Three Kingdoms

"Someone is wrong?"

Fei Qian asked with some confusion.

Outside Chang'an City, it was snowing heavily. Jingwei is not completely clear yet. Many things have yet to be finalized.

"Yes, the general is wrong..."

Zheng Xuan said it with certainty, just like saying that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Fei Qian waved his hand and said: "Since we are just sitting down to talk, let's not talk about generals and generals. I am just a laggard. Zheng Gong might as well speak frankly. Where did I go wrong?"

Jingshui gurgling.

The snowflakes fell on the water. At the moment of contact, there seemed to be a very short pause, and then disappeared. One second it was a flying elf, and the next second it was a dancer rushing away. There was no trace of the transition.

On the red clay fire, the water boiled and made a gurgling sound.

Huang Xu stepped forward, took the kettle, and placed it next to Fei Qian.

Fei Qian picked up the kettle, heated the teacup briefly, and then made tea.

Zheng Xuan watched quietly and did not immediately express his opinion. No matter what, it was always a pleasant thing to drink the tea brewed by the General Hussar himself.

The tea is translucent and clear. Although the frying technology of green tea in the Han Dynasty has not yet reached the level of refinement to every temperature and every second as in later generations, it is completely different from the original tea brick cooking method in the Han Dynasty. In the tea soup, only the taste of the tea itself remains , that original taste.

"Good tea..." Zheng Xuan praised, twitching his eyebrows. In the cold winter, a sip of hot tea fills the mouth and nose with aroma, and the warmth soothes the stomach. It is really comfortable.

Fei Qian nodded. In fact, the tea used by Fei Qian is not priceless than gold, it is just that the sealing is better. After all, tea is so easy to carry odors, and it will smell wherever you put it. If you put it in smelly socks, it will definitely smell like salted fish.

As the saying goes, those who are close to vermillion are red and those who are close to ink are black, and tea is the best.

It is so difficult to pursue one's original intention. Only tea can satisfy the thirsty intestines.

After three rounds of drinking, the tongue becomes numb. While the brain is not completely numb, you should say whatever you need to say. If you don’t say it, someone will pretend to be drunk. After three rounds of brewing, the tea will fade away and the bitterness will come through. , just like life, under the fragrance, there is depression.

"General..." Zheng Xuan put down the tea bowl and looked at the tea soup, "The affairs of the world are just like tea and wine... The beauty of tea lies in its lightness, long aftertaste, tranquil mood, clarity and rationality, while the beauty of wine lies in its strong and warm blood. Surging, ecstatic, and hearty... Now the general insists on making wine into tea, isn't this a big absurdity?"

Fei Qian rubbed the beard on his chin and said, "Please elaborate."

Tea and wine, chrysanthemum and knife. Zheng Xuan's metaphor does have some meaning.

"Kong Zhongni taught everything about the Spring and Autumn Period... It is like tea. It can be found in the wild and anyone can pick it. It is enough to gain insight into the nature..." Zheng Xuan smiled, pointed to the tea bowl, and then said, "Dr. Ran Being an official becomes wine, and when stored in the cellar, it becomes more mellow..."

"Doctor?" Fei Qian frowned slightly, then thought deeply.

Zheng Xuan's words are actually very simple, and they point directly to the essence of the problem, which is interests.

In the face of interests, dreams, feelings, and long-term prospects are all nothing. Human nature and morality are small and transparent that do not exist in the interest system. Even if you wear them, you can still see the mess underneath. Hairy mouth.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, why was Confucius able to teach without distinction? Does it get harder and harder to do as you go forward? The scalp is not itchy for one generation, nor is the water cold for a while, it lasts for life after life, and there are even some high-level intellectuals who do not hesitate to bear infamy just to win the smiles of foreigners, and who do not hesitate to offer their hometown fathers, elders, and young ladies with both hands...

In the final analysis, it all comes down to two words, "profit."

Therefore, when encountering something, don't decide your position first, but first sort out the interests and relationships in your head to see more clearly. Whether you can see the truth depends on the specific status and class.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all official positions were arranged according to talents. Taking a chestnut to chew, Zhang Yi was "robbed and whipped by hundreds" by the Prime Minister of Chu. His wife said: "Hey! How can I be humiliated if I don't study and lobby?" Zhang Yi said to his wife: "Do you think I still have my tongue? His wife laughed and said, "The tongue is there." Yi said, "That's enough."

Does Zhang Yi have any talent or learning? Yes, or is there anyone with a similar level of learning to Zhang Yicai? There are many, but the reason why Zhang Yi became Zhang Yi is not because of talent and learning, but because Zhang Yi is good at oral skills...

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the proportion of those who were reused because of their talent was much greater than those who were reused because of their talents and learning. Therefore, overall, the level of talent determined the level of the position. Then the position of "Doctor" was born...

Doctors first appeared in the Warring States Period. They were initially responsible for keeping documents and archives, compiling works, mastering ancient and modern times, imparting knowledge, and cultivating talents. In the state of Qin, seventy people were awarded the title of doctor. Later, in the early Han Dynasty, it was placed along the line, with a rank of six hundred stones, and it belonged to Fengchang. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, doctors of the Five Classics were also established, and doctors became academic officials specializing in teaching Confucian classics.

From then on, for the first time, the standard for officials to be officials based on academics instead of talent appeared in the regulatory system.

There seems to be no difference between these two standards. After all, being able to read and read can be regarded as a talent, but the problem is that IQ is not equal to EQ...

The above is the first aspect Zheng Xuan mentioned.

The second aspect is the issue of publicity and private concealment.

Just like what Zheng Xuan said about tea and wine.

Tea was not called "tea" at the beginning, but was replaced by many synonyms, such as "ming, 荈, 觧, 槚, 茶" and other names. The word "tea" first appeared in books such as "The Book of Songs" and "Erya", which means bitter plant leaves. There is a redundant remainder under the prefix of the word "艸", which represents a plant that is unique among herbal plants. Later, tea evolved into a general term for plants that can detoxify, including tea.

The legend also illustrates this point. Shennong ate hundreds of herbs, and then he was poisoned. He encountered tea and solved the problem.

This shows that the origin of tea is not artificially cultivated, but something naturally produced, but people encountered it and marked it...

But wine is different.

If you want to get wine, you must hide it.

If exposed to air, it will either turn into vinegar or mold and rot, becoming a carnival of microbial mold.

Therefore, the form of tea is more like the accumulation of ancient knowledge, while the posture of wine is like the current knowledge model of the Han Dynasty.

"What Mr. Zheng said is good..." Fei Qian nodded, then looked at Zheng Xuan and said, "But... Mr. Zheng thinks, is tea or wine better?"

Zheng Xuan smiled, "Tea is good, wine is even better!"

Fei Qian laughed and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"The general's tea is a rare thing that can clear one's mind and clear one's mind... However, in the mountains and fields, there are also flowers that are put into tea, trees that are put into tea, and fruits that are put into tea. They are all names of tea. It is confusing to listen to it, and you don't know whether it is true or false. ..." Zheng Xuan said slowly, "Wine is not like that. The utensils, millet, water, and music are all perfect, so that you can get good wine, and discard the dross, leaving only fine wine..."

Fei Qian used the backs of two fingers to rub the beard on his chin back and forth.

There is some truth to Zheng Xuan's rhetoric, but this truth is actually not very reliable.

Although it has been so long since the Han Dynasty, like most Han people, Fei Qian began to grow a beard, but Fei Qian still did not develop the habit of caring for his beard very carefully, let alone like Guan Erye, going out. When outside, you have to wear a pair of underpants, a bellyband or something like this for your beard. Basically, you let your beard grow freely. Even when you touch your beard with your hands, you are very casual. Rubbing and rubbing are all basic operations, like many literati. The finger-twisting pattern of stroking your beard is completely invisible on Fei Qian.

A beard is just a beard. Beard is a symbol of masculinity, but it does not mean that beard is masculine.

Zheng Xuan's statement seems to indicate that a beard is a male, which is a slight reversal of logic.

Just like the famous saying of later generations, "take the best and discard the dross", it seems that everyone has heard it and understands it, but in fact the point of this sentence is not to argue with others about what is the "best" and what is the "dross" , it does not mean how much should be "taken" or how much should be "discarded", but it should be that after knowing such a method, there should be such a process.

Just like eating, steak is a kind of food, and tortillas are also a kind of food. However, it cannot be said that steak is the essence and tortillas are the dross. Or, seeing that steak is expensive, one becomes picky and refuses other types of food. Sensing food, eating it, absorbing nutrients, and then expelling the residue is a complete process.

The important thing is the process of eating, not standing aside and commenting on standards.

It is impossible to keep people full with only verbal support and comments.

Because the standards of others are ultimately the standards of others, just like some people are allergic to peanuts, some are allergic to shrimps, etc. With different physical constitutions, the so-called essence and dross are naturally different.

"Sichuan and Sichuan are good at raising silkworms..." Fei Qian said with a smile, "I wonder if Mr. Zheng has seen it?"

"Silkworms?" Zheng Xuan was stunned for a moment, and then said, "I have heard a little bit..."

Fei Qian nodded and said: "For feeding silkworms, mulberry is the best. If mulberry is used as food, the silk produced will be white and long, which is the best choice for making brocade. If it is made from mixed leaves, the silk will be yellowish gray and easy to break. , poor quality... However, there are many silkworms and few leaves, and there are no more to pick... I dare to ask Mr. Zheng, at this time, should we give up the food of the silkworms, or feed them with mixed leaves?"

Zheng Xuan frowned.

Silkworms are very interesting because what traps them is nothing but the mulberry leaves chosen by the silkworms themselves and the silk they spun.

Just like the current gentry.

Those silks were chosen and mastered by the nobles themselves, and then spit out on themselves...

Feiqian once heard a theory called "information cocoon room" in later generations. Knowledge, in a sense, is also a kind of information. People in ancient times preserved information in words or pictures. When later generations understand it, it is a process of transmitting information.

When ordinary people receive information, they will habitually choose to believe the information they want to believe. This choice is subconscious and will intuitively affect the next move, such as those of various idol fans. All idols are human beings, and they have their own strengths and weaknesses. This is common sense, but idol fans reject common sense and only see what they want to see and only accept information they are willing to accept.

Some people may say that idol fans are younger and have immature thinking, but it turns out that everyone is the same, more or less. The typical manifestation is the "Cambridge Analytica" incident.

Although Cambridge Analytica later closed down, the gods who followed quickly discovered the business opportunities and even deadly weapons...

From a physical perspective, information is also a kind of entropy. Messy information has no value because it is disordered. However, after the messy information is processed by big data and becomes an orderly existence, it will have huge value.

Just like in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, knowledge was messy and there were hundreds of schools of thought. However, after intentional or unintentional sorting between the Qin and Han Dynasties, the messy information sources were concentrated and became an orderly existence.

Then you can control everything, even from generation to generation.

When all the information around a person is controlled and deliberately filtered and pushed, then all the information this person comes into contact with will be what "someone" wants this person to see, and it will be pushed intentionally. This person finds it convenient and thinks that it is what he wants to hear and want. As time goes by, he becomes more and more lazy to think, and then entrusts his brain to the party that pushes the information...

This is not something that only happens in later generations. As early as the Han Dynasty, these noble families had already done this.

Confucius' rise from a mortal to a divine altar was established in this process of continuous push of information. The status of the Five Classics and Four Books was also produced by the shrinkage of the constant cocoon of information. There are fewer and fewer wild teas. There are naturally more and more canned wines...

Of course, the prerequisite for doing this is to gather all the tongues, master all the right to speak, and control the export of all the world's information, so that everything seen and heard can only be information that meets the push standards. Reach the audience.

Confucianism did this very well in the subsequent feudal dynasties.

Imagine that those children whose minds are not yet mature, those who are in a relatively closed environment, the information they are exposed to has been specially selected and pushed here. They are surrounded by the whole family at every turn, and then over time, they can How many people are aware of this problem? Are you aware and willing to make changes?

The first thread of this information cocoon was actually created in the Han Dynasty...

"Luofu likes sericulture, and he picks mulberry in the south corner of the city..." Fei Qian continued, "Does Mr. Zheng know that it was the silkworms that came first, and then the mulberry leaves were good, or the mulberries first, and then the silks were good?"

Zheng Xuan was silent for a long time, and then said: "If the general insists on doing this, he will inevitably destroy tens of thousands of wine cellars...Aren't you afraid that by then...there will be no wine to drink?"

Fei Qian laughed.

"Someone drinks tea."