Dialogue with the faith of history, the decline of the Northern Dynasty

The book picks up.

Keep dreaming.

The guest invited today is still the first strategist in the world during the Qin and Han dynasties, Mr. Zhang Liang.

I asked, Mr. Zhang Liang, if you were to be a counselor to Xiao Yan, what advice would you give him?

He said that now what he says is an afterthought. If I had to go back and give him advice, I would say three things to him. First, when the emperor must follow pragmatism and instrumentalize religion. It's okay if you want to be a theocratic, but keep in mind that religion must serve politics, and you can't speak for yourself, just find an agent. Find a fat head and big ears, make him the president of the Buddhist Association, you can manage him, he will change people if he is disobedient. Today you go to any monastery or Taoist temple, and you see what flag is flying? Why don't many countries establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican? It is because they stipulate that the power to appoint clergy rests with the Holy See (vatican) and is not considered by the host country. So what? It is equivalent to the president of the association and the government of the host country in parallel, not a subordinate relationship. Second, turn in early. People's vitality is in a parabolic state, too tender to carry, too old to withstand, the best relay method is the exuberant period to transmit the exuberant period. But Xiao Yan was too long-lived, and the seventy or eighty of that era was equivalent to today's centenarian, right? Thinking and consciousness can't keep up with the rhythm. Third, he refused Hou Jing's surrender. They are Mr. Dongguo and the wolf, the farmer and the snake.

I said, I feel that Hou Jing is Xiao Yan's nemesis.

He said that Hou Jing had defected from the Northern Dynasty, and it was his nature to be disloyal. After arriving in the Southern Dynasty, he would definitely continue to rebel, and Xiao Yan would chant mercy all day long to be wary of Hou Jing, so as to raise tigers for trouble! The decline of the Southern Dynasty was also directly related to Hou Jing. The economy of the Southern Dynasty depended on the gate valves, and after Hou Jing came to power, he cleaned up the gate valves. You think, several major families control the economic lifeblood of the entire Southern Dynasty, and now they are going to be cleaned up, people will definitely run, and money will naturally run. This is why South Africa has become the fastest regressive country in the world. Because after Mandela came to power, he implemented many policies that discriminated against whites, which led to the exodus of white people and also took away advanced technology and capital. The more friendly a country is to the entrepreneurial group, the more dynamic the country, and the entrepreneur is the main driving force of social development, and the ancient door valve is similar to the role of the entrepreneur.

I said, I found that in ancient times, one thing that was particularly good was that as long as there was money and power, as many babies as you wanted, you could give birth to as many babies as you wanted, and if you look at these emperors in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were seven or eight sons at every turn, and some even twenty or thirty.

He said, now, as long as you want, it is also possible, does not the vice president of NetEase have twelve babies?

I asked, Xiao Yan had so many sons, who did he want to cultivate to succeed him at that time?

He said that Xiao Yanli's first crown prince was Xiao Tong, that is, the prince of Zhaoming, and Liu Xun had followed him. Not only Liu Xun, but also the famous people in the entire literary circle at that time surrounded Xiao Tong, who himself was highly accomplished in Buddhism and literature, but unfortunately, he died young.

I asked, at that time, the prince read books, did he use a book boy?

He said it was definitely needed. The prince had an attendant named Yu Shoulder Wu, a very intelligent person, Yu Shoulder Wu had a son named Yu Xin, who was talented since childhood, and Yu Xin was one of the book boys of Prince Zhaoming. Why did Yu Xin's later career go so smoothly? It's because I play with the princes all day, I'm all buddies.

I asked, after Prince Zhaoming's death, who was made crown prince?

He said that the eldest son had died, and it was supposed to be the second son. However, the second son suspected that he was the widow of the former emperor, believing that Xiao Yan was his father's enemy, so he defected to Northern Wei, and the position of prince was naturally extended to the third son. The third son was named Xiao Gang, who was also a young man of literature and art, who was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but he had average luck, and when the crown prince did not long catch up with Hou Jing's rebellion, Xiao Yan was starved to death, Xiao Gang ascended the throne, and within a few days of ascending the throne, he was killed by Hou Jing.

I asked, did Hou Jing himself claim the title of emperor?

He said, too. After Xiao Gang's death, Xiao Dong, the grandson of Prince Zhaoming, was made emperor by Hou Jingli, who was actually a puppet. Xiao Dong worked for four months, was imprisoned by Hou Jing, and then Hou Jing himself became emperor and proclaimed himself emperor of Han.

I asked, with the Central Army, the local army, and the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, why can't we just be a foreigner?

He said that Xiao Yan had been building Buddhist temples everywhere all day, the money had not been spent on the blade, the imperial court army had no combat effectiveness, and seeing that Hou Jing had hit the capital, Xiao Gang sent Yu Xin to lead the troops to block the attack, and as a result, this boy talked about military action on paper, and his legs and stomach were weak on the battlefield, Hou Jing had not yet come, and he was scared away first.

I said, Yu Xin this little book boy was promoted very quickly.

He said that he can enter the center of power, has talent, and must be promoted quickly. In addition, the Xiao family's father and son have deep literary attainments, and Yu Xin is a literary genius who feels sorry for each other. After the death of Prince Zhaoming, Yu Xin followed Xiao Gang again.

I asked, how talented can he be? Tao Yuanming's rebirth?

He said that Tao Yuanming could not compare with him. Yu Xin can be called the spokesperson for the peak of literature in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Since he was a child, he has been in the Xiao family compound, and the literature of the courtyard is the level of the national team, and Yu Xin is better than blue out of blue.

I said, I feel that the Xiao family has a bit of a Cao family feeling, and the fragrance of books is overflowing.

He said that there is indeed such a saying in the history of literature, three Cao Si Xiao.

I said, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Xiao Yan, Xiao Tong, Xiao Gang, which xiao?

He said that there was also Xiao Yan's seventh son, Xiao Xuan, who later became emperor, Emperor Yuan of Liang. Yu Xin and Xiao Yi were also old irons, Xiao Xuan initially guarded Jiangling, Yu Xin failed to block Hou Jing and fled to Jiangling, to find Xiao Ling. Xiao Xuan wanted to keep Yu Xin by his side, and also gave him an official pawn, and later Xiao Xuan became emperor, and Yu Xin was even more successful, so let's choose the official yourself.

I asked, Xiao Xuan was in Jiangling, why didn't he send troops to Nanjing to save his father and brother?

He said that at that time, the Xiao family was also a warlord division model, each occupying a territory, like a group of hyenas, looking at each other, not only wanting to dig other people's anus, but also having to protect their own crotch. If no one else saves me, why should I save it? If I send troops to Nanjing, what about you take me from behind in Jiangling? Unless what's the matter? The brothers first killed each other to ensure that there was no Yellow Bird behind him before he sent an army to attack Hou Jing. Therefore, after Xiao Yan's death, Xiao Yi first killed his nephew Xiao Yu the Prince of Hedong and his brother Xiao Lun the Prince of Shaoling, and then repelled the attacks of Xiao Qin, the governor of Xiangyang, before entering the city to collect Hou Jing. After Hou Jing's death, he went on to claim the title of emperor. Didn't Hou Jing imprison the former emperor Xiao Dong before he ascended the throne? That couldn't keep a living mouth, Xiao Xuan sent someone to assassinate.

I said, it seems, that power is more alluring than daddy.

He said that after there are more brothers, his father will not be his own. Just saw a cold knowledge: 80% of maintenance disputes occur in multi-child families, "prevarication" and "comparison" are often the key to the problem, and "parental eccentricity" ranks first in the excuse of refusing to support. The pension problem is still so, let alone the ascension to the throne! It is the pinnacle of power, admired by all people, and respected by the whole world. For the sake of imperial power, you live and die, and anyone who threatens you must be determined, whether you are a brother or a brother.

I asked, will they find foreign aid to destroy their brothers, just like the Rebellion of the Eight Kings in the Western Jin Dynasty?

He said, too. In the year that Xiao Xuan was proclaimed emperor, his eighth brother Xiao Ji was proclaimed emperor in Chengdu. He needs to borrow a knife to kill people, and invites Northern Wei to join forces with him to annihilate the eighth brother. As a result, the eighth brother was gone, and Sichuan was gone, which was also the reason why the territory of the Southern Dynasty was getting smaller and smaller.

I asked, what was the style of southern dynasty poetry?

He said that the Southern Dynasty was still relatively petty bourgeois, a bit of a Shanghainese feeling, yes, is Yu Qiuyu, have you read Yu Qiuyu's prose? That's the feeling. The most famous poet of the Southern Dynasty is Yu Xin, I look for a poem written by Yu Xin during the Southern Dynasty period to read, do you hear the feeling of Yu Qiuyu? Shadows come to the pool, flowers fall in the shirt.

I said, yes. But Yu Qiuyu's style, I don't like it, I still like Mo Yan's style.

He said, don't worry, when Yu Xin travels from the Southern Dynasty to the Northern Dynasty, he will become Mo Yan. In the Southern Dynasty, he ate Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, exquisitely plated, chewed slowly; in the Northern Dynasty, he drank wine in large mouths, ate large pieces of meat, and he missed home and could not go back, and he was older, and he also passed the age of worrying about giving new words, and the poems he wrote had a taste, such as "Dead Tree Endowment". Chairman Mao loved the poem so much that his biography mentioned the scene of memorizing it more than once. There are two fragments that I am deeply impressed with: first, when the bad news came to resist US aggression and aid Korea, he looked out the window and cried this poem; second, in 1976, he was bedridden and still recited the poem repeatedly, "until he could not speak." Du Fu is also a die-hard fan of Yu Xin, and once wrote such a poem: Yu Xin's articles are old and more successful, and Ling Yunjian's pen is longitudinal.

I asked, generally speaking of old articles, does it mean that there are fewer rhetorical techniques?

He said that it was a appearance, no fancy, no piling, no pursuit of deliberate emotions, no fierce dramatic conflict, into a "plain and nearly natural" state, and even gave readers who were accustomed to the original style an illusion, Jiang Lang was exhausted. In fact, it has reached a new realm of writing, the Buddha said that family things are common, only flowing, not heavy form, only heavy meaning, more profound. If you look at Zhang Ailing's later works, they are all as light as water. There is also Jin Yong's pinnacle work "Deer Ding Ji", which is no longer Confucianism, no longer Tao, no longer Buddha, but practice in red dust.

I asked, what themes are the most popular in Yuxin's later works?

Homesick, he said. There is a famous saying: those who fall into reality think of their trees, and those who drink their streams cherish their sources. This is the source of drinking water, which means that when you eat apples, you think of apple trees, and when you drink yellow river water, you think of the source of the three rivers.

I asked, was he also influential in the Northern Dynasty?

He said that he crossed the region and ate all over the north and south, and was the king of the entire Chinese-speaking circle. His influence in the Southern and Northern Dynasties was no less than that of Mei Lanfang in the Republic of China period, and whoever grabbed him felt that it was a treasure. By the time Yu Xin was older, the north and south had become southern Chen and northern Zhou, and the two sides had also opened up their passes and had friendly exchanges, and people from the north and south who had previously lived in other places could go home. Chen Chao also asked, when you snatched our national treasure Yuxin, can you return it to us? North Monday listened, anxious eyes, that is not OK, not only do not let go back, but also give promotion.

I said, it should be an idle post like the chairman of the Writers' Association or the chairman of the Literary Association.

He said, almost. The main thing is that he does have a strong writing ability, but he does not have the ability to fight in actual combat, and he talks about the soldiers on paper one by one, and when he fights, he either flees or bends.

I asked, which is the most famous poem of Yu Xin?

He said that he wrote too many poems, different people have different tastes, and the most famous thing to say is definitely "Yangguan Wanli Road, not a single person returns." Only the geese by the river, flying south in autumn. "Why is it the most famous? As we have discussed before, the fame of a poem among the masses depends only on whether it is selected as a textbook and whether it is required to be memorized. This poem is to be memorized in the third grade of elementary school. Another example is Chen Ziang, "I didn't see the ancients before, and I didn't see the comers after me." Thinking of the heavens and the earth, alone but weeping! "A poem is enough to seal a god."

I said, Yu Xin was an official in the Southern Dynasty, why did he flee to the Northern Dynasty?

He said that he did not flee, but that he was a diplomat on an envoy to Western Wei and arrived in Chang'an. As a result, shortly after he arrived in Chang'an, Western Wei conquered Jiangling and killed Xiao Xuan. The western Wei boss told Yu Xin, you see, your boss was killed by us, don't go back, stay here as an official, just stay here. It can be said that Yu Xin witnessed both the demise of the Southern Dynasty and the change of the Northern Dynasty. He died in 581 AD, the year emperor Wen of Sui ascended the throne, the Southern and Northern Dynasties ended, and history entered the Sui Dynasty.

I asked, why did he end his life in a troubled world?

First, he said, it belongs to the pollution-free type. He is just a man of letters, militarily straw bale, politically brainless, what do you think a literary federation chairman can set off? Second, talent is his deathless gold medal, especially in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties, his fans were all over the country, and the country also needed such talent idols.

I said, that is, his whole life was not turbulent.

In theory, he said, it wasn't, because he was a superstar, talented, had food to eat everywhere he went, and was respected. Du Fu commented on him: Yu Xin was the most depressed in his life, and his poetry in his twilight years inspired Jiang Guan. This means that Yu Xin wandered all his life and became famous in his old age. This is not accurate, in fact, he has always been mixed up among the dignitaries. This poem was later quoted by many people, expressing the meaning of old age and late success. Chinese mathematician Zhang Yitang also quoted this poem, describing his life as bumpy, in a foreign country, his career was hindered, and even had to go to supermarkets and fast food restaurants to do odd jobs to maintain his life, and finally became famous, and suddenly found that he was sixty years old.

I asked, did the dignitaries use Yuxin anywhere?

He said that Yu Xin was a great literary hero, and there were still many places where aristocratic families used great literary heroes, such as epitaph inscriptions. How do you prove that your family is aristocratic? The inscription was written by Yu Xin!. The tomb of the Douluen family excavated in Shaanxi in 2019 was identified by experts as written by Yu Xin.

I asked, would the ancient literati have copied?

He said that some of them were deliberately copied, and some were just copied by inspiration, that is, inspired by inspiration. To say that The most beautiful verses in China are selected, Wang Bo's "Sunset and Lone Bird Fly Together, Autumn Water Is Long and Colorful" can definitely be selected. The earliest version of this poem is derived from Yu Xin's "Falling flowers and Zhi gai fly together, and the willows are the same as the spring flag". If you are an examiner, do you think it is plagiarism?

I said, I feel yes.

He said that Wang Bo could fully say that this was a tribute to the idol.

I ask, in today's literary and art circles, many people have a very special sexual orientation, is this also true in the ancient literary and art circles?

He said that since the Western Han Dynasty, it has been very popular to adopt male pets, and Yu Xin really has rumors in this regard, and it is said that he has raised Xiao Shao, the emperor of Xiao Liang. I told you before, in the era of totalitarianism, sexual resources are the most excessive, any way you can think of playing, it is not difficult to achieve, this thing does not need any high technology, only the flesh, how much and how much. I think Yu Xin's sexual orientation is fine, just out of fashion, curiosity, and experience it. If you look at the later Ximen Qing, isn't it also a male-female eater?

I asked, would he marry his daughter-in-law?

He said, definitely. The mentor of "The Voice of China", Haring, isn't his name Yu Chengqing? He is the descendant of Yu Xin, and where did he come from without marrying his daughter-in-law?

I said, according to you, the flesh is overflowing, and killing people can also be very casual?

He said, too casual. In a word, if you drag it out and cut it off, a life will be gone; if you cut it off with a full door, one family will disappear; if you have nine clans, several families will disappear. You sound horrible, don't you? Under the premise of absolute centralization and no punishment for mistakes, killing people is as common as killing pigs.

I asked, does anyone take pleasure in killing people? Similar to Hannibal.

He said, too. At that time, there was a man named Xue Rengao, who was he? He was the son of Xue Ju, the overlord of Western Qin who had driven Li Shimin to the ground. Xue Rengao is a very perverted person, like to study criminal law, he must kill prisoners of war when he catches them, and he must kill them very carefully, just like killing pigs, cutting tongues, cutting noses, using stone mortars to carefully crush people into blood mud, etc., which can be called perverts in perversion. Who had he ever caught? Yu Xin's son Yu Li (庾立) did not surrender, and as a result, Xue Rengao roasted the whole lamb on the fire, and while roasting it, he cut the meat and distributed it to the soldiers to eat...

I said that it is still a good civilized society, and the death penalty has been changed to injection, so that people can die gracefully, and even many countries have abolished the death penalty.

He said that the Middle East is not now also cutting noses and stoning? Social progress is on the one hand, and legal soundness is more important. You may also have the idea of killing people in your heart, but you don't dare to do it at all, because you fear the law, you fear freedom, you fear your own life, and you know that if you kill him, you will also lose your life, and you give up this evil thought. If you kill people without being punished, you will find yourself quickly becoming a murderer. I don't know if you watch the news, there are often fights on the refugee ships smuggled into Europe, there is no law on the ship, only the law of the jungle, the weak eat the strong, so everyone fights to the death, until they are killed. The underlying logic of man is still the attribute of animals, the law constrains the evil of our animal nature, and civilization activates the beauty of our human nature.

I asked, since what period did historical names become less rusty?

He said that after the Southern and Northern Dynasties, history entered the Sui and Tang dynasties, and since then, people's names have not been too unfamiliar. Historical celebrities are clustered, generally concentrated in a certain period of time, the Spring and Autumn Warring States is a small climax, the Qin and Han alternating is a small climax, the Three Kingdoms is a big climax, the Tang Dynasty and later, has been in a state of climax, the root is that there are more literati, more literature, more literary and artistic works, to put it bluntly, it is a reason, close to modern times.