Chapter 350

On the sky screen, the image switched rapidly.

Scene after scene flashed by—

Xin'an, officials catching strong men, teenagers forced to join the army;

Shihao, old women taken away to join the army;

Tongguan, old soldiers with white hair still guarding the pass;

On the wedding night, the groom has to go to the battlefield;

Old men leaning on canes, dragged to be soldiers;

People who lost their homes in the war, wandering aimlessly.

【Three Officials and Three Farewells: 'Xin'an Official', 'Shihao Official', 'Tongguan Official', 'New Marriage Farewell', 'Old Age Farewell', 'No Home Farewell'. Six poems, a history of the chaotic times of the Mid-Tang Dynasty.】

Liu Che said: "What he wrote was not one person, but a generation."

Liu Xiu said: "Official history will not write these."

"Dim-witted emperors generally care about victory and defeat, not about how the people live."

Li Shimin was silent for a long time and said: "Only today did I truly understand Du Fu."

Ying Zheng suddenly asked: "When he wrote these poems, was he not afraid of being caught by the government?"

Gu Shanhe said: "He was afraid. But he still wrote them."

"Because if he didn't write, no one would."

The living room was quiet again.

On the sky screen, the phantom of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang appeared.

The aged Retired Emperor looked at the four characters 'An Lushan Rebellion' on the sky screen, his face pale.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

The barrage floated by—

【Barrage · Tang Dynasty · Tang Xuanzong】:

I... owe the common people of the world, and I owe this poet who worried about the country his whole life even more.

No one replied to him.

On the sky screen, the image finally froze in Kuizhou.

By the Yangtze River, a white-haired old man stood on a high platform, looking at the surging river water.

The wind blew his clothes, his body was thin, but his back was straight.

The sky screen revealed another poem, titled 'Climbing High'.

Liu Bang read it once: "Boundless fallen trees rustle down, the endless Yangtze River rolls in... this is not writing about scenery, it is time."

Liu Che said: "The fallen leaves never stop falling, the river water never stops flowing. His sorrow also cannot stop."

Liu Xiu said softly: "Ten thousand miles of sad autumn, always a guest, a hundred years of illness, climbing the platform alone—"

"Wandering outside for a lifetime, full of illness, climbing the high platform alone."

"This loneliness is too heavy."

Li Shimin said: "But he is still watching, still writing, still living."

Ying Zheng said: "This is the Poet Sage."

Han Yu's barrage—

【Barrage · Tang Dynasty · Han Yu】: Li and Du's writings remain, their light shining for ten thousand feet.

On the sky screen, the golden light condensed into several lines of large characters—

【Du Fu's three major aspirations in his life:

One: Assist the monarch to be like Yao and Shun, and make the customs pure again—assist a wise monarch and revitalize the Great Tang.

Two: Keep the common people in mind, save the cold scholars—let all cold scholars in the world have a place to live, and let the people no longer be displaced.

Three: Uphold integrity, be loyal and serve the country—risk death to follow Emperor Suzong during the An Lushan Rebellion, willing to suffer himself rather than fail the Great Tang.】

Liu Bang finished reading and said: "Three points, not one was for himself."

Liu Che nodded: "Others seek official positions for money and power. He sought an official position to govern the country and bring peace to the people."

Liu Xiu said: "The rarest thing is that he was poor and destitute his whole life, yet he was still thinking of others."

Cao Cao's barrage—

【Barrage · Three Kingdoms · Cao Cao】: Literati in troubled times are mostly sycophants.

People like Du Fu are rare.

Liu Bei's barrage—

【Barrage · Three Kingdoms · Liu Bei】: In troubled times, having the world's people in his heart, this is the heart of a benevolent person.

Comparable to the sages of ancient times.

Zhuge Liang's barrage—

【Barrage · Three Kingdoms · Zhuge Liang】: Exhausting all efforts, until death follows.

Du Zimei's heart is the same as mine.

On the sky screen, Su Shi's evaluation appeared—

【There are many poets from ancient times to the present, but Zimei is the only one who is the head.】

Immediately followed by the hot comments of later netizens—

【1. Li Bai wrote about the romantic prosperity of the Great Tang, Du Fu wrote about the human suffering of the Great Tang. Only by understanding Du Fu can one be said to understand the true Great Tang.】

【2. He spent his whole life wandering, and his whole life healing the common people of the world.】

【3. The greatest gentleness in the world is being covered in mud yourself, yet still wanting to hold an umbrella for the world.】

Liu Che looked at these evaluations and said: "These later netizens are quite accurate."

Liu Bang said: "When I was young, I thought, what is the use of writing poetry? Can it be eaten as food? After finishing Du Fu today, I take back those words."

"Writing poetry is useful. Recording the suffering of the people so that future generations know—this is the great use."

Ying Zheng finally said: "The immortal is elegant, the sage is compassionate."

"Li Bai is the moon in the sky, Du Fu is the lamp in the world."

Li Shimin added: "The moon illuminates the night sky, the lamp illuminates the feet. Both are needed."

On the sky screen, the golden light was so thick it was blinding, and auspicious clouds surged.

【In view of Du Fu's preserving history through poetry, his compassion for the common people, and his establishing the backbone of literati for ten thousand generations, he is specially granted—】

【Forty years of added life, washing away half a lifetime of illness and pain, and reshaping a healthy body.】

【Bestowed with the protection of the Literary Dao Qi; anyone who has murderous thoughts toward him cannot harm him in the slightest.】

The barrage area was lively on time—

【Barrage · Qin Second Emperor Huhai】: Forty years... (Barrage interrupted)

【Barrage · First Emperor of Qin Ying Zheng】: Rebellious son, there is no room for you to speak today.

【Barrage · Song Huizong Zhao Ji】: I am truly convinced this time.

Du Fu's achievements, I cannot compare.

Zhao Kuangyin's barrage—

【Barrage · Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin】: Zhao Ji, this is the second time you have said something human today.

【Barrage · Song Huizong Zhao Ji】: Great-grandfather Taizu, I have always been able to say human things...

【Barrage · Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin】: Shut up, let me watch quietly.

On the sky screen, Du Fu's phantom slowly emerged.

He stood by the Yangtze River, white-haired, thin, but his eyes were very bright.

Not the majestic brightness of Ying Zheng, but the brightness of "although I have suffered, I have no regrets."

【Sky Screen Conclusion: The immortal is elegant and transcends the world, the sage is compassionate and enters the world.

Li Bai is the moon in the sky, Du Fu is the lamp in the world.

He had no prominent official position, no wealthy life, yet with the pen and ink of a commoner, he guarded the last backbone of the Great Tang and supported the literary compassion of China for a thousand years.

The eternal Poet Sage, only Du Fu, well-deserved.

The first of the ten great poets in history will be revealed tomorrow, please look forward to it.】

The living room was quiet for a long time.

Liu Bang was the first to speak, his voice muffled: "I want to go out for a walk."

Liu Che said: "Gaozu, are you okay?"

Liu Bang shook his head: "I'm fine. It's just that my heart feels blocked."

Liu Xiu said: "Me too."

Li Shimin stood up and walked to the window, pushing it open.

The night wind blew in, carrying the scent of Chang'an city.

Ying Zheng sat in place without moving, but he was clutching his phone—

It was still on the settlement screen of Honor of Kings, his Ying Zheng had won the MVP.

Gu Shanhe said softly: "Your Majesties, are we still playing the game?"

Liu Bang waved his hand: "Not playing."

Liu Che said: "Me too. After watching Du Fu, I'm not in the mood."

Ying Zheng stood up and walked to the window, standing side by side with Li Shimin.

The five emperors stood in front of the window, looking at the Chang'an city in the night.

In the distance, there were sporadic lights, very much like the 'human lamps' in Du Fu's poems.

Li Bai was right, Du Fu is a lamp.

A lamp will not be as bright as the moon, but it is close.

It is right by your side, accompanying you through the darkest night.

More than a thousand years.

This lamp has not yet gone out.