"Zhou Yi" is trapped in the hexagram, and there is a saying in the Ninth Five-Year Plan: Slashes, trapped in the red silk, is Xu You said, using sacrifices.

Chopping refers to two kinds of punishment, one is to cut off the nose and the other is to cut off the leg. The red cloth is the red covering of the knees. Knee coverings are not worn by everyone, but there are rank requirements, and red knee coverings are generally worn and used by officials. The meaning of this sentence is probably that officials who have suffered punishment, or have been belittled, exiled, etc., should slowly get out of the predicament, be pious and humble like a sacrifice, and have a righteous heart.

The moment Li Dui got the bamboo slip, he knew that it was sent to him by Zhao Cheng. Thinking that this bamboo slip was not long away from the reward and punishment of the merit, Li Dui could think that Zhao Cheng had gotten the news in advance and obtained it for himself. So is this the words of the bamboo slip or Zhao Cheng's consolation? If it is a remark, it should mean that God told Li Dui to be patient and low-key, and to maintain a pious and humble heart; But if it is Zhao Cheng's consolation, then it is nothing more than to tell him that there is no hope for him to be promoted in this examination, and he must be down-to-earth and humble in Jinyang, keep a low profile, and he may not be able to rise to prominence in the future.

Which one is it?

Li Dui held the bamboo slip and paced back and forth in the hall with a frown. The tea in the tea set is still some temperature, the drinker has not been gone for a long time, the color of the tea soup is still very good, and the person who came must have not drunk it a few times. The crisp aroma of tea is still in the hall.

Zhao Ran's statement just now made him not know how to answer for a while. Excuse me, but this is a good opportunity for promotion, promise, how can the other party easily promise himself this beautiful errand? There must still be something to be repaid, but as for what to repay, it's hard to say. Fortunately, Zhao Ran just talked about it, it seems that he is here to test Li Dui's attitude, he doesn't need Li Dui to accept it immediately, he only said that five days later, Zhao Xian will be a birthday, if Li Dui is a little moved, it is better to take a look, if Li Dui has no idea, he should just go to beg for a glass of wine to eat, respect the old and love the old.

Li Dui smiled coldly in his heart: What is longevity, it is just to let him show his attitude. If he follows Zhao Xian and others, he will naturally be safe, and even from then on, he will be prosperous; If you don't obey, you will naturally have clear barriers, and even become enemies of each other. But no matter what, Zhao Xian has to go for a birthday. So he agreed with Zhao Ran that he would definitely go to meet him that day.

Looking at the back of Zhao Ran leaving, Li Dui's mood became heavier and heavier, and he even felt that when Zhao Yong came to Jinyang and summoned himself and Jia Cha alone, he was not a favor, but he roasted himself on the fire. Originally, he and the Zhao clan were like fire and water, but after that time, they also intensified, even worse than before. So much so that Zhao Yong handed over the responsibility of grain and grass to himself and Zhao Ran, which seemed to be so unusual. Could it be that it is just because Jinyang is safer than Ningwu? Isn't it afraid that someone in Jinyang will pay attention to these grains and grasses, so he handed over the two of them to take on this responsibility?

One puzzle after another, the answer seems to be obvious, but it is like the bamboo slip in his hand, confusing, making him puzzled.

After three days like this, Li Dui made up his mind to pay attention, and only then did he remember to buy some things before he could go to Zhao Xian's birthday. So they took Li Zhong and no other servants, and the two changed their regular clothes and went to the market to choose and prepare a birthday gift.

As the second largest city in Zhao State, Jinyang itself is not a border town, nor is it like Handan, which needs to garrison troops and flourish, and is also located on the main transportation route, so it is more frequent to have business contacts. Even if Zhao Yong's policy was not as friendly to the merchants as before, it was always profitable, and it did not completely inhibit commercial activities, and the commerce of Jinyang as a whole was still developed. Merchants who come and go from the south to the north also like to stop here. The two of them stopped and chosen, but they didn't choose anything good. Li Zhong said that there is a water liao not far ahead, so you might as well rest for a while and then choose.

The two walked into the water house, and they happened to usher in a cheer, and it was indeed on the platform in the water house, and one of them was talking about the climax. Li Dui in Handan, has also seen this kind of battle, Li Sanshuilu's Zhang Haoqian, in Handan City, is also a household name, and it is even more rare that this gentleman can be very familiar with all kinds of allusions and wild history, and it is quite tasteful to say, even Zhao Yong often eavesdrops in private, not to mention these ministers. Now that he has come to Jinyang, he rarely comes out to play, but he didn't expect Jinyang to have such a grand scene, which really surprised him.

The two found a remote place to kneel and sit down, there was no bench in Handan, only a seat, which made Li Dui a little uncomfortable. I asked for a pot of spring water, no tea, ordered a preserved peach, and used it as a pastime to eat, so I listened to the person who told history spitting and talking about the past and the present. In fact, some of these people really have some talents, and because they are not recommended by others, they can only linger in the women's dormitory of Shuilu, talk about some barnyard official history, and make a living.

The person who speaks history is in his thirties, his face is blue, and he is obviously often hungry, but between his words, he has a certain bearing, all of which attract people's attention. The person he is talking about is the matter of stealing the foot, that is, the so-called willow plant, which is a descendant of the prince of Lu Guozhan, and his brother Yanagita Hui is the doctor of Lu State, but Liu Xiahe does not take the usual road, but leads nine thousand servants, rampant in the world, invades the princes, plunders people and horses, takes people's wives and daughters, and even does not sacrifice ancestors. This made the people of the time have no good impression of him, Confucius once because he was friends with Yanagi Hui, and recommended himself to persuade Yanagi to abandon evil and follow good, but was severely reprimanded and humiliated by Yanagi Xia. I am afraid that this attitude is very popular with the general public, and it is the story of the willow plant, but it is deeply liked by the people of Shuilu.

And listen to the words of the people on the stage: "Why is the world not called the son a thief, but a thief?" At that time, there was another burst of applause, Li Dui shook his head with a wry smile, and was about to get up and leave, but he heard a few cases next to him, and the three of them were talking and laughing, and one said to a young man: "You Nie Chi often said that your ancestor is a person who is a man of Ren Xia, and he once committed a big incident." But I don't know what I have done, who is greater than this willow plant? Between the words, the meaning of scherzo is very obvious.

The young man named Nie Chi changed his face and blushed when he heard this, but there was more heroism between his eyebrows, and he was quite unconvinced. "The affairs of the ancestors are the affairs of chivalry, single-handedly, killing the enemy's chieftains, although there are tens of millions of people, I will also go to them. From 9,000 soldiers, sweeping the princes is a matter of heroes. The two are different. ”

When the man heard what Nie Chi said, he laughed, "Even so, the glory of the ancestors, when it comes to the king, there is only a few points left in Bo Tian, making ends meet; And thinking that after the willow descended, there must be countless treasures, and so on, the judgment was made. ”

Nie Chi was far from expecting that this person's words were not only unfounded, but also conjectural. What is the outcome of the thief, no one can hear about it, how can it be compared with this, not to mention that the family is in the middle of the road, it is not a personal wish, how can you compare yourself with this? Then he said excitedly: "Who will rely on those few acres of thin fields to survive? It's just that there is no chance. Saying that, he sneered and said: "Jun is drunk and dreaming of death in Jinyang, but he doesn't know what is happening around him. Speaking of which, if it weren't for a certain maneuver, it would have been as muddy as all the monarchs. ”

The crowd laughed when he heard this, and only thought that he had said a word of self-comfort. Nie Chi and the other two didn't believe him, so they said, "Don't believe it? If you don't believe it, you can go up to the city gate to have a look, and at this moment, inside the city gate, there are all soldiers guarding the general's mansion, not the officials of the city lord's mansion. This is not a lie, which was hidden in a place after last night's curfew. ”

"In that case, how can you know that the other party is not a servant of the city guard's mansion, but an elite soldier of the guard's mansion? You must have made it up. ”

"Of course not." Nie Chi said excitedly: "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, I would never have deceived you." Then he said: It turned out that yesterday evening, Nie Chi drank more wine from others and was groggy. Friends advised him to rest there, but he was at home and insisted on leaving. Seeing that he was so tough, his friends couldn't insist, so they had to let him go, and Nie Chi quietly introduced him into the moonlight.

He observed a lot along the way, and did not dare to raise his voice, lest he alarm the patrolling soldiers, but for some reason, there were few patrolling soldiers on the streets today, so he dared to swagger on the street. Just when he was unscrupulous, he heard footsteps not far away, although it was not heavy, but it was a disciplined team.

Seeing that he couldn't dodge, Nie Chi hurriedly found a bamboo basket from the side, covered himself, and hid in the corner of the roadside. So, he saw a troop that appeared neatly in his field of vision, as a group of elite soldiers. Nie Chi wondered in his heart, why did these elite soldiers appear on the road in the middle of the night, and what were they doing? So he took advantage of the strength of the wine and emboldened himself to follow this army from behind, only to see that they had done a handover at the gate of the city, and immediately became soldiers guarding the city. After a while, the original curfew patrol soldiers appeared in the market.

"Slow down, slow down." The person who was drinking with Nie Chi said, "As Jun said, it's quite incredible. There was no invasion of the enemy, and there was no rebellion, so why did the garrison take over the defense of the city gate? Isn't it overkill? ”

Nie Chi saw that the other party was laughing at himself, his face turned even redder, and he was a little stumbling when he spoke, "If you don't believe it, you can ask yourself, and you will know if what I said is true." ”

Speaking of this, but heard a "clang", a tea set fell to the ground in response, everyone looked back, but saw a man pounced up, grabbed Nie Chi's right hand, and lifted him to his own, no matter how surprised Nie Chi's friend was, he held down the panicked Nie Chi, and said word by word: "Is this really what you saw with your own eyes?" ”

Nie Chi looked at the other party's anxious eyes, and suddenly didn't know how to answer.

(End of chapter)