My uncle's name is Zhu Di

Chapter 345 Extra Story: Prodigal Son

"My real name is Xu Xianzhong, we classmates can get to know each other again."

"Sure enough!" Yu Qian's tone was calm, not too strange.

"You guessed it?"

"I guessed it just now. After all, being so familiar with the court's procedures must be due to family background."

Xu Xianzhong blinked his eyes, "That's right, when it comes to these things, no one knows better than my father."

Yu Qian lowered his head, and after a while, he asked, "Then... just to let me know, what do you think of me as a classmate? Why are you willing to help?"

"Help? Didn't I say, you help me first! As a classmate, how can I let you suffer!" Xu Xianzhong said with a smile: "Well, don't look at me as a sloppy person, but it is still useful at critical moments. You can also take over the cleaning of the house later on."

Yu Qian laughed and said, "Just let me do this, wouldn't it be an advantage?"

"It doesn't matter." Xu Xianzhong said with a smile: "Anyway, I am optimistic about you, and I will rely on you in the future!"

Yu Qian was surprised, although he was considered a scholarly family, he was incomparable with the Xu family, one was in the sky and the other was on the ground, and it seemed that the son of the Xu family had the status of Marquis of Wuyang.

"I'm a student, how can I help you? What's more, I may not be able to pass this test."

"No, no, no!" Xu Xianzhong shook his head again and again, "Student Yu Qian, do you know why I said to rely on you?"

Yu Qian shook his head.

"It's very simple, you study well!"

Yu Qian was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I've learned a lot, so it seems like I'm nothing!"

"That's different... It's amazing to study well and have integrity."

Yu Qian blinked his eyes and said with a wry smile: "That's a poem I wrote a few years ago. Naturally, I couldn't help being a little arrogant. When I arrived in the capital and entered the Imperial Academy, I found that things are not that simple."

Xu Xianzhong said with a smile: "Actually, it's nothing complicated. It's just that for so many years, although science has been advocated and students are required to be generalists, in fact, the proportion of liberal arts is still too large...Of course, people like you who can write poetry, It’s very rare to be able to do arithmetic, even better than me.”

Yu Qian paused, but did not refute... He is in Taixue, and basically dominates the rankings.Xu Xianzhong was far behind, and could even be said to be the last one. The only thing worthy of praise is that his math performance is not bad, and he can often be close to the top three.

But at the moment, on Taixue's side, articles are still the main thing...and the more beautiful the article is, the more obscure the words are, the easier it is to get a high score in the exam.

Some people even said in private that ancient prose is the most difficult, and it is easy to learn ancient prose and other things... The same is true in the current imperial examinations.

More than half of the newcomers who can sneak into the officialdom every year are in ancient Chinese.

Yu Qian wrote an article to refute this trend, and as a result, he poked a hornet's nest and invited the Inspector's Office to question him.

"When I write articles, I just say what I think in my heart. People speak lightly, so it's hard to say what's useful... I just can't bear it. In the future, I will be mediocre and live in officialdom."

Xu Xianzhong smiled and said, "That's it, classmate Yu Qian, do you know Chen Xun, the champion of the last subject?"

Yu Qian blinked his eyes, "I know, I saw him when he praised the official, he is very handsome and elegant."

"Stupid too!"

"madness?"

"Well, last year, he signed a contract to sell a coal mine in Liaodong to a merchant...but he miscalculated the cost of road construction, and he hasn't considered the compensation for the Jurchen tribe... The result is a loss of 300 million taels!"

"300 million taels? So much?" Yu Qian said in surprise, "Then the number one scholar may be in trouble."

"No, he has already been promoted to the Imperial Academy."

"How?" Yu Qian asked in surprise.

"There's nothing surprising... Not only that, he has also become a lecturer to His Royal Highness the Prince."

"lecturer?"

"Yes... about the laws of Ming Dynasty, especially the commercial law part."

"This is so absurd!" Yu Qian exclaimed: "How can the court stand by and watch such a malpractice?"

Xu Xianzhong spread his hands, "In fact, many people are unwilling to pursue this matter."

"why?"

"First...he is the No. [-] Scholar, an example of a literati, and it is inevitable that he made some mistakes. Secondly, such mistakes abound."

"Everywhere?" Yu Qian couldn't believe his ears.

"There is nothing surprising about this... Over the years, business has developed rapidly, and there have been many things that far exceeded the court's expectations. It is normal for those ministers to make mistakes. It is said that if this matter is investigated, it will implicate Huang Huai. Mr. Huang, after all, Chen Xun was the one who called Chen Xun to be in charge of the contract."

Yu Qian was dumbfounded when he heard that, Huang Huai is currently in charge of the Du Branch Minister, and the power in his hand is astonishingly great...

After Xu Jingchang removed the Tongzheng Envoy, although the Tongzheng Envoy was still the head of all officials, his power was much weaker.

At present, there are several real power ministries in Ming Dynasty... the first is the official department that manages people, and the second is the Du branch that manages financial power.

How much money flowed out of a large pen in the Du branch... This yamen actually arranges a stupid car, I can't even imagine it!
Yu Qian frowned deeply, "I really don't understand. Is it so difficult to judge the case impartially and distinguish right from wrong?"

Xu Xianzhong said: "Maybe it's not difficult, but it takes courage."

"Courage?" Yu Qian said seriously, "What should I do?"

Xu Xianzhong smiled and said: "I only know that His Highness the Crown Prince will hold a sutra feast soon."

"Jingyan?"

"Yes!" Xu Xianzhong said with a smile: "At that time, the speaker was our champion Chen Xun!"

Yu Qian frowned. It was too much for such a pedantic nerd to teach the prince... But when he thought about it, he felt helpless, "What if I know? I can't do anything about it."

Xu Xianzhong thought for a while, and said with a smile: "I want to ask you something, if you can appear at the Sutra Banquet, can you find a way to pierce Chen Xun's painting?"

Yu Qian said indifferently: "Even if there is a way, what can I do? They won't invite me to go! Can you make the decision?"

Xu Xianzhong smiled and said: "I can't be the master, but it's not difficult to be a person. You know, when it comes to fighting crickets, His Royal Highness is not my opponent."

"Fighting crickets?" Yu Qian pondered: "How can His Royal Highness play with things and lose one's ambition?"

Xu Xianzhong smiled and said: "He didn't have much ambition... he was about five years old. When I was five years old, he couldn't beat me."

Yu Qian was a little taken aback, "You are so good, why haven't I seen you play?"

Xu Xianzhong shook his head with a smile, "I'm tired of playing with... such as walking the dog with an eagle, raising grasshoppers and fighting crickets, training dogs to chase rabbits, I am proficient in everything, but I don't like it that much, I just throw it aside after playing. "

When Xu Xianzhong said this, he dragged Yu Qian and said: "Let's go outside the Jubao Gate and pick some good crickets. I will go to His Royal Highness and tell him that they are fighting crickets. Let him stay for us to attend the class together, and then we will kill Chen Xun. Rip off your face!"

Yu Qian paused, still hesitating, but Xu Xianzhong couldn't wait any longer. As soon as he stretched out his hand to hold Yu Qian, he walked outside...Xu Xianzhong is really familiar with the road, and he went directly to Jubao Gate.

This place is really bustling... All kinds of food, drink, play, and trouble, everything is available.

"Let me tell you, crickets, grasshoppers, these insects are nothing...the real money is spent on hounds, famous horses, and sea dongqing...these things are not cheap. .”

As Xu Xianzhong said, he pointed to a booth next to him, "See, this place sells pigeons, and pigeons are not easy to raise. If you want to train them well, you don't have a thousand fortunes, so it's not enough. I don't know which prodigal son. I like it." play this..."

As he was talking, he found a carriage coming from the opposite side, and it must have stopped in front of the booth.

Xu Xianzhong's face suddenly turned green, the old prodigal son is here!

"That...Student Yu Qian, let's go quickly!"

"Let's go? Don't you want to pick on crickets?"

At this moment, a person jumped out of the carriage, glanced at it, and said: "These pigeons are not good! They are all ordinary products, and they can only be fooled by laymen if they are taken out to set up a stall!"

The boss immediately said: "You are holy... Isn't it true that there are few players who know how to do it! Ten days and a half months, I can't meet such a big expert like you... The little one can see it, and I will immediately move the best ones for you." Come."

The man nodded and looked around again, just in time to see Xu Xianzhong.

"That... the prodigal son is looking at you!" Yu Qian reminded in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)