Chapter 035 How close friends communicate with each other
Zhu Yuanzhang took a nap with his warm son in his arms as a routine every day, but he had to pee urgently, so he went to the toilet. When he came back, his son was gone.
Zhu Yuanzhang was completely stunned. The Chen family was his, inside and out. How could he abandon his son?!
When Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely anxious and furious, Li Wenzhong came to complain: "Wenzheng stole Biaodi. When he stole Biaodi, Biaodi was still sleeping soundly!"
Countless question mark bubbles popped up in Zhu Yuanzhang's big head.
He called in his personal soldiers who were pretending to be servants of the Chen family, and questioned Li Wenzhong carefully, and finally figured out the situation.
The veins on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead bulged.
Zhu Wenzheng came to the yard early in the morning to wait, just to steal Biaoer? Is there something wrong with him? If he wants to take Biaoer out to play, why not just say so?
Li Wenzhong reminded Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father, you said the weather is cold recently and you don't allow Wenzheng to take Biaodi out."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Then he shouldn't have taken Biao'er out!"
Li Wenzhong nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes, godfather, you're right. How should we punish Wenzheng?"
We’ll talk about the punishment measures later. Now Zhu Yuanzhang is going out to find his son.
Li Wenzhong quickly stopped Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Foster father, there are too many people in Yingtian Prefecture who know you! I'll go find them!"
Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated. Even so, he still wanted to go and receive the prize in person.
The news brought back by Li Zhen dispelled Zhu Yuanzhang's hesitation.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Biao'er met two other gentlemen from Eastern Zhejiang? What a coincidence?"
Li Zhen said, "It's not a coincidence. The restaurant they went to has new wine and new dishes today."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "It seems I can't go and take over the bid myself."
Not only was he unable to pick up the bid in person, he was also unable to take it back immediately.
Regardless of whether the other two gentlemen from Zhejiang East will stay in Yingtian, it is fate that Biaoer ran into them, and it is a good opportunity to show off.
Li Zhen said, "Mr. Song is there. He will take good care of Biao'er."
Zhu Yuanzhang kicked Li Wenzhong and said, "Stop hanging around here. Go find Wenzheng and tell him to clean his neck and wait!"
Li Wenzhong chuckled twice and left immediately.
Zhu Yuanzhang scolded: "This kid is not as steady as you!"
Li Zhen sighed: "Isn't it because you, Guorui, spoiled me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Ah?!" Your son is spoiled, what does it have to do with me? !
Li Zhen and Zhu Yuanzhang discussed who spoiled Li Wenzhong. Li Wenzhong rode his horse and trotted to the restaurant. Ye Chen, Ye Zheng, Wang Xi, and Li Shanchang had just arrived.
Ye Zheng came along to find out the "enemy situation"; Li Shanchang naturally came to find ways to recruit young men and keep Liu Ji and Zhang Yi to work.
When Li Shanchang heard that Liu Ji and Zhang Yi were coming, his eyes turned green and he almost asked someone to tie them up and bring them back.
"Wen Zhong, why are you here too?" Li Shanchang asked.
Li Wenzhong had the waiter take the horse to the backyard and tie it up. He then bowed to the four great masters and said, "Wenzheng stole Biao'er while he was taking his nap. My adoptive father is furious and asked me to bring Biao back immediately."
Li Shanchang paused while stroking his beard: "Steal?"
Li Wenzhong said, "Wenzheng wanted to show off Biao'er, his good brother, to my other sworn brothers, but his adoptive father refused to let him take Biao out because the weather was too cold. He stayed in the house for half a day, waiting for his adoptive father to glance at him, and then he stole Biao out from his nap."
Li Wenzhong vividly described Zhu Wenzhen's "evil deeds" to the four great masters.
Li Wenzhong was most pleased to see people slandering Zhu Wenzheng everywhere. Moreover, he was not slandering him, but telling the truth.
The four great writers looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh.
Since they knew Chen Biao's true identity, they naturally knew that Zhu Wen was Zhu Yuanzhang's only nephew.
Initially, they worried that the adult Zhu Wenzheng would threaten Biao'er's position. However, they later discovered that Zhu Wenzheng and Biao'er had a good and that Zhu Wenzheng had never thought of replacing Biao'er. Their concerns were unnecessary.
But now their worries were rising. Although Zhu Wenzheng and Biao'er had a good relationship, Zhu Wenzheng was a bad boy. He was good at fighting and farming, but he was not doing anything at home. They were worried that Biao'er would be led astray by Zhu Wenzheng.
"Li Wenzhong! Are you saying bad things about me?" Zhu Wenzheng heard Li Wenzhong's voice and pushed open the door of the restaurant's private room with a "click". Before he saw anyone, he started cursing, "Ah, the masters are here too! Sorry, I was a little loud just now."
The corners of Li Shanchang's mouth twitched slightly.
What kind of nonsensical name is "Great Master"? Could it be that the Lord also calls them that in private?
Just because Biaoer is a little master, does that mean they are big masters?
Chen Biao had been transferred from Zhu Wenzhen's arms to Song Lian's arms, and Song Lian held him to show off to Liu Ji and Zhang Yi.
The other three adopted sons of Zhu Yuanzhang stood in the private room, trying hard to keep their bright eagle eyes open to fight sleepiness.
Oh my god, what are Biaoer and the three great masters talking about? It gives me a headache!
Chen Biao actually felt sleepy too.
Even when discussing academic matters, he was accustomed to using plain language. Song Lian and the others, already brought down to earth by Zhu Yuanzhang's group of illiterate and semi-literate people, usually spoke in colloquial language. But Liu Ji and Zhang Yi were different. As soon as they discussed academic matters, they immediately reverted to pure classical Chinese, forcing Chen Biao to concentrate hard to decipher what they were saying.
Chen Biao really wanted to give up, but when he looked at the bruises on Song Lian's face, he finally resisted the urge to sleep and gave Mr. Song face.
Song Lian had studied with him, revised elementary school textbooks, and corrected homework and test papers, so they had been through the same hardships together. Chen Biao couldn't let Song Lian lose face.
Liu Ji and Zhang Yi became more and more delighted as they asked questions, and just like Song Lian did that day , they asked about Chen Biao's teachers.
Song Lian: "It's a god."
Chen Biao: "Um... uh, it's a god."
Wang Xi approached, sleeves waving, and said casually, "Biao'er, the most famous child prodigy in Yingtian Prefecture, is naturally taught by a deity. Biao'er, what do you think of Bo Wen and San Yi?"
Chen Biao: "Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang are both very talented."
Wang Xi joked, "Compared to me and my senior brother, who is more powerful?"
Liu Ji and Zhang Yi rolled their eyes at Wang Xi. Why did this guy seem even more childish than before? How could he embarrass a child?
Chen Biao said without hesitation: "Of course Mr. Wang and Mr. Song are more powerful."
Liu Ji and Zhang Yi: "..."
Song Lian suppressed the upward curl of his lips.
Liu Ji, who had a bad temper, couldn't help but ask, "Why?!"
Chen Biao said: "People are close or distant. Mr. Wang and Mr. Song are more familiar to me, so I praise my own people."
Wang Xi immediately picked up Chen Biao and lifted him up: "You are worthy of being called Biao'er! My love for you is not in vain!"
Chen Biao was helpless: "Mr. Wang, why do you always like to hold me up?"
He really didn't understand. He was quite heavy, wasn't he? Wouldn't it be tiring to carry it?
Wang Xi smiled and rocked Chen Biao, then found a random chair to sit down on while holding him. "When people find a treasure, they like to hold it up to show their joy. Biao'er is the great treasure of gentlemen."
Chen Biao: “…” Stop praising me, my toes are about to scratch through the furry little boots!
Wang Xi didn't care about Chen Biao's embarrassment. He picked Chen Biao up and rubbed him, being very intimate.
Chen Biao had a wooden face and let Wang Xi fiddle with him.
He has become accustomed to facing the overly lively Mr. Wang.
While being manipulated by Wang Xi, Chen Biao could still sit on Wang Xi's lap, bow and greet Ye Zheng and others.
Ye Zheng smiled: "Your friend, you don't even want to greet him, why are you clinging to Biaoer? Give Biaoer to me, and go talk to your long-lost friend."
Wang Xi said, "Brother Zizheng, if you want to grab the prize, just say so directly. There's no need to make excuses."
After saying that, he rubbed Chen Biao's face with his scholar's beard before handing Chen Biao to Ye Zheng.
Zhu Wenzhen took Li Wenzhong to sit in the corner reserved for Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted sons and handed Li Wenzhong a plate of spiced watermelon seeds.
A few sworn brothers huddled in a corner, quietly eating watermelon seeds while drinking tea.
Li Wenzhong lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you dig up some of your uncle's good wine?"
Zhu Wenzheng lowered his voice and said, "How dare we drink with several great masters here? What if we accidentally get drunk and leave a bad impression on the masters?"
Li Wenzhong sneered: "Are you worried about making a bad impression?"
Zhu Wenzheng said: "Where is my Lord Taishan?"
Li Wenzhong then remembered that his adoptive father had just arranged a marriage for Zhu Wenzhen.
He couldn't help but envy Zhu Wenzhen.
The marriage that his adoptive father had arranged for Zhu Wenzheng was naturally excellent, but he didn't have that blessing. After all, his biological father was still alive, so it wasn't his adoptive father's turn to choose for him. Given their family's current status, they couldn't possibly have such a good in-law.
Li Wenzhong only hoped that his father would ask his stepmother for her opinion when choosing a wife for him.
Li Wenzhong actually wanted to sit next to several great writers and be influenced by them, but his brothers all showed illiterate expressions, so he could only pretend to be illiterate.
As the only one among his sworn brothers who loved reading, Li Wenzhong always felt that he was out of place.
As soon as Song Lian's "accomplices" arrived, the offense and defense immediately changed.
Song Lian rolled up his sleeves, revealing his wrists that were tanned from the implementation of the well-field system. A hint of ferocity appeared in his smile, which was quite characteristic of a Confucian scholar.
Come on, let’s fight again.
Liu Ji snorted coldly.
What? Do you still want to bully others? Song Lian, you are becoming more and more despicable! Ji disdains to be friends with you!
With Li Shanchang and a few younger generations around, these people can't fight for the time being.
Li Shanchang recruited Liu Ji and Zhang Yi on behalf of Zhu Yuanzhang. Song Lian and others assisted Li Shanchang and tried to keep Liu Ji and Zhang Yi in Yingtian.
I don’t know what they were talking about, but they suddenly became angry and their tone and volume became louder and louder.
Ye Zheng smiled and covered Chen Biao's ears: "Are you tired just now? Close your eyes for a while?"
Chen Biao widened his eyes and shook his head, shaking off Ye Zheng's hand that was covering his ears.
No, no, how can you close your eyes at such an important moment? You can't cover your ears either! Let me hear what they are arguing about?
The watermelon seeds in Li Wenzhong's hand fell.
Why did they start arguing? Why did they get more and more angry? Why did they start rolling up their sleeves?
Wait, wait, wait, why was Mr. Li thrown out first?
Li Shanchang was full of questions.
How could he, a great scholar who could slam a general's head down, be knocked down by a push?
No, that's not why his head is full of question marks.
Li Shanchang's face was horrified: "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Let's talk it over!"
Ye Zheng held Chen Biao in one hand and pulled Li Shanchang aside with the other to sit down. "This is a sparring match between close friends. Baishi should not interfere. Just watch."
Li Shanchang asked anxiously: "How, how did the fight start?"
Ye Zheng said: "This is not a fight, just persuasion."
Li Shanchang: "...persuasion?"
Li Shanchang was only a minor official before, without a distinguished teacher, and was not considered an orthodox scholar recognized by Confucianism. Therefore, he really had no idea about the daily discussions among these Confucian students.
Aren't scholars supposed to be polite and courteous? Why are they all calling each other "lowbrow scholars"?
Wait, he drew his sword?!
Li Shanchang wanted to rush out to stop the fight, but Ye Zheng grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.
Ye Zheng said calmly: "They know their limits."
Li Shanchang's face was filled with disbelief: "How can you be so measured when drawing a sword?"
Ye Zheng said: "They were just countering each other's moves, and their swords were not pointing at each other."
Li Shanchang watched as the five men drew their swords, which he had thought were merely ornaments, and heard them clang and bang loudly. He stretched out his trembling right hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I, I didn't expect that they could actually use swords?"
Ye Zheng was puzzled: "You don't know how to do it? In troubled times, if someone dares to travel and study, how can he protect himself if he doesn't even know how to use a weapon? Moreover, the sword is the gentleman's weapon. Confucian scholars have carried swords since ancient times."
Li Shanchang: "...I, I'm not very good at using a sword."
Chen Biao whispered, "Mr. Li is very strong, and he usually only uses his fists. If he needs to use a weapon, he uses a thick-backed broadsword."
Ye Zheng rubbed Chen Biao's head first, then stroked his beard: "In the army, a broadsword is better than a long sword."
Ye Zheng lived in seclusion in Shuixin Village. After the world was in chaos, he organized the villagers of Shuixin Village to protect themselves. He fought against bandits who took advantage of the chaos to rob people, and even used knives.
The two of them started chatting about their experiences with knives.
The five close friends were still playing table tennis.
The watermelon seeds in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted sons all fell.
The five of them looked at each other, speechless for a long time.
Even if they started fighting over a disagreement, they wouldn't draw their weapons. How come these four masters were even more violent than them?
And didn't the four masters see that we were still here? Don't they feel ashamed?
Obviously, a qualified scholar has to be thick-skinned.
As the saying goes, as long as I am not embarrassed, someone else will be embarrassed.
When close friends meet after a long separation, isn't it normal to have a little exchange of ideas?
After they were tired of fighting, they put away their swords, straightened their clothes and appearance, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of hot tea, and continued to quarrel.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat at home, watching the sun gradually set and the night slowly climb over the sky, but Biao'er had not returned yet.
Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer sit still.
These great men of letters, wouldn't they kidnap my daughter? Even if they did , they should have sent someone to tell me!
Isn't Mr. Song usually very calm? How could he overlook such an important matter this time?
When Zhu Yuanzhang was about to send someone to urge them again, Zhu Wenzhen, with a Chen Biao on his neck, and Li Wenzhong, were staggering home, taking one deep step and one shallow step.
Zhu Yuanzhang watched Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong stagger. He first lifted Chen Biao, who was dozing off with his hands on Zhu Wenzheng's head, into his arms and asked, "Why are you two so listless? Is it because what Mr. Song and his friends are discussing is so profound that you're confused?"
Zhu Wenzheng said in confusion: "I am not confused by what I heard, but by what I saw."
Zhu Yuanzhang poked his son's cheek and asked perfunctorily, "Oh? What do you mean?"
Zhu Wenzheng rubbed his face vigorously and said in a trembling voice, "Fourth Uncle, you will never imagine how fierce the academic debate between Mr. Song and his close friends will be after they reunited!"
Zhu Yuanzhang poked Chen Biao's cheek with his finger, and Chen Biao bit it as he tilted his head back. He gasped in pain and retracted his bitten finger: "Oh? How intense?"
Zhu Wenzheng took a step back and said, "Wenzhong! Come on, let's imitate him!"
Li Wenzhong then took a step back.
Then the two men opened their mouths wide and waved their arms wildly. Fortunately, they were wearing the narrow sleeves of a warrior. If they had worn the wide sleeves of a scholar, their sleeves would have flown away and they would have been invisible.
After arguing silently for a few words, Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong drew their scimitars from their waists and started fighting in front of Zhu Yuanzhang's increasingly shocked gaze.
Zhu Yuanzhang, holding his sleepy son, opened his mouth, which was not small to begin with, even wider. Chen Biao raised his little fist and compared it. "Well, Daddy's mouth can take two of my fists."
Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong fought for a while, then sheathed their scimitars, and then they slapped each other, punched each other, and continued to fight by pulling each other's lapels, sleeves and hair.
Zhu Yuanzhang gasped for a breath of the cold winter air and almost choked on it, "Cough, cough, cough, stop, stop! What are you doing?"
Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong simultaneously pulled each other's high ponytails and said, "Imitate the way great masters and close friends reunite and exchange feelings."
Zhu Yuanzhang scolded, "You guys are kidding! This is called emotional communication?! Let go! Why are you still pulling my hair?"
Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong counted "one, two, three" in a low voice and simultaneously let go of each other's high ponytails.
Zhu Wenzheng untied his crooked ponytail and retied it, saying, "Mr. Zizheng said that when Confucian students exchange feelings and become emotionally charged, this is normal. If no one can convince the other, they resort to physical contact."
Li Wenzhong looked dazed, his worldview shattered. "So this is what a true Confucian scholar is..."
Zhu Yuanzhang cursed, "What do you mean by a true Confucian scholar? What do you mean by emotional exchange? What do you mean by physical support? Isn't this just an ordinary fight?! Why did Mr. Song and the others start fighting?!"
Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong spread their hands at the same time: "I don't understand, ask Brother Biao."
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to scold: "You are grown-ups! Why do you always rely on Biao'er? Biao'er, are you sleepy? Tired? Hungry? Are you scared? Hey, you two bastards! If they started fighting, why didn't you bring Biao'er back first!"
Chen Biao scratched Zhu Yuanzhang's neck and said, "It's me who doesn't want to come back. It's really fun to watch Mr. Song and the others fight each other."
Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong burst out laughing at the same time.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but laugh: "Chickens pecking each other? That's a very vivid expression. But Biaoer can't say that outside."
Chen Biao pursed his lips and smiled evilly: "I won't. Dad, they started arguing about the well-field system."
Zhu Yuanzhang's smile disappeared, and he said in a deep voice: "Do they think that I...our Marshal is too radical?"
Chen Biao shook his head, a strange look on his face. "Quite the opposite. Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang think Mr. Song and his team are too timid for not immediately and fully implementing the well-field system. Mr. Liu also said that General Chang did a great job in Quzhou. Mr. Song and his team should first propose that Marshal Zhu enact legislation to rectify the social order, sort out the illegal activities of officials and wealthy households, and openly collect private land for public use."
"Mr. Song and his companions criticized Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang for being too radical and idealistic, and for not considering the Marshal's situation. The Marshal is now being marginalized by the mainstream intellectuals, and his actions are already struggling. He should proceed slowly, appease the gentry, and avoid unrest. Once the country is stabilized, he can then liquidate the illegally occupied land and provide for the people."
"Then, since neither of them could convince the other, they started fighting," Chen Biao said with emotion. "Even though it was just a fight between two weaklings, it was still quite entertaining."
Zhu Yuanzhang regretted it.
He really, really regrets it.
Why would he sit in the courtyard and wait? Even if he was afraid of exposing his identity, he could disguise himself and eavesdrop from the private room next door.
How could he miss such an interesting thing!
Zhu Yuanzhang regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. He wanted to see the great masters quarreling... no, fighting... no, discussing state affairs!
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "I didn't expect that they all supported the well-field system."
Chen Biao nodded.
What he didn't expect was that Liu Ji, also known as Liu Bowen, was actually called "Sun's cheap Confucian" by Mr. Song.
Confucius had three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages. The Confucian teachings he left behind were carried forward by various schools and divided into different schools.
According to an article in "Xianxue" in "Han Feizi", there were "eight major schools" in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Confucianism of the Sun family was actually the Confucianism of the Xun family. In order to avoid the name of Emperor Xuan of Han, later generations called Xunzi Sun.
Therefore, if Liu Ji was a "lowly Confucian of the Sun family", then he was practicing the doctrines of Xunzi.
The Confucianism of Xunzi is opposed to the Confucianism of Mencius, and the Confucianism of Mencius is the source of various schools of thought today.
Majoring in Xunzi is much more stimulating than the pragmatic school. Liu Ji is the real "traitor to Confucianism".
Chen Biao scratched his head.
His understanding of Liu Bowen came from various legends. Although Liu Bowen was not a serious Confucian scholar in folk legends, he seemed more like a Yin-Yang master or an alchemist.
Chen Biao really knew too little about Liu Bowen. If someone who studied "History of Ming Dynasty" knew him, they would find that the theories Liu Bowen studied could be seen in his achievements.
According to folklore, Liu Bowen composed the "Song of the Baked Cake" after observing the qi and cutting through the dragon veins to separate yin and yang. This is all fake.
"The Song of the Baked Bun" has been proven to be a far-fetched fabrication by later generations, and Liu Bowen was not a Taoist priest.
Folklore has it that Liu Bowen was Zhu Yuanzhang's top strategist, and that he formulated the policy of attacking Chen Youliang first and then Zhang Shicheng. This is an exaggeration.
After Chen Youliang killed Xu Shouhui and established the Chen Han Dynasty, he immediately led his army down the river and caught Zhu Yuanzhang off guard. Zhu Yuanzhang almost died on the way, as he was completely deceived and had to counterattack passively.
There is no legend about it among the people, but Liu Bowen's greatest contribution in real history was actually the "Great Ming Code".
