Today, the Dongshan Mountain in Shangyu is still the most beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. From Shangyu City to Shangpu Town, you only need to look for it along the Cao'e River, which is like a condensing jade, and see the endless mountains, full of verdant reflection in the water, and you can't tell whether it is a mountain or a water. There is a lake halfway up the mountain, and there is a big rock on the edge of the lake, which is said to be where Xie An used to sit for fishing. More than 1,700 years ago, Xie An lived here until he was forty years old, without official positions or positions, eating, drinking, and having fun, raising children and children, and spending the best years of his life.

Forty years old is like the sun at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, it hasn't set yet, but it's too late to do something. If you want to go back in style, you have to consider the huge opportunity cost that arises from it. If you haven't made a break out by this time, you will inevitably have to be impetuous, speeding into menopause. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there are too many children who are young and famous, and there are many talents, like a fully loaded train, you have not caught a train on this platform, and the platform behind is still bustling, how can you squeeze in again?

However, forty-year-old Xie An, an over-age candidate, now insists on asking for an official position with his face in his face and squeezing into this train that has already been full. He had to pretend to be deaf and dumb, ignoring the whispers and strange eyes around him, even if he himself was embarrassed.

Originally, being an official was not in his consideration, the Xie family was already popular enough in the court, no more than him, and no less than him. Xie An's father is Xie Pei, who used to be a high-ranking official Taichang, one of the Nine Qings, and was in charge of national etiquette. In his time, he was better known for his cousin, Xie Kun's son Xie Shang. Xie Shang is a buddy who is proficient in music and can dance, and it is said that he once composed his own song "Robin Dance". But dancing to show oneself is elegant, and to show others will inevitably be looked down upon, after all, only practitioners in special professions dance to entertain people, so everyone wants to see it, and they are afraid that he will be angry, so they dare not say it to him. Only Director Wang relied on the old and sold the old, and took advantage of the excitement at a banquet to ask him, can you jump to show us? Xie Shang danced happily. Xie Shangshu writes well, and he is also good at talking, in short, he can do anything. At the age of eight, he was praised as being like Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucius. There is popularity, but also strength. When Yu Liang's younger brother Yu Bing was the assistant to the government, the court was very uneasy about the Yu family, Xie Shang was sent to manage Jiangzhou as a shield for the imperial court, and had to retreat to Liyang under the pressure of the Yu family.

The praying mantis catches the cicada and the yellow finch is behind, Huan Wen is gradually becoming angry in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Xie family once again receives the dividend of the imperial court crisis. At this time, the candidate of the Xie family to guard Yuzhou was replaced by Xie Yi. Yuzhou was originally the front line of the imperial court to restrain Huan Wen, and Yuzhou Jingzhou was about to be tense, but Xie Yi and Huan Wen had a good relationship. So good that Xie Yi ran to Huan Wen's house in the middle of the night to find him for a drink, and drank Huan Wen to the point that he wanted to hide in his wife's room. Xie Yi's relationship with the imperial court is not bad. As a buffer zone between Huan Wen and the imperial court, Xie Yi is very popular. After Xie Yi died, there was Xie Wan, and the brothers and brothers took turns to fight, but it was not Xie An's turn. A family, supported by powerful people, he continues to be his own old gentleman, and he is very at ease.

Time, status, these ordinary references are of little importance to him. He's got what he wants, and he doesn't care about the rest. If you don't care, you're not afraid of anything. Wang Xizhi once went to sea with him on a boat. When encountering wind and waves on the road, the boat was tossed up and down in the waves, Wang Xizhi asked to drive back in horror, but Xie An still chanted and roared, and his excitement was unabated.

Xie An "has nothing to do", so he teaches children professionally at home. The next generation of the Xie family, a large number of children are under his control, and he has more or less infected his habit of being at ease, even if the sky falls, he must wash his face and put on his clothes before going to the top. During the years when Xie An lived in seclusion, the children often visited him, he was an elder and a friend. Respected, but not feared. In ancient times, this was the most difficult to do. Even if he was as gentle and wise as Confucius, his son was still very afraid of him, and when he saw him walking in the courtyard, he had to draw from the emperor. But Xie An's children and nephews are very happy, and his uncle is relaxed and even humorous. One summer, Xie An's nephew Xie Xuan was lying shirtless in the courtyard to watch the stars, and fell asleep after watching it. Xie An came in early in the morning and saw this guy sleeping on a recliner in disheveled clothes, and he didn't wake him up, so he entered the house. Later, Xie Xuan heard the voice, opened his eyes and saw that his uncle was coming, so he quickly put on his clothes and pulled his shoes to meet him. Xie An looked at Xie Xuan's bohemian style and ran in in a panic to ask for peace, relieved the pressure on his nephew and said, you and Su Qin and his wife said that Su Qin "front and back" is a meaning-you two-faced, bare-chested in front of people, and well-dressed in front of people, but I saw it! Although it was a cold joke, it just rightly resolved Xie Xuan's embarrassment.

Xie An's godson always uses some tricks to transfer thousands of pounds, he knows the temperament of these children, and knows how to prescribe the right medicine. When he was sure to handle them, he didn't need to keep a straight face to make sure that someone listened. Xie Xuan was a bit of a boy when he was a child, he liked to collect sachets and walk around with a perfume handkerchief hanging on his waist. Although it was a fashion, Xie An felt that it was inappropriate. Xie An didn't say how bad the fashion was at that time, nor did he confiscate it simply and straightforwardly, scolded him, and wrote an inspection. It's too angry and corrupt, and it's not enough for Sven. He played Go with Xie Xuan without hurry, and agreed that if Xie Xuan lost, he would give all the sachets and handkerchiefs to his uncle. Of course, Xie Xuan lost, so Xie An burned those sachets and handkerchiefs, and made it known to everyone vigorously, of course Xie Xuan understood the meaning of the words.

In the Xie family, family salons are a common occurrence. Xie An likes to gather the children to talk about their ideals in the yard in the crisp autumn weather, and write poems and art around the stove in the snowy weather, and when they are most relaxed, he can also understand the character of each child.

Living happily and being loved and respected by the children was originally a good day to forget about his worries, but now, Xie An had to go out of the mountain. The Xie family can no longer support his leisure. Xie Yi died, Xie Wan was expelled from Yuzhou by Huan Wen, and the family power was crumbling. He has been blessed with the glory of the family, he plays at home when others should go to work, and now that the family is in decline, he must stand up. Once upon a time he was staying at home, and everyone wanted to ask him to come out as an official. Three, please and four invite. Now he is really coming out, but there is no red carpet, no one sets off firecrackers, no high-ranking officials, and he is doing the position of Sima of Huan Wen, which he rejected a long time ago. Those who watched coldly from the sidelines of the Manchu Dynasty bigwigs who invited Xie An three times and four times but were ruthlessly rejected are still there at this time. Huan Wen's shogunate was full of despised ridicule. Huan Wen Northern Expedition, when the military parade was held in Xinting, everyone saw Xie An. Someone couldn't help but sarcastically say: "When you were in seclusion, there were rumors everywhere, 'An Shi refused to come out, and he would be like the common people!'" 'Now that you're out, what do you say now?' "I mean, I haven't seen much of your ability. Someone gave Huan Wen a herb called "Yuanzhi", and Huan Wen casually asked, why is this grass called Xiaocao and Yuanzhi? Xie An was here, and Hao Long, who was drying his stomach when others were drying books, was also present at this time, so he sneered and said that this kind of grass is called Yuanzhi in the mountains, and it is called Xiaocao when it comes out. After finishing speaking, he looked at Xie An. Xie An didn't say anything, and still sat upright, but his face showed a little shame.

But since Xie An is here, just mockery can't defeat him. He can stand still in the stormy sea, and naturally he can also be gentle and calm in the political struggle, and he can move with momentum. What's more, now that Huan Wen is in opposition to the imperial court, the big political situation is complicated enough. Xie An is very good at seeing the situation and standing in line, he worked as a staff officer in Huan Wen's shogunate for several years, because Xie Wan died and resigned. Then, I did Wu Xing Taishou for a few years, and I did a very good job. The people in power in the court saw that Xie An could indeed do something, and his resume was almost accumulated, so he transferred him to the central court as an advisor to the emperor and a servant. The specific task is very simple, to defeat his family's old friend, his old boss, Huan Wen.

Huan Wen is a person with a low level of education, but he has a high military talent, and he has no family background to boast of, so he has no celebrity burden since he was a child. His idea is also very simple, I just want the Northern Expedition, I just want to be in charge of the army, and you don't have to gossip and give opinions when I do things. Can the big families in the court allow it? So he stumbled Huan Wen everywhere. Huan Wen is even more energetic, if you make me a stumbling block, I will move you away. First of all, he had soldiers in his hands, abolished Emperor Sima Yi of the Jin Dynasty, and re-established Sima Yu, Emperor Jianwen of the Jin Dynasty, and gave a warning to the big families in the court who picked their noses and eyes at him - I can even abolish the emperor, you are the oldest. But the king of the court, Xie and these people, did not put the emperor in their eyes, nor did they put Huan Wen in their eyes. These cultural and political elites who have been out of Jiuqing since the Eastern Han Dynasty and have the right to interpret the classics, where can you be instigated by scaring them casually? Huan Wen didn't come to be vain, and he would take the Yin family when he came up. Arrange people to falsely accuse Emperor Jian Wen's brother Sima Xi, author Lang Yinjuan, Dazai Changshi Yuqian and others who want to avenge Emperor Jin and want to rebel. Yin Juan is Yin Hao's son, and there was a lot of tossing between Yin Hao and Huan Wen back then. Emperor Jian Wen only dared to cry, and finally tried not to do it, the emperor finally saved his brother Sima Xi, but all the others were killed.

At that time, the one who was willing to come forward to fight Huan Wen in the court was Wang Tanzhi, the heir of the Taiyuan Wang family. Emperor Jian Wen was dying and wanted to give up the throne to Huan Wen, but Wang Tanzhi was a servant at that time, and he saw this edict for the first time, and without saying a word, he tore it to pieces in front of the emperor. also taught the terminally ill emperor a lesson: You actually said that your throne was given by Huan Wen? Wasn't this fought down by Emperor Xuan Sima Yi and Emperor Yuan Sima Rui? What a mess! In the end, the edict that was originally intended to give way to Huan Wen went from "taking it for himself", to "regent", and finally to "auxiliary government".

When the edict came to Huan Wen's hands, he exploded. Not to mention his repeated military exploits in the south and north, even the throne of Emperor Jianwen was given by him, but he only let him "assist the government"? Xie An, who participated in the drafting of the edict throughout the process, was sent to ask Huan Wen to come to Nanjing to assist the government. The court did not send others, but only sent Xie An, knowing that Huan Wen would not do anything to him. When Xie An was a child, Huan Wen's father Huan Yi liked him very much, saying that he was "Fengshen Xiuche". Xie Yi, who was called a brother and brother with Huan Wen at the beginning, drank Huan Wen to hide in his wife's room during the wine fight, is Xie An's eldest brother, Huan Wen is Xie An's old boss, Xie An came, and never mentioned the tension between Huan Wen and the court, only reminiscing about the old days and inviting people. Huan Wen was angry, and of course he refused. Unexpectedly, after a few months, Huan Wen's anger had not subsided, so he simply led his troops south, saying that he wanted to pay homage to the imperial tomb of Emperor Jian Wen, but in fact, he was demonstrating to the Nanjing court. Nanjing has long felt his anger, and there are rumors that Huan Wen is going to come to "punish Wang Xie and move to Jinding". This pushed Wang Tanzhi and Xie An to the forefront.

The court is very afraid, and the strategy is very simple, since you want to catch "Wang Xie" to vent your anger, I will push them to you and let you dispose of them. So he sent Wang Tanzhi and Xie An to Xinting to pick up Huan Wen. Wang Tanzhi was a little flustered, and the wat board in his hand was taken down, and he didn't know it. Xie An's face remained unchanged and greeted him. Along the way, Xie Anming clearly saw the sound of axes and candles, and behind the screen in the room, all the soldiers were hidden. Huan Wen's meaning is very clear, he wants to scare to death you white-faced scholars who can only speak. Unexpectedly, Xie An walked up to him and asked, Duke Huan, I heard that the general galloped across the field and guarded the Quartet, what do you mean by hiding the soldiers behind the tent?

Huan Wen was stunned, but he didn't expect Xie An to eat him at all. You come to scare me, I'm not afraid. Can you really kill me? Huan Wen's terrifying action ended with Xie An's shouting. Huan Wen worshiped the imperial tomb and fell ill soon after he returned.

Huan Wen still couldn't swallow this breath in his illness, and asked the court to give him "nine tins" - these are nine ritual vessels, and the court gave them to one person, which was equivalent to agreeing to him to replace the emperor. Xie An also understands that people say "old and young", and when people reach old age, they are always a little paranoid and have a child's temper, and Huan Wen is a master who is already bold and doesn't care about anything. Xie An only ordered Yuan Hong to repeatedly revise the "Let Jiuxi Table" and "drag" Huan Wen to the position of a minister.

Huan Wen was seriously ill, and Xie An also went to visit him. Whether it is as a young man of the Tong family or as a representative of the imperial court, there must always be a etiquette to express condolences. Huan Wen watched Xie An walk in and sighed, I haven't had such a person come in for a long time in my house! He has now let go of his dissatisfaction with the imperial court, and all that remains is his admiration for Xie An's demeanor and virtue.

Since then, Xie An's prestige in the court has increased day by day. Not only did he properly complete the handover between the Huan family and the central government after Huan Wen's death, but also united the scholars who did not like each other to the greatest extent.

By this time, Fu Jian, the ruler of Former Qin, had unified the north and began to plan to march south. The South intends to rebuild the "Beifu Soldiers" to deal with a possible war. The commander of the Beifu soldiers is the focus of the candidate, when the meeting is held, each family has a name in their hearts, but they are unwilling to penetrate the bottom in advance, eyebrows and eyebrows, vertical and horizontal, all want to see what card the other party is. However, the host Xie An stood up generously and said, I recommend Xie Xuan. It was his nephew who looked at the stars shirtless and loved to collect sachets but was burned by his fire.

Those guys who were thinking about it and trying to do it were choked by Xie An's frank "inward move and not avoiding relatives", but they couldn't say anything against it, so they could only hold the mentality of watching jokes - just look at how Xie An promoted his young nephew and did in the end.

But Xie Xuan is the most important achievement of Xie An's more than 20 years of seclusion, how can there be any jokes to look at. After the Battle of Huainan and the Battle of Weishui, the Eastern Jin Dynasty won more with less and kept half of the country. As the "military front" of the imperial court, Xie Xuan has inherited a lot of Xie An-style joy of life, in addition to blood and fire, there is another life. He inherited the habit of loving fishing from Xie An, when the garrison was outside, he once caught fish to be salted and sent back to his uncle and wife.

Legend has it that during the Battle of Weishui, Xie An was playing chess with his friends, and when the news came, Xie An glanced at the battle report and continued to fall. It's a matter of life and death, but friends are anxious, and they can't play chess. Xie An still finished the game calmly before telling him that he was a junior and a thief.

After the Battle of Weishui, Xie An was in power for another two years. Prosperity and decline are the principles of life, power and prestige are things that everyone covets, and when the emperor grows up, he always has to get a piece of the pie in the competition of the big family. Xie An wanted to return to Dongshan to live in seclusion, but his ambition was finally not achieved.

Legend has it that when he died, he just started to build a new city in Guangling Buqiu, and wanted to go to sea to play after the new city was built, but he didn't expect to fall ill. People are sick, but they have to have an explanation for the unfinished business, and in August, Xie An returned to the capital Jiankang in his illness. When the car arrived at Xizhou Gate, it suddenly stopped. He talked a little wistfully about one of his old dreams. He said that when he was dealing with Huan Wen, he was always worried that he would not live long, and one night he had a dream that he was walking sixteen miles in Huan Wen's car, and he stopped when he saw a white chicken. Now I understand, sixteen miles, is sixteen years, the white rooster belongs to the unitary, and this year is the second unitary. It's been sixteen years since I inherited the throne from Huan Wen, and here's it, it's time to end. It didn't take long for Xie An to die.

Xie An's personal cultivation is the pinnacle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty celebrities, Xie An combines the Confucian attitude of filial piety and loyalty, and the Taoist Zhuangzi's love for heaven and earth, and the attitude of calm and leisurely life. It is a trusted work partner, and it also has a personal temperament that people admire. When Huan Wen's younger brother Huan Chong died, he did not arrange his sons and nephews to the court according to common sense, but wrote a letter to Xie An. He said that my deceased brother Huan Wen's youngest son Huan Xuan is still young, and my deceased brother Huan Wen once entrusted me to take care of him, but now I can't fulfill my promise, which is my only regret.

Calligrapher Wang Xun was once Xie Wan's son-in-law, but also Wang Dao's grandson, Wang Xun's study "Bo Yuan Post" more than a thousand years later was also built by the Qianlong Emperor in the Yangxin Palace to build a "Sanxi Hall" dedicated to worship, family background, ability, and spirit are very high. But later, in the struggle of the Xie family to prevent Huan Wen's dictatorship, Xie An hated him very much, and the two became enemies from then on. But after Xie An died, Wang Xun dragged Wang Xianzhi to cry for Xie An, the gatekeeper didn't let him in, he didn't care, he broke in, and didn't comfort Xie An's son according to etiquette, but cried and drifted away without following the rules.