Wanli Xinming

Chapter 432 Favor
The other three candidates were eager to try after hearing this. Wang Yingkui laughed and scolded, "I have a great ability, but today you are using it to play tricks on me!"

When Zhu Zhifan heard him say that he had the ability to measure the sky and the earth, he didn't agree with him. But as he had just received the hexagram, he couldn't help but accept it. He said: "Determining good and bad fortune, seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster are not trivial matters, otherwise the sage would not have written the "Ten Wings". Everyone applauded when they heard this and drank a cup together.

Gu Yuncheng smiled and said, "Speaking of saints, have you read the newspapers in recent days?" He shook his head as he spoke.

Except for Zhu Zhifan, everyone else also had a mysterious smile on their faces. Wang Yingkui sneered, waved his hand to let the schoolmasters who were accompanying him to drink go down, and then picked up the wine glass and said, "Drink! Drink!"

When Zhu Zhifan breathed a sigh of relief, Zhou Yingqiu said, "Mr. Lan Yu, you studied at Nanjing University for two years. How is this school?"

Zhu Zhifan nodded and said, "Mr. Ling Shihong Chengzhao has a way of running a school. The motto of Nanyang University is 'pursuit of truth, tolerance and inclusiveness', which promotes various theories. It really has the feeling of 'letting a hundred flowers bloom' that the emperor advocates. What I have learned in the past two years is better than studying at home for ten years."

Gu Yuncheng's face turned green when he heard Zhu Zhifan's praise for Nanjing University. Wang Yingkui said, "I heard that Li Zhi, who runs the newspaper, wants to step down as editor-in-chief and take over the position of president Ling Shihong. Have you heard about it?"

Zhu Zhifan nodded and said, "I have heard about this, too. It happened in the past two days! I heard that Li Zhuowu often exchanges letters with the emperor, and there is a saying that he is a commoner and a minister. During the emperor's southern tour this time, he talked with Li Zhuowu for two hours. This is something the emperor cannot envy."

Gu Yuncheng heard this and stared at Zhu Zhifan with a sharp gaze, "Li Zhuowu has resigned, but I haven't heard who will take over? Is it Wang Daokun?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Zhu Zhifan shook his head and said, "I actually know something about this. Mr. Han's health has not been good since last year, and he has long wanted to return home. I heard that Li Zhuowu recommended Hu Yinglin."

Gu Yuncheng blinked his eyes and asked, "Didn't Hu Yinglin quit the newspaper business a long time ago and go to teach at Nanjing University?"

Dong Qichang smiled and said, "Mr. Jingfan, I know something about Hu Yinglin. He was the least enthusiastic about fame and fortune, and he didn't like to make art when he was young. In the first few years, he was praised by Wang Taicang for compiling the Poetry Collection and was invited to teach in Beijing. Because of his weak health, he returned to Nanjing last year."

Zhu Zhifan nodded and said, "That's right. Hu Yinglin followed Li Zhi and Wang Daokun in the early years—" he pointed to the back of his head, "He was anti-Confucianism and had long been unwilling to teach and work on newspapers. Li Zhi resigned as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, probably to make way for him."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuncheng let out a sigh and said, "After all, they are all from the same circle." There was some resentment in his words.

Zhou Yingqiu said, "Mr. Jingyang has been lecturing at Donglin for the past two years. His profound understanding of Confucius and Mencius is no less than that of Zhu Shengren. Compared with Hu Yinglin, his reputation in the literati circle is much higher! It's a pity that he didn't catch Li Zhi's eye."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhifan looked at Gu Yuncheng, who hurriedly said, "My brother is not on the same side as them, so why would he do this? Besides, before he returned home this time, he had already applied for permission to sponsor the Donglin Journal, and he will focus on it from now on."

After saying this, he looked at Zhu Zhifan and said, "My dear brother, now that you have been praised by the emperor, your literary reputation has spread throughout Jiangnan. If you have any good articles, remember to submit them to me." Zhu Zhifan agreed readily.

Gu Yuncheng raised his glass again and said, "Before and after the exam, you will definitely have a lot of social engagements. If you are interested, please help promote the Donglin Journal. People in Jiangnan are restless now, and this is the time to re-establish the holy learning and cleanse people's hearts. My brother and I are both interested in this, and would like to join you in this endeavor." After saying this, he drank a full glass.

Upon hearing this, several people spoke in unison, "This is a major undertaking in civil administration, how can we not help?!" They all raised their glasses and drank.

Gu Yuncheng looked at Wang Yingkui again. Wang Yingkui smiled slightly, picked up the wine glass and asked Zhu Zhifan: "Mr. Lanyu, I read Zheng Xuan's annotations to Zhouli, and there is a saying that 'the king's territory is a thousand miles, and the sun's shadow is an inch'. You are studying at Nanjing University, have you heard of the proof?" Zhu Zhifan thought about it, and replied with a smile on his face: "I have heard of this matter. It was talked about a lot in school at that time. At that time, the Nanjing University Observatory flipped through old books and said that He Chengtian of Liu Song Dynasty proved this theory wrong through actual measurement, and a group of monks in the Tang Dynasty also measured and proved that He Chengtian was right. Later, Nanjing Observatory sent six groups of people to measure again and confirmed that He Chengtian and Dahui Zen Master were right, and Zhouli and Zheng Xuan were wrong. Now the actual measured longitude and the diameter of the earth have been calculated, and the paper was published in the Nanjing Journal."

Then he smiled and said, "This time in the Hanlin Academy, I heard that the emperor intends to use the central axis of the Forbidden City in Nanjing as the zero degree of the sky and announce it to the world." After saying this, he suddenly paused, as if thinking about something.

At this time, Gu Yuncheng raised his glass and said, "What longitude, what diameter, it makes me dizzy!" Everyone laughed and raised their glasses to drink.

Wang Yingkui sighed: "Zen Master Dahui created the water-powered armillary sphere and the Dayan calendar to determine the time of the day, and also divided the ecliptic equally to determine the solar terms. He can be said to be a saint who was ahead of his time and his wisdom is as deep as the sea. We, the later generations, look up to him."

Zhu Zhifan heard this and said with a smile: "It's not necessary to look up to the sky. Nanjing University has also proved that the precession of the equinoxes that Monk Yixing said was due to the ecliptic retreating westward along the equator. This theory has been proven to be wrong. In fact, it is the opposite. The precession of the equinoxes occurs only when the ecliptic retreats eastward along the equator."

He bowed his hands and sighed, "The first theorem of the Wanli reign proposed by the emperor is 'Only what can be falsified can be considered as the study of things.' How true! Now the Nanjing University Observatory has predicted the solar and lunar eclipses to the second - this is a powerful example of using the study of things to prove the great truth. If anyone says in the future that what the ancients said is correct, the students of Nanjing University will at least not believe it."

After saying this, he looked at Gu Yuncheng with a sharp gaze. Gu Yuncheng picked up his wine glass and laughed: "My brother and I are the most progressive in our studies."

Wang Yingkui said on the side: "What a great phrase 'keep pace with the times'! The Book of Changes says, 'Work hard all day and keep pace with the times'. This should be made clear!" Everyone praised his words as a wonderful theory and drank a full round of wine.

After several rounds of this, Zhu Zhifan was too drunk to handle the wine, so he asked his servant to help him leave. When Gu Yuncheng saw him off, he said, "My dear brother, you have received a divination from Mr. Beiliu, and you will definitely pass the exam. But don't tell others about tonight's meeting."

Zhu Zhifan said under the influence of alcohol: "Don't worry, sir! I, Zhu Zhifan, am not an ignorant and shallow person. I will repay you for your kindness today later!" After saying that, he shook Gu Yuncheng's hand tightly.

After this night, Zhu Zhifan moved to his own villa, saying that he was studying for the exam and stopped going out for social events. The world is big, and the exam is the biggest. Many people who were not willing to come to appreciate the imperial calligraphy wanted to come, but Zhu Zhifan refused them all, and no one blamed him.

A few days later, when he entered the examination room, the title of his essay was indeed "A Debate on the Thousand-Li Imperial Territory and the One-Inch Sun Shadow". The person who set the question was afraid that the candidate would go off topic, so he attached verification materials from a group of monks, He Chengtian, and Nanjing University. Naturally, Zhu Zhifan wrote a brilliant essay.

After resting for a few days at home, Zhu Zhifan went to see the list in person and was ranked first. If he had not been inspired by Wang Yingkui, according to his understanding of the study of things and reform, he would not have been missing from the list. But he was prepared, but got an unexpected surprise, which was a bit too much of a favor.

Zhu Zhifan found a vertical scroll by Huang Gongwang from his own collection, which was worth a fortune at an auction, and went to Gu Yuncheng's residence to ask to see it.

Gu Yuncheng received Zhu Zhifan with a warm welcome. After greeting him, Gu Yuncheng said, "My brother arrived in Nanjing yesterday and called off his vacation. If your invitation had not arrived first, I would have moved in with my brother."

Zhu Zhifan said with a smile, "I haven't congratulated you yet. You will definitely win the first prize next spring." Gu Yuncheng said with a smile, "I am honored that you have won the first prize!"

Then he took Zhu Zhifan's arm and invited him into the house, saying with emotion: "The difficulty of the Nanzhili provincial examination is ten times that of the imperial examination. My name is on the list, which is enough for my life. Everything else is just my luck."

(End of this chapter)