[It's really late, I'm really sorry]

After the New Year, it is the eighth year of Xining.

The sound of crackling firecrackers, one after another, even with Sima Guang's calm heart, it was difficult to continue reading the book with peace of mind.

'Zhaoyang is a nightmare, and every time it is a eunuch', a volume of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when he read the section of Yuwentai's killing of the abolished emperor, he finally couldn't bear the noise in his ears.

It's been almost six years since I left Tokyo. It has been several years since he built the Paradise of Solitude, and it has been almost two years since he dug the cellar to write and read. Although the small garden is alone, the wall is humble and small, and the area is not extensive, and the joy of the outside world still spreads into the reading hall in the paradise with the sound of firecrackers.

There was a large stack of posters on the desk in the reading hall. Today's custom is to send a name post to the door during the New Year. In the past, I paid attention to visiting the door to congratulate during the New Year, but in the officialdom, there are a lot of people who come and go, how can I have the energy and time to visit one by one? Gradually, it became a New Year's send a servant to the door to deliver the name post, only to send the heart. Sima Guang was not exempt from vulgarity, and Yuan Ri sent more than a dozen pieces out of the court, but got hundreds back.

Sima Guang put down the manuscript of Zizhi Tongjian, glanced at the famous posts piled up on the table with disgust, and felt that it was better to go to the cellar to read.

He didn't usually use this study in the reading hall, but wrote books in the cellar, and occasionally used it once in a while, but it was so noisy. When you stand up, you have to go down to the cellar with your book.

"Junshi." After Sima Guang's personal servant knocked on the door, he walked in, pointed to the name card on the desk, and asked, "Have you cleaned it up?" ”

Sima Guang looked back at the name cards stacked on the table. The world is declining, people's feelings are like paper, even if a door is visited, Sima Guang is still a little unaccustomed to it, "It's all cleaned up." ”

The old servant quickly cleaned up the desk, Sima Guang was about to go down to the cellar again, but his son Sima Kang also entered the study. He held a letter in his hand: "My lord, Uncle Xinghe [Xingshu] has written again." ”

"Uncle Xinghe?" Sima Guang took the letter, and his serious face was a little more joyful.

Xing Shu is a disciple of Cheng Hao, and he also defected to him and Lu Gongshu, and he was admitted to Jinshi early, but he was known by Wang Anshi because of the inconvenience of discussing the new law. Over the years, the letter has also come very frequently, and Sima Guang is thinking about his disciple.

Seeing the letter from the criminal forgiveness, Sima Guang suddenly remembered something: "The letter from Liu Gong's father [Liu Chu] the day before yesterday has not been replied to, and I have to write it first today." He said to Sima Kang, "The day before yesterday, Liu Gong's father wrote a letter saying that Cai was indeed an upside-down clam. I thought of replying to the letter to remind him not to be humorous and insulting, but he forgot about it. ”

Hearing that Liu Chu was so happy with Cai Qu's name, Sima Kang wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare to laugh casually in front of his father, so he pursed his lips tightly, and his face was red.

Clams are also known as shell vegetables, and in turn they are Cai Qu [Note 1]. And Cai is indeed a native of Taichung, just like a clam. The wind is like an open clam's mouth, so big that it has no edges. And once combined, it's like a clam closing its shell, and biting anyone is a mouthful of blood. For Cai Qu, who played for the tiger in Yushitai, this nickname could not be more accurate. Presumably, as long as it spreads, it can spread from the capital and Luoyang to all parts of the world in a blink of an eye.

"Liu Gong's father was mostly burdened by his tongue in his life, and he has not changed it to this day." Sima Guang sighed again.

He had a close friendship with Liu Chu, and the compilation of the Zizhi Tongjian was not Sima Guang's work alone, but Sima Guang's contribution to the entire Book Repair Bureau, of which Liu Chu was the main member. He is a famous historian today, especially proficient in Han history, and the "Han Guanyi" and "Han Books and Periodicals" that are now popular in the world are his works. He was recommended by Sima Guang to be responsible for some chapters of Han history in the Zizhi Tongjian.

"If Liu Gong's father can change, why did he become a foreigner before he got the position of pavilion proofreader?"

Liu Chu likes to joke about people's names. A royal historian named Mamo once impeached him for being insulting. Someone told Liu Chu in private, and he immediately said: "If you are called Ma Mo, why use the donkey's voice?" He wrote another "Mamo Donkey Song" as revenge.

Wang Fen's name is the same as 'tomb'. And Liu Chu's '攽' is the same as 'class'. Once, Wang Fen laughed at Liu Chen's name and said, "His Royal Highness Zichen frequently calls you." "——When going to court, the officials will call 'Banban' in a long voice. Liu Chu replied: "I often see you in the original head of cold food. "—The Cold Food Festival is all about going to the grave.

It is said that in the dispute between Zeng Bu and Lu Jiawen last year, Wang Anshi protected Lu Jiawen [Ziwangzhi], which made Zeng Bu go out. At that time, it was circulated in the officialdom, and it came from the Analects, and the joke that 'Zeng Zi avoided the table and looked at it as if it was like' was what Liu Chu said.

He even made fun of Han Gang, who is now famous. 'Flying back thousands of miles', this is a joke with Han Gang's words.

The country is easy to change, and the nature is difficult to change, Sima Kang doesn't think that Liu Chu can change his problem of being too talkative and tongue-in-cheek and likes to joke with people's names.

Just as he was talking about Liu Chu, the old servant walked in again at this time, saluted Sima Guang and his son, and handed over a letter of worship, "Junshi, the two officials of the Cheng family are asking to see each other outside." ”

When it comes to Ercheng in Luoyang, it is naturally Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi who have arrived.

Sima Guang looked down at the household clothes he was wearing, and said to his son: "You go out to talk to Bochun and Uncle Zheng, and wait for your father to change clothes." ”

After waiting for a while, Sima Guang came out in a change of clothes to meet guests, and listened to Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, talking to their son.

Cheng Hao said: "Sincerity." Sincerity is in Zhizhi, and Zhizhi is in Gewu. Gewu lies in the exhaustive study of physics. ”

"Everything in front of us is nothing, and everything is justified. The reason why the fire is hot, the reason why the water is cold, so that between the monarch and the minister, father and son, can only be understood by exhausting reason. These are Cheng Yi's words.

Sima Guang listened and smiled indifferently. He had heard that Ercheng had an ingenious interpretation of Gewu Zhizhi, but now he was snatched away. Sima Guang himself, however, was dissatisfied with Ercheng or Zhang Zai's new interpretation, although he did not still follow the annotations of Zheng Xuan and Kong Yingda, but he had his own opinions.

After meeting the visiting guests, and after sitting down, Sima Guang asked, "I don't know what Fang is talking about?" ”

Sima Kang hurriedly said: "I'm talking about Han Gang's buoyancy tracing the source. ”

Luoyang is very close to Kaifeng, and Han Gang spread the new theory of Kaikai in the capital, and it came to Luoyang in less than two days. Whether it is Ercheng, Sima Guang and his son, his ears and eyes are not closed, and he has already learned about it before the New Year's Festival.

"Han Gang?" Sima Guang smiled again, his smile was so deep that people couldn't see what he was thinking, "I don't know what Bochun and Uncle Zheng think?" ”

Cheng Hao nodded: "I just think it makes sense." The truth that can float the boat on the water is explained thoroughly, and only Han Yukun is the only one. ”

Sima Kang immediately said: "It's just that Han Gang's arguments are mostly about the way of nature, and he doesn't see that he doesn't involve half of the outline, which is inevitably biased - Hengqu Zhang Zihou's article [i.e. Ximing] is not as biased as him." ”

Cheng Yi said: "Han Yukun really doesn't talk much, and he is not serious. However, at his age, it is rare to be able to be poor in nature. ”

Cheng Hao also said: "I remember that Han Gang once said that it is indeed a bit lame to want to approach the avenue with side arts. However, the matter of Gangchang is focused on implementation, and Han Gang decided the He family's grave dispute case in Baima County, but it was judged according to Gangchang. ”

Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi tried their best to protect Han Gang. How could Sima Guang not know the reason?

Wang Anshi's son-in-law has always performed disciple salutes in front of Ercheng, and he passed Luoyang two years ago, and once occupied more than an hour in the snow. Respect for teachers is something that few people in the world can match. It is reasonable for Ercheng to value Han Gang because of this.

However, Sima Guang didn't understand where he was standing with Han Gang.

Han Gang married Wang Anshi's daughter, but he can't be said to be a hardcore new party. Han Gang's attitude toward the New Party is very obvious. He did a great favor to Wang Anshi, but he also fought with Wang Anshi for recommending Zhang Zai and Ercheng to enter the Jingyi Bureau. Now he ignores the changes in the political hall, abandons his important position, and only seeks to manage the ordnance superintendent.

"Regardless of whether the strategy advocated by Han Yukun is feasible. But he presided over the repair of the embankment in Kaifeng, benefiting all the people and being deeply courteous by the displaced people, which is clear. ”

"How can the Yellow River Golden Embankment not be repaired? Once it is to be repaired, it is indispensable to drive the people's power. And those who are good at politics are not disturbing the people - Han Gang has done it. The homeless people who fled back from Luoyang last year were all begging for Han Yukun to preside. It is the person who presides over this place in Luoyang, and if Han Yukun presides, everyone should be happy. ”

Sima Guang nodded, Ercheng's words were indeed correct.

The Yellow River passes through the territory of Luoyang, although it is blocked by the North Mountain, and is not afraid of the flooding of the Yellow River. But after all, repairing the embankment is a major matter related to millions of people, and of course Sima Guang is always concerned. When the Hebei refugees fled from Luoyang labor, and ran back to Kaifeng to beg Han Gang to preside, everything they did, in exchange for who to comment, no matter how low the evaluation was, they had to give a comment on the word 'capable official', and it was not easy to find fault.

The year before last year's successive disasters, the grain merchant case and Zheng Xia's case were inseparable from Han Gang.

But it is impossible for Sima Guang and Ercheng to return to protect the grain merchants who hoard Juqi, and it is their turn to preside, and this generation of profiteers must also be severely punished. And the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of displaced people and the prevention of chaos are all great merits in the eyes of everyone.

The natural disaster in Xining's six years and seven years was Wang Anshi's fault, and it had nothing to do with Han Gang. As for Zheng Xia, who was righteous and insistent, he would be demoted to Enzhou because of Han Gang, and it was Zheng Xia himself who was at fault first. Who asked him to attack Han Gang, if he didn't get involved in the affairs of Baima County, only about the affairs of Jingshi, how could Han Gang have a reason to go to the palace to refute it?

Judging from this incident, Han Gang is by no means a traitor who clings to the New Party and seeks a high position, and can even be regarded as a capable minister. But he sat back and watched the remnants of the new law have passed, and Sima Guang can't do it, and he has no opinion of him.

Moreover, Han Gang's construction of iron ships, no matter what, is an act of useless use for the country and a waste of people's fat and ointment, and it is specially built as proof in order to promote the theory of buoyancy.

"Selfishness is a little heavier!" Looking at Ercheng, who was still arguing, Sima Guang came to a conclusion. But it's not just talking about Han Gang.

Note 1: Ancient sound shell, indeed homophonic, see Pingshui rhyme.