The first chapter of the opening chapter of "University": The way of the university is in Mingmingde, in being close to the people, and in stopping at perfection.

It is said that a holy decree came from the capital to announce that Zhao Defang, the king of the Eight Sages, returned to Beijing to take up his post and accept the reward. This means that the life of wanton side-plugging in the past ten years is coming to an end, and it also means that it is one step closer to the ambition of "self-cultivation and family togetherness, family unity and then national governance, and national governance and then world peace" in his youth. Zhao Defang is wise and good at riding and shooting, once followed Di Qing to break the Western Xia, attacked Kunlun Pass at night, and leveled the rebellion of Nong Zhigao, which won the love of Zhao Heng of Song Zhenzong, but his personality was less debauched and uninhibited, and he had close contacts with Di Qing and was unreasonably suspicious of the imperial power, and was finally rejected and finally marginalized by politics. After Zhao Ji succeeded to the throne of Song Shenzong, Zhao Defang was canonized as the king of Qin, and was appointed as the captain of the inspection school, although the status was higher than the main position, like the Taishi, Taifu, Taibao and the like in other dynasties, but it belonged to the honorary title of the loose official, without specific powers, and was essentially hollowed out by the imperial power. Zhao Defang was unwilling to go to the fiefdom and was trapped in the fief from then on, so he simply took the initiative to resign, gave up the fief, traveled all over the world, and was at ease to be a prince like an idle cloud and a wild crane, and no longer asked about the rights and wrongs in the court.

It's the early lights again, the wine is slightly drunk, and the night is not young. Zhao Defang and the others stayed in Yanmen Pass for two days, and they didn't seem to be in a hurry to rush to the Taoist Jingshi, and went to Guiyun Pavilion, a restaurant in the border town, with a little interest at night. The moon hung bently in the sky like a bow, reflecting on Zhao Defang's cold and thin face. He leaned on the recliner and took a sip of rice wine, closed his eyes and took a nap, the mellow and rich aroma came to his nose, starting from the throat and pouring back into the nasal cavity, the spicy at first glance slowly turned into a hot stream, and then extended from the throat, to the chest, to the abdomen, and then dispersed, as if tasting the mixed flavors of life, feeling that time is so comfortable and melodious, all of a sudden he fell into the warm moonlight, a lazy and casual customer, looking at the hurried passers-by in the streets and alleys, listening to the melodious chirping of crickets and crickets at night.

Suddenly, a blind man in his 40s, with fire-like hair and an old, neat blue cloth coat, hobbled all the way to the door of the Guiyun Pavilion Restaurant, begging for a sip of water. Seeing this, the shopkeeper did not directly refuse, and planned to scoop a bowl of water after wiping these tables as a good deed.

Unexpectedly, the blind man in blue cloth was a little anxious, and urged the shopkeeper in a tone: "The thirsty person wants to drink water, just like the greedy customers in the store want to eat chicken and drink wine, so bring it quickly!"

After the shopkeeper heard this, a wave of anger couldn't help but rise from his ribs, and the corners of his mouth scolded angrily: "You dick, if you give you water to drink, you won't be charged copper coins, it's a gift to you." But you compare your identity with the financiers in the store, and you don't weigh it, it's really a fool's dream!", he snorted twice, revealing a look of disdain.

The blind man was even more furious, and waited for an opportunity to reply angrily: "You erector, you put yourself low, and you still have a complacent look. ”

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, in order not to affect the business of the restaurant, the shopkeeper glanced at the shopkeeper, signaled not to entangle with the blind man to avoid trouble, and instructed him to immediately scoop a bowl of water and quickly send the blind man away. After all, the store is open to business, and there is no need to deal with a blind person who is not even as good as the market.

When the shopkeeper reluctantly handed the water to the blind man in blue cloth and was about to drive him away, Zhao Defang told the shopkeeper not to be in a hurry, and asked the shopkeeper to take a red lantern and hand it to the blind man, and the money of the lantern was counted in his wine account.

The shopkeeper was puzzled and scratched his head. But seeing that some customers were willing to pay for the lantern, he no longer had to worry about letting the shopkeeper do as he was told, and handed the lantern to the blind man in blue cloth in front of him.

The moonlight came in from the floor-to-ceiling window, outlining a shadow under Zhao Defang's long eyelashes, and the hair brushed his forehead with the night breeze, Zhao Defang said slowly to the blind man: "It's late, the road is dark, you make a lantern, it's convenient to go home!"

After hearing this, the blind man in blue cloth immediately became angry, his eyebrows involuntarily twisted together, and said angrily: "You obviously know that I am blind, and you still give me a lantern to light the way, isn't this mocking me in disguise?"

Zi Han also whispered in his ear: "Master, he is a blind man who is blind, and he has no concept of day and night, and cannot see the thousands of worlds of willow green and pink, isn't it confusing and ridiculous to pick a lantern and go on the road?"

In this regard, Zhao Defang raised his eyebrows and smiled, and explained unhurriedly to the blind man in blue cloth: "You are walking on the road, and many passers-by are also in a hurry, and if you light the lantern, others can see you, so that they will not hit you." ”

When the blind man in the blue cloth heard this, it made sense, he took the lantern from the shopkeeper, bowed respectfully, and said: "Although I can't see the honor of Mr., but listening to Mr.'s words, I know that Mr. must be a well-versed person who is not rich or noble, thinking unusually, and speaking with great empowering. ”

As he spoke, the blind man in blue cloth took out a white paper crane from his arms, stretched out his hand and threw it in the direction where Zhao Defang was sitting, and said in a slow tone: "I am a cloth cloth, and I have no long things, only a paper thousand paper cranes as a companion. The crane means auspiciousness and is an auspicious bird. In order to thank Mr. for his guidance, I hereby send this thing to Mr. Yu. While speaking, he heard the sound to discern the direction, so he stepped forward and stretched out his left hand to hand the thousand paper cranes to Zhao Defang.

This move was obviously abrupt and a little ridiculous, which immediately made the shopkeeper and the shopkeeper laugh, and also made Zihan and Qing Yu, who were standing on the side, feel puzzled, their faces darkened, showing a little surprise.

The shopkeeper, who was immersed in the reconciliation of the accounts, couldn't help but raise his head and sneered at the blind man: "Look at your poor and sour face, you have engraved the words "no money" in your heart, written on your face, and expressed in your words. ”

The shopkeeper who was cleaning the table on the side also put down the work in his hand and said casually: "You are blind, you don't know, people are dressed and look like distinguished guests, you can just carry the lantern and leave directly, why bother to be boring and save face!"

The blind man in the blue cloth did not pay attention to the remarks of others, his eyes were hollow, like other blind people, there was no light, but it was not a false feeling.

Just when everyone was discussing or silent, Zhao Defang smiled slightly, and his smile was like the ripples of a clear spring, overflowing from the small whirlpool at the corner of his mouth, rippling all over his face. He enthusiastically took the wrinkled green paper crane from the hand of the blind man in blue cloth, and said seriously: "It is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, and there are also windows between us and the blind, but we can't see clearly--but this does not affect the communication between everyone as friends, thank you for your gifts." ”

The blind man in the blue cloth frowned slightly, fell into a short contemplation, and left a faint sentence: "My world is too quiet, so quiet that I can only hear the sound of my own heartbeat, and I haven't opened the window to see the outside world for a long time!"

In the faint background of the moonlight, the steps of the blind man are like arrows off the string, appearing and disappearing, like light clouds and the moon, floating and fluttering, and like the wind and whirling snow, unpredictable. It's just that the red lantern is walking like a flame, and it is like a girl in a red wedding dress wandering in the alley.

On this side, Qing Yu, who had a relatively strong temperament, couldn't hold back his full of questions, he and Zi Han glanced at each other, after all, they couldn't hold their breath first, blinked their eyes, and asked Zhao Defang, the Eight Sages King: "Master, this person is very strange, why do you want to accept his things?"

"Oh, what do you think is strange about him?" Zhao Defang put down the wine glass in his hand, flicked his sleeves, and asked curiously.

Qing Yu's heart jumped, although he knew that the Eight Sages King was knowingly asking, he still replied seriously: "If you are blind, reading and dressing are troublesome things, and when he speaks, it means that he is a scholar, and he dresses neatly to show that this matter is not troublesome for him!"

Zhao Defang sighed lightly and said with a slight smile: "The world sees the mundane with its eyes, and the blind read the world with their hearts, and their hearts are brighter." If he's more impatient than you, there's a reason for it. ”

"What is the reason?" Qing Yu frowned and couldn't help asking.

In this regard, Zihan was already enlightened, patted Qing Yu's shoulder, and whispered softly: "The answer is already in the master's hands." So, the two of them invariably set their eyes on the thousand paper cranes in Zhao Defang's hand.

Zhao Defang's face gradually became solemn, touching the wings of the thousand paper cranes back and forth with his fingers, and said thoughtfully: "Some people pretend to be crazy in order to confuse the enemy and save their lives; some people pretend to be stupid because life is rare and simple; and some people pretend to be blind because they don't like to socialize and force people to laugh." ”

"So, what does this thousand paper crane mean?" Qing Yu and Zihan asked in unison.

Zhao Defang picked up the wine glass with one hand and tasted it carefully, and held the thousand paper cranes in the palm of his hand with the other hand, looking at the dazzling white like snow, and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, as if he understood something, he took a sip of wine, raised his head instantly, and suddenly realized: "It turned out to be a party item! Xixia was sandwiched between the Liao and Song dynasties, how could it be alone?"

"How did you know that the meaning is Western Xia?" Zi Han and Qing Yu asked puzzled.

"In addition to symbolizing auspiciousness and accidents, the crane also represents the bird as a symbol of freedom. Dangxiang people are the descendants of the Qiang people, multiply in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, enjoy the sacred snow-capped mountains, the vast grasslands, are authentic nomads, live without a fixed place, live by water and grass, no writing, no calendar, with the grass and trees withering and living in the wind-like days, they chase freedom, worship white, and revere the mysterious power between heaven and earth. Zhao Defang explained, "What's more, he handed me the thousand paper cranes with his left hand, as the saying goes, 'left west, right east', which also implies the meaning of Western Xia." ”

"What the master means is that this so-called blind man is a spy bad person, and the message passed on to us is that the driving force behind the Battle of Zhuozhou is Western Xia?" Qing Yu sighed, looking a little surprised.

"But who is this blind man?" Zi Han thought in a low voice, his mind rolled back and forth, and suddenly thought of the object of suspicion, and said with emotion: "Could it be that it is a subordinate of Di Qing, the general of Mian Ni?"

"Yes, we're just here to try our luck, and it seems like luck. Zhao Defang nodded in agreement, "Since the defeat in the battle with Youzhou of Liao, General Di Qing has been far-sighted, using his connections and prestige in the army, and carefully selected twelve dead envoys to lurk in various places for the purpose of collecting intelligence information. They either haunt the husbands and pawns, or occupy high positions in temples, and their true identities are not known to outsiders. ”

However, it is said that among the twelve dead envoys, due to the betrayal of traitors, several people have been martyred and executed by the Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao State. Qing Yu's eyes flashed with sadness, and he said gloomily, "In the Battle of Zhuozhou, the military headquarters originally planned carefully, and 3,000 troops infiltrated the southern gate of Gyeonggi, intending to sneak attack the grain and grass of the Liao State, and capture Zhuozhou, the land of 'Youyan Fertile Land', in one fell swoop, opening a gap for the recapture of the sixteen states of Yanyun. Unexpectedly, it was surrounded by the Liao army on the way, and the troops suffered heavy losses, and less than 200 of the 3,000 strong men returned with blood, which was painful and lost the great opportunity to recover the lost territory. ”

"Not only that, Zhuozhou is also the ancestral hometown of Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and the origin of my bloodline in the Great Song Dynasty. The most important impact of the defeat of Zhuozhou was that it seriously dampened the morale of the army, made the royal power fearful, and paid more attention to culture and education and neglected military affairs, so that the unfavorable situation of the strong cadres and weak branches of the Great Song Dynasty was finally a foregone conclusion. Zhao Defang lowered his head, his face changed, it was rare to stop tasting it, and suddenly raised his head and drank the wine in the cup, the atmosphere seemed to have dropped to the freezing point, so that Qing Yu and Zihan suddenly didn't dare to squeak anymore, and everything fell silent.

"Oh, life is like a flying flower, and there are times when it rises and falls. Since you have bumped into good luck today, don't spoil the fun, and if you know who is behind the scenes, you can cheer up and play with him. Zhao Defang immediately smiled and broke the solemn atmosphere.