Zhao Wuxian still remembers that when he visited Confucius in Zhongduyi more than 20 years ago, Confucius talked about Lao Tzu's respect and yearning:

"Bird, I know it can fly; Fish, I know it can swim; Beast, I know it can go. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info walkers can be bound with nets, swimmers can use hooks to fish, and flyers can use arrows to take them. Only the dragon, I don't know what it is? The dragon rode the wind and clouds to the nine heavens! The Lao Tzu I have seen is also like a dragon, with profound and unfathomable knowledge, lofty ambitions and difficult to know; Like a serpent that bends and stretches at any time, like a dragon that changes at any time, hidden in the clouds, you can often see its head, but you don't know its tail......"

But right now, this first mysterious figure in the Spring and Autumn Period, who is like a dragon, is in the same car with Zhao Wuxian, sitting opposite him, but he sees that he has a wide forehead, white hair hanging down, and only a small bun is left on the back of his head, using a simple wattle wood as a hairpin, at this time he is closing his eyes to recuperate, and he is not at all flattered by ordinary people who are in the same car with the lord of the world, and he is indifferent to where Zhao Wuxian wants to invite him to go, as if he knows it in his heart.

Zhao Wuxian didn't have the excitement of seeing ancient celebrities, but he was a little curious about the mysterious old man in front of him.

Perhaps because he was so mysterious that by the time he arrived in the Qin and Han dynasties, no one could tell who Lao Tzu was, and even whether he was a real person was controversial. There are too many symbols added to Lao Tzu in later generations, from the ancient philosophers at the beginning, to the Taishang Laojun after the rise of Taoism, the living immortals, and the interpretation of the Tao Te Ching is also varied.

Zhao Wuxian also didn't know anything about this person, until he saw the real person, and after returning to the basics, he was just an old man full of wisdom and brilliance.

However, the indifference on his body, which makes the king awe-inspiring when he sees it, is unique.

Wuxian couldn't help asking: "Weng's disciple Gubu Ziqing once said that Lao Tzu went west out of the Qin Kingdom and traveled to the clouds, why did he show up in Chengzhou today?" Is the game over? ”

Lao Tzu slowly opened his eyes and said with a smile: "Lao Yu is indeed out of Qinguan in the west, and he has traveled to the land of Xiqiang to watch the sun rise from the meanders of the river; I have also been to the country of quicksand for thousands of miles, looking at the withered poplars. At this time, if he had an understanding, he pondered in the local area, but unexpectedly, he stayed for several years. I was about to continue my journey west, but I met a young man from Zhao ......"

……

"It turns out that Yanagishita is still alive!"

Listening to Lao Tzu's reason, Zhao Wuxian sighed for the coincidence of things in the world, it turned out that Liu Xia Yuezhen was still alive, and he met Lao Tzu in the Hexi Corridor a few years ago.

Lao Tzu was moved by Liu Xiayue's fearlessness of difficulties, pointed him the way forward, got along with him for a period of time in the detention brigade, and listened to Liu Xiayue tell about the drastic changes that have occurred in the Central Plains over the years, and it was this time of getting along that made him change his original intention and decide to come back to see.

"The old man thought that the matter of the Central Plains was over, and he didn't want to have things that I didn't expect, and I thought that the fox would die in the first hill, so let's go back. When I came back, it was really lively......"

Lao Tzu's hidden and Zhuangzi's hidden are different, Zhuangzi is a little escaping, but Lao Tzu is not, the big hidden in the court, hidden in the city, he is an excellent model.

This was the first time Zhao Wuxian learned the news of Liu Xiayue, but Lao Tzu said that it was more than four years ago, Lao Tzu turned back at the junction of Hexi and the desert, and stopped and returned to the Central Plains along the way. But Liu Xia Yue continued to move forward without hesitation, and now, even Lao Tzu doesn't know where he has gone.

While speaking, Zhao Wuxian's car stopped in a place in the inner city of Chengzhou, but it was a pavilion used by the royal family to entertain the princes, and it was naturally deserted in the past, but now this large building is almost monopolized by Zhao Wuxian.

Zhao Wuxian personally helped Lao Tzu get out of the car, but Lao Tzu waved his hand and refused, although he looked old, but he still walked like a fly, if Zhao Wuxian didn't go faster, maybe he couldn't catch up with him.

When I walked into the building, I saw that it was not too decorated, and the meals prepared on the table were also extremely light.

Zhao Wuxian respectfully invited Lao Tzu to take a seat, and he himself sat at the same table with Lao Tzu and personally made tea for Lao Tzu......

Tea, because of Zhao Wuxian's unique hobby twenty years ago, Zigong found wild tea from the land of Wu Chu and transplanted it to the Lu country. After 20 years of cultivation and domestication, the Lu people have figured out the way to grow tea, and now Zhao has conquered Huaibei, where it is more suitable for the growth of tea trees, so in Xu and Donghai, there are tea gardens everywhere that have been opened, specifically responsible for supplying Zhao Hou's needs. For a while, tea became popular in Yecheng, and this unique drink was slowly accepted by the nobles of Zhao State, especially Wenchen, who began to regard tea drinking as a graceful thing......

Whether it is a conquest or an alliance, Zhao Wuxian will bring half a cart of tea wherever he goes, and he is naturally one of the veterans in this way, he scoops the best tea leaves fried with a wooden spoon made of mahogany and puts them into a bowl, and pours them with the boiling spring water in a copper kettle, the pale steam carries the fragrance of tea and rises, and after the tea leaves are repeatedly poured with boiling water, the concentrated essence turns into a pale green tea soup, and then it is poured into a cyan porcelain bowl, served with both hands, and placed in front of Lao Tzu.

"I have heard for a long time that Zhao Hou is fond of tea, but unfortunately this thing is scarce, and he has never tasted it, so he is not welcome today."

Lao Tzu picked up the celadon tea bowl and held it in the palm of his hand, he was not in a hurry to drink, he just watched it quietly, his eyes were deep. But I saw a few pieces of tea in the clear and turquoise liquid stretching, rotating, slowly sinking, then rising and sinking, three ups and three downs, buds and shadows, reflecting each other.

When it just enters the mouth, although the taste is astringent, when it slowly penetrates into the throat, you will feel a fragrant aftertaste, a faint sweetness, which makes people feel a sudden feeling of enlightenment......

"Wonderful." After a sip, Lao Tzu already liked this thing a little, and he always felt that some of its meanings coincided with his heart.

"If Weng likes it, I can give half a car of fragrant tea, and a tea boy to serve around."

"Excuse me, excuse me, I heard that in Zhao Kingdom, a load of tea can be exchanged for ten good horses, and the old man does not dare to accept this heavy gift." Lao Tzu didn't answer, and declined with a smile.

Zhao Wuxian didn't force it, and asked again: "Take the liberty to ask, what is Weng's birthday this year?" ”

Lao Tzu is not shy about it: "Lao Yu was born in the first year of King Zhou Ling. ”

"The first year of King Zhou Ling...... It's already 3 out of 90. ”

That year, Zhao Wuxian's great-grandfather Zhao Wu had just performed the crown ceremony, that is to say, Lao Tzu was at least the same generation as his grandfather Zhao Jingzi, and Zhao Wuxian himself was forty-one years old this year......

The years are not forgiving, and while admiring Lao Tzu for being so long but healthy, and being able to walk back and forth from thousands of miles away, Zhao Wuxian also lost no time in asking for advice on health preservation.

What prince doesn't aspire to live a long life? But Zhao Wuxian will not learn from Qi Hou pestle and mortar, listen to the words of the seaside magic, and eat some poisonous pills, he can only work exercise and maintenance, and there is also Le Lingzi to regulate his diet on weekdays, otherwise he will be so diligent in government affairs, and he often goes on expeditions, maybe he will die of overwork one day......

"I have long heard Gubu Ziqing say that Weng is more than 100 years old, but he walks like a fly, as agile as an ape, in fact, I have grown older in recent years, and I used to be able to stay up late to deal with government affairs, but now I am unable to do it, and I yawn all day before I arrived. Therefore, he gradually listened to his wife's words, put an end to greasy fish, abstained from desires, drank more tea, and drank less and less. To put it bluntly, these living habits are actually imitating Weng, what is the way Weng Ke can prolong life, can he tell Wuxian one or two? ”

Lao Tzu stroked his beard and shook his head: "The method of the prince is still to maintain the body, but he does not know how to maintain the spirit. As soon as the spirit is gone, the person will die, and if the car breaks, the horse will run away. ”

"Oh, how do you raise your spirits?"

Lao Tzu said lightly: "There is nothing more calamity than not being satisfied, if people want what they see, then they will be in trouble." Insatiable greed can deplete a person's energy and thus detract from lifespan. If you want to be full of spirit, it is best to be simple, less selfish, do not deliberately pursue rare things, and live in the world without fighting, so as not to cause mental tension and harm the body. If the prince can do this, he will be able to do it for a long time. ”

There was something in his words, he was turning a corner to persuade himself not to covet Jiuding, and Zhao Wuxian could naturally hear it.

Wuxian couldn't help laughing and said: "Having said that, can Weng be able to do it at Wuxian's age?" ”

Lao Tzu's eyes narrowed, this sentence pointed directly to his past, you know, forty years ago, he was named Zhou Shou Tibetan History, but he was also the master of the prince's dynasty, and he was also one of the masterminds of his struggle for the throne!

……

However, what Zhao Wuxian didn't expect was that Lao Tzu didn't argue with the irony in his words, but just smiled indifferently: "The wood of the hug was born at the end of the millennium; The nine-story platform starts from the soil; Great oaks from little acorns grow.. ”

"It is precisely because I have fought and witnessed where the teacher is, and thorns are growing. After the army, there will be the tragedy of the fierce year, and the old decay can only comprehend the lack of desire and indisputable wonder now. ”

The prince dynasty, since he started the army, has deviated from Lao Tzu's original intention, he has changed from a virtuous prince who rescued the Zhou family, to a murderous party who destroyed the Zhou family for his own selfishness, and the last hope of revitalizing Cheng Zhou was completely extinguished with his failure......

Cheng Zhou's fate was doomed in that year, and Lao Tzu's secular heart also died indifferently and embarked on a road of wandering and retreat.

He is too smart, he is a person who can see things in the world clearly and clearly, and if he knows that he can't do something, he won't do it, and even spreading his own ideas is just a dragonfly and a little bit of water. Unlike Confucius, even though he knew in his heart that he was powerless, he did not give up when he hit the south wall.

Unconsciously, the strangeness between the two has been opened up because of the middleman Liu Shitayue, as well as a cup of tea. But there is still a huge gap between them, and now, after discussing the way of health preservation, adding a sentence of Zhao Wuxian's irony, and Lao Tzu's frank self-description, the layer of mysterious smoke and clouds surrounding him has finally dissipated, one old and one strong, looking at each other.

Now, it's time to get down to business and open the skylight to say something.

Zhao Wuxian avoided Shi Li: "I have a question that I have always wanted to ask Weng. ”

Lao Tzu bowed: "Please speak." ”

"I have heard many people talk about the way of Lao Tzu. The world is interested in the way of raising the heavens, Gubu Ziqing believes in the way of the king's south, Ren Zhang follows the way of quiet and inaction, and Ji Ran is keen on following the rules of nature and taking benefits from it. But what is Lao Tzu's true Tao? ”

Lao Tzu smiled and said nothing: "Everyone has studied here in Lao Yu, and the Tao they have comprehended is also different, what do you think?" ”

Zhao Wuxian clapped his hands, and asked the attendant to send a copy of "Lao Tzu's Five Thousand Words" printed out of Yecheng, pointing to it and saying: "This is written by Gu Bu Ziqing according to the words of Weng, I printed it, took it with me, and read it from time to time, after reading it, I really feel that the Tao is born one, one life is two, two is three, and three is everything, which looks extremely grand and mysterious, and he can't comprehend it in his life......"

"It's just nonsense, the prince has a heart."

"But!"

Zhao Wuxian said: "Maybe it's because of the clumsiness, I always feel that Weng has always told these great truths in the voice of the king's teacher, so what I can see from it is the road of governing the country and the world that Weng has precipitated in his heart for decades and metaphorically said!" ”

His lips smiled, and the hand that raised the teacup did not tremble in the slightest, but Lao Tzu's eyes carefully looked at the middle-aged prince again.

Maybe for the waves he set off in the Central Plains, it was worth it to give up the original intention of traveling west?

PS: There is one more chapter in the evening