability to do this.
As a disciple, Li Zhiyun also stayed in the palace to help.
The next day, Li Zhiyun took off the white cloth from his waist, said goodbye to Wang Fuchou, and prepared to go home. As the king of Chu, he naturally did not have so much leisure and could not stay in the palace every day.
As soon as I walked out of the gate, I saw a person walking towards me. This person was dressed in green linen and had a slender figure.
"May I ask Mr. Ming's name?" the boy in front of the door asked.
"Old friend and old friend, Wei Zheng."
"Please." The servant led Wei Zheng into the mansion.
Wei Zheng and Li Zhiyun passed by each other, and the two sides glanced at each other. Li Zhiyun knew Wei Zheng, but Wei Zheng did not know Li Zhiyun, so the two just nodded and said hello.
When Li Mi surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng also surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Later, he asked for orders and went to Liyang with Li Shentong to persuade Xu Shiji to surrender, but did not stay in the court. When Dou Jiande defeated Li Shentong, Wei Zheng happened to be in Liyang with Xu Shiji.
Together.
Due to Li Shimin's timely support, Li Shentong and Wei Zheng were not captured by Dou Jiande.
However, because of the murder of Li Mi, Wei Zheng felt uncomfortable, so he stayed in Liyang to help Xu Shiji.
Not long ago, Li Yuan issued an order to let Li Shentong stay in Hebei, and ordered Xu Shiji, Wei Zheng and other old Wagang generals to return to Chang'an to report on their duties.
Therefore, he could come to express condolences to Wang Tong.