Prime Minister

Chapter 149 The Outer Room
Zhang Yue couldn't help but have some doubts about the other party's identity.If the other party was the old party leader in history, he would have already become an official at this moment, but how could the servant call him a scholar.

If it weren't for Sima Twelve on the inscription, which seemed to be the other party's ranking in history, Zhang Yue would not have looked at the other party as an official, with no official air at all, and some scholars with a pedantic air.

But Zhang Yue still couldn't help asking: "Is the old man an official?"

But seeing that Sima Twelve and the businessman both laughed, the other said with a smile: "Mr. Sanlang, why do you ask this?"

Even the businessman on the side laughed and said, "I have known Mr. Sima for many years, and I never knew he was an official."

Zhang Yue said in his heart, no, the other party is Sima Twelve and Junshi, why not.

Seeing that Zhang was more suspicious, he even said to the servant beside him: "Mr. Sanlang misunderstood, my family Junshi Xiucai has never been an official."

Seeing that the servant's simple and honest face did not look like a liar, Zhang Yue wondered if he had made a mistake.

Zhang Yue said in his heart, if the other party didn't want the businessman and himself to know that his identity was concealed, it was possible, but even his own servant also concealed it, so there was no need.

What's more, the other party is a well-known honest person in history. He has a famous saying that "sincerity is the main thing, and non-deception is the foundation", so he should not lie to himself.

But Zhang Yue also had no intention of probing the identity of the other party. Taking money away is the kingly way. There is no need to not accept money from him because of who the other party is.

Otherwise, where would the money to buy pens and inks come from?In the future, will you burn Zhuyuan for corruption?This is no better than at home in Bianjing, and it costs money everywhere.Even if the officials of the Song Dynasty came to buy their own chapters, they would still have to pay!I was willing not to add more money just now, which is already a great way to save face.

"So that's the case. I asked more."

The other party also laughed and said: "Is there any official who can't afford to wear silk clothes, the old man is indeed a grassroots."

Zhang Yue asked Sima Twelve: "I'm not as skilled in engraving with a knife as I am a printer. I don't know why my father has such a blue eye?"

Sima Twelve said: "Although Sanlang's engraving is not as proficient as the craftsman's, it is because he has no actual attainments and he did it out of intention, so he has no craftsmanship."

"Although the craftsman's engraving is upright, it lacks morale. Sanlang's engraving is simple and old-fashioned. It has the charm of Han seal. It is not in the shape, but in the seal script in the chest, the cultivation of poetry and calligraphy. I just saw you. Seal script, it is known that from this point of view, no one in the present and future generations can beat you."

Speaking of this, Sima Twelve blamed himself a little: "I seem to be asking for your engraved seal when I say this, so I am willing to say it with a lot of money. Sanlang doesn't want to take it from the bottom of my heart, just pretend that the old man didn't say these words."

Zhang Yue nodded, this man can speak a word of sincerity.

The other party's statement is somewhat similar to Dong Qichang's theory of the Northern and Southern Schools. This theory says that painting by literati is different from painting by craftsmen, although the skill is not as good as the artistic conception.

Is there such a rhetoric above seal cutting?

"I just noticed that Sanlang's seal script and seal cutting are different, and it seems that it has not yet arrived." Sima Twelve said suddenly.

Zhang Yue said: "Of course, old man Huiyan, Sanlang's seal script is seal script, and seal cutting is seal cutting. The two are difficult to be the same. I only hope that in the future, practice will make perfect, and then seal cutting will be successful."

"Practice makes perfect," Sima Twelve asked, stroking his beard once or twice, "This is a new saying, where did it come from?"

Zhang Yue thought that there was no such word at this time, so he said: "It probably comes from Ouyang Gong's "The Oil Seller", and I have melted it since I am familiar with it?"

Sima Twelfth said happily when he heard the words: "It turns out that the one who exerts more force will receive farther results, so it can be called practice makes perfect, which is really a good word."

Speaking of which, Sima Twelve picked up a pen and wrote it down on a small notebook he brought with him.

Zhang Yueqi said: "My old man is no longer confused, but he is so eager to learn!"

Sima Twelve put away the memorized notebook next to his body, and then said: "I am old and slow to read, and my memory is not good. Only hard work can make up for it. That's right, listening to Sanlang and his accent, it looks like Wu people?"

Zhang Yue said: "People in Xiapu City, but their accent is like Wu Yue, and others often mistake me for Wu people."

"Sanlang is from Fujian." Sima Twelve nodded.

Zhang Yue looked at Sima Twelve's face and said, "Twelve feet, what do you think of Fujian people?"

The other party hesitated for a while, and then said: "Don't dare to hide, the Hokkien people I have known all my life seem to be quite cunning. To tell the truth, it's normal to change someone else."

Zhang Yue was upset when he heard that, this man seemed to be gentle and refined, but he was a fucking black girl?
Lao Tzu hates black areas, especially himself.

Zhang Yue said indifferently: "Twelve zhangs are invited, and the engraved seal will be delivered in three days, and the money must be paid for three guans first!"

"You're not barking..." The other servant wanted to speak, but Sima Twelve stopped him.

He said, "Alright, take the money."

The servant took out the money in the purse and put it together and said, "Jun Shi Xiucai, it's too short!"

The businessman said with a smile: "If it's short, it's short. Mr. Junshi is our regular customer, don't you feel relieved?"

Zhang Yue said calmly: "I met Sima Twelve for the first time, if after three days, I can't see the seal, don't blame me."

The businessman heard this and said, "Sanlang is accommodating."

The servant said: "Junshi is just a scholar, it's just a chapter, let's not buy it. This kid is so young that he can't tolerate people at all."

Sima Twelve said: "Don't be rude, Sanlang's move is also reasonable. This chapter was given to a close relative by the old man. He happened to like this gold and stone thing, and he will leave Beijing in a few days, so the three-day period was set. "

"I don't know if Lao Sanlang can wait here. The old man's house is very close, so I can just go home and get money to make up for it. If it is still not allowed, the old man will no longer force it."

Zhang Yue didn't intend to embarrass him, he ran away with a big customer, and the merchants in this restaurant also blamed himself, but he was just exporting evil spirits from the black region.

So Zhang Yue said: "Forget it, I will take the money first, and I will get the stamp three days later."

Sima Twelve said: "Thank you, Sanlang."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Yue collected the money, raised his hand, and said goodbye.

After Zhang Yue went out of the fast, he wandered around the Zisheng Gate again. He would buy some valuable ancient books, some gifts of apprenticeship, and the pens and inks he bought during the day. He immediately packed them up neatly and went to Chen Xiang's mansion. .

Chen Xiang is now Dr. Taichang, the school manager of the secret pavilion, and judges the Ministry of Shangshu Temple.

Dr. Taichang is a pension official, a No. 30 civil official who was born as a Jinshi, two ranks higher than Zhang Heng, who was appointed as a craftsman and supervisor at the beginning of the champion.

The school principle of Mige is to post a post, and posting a post represents the high selection of literature.

Among the posted posts, there are palace bachelors, which are the best. For example, Guanwendian bachelors are exclusive to the prime minister.

The second class is the Bachelor of Zhuge.

The third class is the post of the secret pavilion of the third hall, and this secret pavilion is the last post in the secret pavilion of the three pavilions. The salary is to receive ten guan salary per month.

However, with a post, you can skip the promotion and transfer to another official.

For example, Chen Xiang is now Dr. Taichang as the Jilu official, and he is Tuntian Yuanwailang who is promoted to a higher level based on his background as a Jinshi.

But if you take a post in the museum, you can go straight to Wailang, a member of the temple department.

And if the officialdom is punished, it will be Uwairo, a member of the Ministry of Water Affairs. Generally speaking, the official position will end here.As for Wai Lang, a member of the Shanshan Department with a mixed background (not a Jinshi, but a background in the system), and an official of Enyin who entered the Yu Department, Wailang is much slower to be promoted than an official with a Jinshi background.

The last thing is to dispatch, to judge the Ministry of Shangshu Temple.

There are Langzhong, Yuanwailang and other officials in the ancestral hall, but these are all Jilu officials, and they are not actually on duty in the ancestral hall.

As for the affairs of the temple department, Chen Xiang, who is a doctor of Taichang, came to "judge the department".

This shows how much Song's official position hurts.

Judging the affairs of the temple department is an idle job. On weekdays, he is in charge of the ancestral hall and the painting day.

In history, when Su Shi was Dr. Taichang, he was dispatched to serve as a supervisor in Beijing to sue the court and judge the minister's shrine.That is to say, Su Shi, as Dr. Taichang, works in the official court here, and also works in the ancestral hall there.

Zhang Yue brought gifts to Chen Xiang's mansion.

For example, a Beijing official at the level of Chen Xiang, although there is a monthly subsidy of ten consistent post money, but it is just a drop in the bucket for Bianjing's house prices and prices.

Therefore, Chen Xiang also lives in a 'public rental housing'.

The public rental housing is under the management of the shop and house affairs, like Chen Xiang’s mansion, which only costs three to five hundred yuan a month. The house is broken down on weekdays, and the house repair director of the shop and house affairs will send people to repair it. One trip to collect rent.

If you change to renting a private house, the same house will cost five or six times the price at least.

Such public rental housing was also used by the emperors of the Song Dynasty to live in Bianjing's "workers" for convenience.If you can’t even afford public rental housing for shop and housekeeping, that’s okay. There is also Futian Courtyard, which doesn’t charge a penny and is designed to accommodate widowed elderly or orphans.

In Huizong of Song Dynasty, the social relief system like this was further expanded, and at the same time, government education was further popularized in prefectures and counties.

Zhang Yue knocked on the door and entered.

The Chen Mansion is very small, there is a small courtyard at the entrance, then there is the living room, and after that there are three houses.

When Zhang Yue arrived with the gift, Chen Xiang was having dinner with his family in the hall.

Chen Xiang put down the bowl and came to see Zhang Yue.After seeing the ceremony, Zhang Yue presented Ouyang Xiu's letter as a gift. Chen Xiang looked Zhang Yue up and down, then nodded and asked, "I'm ashamed, my family has dinner early, let's sit down together and use it."

Zhang Yue saw that the other party's dishes were very simple, but three dishes and one soup, and he had eaten nearly half of it, so he said: "The student just ate some dim sum."

Chen Xiang smiled and said, "Sit down and don't look outside."

Speaking of asking the old servant to serve Zhang Yue with rice, Zhang Yue also brought the bowl to the table,

Zhang Yue Jiancai was just eating the rice.

Seeing this, Chen Xiang put a fish in Zhang Yue's bowl and asked: "When you came to the mansion, why did you just send a letter and leave?"

Zhang Yue said: "Mr. Gu Ling is busy with political affairs, the students dare not disturb him."

Chen Xiang said: "I have been an official in Pucheng for several years, and I am from Fujian like you. You really shouldn't be so polite to me."

"Yes, sir. Mr. Hu from the county school said that Mr. Gu Ling wrote to inquire about my homework?"

Chen Xiang said: "Indeed."

Zhang Yue didn't say anything, and continued to chop the rice with his chopsticks.

Seeing this, Chen Xiang thought, this son is an honest person.

After Zhang Yue finished his meal, he scooped up a bowl of clear soup and poured the rest of the rice into his stomach, until there was not a single grain of rice left.

Chen Xiang saw it in her eyes, nodded and said: "Let me test your homework."

Chen Xiang asked after a while and said: "Your knowledge of Confucian classics is very solid. Since you want to learn poetry and fu from me, then I will also tell you my experience."

Zhang Yue immediately showed a look of eagerness to listen.

"When I first learned poetry, I wanted to master its words and paintings, but I didn't realize it until I was middle-aged. I gradually got a glimpse of its grandeur and some proud lines."

"The poems of Li Taibai and Du Gongbu are like the wall of a master's wall. If you can't get in, you can't get in. Bai Letian and Yuan Zhen's poems can be peeped through the door."

"Poetry is one of the six arts, and it's not child's play. Therefore, if you want to learn poetry, you must first read the poems of the Wei, Jin, Han and Tang Dynasties, and memorize them one by one until you are familiar with them. However, no matter how familiar you are, you will not be able to reach the heels of the ancients."

Speaking of this, Chen Xiang said in those collections of poems: "You have read all the poems of the Tang people. These are all written by people today. Come here on the first day of the new month, and I will teach you how to compose poems."

Zhang Yue accepted the book, stood up and said, "Thank you sir."

Chen Xiang said: "Take these gifts back, I don't need them here."

Zhang Yue said: "How can this be done? The disciples of the Sage Sect must take the bundle and cultivate it. This is a proper gift for disciples."

After refusing for a while, Chen Xiang only accepted the apprenticeship ceremony, and let Zhang Yue take back the rest of the ancient books, pen and ink.

Chen Xiang smiled and said: "I can only spin horses in the hall here, and the dishes are only seasonal vegetables. Doesn't Saburo think that I am a sixth-rank official?"

Zhang Yue said: "Mr. is so diligent and thrifty, why do you say that you are shabby?"

Chen Xiangdao: "My ancestor lived in Guling in the previous life, and later moved to Taxiang. Like you, he was a young orphan. He was able to be admitted as a Jinshi and become an official. It all depends on the elders and elder brothers in the clan to take care of him, and save money for me. Reading, we have today."

"Now that I'm an official, I spend more than half of my salary back home to support my elder brothers and elders. As for the food and clothing, that's all I need. So it's not that I'm frugal, it's just to repay kindness."

Zhang Yue said: "The kindness of dripping water can be repaid by springs, not to mention the kindness of nurturing. I really envy my husband for having such a family relationship and elder brother."

Chen Xiang glanced at Zhang Yue and chanted, "The two sons take a boat to enjoy the scenery. I wish to talk about my son and raise him in the center."

"The second son took a boat, and passed away. I wish to say that I think of my son, without flaws and harm."

What Chen Xiang said came from the Book of Songs, and the two sons took a boat.

It is said that the two brothers left by boat, and the family members reluctantly said goodbye.

Zhang Yue listened to Chen Xiang's chanting, and couldn't help but think of the scene when his brother saw him off in Xianxialing.

"Back then, I bid farewell to my hometown and went to Beijing to take the exam. I traveled upstream along the Min River. At that time, the elders of my family saw me off by the river. I will never forget this scene in my life."

Chen Xiang's eyes were a little moist, as if recalling the past.

Zhang Yue said: "Thank you, sir. Apart from his brother and sister-in-law, Sanlang's family has no other people to repay. I am very moved to hear that Mr. read this."

Chen Xiang said to Zhang Yue: "Well, when it comes to poetry and prose, there is a difference between a gentleman and a villain. The poems of a villain are carved with insects, seals, seals, chapters and sentences to please people's eyes and ears, and what's more, they are friends and hypocrites. Playing the role of harming a good person means that those who speak words don’t need to be virtuous, so the morals of the world are corrupted and people’s hearts are not old.”

"However, a gentleman's poems and essays are bright at the time based on their achievements, and the rest are published as articles. Therefore, the poems of emperors and generals in ancient times have no intention of being essays, but they can work on their own. But if there is no practice, the gentleman should also write essays with virtue as the first, and essays Auxiliary, I feel something occasionally, and when the emotion comes, the writing comes."

Zhang Yue understood that Chen Xiang was talking about the truth of life with himself by talking about poetry.

He bowed and said, "Mr.'s words are all good words, the students have memorized them."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Yue said goodbye and left.

Chen Xiang's old servant carried a lantern and sent Zhang Yue to the door. At this time, it was getting dark, Zhang Yue turned around and bowed to the hall again, and then left Chen Xiang's house.

Zhang Yue originally thought that Chen Xiang would mention Zhang Dun in front of him today, but he didn't expect that the other party didn't say a word.

However, the Sima Twelve and Chen Xiang he saw today left a deep impression on him.

When Zhang Yue returned to Taixue, he saw Huang Haoyi lingering in front of the door of the Zhai before he entered the Zhai. The other party greeted Zhang Yue as soon as he saw Zhang Yue: "Sanlang, no matter what, you must help me."

Zhang Yue frowned and said, "What's the matter?"

Normally, Huang Haoyi would never stay in Taixue on Shuowang Day, how could he be in Taixue today?This matter must not be small.

Seeing that Huang Haoyi was about to shed tears, Zhang Yue said, "Are you going to borrow money from me again?"

Huang Haoyi was startled, and then said: "Sanlang, you already know?"

Zhang Yue said in his heart, does this need to be said?

On weekdays, Huang Haoyi often borrows money from himself, but even though he borrows money, he is very good at it.

But Huang Haoyi also gave Zhang Yue a headache for borrowing money so frequently. Why are you so short of money?

Zhang Yue said: "How much do you borrow this time?"

After these days, Zhang Yue engraved seals and gifts from Ouyang Xiu and his son, and he also has more than a dozen net worth.

"Sanlang, can you lend me twenty guan first?"

"Twenty strings?" Zhang Yue couldn't help but said, "How do I have this money? Why did you tell me in advance?"

Huang Haoyi said: "Sanlang is like this, his family told me about marriage in Beijing..."

Zhang Yue said in his heart, okay, the marriage will be settled so soon.

"Where is it from?" Zhang Yue still felt a little jealous in his heart at the moment.

Huang Haoyi said: "It's the daughter of Liu Jiancheng, the capital water supervisor."

Zhang Yue praised: "Okay, Shiro, this marriage is really good!"

Huang Haoyi said embarrassingly: "His family is a yin official, and he usually eats salary. He has no dispatch, and there is nothing to congratulate. It is not considered a high position or a marriage."

Zhang Yue knew that due to the serious redundancy of officials in the Song Dynasty, a large number of officials were not assigned duties.These officials also live in the capital, and they occasionally go to the imperial city on weekdays, and even take a long vacation. Anyway, the imperial court has no official position for you, and it doesn't care about you.

However, as a scholar, Huang Haoyi can marry the daughter of an official family, which is quite a good marriage. In the eyes of most scholars, it is at least better than marrying a businessman.

"Do you mean that you are in the right family? Just like you are already burning incense."

Huang Haoyi also smiled after being rebuked by Zhang Yue.

"Then why do you want to borrow money? Is it because the bride price is not enough?"

Zhang Yue knew that marriage comparisons were very serious in the Song Dynasty. As the saying goes, "When marrying a woman, first ask how rich the assets are; when marrying a daughter, first ask how much money is hired."

Anyway, sky-high betrothal gifts will kill people wherever they go.If it is really a matter of dowry, Zhang Yue sees it as a fellow townsman and classmate, so he should be more considerate. The other classmates in the house are also the same, it's just a matter of helping more and helping less.

Huang Haoyi looked dejected and said: "That's not true, my brother and sister-in-law have already arranged for me the money for the bride price, but... it's just that I let the woman's family know about the fact that I was raising a concubine outside."

Zhang Yue heard that his heart really hates iron but not steel, and immediately yelled: "Silang, I told you a long time ago that if you don't marry a wife and raise a daughter outside, this is a matter of ruining your reputation. You and I can save it by eating one. Forget it, now something has happened? You can take care of this matter yourself, forgive me for being powerless."

(End of this chapter)