After listening to the edict read by Chen Chong, the uninvited guest and the order of Wuwei Si, he reluctantly got up from his wheelchair, and Yang Xiong, who was supported by his disciples Wang Long and Hou Ba, was silent for a long time, and he lowered his head and said humbly.

"The eloquence is mediocre, the article is old, and the resignation written may stain His Majesty's Shengming, which is important enough to be recorded in the annals of history, why not find Zhang Bosong? He will be able to overcome the old man. ”

"Amazing." Chen Chong said with a smile: "When they were young, Ziyun Weng and Zhang Bosong were known as the world's two strange articles, and they also refused to give in to each other, why did they humbly push each other when they were old?" ”

Zhang Bosong in the mouth of the two, named Zhang Zhu (sǒng), is the grandson of the thrush Jingzhao Zhang Chang, who is well-versed in literature and history, and like Yang Xiong, he is also a good writer.

Zhang Zhu's most famous deeds are that when his uncle Zhang Shao was involved in Liu Chong, the Marquis of Anzhong, raised troops to rebel against Wang Mang, Zhang Zhu and Liu Chong's relatives went to Chang'an to knock on the crime and plead guilty, righteously killed relatives to expose the crimes of relatives, and wrote an article praising Wang Mang, calling An Han Gong Virtue and Beauty.

That article scratched Wang Mang's itch, not only pardoned Liu Chong's relatives, but also sealed them eight marquis in one go, and Zhang Zhu was also "Shude Marquis".

So much so that the people of Chang'an said everywhere: "If you want to be sealed, pass Zhang Bosong; It is better to fight by chance. ”

And in the past ten years, whenever Wang Mang needs similar praise, Zhang Zhu is the first choice, as far as Yangxiong knows, Chen Chong asked Zhang Zhu to ghostwrite, wrote an article called the merits of An Hangong.

Thousands of words, quoting poems, books, rites, Yi, Spring and Autumn and Confucius's expositions and the deeds of many sages from Zhou Wen, Zhou Wu to Han Gao, fanatically praised Wang Mang, so that people could not help but come to a conclusion after reading it: Wang Mang is really the first great sage in the past and present, and no one can surpass him, and he should receive the highest courtesy. The sound outside the strings can already be clearly heard in the tone of the emperor's throne, which is the most inflammatory public opinion created by Wang Mang before the Chan Dynasty.

If you don't look for a good Zhang Zhu, why is it suddenly your turn today?

Chen Chongdao: "Zhang Zhu's dedication every year has dried up his talents, but Ziyun Weng, since the death of the new mother, has been silent for six years, and there is no word to praise the holy pilgrimage, presumably has been contemplatively brewing. ”

"What's more, since Wuwei Si accidentally handled the wrong case many years ago, causing Zi Yun Weng to go down to the cabinet, and also lost his official position, and he was addicted to alcohol all day long, and his family was poor, it is really a pity, the son of heaven is heavy on Zi Yun Weng, this is deliberately giving you the opportunity to regain the position of a doctor, so that Bao Lu will die old. In fact, with Ziyunweng's ability, as long as you want to, it is really easy to be a marquis like Zhang Bosong! ”

That's true, but Yang Xiong never took that step.

Speaking of this, Chen Chong's voice suddenly changed, and he looked left and right: "Yang Gong's small mansion is really good. ”

He stepped on the hard and flat ground under his feet, and seemed to smile: "I heard that when the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors lived, people lived in pottery and wood to build grass huts, and the cave rooms covered with tiles could be protected from cold and heat, wind and rain. Later, the rafters were not cut, the thatch was not cut, and the finishing was not carried out. The doctor had square wooden house beams and halls with pillars, and later there were caisson wells, thresholds, carved patterns on the balustrades, and whitewashed walls. ”

"And Yang Gong's house is so flat, I don't know if it is out of specification, if Yu Tang Zun sees it, I'm afraid he will attack extravagance."

He stopped talking at this point and said with a smile: "In short, this matter is entrusted to Ziyun Weng." ”

After saying that, Chen Chong said goodbye, did not give Yang Xiong a chance to shirk again, and even left two Wuwei envoys, sitting in the courtyard and staring at Yang Xiong, not allowing him to leave.

Yang Xiong's face was a little depressed, and he only returned to the house to learn words from him, and Wang Long, a disciple who happened to be by his side today, couldn't help but say: "Master, Chen Chong is so pressed, is it because of the last time we saved Bo Yu out of Wuwei Si's life, he held a grudge and deliberately forced each other?" ”

Although he is simple, he can also see that something is wrong.

Yang Xiong said: "It's not just for that. ”

Hou Ba has been with Yangxiong for a long time and knows more: "It can't be because Chen Chong and Zhang Zhu are kind to each other, and the master and Zhang Zhu have never gotten along, so they deliberately make things difficult for the master, right?" ”

In the past, Zhang Zhu and Yang Xiong had a rivalry, and Zhang Zhu had a friend, unlike Zhang Zhu, who was poor and had little desire, who was good at drinking and living a luxurious life, and liked to quote Yang Xiong's "Wine Proverbs" to satirize Zhang Zhu - obviously he didn't understand the mockery of this proverb at all.

But no matter what, although Zhang Zhu and Yangxiong are in the same city and both write articles, they have no contact.

"Who told you that Chen Chong and Zhang Zhu are friends?" Yang Xiong still shook his head, young people see things too simply, people and things in this world are much more complicated than this.

"Nanyang Chen Chong was originally mixed in the court with articles, but he was just a small official, far less famous than me and Zhang Bosong."

"But later, he was driven out of the court by Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty and returned to the new capital of Nanyang to keep his own door, and Chen Chong followed him at that time, so he became a close confidant."

Chen Chong is the most loyal dog around the emperor, he is also a vicious snake, Zhang Zhu's first article was written for self-protection, and the second article was written for the praise of An Han Gong, which was forced by Chen Chong - after all, although Yangxiong hates Zhang Zhu's article, he himself is indeed poor and self-controlled, in addition to not liking to drink, he is still a little similar to him in his later years.

Therefore, on the one hand, Chen Chong was fulfilling the duties of the Five Wei Divisions, calling on the literati to sing praises to the new dynasty, and on the other hand, he was also taking revenge.

Revenge on Zhang Zhu and Yang Xiong, the so-called high-minded and self-disciplined literati, the world is turbid, so he also wants to drag them together to the mud to raise their waves, press the heads of the old people, and drink the dregs left by the superiors, which can make Chen Chong's heart happy.

"I'm going to ask the national teacher for help?"

"This is His Majesty's edict, I'm afraid it is also involved in Yan You's matter, and it's useless to find Liu Zijun." Yang Xiong shook his head, but he did not stop Wang Long from sending someone to inform Wu Lun.

Yang Xiong came to the house, facing the plain white silk, but he couldn't put pen to paper.

Yangxiong knows that he is not clean at all, just like a silk cloth sprinkled with ink spots, Chang'an people sing "But lonely, self-surrender; Love is pure, make a talisman", he and Zhang Zhu, the old enemies, are really like a pair of difficult brothers, and their reputation has long been stinking, and to this day, they are not qualified to talk about any "literati style".

If you have a lot of debts, you can't be more free and easy, and be meaningless, like Zhang Zhu, who has long given up resistance, splash more muddy water on your body, and no longer hold yourself high?

Chen Chong's words seemed to be still in his ears: "Ziyunweng was able to say that he was able to be on "Drama Qin Meixin" back then, and today he will write the same beautiful article, is it so difficult?" ”

It's hard.

Yang Xiong closed his eyes, in what kind of mood did he write that stinky thing back then?

Because Yangxiong has experienced the darkness and decay of the last two generations of emperors of the Han family, the world has reached a time when it has to change. And coincided with five hundred years after Confucius, Wang Mang was born, in addition to his appearance is not very good-looking, he is so perfect, from morality to words and deeds, can be called a model in the world, even Yangxiong is also fond of it, I believe that this old colleague can create a meritorious foundation, replace the hopeless Han family, and make the world a new discipline!

With that in that mood, this is the article.

But after all, it is the appearance of people, and the loss of the son feather; Judge people by words, lose them, and some things need time to be cleared up.

Today, it is too difficult to sing the praises as sincerely as they did back then.

"Then it is a false praise!" A voice in Yang Xiong's heart said: "When you became emperor, didn't you also make a lot of rhetoric to describe the grandeur of hunting activities and praise the royal merits? ”

"That's different!"

Yang Xiong was struggling in his heart, and with his situation at that time, how to express his advice should be a matter of wisdom and skill. Sima Xiangru persuaded a hundred sarcasms, and so did Yangxiong, behind the gorgeous rhetoric, there was a hidden "sarcasm" of extravagance and disturbance behavior, as a scribe, he could not speak out, he could only choose to hide the needle. The emperor he hoped for was a saint who changed his hunting plan to prevent extravagance, opened a warehouse to help the poor and helped the poor, opened the royal garden for the enjoyment of the people, and thought about the people everywhere.

It's a pity that Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was just blinded by the beautiful words in Yangxiong's speech.

What he heard and witnessed in the palace was not only the emperor's extravagance, but also the corruption of his relatives and the strife between his courtiers. All of this, like the seeds of loneliness and depression, began to grow in Yangxiong's heart.

The beauty of the resignation hides the little ridicule and exhortation that is completely useless, and the upper cannot bitterly state the evils of the times, and the lower cannot petition for the people, what is the difference between this and scratching the itch in the boots?

So he had his disgust with resignation in his later years: this is simply a small path carved by a boy carving insects, and a strong man is not a good man.

But the struggle is different from Yangxiong's consistent way of dealing with the world.

It's really ridiculous, Chen Chong wants to pull him down to the turbid world together, but he doesn't know that what Yangxiong appreciates most is the criterion of the old fisherman in "The Fisherman": the water of the waves is clear, and you can wet me; The water of the waves is turbid, and you can wet my feet.

Therefore, Yang Xiong only wrote "Anti-Divorce" to hang Qu Yuan, but he did not approve of Qu Yuan's death.

"When a gentleman gets it, he will do a great job, and if he doesn't, he will be a dragon and a snake, and it is better to protect himself than to kill himself."

In his life, he was submissive, timid and afraid of things, shrinking in the corner of the chaotic officialdom of Chang'an, and even blindfolded himself not to see the chaos outside, only gradually anesthetized in intoxication, but he didn't expect that he still couldn't escape.

Yellow magpie, crow, carp, elk, what is he?

Yang Xiong finally picked up the pen, his old hand trembled a little, thinking of his ridiculous voice, thinking of the passionate time when he wrote to the Huns, those ideas in his heart were in a ball, even if he was covered in mud, he was insisting on something in his heart.

After a long time, Yang Xiong said to Wang Long, who was grinding ink for him: "Wenshan, how long have I been teaching you?" ”

Wang Long bowed: "The disciple has been following the master for a year. ”

Yangxiong is a little ashamed of Wang Long, his parents still have a preference for several children, not to mention a disciple, his attention is mostly on the fifth Lun, and Wang Long is actually free-range, but this disciple is very simple and hardworking, even if he just wants to learn Yangxiong's resignation that he doesn't like very much.

"You have a good talent, you have read a thousand Fu, and you can also make good words."

"I'll teach you another lesson today." Yang Xiong said with a smile: "For those who are endowed, they must understand what is the gift of a poet and what is the gift of a resignation." ”

"The poet's beauty is to rule, the resignation of the person's beauty is lewd, the giver is just to support the words and aspirations, and the endowment must always be worthy of what he thinks in his heart. If the matter wins, the word wins, the word wins, and the word is called. ”

Yang Xiong held the pen and wrote the first word with difficulty, and the grief and indignation gushed out.

"The old man has spent his whole life, and what he wants to leave behind is not a popular fu, but a scripture that can be passed down for thousands of years!"