The time came to the winter of the seventh year of Zhenguan, although the cold wind was cold, but the sun was also warm. I saw that in the 800 miles of Taihang Mountain Pass, a small stream flowed quietly; Beams of warm sun, sprinkled on the water surface like fish scales, show a white light, very pleasing to the eye. And on a flat ground not very high sits a thatched house, surrounded by a hedge, and all kinds of unknown herbs are dried in the courtyard; And the persimmons have long been hanging on the branches, red like lanterns, and they are bright. A half-frozen stream meanders through the house, leaving an outlet to the northeast, which is very quiet and natural.

Looking deep into the courtyard, a young man was practicing martial arts under the guidance of a gray-haired old man. I saw this young man, sometimes pear blossoms with rain, sometimes sticks flying, sometimes light branches rising with the wind, sometimes swords, guns and swords rain is very majestic, this ability looks very good. I saw that the old man nodded sometimes and looked at it sometimes, quite satisfied.

This young man is the protagonist of this book---- Wang Xuance, who is close to the age of the weak crown at this time.

"Good, good! Apprentice, take a break, you come with your teacher," said the old man, walking behind his back to the hut with his hands behind his back. Wang Xuance took advantage of the situation to put away his sword, and followed him into the house at a trot.

The old man sat down in the main hall, and Wang Xuance stood in front of the old man. I only listened to the old man's eloquent words: "Apprentice, you have been following as a teacher for seven years, and in the past seven years, you have been teaching you to read and practice martial arts. Japanese logistics and practice will definitely be able to dominate the martial arts and make meritorious contributions to the country and the enemy; It's not in vain to train you. As a teacher, I am getting weaker, but my wisdom and ideas need to be passed on to future generations to find a successor, so I decided to explain my life's thoughts and strategies to you for future generations."

Hearing the old man say this, Wang Xuance fell to his knees with a puff: "Master, are you going to drive the apprentices away?" Then he burst into tears and said, "Master took me in on the road seven years ago, so that I finally have a place to go, how can I bear to leave Master, please let the apprentice be loyal and filial to Master!" ”

After hearing this, the old man instructed him: "A manly man, when it is time to start a career, you should go out to wander, there is no future in this mountain after all, only by making meritorious contributions can you complete your mission"! As he spoke, he took out a gilded Nanmu box from the collapsed square, which looked simple and generous, dignified and elegant. The old man carefully opened the wooden box, only to see that there was an ancient book that was quite old, with five large characters in seal font "Guiguzi Soldier Book".

This old man is none other than the old man Higashino!

Thoughts go back to one day seven years ago.

I still remember that at that time, after the old man Dongye left Chang'an, he traveled eastward, and then sent a letter to Guguan and came to the north of the river. Because of the continuous wars and strife in the past few years, the people have long been displaced, and a village is sparsely populated. Fortunately, in the past two years of recuperation, the people have more or less returned, but they are also exhausted, and life is very difficult, so bandits are everywhere. At this time, a small village passed by, and it happened that yesterday another gang of bandits looted the village. The slightest resistance was slaughtered, looking at this scene, the old man Dongye felt very sorry for these people, and could only pin his last hope on Li Shimin, the lord of the prosperous world.

Facing the dilapidated and silent village, walk slowly among the barren and dilapidated. Suddenly, the sound of a wooden fish came from far and near, and not long after, accompanied by the sound of percussion, a young monk walked out of the face. The monk looked to be twenty-five or sixteen years old, dressed in khaki monk's robes, holding a wooden fish, carrying a luggage rack, and wearing Arhat shoes. Seeing this dead person, he couldn't help but knock on the wooden fish and recite the transcendent Diamond Sutra.

As the figure of the monk gradually approached, the old man of Dongye also stopped, and at this time, I saw this monk with his hands folded and gave the old man Dongye a salute and spit out: Amitabha! As the wooden fish stopped, I faintly heard the crying of a child. The two looked at each other, and with a slight cry, they found a child in his teens by the wheat straw stack next to a deserted house.

Looking at the hungry child, the monk took out a steamed bun from the back basket and handed it over, and after receiving the steamed bun handed over, the child stared at the two of them with wide eyes, and devoured it! Looking at the slightly stable child, the old man Dongye turned to look at the monk, and after looking up and down, he deeply felt that this monk had a perseverance and persistence that seemed to be different from other monks. So he casually asked, "I don't know where the little master came from and where is he going?" ”

The monk looked at the child, who had gradually stopped crying, and replied, "The poor monk was originally a monk of the Pure Land Temple, and this time he went west to prepare to go to the Western Regions in order to seek Buddhism!" ”

When the old man Dongye heard this, he was very surprised: "This is a journey of tens of thousands of miles to the Western Regions, can the little master really persevere?" ”

"Although the road is far, the traveler will come" said as he put his hands together and silently recited Amitabha!

This monk is none other than Master Xuanzang, at this moment, because of the ban on leaving the customs of the Tang Dynasty, he can only go to the Western Regions alone to seek the Dharma. Pray for the roots of Buddhism and re-translate it to correct the unity of Chinese Buddhist thought. Listening to this reply, the old man Higashino was also impressed by the spirit of this little master's authentic origin! And this child, who is currently only a teenager, heard the monk say this: The words Xuanzang and the Western Regions are also deeply reflected in his mind.

After talking about Xuanzang, let's go back and talk about this child, this child is none other than Wang Xuance. Because yesterday there were bandits again, and the village was robbed again, he had already lost his parents, and he could only hide in the wheat straw stack. When he witnessed the evil crimes of the bandits in the wheat straw stack, the seeds of hatred had been planted in the depths of his young heart. Because my stomach was too hungry, and I missed my deceased parents, I couldn't help crying.

Looking at the poor child, both of them were moved with compassion. In view of the fact that Master Xuanzang went west out of Yangguan and went to the Western Regions, it was also unpredictable, as soon as the two of them discussed, Wang Xuance followed this old man from Dongye to continue to travel east! Reunion is always short-lived, separation is always difficult to give up, when the old man Dongye and Master Xuanzang go east and west, the backs of the two are so similar, but their ambitions are different.

Wang Xuance followed the old man of Dongye, all the way east, to the hinterland of the Taihang Mountain, he originally wanted to travel all over the world, but at this moment he was also attracted by this beautiful scenery, so he settled here. In the blink of an eye, seven years have passed, and Wang Xuance has already changed from a child full of hatred to a calm guy; Coupled with the untying of his own knot, the old man Dongye was willing to teach him the art of war. In order to plan for the world, for the future generations.

Time returned to today, seven years later, I only heard the old man Dongye say to Wang Xuance who was kneeling in front of him: "It is said that birds are constantly fed by their mothers when they are young, and when they grow up, their mothers ruthlessly kick them out of the nest and forage for food on their own, only in this way will the birds grow up and grow more." And you will eventually grow up one day, and there will eventually be a time to leave as a teacher, in the past seven years, the teacher has watched you progress day by day, day by day is very gratifying. If you want to achieve great things, only by learning from the past and the present can you help the world and leave a name in history. Therefore, as a teacher, I will teach you what I have learned all my life today, and after you have completed your learning, you can go down the mountain to make a career. ”

Wang Xuance calmed his mind a little, listened to his master's advice quietly, and after repeatedly thanking him, he followed him to study the "Guiguzi Soldier's Book" with all his heart. Many people think that this book of war has been lost, but in fact, it is not, but the person who obtained it secretly passed it on in an orderly manner in order to reduce disputes. In other words, this "Guiguzi Book of Soldiers" unconsciously has a strange fate.

I still remember that back then, Guiguzi accepted Zhang Yi, Su Qin, Pang Juan, and Sun Bin four apprentices. Needless to say, the first two are naturally needless to say, the famous discerning warriors of the Warring States, the last two are also famous generals, Guiguzi taught them according to their aptitude, and passed on the art of war to these two, Pang Juan, because of the defeat of Ma Weipo, it was lost. And Sun Bin is a branch, because he has seen through the hot and cold accidents of the world, and the truth of cooking rabbits and dead dogs. Therefore, he warned future generations never to be officials, and only passed on the military book from generation to generation, which is why Sun Bin's descendants did not become officials, but were just some hermits, and this old man in Dongye was the apprentice of an elegant hermit of Sun Bin's descendants.

The life of the old man in Higashino can be regarded as quite bumpy. When he was young, he was determined to help the community, help the poor, and help the world, but he was depressed all his life and had no ambition. When he met the prince, he thought he could make a big move, but there was a change in Xuanwumen. Since then, I have seen through the heat and coldness of the world, and I have also deeply understood the teachings of the master, so I decided to retreat to the mountains and forests, write books and speak, and live a pure life.

At first, he was also worried that Wang Xuance would follow his old path again, so he did not pass on what he had learned all his life to him; But he was gradually moved by the effectiveness of Li Shimin's governance of the country, and he was also worried that his doctrine in this life would be lost, so after thinking about it again, he slowly changed his original concept!

After several months of hard work, Wang Xuance also became familiar with the gist of the military book, and often asked his master to give careful advice and answer them one by one when he didn't understand. Before I knew it, another few months had passed, and the time had come to the end of summer and the beginning of autumn of the following year. At this moment, Wang Xuance has already integrated the master's lifelong doctrine and applied it to life.

One day, the sky was just bright, only to see on a high stone, the old man of Dongye had stretched his fists and feet, watched the mountain cliff towering, listened to the song of the forest and birds, realized the spring water dingdong, smelled the fragrance of wild grass and flowers, and tasted quiet and natural. In such a quiet place, it is indeed very suitable for seclusion and self-cultivation. The quiet environment, the quiet mountains and forests, a path leading to the outside world, the exchange of information from time to time, and the occasional gathering of friends make this beautiful landscape painting scroll have a special interest.

With the dim light, the eye is drawn to the house hidden in a verdant bamboo forest, which has long since changed the atmosphere of winter. The five or six houses are all made of bamboo, wood, mountain and stone, which are breathable and warm; I saw that the courtyard was scattered, with waterwheels, stone mills, flowers and plants, all available. Behind a cyan stone trough, several groups of sturdy cattle and horses complement each other with a cultivated field not far away, and there is a unique charm in reading carefully.

With the direction of the light, I came to the kitchen and saw Wang Xuance cooking on the fire. After a while, the food has been packed up, waiting for the master to come down and start the day. Repeating this life every day is boring, but it is very fulfilling; Because of quietness, because of calmness, because the heart returns to nature, because there is no self-deception in the world; So all you have is to be as you like, as you like.

After a while, the old man Dongye walked down from a high place, and Wang Xuance was already on the stone table in the courtyard, setting up the breakfast for the day. It looks very good, a serving of eggs, a steamed bun, a stack of pickles, plus a good white porridge, simple and simple. The two of them had breakfast, and after cleaning up, it was already dawn. At this moment, the old man Dongye slowly shouted to Wang Xuance: "Apprentice, come here, I have something to say to you for the teacher."

When he heard that the master had summoned him, Wang Xuance hurriedly walked over and stood quietly in front of the master, ready to listen to his teachings. Seeing that he was so polite, the old man Dongye said to him: "Don't be so rigid and polite, sit down!" So, Wang Xuance sat on a low carved stone bench opposite him.

The old man Dongye looked at Wang Xuance, who had already sat down with peace of mind, and sincerely instructed: "Apprentice, more than half a year has passed unconsciously, and looking at your situation, you have already learned what the master has learned all his life; In the opinion of the teacher, you are enough to go down the mountain and make a career. As he spoke, he took out two letters from his arms, both of which were signed by Old Man Higashino.

Wang Xuance had already expected this day, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly! With a sad look, he took the two letters handed over by the master in a dignified manner!

Then the old man Dongye slowly advised: "These two letters, one is addressed to Wei Zheng, the minister of the current dynasty, and it is related to your future and fate!" The other letter was presented by him to His Majesty today. I hope that after you go down the mountain, you will make good suggestions for the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty and do a good job of serving the country and the people. It's not in vain to teach you what I've cultivated in the past few years! Today, you will go down the mountain and go to Chang'an to serve the country."

Hearing what the old man Dongye said, Wang Xuance hurriedly knelt down, tears welled up, wept bitterly, and thanked the master with a thousand reluctances!

Seeing all this, the old man Dongye endured the sadness in his heart, and instructed in a serious voice: "The world is unpredictable, officialdom is also complicated, when you go to the world, you must be open-minded, uphold the idea of justice, and do good deeds for the people; You must understand that the people are the cornerstone, and word of mouth is the foundation of your life. You are a good person when everyone says hello, otherwise it is useless to say more. In the face of the noise of officialdom, the teacher is also a failure, so the master can't teach you anything about the officialdom, I just hope that you can uphold your nature, move forward, and do your own career. Win glory for Master, and stand up for yourself! For the teacher to help you, it is only these two letters, you must put them away, and the rest will have to be done by yourself. After listening to another entrustment from the master, Wang Xuance held back his tears and solemnly kowtowed three times to the old man Dongye to thank him for his diligent teachings over the years!

Although there are thousands of reluctance and unbearable, but after all, I can't resist the teacher's life! Under the urging of the master, he slowly packed up his things, took the two weapons given by the master, turned back in three steps, looked at the head in five steps, and walked along the mountain path in the direction of Chang'an. I only heard the old man Dongye tell him again in the back: "The apprentice must remember the words of the teacher, be a good man, and do things in a down-to-earth manner!" Wang Xuance, who only heard the distance away, replied loudly: "Master, the apprentice must remember it in his heart!" ”

The reunion is always short-lived, but the parting is sad, looking at the distant background, the old man Dongye also hopes that this apprentice can finally become a talent after such a journey! It is said that after Wang Xuance left, the old man of Dongye did not have the hardships of apprenticeship, and still pursued the law of life of sunrise and sunset, meditating and cultivating his mind, and had a unique charm.

Throughout Chinese history, many things have been serendipitous and coincidental. Since Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and the peasant uprising, the heroes of the world have risen together, and only then have Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fight for the world. Looking at the founding heroes of the Western Han Dynasty, Xiao He Cao Shen Xiahou Ying, and Zhou Boyan Wangguan, which one is not Liu Bang's wine and meat friend, and a village crawled out, this is chance and coincidence. Looking back at the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was born in cloth, and he was still helped by a group of iron buddies who played from childhood to adulthood, and only then did he lay the foundation for the 200 years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Back to the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, and Liu Bei didn't have a few brothers to rely on and take care of when they started; It's still a matter of chance and coincidence.

Consider it from another angle, without the help of these people in history, what would be the outcome of these founding emperors! Although there has been a history, it is not possible to assume. But this shows that chance is really important for a person. And Wang Xuance, a historical madman who has led for more than a thousand years, a generation of generals, will there be such an opportunity and coincidence when he goes down the mountain this time? Then follow the text, let's talk about them one by one!