Ji Za was a gentleman revered by all the princes of the Central Plains, and the last living fossil left over from the era of the Soldiers, who carried countless poems and books in his belly, including many Zhou classics that were burned and scattered during the rebellion of the princes. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although he had the intention of taking Ji Zha to Linzhang School Palace for the elderly, considering his body, Zhao Wuxian couldn't bear to disobey the old man's will, and he let the Lingque doctors who accompanied the army take care of them, these people were the most outstanding doctors in this era. Thinking that when he got better, he would send Ji Za back to Wu, so that he could spend his last days in his hometown, and by the way, he would be a messenger of peace between the north and the south......

Zhao Wuxian also comforted Ji Zha, saying that as long as he recuperated well, he should be fine, but Zhao Wuxian couldn't say for sure, because he didn't know when and where Ji Zha died in history.

However, as the weather became colder day by day, Ji Zha's body deteriorated, let alone getting out of bed, it was difficult to even move his body.

"I can't get to Yanling." When he was sober, Jiza knew his situation, and he did not have the fear of death, but with a hint of relief. "The old man has lived for so many years, and I can finally go to see the Kun father and brothers, my brother Zhu Fan, Yu Xi, Yu Yi, they tolerate me to tie my hair in a bun, wear wide clothes and wide sleeves, because at that time, the people of Wu have always felt that the depression of returning to Zong Zhou is very literate, this is the future of Wu Guo, but unfortunately, the world has changed ...... later."

"Zhao Hou, the old man has always been unable to figure out one thing, why did the God of Haotian and the God of Si Ming let me stay in the world for so long? What good is an old man like me who is dying for them? "Jiza's mottled, thin fingers tremble." Now that the old man understands, Haotian God, probably wants to borrow my eyes and watch the whole process. ”

"What process?"

"The rites are broken, the clay kettle thunders, the high bank is the valley, and the deep valley is the mausoleum."

He saw that the treaty of war had become a dead letter, that the country of Wu had inevitably slipped towards barbarism, that the nations had abandoned etiquette and credit and annexed each other, that there was no definite relationship between the states, that there was no definite lord of the soldiers, that the city was fought for, that the city was full of murder, that all good things disappeared, and that evil things were noisy.

"When the old man thought that this was the end, Haotian God let me see something else."

"So what?"

"Revolution. In the past, there was the Wuwang Revolution, and now there is also the Zhao Hou Revolution, the Zhou Revolution is Yin's life, and Zhao Houge's is not only Zhou's life, but also the life of three generations of the old system. I have always been very yearning for the new atmosphere of the Lu Kingdom mentioned in the letter sent by Yan Yan, and I want to take a look at the Jin Kingdom...... No, it's the national style of Zhao State. And what Zhao Hou once said to his grandson, the world is set for a ......"

After saying that, Ji Za's eyes bloomed again.

"It is a good thing to kill soldiers, but after all, the countries did not let go of greed and resentment, and fought again, maybe after Zhao Hou really realized his wish to level the world, the real soldiers can come, and the thousands of years of brilliance of Tang Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou, can also make the scholars calm down and sum up......"

Zhao Wuxian smiled, which was also his expectation: "I will not disappoint Ji Zi." ”

……

That conversation was Jiza's last waking days, and after that, the old man was far more asleep than awake. He curled up on the couch of the Xu Palace, muttering to himself in his sleep, occasionally calling the names of some people, such as Yan Yan, Fu Cha, and even Wang Gong and Qing Ji, half alive and half dead...... He sometimes insisted on entrusting Zhao Wuxian with some things, but when Zhao Wuxian put down what he was doing and rushed over, Ji Za had forgotten what to say, and even if he did, he was incoherent.

In mid-September, Ji Za finally didn't hold on, and passed away at nightfall.

In the early morning of the next day, after hearing the news, not only the imprisoned Wu Guo's pawns cried, but even Xu Ren cried so darkly.

The friendship between Ji Za and Xu Jun has endured for more than twenty years, and thanks to Ji Za's protection, they have been able to avoid slave-like treatment. Although the Xu people hated Wu Guo, they loved Ji Zha, the old people regarded him as a brother, the middle-aged people regarded him as a father, and the young people regarded him as an ancestor.

Therefore, on the day of Zhao Wuxian's funeral for Ji Zha, almost the entire people in Xucheng came.

The sky was gray, overcast and cold, and the streets of Xucheng were crowded with men, women and children. The road is so long, and there are so many people, that you can't see the end to the north or the end to the south. People spontaneously wore kudzu hemp, tied black cloth on their heads, and their eyes looked in the direction of Xu Palace. They stood for a long time in the autumn wind, just as they welcomed the Zhao army into the city that day, but they were cheering at the time, but today they were sad, and many of them had tears on their faces.

When Zhao Wuxian personally drove his own chariot and the coffin carrying Ji Za came out, everyone's eyes moved with the hearse, as if someone was silently commanding. When the hearse passed by, Xu Ren bowed down and cried, and as the hearse drove away, he hurriedly chased after him and bowed again, but he couldn't bother to wipe away the tears on his cheeks.

Zhao Wuxian also looked back from time to time, but saw that in the coffin of the ship, Ji Zha's demeanor was serene, he was deeply clothed, he was a general, and even wore a sword, and the gentleman after death was still a gentleman, the last gentleman in the world.

In accordance with Jiza's final plea, the hearse drove to the banks of Surabaya, where Jizhana's boat-shaped coffin was placed on the boat and was to be routed along Surabaya and Hangou to the southern kingdom of Wu for burial in Yanling.

The fox will die in the first hill, no matter how much he admires the culture of the Central Plains, but Ji Za will eventually return to the south.

The morning mist spread across the river, light as a spider's web, and the middle wing of the funeral ship waded into shallow water, with two winglets leading the way. The slender wooden boat left the dock under the drive of the paddles, and gradually accelerated on the rapids of Surabaya, heading straight to the noisy canal junction, the sails were filled with wind, and this time the southward journey was sure to be fast and smooth. From Xucheng to Hancheng, it only takes one day to take the waterway, which can really be described as "a thousand miles of Jiangling in one day".

It wasn't until the ship was completely gone that Zhao Wuxian sighed, Ji Za deserved such courtesy from Zhao Hou, not only because he was the only remaining gentleman, but also a witness to the history of the second half of the Spring and Autumn Period, and a close friend of Zhao Wuxian's great-grandfather. All the more because Jiza's death marked the end of an era......

Next, it's time for Zhao Wuxian's era!

He resolutely turned around, just as he said to Ji Za, he was ready to use the second half of his life to draw a successful end to the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the Spring and Autumn Period, the Central Plains will usher in a long period of soldiers, and there will be no more warring states!

……

However, to Zhao Wuxian's annoyance, in fact, the war has not ended.

When Song Gongjiao and Huang Ying fled south, Sima Geng, the "Great Sima" of the Song State, did not pass with them, but retreated to Pengcheng to make a final resistance.

When Zhao Wuxian went south, he asked Ran Qiu to take more than 10,000 people, and cooperate with Le's division and Shangqiu Tiandao soldiers to continue the siege, thinking that the guards of less than 2,000 people in Pengcheng should be able to take it soon. However, a month has passed, and his side has swept through Huaibei and made the Xu people return to their hearts, but in Pengcheng, the war is still going on.

At the same time that Ji Za was buried in the south, on the battlefield of Pengcheng's attack and defense, Ran Qiu was also making the most difficult choice in his life.

Sima Geng has been resisting for too long, and there is still a stream of water in the inner city of Pengcheng, and it is not easy to attack, so for the sake of safety, Ran Qiu has dragged it until now, and when he saw that the city was about to run out of food, he sent people in to persuade him to surrender.

"Pengcheng does not fall!"

However, not long after, the soldiers who were sent to persuade him to surrender were driven out and came to Ran Qiu's side in embarrassment to reply.

"What did he say?"

"He said, people with lofty ideals are benevolent, there is no survival to harm benevolence, there is killing to become benevolent!"

This is the master's teaching, standing in front of the messy inner city of Pengcheng, Ran Qiu, who had been expelled from the Confucian Gate, was silent. He thought of the time when he and Sima Geng worshiped Confucius together and talked about etiquette and the art of using soldiers together twenty years ago, and his heart was dripping blood. But at the same time, his duties as a general outweighed this friendship.

"Ziniu, you got this word right, you really look like a cow!"

Ran Ziyou's gaze became cold, he raised his hand, and several catapults aimed at the small but sturdy inner city of Pengcheng.

"There are those who resist stubbornly, and there is no forgiveness for killing!"

Ten stone bullets bombarded the wall, the earth and stones splashed, and more than a dozen ladders were also set up at the head of the city, and countless Zhao Lusong soldiers swarmed up, like a swarm of ants covering the body of a small beetle......

On September 15, Pengcheng fell, and Sima Geng died! (To be continued.) )