One day before leaving, a servant came to report that Taifu Ma Riyan had specially invited.

Tong Yuan was surprised, according to the usual, these court officials and family members have always disdained to come into contact with people who are in the border army. Ma Riyan sent someone to invite him, which was really strange.

As the grandson of the famous scholar Ma Rong, Ma Riyan inherited Ma Rong's doctrine when he was young, and entered the imperial court with his talents.

He was proficient in the scriptures and belonged to the kind of family that was obsessed with culture and scholarship. He served as a doctor and Guanglu doctor, and together with Lu Zhi, Cai Yong, Yang Biao, etc., he recorded the biography of the "Five Classics" in the official collection of the Dongguan School, and participated in the supplement of the "Dongguan Hanji".

In the fourth year of Xiping (175 AD), Ma Riyan and Guanglu Doctor Yang Ci, Wuguan Zhonglang General Tang Xidian, Yilang Cai Yong, Zhang Tao, Han Shuo, Taishi Ling Shan Yang and others played, pointing out that the classics have been passed down for a long time, and the situation of falsification is becoming more and more serious, and they request that the text of the "Six Classics" be corrected.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty agreed with their suggestion, and then ordered Yang Ci and others to conduct a proofreading, and engraved the corrected scriptures on the stone tablet, and stood outside Taixue as the original scriptures, that is, the "Xiping Stone Scripture".

For such scholars, Tong Yuan not only did not dislike them, but wanted to keep them in this troubled world, so that more culture could be recorded and passed on. He hoped that the scholars would concentrate on learning, so that culture could be better preserved and inherited, instead of letting those who encroached on the land and were keen on power control the court.

When he was still thinking about how the family was, he had already arrived at Chang'an Ma Riyan's mansion in Chang'an. Taifu Ma Riyan actually came to the door to greet him in person to show respect.

Ma Riyan has served in Chang'an for more than 30 years, and the Ma Mansion looks simple and righteous after several repairs. The reception and decoration in the house are all exquisite, and the family's heritage, taste and Han spirit are just right.

Tong Yuan knew that if it weren't for the troubled times at this time, it would be a pleasure for such a great Confucian to be obsessed with articles and lectures. However, the decline of the Han River is inseparable from the forcible occupation of land by the nobles and the powerful.

Ma Riyan arranged a banquet to entertain, Tong Yuan looked at the top of the dining table, and was stunned, this, this dish is a bit rich.

No, not very enjoyable, to be exact, and it's too much of a taste.

On the left hand side is a boiled fish and sheep hot pot, and on the right side is a cut meat that I don't know what kind of meat, but at the far end is grilled poultry. The roast bird maintained its lifelike appearance, with its beautiful blue-green feathers stuck next to it.

These foods are really heavy for him, but he has a heavy taste, and no matter how expensive and delicate these foods are, it is difficult for him to make his appetite move.

In later generations, although the taste of his hometown was relatively light, it was heavy on sweet and sour, and the seafood was very rich. In his time, he couldn't eat the rich flavor at all, and the precious salt was usually dipped and eaten, and rarely added directly to the dishes.

To put it simply, his taste is on the heavy side, and eating these meals is relatively tasteless.

However, the luxurious diet of the famous scholars is a heavy taste for him, and many of the game dishes in various ways are illegal or anti-human ingredients in his opinion. The smell of these foods is not covered by all kinds of rich ingredients, which makes it even more difficult for him to swallow.

This is probably the trouble of heavy taste and heavy taste.

Fortunately, above the food table, there are four small bowls on the right hand side, and the first three contain soft-shelled turtle soup, vegetable soup and a kind of soup.

Seeing the last bowl, his facial expression was immediately frozen, and he suddenly showed an irrepressible smile.

It was a bowl of rice, the plain white rice of later generations. However, he has eaten it for the first time in two months!

This bowl of rice, although the rice grains are slightly flat and hard, there is still a big gap in taste compared with later generations, but it has moved him to close his mouth. He didn't care about the eating etiquette that he didn't understand, so he picked up the rice bowl and started eating. The more I ate, the more I remembered my hometown, and soon I ate all the fine food, and other soups were also appetizing, so I ate for a while and I saw the bottom.

After eating the soup and rice, he tasted the meat again, and the boiled fish and sheep made him very surprised.

Originally, he thought that most of these dishes were too light and tasteless without dipping them in salt or sauce, but this dish was full of a strong umami flavor, which immediately filled all his senses and made the salty sauce on the side lose its taste.

This umami taste is by no means comparable to the monosodium glutamate and chicken essence eaten in later generations, even compared with one of the most delicious famous dishes in his hometown - Buddha jumping over the wall, it is not too much.

His troubles about the food being too light have disappeared in front of this delicious dish.

In addition to the expensive saltiness of this era, and the unavoidable sweet, sour, bitter and spicy, there is also a taste of umami that is often overlooked, but slightly easier to achieve.

He lived by the sea in his later life and naturally liked umami, but how could he not find this flavor in the northwest region, where Chinese civilization originated and rose?

I have to say that the food on this land is vast and profound, and you can only experience it when you eat it. The essence and charm of Chinese civilization in terms of food already existed in this era.

Ma Riyan said with a smile: "This fish and sheep fresh dish is made from the best mutton from the Hetao grassland and carp from the Longmen area in the river. The wild smell of the mutton and the earthy smell of the carp cover each other, and even mix and sublimate each other, and finally form a unique delicacy that can only be compared to the best raw fish by the sea. ”

Tong Yuan sighed with emotion: "It's very delicious, this dish is unforgettable, if it is accompanied by a bowl of rice, it will be even better." ”

Ma Riyan ordered someone to add another bowl of rice to him, and the fish and sheep were also slightly filled. Tong Yuan was full of interest and feasted.

It's just that he doesn't like game meat. Especially the roasted poultry, which is really thin. There is also a plate of cut meat, which is light and oil-free, but it is elastic and inconvenient to chew. He knew that these must be precious, but he didn't want to eat them again.

Ma Riyan chewed slowly on his seat, watched Tong Yuan eat deliciously, and carefully paid attention to his preferences. "He is very fond of dry rice, and he enjoys the umami taste of fish and sheep, but he hates roasted peacocks and crocodiles. I really didn't expect that this powerful son of the Northwest would like japonica rice, but he doesn't like wild meat, which is really amazing. ”

Seeing that the meal was almost finished, Ma Riyan said hello, and a group of dancers floated in with the sound of gold, stone, silk and bamboo, and several of them wore beautiful and light silk skirts, and couldn't help but have affection for him.

Where has Tong Yuan seen this posture, even if he is a human being in two lives, he is still a virgin, and all kinds of ups and downs have only been heard, never seen with his own eyes.

After a little panic, he quickly calmed down and said to Ma Riyan: "Ma Lao warmly invited me today, and I was very moved. It's just that a certain person is about to rush to the northern border, and he has no time to stay in a prosperous place, so I hope I will forgive me. "With that, just act like you're leaving.

Ma Riyan withdrew from others and said with a smile: "What a powerful junior." This special invitation to come to the House is to ask the general to shelter our nobles. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Originally, the scholars and the border army were hostile to each other, but now they have experienced the affairs of Dong Taishi and Wang Yun, and the two sides are in the same situation. However, from the perspective of the world, everyone has their own reason and will, and it is clear that it is not your life or death, but you have to fight for a head and break the bloodstream. ”

Tong Yuan said: "So in different periods, the corresponding groups should play a more important role. But the scholars won't let it go. ”

Ma Riyan said: "I hope that the world will be peaceful, and my generation can concentrate on learning and teaching, rather than court rights." However, Cai Bojiao has already gone first, and the old man really can't stop it! ”

Tong Yuan knew that Cai Yong was rescued by many scholars and students before Wang Yun was killed, but he was reprimanded as having no backbone to join Dong Thief, and finally stopped the momentum with the threat of killing.

Ma Riyan continued: "Over the years, I have seen that the court is like a vicious tiger, whether it is a meritorious or Confucian scholar, not to mention the common people and soldiers, all of them have been swallowed by it, and I am really sad. Therefore, I supported several generals and hoped that the world would be peaceful. ”

Tong Yuan closed his eyes slightly, and the hesitation and anxiety in the escape were vivid. In the future, the situation will change, and the famine and plague will sweep through Guanzhong, and millions of people in Chang'an and Sanfu will suffer from this catastrophe.

He did not have any ambitions such as cutting off the emperor, but wanted to turn the tide of the tide, so that the population of this land would no longer plummet by seventy or eighty percent, and no longer meet the changes of the times in the worst state.

When he opened his eyes, the comfort and peace of Mafu were still in front of him, he straightened his sitting posture and said with a seriousness that was almost impossible for him at his age: "The younger generation Tong Yuan swears that he will do his best to make the world peaceful."

"Ah, this ...... It's really rare, and the old man knows General Tong's intentions, and he is also very relieved. It's just that there is one thing that you don't need to answer now, but to experience and think about. ”

"That is how to deal with the relationship between the family, the scholars, the powerful and the world? …… People sometimes love to nag when they get older, and these words make you think about it at such a young age or too quickly. ”

Tong Yuan solemnly thanked Ma Riyan and left the Ma Mansion without giving up.

For these families and scholars, as well as related poor families and heroes, it is also very difficult to deal with them in the future.

They are the richest class of this era, with a large amount of social resources, human and material resources, and a wide range of in-laws, and protégés and former officials all over the world.

To be directly enemies of the scholars is to oppose historical figures and the Han court, because the court is in their hands; and against the localities, which are under the control of these people; is still against talents, because this era is different from after the Sui and Tang dynasties, high-quality talents from non-Shi clans can be counted on two hands.

Therefore, either do not make enemies with them, or you will completely eradicate them.

There are middle roads, but they tend to slide towards convergence and countermeasures. For example, Cao Pi appointed Chen Qun of the Yingchuan Shi clan to implement policies such as the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, but in the end, the major Shi clans kicked away Xiahou and the Cao family and easily picked peaches.