Five years of county magistrate, 100 million catties of grain shocked Li Shimin

Chapter 122 Reading is Difficult, Difficult to Go to the Sky

"My lord means
Su Chen looked at Fang Yuan tentatively and said.

He led people to arrest Zhang Ji, but was stopped by the people of Sanjia Village.

But in the face of those troublemakers, Su Chen actually didn't care about them at all.

It was only at that time that people said that Sanjia Village was protected by Fang Yuan, so they didn't dare to arrest people by force.

"Let Si Gong come out to see the officer."

Fang Yuan pondered for a moment, and asked someone to call Si Gong next door.

Destroying billboards is interfering with state government policies, which is a serious crime.

But the people in Sanjia Village all stopped arresting people, and if they were arrested by force, it would definitely have a great impact.

Now that the imperial examination is about to be popularized, but people are forced to pass, which is contrary to the promotion of the imperial examination. We must first understand the situation before we speak.

"Lord Inspector, are you calling me?"

Si Gong Wang Wenshu walked out and saluted Fang Yuan and Su Chen.

"Zhang Ji, Sanjia Village, Liaoshan County, do you know?"

Fang Yuan looked at him and said.

"know a little."

Wang Wenshu said with a trembling body.

"Tell me about him, don't hide anything."

Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.

"This Zhang Ji participated in the imperial examination five times during the reign of Wude, but failed every time."

"Xiaguan has presided over his three imperial examinations, and I have also seen his handwriting and strategy. But he is a bit ugly, so he has not been able to pass the exam."

"The last time he made a big fuss in the examination room, threatening injustice, saying that the imperial examinations were created for the children of aristocratic families, and he was imprisoned for a few days because of this. Later, his old mother was seriously ill, and orphans and widows were released."

Seeing Fang Yuan's face was serious, Wang Wenshu didn't dare to hide anything, so he said slowly.

"Just because it's ugly?"

Fang Yuan frowned and said.

The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were quite strange, with four talents and three real talents as the selection criteria.

The four talents are body, speech, writing, and judgment; the three virtues are virtue, talent, and effectiveness.

Body means good health and good looks, the appearance should be more ordinary than handsome, and it should have something to do with being handsome.

This judgment is made by local officials and examiners, and whether it is ugly or not is just a matter of their words.

This gave the local invigilators a lot of power, and they could directly eliminate candidates with ordinary backgrounds.

Of course, they don't dare to take it if it's really ugly. After all, they have to go to Beijing to catch the exam after the provincial exam, and the Ministry of Officials will check it.

"There is nothing we can do about the imperial court's regulations."

Wang Wenshu said awkwardly.

"You go down."

Fang Yuan waved his hands and said helplessly.

If someone secretly interferes, Fang Yuan can still make things right.

But the problem of the imperial examination itself, Fang Yuan has no way to solve it.

It is a matter for the whole country, not a state or a county.

"Yes."

Wang Wenshu left with a sigh of relief.

"Master Inspector, do you want me to lock him up?"

Su Chen said in a deep voice.

He felt that since it was stipulated by the policy, then Zhang Ji had committed a crime and could be justifiably arrested.

"Let's go take a look, sir."

Fang Yuan thought for a while, shook his head and said.

Tang ruled the country with filial piety, and Zhang Ji supported his 80-year-old mother, who was respected by others.

If he is arrested, it will not be said that the government is at fault, but at least the implementation of the imperial examination will be hindered.

It is also a good thing to go and see for yourself, if the appearance is acceptable, it can be used to promote the case of the imperial examination.

"Yes."

Su Chen was taken aback for a moment, and immediately responded.

After confirming, Fang Yuan took Zhang San and Wang Wenshu and set off.

Not long after, Fang Yuan and the others arrived at the entrance of Sanjia Village.

Coincidentally, I met the head of Sanjia Village, who was replacing the billboard that was cut down.

"Master Inspector? Meet Lord Inspector!"

When the head of Sanjia Village saw Fang Yuan, he was startled.

Thinking it was a mistake, he rubbed his eyes before he dared to salute Fang Yuan.

The villagers working on the side didn't know Fang Yuan, but when they saw their village chief salute, they quickly saluted.

"Exemption."

"Village chief, take me to Zhang Ji's house."

Fang Yuan waved his hand and said politely.

"Lord Inspector, Zhang Jita, his mother is almost ninety, can you make an exception, and our village will help fix the billboard."

The village head begged.

The story of Zhang Ji chopping up the billboard has spread.

The villagers all felt that Zhang Jiting was wronged and felt unfair for Zhang Ji.

But cutting down the billboard is not a trivial matter, so the village head spontaneously repaired the billboard with a few villagers.

"Village chief, don't worry, I'm not here to arrest Zhang Ji."

"I'm here to see if Zhang Ji has real talent, and I want to give him a chance."

Fang Yuan smiled lightly.

The old mother is almost ninety.

It is a rare old age in this age.

In case Zhang Ji's old mother is taken away by a commotion, it will be news all over the world.

"So it is, so it is"

"I just said that Lord Inspector is a good person and a good official, but those bastards are still suspicious. Please, Lord Inspector."

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief, and said excitedly again.

He let the villagers continue to work, and took Fang Yuan to the village.

Su Chen who followed at the side looked at Fang Yuan in surprise, then quickly lowered his head to follow.

This is the second time for Fang Yuan to come to Sanjia Village, the first time he didn't enter the village to see.

When I came in this time, I found that every household in the village was an earthen house, and a slightly better one could be used as a pipa courtyard.

Generally speaking, they are all villagers in a difficult environment. It is not obvious that any family is rich, and there is no mansion.

Not long after, the news of Fang Yuan's visit to Sanjia Village spread, many curious villagers gathered around, and even the brave ones greeted Fang Yuan.

Most of Fang Yuan responded, he was very close to the people, which deepened the people's impression of Fang Yuan.

Soon, Fang Yuan came to a mud house.

From the outside of the dilapidated guardrail, one side of the two doors of the earthen house was broken, and the threshold was also decayed.

Looking inside again, there is only a rotten table empty, and there are some wet grooves on the ground, and it feels that the air is filled with a decaying atmosphere.

Looking at the top of the groove, there are cracks in the tiles. Sunlight is coming in through the cracks, and rainwater is dripping from the cracks when it rains.

"Zhou Zhou, this Zhang Ji may be lazy."

Zhang San leaned closer to Fang Yuan's ear, whispering.

Fang Yuan heard it, but didn't respond, and looked at the village chief beside him.

The village chief didn't hear him, he had already walked into the guardrail, ready to call for someone.

But as soon as he entered the yard, he saw Zhang Ji's old mother collecting firewood by the side.

"Aunt Zhang, is Zhang Ji here?"

The village head said loudly.

Instantly attracted the attention of Fang Yuan and the others.

Following the voice of the village chief, I saw an old woman sitting on the ground.

The old grandma's hair was completely white, her face was sallow, her bones were bony, her waist was bent, and she struggled to stack the firewood on the ground neatly.

The first call of the village chief did not attract the attention of the old lady, nor did the second call, until the third call came to her side.

"Oh~, village chief, you want to scare me to death~"

Aunt Zhang bounced her body, said while stroking her chest with her right hand.

"Excuse me, Aunt Zhang, where is Zhang Ji now?"

The village chief smiled sarcastically, embarrassed.

"Why are you looking for Zhang Ji?"

"Then, did those people arrest Zhang Ji?"

Aunt Zhang wasn't too confused, when she heard that the village head was looking for Zhang Ji, she immediately looked around.

Soon after seeing Fang Yuan and the others at the door, panic appeared on their faces, and their voices also became flustered.

"That's Lord Inspector, not Zhang Ji."

The village head said loudly.

But Aunt Zhang didn't seem to hear it at this time.

She turned over and knelt on the ground, and kowtowed towards Fang Yuan.

"Please don't arrest Zhang Ji, please don't arrest Zhang Ji, it's all my fault, you should arrest me, arrest me."

Aunt Zhang cried and begged.

Almost 90 years old, whining and crying like a knife cut on everyone.

There were villagers watching around the scene, shaking their heads and sighing, unable to see the scene in front of them.

Fang Yuan also sighed in his heart, walked quickly towards Aunt Zhang, Zhang San and others quickly followed.

"Aunt Zhang, Lord Inspector did not come to arrest Zhang Ji."

The village head jittered, quickly squatted down, and said while helping Aunt Zhang up.

Aunt Zhang was as skinny as a stick, and he was lifted up with a little force.

But Aunt Zhang was bent over and couldn't stand up straight. She might only be one meter tall at present.

"Aunt Zhang, you have misunderstood, I am not here to arrest Zhang Ji."

Fang Yuan just walked over, helped Aunt Zhang, and said nicely.

After touching Aunt Zhang's hand, Fang Yuan sighed in his heart: cold and dry.

"Really, really isn't it?"

Aunt Zhang stopped begging now.

He looked at Fang Yuan, then at the village chief.

There were still tears in the corners of her eyes, her body was trembling, and she was quite frightened just now.

"Really not, I promise in the name of the village chief!"

The village chief patted his chest and said.

After finishing speaking, he looked at Fang Yuan awkwardly, feeling that he spoke too fast.

But Fang Yuan didn't blame him, Aunt Zhang may trust the village head more now, it's better for him to say this.

"That's good, that's good, it scared me to death."

Aunt Zhang patted her chest and said with a sigh of relief.

"Aunt Zhang, this is Lord Inspector. I want to see Zhang Ji, where is Zhang Ji?"

The village head took the opportunity to ask.

"What did you say?"

"I'm hard of hearing."

Aunt Zhang stood on tiptoe, leaning her ear towards the village head.

"I asked, where is Zhang Ji?"

The village chief was helpless, and his voice became louder.

"I went to the vegetable field, and it may take a long time to come back."

Aunt Zhang pointed to the side.

"There is a vegetable field over there at Zhang Ji's house, walk over there and ask for a stick of incense, shall we?"

The village chief said quickly.

But before Fang Yuan could make a decision, there was a hurried voice outside the courtyard.

"Mother, mother, mother"

A middle-aged man pushed through the crowd and walked in.

He is lame, dark-skinned, and his facial features are fairly straight, except that he has a bald spot on the top of his head.

Soon, Zhang Ji walked in front of the crowd, and only after seeing that his mother was fine, did he notice Fang Yuan and the others.

"You, you?"

Zhang Ji was startled and took a step back.

He didn't know Fang Yuan, nor Su Chen, but he knew the official uniforms worn by Fang Yuan and Su Chen.

A governor, a county magistrate, and possibly a long history, and a group of state officials.

I just cut down two billboards to vent my anger, so do I need so many big shots to catch me?
"Zhang Ji, this is Lord Inspector, why don't you hurry up and salute?"

The village chief reminded him.

"Grass, grass people pay respects to Lord Inspector."

Zhang Ji took another step back in fright.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he managed to calm down and salute.

"No courtesy, no need to be restrained. This officer is here to chat with you, not to arrest you."

"Village chief, let the villagers go back separately. It's not good to have so many people around here."

Fang Yuan said indifferently.

"Yes Yes."

The village head quickly responded.

Let go of Aunt Zhang's hand, go to the door and drive the villagers away.

Soon, the villagers left, and the village chief came back again, watching Fang Yuan waiting for the next step.

"You take Aunt Zhang aside first, I want to have a chat with Zhang Ji alone."

Fang Yuan pondered for a moment, then said softly.

"Ok."

The village head should be, come to help Aunt Zhang.

"My lord, Zhang Jitao knew he was wrong, so please don't arrest him, okay?"

Aunt Zhang didn't hear what Fang Yuan said, but seeing that the village chief was going to take her away, she thought Fang Yuan was going to take Zhang Ji away.

"Don't worry, Aunt Zhang, I'm not here to arrest Zhang Ji."

Fang Yuan smiled.

"Aunt Zhang, don't worry, Mr. Inspector is a good person and a good official. If he says he won't be arrested, he won't be arrested."

The village head said loudly.

Only then did Aunt Zhang feel relieved and followed the village chief.

"Master, Mr. Governor, would you like a bowl of water?"

Zhang Ji said nervously.

"Then have a bowl of water."

Fang Yuan nodded calmly.

Looking at the situation at the scene, there is no place to sit.

Finally, Fang Yuan walked to a stone under a pomegranate tree and sat down.

Zhang San and Su Chen looked at it, but they didn't sit down in the end.

Soon, Zhang Ji came back, brought back two bowls of water, gave them to Fang Yuan and Zhang San, and was about to leave again.

"Okay, these two bowls are ours. If they need them, they can drink them by themselves."

Fang Yuan waved his hand and said.

He had already seen Zhang Ji draw water from the well.

For rural people, this is how they drink water. They don't have the concept of boiling, and they waste firewood.

"See, sorry."

Zhang Ji said embarrassingly to Zhang San and the others.

Zhang San shook his head to express that it was all right, while Zheng Jiu went directly to fetch water.

"Zhang Ji, I learned that you cut down the billboard of the state capital."

Fang Yuan's expression froze, and he said in a deep voice.

"Sir, Mr. Governor, please forgive me. The grassroots were so angry that they did something stupid. Please forgive me, forgive me."

Zhang Ji was startled and almost knelt down.

"I'm here this time, not to hold you accountable, but I'm not an example."

Fang Yuan's expression remained calm.

"Yes Yes Yes."

Zhang Ji heaved a sigh of relief, his back almost sweating from fear.

"I came here this time because I heard that you have some talents, so I want to give you a chance."

"But I'm sorry to say that, with your image, even if I am willing to give you a chance, the official department will not give you a chance."

Fang Yuan sighed.

If there is only a spot of baldness on the top of the head, you can barely pass the test with a little hair change.

But if the leg is also lame, the problem will be serious, and the officials will definitely not be able to pass the test.

Just like Li Chengqian's powerful status, his status was also shaken by his lameness.

"I, it wasn't like that at the time!"

"I don't have a limp, and I don't have so little hair!"

Zhang Ji was suddenly a little angry, and said in a deep voice full of hatred.

Fang Yuan frowned, and looked at Wang Wenshu who came with him.

"Zhang Ji's legs were still good when he took the last imperial examination, and his alopecia areata was not so big."

Wang Wenshu explained.

He doesn't know what happened next.

"Do you still want to take the imperial examination?"

Fang Yuan pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhang Jidao.

"I don't want to, I can't pass the exam."

Zhang Ji shook his head and sighed.

"Will you still denounce the darkness of the imperial examination?"

Fang Yuan continued to ask.

"Lord Inspector, I, I won't dare next time."

Zhang Ji was startled, and waved his hands again and again.

He drank a little wine that day, thinking about what happened to him, he did something wrong.

"Hmph, now you know you don't dare, but do you know how difficult it will be for me to carry out the imperial examination because of your actions?"

Fang Yuan snorted coldly.

If Zhang Ji's particularity and situation were not taken into account, sitting face to face would not be possible now.

"With all due respect to the grassroots, it is better for Mr. Governor not to bother about implementing the imperial examinations."

Zhang Jisan smiled mockingly, but gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice.

“How come you see?”

Fang Yuan frowned, dissatisfied.

Zhang San and the others also stared at Zhang Ji with uneasy expressions.

"It is difficult to study, but it is difficult to go to the blue sky."

"Study is so difficult, why do you still have to take the imperial examination?"

Zhang Ji sighed.

At this moment, his eyes are full of vicissitudes and endings.

"Tell me how difficult it is to go to the blue sky while studying."

Fang Yuan frowned deeper, said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)