Three years ago, after listening to the persuasion of Confucius's disciple Ran Qiu, Ji Sunfei, the head of the Ji Sun clan, took Kong Qiu, who stayed in Weiguo, back to Lu and respected him as the elder of the country. But the title of the old man is just a false name, and Kong Qiu, who is nearly seventy years old, still has not been appointed by Lu Gong after returning to China. Therefore, in the following years, he turned all his energy to the establishment of private schools and the collation and compilation of ancient books of the world.

After passing through Miyagi in the middle of the city, we crossed two more streets to the east, and we saw that there were more and more people carrying bamboo slips and bookbags on their backs. When everyone saw Duanmuci, they would always stop to say hello, so less than two miles away, the three of us walked for half an hour.

"Mr. Duanmu, are all these people here to listen to Confucius's lectures?" I looked at people of different ages and costumes in front of me and behind me, and wondered.

"Well, most of the people who walk on this road are Confucian students who want to go to the academy to listen to lectures. In addition to slaves, traders, pawns, and savages can all worship the master as a teacher and study the six arts as long as they are at least fifteen years old. ”

"It is said that Lu people are studious, and they really live up to their reputation!" I looked at an old man dressed as a Confucian with white hair not far in front of me, and I couldn't help but sigh.

Duanmu Ci bought a few round and plump plums from the vendor on the side of the road and handed them to me and Wuxian with a smile: "Actually, over the years, there are more students from the Song, Wei, and Qi kingdoms than the Lu people, and there are also many Qin people from the northwest. However, since Boyu's death, the master's health has not been as good as before. Nowadays, most of the people who are teaching in the school are a few disciples who have been valued by the master. ”

"Boyu?" I wiped the red plum on my hand with my sleeve and took a big bite.

"Bo Yu is the only son of the master, and he died of illness a year after the master returned to Lu." When Duanmu Ci said this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad on his face.

He died a year later. The sweet and delicious plum meat in my mouth suddenly lost its taste.

Kong Qiu has been wandering for more than ten years since he was driven out of Lu by the "Three Huan", but he did not expect that he would suffer the pain of losing his son as soon as he returned to Lu State.

"Brother Xian, Brother Fool has a reluctant request here." Duanmuci stopped.

"Sir, but it doesn't matter, the younger brother will do his best." I hurriedly swallowed the plum meat in my mouth.

"The master is very old, and Ziyuan is always by his side. Although the two of them are masters and apprentices, they are like father and son. Not long after Bo Yu died, Ziyuan was seriously ill this time, I was afraid that the master would be difficult to accept for a while, and I hoped that the virtuous brother could hide it for the time being. After a while, Ziyuan's illness will be better, and then tell the master. ”

Duanmu is benevolent, but Yan Hui's illness is difficult to get better!

"Sir, don't worry, my little brother has written it down."

"Thank you, brother." Duanmu Ci saw that I should accept it, and his face was relaxed. He took me and Wuxian forward for a short distance of yellow mud road, and then raised his hand and pointed far away: "When we arrive, there is the master's residence in front." ”

I looked at his fingertips, but I saw a bluestone wall and a black-tiled compound surrounded by green trees.

An ox cart was parked in front of the compound, and there were several young people dressed as Confucian scholars standing next to the ox cart. Like me, each of them carried a bundle of jerky tied with twine.

"Looks like someone arrived before us." Shirtless smiled and turned to me.

"These people were recommended to me by Kong Kui, the great doctor of the Patriotic State half a month ago, and they will worship with you later." Duanmu Ci smiled and quickened his pace to meet him.

"Kong Kui is a member of Kong Qiu's clan?" I whispered to the shirtless beside me.

"No, although Kong Qiu is of the same clan as him, he is not of the same clan. Kong Kui is Kuai Yu's nephew, the cousin of Wei Hou, and now he is quite powerful in Wei Guo, and Zilu is slaughtered in his mining town Puyi. ”

"Oh? It is rare for a powerful minister to respect the study of Confucius. I chuckled and walked quickly to Duanmu Ci.

At the gate of the compound, we met with the four students who came from the country.

Duanmu Ci entered the mansion to tell Kongqiu, and the rest of the people waited outside the door together.

"Hongyun'er, I'm so nervous." I stared at the two gates of the Confucian Mansion, and my heart suddenly began to beat wildly.

"Nervous about what? Afraid that Old Man Kong will scold you? The shirtless pulled me to the other side of the gate.

"My family Master Cai has great respect for Kongqiu, and I heard too many things about him when I was a child, and now I am about to see him, and I feel so strange." I let out a long breath, turned to Wuxian, and said, "Help me see, is the scarf tied?" Are your clothes straightened? ”

"Very upright, little brother." Wuxian glanced at me up and down, and said softly, "You are here to learn today, and it doesn't matter if you make a slight mistake in etiquette." ”

"So you say, could I have listed too many problems last night? Kong Qiu is seventy years old this year, even if he is not unconscious, his body can't bear to talk to me for a few hours, right? If you could only ask three, which three should I ask? ”

"Don't think too much, if you don't have enough fun asking later, you can stay and listen to a few more classes, anyway, you have paid the entrance ceremony." Wuxian smiled and pointed to the jerky in my hand, "And even if Kong Qiu doesn't teach his disciples now, there are many sages under him, if everyone has such a talent as Duanmuci, your ten jerkys are worth it." ”

yes, why don't I stay and listen to what the other disciples of Confucius have to say? And regardless of whether they have such a great talent as Duanmuci, even if one person is only half of Duanmuci, then I will definitely be able to gain something from it.

"Okay, that's a good idea, after seeing Confucius later, let's go to the market and buy a few more sets of Confucian clothes! I'm going to stay and listen to the class for a few days. ”

"Okay, it's up to you." Wuxian smiled and patted me on the shoulder, turned his head to look at the door of the house, "Go and apprentice, Kong Qiu is out." ”

Kongqiu came out? I took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

On the steps of the gate of the Confucian Mansion stood a tall, slightly hunched white-haired old man. He wore a plain wide-sleeved Confucian robe made of fine kudzu cloth, and his sparse white hair was fastened to the top of his head with a purple-red wooden hairpin. Perhaps because of his old age and hair loss, his forehead looked much wider than normal, his face was covered with deep and shallow wrinkles, and his lips were slightly sunken because of the loss of teeth. If I hadn't looked him in the eye, the Kongqiu in front of me would be just an ordinary old man. But I believe that no one who sees him can ignore his eyes, those keen and delicate eyes that sparkle with wisdom. His gaze is not compelling, faint, but it seems to be able to see through everything in the world.

I suddenly became timid, I didn't dare to make contact with his gaze, I was afraid that he would see through the doubts and insincerity in my heart at a glance. I suddenly remembered what Duanmu Ci said, "The wall of the master is counted, and I can't enter through the door, I can't see the beauty of the temple, and the wealth of the hundred officials...... "Today, if I can step into this gate in front of me, if I can sit down with Confucius and discuss, then can I find another "door"? The door to the great spiritual world that Confucius did not know to the world.

Confucius respects teachers and attaches great importance to teaching, and the rites of apprenticeship are also very complicated.

At first, Duanmu Cidai Kongqiu asked everyone about their intentions, and everyone expressed their intention to study. Then, Kong Qiu claimed that he was a young man and had no teacher, so everyone expressed their determination again. After hearing this, Kong Qiu invited everyone to enter the hospital. Everyone entered the hospital, bowed down to Kongqiu and offered the gift of studying. Kong Qiu bowed back, accepted the bundle, and the ceremony of apprenticeship was completed.

The whole process took half an hour, and during this time, Wuxian stood beside me with a blank face. After the ceremony, he met with Confucius and declared himself a high-interest pseudonym.

As the son of Zhao Ying, Wuxian seems to have an innate resistance to Kongqiu, or rather, he has a hostility towards Kongqiu's ideas due to different positions.

I don't know if the wise-eyed old man in front of me noticed his hostility, and after saluting Wuxian, Kong Qiu smiled faintly and turned and walked towards the main house in the middle of the courtyard.

"Cai Shi, are you not from Qin?" Kong Qiu borrowed the crutches in his hand to step up the steps of the main house, and I saw that his left foot was a little stiff when he stepped forward, so I hurriedly stepped forward and helped him: "Master Hui, the disciple is from Jin and lives in Xinjiang." ”

"Oh, I have never been to Jin in my life, tell me, what is the difference between Jin and Lu?" As Kong Qiu asked, the four guards standing on the left and right sides of the steps turned their eyes to me.

On the way here, Duanmuci reminded me that after entering the school, Confucius would conduct an inquiry into each disciple to understand each disciple's ability and character. Only those who are superior in ability and virtue will be taught profound knowledge by the Master; For those who are below the human level, the Master will teach them something else that is appropriate to their level.

Everyone who enrolls in school naturally wants to learn more advanced knowledge, and I am no exception. Now that Kong Qiu is asking me about the differences between Jin and Lu, has he already begun to examine me?

I thought seriously in my heart for a while, and then I replied respectfully: "Master, the Jin people know the punishment, the Lu people know the etiquette, but the Jin country has many people who have violated the punishment, and the Lu country has many people who exceed the courtesy." The two countries are in turmoil, and there is no difference. ”

Kong Qiu stroked his long beard on his chest, looked at me and asked, "What is the most important punishment or ceremony?" ”

"Equally." I've thought about this question countless times before, and I'm quick to answer it. After hearing this, Kong Qiu smiled and said nothing, so I continued: "Knowing etiquette makes people shameful, punishment makes people fearful, and governing the country and the people is both important." ”

"Definitely. The way is to govern, all to be punished, and the people are free and shameless; The way is virtuous, all are courteous, shameful and qualified. I think that etiquette is heavier than punishment. With that, he walked into the main house and sat down on a mat facing the door.

To govern the people with punishment, everyone only wants to be innocent, but it is easy to lose the heart of shame. Moral edification of Li Shu will enable them to have a sense of shame and not be punished. Kong Qiu's words sound quite reasonable, is this the reason why he opposed Zhao Ying's casting of the punishment tripod back then?

I pondered Kong Qiu's words in my heart, and at this time he had turned his face to the man sitting below him: "Miji, tell me, how can a gentleman cultivate himself?" ”

The guard named Mi Zhi lifted his eyelids upwards suddenly, and swallowed a large mouthful of saliva into his throat with a "grunt": "Gentleman, you need to ...... Need to be sensitive, little desire...... Gentleman ......" The man's voice trembled, and the other three men in the banquet also looked trembling and afraid.

Author's Note: Happy Chinese New Year's Eve! It's been another year, and I want time to pass a little slower and a little slower. Love you~~~ Don't forget to read the text when you're busy grabbing red envelopes~~~~~

sanjiangge