New Year's Day of the first year of Jianwen. This day is the beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new emperor's year, a new hope, a new restlessness, a new story; The first year of Jianwen, a unique year of the Ming Dynasty, a peculiar year of great importance in the history of the country.

Shen Ruoliao took Nangong Qiu to the palace to congratulate King Yan and Concubine Xu on the New Year. In the evening, Zhu Di held a New Year's Day banquet as usual, the close ministers and generals around the prince were all accompanied, the four court officials of the two divisions of Beiping were also present, as well as the father-in-law Zhang Qi and the eldest brother Zhang Chang of the son Zhu Gaochi, Yuan Rong, the chief guest of honor of Yongan County, and Li Rang, the chief guest of honor of Yongping County. But there was not a single female dependent; Nangong Qiu was ordered to accompany Princess Yan to another banquet with several other county lords.

During the banquet, Zhu Di frequently talked about the relationship between his brothers and sisters with the crown prince Zhu Biao, and praised the current Emperor Jianwen's thoughts on cultural governance. Dao Yan and Yao Biao just listened without a reaction; Several generals had cold expressions, it seemed that King Yan had told them not to be excited, let alone take their words seriously; The four court officials saw that Yan Wang was false and wronged, but they couldn't just poke through the window paper, so they could only end up embarrassed, and they didn't feel uncomfortable sitting there, but they only occasionally catered to two sentences perfunctorily.

After Zhu Di talked for a while, he suddenly said to Ma Sanbao:

"Sanbao, you go and get my piano out."

King Yan probably had already made arrangements; Ma Sanbao immediately took out the prince's seven-string guqin and respectfully presented it on the case in front of Shen Ruoyu.

Shen Ruoyu was taken aback and looked at King Yan inquiringly.

Zhu Di smiled at the four court officials and said:

"The joy of no silk and bamboo can be called a feast. The four adults also know that Xiao Wang has been martial since he was a child, and he doesn't like to see female music singing and dancing in the palace, and gradually these things are wasted, and when it is time to use them, they can't do anything. Today's banquet, fortunately, there are Cheng'an guests here, presumably at yesterday's wedding, the four adults have a little understanding of his piano skills, if you don't dislike it, Xiao Wang ordered him to play a song for everyone now, but also to add elegance to the banquet. I wonder what a few people think? ”

Zhang Hao said coldly: "It's an honor for the lower officials. Xia Guan has long heard that His Royal Highness King Yan's piano skills are unmatched in the world, and he must not be able to play it casually with others. Being able to listen to Cheng An Yibin playing the piano is, of course, a blessing for the four officials. ”

Zhu Di smiled cheerfully: "Lord Zhang's fallacious award." Frankly speaking, although Xiao Wang has a famous piano in his hand, his piano skills are really not worthy of this good piano, so he still lets the master play it, and he will not bury it. If there are few, you can play a song as you like, and you should all cheer up the four adults. ”

Shen Ruoyu was a little helpless. The prince seemed to have some plan, but he didn't tell him anything in advance, and let him play the piano when he came up. The piano is not played casually. What kind of tune did he choose for this kind of occasion?

Zhu Di saw his confusion and said with a smile: "You play a song casually; However, it can no longer be "Flowing Water", nor can it be "Guangling San". Let everyone listen to something fresh. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked around the entire banquet hall. Everyone looked at him expectantly; However, this expectation is slightly different. Yao Biao seems to be more worried. Yong'an Yibin Yuan Rongzheng looked at himself a little critically; His pickiness is understandable, among the three guest of honor, he was originally the first in the sequence, and it stands to reason that he should be the most noble, but now he is always behind Shen Ruoliao, everything is the Cheng'an guest who picked it up, and the lord of Cheng'an is a wild girl from nowhere, and it is just cheap to pick it up for nothing. Yongping Yibin Li Rang didn't seem to have so many ideas, just listened to the words of His Royal Highness his father-in-law. Among the four court officials, Zhang Yu and Xie Gui looked at him with disdain and were more guarded, Jingqing looked so worried everywhere from beginning to end, Zhang Xin also seemed to be a little worried, his eyes kept wandering between Yan Wang, Zhu Neng and his colleagues, as if he was afraid of discord between the two sides.

Shen Ruoyu's heart moved slightly. He remembered a song he had played in the Night's Mountain, and put his hand quietly on the strings, pondering for a moment, but then raised his palms and made a cracked accent on the strings.

It's not "Guangling San", it's better than "Guangling San". He still remembered the piece clearly, every note.

At the time, it was just a simple imagination. It's as simple as casually selling words and writing a poem of seven uniques. But now, he suddenly discovered that the song could also have profound meanings, especially at the New Year's Day banquet in the first year of Jianwen.

After he finished playing a song, Master Dao Yan bowed his head slightly, and said with a meaningful smile:

"Good tune; If I didn't guess wrong, it should be Yi Binlang's own work. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "The master smiled. This piece was composed on the eve of my seventeenth birthday when I practiced swords. There are many mistakes in the song, and I ask the master to correct them. ”

"Yi Binlang did it himself?" Zhang Xin sighed, "Sure enough, he is a master." Not only is the martial arts outstanding, but this piano skill is also unparalleled in the world. ”

"I don't know what the title of the song is?" Zhang Yu asked.

Shen Ruoyu suddenly had an idea and said with a smile: "It's better for everyone to guess." ”

"Guess?" Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Zhu Di smiled and said:

"It's a good idea; All of you here, let's take a guess. ”

Qiu Fu shouted: "We are coarse, we don't understand anything, how can we guess?" Intentionally bullying people. ”

"Hey, General Qiu, you have to be a big boss, you should go alone; None of us are. Zhu Neng laughed.

Chen Qi asked: "The exact name is difficult to guess, why don't everyone guess the characteristics of the name, gradually narrow the range, and finally it is easy to guess." Lord Yibin came to see us, and he was right? ”

"Let me guess first," Yao Biao looked at Shen Ruoliao with a smile, "The ups and downs of the song are not simple improvisational emotional play; Presumably the song tells a story, right? ”

"Lord Yao is clever." Shen Ruoyu smiled, "It's really based on a very famous story. ”

"It's still very famous," Zhang Qi muttered, "the story in the Records of the Historians? ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled: "Your Excellency is wise, and you will hit it with one blow." ”

Tan Yuan blushed and said: "Lord Yibin Lang is strong in martial arts, and this song was composed when he practiced swords, so it should be related to swords." ”

Shen Ruoyu thought for a while and said with a smile: "General Tan is right, it has something to do with swords, but it is not an ordinary sword, but a very short sword. ”

"The story is about a knight with strong martial arts?" Yuan Zhongche asked.

Yuan Heng shook his head and said, "No, I must be talking about a legendary general." ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled: "I'm sorry, grandfather, not a general; The chivalrous man that my uncle said is a little close. ”

Zhang Xin asked with interest: "The song is so tragic, it must be a tragic story?" ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated. "Sort of. Sad, but—mostly on the spirit. ”

Zhu Neng asked tentatively, "Could it be the Hongmen Banquet?" ”

"The Hongmen Banquet can't be considered a tragedy, right?" Zhang Yu seemed taken aback and looked at Zhu Neng.

Shen Ruoyu said: "General Zhu is wise, this story has many similarities with the Hongmen Banquet, but I'm sorry, General Zhu, please continue to guess." ”

He turned his head, looked at the other three court officials, and asked:

"What do you think about the three adults?"

Zhu Di was also trying to force the three of them to speak, and at this moment, Shen Ruoyu spoke up for him, so he smiled slightly and continued to sit and watch.

Jing Qing already had a problem in his heart, but at this moment, he looked at Zhang Yu and Xie Gui, and was unwilling to speak first. Zhang and Xie were deeply bored with this game, but they couldn't find an excuse to get out, originally at the New Year's banquet, although it was customary for the vassal king to invite local officials to the banquet, logically speaking, it should also be regarded as an honor by local officials, and the banquet was a drinking order, games and the like, which must not be refused. The two were helpless, and Zhang Hao had no choice but to deal with:

"Since it's a story, you can't have just one main character. There must be another important role in Yi Binlang's song. ”

His words gave Xie Gui inspiration. Xie Gui hurriedly said:

"What Master Zhang said is extremely true; Since it is a tragic story, it means that another character in the story is more powerful than the protagonist, and finally defeats the protagonist? ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled and said: "Please forgive me, two adults, blame me for not making it clear just now, in fact, no one knows what the protagonist's own martial arts are." However, the other character is indeed much stronger than him, and he does fail in the end. ”

Jing Qing cautiously asked: "Lord Yibin, this song was composed by an adult when he was practicing swords three years ago, and with an adult who is so young and handsome, the song must contain the lofty ambitions of an adult." So the story told in the song must be an inspirational allusion that inspires people to forge ahead? ”

Shen Ruoyu pondered for a moment and said, "Lord Jing, the story has always been famous all over the world for its tragedy, not because of its inspiration. However, my lord is wise, and the choice of this story does give me some small ideals. It was naïve and naïve at the time, but these aspirations never disappeared, and they became more determined and clear than they were at the beginning. ”

Zhang Chang said: "Since it is the ambition of Cheng'an Yibin, it is naturally in Wu Buwen." ”

Shen Ruoyu said with a smile: "Wenzhi martial arts, Wen has always been in front of martial arts, and I have always hoped that I can achieve something in literature." However, people still have to be self-aware, so adults are wise, and the little ambition I pinned on in the song is indeed in martial arts. ”

"I hope to be an invincible master in the world like Ling Zun," Yuan Rong said coldly.

"No, Cheng'an Yibin is already an invincible master in the world. And it is said that it is the story in the "Historical Records", and it also pins on the ambition of Cheng'an Yibin, so he must be a big man who shines brightly," Li Rang said.

Shen Ruoyu said: "Although my protagonist is bright, he is not a big person. ”

Qiu Fu shouted: "Lord Yi Binlang has just gotten married, and the song must be related to women; Since it is so tragic, it is ...... It's just- what's that called? …… Maweipo! ”

Even Zhang Yu and Xie Gui, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn't help laughing at the moment.

Tan Yuan grabbed Qiu Fu, his face was already purple with a smile, and he shouted: "General Qiu, even if I, Tan Yuan, am illiterate, it seems that I am better than you, but I still know that it is called Ma Weipo, not Ma Wei Po." ”

"Besides, Ma Weipo is a matter of the Tang Dynasty, and the "Historical Records" was written by Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty. Zhu Neng teased him.

Yuan Hui couldn't help laughing and said: "Where, no matter how capable Yuan Hui is, he can't compare to Sima Qian's great powers, and he foresaw Ma Weipo in the Western Han Dynasty." ”

Zhu Di was already laughing, but he was not in a hurry to speak, and he continued to watch the excitement.

Shen Ruoliao teased: "What does General Qiu mean, my Shen Ruoliao's ambition is to be a red face and disaster that will captivate the city and the country?" ”

Chen Qi said: "The hearts of adults are higher than the sky, how can they be occupied by women." The protagonist of the story must be the great emperor and monarch in the "Historical Records", and the story is about the rise and fall of the country. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "General Chen, I am shy to use this story to place my little ambitions, so the protagonist of the story must be just a minister, how can it be an emperor and monarch." It's not my turn to do that kind of dream. However, although the protagonist is not, the other character is a great monarch. And the second half of your sentence is also right, the story is indeed about the rise and fall of the fate of the country, and the fate of the rise and fall of two countries. ”

Luo Yang couldn't hold it back for a long time, but he didn't know if he had the right to speak. Seeing this, Shen Ruoxiao asked Zhu Di:

"Lord Wang, it seems that Lord Luo also has opinions, why don't you listen to what he means?"

Zhu Di nodded and said, "Very good; Luo Yang, Sanbao, if you have any ideas, you can speak freely. ”

Luo Yang said: "The story of Lord Yibin is not about Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, and the emperor is Liu Bang of Henkel?" ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I have no experience in the army, unlike the generals here, I don't dare to dream of Han Xin's great achievements at present. This protagonist of mine has never done anything in his life; Despite this, the name of the British is still alive and the light is sweaty. ”

"It's really appetizing," Yao Biao smiled helplessly.

Zhang Yu said thoughtfully: "A tragic hero, "Historical Records" also abounds. But those who have not made meritorious deeds but have left their names in history, unless they die generously for the sake of righteousness...... Than dry? However, I only heard that he was branded by the king of the Emperor, and it seems that I have never heard of him doing any deeds. But he's just a civil servant. ”

Shen Ruoliao said: "It's still different from the story of Bigan and King Xu. Bigan was a courtier of the king of Zhou, and he also belonged to the Shang state. In my story, the main character and the other character, the great emperor, do not belong to the same country, so the fate of the two countries is involved. ”

"But it sounds like this story is very personal," Chen said, "focusing on one person, it doesn't seem like there should be any major war scenes, right?" ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled: "General Chen listened carefully; The center of the story really only focuses on the protagonist personally, and there are no huge scenes. ”

Zhu Nengdao: "A duel between an ordinary person and the king of another country, and a duel between two people determines the fate of two countries - it is rare in "Historical Records". ”

"So, everyone has come to the border, and one more step will reveal everything." Shen Ruoyu said.

Ma Sanbao couldn't help but say: "Listen to this song of Lord Yibin, first suppress and then raise, and stop at the peak, which seems to have the same effect as "Guangling San"; I guess the meaning is not far from the same, right? ”

Shen Ruoyu said with a smile: "Father-in-law Ma, you have already guessed this, which makes me feel a sense of crisis." ”

Dao Yan smiled and said: "In addition to the shadow of "Guangling San", Lord Yibin's song was initially a voice of change, and then it was a generous voice, which hinted profoundly. ”

Shen Ruoyu's heart moved, and he couldn't help but say: "The master is really a master; This little trick is so easily seen through by you. The master must already know the name of the song? ”

Dao Yan obviously knew, but shook his head and smiled: "Not yet, the old man has exhausted his wisdom." ”

Yao Biao asked, "Lord Yibin, I don't know how many words there are in the title of the song?" ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Lord Yao is already confident? ”

Yao Biao smiled: "Don't dare, don't dare; Yao Biao was confused, but there were already immortals on the table who had come up with an answer, and only the number of words corresponded. Yao just had the heart to ask for the real master. ”

Shen Ruoyu could see that Yao Biao already knew the answer. At this moment, after the previous series of questions and answers, Yuan Hui and Yuan Zhongche had obviously guessed the title of the song. It seems that except for Qiu Fu and Tan Yuan, the others have also come out of the fog. However, no one said a word. Everyone knew it, and Shen Ruoyu could see it, he knew who should say the answer, he knew who had not spoken, and who he should ask now.

"Lord, what do you say?" He looked at King Yan with a smile.

Zhu Di smiled gracefully, pinched the teacup, took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, slightly picked up his long beard with his right hand, twisted it confidently, and said unhurriedly:

"There is an answer in my heart, but I don't know if I guessed it right."

"Lord Wang, please speak."

"You answer Lord Yao's question first, and it's easy to talk about Lonely."

Shen Ruoyu said: "The title of the song was two words when the song was first written, but five words can also be used." ”

Zhu Di said: "If you want to listen to Lone's suggestion, it's better to have two words; It's called "Thorn Qin". ”

Shen Ruoyu stood up, raised his glass with both hands and said, "The prince knows everything, and he can't hide anything from you." If you admire it to the extreme, I would like to give you a toast! ”

Zhu Di smiled and replied, "Where; Your piano skills are a real eye-opener for Lonely. ”

Zhang Yu was very unhappy at the banquet, and sneered at this moment: "Yibin Lang is really well-intentioned; Jing Ke is also the concubine of the Yan Kingdom and the son-in-law of the King of Yan; Jing Ke assassinated the King of Qin, not for the sake of Prince Yan Dan, who was brave and loyal, and could be shown through the ages. It's a pity that Jing Ke failed in the end, and the world became the world of King Qin, and the Yan Kingdom was also destroyed by King Qin. ”

As soon as these words came out, the five generals under King Yan were all taken aback; Tan Yuan was just about to speak, but Zhu Neng hurriedly held him down.

Shen Ruoyu had already prepared, sat back on the table in a hurry, put down the empty cup, and replied dignifiedly:

To this day, when it comes to Jing Ke's assassination of King Qin, descendants are still excited and sigh for Jing Ke, and they have never heard of anyone rejoicing that King Qin escaped to death. What's more, at that time, Qin had not yet destroyed the Six Kingdoms, and Yan and Qin were completely equal. Therefore, Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin was not only to avenge Prince Yan, but also in his heart, for the rise of the Yan Kingdom, for the King of Yan to one day achieve a great cause, destroy the Qin State, and even destroy the Six Kingdoms like the Qin State, dominate the world, and perform the supreme system**. If he succeeds, today we will talk about the first emperor in history, not Qin Shi Huang, but Yan Dan. ”

The five generals couldn't help but nod their heads secretly, Qiu Fu and Tan Yuan were even overjoyed, and they were almost about to applaud. Luo Yang and Ma Sanbao glanced at each other, and Yuan Hui and Yuan Zhongche also glanced at each other, all nodding in approval silently. Yao Biao looked at Dao Yan and found that Dao Yan was looking at him meaningfully, so he turned his head to look at Shen Ruoliao and fell into deep thought.

Zhu Di stared at Shen Ruoliao silently, constantly twisting the long beard in his hand, his eyes were deep, and he didn't say a word.

Xie Gui said angrily: "Yi Binlang, don't forget, the final winner of this war is King Qin. The Yan State was weak, and in front of the invincible Qin army, it was like a withered leaf, shaking and falling, and then it became powder. King Yan does not have the slightest strength to compete with King Qin, and what to talk about the ambition and ideal of being on an equal footing with the Qin State, and even dominating the world, simply makes the world laugh off his big teeth. ”

Shen Ruoyu was not in a hurry, and smiled elegantly: "Lord Xie, since ancient times, the victor and the prince and the loser Kou, can you know why Jing Ke, a loser, is still a hero admired by everyone today, even a victor like Qin Yingzheng can't turn his brilliance upside down?" ”

Xie Gui was slightly stunned and opened his mouth.

Shen Ruoyu said quietly and firmly: "Success or failure is the same for Jing Ke himself, because no matter whether he wins or loses, Jing Ke can only be torn apart by the car. However, he did not take himself to heart in the slightest. 'A woman counts for those who please herself, and a man dies for a confidant.' 'Yan Dan meets Jing Ke to the thickest, so Jing Ke will die to repay Yan Dan; However, the King of Qin was a ruthless, untrustworthy, unkind and unrighteous man, who built his eternal exploits on brutality, so he attracted the infamy of the ages behind him, but he was not as perfect as the image of the assassin he killed. ”

Seeing that the smell of gunpowder was getting stronger and stronger, Zhang Xin hurriedly interjected and said, "A historical question, why should the two adults be so serious?" The era of the division of the princes has long passed, the two Jin and Northern Dynasties, the five dynasties and the ten kingdoms have become history, and there will never be the story of Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin. ”

Shen Ruoyu thanked smartly: "What Lord Zhang said is extremely true; In fact, I was excited because I liked this story very much, and my words were a little more excited. I just really want to have an in-depth discussion with Lord Xie, and I don't mean to offend adults in the slightest, so please forgive me. ”

Xie Gui had no face, so he had to say angrily: "Even so, Xie Gui is also unintentional, his emotions are out of control for a while, and he offended Lord Yibin, please don't care about it." ”

Zhu Di laughed: "The discussion just now is very interesting and thought-provoking, but you are welcome to have more such discussions in the future." It would be better if the three princes were all present, which could stimulate their interest in studying problems, motivate them to study hard, and also bring a love of reading to the palace, which would be beneficial but harmless. ”

Xie Gui reluctantly said two perfunctory sentences; Except for Zhang Xin, the three court officials did not speak again throughout the banquet.