There was silence all around.

Xie Yuan's words were ostensibly a compliment to Tang An, but in fact he wanted to embarrass him. He was obviously asleep just now, how could he know what the three of them said?

There was a political disagreement between the courts, and it was understandable that the ministers made each other stumble in front of the king. But the problem is that Tang Anai is the representative of the Tang Dynasty. If he can't get off the stage in front of everyone's eyes, it is no longer a matter of locking up people to play petty, but it has risen to the level of the family and the country.

The old fellows looked around, pretending not to hear. Some secretly hated Xie Yuan for not knowing things regardless of the occasion, and some participated in the palace feast, knowing that the two had different opinions on the issue of sending troops or not, they looked at Tang An with great meaning, wanting to see how he broke the situation.

Only Li Yu had the idea of "the kingdom is benevolent", and glanced at Xie Yuan angrily. But Xie Yuan stared at Tang An with blazing eyes, and he didn't mean to stop at all because of his reproachful gaze.

For a while, Tang An became the focus of everyone again.

Snub Qing looked at the two of them with some confusion, not understanding why Xie Yuan would be so unfriendly to Tang An. But for the sake of Lan Haitang's face, he still reminded kindly: "Lord Tang, Xue Cong thinks that 'virtue and law are mutually beneficial, the monarch is the minister, and the minister serves the people', I don't know if you agree?" ”

Tang An knew that he was helping himself in disguise, glanced at him gratefully, smiled and waved his hand: "The folk name is not enough to worry about. This bit of ink in the lower chest really can't be compared with a few talents, so I won't laugh at it here. ”

Xie Yuan didn't buy it, and continued to force each other: "Tang Hou Ye is too modest. As far as I know, you have been to Nishan to debate, and even Lu Ji's kung fu is not as good as his talent. Although the talented man of Qi is slightly famous, he has always worked behind closed doors. If Hou Ye is willing to give one or two advice, not only will the students be of great use, but even we will benefit immensely, and I hope that Hou Ye will not hesitate to give advice. ”

The three students were instigated by Xie Yuan, coupled with the insult of hating Tang An, and said together: "Please give me advice!" ”

Everyone was slightly surprised, but they didn't expect that this Tang Marquis had also been to debate, and even Old Man Lu was not an opponent. Could it be that this guy who can sleep at the event will be a master who is deeply hidden?

Speaking of which, Tang An has no way out. Feng Zhiyao glanced at him with some concern, not knowing how he should end.

Retreating again and again will naturally not be Tang An's style. Seeing that Xie Yuan was so aggressive, he didn't plan to continue to endure it, so he simply stood up, arched his hand with a smile, and said, "I really don't have any ink in my chest, and there is a difference between me and a few talented people." But Grandpa Guo was so hard to force each other, so he had to be cheeky and ugly. Even if it's not good to say it below, if you want to be kind to everyone here, you won't laugh at it, right? ”

This was said without minus, and it was clear that it was a last resort under Xie Yuan's "persecution". The latter sentence is even more ruthless, on the surface it says that everyone has "the capacity to accommodate people", but even a dozing off has to be investigated to the end, can this also be regarded as a "magnanimous big country"?

Everyone was red and white by Tang An's words, even Li Yu coughed again and again to hide his embarrassment, smiled reluctantly, and said, "The envoy said that it doesn't matter, I'll listen to you." ”

Tang An smiled, paced with his hands behind his back, and walked out five steps in a row.

Every step touches everyone's eyes and their hearts. They wanted to know how this prince from a country they looked down on could maintain the prestige of the Tang Dynasty under the pressure of the Jixia School Palace?

Snub is curious, wanting to see what is different about the man who took away the heart of the blue begonia; Feng Zhiyao was nervous, and her little hands were all sweat stains.

Five steps to stand.

Tang An stood up straight, smiled confidently, and said, "This classmate Zhao Zicong said that virtue and government benefit the people; This classmate Xue Zicheng said again, to take care of the punishment, yes or no? ”

The two students had stinky faces.

"Zhao Cong" corrected kindly: "Master Hou, under Zhao Zicheng!" ”

"Xue Zicheng" also said: "Master Hou, under Xue Cong!" ”

Rao is occasion was serious, Feng Zhiyao still couldn't help but want to laugh, and hurriedly pinched her thighs with her thumb and forefinger to hold the smile that had climbed up her cheeks, and endured it very hard.

"Don't worry about these details!" Tang An coughed and continued: "I mean to say that no matter whether it is a moral or criminal policy, a decree that is truly beneficial to the common people is a good decree. But did the three of them consider the question: what kind of decree is acceptable to the people? In other words, do you know them? ”

Hearing this question, the three of them were slightly stunned.

If the children of the eunuchs are also counted as ordinary people, of course they understand. But everyone knows what the word "people" refers to.

It's those who get up early and stay up late and work hard to make ends meet. It is those who face the loess with their backs to the sky and send raw materials for delicate dishes. It is those who shout and sell and are looked down upon by the powerful.

These are the people they lead, look down on, and even look down upon. They hate the smell of these people, they don't like their vulgarity, but they keep saying that they want to bless them.

How could they possibly understand the "people"? All they need to do is enslave, manipulate, draw nourishment from them, and then hypocritically offer themselves mercy.

Seeing that the three of them were stunned, Tang An smiled slightly. This question is actually a bit redundant, because everyone already has the answer in their minds.

"I remember hearing a story about a bird with beautiful feathers that could fly up to the nine heavens, and its name was the Bird. There is another species of bird, which is very weak and ugly, and can only fly as high as a branch, and it is called a sparrow. ”

Tang An said slowly, with a hint of pity in his eyes, I don't know whether to pity the sparrow or pity the bird?

"The bird is beautiful and people love it. But because it flies so high, people can only look up and hope that one day they can become it and see what it looks like in the sky. The sparrow is different, it is small, ugly, very inconspicuous, and no one cares about it. However, it silently helps people. When people are working, it hums a light ballad to make people happy; When the harvest comes, they go into the fields to eliminate pests and make people have a good harvest. It's a pity—"

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Tang An did not show off his literary talents, but told a story to everyone in the most simple language.

That's where his cleverness comes in. He knew very well that if he talked about it, he would never be the opponent of a few students. And with his status and status, if the level of what he said is too low, he will inevitably be looked down upon and thought that there is no one in Datang.

Is there anything more appropriate than a fable?

Sure enough, both the minister and the three students listened carefully. Although they didn't understand Tang An's intentions, they listened very carefully. They believe that the story that comes out of the mouth of a young man may not be so simple.

Therefore, when listening to Tang An's words, everyone's brows were furrowed.

"It is a pity that people did not find the help that the sparrow gave them, but they hated this small and ugly bird from the bottom of their hearts. The sparrows were driven away with their hoes, but as soon as the sparrows were gone, the pests had no natural predators and began to plague the dealers with impunity. And at this time, the Honghu above the Nine Heavens sensed that people were in trouble. But it flew too high, too high to see what was going on, and only instinctively sensed that people needed its help. It looked at it and thought the rainbow on the horizon was beautiful, and people must have liked it. So it came to people with a rainbow. ”

Tang settled for a moment, looked at the thoughtful crowd, and said with a smile: "Can Rainbow help get rid of pests?" Of course not. People look at the bad dealer in the field, and then look at the rainbow that is beautiful but has no practical meaning and want to cry without tears, and finally miss the good of the sparrow. But the sparrows have long since left, and it is difficult for the dealer to harvest. ”

Taking a deep breath, Tang An continued: "The ancients said that 'the bird's ambition is known', but they forgot to think about the ambition of the bird. If everyone yearns to soar above the nine heavens and become the beautiful bird, then they have to retreat to the second best and strive to become the gray fluttering bird. ”

When the story was finished, there was no applause, and the hall fell into a faint silence.

It's not that people ignore etiquette, but at the same time they get caught up in thinking and even forget to applaud.

Tang An's story is easy to understand, simple and outrageous, but the meaning behind it is by no means as simple as it seems.

Those who carry the golden key all the way to the marquis and worship the prime minister are like birds, with beautiful feathers, but they don't know what the people need most. They will only plunge the country into turmoil and make life difficult for the people. There may be people who want to change all this, only to find that what they are advocating is not what the people need.

Talented people who truly do practical things for the people and rejuvenate the country must be like sparrows, swooping down and going deep among the masses to understand the people's weal and woe. Only in this way can we prescribe the right medicine and make the potential threat invisible. They may not have a prominent back. Jing, without extraordinary talent, is the mainstay of the country's prosperity.

Can't you tell who is the bird and who is the bird?

But the problem is that people look at problems from different perspectives depending on their position. If Tang An's words were said in Datang, it might cause a lot of resonance.

It's a pity that this is the country of Qi.

The blind self-confidence and inexplicable sense of superiority of the Qi people make them innate stubborn, otherwise they would not have regressed step by step and developed into today's situation.

Maybe in the eyes of these old guys, the bird's finch has merit, but the merit is on one side, and it is the Honghu who really overlooks the overall situation. They will not deny themselves because of Tang An's remarks, and of course they will not jump out in public to refute the face of this Tang envoy, after all, they said at the beginning that they were forced to express their views in desperation. It's just that the noncommittal old faces have already spoken their disdainful hearts.

Only a few people are exceptions.

Tang An's words, Xie Yuan felt the most. Although he is also a famous family, he knows very well how despicable and filthy the nobles are, and they are the cancer of this country. It is precisely because of this that he sighed even more that Tang An was young but not confused by power and wealth, and how rare the quality of keeping the people in his heart was.

It's a pity that he is an enemy, so he still has to die!