Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Spreading rumors?" Xue Ruitian sneered, "Well, as expected, the favorite thing for those scholars is to spread rumors."

"As a half-student, I mean Xiaotian, you are right." Jin Jing also nodded affirmatively, "Scholars like to spread rumors the most. Is spreading rumors your main business?"

"Xiao Jing!" Second Master Jiang looked at Jin Jing helplessly, "You say you are half a scholar, how can a scholar say such a thing?"

"Second Lord, I want to tell the truth just because I'm a scholar." Jin Jing shrugged her shoulders with a nonchalant expression on her face, "Aren't those big clans scholars? When they killed each other, they didn't seem to value themselves too much." The identity of this scholar, isn't it? When they oppressed and bullied poor students, they didn't see how embarrassed they felt, how much they knew about etiquette, justice and shame, right? When they challenged generals and nobles, they didn't feel that they were They don’t have the heart of colleagues, even when they challenged the imperial power, they didn’t understand the difference between monarch and minister.” He sneered, “If you want to say that there is no king, no father, and no sense of shame, scholars are the first among them.”

"Well said!" Second Master Jiang clapped his hands vigorously, gave Jin Jing a thumbs up, and said, "It's rare to see such a sober scholar, Xiao Jing! Such a sober one is really only half of them. "

"Speaking of benevolence and morality, full of male robbers and female prostitutes, these are the majority of scholars." Xue Ruitian also nodded in agreement, "We deny that there are scholars who are loyal to the emperor and love the people, but there are very few such scholars, aren't they?"

"Isn't that right? Once the imperial examinations were taken and recommended to be an official in the court, all the original intentions were forgotten. Every one of them went to fight for power and profit. The true heart of serving the country and the people has long been lost. But People still say that I can serve the country and the people only if I control the power." Second Master Jiang shook his head helplessly, "How terrible, listen to how terrible it is."

"Isn't that right? In order to fight for power and profit, they can do whatever they can, and spreading rumors is one of them." Jin Jing rolled her eyes, "Since ancient times, they have formed cliques for selfish purposes. Isn’t it all done by them? It’s still the same sentence, they are ruthless to us generals, and even more ruthless to their own people, isn’t it?”

"That's right." Xue Ruitian nodded, "Scholars look down on each other. If anyone climbs to the top, they will naturally suppress those who have seen their jokes. I don't know why the temperament of scholars is so big. They obviously can't shoulder the burden. You can't carry a basket with your hands, can you?"

"That's the truth!" Jiang Erye took a sip of tea, "You also know what the previous dynasty was like. The dynasty was established for nearly 200 years, and the royal family sat on the same level with these big clans for 200 years, so that scholars all over the world feel that they are not the same as the emperor. Decentralization of power is a matter of course. So, when they have enjoyed the supreme power for 200 years and enjoyed the same treatment as the emperor, it is impossible for them to watch their power fly away. It was a catastrophe. Therefore, for their own sake, they could only put all their eggs in one basket and use rumors to discredit Taizu. However, those big clans also kept their eyes open and did not send their own children, not even the capable disciples of their own clan None of them were sent out, but most of the peripheral disciples who wholeheartedly worked as cows and horses for them came from poor families."

"These people are too sinister and vicious, right? They don't take students from poor families seriously at all."

"It's one thing for them to be vicious, but if they didn't also want to get a share of the pie, they wouldn't be determined to do things for the big clan, right?" Second Master Jiang smiled coldly, "Since you want to get something, you must get it." Pay for something, right?"

"That's true!" Jin Jing nodded, "However, what kind of rumors did they let these disciples make? How did they fool the scholars all over the world?"

"It's very simple. It means that Da Xia values ​​martial arts and despises literature, and treats scholars as worthless. They want to encourage scholars to rebel and not recognize Da Xia's imperial power."

"This..." Xue Ruitian rubbed his chin, looked at Shen Haolin, at Second Master Jiang, and at the other people in the room, "Shouldn't it be considered a rumor? Isn't this the truth? It is true that it emphasizes martial arts, but despise literature Didn’t he find it by himself? He challenged the imperial power again and again, wanted to rebel again and again, wanted to be a villain, and deserved to be in this situation.”

"What happened later? Those scholars were incited?"

"No." Jiang Erye saw the shocked expressions on the faces of the children and smiled, "Are you surprised?"

"If you look at the situation at the time, it's unexpected and reasonable." Shen Cha poured a cup of tea for Shen Haolin, and held a cup for himself, drinking in small sips. Is it? The way for scholars to become officials has been blocked. Whether it is imperial examination or election, there have been no young scholars entering the court for a long time. Whether it is those big clans or the children of poor families, they have all been greatly affected. Clan Fortunately, there are people in their own clan who entered the court as officials. Even if the situation is not very good, they belong to someone in the court. But students from poor families are not so lucky. Without imperial examinations and no recommendation, their ten years The cold window is tantamount to being abandoned. After the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, a new imperial examination will be ushered in, which will give hope to the poor students. How can they give up this rare opportunity? Surely they will not stand in the same camp as those big clans, right? ?”

"That's right, it's true. The big clan didn't expect such a situation, but they have already done such a thing. There is no turning back when they open their bows. They can only bite the bullet and continue. They give Xu Yizhongli, a poor student, continued to spread rumors to smear Taizu. At the beginning, everyone took it as a joke, watching them jump up and down, but then slowly, some poor students became tempted, and followed them to make a fuss, causing a very bad situation. In addition, Taizu was really tired of watching the excitement for a few days. He also knew who was behind the tricks, so he kept doing nothing. The court issued a decree, clarifying several Big clans are not allowed to take the imperial examination. They do what they like, but they are not allowed to take the imperial examination.”

"Then what are these big clans capable of?"

"There's no way. They arrested their patriarch at the time and sent their main core children to prison. If they refuse to sign the statement of abandoning the imperial examination, none of these people will be able to get out. There will be fear for their lives. Besides, the mansions of the major clans in the capital are surrounded. They have no choice but to bow their heads in front of absolute imperial power and absolute force, and sign the statement. Then take Their clansmen in the capital went back to their hometown in desperation."

"This is really gratifying!" Jin Jing drank the last tea in the cup, took another piece of braised beef tendon and slowly gnawed, "But they won't be willing to never have access to power for a lifetime, right? They will definitely think about other things way, right?"

"Of course I'm not reconciled. Otherwise, why do you think this old man of Ningchang State is so bold and dares to take part in the imperial examination?" Jiang Erye sneered, "This old man of Ningchang State is definitely not the first, nor will he be the last one to do so What the heck, some of the civil servants in the court are from the clan, but because they couldn’t take the imperial examination, they could only find ways to change their origins.”

"So, Second Grandpa, you found out that the real identity of Ningchang State is the Ning family of Chaozhou. He found out that he spared no effort to really treat you?" Seeing Second Master Jiang nodded, Shen Cha thought for a while, "But as Second Grandpa, you just said that he is neither the first nor the last, so there is no need to make such a fuss, right? His targeting you like this can only show that besides his false identity, there are other things that cannot be tolerated made public."

"That's right!" Second Master Jiang snapped his fingers, "Smart boy! This old man of Ningchang Kingdom, as you know, was the last champion of Enke during the Pure Emperor period. At that time, he was fourteen or fifteen years old. He was considered a genius. After all The champions before the Great Xia were all eighteen or nineteen, and this is the first time a champion at such a young age appears."

"Wait!" Jin Jing was taken aback, "He was the number one scholar in the period of Emperor Pure? Isn't that the elder of the four dynasties?"

"If you want to include the few months when Xiao Jue was on the throne and had nothing to do, it is indeed the Four Dynasties."

"Speaking of which, during the period of Emperor Chun, the last three imperial examinations, including the Enke, the number one scholar, the second place, the third prize, the Jinshi, and the Jinshi, seem to have been completely ignored by no one. Right?" Jin Jing rubbed her chin, "Why?"

"Because I was later found out of cheating in the imperial examinations, and some people were investigated and punished for fraudulent identities, such as Ningchang, but you also know that my father is not in good health and has no energy to take care of these things. Those people didn't piss him off. It's not bad. And my brother, I originally wanted to settle the accounts with these people after she ascended the throne, but she herself was in power for a short time and many major events happened, so she forgot. The people who arrived were not directly announced, but their fame was revoked, and they were kicked out of Xijing City, including themselves and three generations of descendants, who were not allowed to participate in the scientific examination. Accept any recommendation."

"That's it!" Jin Jing looked at the other people, "No, why can other people find out, but Ning Changguo can't find out?"

"It's really lucky. The patriarch of the Ning clan in Chaozhou chose this house for his talented young son. It is perfect and impeccable. You know that his hometown is Zhongzhou on his resume, right?" Seeing several children nodding, Second Master Jiang took a sip of tea and continued, "The branch of Zhongzhou has a deep connection with Chaozhou. They moved out of Chaozhou. They have already produced Wufu. No, it is farther than Wufu. The relationship between them is basically negligible. And the child of this family is also called Ning Changguo, who has the same name and surname as Mr. Ning. The most frightening point is that Mr. Ning from the Ning family in Chaozhou and Ning Changguo from the Ning family in Zhongzhou , look exactly the same, as if they were carved out of the same mould.”

"Is it very similar?"

"Well, it's completely possible to confuse the real with the fake, otherwise how could it not be found out?" Second Master Jiang sighed, "Ningchang in Zhongzhou is itself a sick child. If there is no tomorrow today, the Ning family in Chaozhou is also fancy. After realizing this, I found them and asked my own child to take the scientific examination instead of the child from the Ning family in Zhongzhou."

"Do the parents and elders of this family agree?"

"Of course I agree. If the household registration is changed to their family members, then if they go to high school and become famous, it will be their Zhongzhou Ning clan, not the big Chaozhou clan, right? This kind of cheap pick Good thing, why are they pushing it out?"

"But what about their own children?"

"In the second month after we agreed on this matter, I contracted a cold and couldn't afford it, so I passed away." Second Master Jiang sighed helplessly, "That's it, old man Ning entered the room in a grandiose manner and became a The only child of the Ning family in Zhongzhou, and used this identity to participate in the second-year childbirth test, and at that time, Old Ning was only six years old."

"So young?" Jin Jing was shocked, "It's really amazing to start deceiving people at such a young age." He looked at Second Master Jiang and blinked, "What's the reason other than fake identity?"

"Qinglian Sect!" Second Master Jiang blinked at the children, "You probably don't know who is the supporter of Chaozhou Ning Sect."

"I've already mentioned the Qinglian sect, and I'm from the south of the Yangtze River, so what's unexpected." Xue Ruitian snorted, "Is the empress dowager's hand stretched too far? Why is she recruiting all kinds of people? !"

"If you have big ambitions, you need more people. There are all kinds of people, and there are all kinds of people."

"That's true." Xue Ruitian nodded, "However, I have a problem. Those scholars, especially the big clans like Chaozhou Ning's, have their eyes on their brains. People from families like the Empress Dowager, They should look down on it, right?"

"It has nothing to do with whether or not they look down on the Empress Dowager's family background. What they look up to is the Qinglian Sect. They think that the Qinglian Sect's philosophy is basically the same as theirs. They all want to challenge the imperial power and force the emperor. Divide the power."

"So, because they have a common goal, people from these two sides colluded together and worked hand in hand?" Xue Ruitian touched his chin when Second Master Jiang nodded, "Then what is Old Ning responsible for? Winning scholars for the Empress Dowager ?”

"This is one of the aspects, and there are more important things." Jiang Erye slightly raised the corners of his lips, and a disdainful smile flashed across his face, "To sow discord between courtiers, nobles and clans, to frame your colleagues, As well as recruiting troops for the Empress Dowager, recruiting the scum in the rivers and lakes, and killing their thorns when necessary."