Chapter 61: The Tavern's Gift of Poetry Moves Tian Feng

  Zhao Xing learned that three days later, his colleagues in the court would be bidding farewell to Tian Feng, who had been dismissed from office. The location had been changed to Zui Xian Lou near the Imperial Academy, possibly because they thought Bei Guang Li was not very auspicious. Last time they drank a round of wine and ended up drinking away Tian Feng's official position.

  Early in the morning, Zhao Xing had someone buy several zhang of white silk and locked himself in his study. After a bout of writing, he had someone deliver the written silk to the vicinity of "Wenchang Tiancheng - Zuixianlou" near the Imperial Academy, with some instructions. Then, Zhao Xing assumed the demeanor of Jiang Taigong fishing, waiting for Tian Feng to take the bait.

  At noon, Tian Feng went to "Wen Tiang Cheng" Drunken Immortal Building as promised. Several colleagues and good friends gathered together, cherishing each other, hard to hide the sorrow of parting in their hearts. A group of people drowned their sorrows in wine, only to get drunk and dizzy, until everyone supported each other down the stairs, out of the wine building, but saw that the passing Taixue students were surrounding one side of the store door, watching something.

  Tian Feng turned his head and saw a white silk banner over one zhang long, hanging from the flagpole where the wine banner should have been. When he carefully identified the large characters flying dragons and dancing phoenixes on it, Tian Feng was suddenly filled with hot tears and stood still on the spot!

  It has to be said that plagiarism and forgery are the privileges of time travelers. A certain unscrupulous young man this time plagiarized and altered one of Li Taibai's famous works. On the white silk, it was written:

  Drunk Immortal Building Sends Off Yuan Hao

  Those who abandon me, yesterday's sun cannot be stayed.

  What's disturbing my mind is today's numerous worries and troubles.

  A long wind sends the autumn geese a thousand miles away, and with this, one can ascend to a high building.

  Moral writings lack heroic spirit, when will the struggle for fame and profit cease?

  With all embracing carefree spirit and robust thoughts flying high, wanting to ascend to the ninth heaven and hang up the Wu hook.

  The knife cuts through the water, but the water still flows; the cup is raised to dispel worries, but worries only deepen.

  Life is not satisfactory, tomorrow morning I will sail away in a small boat.

  This poem has 99 words (excluding punctuation), except for the title, which mentions farewell, but does not directly mention parting. Instead, it focuses on expressing regret over Tian Feng's untimely death and unfulfilled talent.

  The poem is filled with a generous and heroic sentiment, expressing the poet's intense indignation at being talented but not meeting, showing dissatisfaction with reality and pursuing a bright world. The poem contains strong ideological emotions, such as the surging river changing rapidly, waves rising one after another, perfectly combining with the artistic structure of ups and downs, leaps and bounds development.

  Due to the location of Zui Xian Lou near Tai Xue, coupled with the shop name "Articles Tian Cheng", it was already a gathering place for literary figures and travelers. Li Taibai's poem is a work worthy of being called a celestial being, once displayed, it immediately made the students of Tai Xue praise in unison, causing a sensation.

  Tian Feng stood in front of the white silk, unable to calm down for a long time. At this moment, a servant-like housekeeper walked up to Tian Feng and whispered in his ear: "Mr. Yuanhao, the author of this poem, also my master, asked me to bring you a message: If Mr. still wants to do something for the people, he might as well go to his mansion for a chat!"

  "Lead the way!" Tian Feng hastily said to his house servant after bidding farewell to his colleagues and old friends.

  "Please get on the bus, sir!"

  At home, Zhao Xing, dressed as Jiang Taigong, had been waiting for a long time and was getting a bit stiff in the neck. Still, Tian Feng did not come, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. In Zhao Xing's mind, Tian Feng's wisdom was not much inferior to that of Guo Jia and Jia Xu, but unfortunately, he had "met the wrong person" and followed "Baozi" Yuan Shao, wasting his talents in vain, and ultimately dying unjustly in prison.

  Just as Zhao Xing was waiting anxiously, the servant who had gone to welcome Tian Feng came to the door of Zhao Xing's room and said: "Reporting to Master, I have successfully fulfilled my mission and have already brought Mr. Tian Yuanhao to the guest hall!"

  "Good! Zhang Wangcai, you've done an excellent job. Go to Li Jinsi's place and collect 10 taels of silver as a reward!" Zhao Xing opened the door with one hand and walked out while saying this excitedly.

  "Thank you, sir, for your recognition!" The Ding family was unexpectedly the old tenant of the Li family's other courtyard. Zhao Xing had even personally given his son the name Zhang Zuolin. Now, however, he had devoted himself to following Zhao Xing and became Zhao Xing's personal servant.

  "Sorry to keep Mr. Yuanhao waiting!" Zhao Xing entered the living room and warmly greeted Tian Feng.

  "It turned out that the person who left a poem in front of Zui Xian Lou was actually General Zhao!" Tian Feng couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Zhao Xing enter. He never thought that the person who wrote such a melancholic and emotional poem would be Zhao Xing, whom he had scolded just a few days ago!

  "Mr. Yuanhao, don't doubt Guo Chang's intention and sincerity!" Zhao Xing said with a serious face, "As the saying goes, 'words are the voice of the heart', Mr. Yuanhao should be able to feel from today's poem the respect and regret that Guo Chang has for you!"

  "Tian Feng felt ashamed and didn't dare to accept it!" Tian Feng was somewhat moved, but still didn't want to have anything to do with Zhao Xing.

  "I know what you're thinking, sir. You think Zhao is just a sycophant and no better than He Sui, who rose to power from being a butcher in the imperial court. However, I have something I'd like to ask you, sir!" Zhao Xing said nonchalantly.

  "What's this about?" Tian Feng asked with some curiosity, involuntarily adding a sentence.

  "Does sir think that the Han family can still be saved today? Does sir think that a family and a surname can last for ten thousand years?" Zhao Xing's piercing gaze was fixed on Tian Feng, his question striking at the heart of the matter!

  "The court is corrupt, the people's hearts are changing, and the Han dynasty will perish in no time!" Tian Feng replied truthfully, "The world belongs to the common people, not to one family or surname!"

  "Good! The gentleman's answer is extremely precise, and I deeply agree with it!" Zhao Xing applauded and said, "I see that the gentleman is upright and not willing to collude with corrupt officials, but on the other hand, he cannot persuade the current emperor, nor can he protect himself. Is this kind of self-righteous behavior really able to serve the people?"

  Tian Feng furrowed his brow and remained silent.

  Zhao Xing continued: "Sir, you think that Guo Chang and the eunuchs are in cahoots with each other, and don't deign to associate with me. But have you ever heard of Zhao Xing bullying his fellow villagers and acting tyrannically? At 14 years old, I fled to another village to avoid disaster, and started from scratch, never occupying even an inch of land or a single tile from the common people; at 15 years old, I eliminated the local tyrant Zhang family of Shangdang and the bandit 'One Gust of Wind' in the Taihang Mountains; at 16 years old, I ventured into the capital alone, if not for being forced by the Emperor and the eunuch Zhang Rang, how would I have endured the pain of giving up one-third of my family's property?"

  Zhao Xing's words left Tian Feng speechless.

  "Sir, don't be troubled. This time Zhao Xing invited you to come here, not to force you to follow him. The governor of Shangdang County, Jia Wenhe, is my teacher and is now recruiting talents everywhere. You can take your family there to seek refuge, and I, Zhao Xing, can guarantee that you will be highly valued if you go. Moreover, in your hometown of Julu, there are currently evil people deceiving the common people, and soon there will be a disaster. If you return home now, calamity is imminent!"

  When Tian Feng heard Zhao Xing's words, his heart was shocked. He had also just analyzed some reports from the Giant Deer County and concluded that the Taiping Taoist sect wanted to make trouble in the world. How did this young man, who was not yet weak, analyze and judge this conclusion?

  "Guo Chang treats me with such sincerity, and Feng Ming feels it in his heart. Obedience is better than respect, tomorrow I will take my family north to Shangdang!" Tian Feng said, apparently persuaded by Zhao Xing.

  "Mr. Yuan Hao needn't be in a hurry, Guo Chang will return to his hometown soon, please wait for a few more days. With Guo Chang accompanying him, the safety of Mr.'s family can be guaranteed along the way!"

  "It's perfectly reasonable for Guo Chang to arrange it this way!"

  Today is a new day! Nandao brings you blessings early in the morning! Wishing all book friends a smooth mood, joyful reading, delicious food, and beautiful sleep...

  That's just a courtesy... Say, shouldn't we also give some of those flowers and tickets to Nandao?