All your life is gentle

In March of the fourth year of God Bless, Xijing reopened the spring test.

Since the imperial court entered Shu in the first year of Tianyou, the autumn test was delayed that year.Since then, he has been busy with internal arrangements and rectification, and externally with national defense and armaments, but he has never freed up to deal with the imperial examination.After four years of God Blessing, the government and the public were discussing it, and people's hearts were unstable, so it could no longer be delayed.

——There are so many scholars who can't apply for official positions, and they get together to scold their mothers, vent their anger and complain, make false comments on the government, and make troubles.

Although many people never had the opportunity to enter Shu to take the exam, the number of Shu students who had accumulated for several years among locals and immigrant refugees was also quite considerable.In the spring of April, the list was released, and a total of 3000 scholars were admitted.This number alone is nothing to talk about, but a comparison reveals the problem: in the early days of Jinxia, ​​the number of scholars admitted nationwide in the round of spring examinations was no more than a thousand.Even when the culture and education of the Ruiwen and Xianzhao dynasties were extremely prosperous, the number of people admitted in each round of spring examinations in all parts of Kyushu, including ethnic minorities, was limited to less than [-].

Among the two thousand six hundred scholars, at least two-thirds were local children from Shuzhou.The number of people who signed up was roughly half and half from locals and non-locals. No matter how developed the culture and education in Shuzhou, the difference would not be so big.This ratio is the result of the imperial court's policy preference and deliberate release of water in order to repay the special contributions of the people of Shuzhou in a special period, especially to appease the local gentry class.

In July, the registration for the autumn exam began. In addition to the 600 people who passed this year's spring exam, all those who were qualified to take the exam were also included.The yamen of the Ministry of Rites is full every day, and the hustle and bustle is like a market.Officials are busy non-stop from morning till night.

According to the previous rules, those who entered Beijing to take part in the autumn examination had to hold a certificate from the state government office, on which was stamped the seal of Mr. Xuezheng.Now except for the original Beijing and Shu scholars, this content from other states is impossible to talk about.The officials of the Ministry of Rites had no choice but to move the roster brought out by Yan Yang to the courtyard, and seconded dozens of small officials from various yamen to help verify the identity of the applicants.In addition, more than a dozen adults of the Imperial Academy lined up in the hall to conduct interviews with these scholars.

Identity and name may be faked, but knowledge cannot be faked.Some people wanted to fish in troubled waters, and asked the Hanlin scholars to take the scriptures of the sages and ask them. After three or two rounds, they vented and retreated in despair.

Zi Shi walked around outside the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, and the bustling scene in front of him was staggering.

Suddenly there was a commotion, and it turned out that an imposter was blasted out.The scholars made way for him while watching the joke.The man walked outside the door, turned his head and spat bitterly: "If the river is determined to flow, nothing can stop it" - what is there to say when the flood is like this? Don't you have to "run away"?!"

"Hahaha..." The crowd burst into laughter.A man in his twenties saw the man's face full of anger and bewilderment, and he obviously didn't understand what was funny about him, so he said: "Brother, this phrase comes from "Zheng Ya Ji Jie", which says "the ancient sages lived in the mountains, Living with trees and stones, swimming with deer and hogs, the reason why it is different from the savages in the mountains; as long as you hear a good word and see a good deed, it is like breaking a river, and nothing can resist it. "It means that the place where the ancient saints lived is no different from that of ordinary people. The reason why saints become saints is to strive to expand their hearts of goodness, just like a river breaking its embankment..."

The man was stunned for a moment with his mouth wide open, and then suddenly said: "What's so difficult to understand? Don't you understand after you say it? Why does he only say half a sentence? You are not afraid of suffocating if you are rotten in your stomach!"

"Brother, don't you know that the classics have always been tested in this way. Don't say half a sentence, even if you only give three or five words, you must explain it correctly." After the young man said, his face turned bright.

The scholars who watched nearby nodded in agreement: "Familiar with the meaning of the scriptures, and memorize them fluently, this is the homework that must be started after the elementary school."

"That's right. Recite at night by candlelight, and study hard in the cold window. It doesn't take three to five years to master this basic skill."

The harsher ones have already begun to sarcasm: "The surface of the gun is sharpened before the battle, and it will be broken with a poke!"

"This "Brother Dashui", please "Flee" to go back and study for a few years before coming back! Haha..."

Zi Shi watched the man leave with his face flushed, and shook his head pityingly.Xindao: I understand that "rivers and rivers are full and nothing can be controlled" is flooding, and I have a little ink in my stomach.Probably a half-way monk came to the interview with someone else's name, and fell on the "backwards".It's not wrong to say that you are wronged... Even after a thousand years, I don't know how many heroes have bowed their heads in the examination room and fell on these four words.

After watching for a while, just as he was about to retreat, he suddenly saw a person who had just rushed out, and was chased to the door by the soldiers of the Guards Department who were maintaining order inside, and dragged him in.Two soldiers carried people inside and shouted loudly: "It's so fast to get oil on the soles of your feet, there's no way to escape the "school money"!"

Zi Shi casually asked the people next to him: "What is "school money"?"

"Why don't you know this?" It was still the enthusiastic young man in his twenties, "Any former scholar who is not from Beijing and Shu from Sichuan must pass the interview of the Ministry of Rites. All interviewees must pay Five hundred articles "counting school money"."

Zi Shi nodded.I thought: It turned out to be the registration review fee.This registration fee is not cheap, it is higher than poll tax.

An older man continued: "It is said that there are hundreds of scholars waiting for the interview. In this scorching hot day, it is really hard for the Hanlin lords to take the exam one by one. The subsidy in the imperial court is limited, so the superior issued this order. He stroked his beard, and said slowly, "Which of the people sitting here is not a well-educated sage and sage? I usually don't even see each other, but now there are more than a dozen gathered here, close at hand, and teach face-to-face—— Let alone five hundred Wen, even 500 taels of silver are worth it!"

Zi Shi thought: So this is a loyal fan of an academic star.

Another interjection said: "I don't know who can make up this "school money", so I named it "Zhe Gui Jin". It's auspicious, and no one cares about the amount. The monthly tribute is in hand. If you get into high school, you will be able to eat the imperial food and be an emperor without any worries, even if you borrow money, you have to pay it." The speaker himself borrowed money, and there was a bit of resentment in his tone.

"Collecting Laurel Gold" - toad palace winning laurels, titled on the gold list.Sure enough, it's a good luck.Zi Shi thought to himself, the person who named him knew a lot about psychological tactics.

In fact, when did the nerds in the Ministry of Rites come up with such a trick?It's just that the soldiers of the Duwei Division and the petty officials who borrowed help from the yamen did not want to do it in vain, and the leaders complained when drinking flowers and wine together.It just so happened that Fu Chuqing, the inspector of the Lifang Division, was here. He had just returned from collecting taxes with the people from the household department.

Boss Fu had a tough life, and after struggling several times that day, he narrowly escaped death.Seeing that the situation was not right, he remembered that an uncle from the Yuanfang family was serving under General Dingyuan, so he turned around and entered Fenglan Pass.The uncle of the clan saw his kung fu and didn't want to fight in the army, so he recommended him to Li Fangsi as a patrol.From then on, Boss Fu gave up his limited career as a bandit and became an official instead.He is smart, ruthless, old-fashioned and bold, and he is like a fish in water in the new world of the Lifang Division.

Fu Chuqing collected the poll tax for two months, learned many new tricks of drilling for seams and plucking geese, and became a staff officer for others.You must know that most of the so-called non-Beijing and non-Shu scholars are masters with wealth and no background.Even if some of them won the election and became officials later, who would go back and liquidate the half taels of silver they signed up for?Several deacons of the Ministry of Rites took one end of this "gui gold", and the rest of the big guys divided up on the spot.As for the officials above the Minister of Servants and all the Hanlin scholars, the service in the hall is comfortable, and no one will bother with these trivial matters.

For the registered scholars, since paying money is an order from above, they can only obey it.Who has the qualifications to have the guts to investigate who this order came from?

The young man looked at Zi Shi a few times before, and said, "Why don't you go get the chip? If you go to get it now, it might not be your turn today."

Zi Shi smiled shyly: "I don't know that I have to pay... Go back and discuss it with your family before coming back." Saying this, he cupped his hands in thanks and turned to leave.

The young man couldn't help saying: "You get the chip first, and then go back to get the money, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

Just as Zi Shi was about to answer, he saw some soldiers come out and set up a table where the chips were issued, and a small official sat in the back.The leading soldier shouted into the crowd: "Pay the money and get the money! Pay now and get it!" It turned out that because some people slipped away after the interview, they learned a lesson and changed the back-end fee to the front-end fee.

Zi Shi spread his hands and smiled at the young man: "Thank you, brother." He lifted his legs and left.

"Hey——" the young man almost blurted out "I'll lend it to you first", but suddenly remembered that the other party had never met before, and swallowed it back.

Zi Shi snickered as he walked.Xin said: "Brother Taiwan's kind intentions. However, I'm not here to sign up, I'm here to inspect the market."

Thousands of scholars gathered in Xijing, and most of them lived in the area of ​​"Furongzhong" on the west bank of "Yuliangou" in the east of the city.

Yuliangou was originally called "Yuriangou".After Zhao Ju arrived in Yijun, he refurbished and expanded the hidden residence of Emperor Ruiwen in the South City. The river turned from the east to the south of the city and connected with the lake in the palace, so it was renamed "Yuliangou". "Furong Tomb" is said to be the place where Princess Furong of the ancient Shu Kingdom buried incense. Later, it became a favorite recreational place for literati and poets, and the cultural industry also developed accordingly.Scholars waiting for the autumn test naturally live here and linger.Even those who live in other places come here from time to time to make friends, collect information, and exchange ideas.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, one afternoon, two customers came into the largest bookstore "Fuwentang" at the end of "Zhulan Street" on the west side of "Yuliangou".

It was the time when there were the fewest people, and there was only one guy dozing off behind the counter.Hearing the sound of footsteps, he raised his head lazily.

The business of the bookstore is no better than other stores, there is no need to be courteous to sell, the ones that should come will come naturally.There are more than a dozen Wenfang and bookstores on Zhulan Street. "Fuwentang" is famous for its solemn quality, excellent printing, complete categories and reasonable prices.The owner, Yin Fuwen, is a well-known bibliophile and connoisseur of ancient books. Many of the books sold in the store have been published by him, and he has read them one by one, so he has an excellent reputation.Boss Yin looked down on those colleagues who went astray.There will never be such evil books as "The Book of Qunfang", "Swallows and Swallows in the Fly", and "Biography of the Quiet Beauty of Boudoirs" in his shop.Not to mention mysteriously dragging customers to the back hall to sell expensive sets of color-printed erotic albums.

Since the imperial court announced that the imperial examinations will be reopened this spring, the business of "Fuwentang" has become more prosperous than the sun in June.Scholars who fled in exile, although sage classics can be called a job, but in a crisis, after all, no one would take this brick-like job with them.No matter how self-proclaimed he is erudite and knowledgeable, when it comes to the eve of the exam, he dares not to review the book and step up his reading.As soon as he got the news of the scientific examination a few years ago, Boss Yin organized human resources to publish large-scale classics and historical books, and sold tens of thousands of copies in one go.In August, almost everything that needs to be bought has been bought, and the store is slowly deserted.

The guy looked up, and there were two teenagers entering the door.The one in the front is wearing a scholar's scarf, wearing a green straight gown, and holding a bamboo fracture fan in his hand, a typical scholar's attire.People in business always look at clothing first.The clerk muttered inwardly: "The corner of the towel is missing, the fan has no tassels, and the waist is missing a pendant"—you need to keep an eye on it, the poor master."

It turns out that although scholars and even bureaucrats and rich gentry are dressed like this at home, they are very particular about the details.People who wear this outfit, as long as they have a little financial strength, will embroider a few pearls and jade pendants on the four corners of the head scarf, tie a few silk tassels on the bottom of the fan bone, and hang a few gold and jade ornaments on the bottom of the belt.Seeing that the man was clean and had nothing, the guy put him in the ranks of poor and poor, to prevent him from being an elegant thief who steals books.

The one behind was dressed in more ordinary clothes. Although he was not short, his hair had not been tied up yet, and he was still a half-grown child.Said that the entourage is not like the entourage, and the book boy is not like the book boy - the scholar does not have a valuable thing on him, and he does not look like a book boy who can afford it.

Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw the younger one pointing to a row of books on the shelf and said: "Brother, they actually have "Poetry and Lihui Yao" compiled by "Yangzhengzhai". It is complete in ten volumes, which is rare."

"Hmm. It's rare." The scholar took out a copy, flipped through it, and put it back again. "Several places that have been revised later have not changed. It seems that the first draft is followed."

The buddy only felt that the sound reached his ears, as if a breath of wind was blowing in his face, it was indescribably refreshing and refreshing.I can't help being surprised that he speaks so expertly, but I can't help but stare at that figure, hoping that he will turn around so that he can take a closer look at what he looks like.Unexpectedly, as soon as he stared at him twice, he felt the elegant and delicate figure from top to bottom, the more he looked at it, the more comfortable he became, and he couldn't get enough of it, and hoped that he would not turn around, so that he could look at it for a while.

Zi Shi took Zi Zhou to scan the books on both sides of the shelf, thinking that he had indeed come to the right place.Walked to the counter and greeted the clerk: "Brother Deacon, I wonder if the shopkeeper of Baohao is here?"

The clerk was stunned for a moment, until he asked the second time, then got up and answered: "Yes, yes!" After a pause, he recalled and added, "However... the shopkeeper doesn't just meet strangers, I don't know, my lord..."

Zi Shi took out a roll of paper full of characters from his sleeve: "Can I ask the deacon elder brother to present these pages of articles to the shopkeeper for review? Just ask Tongcheng Li Zishi to see you."

"This... I'll give it a try."

"Thank you so much."

Calling out an apprentice to look after the store, the clerk carried the roll of paper that Zi Shi gave him into the back hall.Here, the two brothers talked about it, and agreed that although the "Fuwentang" books are complete, it is still more than a little bit worse than their own "Sidangzhai" in the past.Just sighed and sighed a few words, the clerk had already come out: "Young masters, the shopkeeper welcomes you!"

After more than half an hour, "Fuwentang" shopkeeper Xing personally sent the Zishi brothers out.Standing in the shop, the two brothers saluted and said goodbye.

Shopkeeper Xing returned the gift and said: "Fuwentang will definitely have an answer tomorrow or the next day at the latest. The two young masters can just wait at home." Looking at Zi Shi, he couldn't help persuading him again: "Mr. Li, it's time Very rare, the opportunity is rare. How many of the foreign scholars who come to Xijing to take the exam are not in chaos? Everyone tacitly understands the rules of Ding You, and the court has never mentioned it. Why should you... Although filial piety is commendable, alas... …What a pity."

"Thank you, shopkeeper, for your concern. It's just under the chaos, and I haven't received the full gift. I'm thinking of it, but I hope you can feel at ease."

Shopkeeper Xing heard Zi Shi say that "he didn't get the full ceremony", and he knew that his parents must have died in the war, and he couldn't even be buried in the earth.During this year, he had heard so many scholars from other places who came to buy books mentioning the risk of war and the suffering of fleeing, but he felt that the gentle and plain words of the young man in front of him were much more serious than many angry words.With a long sigh, he didn't say anything, and sent the two of them directly to the gate.

The guy followed him out with both eyes, and when he saw the shopkeeper coming in, he said, "Young Master Li looks so gentle."

"It's not only good-looking, but also knowledgeable." Shopkeeper Xing admired loudly, "Mr. Wang Shouyi's articles on policy and theory come as soon as he opens his mouth. It's like flooding Yuliangou. If Mr. Shouyi's collection of policies and theories can be printed before September, the threshold of our "Fuwentang" will probably be broken."

"Shouyi" is the name of the late great Confucianist and Tongcheng prefect Wang Yuanzhi.Mr. Wang can be called the leader of the world's articles, and the scholar community respects him, and does not call him an official position, and respects him as "Mr. Shouyi".Mr. Shouyi's articles are good, especially his first-hand policy theory, which is well-founded and elegant in rhetoric;Every time an article is published, it is copied and recited, and it is still popular in the southeast.Shuzhou is far away, and Wang Yuanzhi has never published his personal anthology, so he only passed on a few fragments, and those who got it felt like a treasure.

Shopkeeper Xing heard Zishi say that he could silently write [-] articles for him, and also added some commentary experience popular among Yuezhou scholars, wishing he could agree to it for his master immediately.Sighing, he walked in: "We have such a person here in Xijing... This is the real talent in the south of the Yangtze River! Those who advertised themselves first, what kind of talent, I think most of them are weeds that don't grow rice..."

"Fu Wen Tang" moved quickly.Early the next morning, a chief deacon was sent to visit with his staff.After negotiating the terms and signing the contract, I paid 50 taels of money in advance to Zishi on the spot, asking him to be quicker and faster.The sooner this book is printed, the sooner the money will be earned back.

From this day on, the three brothers and sisters, division of labor and cooperation, streamlined operations, burning ointments and sundials, forgetting to eat and sleep, edited this "Mr.The one who touches the stone turns the stone into gold.Zi Shi suggested the title of the book, and the chief deacon immediately nodded.This name, with arrogance in its depth and taste in its arrogance, couldn't be more appropriate.

The two men of "Fuwentang" were waiting in the yard, and every time an article came out, they would take turns to send it back to be printed.The chief deacon said to Zi Shi with regret: "It is said that such a good book should be engraved and engraved, and bound in fine ink and fine ink. Now the matter is urgent, and the wooden characters are arranged in a row, printed while arranging, and republished next year. "

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was finally completed.The book was still being printed in the workshop, so Yin Fuwen sent someone to send the remaining 200 taels of silver very generously. "Mr. Shouyi's Diagnosis of Stones" is a monograph, and it is estimated that [-] copies will be printed, and each copy will be priced at [-] coins.The pen money is withdrawn at one-tenth, which is quite generous.Nowadays, the annual income of a middle-class family is only a few tens of taels of silver. Zishi's business without capital has gone too far.The man who gave the money also presented him with a name card. It turned out that Boss Yin invited Mr. Li to go to "Fuwen Building" for a while on August [-], the day when the book was completed. "Fuwentang" is Boss Yin's storefront. "Fuwen Building" is his own library.

It has only been two days since the advertisement for selling books was posted, and people who came to the store to inquire about the details, hoping to make a reservation, are already in an endless stream.According to Zi Shi's request, in addition to praising Mr. Shouyi's article and introducing the purpose of compiling the bibliography, the preface and postscript of the book only signed the six words "Jiangnan Li Sheng Collection".Although shopkeeper Xing said that this book has immeasurable merits, Master Wang's soul has already returned to Jiuquan, and this move can be regarded as a statement for Mr. Zishi, after all, Zi Shi felt a little sorry.What's more, as a newcomer, he should be a low-key person, so he insisted not to sign.

Sending off the "Fu Wen Tang" buddy, Zi Shi gave the money to his sister. ——Now Zigui is in charge of the housekeeper, and he and Zizhou are responsible for supporting the family.

The twins once seriously asked why the elder brother didn't go to the autumn test.These days, not taking exams after studying is like not eating after cooking, not wearing clothes after sewing, it is simply unreasonable.

Zi Shi said: "The officialdom is dangerous. It's not like you don't know that Dad didn't want to be with others, so he resigned and returned home..."

"But the year before last, Dad planned to ask you to go to Beijing to take the exam."

Zi Shi smiled wryly.The mentality of Papa's generation was amazing.I am tired of being an official by myself, but in the hands of my son, I can't help but go into the next cycle according to inertia.At the beginning, Li Fang had aspirations as a young man, and he was looking forward to rising to the top, but he didn't think about these things.Now, just thinking about the turmoil of the officialdom, I am already daunted.Ask the younger siblings: "Isn't it good for the three of us to live together peacefully and happily? If we really want to be on the list, who knows where we will be assigned to be a sesame seed official—what's the point?"

Brother, what he said makes no sense at all.The two children thought about it, but there was no way to refute it.A flash of inspiration flashed in Zigui's mind: If the elder brother passes the exam to become an official, he must obey the orders of the official department, and may not be able to stay in Xijing any longer.What if brother Changsheng comes and can't find us?Then I remembered that the three of us had been in Xijing for almost two months, why Brother Changsheng hadn't come yet...

Zizhou scratched his head: "Brother, in your heart...do you really not feel any pity at all?"

Zi Shi said slowly: "I like this very much. ——If you don't go to the exam, you should be a filial filial to your parents. If someone asks, just say so."

Both children were taken aback.The eldest brother's expression remained the same, and his tone was normal.Knowing that he never cared about these imaginary etiquettes and customs, knowing that he was just talking casually as an excuse, he just felt that he was entrusted with endless grief and made people cry.

That's the end of this topic.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the three of them bought some seasonal cakes and fruits, drank a jug of wine, and set up a table in the small rented courtyard to watch the moon.Talking and laughing, the moon is in the sky.Seeing that Zizhou Zigui couldn't hold on anymore, Zi Shi said, "Go to bed first, and I'll sit down for a while."

Zigui went in, came out again, gave the eldest brother a coat, and then fell asleep.After sleeping until midnight, I was worried after all. When I came out to see, my eldest brother was still sitting in the yard.

Zi Shi picked up the jug and shook it, it was empty.Putting it down and getting up, he was about to enter the house, when he saw Zigui standing at the door, he smiled and said, "The moon is about to go down, why did you pour it out?"

"Brother, are you still asleep?"

"Go to sleep now." Zi Shi stretched himself and walked to his room.As he walked, he said, "Go to sleep, and clean up after dawn." He went in.

Zigui caught a glimpse of the pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the table.Looking at it in the past, there is a poem inscribed on the plain paper:

"Flying Immortals with Jade Steps in Guanghan Kong,

A total of juveniles.

Qinghui jade face fights with beauty,

Pearl curtains.

startling dream,

scattered clouds,

Sleeping on the moon at midnight.

Lovesickness likes to take advantage of reunion,

Jinzun is not idle. "

Secretly said: Eldest brother writes, more and more relaxed and romantic.I read the phrase "Lovesickness loves reunion the most, Jinzun is not idle" twice, and then looked at the empty jug next to me, feeling very sad all of a sudden.Suddenly remembering that the Ci Pai used "Ruan Lang Gui", my nose became sour, and tears almost flowed down my face.Looking at the dark window of the eldest brother's room, and looking up at the moon setting on the treetops, I thought: Brother Changsheng, why haven't you come back?