Jiapingguan Chronicle

"From Zhongzhou?" Shen Cha frowned slightly after hearing Jin Jing's words, "Brother Xiao Jing, can you be sure that he is from Zhongzhou?"

"Of course, it is clearly written in the resume, and the household registration is also from Zhongzhou, how can this be fake?" Jin Jing looked at Shen Cha's expression, "What are you suspicious of?"

"It's hard to say." Shen Cha thought for a while, and said a little cautiously, "I haven't met this old man a few times, but I met him at several palace banquets in Xijing City when Brother Xiaojue ascended the throne. However, at first Xungui and the civil servants like them didn’t have much to say, and we met a few times, that is, exchanged a few pleasantries on the scene, but I felt at that time that this old man was interesting.”

"It's kind of mean..."

"Although they are both scholars, there are differences and factions among them." Shen Cha looked at Jin Jing, "Brother Xiaojing is considered to be half a scholar, so naturally he knows more about the twists and turns than we do, doesn't he? "

"If you ask this, I have a lot of experience to share." Jin Jing nodded, "How should I put it, scholars are also very strict among themselves. As the saying goes, literati look down on each other, although they all look down on warriors, Honorable, but they also don't have a good face towards each other. People like us may still cherish each other, and they don't have any brotherly loyalty."

"It can be seen." Hongye sneered, "They treat nobles and clans harshly, but they treat their own people even harder. In the internal fighting in the court, the civil servants are the ones who fight the hardest every time. I can't wait to tear the other party apart, trample the other party's family under their feet, and never stand up again."

"That's true." Jin Jing nodded, "Scholars are basically divided into two factions, one is headed by famous families in the south of the Yangtze River, and the other is students from poor families, and students from poor families will be divided into two factions. For several factions, for example, those who want to get ahead by their own ability wholeheartedly, or those who are very good at drilling and want to attach themselves to big clans, they all look down on each other. It's as if someone threw their child into a well."

"So ruthless?" Jin Miaomiao looked disgusted, "A literati's pen and a murderous knife really deserve their reputation."

"The struggle between the poor family students is not very serious. After all, since ancient times, few scholars from the poor family can achieve a high position. Before the appearance of the old man Ning, the cabinet was controlled by nobles and clans. Yes. Later, it was the first emperor who wanted to select talents in an eclectic manner, so he made an exception and promoted some students from poor families, and old man Ning was among them."

Having said that, Jin Jing paused for a moment, looked at Shen Haolin, then at Xue Ruitian, picked up her own bowl, and began to drink the soup one bite at a time.

"You've said half of what you said, and there's still half left?"

"No." Jin Jing shook her head, "I don't know him very well, I want to ask Haolin and Xiaotian, when you were in Beijing, did you notice what kind of people Ning Laofu was with? He has a relatively close relationship, is it a child from a poor family like him, or a child from some clan?"

Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian were stopped by Jin Jing's question, they thought for a while, and finally Xue Ruitian remembered.

"It's the clan's children. They have more contacts, and they are indeed the clan's children."

"Wait a minute, I thought of something. Did you check the roster when you ransacked the house?" Shen Haolin looked at Xue Ruitian and then at Shen Cha, "I have a little impression that his original wife, There are also his step-wife, three side wives, his four daughters-in-law, his two sons-in-law, and his eldest grandson who are negotiating marriage, all of them are from famous families."

"It's not just that." Xue Ruitian poured himself a bowl of hot soup, "If I remember correctly, the old man has served as the main examiner of the imperial examination ten times, it can be said that his students are all over the whole of Daxia, and the real peaches and plums are everywhere. but……"

"Not a single one of his disciples came from a poor family. Those he recruited by himself are all from everyone. Those who can be handed down by him are also the children of everyone except for nobles and clans." Shen Haolin went to Shencha Put a few pieces of hot fish in the bowl, and signaled her to eat it quickly, "This is something that a poor student from Zhongzhou can do? Also, he suppressed students from a poor family, why is he still sought after by poor students? Isn't that weird?"

"It's really strange, so I doubt his origin." Shen Cha nodded and ate a piece of fish, "Is there anything else that can prove my suspicion?"

"Think about it. When I was researching this old man's resume, I once heard a rumor. When I heard it, I really thought it was a bit ridiculous. After hearing it, I threw it aside and didn't care at all. Now let's analyze it like this , I just remembered that rumor, maybe it’s true, maybe it’s true.”

"What rumor?"

"It is said that Mr. Ning's success is due to his connection with the Ning family of Chaozhou, and the Ning family of Chaozhou was able to pave the way. Therefore, Mr. Ning was able to prosper in his official career. I thought it was impossible at the time, and the Ning family of Chaozhou What is the foundation, what is the background, even if the old man Ning is indeed surnamed Ning, but people may not be able to see him. There is an insurmountable gap between famous families and poor students. No matter how talented you are, those famous families The famous family may not take you seriously. Thinking about it now, maybe it is because he really conquered the Chaozhou Ning clan, or the Zhongzhou Ning clan itself is a branch of the Chaozhou Ning clan, but it has been a long time since they moved out , no one puts these two together, after all, no matter in terms of prestige or strength, they are completely incomparable, right?"

"Lian Zong is not impossible, but judging from what you just said, it doesn't look like Lian Zong. If it was just Lian Zong, the Ning family of Chaozhou would not spend so much money on Ning Chang. His in-laws It is impossible for his network to be established so quickly. Those literati in the south of the Yangtze River have their own set of rules and guidelines, and they will not allow their family to have a relationship with a branch of humble origin, right?" She looked Xiang Shen Haolin, "Do you know the origins of his wives?"

"The daughters of everyone in Jiangnan, even those side wives, were talented women with some reputation before they got married." Shen Haolin thought for a while, then looked at Shen Cha, "You suspect that old man Ning's identity is fake ?”

"En!" Shen Cha nodded, "After the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, in order to curb the development of the clan and not want to be constrained by the rules of the clan, a series of restrictive measures were issued for the imperial examinations of the clan's children. If Mr. Ning came from a big family Yes, when he is about to take the scientific examination, he belongs to the restricted group, so it is possible for the family to do something in order to pass the scientific examination and get into an official career."

"Are you sure that's the case?" Jin Jing was taken aback, looked at Shen Haolin, then at Xue Ruitian, then at Jin Miaomiao who was holding a ball in his mouth with a surprised expression on his face, "Xiaocha, this is not nonsense, This is not an ordinary manipulation, it is to change the household registration, there are a lot of things to deal with, and there are a lot of people involved, this is not a joke." He took a sip of soup and continued, "If Your guess is correct, he is not from Zhongzhou, but a son of a certain Ning family in the south of the Yangtze River. For his own purpose, he has done something that should not be done by any means, so his life is a completely false life , do you know how big this is?"

"I understand, but I really suspect that he is not from a peasant family, nor from a poor family." Shen Cha looked at the few people who were looking at him, and his tone softened a little, "I am not just being suspicious, because I don't understand He, so what makes me suspicious, apart from the interpersonal problems related to him as I just said, is his accent."

"Accent?" Jin Jing shook her head, "This shouldn't be a problem, right? Accents are subject to change. After you live in a certain place for a long time, you will unconsciously start to speak like the people of that place. It cannot be counted as evidence."

"It can prove my suspicion." Shen Cha ate all the fish in the bowl, put down the bowl in his hand, took a sip of tea, and continued, "Zhongzhou is located in the Central Plains, and the climate is relatively dry. The folk customs are tougher. People there don’t beat around the bush when they talk and do things. They just say what they have. In terms of personality, they are completely different from Ningchang. In addition, the people of Zhongzhou speak official dialect, and we speak official dialect. There is still a difference. And the way of articulating words is different from ours. Even the local dialect of Zhongzhou, we basically can't understand it, right?"

"Although we don't have many contacts, there are merchants from Zhongzhou at our border. It is true that the tone of speech is different from ours, and it is far from Jiangnan and the capital." Hongye rubbed her chin and put down her hand I picked up a stewed egg and took a small bite, "As Xiaocha said, if people in Zhongzhou don't know the official language and speak their dialect, we basically can't understand it, so we can only rely on gestures." , even guessing. And, one thing, I agree with what Xiaocha said, people in Zhongzhou who can speak Mandarin, the taste of Mandarin spoken is different from ours. "

"Yes!" Jin Miaomiao finally came back to his senses, and said whimperingly with a ball in his mouth, "I remembered, when I was wandering in Beijing, I also met some merchants from Zhongzhou, and some came to wait for next year For the students who took the big exam, their official dialect sounds a bit dry and stubborn. If you don’t understand it, you will suspect that they intend to quarrel with others. On the contrary, in the Jiangnan side, no matter whether it is dialect or official dialect, there is no It has a soft, gentle and soothing taste, so it sounds so comfortable and pleasing to the ear. But if you are a native of the capital, you will be like the Duke and Lord Hou.

"Then what is the taste of the old man of Ningchang country? Jiangnan Xiaojiabiyu type?" Jin Jing has never seen Ningchang country, and she doesn't know him at all. She looked at Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian, "You two grew up in the capital, you should fight with him Had some dealings, didn't you?"

"Ning Changguo, as the emperor's teacher, once taught in the Eastern Palace, giving lectures to His Majesty and the clan's children. When we were studying in the Eastern Palace, we indeed met him and listened to his few classes. His accent..." Xue Ruitian thought for a long time , looking at Shen Haolin, "It is indeed with the unique gentleness and smallness of Jiangnan people, isn't it? We were young at the time and didn't pay much attention to it, because when the old man was young, he had served as a school administrator in Jiangnan for ten years. , the tone and tone are biased towards Jiangnan style, and I don't think there is a big problem. Speaking of this, I think of something."

"what's up?"

"I was naughty when I was young. Like Xiao Jue, I liked to wander around the city. I had to look around every mansion and listen to what they said. Once, I saw something at the gate of Ning Mansion. At that time It happened to be the second time for old man Ning to be the chief examiner. There were quite a lot of scholars who came to give gifts and seek connections in front of the mansion. It was impossible for the old man to see all of them. Every day was random, and it depended on who was lucky. "

"I have also encountered some scholars who were elated, and some who did not enter the mansion and were downcast."

"Yes!" Xue Ruitian nodded, "but what I want to say is not this. I saw with my own eyes a group of scholars from Zhongzhou running to the back door of the Ning Mansion, saying that there was a letter from Master Ning in Zhongzhou. It was brought to him by his parents. The servants of the Ning Mansion welcomed him in, but their attitude was not very good. I listened vaguely, and the servant said that the couple was too shameless, so they just did a favor , how dare you call yourself Mrs. Madam or something like that."

"Are you sure?"

"No, it's too far away, I can't hear it very clearly, but the meaning should be similar?" Xue Ruitian looked at everyone, "When it comes to Mr. Ning's parents, I also thought I heard it wrong, so I didn't care at the time , Looking back now, there is really a big problem.”

"This old guy, it's not easy!" Shen Haolin sneered, "The reason why he can rise to fame and become a model for scholars, and has a very high status in the hearts of scholars, is because everyone recognizes his status as a poor family, and thinks that he relies on With my talent and later hard work, I ranked first rank and became the veteran of the three dynasties. This is the height that many students from poor families most hope to achieve. Therefore, almost students from poor families hope to follow him and become the second him. Although he was ruined later, but support He still has a lot of people, if these people know that his identity may be forged, what will they think?"

After hearing everyone's discussion, Jin Jing regained her spirits in an instant, put down the bowls and chopsticks in her hand, and sat up straight.

"What's wrong?" Xue Ruitian looked at Jin Jing, "Did you think of something again?"

"I think, since we all suspect that there is something wrong with him, it's useless for us to just sit here and guess, isn't it?" Jin Jing blinked, looked outside the tent, and said with a smirk, "Let's The person who has the most dealings with him here is Second Master Jiang? He was also the one who framed Second Master back then, so that Second Master had to change his name and surname and come to this bitterly cold border. You said, we are going to ask Second Master, Will the second master know? If the second master knows, will he tell us?"