Birds of a feather flock together
Sneak into the night with the wind, moisten things silently
The weather was a little gloomy the next day. Mu Weizhou arrived at Lantai Gathering early as usual. He didn't expect Wang Chong to be here today, and there was another person with him. Mu Weizhou and the other two sat down and sized up this person. This person was about forty years old and dressed like a scholar. His hair was sparse, his skin was fair, and he had a refined temperament. His every move carried the air of a scholar.
At this moment, Wang Chong said," Brother Mu, this is my good friend. Yesterday, I talked to him about your elegance. He couldn't hold it in and insisted on meeting you today."”
Mu Weizhou quickly stood up and bowed, saying,"Little brother Mu Weizhou, I met big brother today, please accept this little brother's bow.”
The scholar stood up and returned the greeting.”
"What? Could it be Ban Gu who wrote the Han Dynasty?" Mu Weizhou blurted out when he heard the name Ban Gu.
Ban Gu glanced at Wang Chong and smiled."This foolish brother has indeed received orders from Lantai and is currently writing the history of the country.”
Wang Chong saw Ban Gu looking at him and smiled.""Brother Meng Jian, don't look at me. I've never told you about writing the history of the country. This is what makes you outstanding. Don't look at Brother Mu's young age, but he has far-reaching thoughts and novel discussions. Although he is not as good as you in history, I'm afraid you and I may not be as good as him in terms of things.”
Hearing Ban Gu's words, Mu Weizhou knew that he might have been a little rash. Ban Gu was that Ban Gu, but writing history was a big project. It was hard to say whether it had been completed or not. Hearing Wang Chong praise him, he hurriedly waved his hand and said,"No, no, Brother Wang must be joking. The two great scholars of the world were talented. How could I compare them to the stars? Brothers, as the saying goes, it's a joy to have friends gather together. Let's not drink tea today. I'll be the host. How about we drink instead?”
Wang Chong and Ban Gu's hearts were filled with joy from his words, and they repeatedly agreed. The three of them removed the tea and served the dishes. After a few drinks, Wang Chong sighed and said,""Brother Mu's words of 'great scholar' have touched our hearts. Although I don't dare to, I dare to say that there aren't many people in the world who are more knowledgeable than the two of us.”
Although Ban Gu smiled and did not say anything, Mu Weizhou could tell that he had the same intention. He continued,"Brother Wang, you're wrong. the master said,"one should not refuse to be dutiful." Your talents are the best in the nine provinces. What's so great about being a great scholar? This is what it means to be worthy of the name. When I heard Brother Wang sigh just now, I guessed that it must be because his luck didn't work out. However, in this little brother's opinion, life is a fleeting moment, why pursue fame and be trapped in shackles? Besides, gold had to shine. Wouldn't it be good to let nature take its course?‘People don't know but don't get angry.”
Mu Weizhou's words surprised him as well. If it was in front of others, he would never say such words. However, in front of these two people, he actually spoke naturally. When the two of them heard this, Wang Chong didn't say anything, but Ban Gu was surprised. He raised his cup and said,"Brother Jiexin is indeed wise. Brother Weizhou is so young, yet you have such knowledge. Ban Gu's trip was not in vain. Come, cheers!"
Hearing his words, Mu Weizhou felt that he did not deserve it. After drinking with him, he was about to say something when Ban Gu took out two silk books from his sleeve and said to Mu Weizhou,"Brother Mu's discussion just now was indeed unusual. I have recently written two Fu, please review them.”As he spoke, he handed the silk books to Wang Mu and the other two.
Mu Weizhou took it over and read it. At the beginning, it was written with the words "Ode to the Two Cities". Although Mu Weizhou had some foundation in ancient prose, it was indeed difficult for him to appreciate it. He hadn't even read halfway when he heard Wang Chong say,""Meng Jian's plan is brilliant. This Fu seemed to be talking about the prosperity and magnificence of Heluo, but in fact, it was about the virtue of the Han Dynasty. From the perspective of etiquette, it explained the propriety of Luoyang as the capital. It hit the nail on the head and was not vulgar. It was really a masterpiece.”
Hearing Wang Chong's praise, Ban Gu humbled himself and turned to look at Mu Weizhou, as if he wanted to hear his opinion. After a long time, Mu Weizhou barely finished reading the rest of the text. He only read a few words and understood the general meaning. He looked at Ban Gu and said awkwardly,""Brother Ban is talented, this little brother feels that this poem is not inferior to Sima Xiangru's. In the middle of the year, he quoted extensively from all sides, and his literary talent soared. To tell you the truth, there are some things that I can't understand. However, I clearly felt the brilliance of my macho man, and Chang 'an City suddenly appeared in front of me.”Ban Wang saw that although he read slowly, his words were not deceiving, and he could understand the meaning of the article, and his evaluation was fair, so they unconsciously felt close to him. Wang Mu and the other man changed their books and continued reading. After a while, Wang Chong finished reading it and praised it even more. Mu Weizhou knew that besides being the author of Han Shu, Ban Gu was also known for his Ode to the Two Capital. He did not expect to be lucky enough to read the original work, and it was just completed. At this moment, he regretted not listening to his father and reading more ancient texts.
As Mu Weizhou read, he listened to the conversation between Wang and Ban. It was only then that he learned that it had been more than thirty years since Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu established Luoyang as his capital. The imperial palace and the imperial city had also been in disrepair for a long time. Emperor Ming had recently been repairing the city walls and dredging the river in an attempt to reorganize them. However, many of the old gentry of Chang 'an still believed that it was a mistake to establish Luoyang as the capital and hoped that the imperial court could move the capital to Chang' an. Ban Gu's Ode to the Two Cities was designed for such situations.
Mu Wei listened and read. After a long time, he finally finished reading the other article. "Brother Ban, you wrote well. If I'm not wrong, Brother Ban's two articles will definitely be passed down through the ages and become models for future generations to follow!"”
Mu Weizhou's words had indeed struck Ban Gu's heart. For a scholar, most of them could see through money, but most of them could not see through reputation. If the result of a chef's labor was delicious food, then the result of a scholar's labor would be articles. When Ban Gu heard Mu Weizhou say that he had written an ancient essay, he didn't say anything, but his heart had already blossomed. He actually had a moment of confidante towards the young man in front of him, and he regretted not meeting him earlier.
Mu Weizhou played with the two articles and suddenly remembered that he might meet the Emperor in a few days. This article was about moving the capital. Why not show this article to the Emperor? So he said to Ban Gu,"Brother Ban, can I use this article?"”
For scholars, writing was like a child, easy to give but difficult to give to others. Before Ban Gu could answer, Wang Chong helped to ask,"What does Brother Mu want this article for?"
Mu Weizhou then told him about the possibility of being summoned by the Emperor two days ago.
When the two of them heard this, they looked at each other without saying a word. They were a little surprised. It turned out that there was a reason why Wang Chong was willing to make friends with Mu Wei and Zhou Xinxin when they met on Taixue Street two days ago. One reason was that although Mu Weizhou seemed to be in a rut, he had an extraordinary bearing. As the saying goes, one's heart was full of poetry and books. Wang Chong was a great scholar, so he could tell at a glance. Another important reason was the jade hanging on Mu Weizhou's waist. It was the one that Liu Yuanshou, the Marquis of Guangling, had given him when he left Guangling. Wang Chong could tell at a glance that although this young man was unkempt, he might have come from a noble family. Because in the Han Dynasty, there were rules about what clothes a person should wear, what jewelry to wear, and what jade to wear. It was impossible for ordinary people to wear Mu Weizhou's jade. Even if they did, they might be sued. However, Mu Weizhou did not know that since Marquis Guangling had given it to him, he could not place it anywhere else, so he hung it on his waist casually. Although Wang Chong was knowledgeable, he was a scholar after all, and he did not do well. Of course, he hoped to "sell his knowledge to the emperor", so he regarded Mu Weizhou as one of his hopes. How could Mu Weizhou know about this? He thought it was fate. In fact, the more a person read, the harder it was to be discovered if he concealed himself. This was because he had read about how people who did not know the type would often behave. Fortunately, Wang Chong was not an evil person. After spending two days with Mu Weizhou, he discovered that Mu Weizhou was different from the others, so he told his classmate Ban Gu about it. Although Ban Gu was serving the court at the moment and received a low salary that did not match his talent, the two of them came together today to get to know each other.
The two of them had not expected that Mu Weizhou would be able to meet the Emperor so soon. Ban Gu heard that Mu Weizhou was going to present the "Ode to the Two Cities" to the emperor, so he was naturally happy and sent the silk book. The three of them pushed their glasses and drank again.
Although it was close to noon, the sky was extremely gloomy, and it looked like a storm was about to arrive. The restaurant also turned on the lights.
The wine of the Han Dynasty was a low-alcohol wine, similar to the sake of Japan and the soju of Han. At that time, the more famous wine was Dukang, which belonged to the wine with high alcohol content. Those who knew how to drink knew that low-alcohol drinks were not good, but high-alcohol drinks were. Mu Weizhou's alcohol tolerance was quite good, and he would wake up as he drank this kind of low-alcohol wine. However, the two scholars were not as good, and they were a little drunk after a while.
At this moment, thunder rumbled outside and heavy rain began to pour. The pedestrians on the street also hid in restaurants to eat and shelter from the rain. There were more people upstairs and downstairs.
Mu Weizhou asked the waiter to refill the wine. Looking at the torrential rain outside the window, he suddenly remembered something and asked Wang Chong,"Old Brother Wang, the day before yesterday at the bookstore, you went to borrow an umbrella on a sunny day, but it really rained. This little brother has always been curious about the reason. Could it be that this elder brother knows how to calculate?”
Hearing his question, Wang Chong became interested again. He swallowed the fat chicken in his mouth and said with a smile,"Brother Mu, what is the reason behind this?”
Mu Weizhou thought for a long time but could not come up with an explanation. He only thought that Wang Chong had some special skills. Just as he was about to ask again, he suddenly saw a bolt of lightning. He heard a crack. A bolt of lightning struck a horse on the opposite street. The horse fell to the ground and seemed to be dead. The people upstairs were initially shocked by the thunder, but when they saw the horse being struck to death, the restaurant exploded. Everyone discussed animatedly. Some said that the horse was a demon who had just been killed by lightning. Some said that the owner of the horse was his neighbor and that this person was unfilial. This was Heaven Duke warning him that if he did not change, he would kill the horse today and kill him in the future. There was a man dressed like a Confucian scholar who pinched his fingers and shook his head. He said that according to the Book of Changes, this was the sign of the six yin. If the earthquake does not occur in the body, but in the face, there is no disaster; Marriage has its rules." It was as if he wanted to tell the owner of the horse to stay out of worldly affairs. There were even some people who quietly discussed that this was a warning from the heavens to the emperor that he should consider moving the capital to Chang 'an…and so on.
Mu Weizhou couldn't help but laugh when he heard them explain so many things about killing a horse. He wanted to explain it to them, but he found it troublesome. Just as he was about to do so, Wang Chong said loudly,"Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and the Qi of nature. How can there be any reason for you to blame?”
What he said was equivalent to declaring war on everyone in the room. We know that Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiuding regarded divination and modern literature as orthodox, which belonged to the main theme of the early Han Dynasty. The scholars all followed it, and had already reached the point of studying how to write the words "Hui" and "Qian". Wang Chong's words were equivalent to treating almost everyone as fools.
The impact of Wang Chong's words was no less than the shock from before. The noise upstairs became even louder. Some people gathered around Mu Weizhou's table. Mu Weizhou looked around and thought that they were going to fight. After a closer look, he realized that most of the people walking in front were wearing colorful clothes and hats. They were so weak that they could only carry books. Knowing that it was a " literary battle, not a physical battle ", he was relieved.
At this moment, someone stood out from the group of people and said awkwardly,"Master Wang, you said that this lightning wasn't the wrath of the heavens. Then why did it kill that horse and not you?”Mu Weizhou looked at this person and was delighted. It turned out to be the guy who had been taught a lesson by Wang Chong at the Mizar Sect the day before yesterday. Now, taking advantage of their numbers, he had come out to take revenge.
Wang Chong looked at him with contempt and said,""From what I can see, this lightning should be the result of the collision between the Qi of the sun and the Qi of the clouds and rain. There was no sky! The reason why it didn't hit you and me was because of our position. If we were at the horse's position just now, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to speak at this moment. If the heavens were really angry, then have the dozens of people upstairs not hated that horse more?”
Mu Weizhou felt that Wang Chong's explanation made sense. He knew that lightning was produced by the collision of positive and negative charges in the clouds, but he did not expect Wang Chong to explain it so well.
Seeing that Wang Chong's explanation seemed to make sense, and that he could not refute it, the man pestered,"In that case, how about we ask Master Wang to bring out the Qi of Sun and Qi of Cloud and Rain?”Hearing him say this, someone upstairs also echoed.
Mu Weizhou couldn't help but feel troubled for Wang Chong. He suddenly thought of Franklin, who was flying a kite. Then he thought, where could he find a kite at this time? Besides, who knew if they had invented kites at this time?
Just as she was worried for Wang Chong, she heard Wang Chong stroke his beard and say,"That's not difficult. If you can get the heavens to send that thunder god and lightning mother, I'll let them teach you the Yin and Yang Qi.”
Hearing this, Mu Weizhou applauded in his heart, praising Wang Chong's eloquence.
When the person who had made trouble just now heard him say this, he couldn't help but feel breathless.
At this moment, a pale-faced man with a pair of sharp eyes and eyebrows said,""You said that there is no heaven just now. Does that mean that the Shizu Emperor who helped the world and revived the Great Han Dynasty is also as ordinary as you?”
When Mu Weizhou heard this, he almost wanted to beat him up. This kid's question was too mean. He was slandering Wang Chong for not recognizing the legal status of the current ruler. Just as he was about to interrupt, he heard Wang Chong calmly say,""Emperor Shizu is the ninth grandson of Emperor Gaozu. Emperor Gaozu gave birth to Emperor Wen, Emperor Wen gave birth to Emperor Jing, Emperor Jing gave birth to King Fa of Changsha Ding, gave birth to Marquis Mai of Chunling Festival, gave birth to Governor Wai of Maolin, gave birth to Commander Hui of Julu, gave birth to Nandun Lingqin, and gave birth to Emperor Shizu.!”Those who knew about Liu Xiu's background nodded in agreement.
"That's right," the man said. Gaozu was pregnant when his mother met a dragon in the suburbs. Wasn't this sent by heaven?”
"That's even more ridiculous!" Wang Chong said seriously. Heaven and earth combined qi, and all things came into being. The same kind of people could only reproduce when they interacted with each other. People of different kinds had too different temperaments. Their desires could not adapt to each other, so how could they interact with each other? Why don't you find me a duck and a horse to mate with, and I'll see what you give birth to? Everyone was born from their parents, and emperors were no exception. The difference was that the emperor had great virtue and great ability. His heart could contain all living things, so he could become an emperor.”
When Mu Weizhou heard the words " Heaven and Earth combine Qi, and all things naturally grow," he suddenly remembered who Wang Chong was. He was a great intellectual, the one who wrote Lun Heng. History textbooks had introduced him, and they even said that he was a simple materialist. When Mu Weizhou thought of this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He thought to himself that he hadn't come to the Eastern Han Dynasty in vain. He had become friends with two great scholars in one go. This was the most beautiful thing. While he was thinking, the people around him didn't ask any more questions. Seeing that Wang Chong was going to argue again, Mu Weizhou quickly said,""Old Brother Wang, you can't talk about it. Haven't you seen Huaiyin?”Then, he turned around and said to everyone,"Everyone, please forgive me. My brother drank two more glasses. Please be magnanimous."”Ban Gu also tried to smooth things over.
Wang Chong also sat down after hearing Mu Weizhou's words. Mu Weizhou's words of persuasion had two meanings. The second half of the sentence," You can't talk about it with words," was " It's not wise." It was said by Confucius. It meant that if you talked to a person who you couldn't understand at all, you would be unwise." Living in Huaiyin " was actually to remind him of Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin. When he had no fixed residence and lived under someone else's roof, he had already drilled into other people's pants. You didn't have to be angry with these people who quarreled with you.
Wang Chong naturally understood the meaning behind this. The reason why he was fighting with these people was because one of them had lived for forty or fifty years and still had no way out. He felt depressed, and the other was because he had drunk two glasses of wine and his mind was muddled. The main result of drinking was actually getting people drunk.
The three of them sat down again, and Mu Weizhou happily said to Wang Chong,""Brother Wang, I have to toast you. I know who you are. Your achievements in this life are no less than Brother Ban's. The two of you are like a sun and a moon. The difference is that Brother Ban is more because of his literary talent and history, while you are because of your thoughts.”
Hearing this, Wang Chong said in disbelief,""Little brother, don't comfort me. My hair has already turned white, but I'm penniless. It's time to know the destiny."
Mu Weizhou saw that his words were filled with desolation and said anxiously,""I'm telling the truth. Two thousand years later, your idea was carried forward by the Han people.”
Wang Chong saw that his sincerity did not seem to be fake, so he asked hesitantly,"And how did little brother know what happened two thousand years later?”
Mu Weizhou knew that he had let the cat out of the bag and could not answer immediately. At the same time, he thought that Ban Gu's Ode to the Two Cities was definitely correct, and that it would not be good if Wang Chong's name was mistaken. Thus, he cautiously asked,""Is Brother Wang writing a book? The content was not much different from what he had just said?”Wang Chong nodded. Seeing him nod, Mu Weizhou guessed that he was not wrong. He continued,"Is that book called 'Lun Heng?!”
It was Wang Chong's turn to be shocked. Wang Chong had written three books in his life, and he had just started thinking about his second one. Although he had just written a few, the name had indeed been decided. It would be called Lun Heng. However, he did not tell anyone about this. Not only Ban Gu, but his family might not know either. However, Mu Weizhou actually said it out loud. How could he not be shocked? He had just quarreled with her and didn't believe in God, but at this moment, all he could think of was " Oh my God."
Ban Gu saw Wang Chong's expression and guessed that Shimu Weizhou was right. He quickly asked,""Brother Weizhou, how did you know?”
At this moment, Mu Weizhou was certain that the person in front of him was the epoch-making ideologist, Wang Chong. He couldn't help but feel excited, but he was more worried that he would accidentally kill each other. Suddenly, he thought of something and said,"Yes, it's like this. I have a friend who knows how to calculate. Once, he was bored and did a calculation. He happened to predict what the world would be like in 2,000 years, and I happened to remember it.”
Wang Chong and Wang Chong were skeptical, but Mu Weizhou's reaction just now did not seem to be fake. They thought that a gentleman would not force others to do something difficult, so they quickly invited Mu Weizhou to drink.
After this incident, the three of them had a change of mind. Mu Weizhou felt lucky to be able to drink and talk with the two great scholars. He was even proud that the two of them were willing to make friends with him. Wang Chong was already skeptical about whether he could achieve anything in this life. Writing Lun Heng was just a boring way to pass the time, but after hearing Mu Weizhou's words today, he had the idea of writing the book well. Ban Gu felt that the young man in front of him was becoming more and more mysterious. Although he could not find out his background, his intuition told him that this person was very related to him.
The three of them drank a few glasses of wine. Mu Weizhou saw that Ban Gu wanted to say something but hesitated, so he asked,"Brother Ban, do you have anything to say?”
"Brother, I do have something to ask you, but I don't know…" Ban Gu hesitated and laughed dryly."Brother Ban, you're welcome. Although it's our first time meeting, I've admired you for thousands of years.”
Ban Gu laughed when he heard him say that. To be honest, I still have a younger brother…"
" Yes, you have a younger brother and a younger sister. The younger brother is called Ban Chao…" Mu Weizhou wanted to continue, but when he saw the change in their expressions, he quickly changed his words,""Everyone in Luoyang knows about this."
Ban Gu glanced at Wang Chong and continued,""To tell you the truth, Brother Mu, I came to Luoyang with you ten years ago. I once met a fortune-teller on the street who said that I should be a marquis for ten thousand miles. Ten years have passed, but I have nothing to do. I want to ask your friend to help me take a look.”
When Mu Weizhou heard this, he thought to himself, This Ban Gu is really scheming. He obviously didn't believe what I said just now, so he came up with this idea. Actually, he had really thought wrongly of Ban Gu. What Ban Gu had said just now was the truth. Back then, Ban Chao's son inherited his father's business and copied books for the government. Later, because someone falsely accused Ban Gu of privately writing national history, they were all dismissed and Ban Gu was arrested. Writing national history privately was a very serious crime at that time. When Ban Chao heard that they had a fellow countryman who was killed for secretly writing a book of divination, he quickly ran from Fufeng's hometown to Luoyang and risked being beheaded to explain the situation to Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty. After Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty had someone show him Ban Gu's national history, he felt that Ban Gu was very talented and let him take up the post of Lantai to write history for the country. However, Ban Chao had nothing to do all day. He said that someone had read Ban Chao's fortune and that Ban Chao had been conferred the title of Marquis. He wanted Mu Weizhou to find someone to take a look at it, but in fact, they were brothers.
Mu Weizhou smiled and said to Ban Gu," Old Brother Ban, my friend is not in Luoyang. It's best to get to know your Second Brother Ban first. When the time is right, I'll let my friend take a look. How about that?"”
Ban Gu listened and agreed. The three of them continued drinking. Mu Weizhou asked the two of them a question. What if he had something he couldn't figure out like two days ago? Wang Chong told him to think of a way to understand the problem through reading and seeking advice. Ban Gu suggested that he put that problem in his heart first. If he kept it there, it might be solved one day. Because of this, the two of them argued for a while.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。