May in Hengqu Town was extremely hot and dry, and it didn't rain for more than half a month. The dust was swept up by the wind, and the sky above me seemed to be covered with a gray and yellow veil. However, it is the harvest season, and the fields are golden, so it is a good thing that there is no rain at this time, so you don't have to worry about the wheat that has been harvested and sprouted in water.

At the foot of a hillside full of freshly planted apricots and plums, a huge windmill was spinning in the summer breeze. Clear and sweet groundwater is constantly lifted up from a deep well that is nearly 20 zhang deep.

Because it was harvest time, there was no need to irrigate the fields, and the canals that flowed to the fields were all slugging, and the clear well water flowed down the cement and pebble bottom canals all the way to the town, where they were used to drink water for people and animals. There are wells in the town, but the water has a little more bitterness, not as sweet as the deep well under the Hengqu Academy, although it is only a deep well, but now it is watering the fields and providing water for hundreds of households in Hengqu Town.

Zhang Zaizheng stood in front of the mountain gate of the academy, looking down at the land under the hillside that had turned from verdant green to abundant and golden in a few months. The breeze stirred the wheat fields and the two windmills at the bottom of the mountain. The sound of wheels kept reaching his ears.

Zhang Zai, who is in his fifties, has been sick all these years. Over the past year, his complexion has deteriorated a few points, his face still has an unhealthy flush, and only a pair of eyes are extremely deep, as if he can see all the vanity in the world.

His proud protégé Su Yu was on his side at this time, pointing to the undulating fields under the gate of the academy: "Except for more than two hectares of fields that bloom on the hillside, more than 30 hectares of fields around the academy are now watered. Although the harvest has only just begun, it is not yet certain how much the harvest will be, but this year is certainly a bumper harvest. ”

Zhang Zai nodded and smiled: "Watered land is several times stronger than dry land, otherwise the counties around Baiqu will not become the granary of Guanzhong." ”

Su Yu was in a good mood, he had food in his hands, and he didn't panic in his heart. In Hengqu Academy, he is also responsible for the work of managing the accounts, arranging food and lodging for the junior and younger students, all of which are up to him, and he can't let the scholars who come to study go hungry.

"After the grain is dried, the several grain hoards behind the academy will definitely be full. Not to mention a year, three years of accumulation can be saved. Su Yu happily calculated that last year's and this year's bumper harvest in Hengqu Town made his heart, which had always worried about the academy, finally be able to put back more than half of it.

As soon as Han Gang's disciple was mentioned, Zhang Zai's mood became very good: "Xie Yi Xie Yukun, who is going to be a good student." ”

"That's for sure." Su Yu's gratitude to Han Gang is the deepest, and if Han Gang didn't have his advice, he would be willing to donate money and materials. In today's academy, there is still a little meat every few days? Those are all paid for. And without Han Gang's full publicity, Hengqu Academy would not have so many students from outside Guanzhong now, accounting for more than thirty percent.

With Han Gang's support, Hengqu Academy has developed very well in the past two years. Of course, Han Gang has not always been the financier of Hengqu Academy, and gave the money he earned to his teacher Zhang Zai 1510. Even to the current Son of Heaven Zhao Ji, no one among his courtiers will be loyal to such a degree. It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish, and a hillside around Hengqu Academy is not valuable, but if you plant some easy-to-care fruit trees, you will be able to make a profit in two or three years.

Moreover, it is very windy here, so it is very convenient to build windmills and open a mill, and a deep well is opened at the foot of the mountain. With the help of the six hectares of land belonging to the academy, as well as some money earned from the wind-powered mill and the well water that provided the surrounding fields for watering the fields, the Hengqu Academy was able to accommodate all the nearly 200 scholars who studied in Zhang Zai.

Zhang Zai turned around and walked slowly towards the academy, and the students who passed by him were all after saluting him, and then they left respectfully, all of them mellow and polite, different from the countrymen in the world.

In the courtyard behind the main entrance, the trees are not tall, and they are all the same age as the academy, that is, they are three or five years old. Zhang Zai pointed to two cypress trees side by side in a corner of the courtyard: "These two cypress trees were planted by me when the academy was completed, and they have grown so tall in just a few years." ”

Su Yu looked up at the two cypress trees. In newly built houses, the owner of the house will plant a few trees with his own hands as a souvenir, and sometimes the saplings will become towering trees after a few decades, and even survive for hundreds of thousands of years. But Zhang Zai planted two cypress trees with his own hands, less than two feet apart, but he didn't have the same fate: "It's a pity that one withers and one prospers, and the number of lives is different." ”

"Withering and glorious, the way of heaven is also. Life and death of nature, why sigh. The grass and trees are like this, and so are the people. Save, I'm obedient, no, I'd rather also. Zhang Zai turned around and taught Su Yu a lesson, "Ji Ming, if you get the Tao, you must also keep the Tao." ”

Su Yu was stunned for a moment. Then he took a step back and bowed to Zhang Zaiyi, "Students are taught." ”

"It doesn't have to be that way." Zhang Zai waved his hand and motioned for Su Yu to stand up. He looked back at the two cypress trees again, and there was still a trace of reluctance in his eyes: "After a while, I won't be able to see it." I will see you again in the future, but I don't know what year and month it will be. ”

"Sir has already decided to go to Jingshi?!" Su Xun asked in surprise.

"It's going." Zhang Zai nodded, "If you don't go to Beijing to give lectures, how can you promote the way of qi learning?" Han Yukun did his best for this, and he couldn't live up to him. ”

Yesterday, a letter was sent from the post house in the town with the signature of the Son of Heaven and Zhongshu, giving Zhang Zai a position as the manager of Jixian School, and ordering him to enter Beijing as soon as possible. Therefore, the hearts of the people in the academy are a little fluctuating, and I don't know when Zhang Zai will come back. However, several major disciples all suggested that Zhang Zai should take this appointment, and if Qi Science wanted to develop, it was necessary to expand its prestige so that Guanzhong Qi Science could be promoted to the heavens.

Zhang Zai was talking, suddenly covered his mouth violently, and coughed heartbreakingly for a while, Su Yu hurriedly came over and patted his back, and after a long time, Zhang Zai stopped coughing. Shaking his head helplessly, birth, old age, sickness and death can't be avoided, and Zhang Zai also knows that his return date is approaching: "This body can't be delayed for long." ”

Su Xun's face darkened, and he reluctantly smiled: "There are many famous doctors in Beijing, and there must be a doctor who can cure my husband's illness." ”

Zhang Zai didn't pay attention to this obvious comforting word, his body was the clearest, he smiled, and sighed for Han Gang's efforts, "Just for this Jixian school manager, Yukun may have had a falling out with his father-in-law again in the capital." ”

Su Yu laughed, Wang Anshi and Han Gang's son-in-law are indeed very interesting: "Han Yukun has also helped Wang Xianggong a lot, and I think that their son-in-law will not have a quarrel when they part ways." ”

"Wang Jiefu is also difficult to do. When it comes to stubbornness, Han Yukun is no worse than him. Zhang Zai chuckled, he hadn't seen Wang Anshi before.

Zhang Zai said and laughed, but Su Yu was still a little unhappy in his heart, "Han Yukun and Lu Weizhong finally invited Wang Yuyu to recommend Mr. to sentence the country, although it was just a plan to advance two and retreat one, I didn't expect Wang Jiefu to refuse to leave even a direct statement to Mr. ”

"It's okay not to be able to enter the country. Don't you hear the words 'to be upright', and to raise those who are upright, the merits of the saints. What the Guozi Prison is striving for is an official word, but it is an ignorant boy, which is easier to guide his heart to the Tao. ”

Zhang Zai looked back at the side courtyard on the east side of the concealment, and the sound of Langlang reading was coming from it, the sound was childish, and the reading was only a discourse.

It's just the sound of reading with a child's sharp voice, listening to Zhang Zai's ears, but it is as comfortable as a big gift Shao music, "In February, Mengxue reopened, holding a bamboo pole tied with green onions and throwing it out of the window, this smart custom can be more righteous than visiting the Ersheng Temple before the test." ”

Su Yu nodded silently. Confucian disciples worship sages and ancestors, which is just a word of 'respect', not a request. In order to be able to pass the Jinshi examination, going to the temple of Baizi Lu Zixia is really inexplicable, and it is indeed a deviation from the right path.

Zhang Zai sighed and lifted his spirits again: "The book "Zhengmeng" has been written for most of the time, and it will be able to see the full success next year, I hope this book can make people read more." ”

Su Yu bowed half-bowed, and said: "Zhengmeng has tens of thousands of words, and the students have written them down one by one." However, the words are difficult to break, and the students dare to ask for a distinction by chapter, so that they can be recited. I don't know what Mr. thinks? ”

The book Zhengmeng is the crystallization of Zhang Zai's life's work, but at the moment, it can only be said to be a fragment of gold and jade, and a broken chapter. It is a collection of sentences and paragraphs of speech, and the coherence is incomplete. In Su Bingkun's view, it needs to be rearranged and the most basic annotations need to be made.

Zhang Zai held on to the decayed cypress tree, smiled slightly, and whiskered in the wind: "Children grasp Zhou, all things are complete, and there is no intention to be organized, and it is difficult to take it." It is indeed necessary to distinguish the chapters, as Ji Ming said. But I have written this book, such as such a withered plant, and all the branches and leaves...... But it's just a dead branch, and if it's full of glory, it needs to be power. ”

“…… Students understand. Su Yu bowed slightly, Zhang Zai meant to hand over the task of chapters and sections to these disciples, and he himself didn't care.

Zhang Zai slowly walked towards the middle hall of the academy, and spoke as he walked: "After going to Beijing, I will see Han Yukun again." He has always been partial to nature, looking up to see the world, opening up a new path with his own hands, and testing it with real objects, which is indeed rare. However, it must be known that there are no two between heaven and earth, and only the way of nature has to be deviated, and it is difficult to see its success at the end. ”

"The student knows the truth." Su Yu said in a low voice, "However, Yukun is only in his early twenties, and it is a little difficult to achieve the parallel between heaven and man." It is already rare that he can chase one of them and study it deeply. ”

"Whether it's rare or not, you can understand after meeting him." Jang Zai laughed, with a residual breath in his throat.

In the laughter, the breeze rose again, and the windmill under the mountain turned more rapidly, like a wheel, and went straight to the east.