Ancient couplet: One couplet has been aligned for twenty years.

Every inch of land becomes a temple, and there are monks in the temple. The monk cried and asked the teacher with firewood on his back. The teacher said, firewood is heavy!

Shuang Mu is a forest, and the forest is an official. The official smiled at the mirror and said ghosts, and the ghosts said that cigarettes were black!

Zheng Banqiao, one of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, is famous for his poems, paintings and calligraphy, and is the first eccentric in Qing Dynasty. But who would have thought that this freak has been puzzling over a couplet for twenty years? ...

One year, Zheng Banqiao visited Jinyang Mountain in Wei County. In the spring of March, "Spring comes to the mountains and young birds sing" on Jinyang Mountain is a beautiful scene full of vitality. Zheng Banqiao enjoyed the beautiful scenery all the way. Before he knew it, he came to a temple and stopped. It turned out that only half a couplet was hung at the entrance of the temple: "An inch of land becomes a temple, and there are monks in the temple. The monk cried and asked the teacher with firewood on his back. The teacher said: firewood is heavy! "

Zheng Banqiao eyebrows a wrinkly, he can understand this part, is alluding to Buddhism. Legend has it that a young monk stole a stone Buddhist monk from Jiangxi and went to Hunan to worship Buddhist monk Mazu as his teacher. Master Mazu pointed to a bundle of firewood and asked the young monk, "Is Master Stone as heavy as this bundle of firewood?" The young monk was tongue-tied and didn't know how to answer, so Master Mazu scolded the young monk away. The young monk ran back, crying and apologizing to Shi Zen master, and asked Mazu why he compared firewood with Shi Zen master. Shi Zen master smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to walk thousands of miles with a bundle of firewood on your back." Why are you crying? Put it down. Is the firewood heavy? "

Why is there only the upper part and no lower part? Zheng Banqiao was surprised when a monk came out. Zheng Banqiao stepped forward and asked, "Dare you ask the monk's name?" The monk quickly bowed and said, "Young monk, you are justified."

Zheng Banqiao pointed to half a couplet and asked, "Master Wang, why does this couplet only have the upper couplet and the lower couplet?"

Jing Qing said with a smile, "This couplet was written by the abbot of our temple after he woke up, but he can't make it. Master abbot said: since the Buddha gave it to me, someone will definitely give it to me in the future, so I hung it at the gate of the temple. Five years later, there is still no answer. Why, the donor wants to try? "

Hearing this, Zheng Banqiao curled his lips and smiled: "There really is such a miracle in the world! I am incompetent and just want to try. "

"Help yourself, benefactor," he said. If you can't get out for a while, there is a meditation room in the temple and you can board, but you need to give incense money. " Say that and leave.

Zheng Banqiao didn't say much, so he posted couplets at the temple gate. Wrong don't know, a startled look on his face, Zheng Banqiao thinking hard, was dumbfounded. At the beginning of this part, there is a crossword puzzle. Together, the word "inch of land" is the word "temple", followed by Buddhist allusions, which is difficult. In this way, until sunset, Zheng Banqiao has not finished the bottom allied. This time, Zheng Banqiao's competitive spirit was hooked up instead, so he stayed in the temple for half a month, but he still didn't answer. Finally, he walked out of the temple gate in a daze.

"Please stay, benefactor." The clearing chased him out. "The abbot asked the little monk to tell the donor,' See you later, and be self-contained'."

Zheng Banqiao looked at the gap in dismay and said, "Will we meet again? What did the abbot say? "

Jing Qing shook his head and said, "The young monk just sent a message. Please take care of your benefactor. " With that, he saluted and returned to the temple. Zheng Banqiao froze for a while before leaving.

Time flies, the sun and the moon fly, and twenty years have passed in a flash. Today, Zheng Banqiao is famous all over the country and was sent to Wei County as the county magistrate.

On this day, after handling official business, Zheng Banqiao came to the gate of the Mountain Temple incognito. Looking up, half a couplet was still hanging there. Zheng Banqiao shook his head and smiled-well, I've been thinking about it all these years, but I still can't tell the antithetical couplet.

Zheng Banqiao sighed, went into the temple and visited the abbot. A young monk led Zheng Banqiao into the abbot's room. When Zheng Banqiao saw the abbot, he was surprised and said, "Master is clear? Why, now that you are an abbot, do you still recognize me? "

Jingming was also taken aback. He looked up and down for a while and said happily, "It turned out to be benefactor Zheng. Twenty years ago, the donor Zheng lived in the temple for half a month for this couplet. How can I forget? "

Don't mention couplets. Speaking of couplets, Zheng Banqiao said shyly, "That's right. Today, I came to Baosha to see this couplet again. Has anyone told me? "

Guan shook his head and said, "No one has ever answered. I remember that Master once asked the young monk to tell the benefactor that "we will meet again in the future and become a family". Isn't the donor great? "

Zheng Banqiao smiled helplessly and said, "To tell you the truth, Master, I have been thinking about it for twenty years, but I still haven't done it right. Well, I'm afraid I'll have to wait for someone later. "

Jingjing paused and said, "I am proficient in Buddhism and the Book of Changes, and I have read countless people. I must have said it for a reason, and I can't be wrong. Donors don't have to worry, they just don't have a chance. "

Zheng Banqiao smiled a little dejectedly, and the conversation turned and said, "I wonder if your lordship is free today. Can you accompany me to visit the bounty mountains and rivers next time and catch up with the past? " Nod your head in agreement.

In this way, they went up the mountain and chatted while watching the mountain scenery. Zheng Banqiao frowned as he walked, and finally he couldn't help crying: "I remember twenty years ago, Jinyang Mountain was full of lush trees and clear birds. How can it be ruined now? "

Hearing this, Kong Jing sighed and said, "The benefactor doesn't know. Three years ago, a timber merchant bought timber in wei county, and his business was surprisingly good. The world is bustling, but it is beneficial to coming and going. In less than two years, several timber merchants came and bought wood, which made the surrounding villagers scramble to cut trees up the mountain, and it was destroyed. "

Zheng Banqiao was shocked: "Isn't the government in charge?"

Guan smiled bitterly and said, "Control? Alas, a notice was also issued saying that anyone who goes up the mountain to cut down trees must pay twelve taels of logging silver every month before cutting down trees with a' logging token'. Checkpoints have also been set up on the only way, and the government has sent people to check. But which process ring, but attracted more trouble ... "

"Why?" Zheng Banqiao quickly asked, "isn't this just stipulated? How can it cause more trouble? "

Guan went on to say, "That's what the young monk thought at first. But it didn't take long for the checkpoint to become a cash cow for the government and local strongmen. The government set up one, the strongmen set up two, * * * three levels. The log token is just a voucher. To pass these three levels, you need to pay' Jin Yinshan' extra. Let more loggers.

Plus crazy logging, you can make a profit. Now even immature young trees will not be spared. "

"What?" Zheng Banqiao listened and suddenly became angry and God-fearing. Needless to say, the reason why officials indulge strongmen and set up checkpoints to exploit them privately is nothing more than to take advantage of strongmen. This situation must be changed immediately, otherwise, Jinyang Mountain will become a barren mountain in a few years. ...

Thinking of this, Zheng Banqiao suddenly brightened up, jumped up inexplicably and shouted: "Master of clearance, then I will make a bottom line!"

Kong Jing looked at Zheng Banqiao in surprise and said, "What, is this right?"

Zheng Banqiao smiled and said, "Yes. In the temple, the master once said that I didn't come out until the opportunity came. Now the opportunity has come, I'm right to come out. Let's go back to the temple now, and I'll check the couplets. "

In this way, when they returned to the temple, Zheng Banqiao wrote: "Shuang Mu is a forest, and the forest is an official. The official smiled at the mirror and said ghosts. The ghosts said: Smoke is black! "

Guan looked at Zheng Banqiao strangely, wondering what this couplet meant. Zheng Banqiao ha ha a smile, said the source of this couplet, is also from an allusion.

An official was walking in the evening and met his dead colleague in the Woods. The official was bold, so they started talking. Suddenly, the ghost colleague pointed to the outside of the forest and said, "There is a talented and ambitious scholar there." When an official asked him why he saw it, the ghost colleague said, "The knowledge in the reader's stomach is like a mirror. In the evening, he reflected on the poems he had read all his life. The greater the talent and ambition, the higher and brighter the light will be. You mortals can't see, only ghosts and gods can see. " The official's heart moved and said, "We are among the best in the same subject. Do you see how high my light is, how bright? " Ghost colleague winked and said, "It's quite high, but it's not bright at all." The official asked why. Ghost colleague said, "Let me get this straight. You are a faint official, full of black smoke and tall, but if you want to shine, it's no joke!" " "

When Zheng Banqiao finished, he bowed his head a little shyly and then said, "It was all my negligence. Even if these powerful officials run amok, what if I'm not full of black smoke? "

Speaking of which, Zheng Banqiao took out his seal from his bosom and handed it to the clearance: "Master, please send someone with this seal to the checkpoint set up by the government, and let a bunch of people there return to the county government immediately. The monks in the temple temporarily guard the checkpoint and no one is allowed to go into the mountains to cut down trees. "

After reading the seal, I blurted out: "Is the benefactor Zheng, the magistrate of Weixian County?"

Zheng Banqiao said, "exactly. Please ask Master to do as I say at once, and Zheng will go back to the house and order someone to change the monk. "

Nod in agreement. Zheng Banqiao non-stop back to the county government, first ordered two cronies immediately rushed to Shan Jinyang checkpoint to replace the monk. The next day, he began to rectify the county discipline, abolish the "logging order" and remove the private checkpoints of the strongmen. Post a notice to inform the people of the county to close the mountain for afforestation for two years. In order to prevent this from happening again, Zheng Banqiao also sent people to stay in the temple to supervise Jinyang Mountain.

In this way, under the strong control of Zheng Banqiao, Jinyang Mountain finally recovered its beautiful scenery, and Zheng Banqiao's couplet story was also handed down locally.