Fenghou

……

After explaining the matter one by one, Chen Qing also felt a lot more relaxed. This time he rushed back from Chengdu, the most important thing was that Bi Lege, the Uighur king of Xizhou, officially sent his brother Bi Gui'an as a representative to negotiate with Chen Qing on his plenipotentiary.

Chen Qing was not worried that Bi Lege would not give in. Sixty percent of the Uighur troops in Xizhou had become his prisoners of war. Bi Le Ge didn't have any pride.

The person in charge of negotiating with Bi Gui'an was Jiang Yanxian. The negotiation had been going on for two days, and the negotiation went relatively smoothly.

Of course, the yellow-headed Uighur’s property is not given as much as it wants. There are warehouse records. If it is not enough, it has to be made up. There is no place to stand, and you have to retreat if you don’t retreat.

In fact, Chen Qing didn't care about these things. He cared more about the attitude of the Xizhou Uighurs. Would Bi Lege send his son to study in Jingzhao?

Just after lunch, Jiang Yanxian hurriedly found Chen Qing.

"Jun Wang, it's done!" Jiang Yanxian walked into the room with a smile on his face.

"They agreed to send all the noble children to study in Jingzhao, including Bi Lege's two sons and Bi Gui'an's own son."

Chen Qing was startled, and continued to say happily: "Didn't he swear yesterday that it was impossible?"

"I was pretending yesterday! The purpose is to get more yellow-headed Uighur population."

"Finally?"

"In the end, the number of people I promised was [-]%, and Bi Gui'an completely changed his mind. He fully agreed to our four major requirements. He promised in writing to withdraw from the Hexi Corridor, return all the inventory and wealth of the Yellow-headed Uighurs, restore the Silk Road, and agree to send nobles My son came to Jingzhao to study, and then added some small requirements, such as the other party’s promise not to pretend to be a horse bandit to harass the Hexi Corridor, or agreeing that we run a school in Gaochang, and some other things, I will sort it out and ask the county king to look at it.”

"Thank you Jiang Gong, I hope an agreement can be reached as soon as possible."

Jiang Yan thought for a while and then asked: "What does the county king think about the arrangements for the garrison and generals in the Hexi Corridor?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "It is more appropriate to garrison 1000 troops in the Hexi Corridor. I am considering garrisoning [-] troops in Shazhou. I will appoint Wang Lun as the first governor of Shazhou. Qian, Song Xinping was stationed in Zhangye, Dong Huan was stationed in Liangzhou, and Dadoubagu garrisoned [-] troops, subordinate to Song Xinping, and both served as envoys."

"Is that possible to reduce the Lanzhou garrison accordingly?"

"Exactly, Liu Zan, the governor of Lanzhou, will be appointed as the governor of Lingzhou. The garrison in Lingzhou will also reach 3 people. The army will be strengthened to ensure the food supply for the soldiers and civilians in Lingzhou and Xiazhou."

Jiang Yanxian thought of another important matter, and he was a little worried: "Is the county king really planning to go to Lin'an?"

Chen Qing smiled lightly: "I'm going to go there anyway, I'm afraid that if I really go, the emperor won't welcome me."

Chapter 838 Consolation

Yu Ying walked into the room with a bowl of chicken soup, but saw her younger sister Yu Lian sitting by the bed wiping her tears, she laughed in surprise, "Why are you crying again!"

Yu Ying found that her younger sister had become sentimental since she became pregnant, and she always shed tears secretly.

"Aying, do you think the officials have forgotten me?"

Yu Ying put the chicken soup bowl on the table and said with a smile: "What nonsense! The officials asked me last night, how is your situation?"

"Did the official have sex with you last night?" Yu Lian asked jealously.

Yu Ying was a little embarrassed, "It was my turn last night, it's normal!"

"How long has it been since I served an official? It has been more than three months since the beginning of the year."

"Of course you can't have intercourse with your belly up, it will hurt the child."

Yu Lian bit her lip and whispered, "I know, but... there are other ways."

Yu Ying sighed and persuaded her: "I know what you are worried about. You are afraid that the officials will snub you and forget about you, but don't forget that a mother is more expensive than a child. As long as you give birth to a son, You don't have to worry about falling out of favor, so don't think about anything now, the big thing is to give birth to the child smoothly, don't cry, be obedient!"

Yu Lian nodded, and said again: "I heard that my husband is going to Lin'an, do you want to go too?"

Yu Ying shook her head, "You are pregnant, how can I go? I heard my wife told me to go with Yingluo."

"Ma'am not going?"

"Of course she can't go, because Ji'er must stay in Jingzhao, so Madam must also be in Jingzhao."

Yu Lian breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that Madam is here, otherwise I'm really a little scared, what will I do when I have a baby?"

"There is me! What are you afraid of?"

Yu Lian curled her lips, "You can't, those midwives and doctors will do their best only when Madam is around."

"What are you talking about?"

Chen Qing walked in with a smile.

Yu Lian was startled, and then said, "Wow! With a cry, she got up and rushed forward, hugging her husband's neck and refusing to let go.

Chen Qing touched her lower abdomen and said with a smile: "It's so big, be careful!"

Yu Lian was full of grievances and cried: "You are heartless, people miss you day and night, and you refuse to come to see me."

"You are pregnant, we cannot have sex."

"Do you have to have sex? If you hug me, talk to me, comfort me, I will be satisfied. Besides, I can..."

Yu Lian whispered a few words in her husband's ear, then secretly glanced at Yu Ying, Yu Ying's face suddenly turned red.

Chen Qing said a little displeased: "Stop thinking about it, children are more important than anything else now."

Perhaps because he felt that his tone was a bit harsh, Chen Qing said softly: "Besides, I will go to Lin'an in a few days, and you may have given birth when I come back. Before I leave, I will often come to see you."

"Okay! You promised."

Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile: "Lie down first, let me listen to the fetal movement."

Yu Lian lay down slowly, pulled up the front of her clothes, and Chen Qing put his ear on her stomach, listening to the heartbeat of the child in her belly.

"Not bad! The heartbeat is strong, the child is healthy, and he drank the chicken soup."

Yu Ying quickly picked up a bowl to feed her younger sister the chicken soup, Yu Lian didn't dare to lose her temper, and obediently drank the chicken soup.

……

At night, Chen Qing rolled over from his wife and stretched out his hand to pull the rope. After a while, a little maid came in with a cup of tea. Chen Qing opened the curtain, drank a cup of tea, and then turned around and asked, "Madam, would you like some tea?" ?"

"I won't drink anymore, Ah Quan, I'm fine tonight, you guys go to bed early."

"Ma'am, I got it!"

The little maid took the teacup and stepped back slowly.

Chen Qing lay down again, Lu Xiu wiped the sweat off his forehead, and asked with a smile, "Did Husband visit Yu Lian today?"

Chen Qing sighed, "It's ashamed to say that, since she was pregnant, I haven't visited her. It's good that she is fine, but I never considered her mood."

"It's not my husband's fault. You've been outside for the past few months, first in Hexi, and then in Sichuan. You've been at home for at most half a month. It's normal to take care of her. Besides, don't you see her every day for dinner? ? You have to be alone with her to be caring and comforting? In my opinion! A-Lian is just a bit too hypocritical, and Ah Ying is much better than her, she can bear everything silently."

"Pregnant women! They are more sensitive and prone to depression, and you were the same back then."

"It wasn't when I was pregnant with Ji'er! In Ganquanbao, I cooked, washed, and went grocery shopping by myself. I was happy every day."

Chen Qingsheng was afraid that she would blame A-Lian again, so he quickly opened up the topic and said, "That's right! At that time, you actually went shopping for vegetables. I remember that the first vegetable you bought was eggs, right?"

"It's not eggs! It's two radishes. I pulled them out from someone's field and spent five Wen. The second time I bought a few fish and it cost twenty Wen. The third time they were eggs. "

"Do you feel that you have bought too much?"

Lu Xiu suddenly came to her senses, sighed and said: "Husband, we have talked about this topic countless times, don't worry! I won't reprimand A-Lian. She is pregnant now. I will take good care of her and give you a new life." A healthy son also gave Ji Er a younger brother, he is too lonely."

Chen Qing's thoughts were exposed, he hugged his wife and said, "I'm going to Lin'an soon, and I'm really worried about her. You should take care of her and let the child be born safely."

"Husband, don't worry about A-Lian. Her body is the one that gave birth to a son. Her butt is so big and round. It must be a natural birth. I will arrange for Sister Liu to adjust her fetal position. Don't worry about Sister Liu's medical skills. As for A-Lian, I will Of course I will reprimand her, I am just talking."

Speaking of this, Lu Xiu sighed again and asked, "When will my husband leave?"

"We must wait until the imperial examination is over!"

Lu Xiu counted the time and said with a smile: "There are still some days! It's as if we are going to leave tomorrow."

Speaking of this, she winked at her husband again, Chen Qing understood, stretched out his hand to squeeze out the candle, the old couple understood each other's excitement, and the two soon became in harmony again.

……

In the past few days, the flow of people in Jingzhao City has obviously increased. The second Sichuan-Shaanxi imperial examination is about to be held, and scholars from all over the place are everywhere. Compared with the first time two years ago, the number of applicants this time is more Doubling, more than 4 people, not only Chuanshan, Xihe Road, and Hedong Road, but also Lingxia Road and Hexi Road. There are eight scholars from Lingzhou Prefecture, three from Liangzhou City and Zhangye City. It was the first time in a hundred years that famous scholars came to Jingzhao to participate in the imperial examination, and it became the headline of the "Beijing News".

Of course, there are scholars from Jinghu North Road and Jingnan South Road, and scholars from Jiangnan West Road.

This time, 400 Jinshi were still admitted, and then Taixue admitted 500 people, and a total of [-] people were admitted.

Now I don’t dare to underestimate Taixue. The first batch of Taixue students recruited two years ago will end their studies next year, but they have already been booked up by various government offices. They will all become technocrats. For example, those who study surveying will go to the Metropolitan Water Department. Those who study smelting will go to the Craftsmanship Department and the Military Weapons Department; those who study mathematics will go to the Salt and Iron Department or the Taxation Department; those who study law will go to the Department of Criminal Affairs; , It shocked the jaws of countless people.

At the beginning, everyone looked down on Sichuan-Shaanxi Taixue and ridiculed it as Sichuan-Shaanxi Craftsmanship. It recruited 400 people, but in the end only less than 300 people enrolled. Now everyone knows that entering Taixue can also become an official.

The restaurants and teahouses in Jingzhao City have entered the golden period since last month, and they are full of drinkers and tea customers every day, but there is no business for scholars in brothels and brothels. Enrolled in imperial examinations and Taixue.

Last year, more than 300 people were verified, and three of them were admitted to Taixue but were not admitted. It's soldiers, and Chen Qing allows soldiers to enter brothels.

At noon, the Changqing Restaurant was buzzing with people, basically all the scholars taking part in the imperial examination. Almost every scholar was discussing the possible imperial examination questions this year. There were three days before the exam, and everyone was very nervous.

On a small table against the wall on the second floor, Chao Qing and his cousin Chao Kun are sitting. Chao Kun is the son of Chao Qing’s second uncle. He is 20 years old this year and has outstanding literary talent. My second uncle traveled around and even went to Nanyang by boat for more than half a year. He once wrote an article "On the Colonization of Nanyang Cargo" and submitted it to the imperial court, but the result was like nothing.

When he was in Taiyuan last year, Chao Qing recommended this article "On the Colonization of Nanyang Goods" to Chen Qing, which was highly appreciated by Chen Qing. Although he was a little immature, he had a unique insight, especially when he mentioned rubber, which he called white glue, and thought it was extremely useful. Great, as much as spice.

Chao Kun filled his elder brother with wine and said with a smile, "Brother, you only took two exams last year, but you have to take four exams this year, do you know?"

Picking up his wine glass, Chao Qing snorted disdainfully, "What are the four subjects, and calligraphy, how about five subjects?"

Chapter 839 Imperial Examination

The year before last, the first imperial examination only tested poetry, cursive and calligraphy, and received a lot of dissatisfied criticism. The main reason was that people did not take the exams that they had studied for more than ten years. In the end, I accepted everyone's opinions. This time, I took five exams, 'pasting scriptures, theory, policy, literature, and calligraphy'.

Posting scriptures is dictation. Randomly select a paragraph from the Four Books and Five Classics, and fill in the blank lines in the middle. This is to test the familiarity of the scriptures. Scholars explain and discuss, mainly to test the understanding of the scriptures, and then the other three subjects are the same as the previous year, with a slight difference that the literature one does not necessarily test poetry, but may also test prose.

Basically all the scholars have guessed that this year is very likely to be an essay test.

Due to years of traveling, Chao Kun has dark skin, a strong and tall body, and wears a long sword on his waist. His swordsmanship is very good, and he has been taught by experts.

"Brother, tell me the lesson again! Which imperial examination lessons are more profound?"

"There are only two lessons for me. When you send out the test paper, write your name first, and then paste the name. Don't wait until the end to paste the name. At the end, time is tight, and you will forget it. I saw with my own eyes a scholar who walked out of the examination room and suddenly fell to the ground and cried. , I just forgot my name, and the second rule is that you must eat enough food from the exam room. This time I heard that the exam will take three days, and I will take the exam in a newly built number room. If you don’t eat enough, you will have a hard time at night, which will affect your sleep. In the end, it will definitely affect the next day's exam."

Speaking of this, Chao Qing saw that his cousin was a little nervous, so he patted him on the shoulder and smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, your talent and knowledge surpass me. Take the exam with a normal attitude and perform normally. If you can't pass the exam, go to school." Taixue, if you really can’t do it, I’ll find you something to do, and you can be an official.”

"Can you become an official without passing the imperial examination?" Chao Kun asked in surprise.

"Your king of Nanyang cargo colonization theory appreciates it very much. If he establishes the Shibo Department, he may need talents like you."

Chao Kun said with a smile: "It seems that it is beneficial for me to travel overseas."

"There are many people who go overseas, such as merchants and sailors, but there are definitely not many scholars who have been overseas. If you can speak a few languages ​​of the other party, then you are a talent among talents."

"Don't tell me, I can really understand a lot of Nanyang dialect, and I can also speak a few words. I stayed in Nanyang for more than half a year, and those businessmen asked me to translate. I originally wanted to go to Japan this year to get a taste of the culture there. Due to human customs, my father forcefully called me back to take the imperial examination.”

"Then you didn't take the state test last fall?"

Chao Kun scratched his head, "When I signed up, I took the temporary exam and passed, so I can sign up."

Chao Qing remembered that this is a new regulation this year, mainly to give candidates in Hedong a chance, so there is a temporary exam, which is relatively simple, and passing the exam is equivalent to taking the state exam.

"All right!"

Seeing that the time was almost up, Chao Qing raised his wine glass and said with a smile, "I wish you success in the exam and a good grade!"

……

Chao Qing hurried back to the secretariat, just in time to meet Chen Qing, Zhou Kuan and others who came back from outside.

Chao Qing hurriedly saluted, Chen Qing smiled and said to Zhou Kuan: "Old Zhou, you can ask him yourself."

Zhou Kuan asked Chao Qing, "When we were eating at noon, when we talked about overseas trade, the county king said that you have a brother who went to Nanyang and wrote articles about Nanyang trade. Is your brother in Jingzhao now?"

Such a coincidence, Chao Qing quickly said: "Reporting to Counselor Zhou, my brother came to Jingzhao to take the imperial examination this time. He is in Jingzhao now, and we were eating together just now."

"Oh! He is going to take the imperial examination, so don't bother him for the time being. Let's talk about it after he finishes the imperial examination. I really want to know about overseas trade."

Chao Qing nodded, "When he finishes his exam, I will bring him to visit Counselor Zhou."

Zhou Kuan laughed loudly, "I welcome you anytime!"

Speaking of overseas trade, Chen Qing thought of one thing. He asked Chao Qing, "Have you heard from Zheng Dutong these days?"

Chao Qing said hastily, "There was a letter the day before yesterday, which was placed on the county king's desk."

"Strange, why didn't I see it?"

Chao Qing thought for a while and said, "It's possible that I'll be under the pile of documents from yesterday."

"Then I'll go take a look."

Chen Qing hurried back to his official room, and sure enough, he found Zheng Ping's letter to him under a stack of documents, but he didn't see it.