Kong Rong leaned against the table, holding milk in one hand and the ink-scented newspaper in the other, drinking and reading.
There was a thin mutton on the plate on the table, a crispy hu cake, and a chicken.
A concubine knelt on the side, peeled the chicken, and handed it to Kong Rong's mouth. Kong Rong tilted his head, held the chicken in his mouth, and sniffed it.
"It smells so good, what powder do you use?"
The concubine smiled shyly and said, "The fallen forest powder is offered to the wine."
Kong Rong suddenly realized and nodded with satisfaction. "It is worthy of being a famous powder in Yizhou. It is fragrant but not greasy, and it is the best. If you like it, I ask someone to buy some from Yizhou."
"Thank you for the wine."
Kong Rong laughed loudly, approached the concubine's tender face, and took a deep breath.
"Old thief, how many months have you not seen you, you have fallen into this?" Ni Heng strode in, and just saw this scene, and immediately shouted.
Kong Rong looked up and saw it, and was surprised and happy. He put down the newspaper and milk and stood up.
"Zhengping, when did you arrive? Why didn't you notify me in advance? I can go and pick you up."
"I inform you, can you still see your true face, unshy?" Ni Heng raised the dust tail in his hand, glanced at the dazzling concubine, and then saw her slightly bulging belly. "You I’m so old and still so ignorant, do you think I’m dying too slowly?”
"Hehe." Kong Rong was not angry either. While pulling Ni Heng into his seat, he ordered someone to prepare breakfast. When he touched Ni Heng's arm, he couldn't help but be surprised and pinched it twice. "Zhengping, the water and soil of Hanyang are so nourishing. Are you so strong, you are simply a brave warrior.”
"You want to know, you'll know if you'll live in Hanyang for a few months." Ni Heng looked down at the food on the case and frowned. "The court's money and food are so tight that the officials' salaries cannot be paid in full. Are you so extravagant? You are really..."
He shook his head and didn't say anything more.
Kong Rong's face was a little uneasy. "Zhengping, you were suffering in Hanyang. Come back and vent your anger, right? I am my own salary, and I have a clear conscience."
"I wonder if the people and soldiers who died in the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Beihai would think so."
Kong Rong's face suddenly turned red.
"You are full of knowledge and are well-versed in the Five Classics, but even a county is not well managed. This shows that this knowledge is gorgeous and unreal. Using the flashy and unreal knowledge to sacrifice wine to the Imperial Academy, you not only mislead people's children, but also let the court down. How can you have a clear conscience?"
Kong Rong narrowed his eyes. "It seems that Zhengping Hanyang and his party have achieved the right result. In the future, they will rely on what they have learned to stabilize the country and serve the court. I wonder if you have ever seen the emperor first after you come back. When you see you, the emperor must be very good. satisfy."
"good."
"What?"
"I went to Chang'an yesterday and went to the palace to meet the emperor at night. I talked with the emperor until midnight. Although the emperor was not very satisfied, he also felt that rotten wood could be carved and was not a stubborn person."
"Have you seen the emperor?" Kong Rong didn't bother to get angry, and hurriedly pulled Ni Heng into his seat and urged him to say it quickly.
Ni Heng roughly explained the story of his meeting with the Emperor.
Kong Rong finished listening patiently, stroked his beard and pondered for a while. "So, what I did during the trip to Hanyang is nothing but the four words "deep roots and solid foundations"?"
Ni Heng nodded solemnly. "Although these four words are simple, they are the right way. Those who follow it will be glorious, while those who go against it will wither. Shandong scholars and officials tried to use their mantis arms to drive the carriage, and in the future they would only be crushed into powder, which is absolutely a waste."
"Is it so serious?" Kong Rong was skeptical.
"It is easy for Qin to destroy the six kingdoms."
"This is not a good example." Kong Rong smiled and said, "It's fine if you talk in front of me, but if you say in front of others, why can't anyone report you inappropriately?"
"I said the same thing in front of the emperor."
Kong Rong was stunned and then asked again: "What does the emperor say?"
Ni Heng glanced at Kong Rong sideways and raised his lips lightly. "The emperor said that corrupt scholars only talk about morality in vain, and they always call them tyrannical Qin, but they did not know that Qin had its own inevitable reason to destroy the six kingdoms."
"..." Kong Rong was speechless, ashamed and angry, but he had no way to attack.
He has been with Ni Heng for many years and knows what Ni Heng's temper is. If he really wants to argue, Ni Heng will not give him face.
"So, it is inevitable that the three families will divide Jin?"
Ni Heng did not answer, and he took the report on the case and started reading.
Although Kong Rong is not young, he is a smart person and has the ability to learn from others. In the past, no one pointed out the key points for him. Now he has proved this with his own experience, so Kong Rong can easily figure out other things.
reason.
He just refused to admit it.
From his tone, we can tell that this was just the last struggle.
Ni Heng quickly finished reading the newspaper, tutted his mouth and frowned. "The court has spent so much effort to publish the newspaper to discuss the matter of field research. Why are these articles either exegesis or verification of nothingness?
?What is the impact of King Wu of Zhou attacking Zhou one year earlier and one year later?"
"Why didn't it affect?" Kong Rong couldn't help but retort: "King Wu defeated Zhou, the year was in the quail fire, the moon was in the sky, the sun was in the rice wood, the morning was in the handle of the fight, the stars were in the sky, which was Zhou Fengtian's order.
The sign. If it was one year earlier or one year later, could it still be able to respond to the destiny?"
Ni Heng scoffed.
Kong Rong said again: "Don't disregard it. Before the Battle of Emperor Huayin, wasn't there a red energy that penetrated the purple palace?"
Ni Heng waved his hand. "Even if there is, it's just a coincidence and is not worthy of training. In my opinion, it is better to say that King Wu destroyed Shang than to say that it was a destiny of heaven, but to say that it was a good place and a harmonious person."
“How to say it?”
"Zhou was able to defeat Shang because Zhou occupied Guanzhong, and had land rights and was able to use it. He also had the Qiang and Barbarians, and Bashu barbarians were used as the predecessors. However, Shang occupied Chaoge, but did not know how to defend the upper reaches, but continued to use troops to the Dongyi, which would be defeated.
Bureau.”
Ni Heng smiled. "Now that Yuan Shao is occupying Yecheng, he dares not advance westward. He only dares to shine his troops in the Central Plains. What is the difference with King Zhou?"
Kong Rong took a breath and had some toothache.
Ni Heng said again: "Zhou occupied Guanzhong and destroyed Shang, Qin occupied Guanzhong and destroyed the six kingdoms, and the Gao emperor occupied Guanzhong and destroyed Xiangji. These are all due to geographical advantages. According to geographical advantages, and then to be harmonious, he would not be able to stand up.
What does it matter if the place of defeat is here? The Master was born in Lu, Mencius was born in Zou, Xunzi was born in Zhao, Dong Zhongshu was born in Guangchuan, and all Confucian wise men were born in Shandong, and Shandong can be said to be where the destiny is. But there is a history
Since then, has Shandong been the only one who unified the world?”
Kong Rong couldn't help but glared, "Don't forget that Emperor Gao is from Shandong."
Ni Heng sneered. "Without Xiao He, who was in charge of Guanzhong, recruited troops and transported grain, Emperor Gao didn't know how many times he died."
He raised his hand and interrupted Kong Rong.
"The facts are all there, and I can't help it. But I want to remind you that no matter how well you say and how much you write, you can't stop the army with sufficient soldiers and food. After all, it's just empty words.
If you refuse to save the land, you have to wait for the imperial court to pacify Shandong and move the Guandong tribe to a remote place before traveling to save the land. At that time, I hope you can still be so calm and talk nonsense."
Kong Rong was stunned, stared at Ni Heng for a while, then said quietly: "Zhengping, you are not like a Confucian scholar at all now, you are a barbarian."
"That's because you have little knowledge and have never seen a real barbarian." Ni Heng retorted. "The real barbarian will not give you a chance to speak at all. How could you persuade me like me?"