Chapter 327 Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless
When Guiguzi's four fingers of his left hand stopped pinching quickly and orderly.
The old driver glared, and gathered strength in his frail body, preparing to pounce on Ying Chengjiao and stop the Yue girl, while opening his mouth to curse.
Guiguzi used his left hand to strike the old driver's brain stem. The driver, who was not prepared for his teacher, suddenly felt dizzy. His body went limp and was caught by Guiguzi.
Ying Chengjiao saw this scene and smiled faintly:
"Given the prince's character, he wouldn't care about the life or death of a driver. Stopping the driver from risking his life for you, it seems that the prince's calculations are auspicious."
Guiguzi smiled bitterly.
"Good or bad luck is not important, what is important is what the Lord thinks. My life and death is not in the hands of heaven, but in the hands of the Lord. The Lord can turn good luck into bad luck, and bad luck into good luck."
Ying Chengjiao laughed loudly, patted Guiguzi on the shoulder and said, "I am not that kind of person. It would be too cowardly to do that. Hahaha."
Yue Nu's expression was cold, and she was very familiar with Guiguzi's current situation. When she first met Ying Chengjiao, she was teased like this.
She knew that Ying Chengjiao had a rebellious mentality, and she did not think Guiguzi's worries were groundless. She thought that her husband's question about whether it was good or bad was just to prove that the heavens were wrong.
"Your Majesty, are you really not going to tell me whether it is a good or bad omen?"
"I don't know whether to tell Your Majesty whether it is good or bad. If I say good, I am afraid that Your Majesty's prediction is inaccurate and I will die. If I say bad, I am afraid that Your Majesty's prediction is accurate and I will die on the spot. Does Your Majesty want me to say bad or good?"
"Look, you're testing me again."
Ying Chengjiao took the old rickshaw driver from Guiguzi and carried him horizontally on the wooden seat of the pavilion. Guiguzi cooperated very well throughout the whole process.
Ying Chengjiao leaned one hand on the railing beside the road, which was not damp at all, and looked at the setting sun in the distance.
"Why are you leaving, Prince? I have chased you here, but I want you to tell me the truth."
"...If I don't leave, Your Majesty will never step forward. Only Your Majesty knows what the future will be like. Only Your Majesty can do this."
"The prince can't stand me being lazy..."
[My husband is indeed too lazy...]
The Vietnamese women empathize.
She understood Guiguzi's choice, approach and explanation very well, but as his partner, she couldn't stand Ying Cheng's slacking off.
When he was still in Chang'an Junfu, Guiguzi wanted Ying Chengjiao to ascend the throne and couldn't stand Ying Chengjiao's lazy style.
When he arrived in Han, Ying Chengjiao handed over all official duties to Guiguzi, and continued to live a leisurely life. Guiguzi asked Ying Chengjiao to rule the country more than once, but he always refused.
From Ying Chengjiao I learned about what Guiguzi did in Chang'an Jun's mansion, and I also saw Guiguzi working until late at night in Han more than once.
Guiguzi's escape was perfectly normal in Yue Nu's mind, and the reason he escaped in order to allow Ying Chengjiao to take power was also very reasonable.
Ying Chengjiao tilted his head and glanced at Guiguzi.
"That's what I was saying. In the letter, the prince first said that he thought I was going against heaven and would not succeed, so he left me. Then he said that he was going to fight against heaven and earth, so he left me. The first sentence said he believed in heaven, and the second sentence said he was going against heaven. The first sentence didn't make sense and the second sentence was self-contradictory. I felt that there must be something fishy. It turned out that he wanted me to be self-reliant. This makes sense. The prince is really my right-hand man."
"Your Majesty is teasing me again. With your intelligence and wisdom, you should have thought of this a long time ago."
"I'm not as smart as the prince."
Ying Chengjiao sneered, not knowing whether the target of his sneer was Guiguzi or himself, and put his hands behind his back.
"I asked the prince whether there is a sky in this world. The prince said that if you believe it, it exists, but if you don't believe it, it doesn't exist. There was no direct answer. Today I want to ask again, prince, is there a sky in this world?"
Ying Chengjiao was very serious, and the more serious Ying Chengjiao was, the more confused Guiguzi became.
He had summoned rain in front of Ying Chengjiao, and had calculated his double pupils. He had also used his left hand to divine, and Ying Chengjiao had not been able to hide it. If he did not believe in heaven, he would not have done these things to ask heaven.
[He clearly knew that I believed in God, so why did he ask such an unnecessary question? ]
It is normal for a stupid person to ask such questions, but in Guiguzi's eyes, although Ying Chengjiao is childish at times, he is definitely not stupid.
He knew that Ying Chengjiao had a hidden agenda, but he didn't know what it was, which was beyond his expectations. Just like he had determined that Ying Chengjiao would not catch up, but Ying Chengjiao was waiting for him in front of him.
"yes."
Guiguzi continued with Ying Chengjiao's words, his thoughts turning in a flash.
"Very good. Cheng Jiao also wants to know whether the prince really lived for hundreds of years?"
Ying Chengjiao raised his finger and pointed to the sky.
"Please swear to heaven on this question, Your Majesty."
Guiguzi's heart sank immediately, and he raised his right hand and pointed three fingers upward.
"I swear to heaven that my life span today is three hundred and twenty-eight years."
This question did not matter much to Guiguzi . What made Guiguzi feel depressed was that he thought that Ying Chengjiao would ask him to swear to heaven that he would only tell the truth in every question he asked next.
He can deceive people, but he cannot deceive God.
[It’s true! ]
Ying Chengjiao was greatly shocked.
The 328-year-old Guiguzi had white hair and a haggard face. He looked only in his 70s or 80s, not at all like 320 years old.
Moreover, compared with a real old man in his seventies or eighties, Guiguzi, who has not lost his teeth, is agile and moves freely, is much stronger in terms of physical fitness.
Ying Chengjiao looked at Guiguzi for a long time as if he was a monster, which made Guiguzi even more confused. He didn't know whether Ying Chengjiao was surprised that he told him the truth or was surprised by his age.
In this era when it was recorded that Peng Zu lived for 800 years and those who knew him had few doubts, Guiguzi did not understand why Ying Chengjiao cared so much about the fact that he lived for 320 years.
But these are not important. Guiguzi quickly put them behind his mind and became extremely cautious about Ying Chengjiao's next questions, thinking about how to save his life if he did not swear.
However.
"After the heavy rain, the road was muddy and there were no wheel tracks left. Even though the prince had to ride in a bullock cart, it must have been uncomfortable."
Guiguzi breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear any fatal questions.
[This is about the old man's escape, so his journey was not smooth. ]
"Without your Majesty's command and care, nothing will go well for me."
"Alas, the prince misunderstood me. I was just expressing my feelings."
Without waiting for Guiguzi's response, Ying Chengjiao walked out of the pavilion, came to the ox cart, and touched the horns of the big blue ox.
The big blue ox didn't bother to pay attention to Ying Chengjiao, and swung its tail to drive away the non-existent mosquitoes and flies. Guiguzi then followed Ying Chengjiao to the front of the car very consciously.
Ying Chengjiao glanced at the wheels of the ox cart.
"My brother has issued an order that all vehicles should follow the same track. From now on, the distance between wheels should be fixed. I'm afraid you won't be able to ride in your carriage anymore. You need to change to a carriage that meets Qin's standards. By then, the official roads will have the same track, and all vehicles will follow the same track. Even if you travel after a rainstorm, it won't be that difficult to travel."
Ying Chengjiao glanced again at the official road that was full of potholes and ruts.
When the moisture in the mud disappears completely and the dried soil becomes hard, the wheels will not sink directly when they press on it, but will make a squeaking sound. That is when it becomes really difficult to drive on.
"Once the highway is completed, the next step will be the official road. By then, no matter how heavy the rain is, the road will be as smooth as before."
There were no trucks weighing more than ten tons in the Qin Dynasty. The heaviest vehicle was a chariot weighing no more than a hundred kilograms. Cement was enough to withstand the pressure and could not be crushed.
Guiguzi nodded. Knowing that Ying Chengjiao had developed cement, he had no doubts about it. The official road made of solidified concrete was a world apart from the current one made of loess.
"Don't be too nervous, my lord. I have no other intention in coming here. I just don't want to say goodbye to you so easily. After all, the next time we meet, you may be standing in front of my grave."
Guiguzi raised his hand to wipe away the nonexistent sweat on his face and said in a fearful tone:
"Your Majesty, you are just joking. I am definitely not going here to be your enemy."
"Ha, I mean you've lived a long time, and I guess you'll still be the same after I die. I'm not saying I died because of you, don't think too much about it."
Guiguzi nodded, looking still frightened.
Ying Chengjiao brought Guiguzi to the edge of the pavilion and patted the pavilion pillars that were not stained with any moisture.
"Partings between life and death always require some sense of ceremony. In order to practice this for the prince, I hurriedly built a pavilion here."
“…”
Guiguzi, who lived for 328 years and saw off countless relatives, close friends, and disciples, was not so sentimental and simply turned a deaf ear to Ying Chengjiao's previous words.
But Ying Chengjiao's next words made him speechless. He suddenly realized that something was wrong with this pavilion.
When a wild goose passes by, it leaves a sound; when a person passes by, he leaves a trace.
It rained so heavily last night, but there was no , as if it had not been there last night.
Now, after hearing what Ying Chengjiao said, I realized that this pavilion had not been built last night.
Ying Chengjiao leaned against the pavilion and asked Guiguzi to look at the muddy official road that had existed since the Zhou Dynasty. He pointed to the lush weeds on both sides of the official road that were as high as a person's calf and stretched as far as the eye could see, and chanted softly:
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless.
"The evening wind blows the willows and the sound of the flute fades away, the setting sun shines beyond the mountains."
Simple words, describing a simple scene, gave Guiguzi a simple feeling, bleak.
He thought he had stopped caring about emotions, but now he felt a hint of sadness that was almost non-existent.
"Poetry is a minor art. Your Majesty, please do not indulge in it..."
"At the end of the sky, at the corner of the sea, half of my friends are gone.
"A pot of muddy wine to end the remaining joy, don't dream of the cold tonight."
It rained heavily last night, and Guiguzi walked in the rain.
Although I was wearing a straw raincoat and holding an oil-paper umbrella, I was still wet all over and felt cold.
Ying Chengjiao warmed up the wine to drive away the cold, but Guiguzi drank three pots and still felt uncomfortable. He wanted to leave immediately, but it was unbearable, so he soaked in hot water in the wooden barrel for a long time to drive away the cold.
Even now, Guiguzi still feels a dull pain in his leg joints.
Guiguzi felt the same way when he heard the second sentence, but as for the first sentence...
In the first hundred years of the 320 years, Guiguzi could be said to have friends all over the world, with friends everywhere - Wen Zhong, Fan Li, Shang Yang, Shi Jiao, Mo Di, Zhuang Zhou and so on.
And now, those people are gone.
Guiguzi actually wanted to return to his friends, even if they lived at the end of the world, he would still be able to go there.
"I can't do it due to time constraints. I can't plant so many willow trees. I don't know how to play the flute, and I don't want to learn, so I'll just make do with it. But I have plenty of wine."
Ying Chengjiao took out a wine bottle from his arms, shook it at Guiguzi and threw it over.
Guiguzi took it in his palm, pulled out the cork, and gulped down the wine.
It was sweet, very sweet, but also very strong, and it was a type of wine that Guiguzi had never drunk before.
He could control his facial expression and not change it, but he couldn't control his complexion, which quickly turned red.
"People are united, and the king is wise."
"I haven't finished reading it yet. I want to praise it later."
The setting sun no longer shone brightly in the pavilion.
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless.
"When will you come back? When you come back, don't hesitate.
"At the end of the sky, at the corner of the sea, half of my friends are gone.
"Reunions are rare in life, but separations are common."
Guiguzi sipped his wine and chanted. Seeing that Ying Chengjiao stopped chanting, he asked in confusion:
"Why don't you read it, Lord?"
Most of the poems in the Qin Dynasty were written in four-character sentences, such as "爭紕淑女，君子好耑". However, they were very long, and the poems collected in the "Book of Songs" in the Five Classics of Confucianism were all of this type.
Ying Chengjiao spread his hands.
"I've finished reading it."
Guiguzi nodded in understanding.
"Isn't this what Your Majesty did?"
"Of course not."
"Poetry is a minor art. Your Majesty, please do not invest too much in it."
"promise."
Guiguzi drank some wine and walked outside the pavilion to look at the newly built pavilion.
"Only Your Majesty can do this, to build a pavilion for reciting a poem. What is the difference between Your Majesty's actions and King Zhou's actions of digging a pond to pour wine when he wants to drink, or hanging meat on the branches of a forest when he wants to eat meat?"
Ying Chengjiao smiled and said:
"The difference is that the wine pool and meat forest were only enjoyed by King Zhou, while the long pavilion I built allows me to recite poems today and allow travelers to sit and rest tomorrow. In addition, Zhou was an evil posthumous name given by the Zhou people, and the wine pool and meat forest were also fabricated. He should be called Emperor Xin.
"The History of Qin records that his plan to expand territory, abolish slavery, and abolish human sacrifice affected the interests of many princes. Although he worked hard and had great talent , the princes still wanted to rebel, and on the way to conquer the Dongyi, Ji Fa stole his home.
"If you look at it this way, my actions are not much different from his. Perhaps our ending will be the same."
Guiguzi said:
"The ancestor of the Qin Ying clan was E Lai, who was a minister during the reign of King Zhou. King Wu encountered a lot of resistance from E Lai when he was trying to conquer King Zhou. So King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty and shot E Lai in the mouth to vent his anger. Therefore, the History of Qin speaks in favor of King Zhou."
"Your Majesty, do you want to discuss the truth of Li Shi with me?"
"The truth of history is not important, what is important is who wrote it. Just like today, the king is the Lord of Chang'an, so he can build a long pavilion, recite poems, and send wine for the farewell."
“That’s true.”
Ying Chengjiao smiled, turned his head and looked at the sunset, so as not to let Guiguzi see the look in his eyes.
"Most partings are ordinary, not spectacular."
Three days before the time travel, Ying Chengjiao went to his mother's house and took the wine his mother had brewed herself. That was Ying Chengjiao's favorite wine when he was a child, a sweet wine with a lot of rock sugar added.
I didn't stay for a minute at my mother's house. I left as soon as I got the wine. My mother, who had chased me out and told me to put the wine in the refrigerator so it tastes better, told me not to make wine for me next time. If I want to eat it, can't I just buy it myself? She's very busy.
He casually left the bottle of wine in the car and didn't even take it home.
"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I can't bear to part with you."
Ying Chengjiao took out a pot of wine from his arms and took a sip. Although it was sweet, it was not the sweetness of grapes.
"I just want to drink. The Qin Dynasty is so poor that there is not even any grapes."
