Mulberry hemp leaves fall, cedar cypress is still the same, on the day of the Chongyang Festival in September, a convoy rolled up the loess and slowly drove to the west gate of Qufu.

"In the past few years, Qufu has not changed much......" Zigong sat in the car, looking at the suburbs of Lucheng, no different from when he was studying here.

In Duanmuci's impression, the city of Qufu is narrow in the alleys, revealing a small family atmosphere of the Lu people, and it was originally the most prosperous capital of the Lu country, but now, he feels that Yuncheng on the shore of Onozawa Lake is better in terms of spiritual outlook.

Pioneering and enterprising, closed and conservative, this is the difference between the two capitals.

Not to mention the Taoqiu, which is changing with each passing day and driven by the floating population, new things are emerging one after another.

What has changed is only his status and the courtesy he has received......

"It's Zigong!"

"I've seen Duanmuzi!"

"Old and polite......"

"The junior has seen Mr.!"

As soon as he entered the commercial house in the market of Waiguo District, the arrival of Zigong attracted a burst of exclamations.

There are also young businessmen who have never seen Zigong, and they whispered to ask others who is coming, why the merchants of Dr. Qing's family, and the big men in Lu have great respect for him.

"He is Duanmu Ci, the word Zigong, in business, he is the master of Taoqiu's extravagance, the industry within a radius of several miles, and even all kinds of things in the arena, are operated and governed by him, and it is rumored that he has become a rich doctor! In politics, Lu Guoxin's assistant minister, the great uncle Kong Zhongni is his teacher, Cao Bo treats him as a guest, and Zhao Xiaosikou, who is in power in Xilu, is his gold lord and sovereign......"

Zigong is now the most successful businessman between Cao and Lu, but he is not arrogant or impatient, whether he is familiar with it or not. They all smiled and greeted everyone, which made people feel like a spring breeze.

But he didn't stay in the market for long. This time he came to Qufu, Zigong did two things. First, both Zhao Wuxian and Cao Guo were involved in the Song Rebellion. As Zheng and Wei joined the rebel side, the battle began to stalemate. The army spent thousands of stones of corn every day, and the grain harvested by Cao Guo and Xilu in the autumn was transported south, resulting in a decrease in the government treasury, so they could only buy it from Qufu.

Second, there have been rumors recently that some people in the court want to take advantage of Zhao Wuxian's fierce battle in the Song Kingdom, which is not good for Xilu, so Zhao Wuxian asked Zigong to Qufu to explore the rumors. After all, Confucius, who was appointed as the ruling assistant, was his teacher.

Zigong's destination is the official office area, and on the way, he will pass by the courtyard where the master lived earlier, and look sideways, and there are familiar scenery everywhere.

Under the canopy-like banyan tree, the Master taught them the truth of "learning and learning when you learn". Next to the clear well, he accompanied Yan Hui to drink water with a scoop, and the faint well water entered Yan Hui's mouth. But as if he had drunk the elixir, looking at the sky and clouds, he sighed with satisfaction. The shop that sells dog meat, Zilu took him to taste it. The patriotic light man lost his dun dun in front of the master, sat cross-legged, and drank in a big bowl. Eating meat in large gulps, greasy hands holding dog legs. Stuffed it into Zigong's mouth......

Thinking of the past, a smile appeared on the corner of Zigong's mouth.

But then there was a sigh.

"Since the Valley Alliance. The lord and the master have some different meanings, and the scenes of mutual respect and laughter and banquets in the past are gone. ”

Zigong thought that he must rely on his three-inch incorruptible tongue to persuade the master to support Zhao Wuxian in the Song Chaos, and in turn, he must also persuade Zhao Wuxian to back down a little, so as not to make the face of the monarch and ministers of Lu State too ugly.

However, at this moment, in the direction of the palace gate, there was a drum sound.

……

"Knock knock!"

The drums continued to beat from the east to the west of the inner city, breaking the slow and logical routine of the Lu people, and everyone looked up to listen......

An old man raised his dim eyes and asked, "Which secretary died?" The last time Ji Pingzi died, the drums of the entire Qufu were ringing non-stop. ”

Zigong's car was next to him, he listened attentively, judged that the drum came from the palace gate, and said to the old man under the car: "Old man, this is not the death of the secretary, the death of the secretary, the city is beating, this time it is the drum of the assembly, and only one drum stand is ringing." ”

At the end of these words, the people around them all showed a trace of doubt, remembering that the last time the drum sounded to call for the people to gather, it was Yang Hu who forced the people of the Lu country to go to the society to meet and swear an oath with them.

What does it mean to beat the drums this time?

"It's on, it's on!"

The two boys jumped and ran past, splashing a big puddle of water, and there were such poor and lowly children everywhere in the alleys of Qufuli, idling around all day long, and once something happened in the city, they were the most well-informed. The old man was almost knocked into his arms, and cursed them with his cane, but the two boys did not stop, and the others began to move towards the east one after another, to see what was going on.

Zigong also simply got out of the car, walked a few steps to the front, grabbed a boy, and asked, "What happened ahead?" ”

The boy looked back, but his steps did not slow. "The armor is going to take him outside the palace."

"Who to bring?"

"Of course it's Dr. Shaozheng! I heard that the great uncle tied him up and escorted him to the palace! ”

Zigong let go of his hand, and the whole person was stunned.

According to tradition, "the punishment is not the doctor", and the master does not advocate "all punishments". After he took office as Zongbo, he tried not to use it, but advocated the use of education to influence the people, as the so-called "morality, courtesy, shame and ......"

But now, the master has arrested Shao Zhengmao? What the hell is going on?

"Quickly dodge!" Just as he was thinking about it, someone at the intersection shouted, "The ruling car has arrived!" Evade quickly! ”

A luxurious convoy rumbled by, the horses were all draped in silk, this was the horse sent by the Qi people, and the car was sitting on the Lu State ruler, Ji Sunsi!

If Zigong remembers correctly, Shao Zhengmao and Ji Sun's family are very close, will the master do this, will it cause Ji Sunsi's dissatisfaction?

Zigong was not the only one who followed Jisunsi's carriage, everyone was heading in the same direction, anxious to find out why the drum was beating. The drums seemed to be getting louder and louder, and Zigong trudged through the crowd, confused as he listened to the excited voices around him.

"It's Shao Zhengmao, the big uncle wants to bring him to the palace."

"I heard that he has always been at odds with the great uncle, and the two of them each opened their own private schools before, and Shao Zhengmao compared with Kong Zhongni, and the result was that Zhongni's disciples had three profits and three voids." It was a well-dressed taxi who seemed to know a lot of inside information.

Zigong still remembers those days, only Yan Hui has been sitting quietly in the master's house and has not left, and the rest of the brothers and sisters have gone to listen to Shao Zhengmao's lecture in line with the idea that there must be my teacher in a threesome. Shao Zhengmao did give people the impression that he was eloquent at the beginning, and he was well-versed in the past, but after many times, he felt that it was nothing more than that, but his mouth was more able to speak than the master, so Zigong and others returned to Confucius.

Wanting to go back, Zigong felt that he was still too naïve at that time, although the master didn't say anything about this matter, and there was nothing abnormal about them, but he knew that the master was very unhappy.

After the master began to be in politics, Shao Zhengmao also disagreed with his political views, and Confucius gradually regarded him as an enemy. But Zigong has not reached this level, he is good at words, and he has indeed been influenced by Shao Zhengmao, so he still respects this person.

The master has always believed that even if he attacks heretics, this kind of behavior will not do him any good, why did he have such a radical attitude this time and actually tied up Shaozheng Mao?

When they arrived outside the Lu Guogong Palace, the crowds of people surging from all directions were already rubbing shoulders and crowding. Zigong could only let the crowd push him forward, from here you can clearly see the high Lu Palace, there are two high gates in front of the door, and the drum sound originates from here, so it sounds particularly loud.

Zigong held his money bag tightly and pushed left and right in the crowd, there were still many carriages parked here, and the people around him wanted to climb up so that they could see more clearly. As a result, the emperor scolded, and with a wave of the whip, they were all driven away, and only Zigong was pulled up by one hand.

"Zigong...... I've found you. Zigong took a look, it turned out to be Feng Rin who was arranged by Zhao Wuxian to work in Qufu, this person was the husband who took Zhao Wuxian abroad three years ago, he didn't accept Zigong at first, but after a few rounds, he admired it so much. Although Feng Rin looks ugly, he has some ability, and after a few years in Qufu, he is familiar with the doctors of the public family and the merchants and peddlers.

"What happened?" The two of them can be regarded as serving the same master, so Zigong did not be polite with him, and asked questions directly after getting in the car.

"You don't know yet?" Feng Rin ate a lot of fat, and his little eyes were full of surprise, but then he suddenly said: "That's right, you have been busy transferring baggage to Song Guo, and you have been on the road a few days ago, I don't know if it's right, this happened suddenly, and even I just got the news." ”

Under Feng Rin's long story short, Zigong roughly understood what had happened in the past few days.

"Seven days ago, Confucius was the uncle of Lu Dazong, and was elected by the monarch and the three secretaries as the regent, because the ruling is not often in the national capital, and someone must be on the side to assist. On the third day of his residence, Shao Zhengmao sarcastically mocked Confucius, saying that he had a happy face, and that he was a villain, and the result was ......"

Feng Rin pointed to the slowly opening palace gate and said: "As a result, Confucius and Shao Zhengmao blamed each other and wrote to the monarch for ruling, and today's matter has happened." ”

Standing on the carriage and looking out, the field of vision has become a lot wider, the surging crowd has stopped under the two views, the palace armor has opened one after another with blades, they are maintaining order, clearing a clearing, at this moment, Zigong saw the master.

Confucius stood under the east view of the two views of the Lu Palace, it was cold in late autumn, he was wearing a thick gray coat, wearing a gray wool velvet cloak, and his figure was still tall, standing there against the sky, as if there was another one more in front of the Lu Palace. But through the heavy clothes, Zigong still felt that the master had lost weight, the long tendrils were mixed with more and more white, and there was no joy on that long face, only hesitation and confusion.

The next person to be escorted up was Shao Zhengmao, who was stalked by his neck, he was short and fat, old, gray-haired, and wearing a court dress, but his clothes were crooked, and he looked a little embarrassed. The doctor was supported by two palace armors, and when he passed in front of Confucius, he sneered.

The drums finally stopped, and the two protagonists have arrived today, which caused another wave of speculation among the Chinese gathered outside the palace.

Zigong was also worried: "Master, Master, what are you going to do?" ”

PS: I was too tired last night, I fell asleep unconsciously, I'm sorry, I owe it more slowly, I really can't overestimate my energy during the New Year. I have to go to the New Year's greetings in the afternoon, and if I come back early, there will be a chapter in the evening. (To be continued.) )