Inside the Imperial Prison.

Cao Duan, who had come to this kind of place for the first time, walked in the narrow wall passage that only allowed one person to pass under the guidance of the jailer, and he couldn't help but feel a little stunned in his heart, but when he thought that Kong Xilu was still waiting for him to rescue him, he forcibly calmed down.

Listening to the screams in his ears, although Cao Duan was calm, he was here, isolated and helpless, and his hands and feet couldn't help but lose their normal temperature nervously at this time.

This is not to blame for his lack of mental cultivation, on the contrary, this is the reaction of a thirty-year-old young man when he comes to the edict.

It is difficult to die through the ages, and the edict prison is the closest place to death, how many science masters, pavilions and Confucians say beautifully, and when it comes, they are all scared before the edict is sentenced? Compared with them, Cao Duan's performance is already quite good.

And before that, Cao Duan really never thought that he would one day enter such a terrible place, this is simply a human purgatory, and people have to be tortured every day. Of course, before coming to Nanjing, he had no possibility of such an idea.

"Squeak!"

In the midst of his thoughts, an iron door suddenly opened.

Cao Duan looked up and saw two uniformed jailers appear in front of him, the two jailers had big shoulders and round waists, and they were also quite majestic and majestic, with a fierce and vicious look, and it was not easy to get along with each other.

But no matter what, although the first impression of the edict was very bad, he still had to save Kong Xilu.

Two groups of jailers handed over the work.

One of the jailers snorted coldly: "Don't talk nonsense, come with us." ”

"Let's go? Where to? Isn't it to see Kong Gong? ”

Cao Duan was stunned for a moment, frowned and asked.

According to the process he thinks, isn't going to prison directly to see Kong Xilu?

Another jailer sneered: "Of course, I went to see the commander first, could it be that I could go somewhere else?" Hurry up, if you annoy the commander by delaying the hour, be careful of losing your head. ”

Cao Duan suddenly felt bad when he heard the words 'commander', and his brows frowned even tighter.

Ji Gang's reputation is not very good, Kong Xilu was arrested by him, and now he has changed his plan and let himself meet him, what does it mean?

Seeing this, the jailer picked at the horizontal lines on his face, and seemed to be very satisfied with Cao Duan's expression, so he turned his head and led the way.

At this moment, it was obviously noon, but the courtyard where Ji Gang was located was quiet, so quiet that it was almost dead silent, and there was no movement in the entire courtyard except for the rustle of the leaves in the wind, not even a sound, which made Cao Duan feel more and more that something was wrong.

Cao Duan took a deep breath, suppressed the fear and doubts in his heart, and walked towards the center of the courtyard with a hard head.

The further he went, the darker the environment became, and as Cao Duan got closer, the gloomy aura in his psychology became more and more intense, making him feel like falling into an ice cave and a chill down his spine.

Finally, after a few more paces inside, he stopped.

In the short time that Cao Duan came to Nanjing, he heard a lot of stories about Jinyiwei, their methods were cruel, bloody and ruthless, as long as they were captured, many times it meant that they would definitely die, even if you had a prominent family background or a high position, you could not escape, because Jinyiwei always took people alive and died before they were brought back.

In Cao Duan's imagination, Ji Gang should be a fierce and vicious demon king, wearing iron armor and holding an embroidered spring knife, with a stubble on his face and gloomy eyes, which looks very terrifying.

"Mr. Cao, please come in, forgive me for not being able to open the door for you now."

Cao Duan pushed the door in, his gaze fixed on a gray figure standing in the center of the room.

The figure was slumped, covered in a gray robe, which enveloped the whole person, and his "head" seemed to be extraordinarily large.

This image is much more terrifying than he imagined.

At the moment when Cao Duan was about to turn around and leave, the gray-robed man suddenly turned around.

"Yikes!"

The gray robe fell, a snotty female doll clapped her hands and smiled stupidly at him, Cao Duan looked at it, but it was the little girl riding on Ji Gang's neck, Ji Gang was bent over and wearing a gray sheet to play with her.

Looking at Ji Gang who went to work with a baby, the corners of Cao Duan's mouth twitched.

Ji Gang in front of him is an ordinary Shandong man, with a happy face, looking at the eyes of the girl who was held up high by him.

Are the officials of the Ming Dynasty already so casual?

Of course, it is not a change to the yamen, but the edict prison is a direct agency of Jinyiwei, that is the territory where Ji Gang covers the sky with one hand, not to mention taking a baby during work hours, no one cares about him even if he does something more excessive.

"Okay, okay, let's go over there to play first, Daddy has something to do."

Regardless of whether the female doll could understand it or not, Ji Gang put her in the bedroom on duty, and changed the urine pad familiarly, and then walked out with a pleasant face.

"Mr. Cao, command Ji Gang in Xia Jinyi Guard."

"I've seen Commander Ji." Cao Duan wanted to continue, but after thinking about it, he kept his mouth shut.

"That's right."

Ji Gang explained slightly: "Originally, Mr. Cao should have gone directly to see Kong Gong, but the national teacher specially instructed me to do something, so I invited Mr. Cao here first. ”

"National teacher?" Cao Duan was slightly stunned when he heard this.

"Hmm."

He didn't doubt the authenticity of Ji Gang's words, after all, academic status is not the same as temple status, and there is no need for a high-level figure of this level to deceive a person like him who is not even a little minion in the temple, not to mention that this is not a shady deed, and it is necessary to make up nonsense and deceive?

Cao Duan is also a quick thinker, and after a little thought, he guessed the reason for the change in plan.

It must be Jiang Xinghuo who can't be completely sure who will enter the edict in the end, and his outstanding performance in today's debate ring has attracted the attention of the upper echelons, so Ji Gang will receive him.

Thinking of this, Cao Duan's heart instantly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as there were no other changes, then he would have a little more hope for rescuing Kong Xilu today.

Ji Gang continued: "This booklet was left to you by the national teacher, you should read it first, and then go to see Kong Xilu after reading it, and then the national teacher may come to see you in person." ”

After speaking, Ji Gang handed over a booklet.

"Thank you." Cao Duan thanked him respectfully.

"Okay, then Mr. Cao will read slowly here, and I'll take the little girl out first."

Ji Gang stood up and added when he left: "By the way, if there is something, you can call directly, there is someone at the gate of the courtyard." ”

Ji Gang and his daughter walked away, the door closed, and the house suddenly fell into silence.

Cao Duan sat on a chair and opened the book in his hand, flipped through a few pages, and then frowned and groaned.

This almost essay book is far from the doctrine he remembers.

"From ancient times to the present, philosophers of any civilization, when choosing their own path, have been faced with a fundamental choice: either 'materialism' or 'idealism'."

"In this age when everything has not yet been precisely defined, the early idealists usually emphasized the innate knowledge of man, believing that the heart is the prerequisite for the acquisition of all knowledge, that is, the source of all knowledge is the underlying innate ideas and self-evident principles of the innate intellect of man."

"The early materialists, on the other hand, usually emphasized people's acquired experience, despised or even denied the role of the mind in the process of human understanding of the world, and believed that the experience of daily life was the only source of knowledge."

"Because in this era, whether it is the natural world or the animal kingdom, there are too many unsolved mysteries for people, so even the most rational philosophers can only do 'silent strange forces and confusion', thus embarking on the road of subjective idealism or objective idealism."

"But in fact, all people's fears come from ignorance of the world."

Cao Duan continued to watch with full attention.

Until he found out that Jiang Xinghuo only wrote the beginning of this booklet.

"—what's next!"

When I turned the page and saw only a blank space, even a person as cultivated as Cao Duan almost couldn't help but scold my mother.

——————

When Ji Gang sent someone to take Cao Duan to visit Kong Xilu, Cao Duan's mind was still full of the contents of the booklet.

Only a dim light lit up in the prison area, shining on the walls, reflecting an eerie atmosphere.

"Bang, bang!" The two jailers pushed open the door of the cell and led Cao Duan inside.

Immediately, they turned and left, and closed the door by the way, this is the territory under the jurisdiction of the old king.

Cao Duan was left alone in the cell leader's duty room, he looked around, this place was empty, except for tables and chairs and other utensils, there were some unpacked meals left, from the dirty table, it could be seen that this was not a particular person.

Lao Wang paced out of the corridor, greeted him with a smile and asked, "But you came to see Kong Gong?" ”

"Yes, at the end of the lower Cao."

Cao Duan reluctantly pulled his mind out of the contents of the booklet and arched his hand.

"Come with me."

Lao Wang made a gesture of invitation and led Cao Duan to the depths of the corridor, and Cao Duan followed him through a long corridor to another iron door.

Lao Wang, who was leading the way in front, suddenly stopped and stretched out his hand to point to the iron gate.

"Well, the person you're going to see is inside." He opened the door and turned back to Cao Duan.

"Thank you." After Cao Duan nodded in thanks, he walked towards the back of the iron gate.

When he entered the door, a pungent and unpleasant smell suddenly came to his nose, Cao Duan frowned, raised his eyes and looked over, only to see that this prison area was facing the sun, and the light was good, but the conditions of the cell were not good.

"Is this how Kong Gong was imprisoned?"

Cao Duan's heart is a little uncomfortable, Kong Xilu, as a descendant of Yansheng Gongnanzong, has a prominent family background, and has been favored since he was a child, when has he ever suffered this kind of hardship? But now he is in the company of the prisoners in the edict prison, and the situation before and after is simply different.

Cao Duan's mind finally forgot about the hateful pamphlet for a while, and the scene when he met Kong Xilu later.

Perhaps a tormented unkempt, skinny old man would appear in front of him, and he would visit him with great sincerity and represent the world's scholars and find a way to save him.

"Ahem. Ahem, ahem."

He had just walked to the middle of the corridor of the cells on both sides, and before Cao Duan could gain a firm foothold, he heard a cough from the left side, which was hoarse and desolate, which made people feel moved.

Following the sound of coughing, I saw an old man with a dirty face and shabby clothes half-leaning on the edge of the straw pile, and the bruise-purple wounds on his body could be faintly seen, apparently having been tortured.

At this moment, the old man hung his head and supported his knees with his arms, trying to stop coughing.

Although he had tried hard to suppress it, his throat was so dry that he still inevitably let out a slight coughing sound.

Seeing his embarrassed appearance, Cao Duan felt a sharp sour nose and almost burst into tears, but he finally held back.

Cao Duan moved slowly, came to the prisoner's side, looked at the old man who was once noble, and called softly, "I'm here." ”

When the man heard this, his body shook slightly, and he raised his head.

With the help of the daylight through the small window, Cao Duan looked closely at him and found that his forehead was full of wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy, his cheeks were sunken, his lips were purple, and his whole face looked like withered bark.

This old man was also high-spirited, and he once stood alone in the world.

"I'm late, and I'm causing you to suffer."

Cao Duan choked up and said, before the words fell, a tear flowed, and then the tears could not be stopped.

Looking at the old man in front of him, Cao Duan really didn't know how to describe his complex emotions, both emotional and heartbroken.

Seeing the tears sliding down Cao Duan's face, a big question mark rose in Huang Xin's heart.

Huang Xin searched hard for his memories, although he had been an official for many years and had many protégés and former officials, Huang Xin was very sure that the people he knew did not include this tall black and thin young man.

"You are?"

"My name is Cao Duan, maybe you don't know me, Gong Kong, but."

"Ahem, wait."

Huang Xin was silent for a moment.

"You may have misidentified someone."

Cao Duan's tears hung on his eyelids, and they didn't fall for a long time.

"Kong Gong is on the right, you have to go in further."

"Oh, good, good."

Cao Duan hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes and continued to walk forward, and Li Zhigang's ridicule came from the other side.

"I said that the dishes at noon are salty, and I want an extra spoonful of rice, but you don't believe it, what? Those of you who do imperial history can't trust other people's words? ”

"Ahem, cough, cough"

Cao Duan stopped in the two cells and re-brewed his emotions.

He took a deep breath, raised his chest, and swaggered into the front of the cell on the left, his back straight like a javelin.

The environment of the cell is relatively narrow and damp, the air is filled with a faint smell of mildew, and if you look closely, you can see the moss on the ceiling of the cell, and in the corner near the cell bed is placed a wooden table, the light from the small window is projected on the table, and a figure in front of the wooden table is sitting on a small stool with his head bowed and almost curled up, not knowing what he is studying, but the back looks a little haggard.

"Kong Gong." Cao Duan called in a low voice.

Hearing the voice, the figure curled up in front of the wooden table trembled slightly, and then slowly turned its head, revealing a face full of excitement and exhaustion.

Yes, excitement and exhaustion appeared on Kong Xilu's face at the same time.

"Maybe Kong Gong is carrying his tiredness, gritting his teeth and persevering, and he is so excited to see my arrival, right?" Cao Duan thought so.

Cao Duan really couldn't cry, so he had to be sad and indignant, and said, "Gong Kong, what kind of grievances have you suffered? ”

But Kong Xilu's next sentence made Cao Duan stunned in place.

"I'm busy."

Cao Duan told the reason for the debate competition, saying that on behalf of the Confucian scholars in the world, he came to visit him in the edict and wanted to rescue him.

After listening to Cao Duan's appeal, Kong Xilu shook his head without hesitation.

"You don't understand, I have no one to disturb in the edict, and I can concentrate on studying the new way of Gewu, which is a very important thing."

"Anyway, I'm not going out."

"How so?" Cao Duan was anxious, "Isn't it that they don't plan to let you out?" Forcing you to say that? ”

Kong Xilu frowned and scolded: "What are you talking nonsense? ”

Faced with Cao Duan, a stranger who disturbed his research, Kong Xilu was not interested in introducing his research results to him from beginning to end, his time was very precious, so precious that he continued to devote every minute and second to his research in a state of high excitement, and he couldn't afford to delay Cao Duan here.

"That's it!" Kong Xilu rudely interrupted Cao Duan's words, "You go, I said, it's good for me to stay here." ”

Cao Duan's mouth opened, and finally he sighed and turned to leave.

Before leaving, Cao Duan took a deep look at Kong Xilu, he didn't recognize the crystal microscope on the table, and he didn't understand what kind of way of things would make Kong Xilu so addicted.

——————

The cell boss Lao Wang opened the outermost door, and Cao Duan walked out of the prison area of the edict in frustration.

From full of hope to disappointed, it only took a short time to stick incense.

His mission to rescue Kong Xilu was an unimaginable failure, not because he didn't work hard, but after going through many difficulties and dangers to enter the edict, he met Kong Xilu, but the other party didn't cooperate with him at all, let alone want to get out of prison.

This made Cao Duan feel extremely puzzling.

Cao Duan couldn't figure it out and couldn't figure out what went wrong, according to everything he knew, Kong Xilu was invited to give a lecture in Guozijian, and then was forcibly arrested and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison by Jinyiwei. How is it possible to stay here in comfort.

And in Cao Duan's opinion, Kong Xilu should be very eager to go out, after all, Nankong's family business still needs Kong Xilu to support, if something happens to Kong Xilu, I am afraid that Nankong will also be implicated, and even lose his current status, but it backfired, Kong Xilu was as iron-hearted as eating a scale.

Either way, Cao Duan's mission is over.

But Cao Duan's heart hides deep regret and melancholy, because this time he came to the prison, Cao Duan was determined to have a certain determination that was almost "the wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the strong man will never return once he is gone", and he is also ready to be imprisoned or have more serious consequences.

And now this result makes Cao Duan feel like he has run for nothing.

"Oh."

Cao Duan secretly smiled bitterly, and then stepped forward to walk towards the outside of the Imperial Prison.

When they came, the two jailers with big shoulders and round waists didn't know where they went, and Cao Duan called a few times and no one answered, so he relied on his sense of direction and walked back along the road he came.

However, when I walked through a T-junction and went to a door, I found that the door was locked.

Cao Duan had no choice but to go back to the T-junction and enter the other direction to see if he could get out.

In front of this direction is a dead end, there are two courtyards on the left and right, only one courtyard door is open, Cao Duan walked in, wanting to ask someone.

In this courtyard, however, only a crooked-necked tree stood alone, and beside it was a low, freshly painted wall.

"You're here."

A man's voice came from under the tree.

Cao Duan raised his eyes and saw a stone table placed under the shade of a tree, with a chessboard on it, and a young man in a green shirt sitting around the chessboard, holding a teacup in his hand, looking at him with his head slightly raised, his expression calm and calm.

The sitting posture and demeanor are very similar to Master Ye who opened the martial arts hall to accept apprentices.

Seeing this unfamiliar face, Cao Duan was stunned at first, and then frowned: "You know me?" ”

The man opposite nodded slightly: "Well, the booklet in your hand is written by me." ”

Hearing this, Cao Duan's heart jumped suddenly, and his face suddenly became wonderful!

Who gave the pamphlet, the answer is obvious - of course it is Jiang Xinghuo.

In other words, the man sitting alone in the shade of the tree and watching chess alone is the legendary immortal, the Ming National Teacher, Jiang Xinghuo!

"I've seen the national teacher."

"Come and sit, don't be polite."

Jiang Xinghuo's tone was gentle and gentle, with a slight sense of affinity.

Cao Duan hesitated for a moment, and finally walked over slowly, sitting opposite Jiang Xinghuo, trying to avoid eye contact with the other party, for fear of causing misunderstanding.

Cao Duan was a little nervous, of course, not only because this national teacher was famous all over the world, powerful all over the world, and was a pivotal figure in the entire Ming Dynasty, in fact, if it was just that, it would be down, he also debated with the black-clothed prime minister Yao Guangxiao, but now this national teacher can be said to be in the center of the temple vortex, and if he is slightly involved, ordinary people are crushed and broken, Cao Duan doesn't want to be too involved with him.

Unfortunately, this plan is now doomed to shatter.

Jiang Xinghuo finished drinking the tea in the cup, picked up the empty teacup on the side and filled it with tea, and then handed it to Cao Duan, motioning for him to drink tea.

Cao Duan hurriedly took it with both hands, lowered his head and took a sip, only to feel a sweet and rich tea smell reaching his lungs, making him feel comfortable.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at him with a smile: "How does it taste?" ”

"The tea is good."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, picked up the chess jar again, and poured the black and white pieces into the chess bowl respectively, his movements were skillful, as if he had to practice for a long time every day.

"The National Teacher likes to talk with his hands?" Cao Duan had nothing to say, and tried to say goodbye early.

"I like it, it's about the same level as His Majesty."

"Oh."

Cao Duan replied vaguely.

In fact, he didn't know that Zhu Di was a notoriously stinky chess basket, who was a vegetable and fun-loving, although it was not up to the level of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, who forgot to sleep and eat. Well, there is no white-robed military god Chen Qingzhi to accompany him to play chess, he is the military god himself.

As for Jiang Xinghuo's proficiency, it is purely because the game ends quickly, and he always has to recount and pick up chess pieces.

"Some of Kong Gong's research needs to be done quietly alone in the Imperial Prison, and as for the results of the research, you should be able to see it in Ming Pao soon."

Jiang Xinghuo took the lead in black, and pressed one in Tianyuan first.

Cao Duan had never seen this way, and he fell nervously on the corner of his side, and the two talked while playing chess.

"The new column to be added in "Ming Pao", what did you enter the oracle bone inscription, is it the meaning of the national teacher?"

"Yes, and there's a lot to decipher, what, you're interested?"

Cao Duan was silent and did not answer.

Seeing that Cao Duan seemed unwilling to participate in this matter, Jiang Xinghuo could roughly guess what he was thinking, and he didn't speak, and continued to play chess.

Jiang Xinghuo plays chess quickly, never thinks, and plays wherever he wants.

Cao Duan took a few steps, and from the awe at the beginning, he roughly saw what level of Go Jiang Xinghuo was.

To be honest, today's one-day experience made Cao Duan feel as if he had the experience of flying into the sky and falling down.

If the exciting debate ring and the battle that took place in the air were normal, then the moment he entered the gate of the Imperial Prison, everything obviously became abnormal.

The father who goes to work with the baby is the commander of the Jinyi Guard, the imperial history who does not listen to the persuasion at noon and is caught with vegetables, Kong Xilu who refuses to be released from prison for some reason, and the national teacher who plays chess and is extremely strange

Cao Duan finally couldn't help it.

"I read the booklet that the national teacher asked Commander Ji to hand over to me."

Jiang Xinghuo continued to play Go like a wall, looked up and asked, "What do you want to ask?" ”

Cao Duan asked the question that had been buried in his heart for most of the day.

"The three gatekeepers of the ring competition, the last things they came up with, the principle of the three meanings, the new theory of mind, and the ancient text. Were they all taught to them by the national teacher? ”

"Yes."

Jiang Xinghuo put his right leg on his left leg and continued to stare at the chessboard.

"The materialism and idealism in the pamphlet, the national teacher thinks that the current Confucians have fallen into the wrong path of idealism?"

"Not the wrong path."

Jiang Xinghuo believed in his subordinates and explained: "Materialism and idealism, in your opinion, may be like dividing people into good people and bad people, but are good people and bad people important? Good people seek the Tao and bad people seek the Tao, and those who have attained the Tao must be good people? It's all for the sake of seeking the Tao, what is the direct relationship between good and bad temperament? Being good is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for seeking the Tao, this is the difference between Lao Tzu and Confucius, understand? ”

Cao Duan was thoughtful.

Confucius wanted to seek the Tao from a moral point of view, dividing the gentleman and the villain, the good and the evil, while Lao Tzu believed that there was no half-literate relationship between seeking the Tao and morality, and that heaven and earth were unkind to all things as dogs.

"Since the national teacher has put forward a new theory of mind, I think he has studied Lu's mind very deeply, does the national teacher think that the heart can dominate everything? There is nothing outside the heart, there is nothing outside the heart, there is no reason outside the heart, my heart is the universe, and the universe is my heart. ”

Jiang Xinghuo didn't answer him directly, but twisted a chess piece from his chess bowl and put two chess pieces, one black and one white, on his side.

"This is the material world, and this is the spiritual world."

"Do you think things in the spiritual world can affect the material world?"

"If you go out on fire to save people, the fire will not burn you because of your kindness, because fire follows the law of cause and effect, but if you want to save people, you are driven by your conscience to have a conscience because 'my heart is bright', but this thing cannot be proved, only by heart, in other words, you can only believe."

Cao Duan seems to have realized that Jiang Xinghuo's new theory of mind certainly inherited and developed Lu Jiuyuan's set, but it seems that Jiang Xinghuo himself does not believe it.

"Of course, I'm not saying that the spiritual world has no effect on the physical world." Jiang Xinghuo changed his words.

For example, morality, he does not belong to any part of the material world, but in the whole Ming Dynasty, who can live without caring about the morality of himself and others? In other words, morality must be understood as some kind of rule or commitment for man's actions in the material world, otherwise man's life in the material world will fall into disorder and evil. ”

"That national teacher believes in the role of the Three Platforms and Five Constants, right?"

To Cao Duan's surprise, Jiang Xinghuo shook his head again and only said, "Turn the booklet to the last page." ”

Cao Duan did as he was told, and turned to a sentence on the last page.

"There are always two, and I am afraid of it.

I am the one who is above, the brilliant starry sky; The moral law is in my heart. ”

Jiang Xinghuo put the two chess pieces in his hand and stirred them, and said, "This is the root cause and crux of this world. ”

After that, Jiang Xinghuo completely separated the two chess pieces one in one hand, and separated them far away.

"I want to open up the world and divide this world into two parts, one to study the material world with scientific methods of objectification, and the other to study the spiritual world with speculative and realistic methods."

"Kong Xilu is doing the former, and you, do you want to know about the latter?"

(End of chapter)