Wei Sheng heard that the grapefruit girl was going to call out to Kou Xiangye, and said with a little more thought: "Yuzu girl, let's go with you......"

The Takueda Ballroom is located in the Xiangfu Canteen, and the large dining hall is an ideal place for dancing after the tables are removed.

Wei Sheng and Wei Chun whispered as they walked; Wei Chun glanced at Wei Sheng a little unreasonably and said, "Big brother, Marshal Zheng, Ancestor, Shadow Senior, and we are fighting to the death with the Liao army in front, Kou Xiangye is good; Get a bunch of people dancing happily at home! ”

Wei Sheng laughed loudly, glanced back at Wei Chun and said, "Third brother wants Kou Xiangye to be Confucius?" But he is not a saint, he is a mortal, and the third brother may still think that Kou Xiangye lives a luxurious life; As the prime minister, you can't be a teacher like Emperor Wen of Han, right? ”

Wei Chun stared at Wei Sheng speechlessly, and Wei Sheng chattered: "Everyone is like Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and the society may not develop to the abundance of food and clothing in the Song Dynasty!" ”

Wei Sheng's words are decadent, but it is an indisputable fact that the life of the people of the Song Dynasty is the best among the dynasties.

Of course, the low-class farmers in the countryside of the Song Dynasty also had people who had no food to eat and could not cover their bodies; But on the whole, the life of the people of the Song Dynasty was relatively rich.

The peasant uprisings of the Song Dynasty were not like the Ming Dynasty when they rose up for a full meal, and the soldiers and peasant uprisings of the Song Dynasty were mostly against power and corrupt officials; There is a difference in one's own position.

Wei Sheng said, and then told a thrifty story of Emperor Wen of Han.

Emperor Liu Heng of the Han Dynasty is a famous thrifty emperor in history, and the Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is very comparable to the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

There are countless stories of thrift during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and the influence of "not performing to look at the court" is the greatest.

Shoes are the earliest name of straw sandals, because the materials used to make straw shoes are mainly grass and hemp, which are very economical; And it is inexhaustible, and the common people can prepare their own.

When Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty already had cloth shoes, straw shoes were reduced to the wear of the poor; However, Emperor Liu Heng of the Han Dynasty "did not look at the court", that is, he wore straw sandals to the palace to work and set an example of frugality.

Not only straw sandals, but even his dragon robe was torn, so he asked the queen to mend it for him and wear it again.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty himself wore coarse cloth clothes, not to mention, the harem concubines were also plain clothes.

Yuzu listened to Wei Sheng and Wei Chun talking about Kou Xiangye's luxury while walking, and walked up to them and said bluntly: "The two elder brothers are too talkative, and my family Xiangye spends all his New Year's dedication; First, there is no corruption, and the other is not corrupt, why not? ”

Wei Sheng and Wei Chun looked at each other, staring at Yuzu in a daze, not knowing what to say.

That's right, when it comes to Kou Zhun, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty; Later generations will immediately have in their minds the image of Kou Lao Xi'er wearing a patch coat, hanging a vinegar gourd from his waist, and being honest and simple to the extreme.

In Liu Lanfang's long commentary "Yang Jiajiang", Kou Zhun appeared like this: "The yarn hat wings on the head may be too old, old and broken, and one wing is tied with something and droops down. ”

And Kou Lao Xi'er's way of entertaining the Qin Cha who came from the capital was to "take off the straw hat, tear it off, rub it with his hands and put it in the pot, make water, and give it a name called "circle tea".

However, what is the true image of Kou Zhun in history?

There is such a description in "The History of the Song Dynasty Kou Zhun Biography":

Kou Zhun is a rich and wealthy youth, sexually extravagant, comedy drinks, and every banquet guest, he is more closed. The home has not tasted the oil lamp, although it is located, it will be burned.

As a descendant of Kou Zhun, Sima Guang also talked about Kou Zhun in his teaching to his son: In modern times, the Duke of Kolai was extravagant for a while, but with great merit, people are incomprehensible, and his descendants are accustomed to his family style, and now he is poor.

Why is Kou Zhun, a playboy, known as Kou Lao Xi'er by word of mouth? This must be analyzed from the psychology of the common people.

For thousands of years, people have idealized the association of loyalty and honesty with simplicity and poverty; Consciously or unconsciously, he established an equation that loyal ministers must be clean and clean officials must be poor, as if if he is not an ascetic, he is not a clean official.

From a historical point of view, there is no doubt that Kou Zhun is a famous minister and a loyal minister.

During the reign of Zhenzong Jingde of the Song Dynasty, the Liao State went south to attack the Song Dynasty, and the troops reached the north bank of the Yellow River, and the Northern Song Dynasty was shocked; Wang Qinruo, Chen Yaosu, and many ministers advocated abandoning Bianliang and fleeing to Jinling or Chengdu, but Kou Zhun was resolutely opposed; Dissuade Song Zhenzong from pro-conquest.

As soon as Song Zhenzong crossed the Yellow River, the morale of the Song army was greatly boosted, and Xiao Tzulan, the vanguard officer of the Southern Court of Liao, was shot to death; thwarted the arrogance of the Liao army and restored the decline of the Song army.

Kou Zhun also presided over negotiations with the Liao people, and signed the "Lanyuan Alliance" with the Liao State on favorable terms compared to the Song State; ended the nearly 100-year war between the Liao State and the Central Plains Dynasty; The peaceful situation between Song and Liao for more than a hundred years began.

What the Yang family did not do, Kou Zhun did; This is really a great thing for the country and the people, and the people will respect the right person and God.

However, the Chinese people's criteria for judging Qing officials and famous ministers are: since they are famous ministers and loyal ministers, according to the face theory, Kou Zhun should be a red face; Since he is red-faced, he should be poor.

If a red-faced person is "sexually extravagant and comedy drink" all day long, how unacceptable it should be for people!

So Kou Zhun's feast of wine and meat was gone, and the candles were extinguished; I can only go to drink "circle tea", and people will be comfortable.

Although in the ideal, the common people always expect that all the officials will be servants of the people, who will die after their hard work, bow their heads and be willing to serve their children, eat grass and milk milk......

Unfortunately, such situations in the real world are not completely non-existent; It is also almost non-existent.

Qing officials are also people! With the exception of a few sages and dervishes, it is human beings who want to live a good life; If you don't want to drink "circle tea", thousands of Qing officials, including Kou Zhun, are no exception, this is the basic human nature and social law, and there is nothing to be surprised about.

Of course, we are by no means saying that corruption is innocent and justified; Human desires are endless, and it is impossible for society to satisfy all the needs of officials; Excessive greed must be dealt with severely.

A good system should enable a clean official to live a decent and normal life, otherwise you will not be able to distinguish whether "corruption" is motivated by normal needs or excessive greed; As a result, it is impossible to crack down on corruption in a truly effective manner.

In fact, Kou Zhun's "extravagance" and incorruptibility are not contradictory.

You must know that the treatment of the ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty is good, and the annual salary of the prime minister and the ruling minister at the level of privy envoy is 3,600 yuan (equivalent to 3.6 million yuan today), 1,200 stone corn, 40 horses of silk, 60 horses of silk, 100 taels of winter cotton, 14,400 bundles of salary, 1,600 pounds of charcoal, and 7 stones of salt; Coupled with the food and clothing of 70 servants, even Sima Guang, who used Kou Zhun as a negative teaching material, only said that he did not teach his children and grandchildren well, so that "he is so poor today", and admitted that he himself "has great merit and no one can do it".

It should be said that Kou Lao Xi'er is just a sage who exists in an illusory world, and Kou Zhun, who can eat, drink, sing and dance, is a living person with flesh and blood......

Wei Sheng and Wei Chun stared at Yuzu for a long time, and Wei Sheng grinned and said, "We listen to the words of the Yuzu girl, and we don't talk about Xiangye's extravagance or not; Let's go to the singing and dancing scene! ”

The three of them talked and walked into the spacious dining hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion; The melodious sound of drums and music immediately filled my ears.

In the sound of music, Kou Zhun was dancing with a dancer, and Yuzu was shouting for money, but was stopped by Wei Sheng and said, "Don't, don't!" Xiangye is dancing in high spirits, and we can't interrupt! It's not too late to wait for him to finish dancing and then call him! ”

Yuzu didn't step forward, and stood aside with Wei Sheng and Wei Chun to watch.

The atmosphere at the scene of the Tuozhi dance was very warm, with both men and women as dancers; The music is dominated by drums, flutes, and playing musical instruments, and the main melody is sonorous and exciting.

Kou Zhun hugged the dancer for a few circles, and suddenly found Wei Sheng, Wei Chun and Yuzu girl standing on the side, so he stopped and shouted: "Why did Brother Wei appear here?" You two are Zheng Shuang scouts, didn't you go to reconnoiter the movements of the Liao army? ”

Kou Zhun said that he had already walked towards Wei Sheng and Wei Chun.

Wei Sheng saw that Kou Zhun had stopped dancing and walked this way, so he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists with both hands in a salute: "Back to Xiangye, we have an important military intelligence report!" ”

Wei Chun also saluted and said, "Marshal Zheng has a great victory, let's rush back to the capital to report to Xiangye!" ”

Brigadier Kou helped Wei Sheng and Wei Chun up, and said solemnly: "You two talk slowly, how can Zheng Shuang succeed in the division!" ”

Wei Sheng stretched his neck and swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "Marshal Zheng captured 293 Sini iron horsemen of Xiao Tzulin, the king of the Southern Courtyard of Liao, in Taihang Mountain, and imprisoned them in a prisoner car, and was rushing back to the capital to say that he would ask the emperor to behead him......."

"Zheng Shuang, this kid thinks well!" Kou Zhun didn't wait for Wei Sheng to finish speaking, then interrupted and said excitedly: "The old man will enter the palace here to report the good news to the emperor!" ”

Kou Zhun said and shouted to the dance floor: "Alibaba's old friend, the old man wants to go to the palace; You have fun with everyone here! ”

A twisted voice immediately sounded in the dance: "Weichen obeys!" ”

This is clearly Alibaba mixed with the voice of Arabic, and Alibaba responds to Kou Zhun; The dancing didn't stop.

Wei Sheng followed the sound and saw a tall figure in a white robe dancing vigorously with a dancer in his arms; couldn't help grinning and said silently: "The Tuozhi Dance is really tempting, Kou Xiangye is happy to do this; Arab merchants are also placed in it! It seems that this foreigner was deeply moved by the enthusiasm and cheerfulness of the Tuoba dance, so he broke his life like this! ”

Kou Zhun said goodbye to Alibaba and pulled Wei Sheng with one hand; Grabbing Wei Chun with one hand, he said: "Let's go, the two elder brothers of the Wei family will enter the palace with the old man!" ”

The three of them got on their horses in the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion and drove directly to the palace, but Emperor Zhenzong was not in the palace.

Kou Zhun said: "The saint must have gone to Yishu Garden, we will rush there immediately......"

Kou Zhun was not wrong, Song Zhenzong and Liu E were in Yishu Garden at this time.

Bianjing in July was in the season of the scorching red sun, Song Zhenzong and Liu E Niangniang each sat on the edge of Yishu Lake with a Shu rattan chair; Enjoy the coolness of the shade of the trees on a hot afternoon.

This is a royal couple, but a couple who share life and death; The marriage between the two of them is a bit legendary and has suffered many setbacks; But the two finally spent the full moon.

Liu E was originally a singing singer on the street, holding a rattle and shaking it "long"; His mouth sang a thousand kinds of songs.

Zhao Heng was moved by Liu E shaking the rattle while singing the "Poppy Beauty" of the Southern Tang Dynasty; And it's a tune that I composed:

When is the spring flower and autumn moon, and how much do you know about the past? Xiaolou had another east wind last night, so the country could not afford to look back at the moonlight.

The carved fence and jade masonry should still be there, but the face has changed. Ask how much sorrow you can have, just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.

When Liu E sang Li Yu's "Yu Beauty", Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, had been dead for four or five years, and Zhao Heng was still King Xiang at the age of 14; As soon as I heard Liu E sing "Poppy Beauty", I immediately liked her.

Whether Zhao Heng likes Li Yu's words or Liu E, Zhao Heng himself can't say; Anyway, since then, Zhao Heng feels that he can't do without Liu E.

Zhao Heng was only 10 years old when Li Yu died, but he vaguely heard people talk about it: Li Yu's death was caused by his father Zhao Guangyi, who occupied Li Yu's queen Xiao Zhou; After Xiao Zhou was forced to attack and was humiliated, he returned to Li Yu to cry and complain about his grievances, and Li Yu wrote "Poppy Beauty" in a fit of anger, which was disgusted by Zhao Guangyi.

"Poppy Beauty" and "Waves and Sands, Murmuring Rain Outside the Curtain" were both written before Li Yu was poisoned, and Li Yu was poisoned on the seventh day of the seventh month; This is Valentine's Day in China, and Zhao Guangyi let Li Yu die on Valentine's Day; The implication is self-evident.

"Poppy Beauty" is a lament of life, the author through the contrast between the eternity of nature and the impermanence of life, the author expresses the sadness of the loss of life after the death of the country, whimpering, unreadable.

The spring flowers are romantic, the autumn moon is noble, which is pleasing to everyone, but for the prisoners under the stairs, it is no longer interesting.

Although the word "when" is a bizarre question, it actually has two meanings: when was the past? When will the remnants of the catastrophe end? This shows his resolute attitude towards life.