After meeting Yan Qingjue, Zuo Wenhuai and a group of companions left the barracks, took the carriage that charged according to the station, and entered Chengdu before the sunset.

The four soldiers of the Huaxia Army who passed with him were actually surnamed Zuo, and they were children who entered the Huaxia Army one after another to study under Zuo Duanyou's arrangement. Although there is a difference between the main family and the division of the family in the Zuo clan, those who can survive until this moment in the high-intensity war of the Huaxia Army are already considered talents who can take charge of themselves.

"I inquired before I came, and Uncle Clan came here this time, maybe he wanted to summon us back."

"After so many years in the Huaxia Army, my family has been settled, what are you going to do when you go back?"

"I can't say that, the third grandfather taught us to come back then, and he also pointed to us being able to go back."

"Where to go back? Wu Dynasty? It's all rotten like that, there's no hope. ”

"Wen Huai, what do you say?"

"I think...... Let's listen to Uncle Quan's words and then take care of these things. ”

The spacious carriage entered the city all the way, and in the peeling sunset, several gathered children of the Zuo family also discussed a little topic of concern. When it was almost dark, in the garden of the State Guest House, they met Zuo Xiuquan, who had been waiting for a long time, and two brothers from the Zuo family who had arrived earlier.

Everyone saluted Zuo Xiuquan, and then greeted each other, and then sat down in the dining room arranged in the guest house. Due to the Zuo family's money, the dishes were prepared more heartily than usual, but they were not too extravagant. After taking the seat, Zuo Xiuquan asked everyone one by one about their positions in the army and the details of the battles they participated in, and then also remembered several children of the Zuo family who died in the war.

“…… The third uncle sent you to the Huaxia Army back then, and there have always been various discussions in the clan, fortunately, I am very pleased to see your appearance today. The children of the year are all grown today, and the third uncle's spirit in the sky can be comforted. Come, for the sake of your third grandfather...... Let's toast him together. ”

After some reminiscence, speaking of Zuo Duanyou, Zuo Xiuquan had tears in his eyes, and together with everyone he paid tribute to the long-term old man back then.

After that, Zuo Xiuquan told everyone about the recent situation of the Zuo family.

When the Wu Dynasty was still intact, the roots of the Zuo family were originally in the Central Plains, and it was not until the Jurchens went south and the Central Plains was turbulent that the Zuo family followed the Jianshuo court south. During the ten years of Jianshuo Joseon's flowering years, although the Zuo family had a lot of connections with all parties and had a lot of connections in the court, they did not expand economically like everyone else, but provided information and insight support to the great clans on the basis of learning. In the eyes of many people, it is actually a low-key look.

Of course, on the other hand, after the Battle of Xiaocanghe, the Huaxia Army moved to the southwest and reopened business, and the Zuo family played an important role in it. At that time, when the news of Ning Yi's death came out, the Huaxia army had only arrived in Liangshan, and the foundation was unstable, and the Zuo family acted as a broker from it, on the one hand, it sold a large number of arms to the Huaxia army, and on the other hand, it transported a lot of food from the outside world into the mountains to support the recuperation of the Huaxia army.

Of course, such behavior was inevitably criticized at the beginning, but the Zuo family's perennial hope and low-key curbed some people's tongues, and when the Huaxia Army's business with the outside world opened, the Zuo family became one of the most important intermediaries between the Huaxia Army and the outside world. As long as they secretly chose the forces to trade with the Huaxia Army, even if they had no good impression of the Huaxia Army, they were willing to maintain a good relationship with the Zuo family no matter what, and as for the accusations against the Zuo family on the table, they were swept away and disappeared.

When the Jurchens went south for the fourth time, Xi Yin originally considered killing the Zuo family living in the area of Longxing (now Nanchang, Jiangxi), but the Zuo family had already prepared and slipped away in advance, but several warlords in the vicinity, such as Yu Gusheng, Li Touhe and others, later descended to the Jurchens. Of course, with the progress of the Battle of Changsha, several warlord forces were greatly affected, and the Zuo family re-entered Longxing.

At this time, although the Zuo family did not have many troops, due to the neutral attitude shown for a long time, all parties wanted to give him a face, even if the people in the "small court" of Lin'an were rebellious, they were not willing to easily offend Zuo Jiyun, who was probably more pro-Fuzhou Little Emperor.

In this way, even in the context of the Huaxia Army's defeat of the Jurchen Western Route Army with a great victory, only the Zuo family did not need to show how groveling in front of the Huaxia Army. Just because they are completely equal allies with the Huaxia Army in extremely difficult circumstances, it can even be said that in the early days of Liangshan in the southwest, they were a force with kindness to the Huaxia Army, which was the dividend of Zuo Duanyou's desperate bets in the last period of his life.

After the Jurchens broke through the south of the Yangtze River, countless people fled, and naturally some members of the Zuo family died in such chaos. Zuo Xiuquan explained all the situation in general, and then began to discuss the matter with the juniors.

“…… Regarding the Jurchens' southward journey, the third uncle once had a certain judgment. He asserted that the Jurchens' southward advance was inevitable and that the Wu Dynasty would most likely not be able to withstand this attack, but that it was impossible for the Jurchens to overthrow the Wu Dynasty or take control of Jiangnan...... Of course, even if such a situation occurs, the family is not in charge of the army and does not directly get involved in military affairs, which is also the advice of your third grandfather. ”

Zuo Xiuquan looked at the people at the table, and then said: "Unless the Zuo family can compare with the Huaxia Army in terms of military training, unless they can train an army like the Huaxia Army." Otherwise, no army can be relied on, and it should leave when it should go, flee when it should flee, and the possibility of survival may be even greater. ”

"The third grandfather is wise." Zuo Wenhuai at the table nodded.

"But how the next road will go, your third grandfather, you can't say for sure." Zuo Xiuquan looked at everyone and smiled, "This is also one of the purposes of my coming to the southwest this time." ”

"Do you want us to go back?"

"I discussed this matter with Mr. Ning, and he nodded." After Zuo Xiuquan finished speaking, his fingers tapped lightly on the table, "Moreover, it's not going back to Longxing, it's not going back to Zuo's house—of course, it's also going back to the Wu Dynasty—but mostly, it's back to the Wu Dynasty." ”

After he said this, the room fell silent, and everyone was thinking about it. Zuo Xiuquan smiled: "Of course, I will try to consider your opinions." ”

"There is no hope for the Wu Dynasty." The young man sitting at the bottom of Zuo Wen's arms said.

"In the future, it must be the Huaxia army, we defeated the Jurchens, this is the first step, in the future, the Huaxia army will fight Jiangnan, fight the Central Plains, and fight to the Jin country. Uncle Quan, how can we not be there. I don't want to go. ”

"Yes, Uncle Quan, only the Huaxia Army can save this world, why should we go to the Wu Dynasty."

The three people in the seat expressed their positions one after another, and the other few people all pursed their lips quietly like Zuo Wenhuai, and Zuo Xiuquan listened to what they said with a smile: "So, I still have to consider your opinions." However, I have my opinion on this matter, and your third grandfather also had his own opinion back then. If you have time today, would you like to listen to it? ”

Zuo Wenhuai said: "Uncle Quan, please speak up." ”

Zuo Xiuquan nodded: "First of all, it is the new imperial court in Fuzhou, you should have heard of it, the new monarch is very courageous, different from the emperors in the past, there is a drastic innovation over there, it is very interesting, maybe you can get out of a better way." Moreover, this new monarch was once a disciple of Mr. Ning, if you can pass, you must have a lot to say. ”

He said this with a smile, and many people were disapproving, but after training in the Huaxia Army for so long, no one was in a hurry to express their opinions for a while. Zuo Xiuquan's gaze swept over everyone and nodded approvingly.

"Secondly, there are now a group of people in Fuzhou, led by Li Pin, who are engaged in neo-Confucianism, although there are no too amazing results at the moment, but in those years, they were also approved by your third grandfather. I feel that it is very likely that he will do something on his side, even if it is difficult to turn the tide in the end, at least he can leave a seed, or indirectly affect the future Huaxia Army. So on their side, they really need us to go to a group of people, to a group of people who understand the ideas of the Huaxia Army, you will be more suitable, in fact, only you can go. ”

Speaking of this, someone finally replied with a smile: "They need it, and we don't necessarily have to go." ”

Zuo Xiuquan nodded: "Of course, these two points seem to be trivial at first glance, and in front of the next sentence I want to say, it is nothing." This sentence is also what your third grandfather wanted to ask you when he was dying......"

He said: "Confucianism, is it really that unbearable? ”

This sentence was asked simply and directly, and there was silence in the hall for a while, and everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while. After all, such a question can be simple or complex to answer, but no matter how it is answered, it seems a little superficial at this moment.

"No need to answer." Zuo Xiuquan's fingers tapped on the table, "These are the words left by your third grandfather before he died, and they are also some thoughts he wants to tell everyone." As we all know, your third grandfather went to Xiaocanghe back then, and had many debates with Mr. Ning, and in the end, no one could convince anyone. As a result, Mr. Ning spoke with facts about things other than wars—and he could only give them to the facts, but for things other than wars, your third grandfather left some thoughts......"

"For Confucianism, I know what kind of attitude the Huaxia Army has, and of course I also know what you think of it after you have been in the Huaxia Army for so long. If not heinous, it must be said to be anachronistic. But there is one thing you should pay attention to, from the very beginning, Mr. Ning's attitude was very resolute, and he also put forward the four people, Gewu, and the law of reasoning, which is very reasonable. But in reality, he has never been very aggressive. ”

“…… In fact, he did not say that Confucianism was heinous, he always welcomed the criticism of the Huaxia Army by Confucian disciples, and he always welcomed people who really did learning to come to the southwest to discuss with everyone, and he always admitted that there are some things in Confucianism that are okay. You have been in the Huaxia Army for this matter, you say, isn't that so? ”

Someone nodded: "After all, although Confucianism has many problems, it has entered a dead end...... But there are also good things to come. ”

Zuo Xiuquan stretched out his hand and pointed at him: "But, with his prestige today, it can be said that Confucianism is heinous. You think this sense of proportion is very reasonable today, and that's because Mr. Ning deliberately retains the proportion, but in officialdom and in the court, there is a saying that has always been there, called overkill must be corrected first. Mr. Ning did not do this, and the proportion in this middle is actually intriguing. Of course, you all have the opportunity to meet Mr. Ning directly, and I guess you can ask him directly about the reasons for this, but it may not be much different from what I said today. ”

Everyone looked at him, Zuo Xiuquan smiled slightly: "There is nothing in this world that can be achieved overnight, and no innovation can be completely unrooted. The four people are very good, and Gewu is also a good thing, and the law of reason may be a problem, but even if it is a problem, it has been planted in the minds of people in this world for tens of thousands of years. One day you say it's not good, and you'll be able to throw it away? ”

"It is precisely because of these things that Mr. Ning's later actions became more peaceful rather than more urgent, there are many details that can be said in the middle, but for the whole world, your third grandfather's opinion is that most of the best things cannot be realized immediately, and the worst things are of course out of date, so take the mean. In the end, the road that can be worked, when between the Huaxia Army and Neo-Confucianism, the more mutual confirmation and mutual trade-offs, the easier this road can be, the fewer people can die, and the more good things will be left in the future. ”

Zuo Xiuquan said calmly: "This means that the road of the Huaxia Army may not be able to go through, and the so-called innovation of Neo-Confucianism in Fuzhou may not really turn Confucianism upside down, but the two sides can have some exchanges." It's as if Mr. Ning welcomes Confucian students to come over and debate, if the things of the Huaxia Army can stay in the east, then the east can also do better, and when the time comes, if the two better things can confirm each other, the road in the future will be easier. ”

"As for Confucianism. What is Confucianism? Is the Confucianism of the Holy Prophet the Confucianism of today? What is the difference between the Confucianism of the Confucian sage and the Confucianism of Mencius? In fact, Confucianism has been changing for thousands of years, and from the pre-Qin Confucianism to the Han Dynasty, it has integrated the Legalist doctrine and paid attention to the inner and outer kings, which is already different from the benevolence of Confucius. ”

Zuo Xiuquan smiled: "Sage Kong paid attention to educating the people back then, he was alone, three thousand disciples, seventy-two sages, think about it, he taught three thousand people, if each of these three thousand disciples goes to educate dozens or hundreds of people, within a few generations, the world is all sages, and the world is the same." But go forward, this won't work, to Dong Zhongshu, Confucianism for the use of the body and law, talk about the inner sage and the outer king, and then go forward, as you Mr. Ning said, the people are not easy to manage, then castrate their blood, this is an expedient measure, although it is useful for a while, but the court slowly died from foreign insults...... Wen Huai, today's Confucianism is ancient in Mr. Ning's mouth, but what is Confucianism? ”

He looked at Zuo Wenhuai, and then at everyone: "Confucianism originated from the Confucian sage, and it has changed countless times for more than 2,000 years. Our learning today is not so much Confucianism as 'workable' learning, and once it doesn't work, it will definitely change. It's a place that looks bad today, but it's hard to take it down, all the people of the world. It's like what Mr. Ning said about the problem of reasoning and law, all the people in the world live like this, and if you suddenly say no, then it will bleed......"

"Mr. Ning also knows that there will be bloodshed." Zuo Xiuquan said, "Once he wins the world and starts to carry out innovation, many people will bleed in the innovation, but if everyone is more prepared before this, maybe there will be less blood." This is the truth of the new monarch of the Wu Dynasty and the neo-Confucianism that I talked about earlier...... Maybe one day it is indeed the Huaxia Army that will win the world, and there will be no clowns such as Jin Guo, Wu Dynasty, Wu Qimei, Dai Mengwei, etc., that is, at that time, the innovation of Gewu, the Four People, and the Law of Reason will not go very smoothly, and when the time comes, if we already have some good things in Neo-Confucianism, we can take them out and use them. When the time comes, do you say, is Confucianism at that time still Confucianism today? Is the China at that time necessarily the China of today? ”

There was silence in the hall for a while.

Zuo Xiuquan sat there and rubbed his hands lightly: "This is the greatest hope that the third uncle will send you to the Huaxia Army, you have learned good things, send them back to the Wu Dynasty, let it go around in the Wu Dynasty, and then send the good things that the Wu Dynasty can still use back to the Huaxia Army." It may not be useful, maybe Mr. Ning is amazing and solves all the problems directly, but if it is not like this, don't forget that it is a stone of the mountain, and it can attack jade. ”

"This matter, the old man has paved the way, and only the Zuo family is the most suitable to do it at the moment, so I can only rely on you. This is your responsibility to the people of the world, and you should take it up. ”

The autumn wind passed through the hall, the candles flickered, and the crowd was silent at the words.

The Zuo family is a big family, and it was originally a Confucian family that paid attention to the superiority and humility, and a group of children were sent to the Huaxia Army, and their views were insignificant. But after several years of training in the Huaxia Army, including Zuo Wenhuai, he has experienced killing, and has been baptized by many Ning Yi's ideas, so he doesn't pay so much attention to the authority in the clan.

If Zuo Xiuquan gave them an order bluntly, even in the name of Zuo Duanyou, who was most respected by everyone, I am afraid that there would be no problems, but he did not do so, and he followed the good path from the beginning, until the end, he returned to the serious order: "This is your responsibility to the people of the world, and you should bear it." ”

After a moment of silence, Zuo Xiuquan still knocked on the table with a smile: "Of course, I am not in such a hurry, these things, then you think about it more, my idea is that I might as well talk to Mr. Ning." But going home, not for the rise and fall of my Zuo family, this time the Huaxia Army and the new monarch of the Wu Dynasty will have a big deal, my opinion is, I still hope that you must be able to participate in it...... Okay, that's all for today. The day after tomorrow, let's watch the parade together as a family. ”

Zuo Xiuquan smiled and stood up from his seat. Later, some young people from the Zuo family got up: "The day after tomorrow, I will be in the team, and my uncle will be watching from above." ”

Someone answered: "Me too." ”

Everyone laughed, and Zuo Xiuquan showed the old man's smile and nodded again and again:

"Okay, okay, there's a future, there's a future, come, let's talk about the war again......"

The autumn breeze was slightly drunk, and the lights flashed inside and outside the State Guest House, and many people came and went in and out of this vicinity, and the lights in many of the offices of the Chinese Army were still densely lit.

Even in the courtyard where Ning Yi works, people come and go one after another, and people still have their own jobs. They are busy at work, waiting for the arrival of August and autumn.

In the camp outside the city, Wan Yan Qingjue looked at the starlight in the sky, imagining his hometown thousands of miles away. At this time, most of the Jurchen troops returning from the north had returned to the territory of Jin, and Wu Qimai had died a few days before, and the news had not yet spread to the land in the south, the territory of Jin, so there was another storm brewing.

Zuo Wenhuai and others searched for friends in Chengdu and ran for a day. Then, August arrived.

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