Plan to cut off the nine states

When the news of Fan Guan's death spread, people came to express their condolences early the next morning. They went to the grave to cry, and then asked who was living in the valley now. They heard that it was the King of Wu. Everyone had almost the same reaction. First, Startled, then confused.

Chang Yan received the condolences. He said it was a reception, but in fact he was standing at the mouth of the valley to guide the way. He was annoyed by the questions. He said: "Mr. Fan wrote a letter before his death, inviting Mr. Xu to come, accept him as a closed disciple, and pass on the following Mantle.”

This was originally a plot used by King Jingshi to win over the King of Wu. Chang Yanzi changed the story and used it on Fan Guan and Xu Chu. It didn't feel out of place. He had said it so many times that even he himself believed that it was the truth. He said to his companions: "If you didn't receive the invitation, why did the young master come here? With the young master's talent and reputation, it is Mr. Fan's honor to pass on the mantle."

After noon, more and more people came, and most of them believed what Chang Yan said. Only a group of people didn't believe it at all, and even looked very angry.

Fan Guan had countless disciples. A few months before his death, there were still thirty to fifty people left in the valley. Although they were dismissed, many of them did not go far and went to live in Yecheng. They were always paying attention to the master's condition. When they heard about his death, they Each other was summoned at once, and therefore came a little later, but with the most formal ceremony.

A total of twenty-two people, all wearing wide robes and long sleeves, lined up in two neat rows. They began to kneel down and mourn outside the valley. Some of them presided over the ceremony, while others read out the sacrificial rites.

The memorial text is not one piece. From outside the valley to the grave, one kneels down five times, and the five memorial texts are eloquent and eloquent. They can be as short as a hundred words or as many as a thousand words. The reciter is the author. They are full of emotions and move the listeners.

Chang Yan and others couldn't quite understand the content of the memorial text, and were moved to tears.

Those who had not left or had just arrived to express their condolences stopped to watch, nodding frequently and saying to each other: "Sage disciples are indeed different from ordinary people."

Fan Guan clearly explained the funeral arrangements before his death, one of which was that no monument was allowed to be erected. Song Qizhu did not violate his master's orders at all, but his fellow disciples did not think so. He asked the stonemason in the city to carve the tombstone early and wrote "Mr. Jisheng" "Tomb of Master Shifan" is a line of big characters, with small characters on both sides being biographies written by disciples. The writing is quaint and elegant. I have not experienced more than ten years of hard study, and I basically can't understand what is written.

Seven or eight masons erected the monument, and four disciples held the monument with their own hands. The disciples took turns filling in the soil to make the small tomb higher and wider. However, they still felt that it was not enough, so they discussed raising money from the government and the rich to repair it after returning to the city. A truly large tomb.

A bystander came forward to comfort the twenty-two disciples. When talking about the strange events in Fan Mingshi's life, he naturally mentioned the King of Wu: "Looking at the world, except Mr. Fan, who can order the king to die with just a piece of letter? Come to become a disciple?”

None of the disciples had heard that their master had written such a letter, but it sounded very eminent, so they all nodded, "Master can bear the title of 'King Su'. Mr. Fan is the only one who has the ear of Master Kong below."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Fan can be called 'King Su', otherwise King Wu would not have lost his title and come to inherit the mantle."

"Mantle? What kind of mantle? Only Buddhists have mantles. My master never pays attention to this. He often says that no piece of paper is left after setting up the crane, so as to prevent future generations from making false claims and using his name to deceive others."

"The so-called mantle... is just a metaphor. King Wu has always been Mr. Fan's close disciple, right? In the future, King Wu will also teach Fan sect, right?"

The disciples were shocked when they heard this, asked the source, and rushed to King Wu's residence together. They were filled with indignation along the way, but they were not reckless. They observed everywhere and confirmed that King Wu only brought more than 30 followers as rumored. They became more courageous and separated. Call out other condolences to help build momentum.

Taniguchi's Changyan came to stop him, "Are you here to express condolences or to make trouble? I've paid my respects and cried. The article is well written. You can go now. We have no intention of keeping guests for dinner."

"Guest? Haha, listen, classmates, we have been living in the valley for at least half a year, and at most for five or six years, and now we are actually guests. A closed disciple that no one has heard of came here yesterday. Instead, we have become a guest. Master. Why are there so many wonders in the world? We must find out!"

With twenty-two disciples and a larger number of bystanders, Chang Yan could not stop him. After thinking about it, he felt that he could not use force, so he had to tell the truth: "There is no need to go to Mr. Xu. I made up those words. I It’s just a guess without any solid evidence, so it doesn’t count, right?”

The Fan disciples became even angrier after hearing this, "You have the guts to speak big words, but don't have the guts to admit it? You don't have to take the blame for your master. He must have said these words. We are only looking for him."

Everyone was making a noise, and the old servant came out and said to Chang Yan, "What's going on? The funeral turned into a fight?"

Chang Yan was in a state of confusion, "I blame me. I said out of hand that Mr. Xu is a close disciple of Mr. Fan. These people disagreed and wanted to argue with Mr. Xu. I said I was the one who made it up, but they didn't believe it."

"Oh, it's not a big deal."

A Fan disciple said angrily: "For us, this is a big deal. Can we just talk about the master's inheritance? King Wu dared to call himself a closed disciple even if he came to pay homage to the master twice, then those of us who follow the master What does it mean to be a true disciple for many years?”

The old servant was neither angry nor arguing, "You are all scholars. Noisy things are insulting to politeness."

"Hey, King Wu is called an insult to gentlemen. No, he is not a scholar. This kind of behavior is insulting to the 'human beings'."

"Okay, I don't care what the distinction is. The young master is just one person. You are a group of people. The house over there is too small to accommodate all of you. Can you recommend one person to interview the young master and explain the misunderstanding?" "

While everyone was still hesitating, the old servant said to Chang Yan: "You are a soldier, why are you arguing with a group of scholars? Where is your sword?"

Changyan opened a corner of his robe, revealing half of his waist knife, "I have it with me. Can I use it?"

The condolences were all startled, and the Fan disciples immediately made a decision. Someone said: "Among us, Senior Brother An has been following Mr. An for the longest time. It is most appropriate for him to step forward."

"Senior Brother An" gave a few words of humility and was recommended by more and more people, so he said with emotion: "Master just left us and left. This is not the time to argue. We should pay attention to the fundamentals of learning. If the master's inheritance is in chaos, it will not exist at all. This matter must be asked I understand. When I moved to Xia'an, I was not the first to get started, the knowledge was not the deepest, and the disciples were not the most respectful. However, my fellow disciples were scattered all over the world and had not yet arrived. Among the twenty-two people who came to see me off today, I became a disciple earlier. Now that you have been recommended and rectified your reputation as a teacher, how dare you not take the lead?"

An Chongqian continued to speak, and the old servant whispered to Chang Yan: "Young Master sometimes talks a lot, at least you can listen to him, unlike him, it's all nonsense."

Chang Yan smiled and whispered back: "It's all my fault for causing Mr. Xu such big trouble."

"Don't worry, the young master has been through many storms and waves, but he still can't deal with a few idiots who are studying? I see what the young master means, I just find it interesting."

"interesting?"

An Chongqian finished his performance and received applause. He said to the old servant: "Please lead the way. I will go to see the King of Wu alone."

"Please." The old servant led the way to the door and reminded: "My young master is no longer the King of Wu. When you enter, please call him 'Mr. Xu'."

"Mr. Xu - isn't his surname Lou originally? Well, it's Mr. Xu." An Chongqian had known about King Wu's change of surname for a long time, so he deliberately said it to ridicule him.

The old servant didn't care at all. He opened the door and made a gesture to invite the guests in. He waited outside for the guests to come in.

An Chongqian has lived in the valley for many years and is familiar with every room, but he was a little stunned when he entered.

Fan Guan's room has always been simple and plain, but now there is an extra screen, which divides the small room into two parts. Inside is the original couch, but now only a corner is exposed. Outside, there is a table and a chair by the window. There are pens, inks, paper and inkstones, all things that didn’t exist before.

What surprised An Chongqian the most was that there was a woman sitting in front of the desk.

The woman, who was in her twenties, was writing very slowly at her desk. Only half of her face was exposed. She was already unparalleled in beauty. When An Zhongqian saw it, he was immediately stunned. He completely forgot the purpose of coming and just stared at the beauty blankly. , I asked myself over and over again: How could there be such a beauty in the world?

Feng Juniang was actually tracing the words. After writing a word, she turned to look at the guest and said with a smile: "I am not Mr. Xu. He is waiting for you behind the screen."

"Ah...ah, yes." An Zhongqian blushed and walked around the screen, but said in his heart: Everyone said that King Wu was sinister and cunning, and his reputation was well-deserved. He hid behind the screen, but let his concubine show up without any etiquette. It was clearly intended to seduce the guests into making a fool of themselves. Having said that, being the king is really beneficial, to be able to collect such...

It took only a few steps to go around the screen. An Chongqian put away his random thoughts, stopped and raised his hands to the young man at the table: "I'm An Chongqian, the 231st disciple of the Fan sect. I have met Mr. Xu."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "When I came here last year, I didn't seem to have seen Brother An."

"I went into town that day."

"Brother An, please sit down. This place is cramped. I'm sorry that I can't stand up and return the courtesy."

The room was originally small. After adding the screen, there was only less than a foot of space left outside the couch, which was barely enough for one person to stand. An Zhongqian had nowhere to move, so he had to take off his shoes and sit on the couch. He found that Xu Chu was sitting on the table where Mr. Fan had been. From the position he was in, he felt increasingly unhappy.

"Mr. Xu, we are not familiar with each other, so I won't be polite. I have something to ask clearly."

"Wait a moment, no matter what, Brother An is a guest. Madam Ju, please serve tea to the guest."

There was a cry from outside, but An Zhongqian didn't hear what it was. He just felt his heart beating wildly again and said the name "Ju Niang" several times.

Feng Juniang came over and presented two sets of tea trays and teacups, "I don't know that guests are coming. The tea is a little cold. This Mr. An..."

"It's okay, it's okay, I like to drink cold drinks..." An Chongqian smelled a faint fragrance and felt excited. He picked up the tea cup and drank it. He almost choked and coughed several times.

Feng Juniang smiled and stepped back, returning to the desk to continue tracing.

When the guests calmed down, Xu Chu said: "Brother An, what do you want to ask? Please tell me."

An Zhongqian lost his composure one after another, and became even more angry in his heart. He said bluntly: "There are rumors outside that Mr. Xu claims to be Mr. Fan's closed disciple. He not only occupies Siguo Valley, but also usurps Fan's inheritance. Is this true?"

"Brother An, who did you listen to?"

"Everyone who came to express condolences today said so. Mr. Xu's entourage, named Chang Yan, also said the same thing. Later he changed his story and said that he had made it up. We didn't believe it, so we recommended that I come to Mr. Xu to express his condolences. Ask clearly. It’s a matter of inheritance and cannot be done casually. Mr. Xu is also a person who has read books, so he must understand our intentions. "

"Of course I understand. Without a master, there can be no orthodoxy."

"That's exactly what I mean. Please make it clear to Mr. Xu, and then explain it clearly to people outside, so as to prevent the spread of false rumors in time."

"Untrue? The rumors are not true. I am indeed Mr. Fan's disciple. I have to accept the mantle. I should call you 'senior brother'." Xu Chu cupped his hands and said.