In an elegant little house in a secluded place in the bamboo forest, an old man with gray hair and beard was standing between the hazy light and shadow, preaching and teaching to two young men with tied hair. The old man has an elegant demeanor, is wise and open-minded, and shows the demeanor of a wise man who understands the world with every move of his hands and feet; while the two young men have different figures and looks, but they both have extraordinary temperaments. One is refined and friendly, but also gives people A sense of alienation; the other person's elegant manners and calm temperament make people want to believe and follow. "Our school is good at the emperor's mind, but this knowledge is extremely sensitive. It requires you to think about the problem from the emperor's perspective, to figure out the emperor's thoughts, and to control the behavior of the officials. Therefore, it is easy to be affected by the emperor and the emperor at the same time. The suspicion and rejection of officials, as well as the jealousy and plotting of hostile forces! And the more you show your sharpness and ability, the stronger this suspicion, rejection, and jealousy and plotting become Tanchang, Ziyu, do you think that in the future? In this situation, how should we stand in the world? Should we put our talents first and realize our ambitions? Or should we pretend to be ignorant and protect ourselves first?¡± The young man with an extraordinary temperament immediately answered: "The priority should be to demonstrate talents and realize ambitions! If students cannot fully demonstrate talents and fully realize their ambitions, why should students follow the teacher to learn this knowledge? Isn't it because of choking? As for the suspicion, exclusion, and jealousy, they are all We can find a way to solve it, just stop it when the soldiers come, and cover it up when the water comes! Students believe that the ideal situation for a Confucian scholar of our school is to find a wise man like Liu Xuande who is generous, knowledgeable, and has deep faith in himself. Lord, assist him wholeheartedly, use this wise Lord to realize his ambitions, and then retreat bravely after the great work is completed to avoid subsequent disputes of interests. As the saying goes, "Zhuge Liang divides the world into three parts, and Liu Bowen unifies the country." These two sages are They are all role models for our generation." After hearing this answer, the old man couldn't help but smile and asked: "What if you don't find a wise leader worthy of your help?" The young man with extraordinary temperament replied again: " Then hide yourself from the court, pretend to be ignorant, and protect yourself first!¡± The old man shook his head and commented: ¡°Although there is some childishness for taking it for granted, this kind of childishness is not bad. However, you need to pay attention to one thing, that is! You must not just look for a wise leader to assist you, but you should also look for a responsible and decisive hero! The wise leader will only trust you in normal times, but the hero can protect you at critical moments! , so that you will be protected from jealousy and plotting, and you can use what you have learned without any scruples Frank, you are good at planning others, but not good at looking for yourself, so this is particularly important to you! " A young man named "Frank"! After thinking for a moment, he nodded and accepted the instruction: "Student, please keep this in mind." But the next moment, he shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that most of the time, the wise master and the heroic master cannot have both!" The old man He smiled and said, "Then it depends on your own choice." Then, the old man turned to look at the other young man and asked, "Ziyu, what do you think?" Facing the old man's question, he said " The young man named "Zi Yu" had a blank expression and remained silent for a long time. In the end, he hesitated and said: "Students also hope that they can show their talents and realize their ambitions, but they don't want to be the loser and be hated and suspected by others; however, if they blindly hide their strengths and pretend to be stupid, it will not only be a waste Even if you have learned all your life, you will be looked down upon, which is also not what students want Therefore, students don¡¯t know how to choose. If they have to choose one of them, they will probably put their own safety first Compared with being unable to Regrettably, students still reject those unpredictable dangers and troubles!" After hearing this answer, the old man couldn't help but shook his head and sighed, with a regretful expression, and even a hint of guilt. After a moment of silence, the old man commented: "Actually, in the idea of ??being a teacher, there are many correct answers to this question, whether it is to show talents and realize ambitions first, or to pretend to be stupid and preserve oneself first, It¡¯s all not wrong, it¡¯s just due to different personal temperaments, so the final choices are different. However your hesitant and contradictory answer is the only one that is wrong!¡± After shaking his head again and sighing, the old man blamed himself. Said: "Back then, you secretly found me, hoping to become my disciple. My teacher saw that you were not only extremely talented, but also had an excellent temperament, so I didn't think much about it. After a little test, I accepted you as my disciple But now that I think about it, if I accept you as my disciple, I will actually harm you! You are a descendant of the Lu family, so you can be said to have a family connection. Your uncle, Mr. Mingde, is no less talented and knowledgeable than your teacher, but the Lu family has a good reputation. Family Tao is inherited from Yangming¡¯s philosophy of mind, which talks about the unity of knowledge and action, and the harmony of human nature.Anyone can become a sage. It is a science that cultivates virtue and encourages people to do good. However, the science of being a teacher is full of speculation about people's hearts and profit calculations. It is believed that everyone in the world is pursuing profit, and it should be discarded. The baits can be described as completely different and incompatible! You have inherited two knowledges with completely opposite concepts at the same time, so you will naturally fall into a contradiction and be unable to extricate yourself. Your talent and talent are extremely high, not inferior to Tan Chang at all, but your academic progress is obviously not as good as Tan Chang. When faced with a choice I am always indecisive Alas! From this point of view, my teacher not only failed to teach you and resolve your doubts, but actually became an obstacle in your path. I am really ashamed! "After hearing this, the young man named "Ziyu" bowed his head and remained silent, and the other young man named "Tanchang" also sighed with regret. The old man took a deep look at "Ziyu" and reminded him: "Ziyu" , I don¡¯t know how to help you get out of the predicament, but I must remind you that when you face a choice in the future, if you can¡¯t completely sort out your clues and strengthen your determination, you must not risk everything and let yourself get into trouble. Danger! Always reserve a way out for yourself! Otherwise, I am very worried. This kind of indecisive and contradictory mentality will harm you sooner or later! " Ziyu was silent for a long time again, and finally nodded and said: "Student understands! No matter what they do in the future, students will reserve a way out for themselves and will never put themselves in danger at will! "After hearing "Ziyu"'s promise, the old man finally calmed down a little. And the next moment, whether it was the small house in the forest, the wise old man who taught his disciples earnestly, or his classmates who were looking at him with concern, They all became blurry, and then turned into countless mottled lights and shadows, quickly dissipating into the invisible. Young Master? Wake up! Wake up! " Under the call of his confidant Lu Ping, Lu De slowly opened his eyes and gradually woke up from his nap. After waking up, Lu De looked around in a daze, as if he wanted to find the old man in the dream. He was with his classmates, but found that it was already late at night, and he was in the wilderness, hiding in a sheltered position, leaning against a stone. Seeing Lu De's sleepy appearance, Lu Ping frowned and said: "In the wilderness. Yes, how can the young master sleep here? If I didn't wake you up in time, you might be infected with the cold! After a while, Lu De finally woke up completely, shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "Originally I just wanted to close my eyes and take a rest, but I didn't expect that I fell asleep directly and had a nightmare." Lu Ping was stunned. , asked: "What nightmare?" Lu De laughed at himself: "There are two unscrupulous disciples who have violated their teacher's instructions and teachings. The teacher has long seen through their shortcomings, but they still can't help but think To fly a moth into a flame is to kill oneself How ridiculous!" When the ancients chose the word "abortion", they basically followed three principles, either "synonymous", or "opposite meaning", and then Or "the meaning is consistent." The epitome of Zhao Shancai is "Tanchang", which was taught by his mentor He Ming, which follows the principle of "opposite meanings". "Shancai" means outstanding talent like a mountain, and "Tanchang" It means that the fate is smooth and no different from ordinary people. As for Lu De, his nickname is "Ziyu", which was given by his uncle Lu Sirui. It follows the principle of "mutual meaning". "Yu" means gestation. Combined with Lu De's name, it is It means to accumulate virtue. As for the old man who appeared in Lu De's dream, he was naturally the former prince and grand master He Ming. When He Ming was still alive, he repeatedly told Zhao Shancai that after he left the army, it would be best to find a responsible and capable hero to protect him and protect him from external risks. Unfortunately, Zhao Shancai finally chose to assist him. The left prince Zhu Heyu. Although Zhu Heyu has a good nature and is willing to trust Zhao Shancai without reservation, he may become a wise master after growing up, but he is not able to protect Zhao Shancai or protect Zhao Shancai from danger, so Zhao Shancai quickly He was assassinated and died a violent death. As for Lu Dehe doesn't think that he has a way out now, and that in the future he will only have to go to the dark side. Thinking of this, Lu De shook his head slowly, his expression becoming more and more self-deprecating. Next, Lu De did not intend to explain his true thoughts to Lu Ping in detail. He just stood up holding the stone behind him and looked up into the distance. At this moment, it was already late at night, and Lu De was in the countryside east of Nanjing City. Within Lu De¡¯s field of vision, a group of taciturn and cold-tempered strong men were gathering on a dike, waving shovels constantly, trying to dig down the dike under the cover of night!This group of strong men were part of the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers that Zhu Hejian entrusted to Lu De for command and deployment. ?????????????????? And the dam that these "Chaofeng" warriors are trying their best to dig down is not far downstream from the Huangzhuang farmland in Nanzhili. It is the rainy season now, and the river level is rising rapidly. Once this dam is dug down, it will definitely trigger a large-scale flood, quickly destroying all the farmland in Huangzhuang downstream! This is also part of the plan Lu De proposed to Zhu Hejian, which is to secretly destroy the upstream dam of a certain imperial village, causing the emperor's village to suffer flood disasters and completely lose all harvests, and then point the suspicion of destroying the dam to those in southern Zhili. The wealthy Jin gentry family took the opportunity to reverse the direction of public opinion controlled by the wealthy Jin gentry family! In fact, although the eunuchs of Huangzhuang in Nanzhili are all domineering and evil-doing people, the wealthy gentry family are definitely the best in this regard. Whether it is bullying the people or occupying fertile land, neither of them is innocent. But because the wealthy gentry family controlled the public opinion of the government and the public, the eunuchs of Huangzhuang attracted all the public resentment. The wealthy gentry family pretended to be innocent victims. Under such circumstances, if Zhu Hejian favored the eunuchs of Huangzhuang, he would naturally Damage one's own reputation. Therefore, only by making the Huangzhuang eunuchs also become victims and completely confusing the situation, while the Jin gentry and wealthy families are under suspicion, can Zhu Hejian have legitimate reasons to support the Huangzhuang eunuchs and suppress the Jin gentry and wealthy families without worrying about his own reputation. The damage is too great. The plan proposed by Lu De coincided with Zhu Hejian's. In addition, Lu De was not only very familiar with the distribution of cultivated land and the topography of Nanjing's jurisdiction, but he could also use the Lu Family Villa outside the city to hide the whereabouts of people. , so Zhu Hejian handed over this task to Lu De, and also gave Lu De a bronze medal, so that Lu De could directly mobilize some of the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers. After Lu De used this bronze medal to contact the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers, he asked them to conceal their whereabouts and leave Nanjing City in batches. They gathered here under the cover of night, and then assigned the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers to start digging. Destroy dikes. At this time, looking at the "Chaofeng" soldiers who were struggling to dig the embankment, and everyone was waving their shovels enthusiastically, but they were all silent and did not make any sound, Lu De couldn't help but have a trace of fear in his eyes. . The ability and training of these dead soldiers are far beyond Lu De's imagination. And with Zhu Hejian having such a group of dead soldiers secretly working for him, it's no wonder that they never leave any flaws. After observing carefully for a moment, Lu De asked: "How is the excavation progress? How long will it take before the embankment breaks and causes floods?" Lu Ping replied: "Three cracks have been dug out now, and the embankment is constantly being impacted by the river water. Those three cracks The crack is also expanding, so in about an hour, the dam will completely collapse!" After hearing this, Lu De couldn't help but looked up at the position of the moon in the sky and asked in surprise: "Is the progress so fast? It should be just half an hour's rest! I thought it would take until Yinshi to completely dig the dam, but according to the current progress, maybe the task can be completed in about three o'clock!" Lu Ping explained quickly: " Not long after you hid here to rest, I saw that the excavation of the embankment was not going well. I was about to ask for your opinion, but a scar-faced man suddenly appeared. This man was obviously very prestigious, and he just hugged me. Standing aside with arms folded and a cold face supervising the work, everyone did not dare to spare any effort and worked hard to dig, so the progress suddenly accelerated. " At this point, Lu Ping showed a hint of fear in his expression, and then. Said: "Except for the hideous scar on his face, the scarred man didn't see anything outstanding, but when he looked at me, I felt like I was being stared at by a hungry wolf and tiger. My legs are trembling all the time That scarred man is definitely not an ordinary person." After thinking for a moment, Lu De waved his hand and said, "Let's go see the scarred man." After that, Lu De took the lead. Walking towards the embankment, Lu Ping was still willing to do so, but he had no choice but to follow reluctantly. A moment later, Lu De saw the scarred man who was supervising the work with his arms crossed. Just as Lu De said, this scarred man looks ordinary, but once you get close to him, an instinctive sense of crisis and horror will gradually arise deep in your heart. Even a calm man like Lu De can't help but feel Secretly shocked. But Lu De still stood beside the scar-faced man with a calm expression. After closely observing the excavation progress on the embankment for a while, he turned to the scar-faced man and asked: "Your Excellency, your surname is high? It seems that you are also the seventh prince." "My subordinate, why didn't you show up before? And you waited until now to show up?" The scar-faced man also turned to look at Lu De. This look is like a butcher looking at the livestock to be slaughtered with a knife, thinking about where to cut. But the next moment, the scar-faced man had a smile on his face and explained: "My name is Jiang Xiao, I am also a member of 'Chaofeng', and I was also a veteran of 'Chaofeng' when it was founded. Mr. Lu was ordered to mobilize 'Chaofeng' While the other person was working, I was performing another task, so I never had the chance to meet Mr. Lu. I waited until yesterday evening, and finally completed the last task completely, and then came to help overnight. " After saying that, Jiang Xiao raised his finger and pointed at the busy people on the embankment and said: "They are all members of 'Chaofeng'. Nearly half of them were personally selected by me to join 'Chaofeng', and almost all of them accepted it. They have passed my training, so I will personally watch them, so they don't dare to be lazy." "Chaofeng" Lu De muttered to himself: "The third son of the nine sons of Longsheng, is the leader of scale insects. He is always adventurous and hopeful, so he often uses his shape as a decoration on the corners of his palace! What a good name! It has a profound meaning!¡± Before this, Lu De, in order to avoid suspicion, directed the "Chaofeng" soldiers to do things. However, he has always understood his duties well and has not inquired any unnecessary information from the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers at all. It was only then that Lu De finally learned the name of the organization "Chaofeng" after Jiang Xiao took the initiative to mention it. Jiang Xiao deliberately leaked the information about the "Chaofeng" organization to Lu De, obviously because he wanted to take the opportunity to test, and he had been secretly observing the changes in Lu De's expression. Under Jiang Xiao¡¯s provocation, Lu De pondered for a long time and remained silent. In fact, compared to the name "Chaofeng", Lu De is actually more interested in the name "Jiang Xiao". Night? Xiao? Xiao? Or owl? After thinking for a moment, Lu De simply got straight to the point and asked: "How long has this 'Chaofeng' organization been established?" Lu De believed that he should show some curiosity at this time, otherwise it would be too much. * And just when Lu De and Jiang Xiao were testing each other, on the official road more than ten miles east, there were two teams of people rushing towards Nanjing, one behind the other. The front group was headed by three Zhao family aides, Ouyang Bo, Guo Min, and Qian Bodao. After receiving the news that Huo Zhengyuan was in danger, they left Suzhou City before the city gates closed in the evening, and they had been traveling all night. , wanting to arrive in Nanjing as soon as possible to meet Huo Zhengyuan. As for the group behind them, they were led by Hu Xiao, who secretly followed the group of Ouyang Bo, Guo Min and others, keeping a close distance. ?¡ ?¡ ?¡