Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 193 Prelude

The sky was slightly hazy, and there were no court meetings all year round during the Tianbao period. The birdsong and breeze in the early morning made everything look leisurely and beautiful.

Chen Xilie had already played a set of Five Animals in the courtyard and was sweating slightly. He sat in the hall and let the maids comb his hair and massage the acupuncture points on his forehead to brighten his eyes, dispel wind, and prevent headaches and tinnitus.

It is precisely because of such careful maintenance over the years that even though he is over fifty, he does not have too many gray hairs.

"Which yamen will your husband attend today?" asked his wife Wei, preparing to arrange a groom.

Chen Xilie closed his eyes and thought for a while, then sighed: "Go to the Secretary's Office."

"This is strange. Normally I can't go there even once a month. How can I go there in two consecutive days?"

"A Bi Mawen is here. I have to keep him in jail and don't cause any more trouble."

"What is Bi Mawen?"

"Ah, I know!" the little grandson who was playing in the hall shouted loudly: "Sun Wukong should not be Bima Wen, but should be the Monkey King and cause havoc in the heaven!"

Chen Xilie laughed and scolded: "Little naughty boy, peeking into my book?"

"No, my grandson heard the story from my sister. She also said that she wanted to marry the number one scholar."

"Go away, a monkey that can't be chained is not easy to marry."

Chen Xilie dismissed his grandson, packed it up slowly, and got up to go to the office. Mrs. Wei followed behind and sighed: "Oh, how could we be so busy in the past? My husband must have worked too hard."

When the secretary's time was just about time, the handymen, craftsmen, and calligraphers had already arrived and were working in an orderly manner. Going around to the official mansion at the back, officials were still coming one after another.

In the middle hall, Chao Heng and several envoys to the Tang Dynasty were busy copying books again, while Jiang Jiangming came belatedly. There were more than ten fruit trees in the back courtyard, which were in bloom but had not yet produced fruit. Xiao Yingshi sat under the tree, making tea and closing his eyes. I am thinking about the article.

"Supervisor Chen." The officials saluted one after another.

"No need to be polite." Chen Xilie said with a smile, "Take the scroll and read it. Call me when Xue Bai arrives."

"Go back to Supervisor Chen. Principal Xue has arrived and was sewing in the academy just now."

"So early?"

Chen Xilie was curious about what Xue Bai was doing in a place where subordinates were waiting, so he went there in person.

When I arrived at Xiu Academy, I saw Xue Bai talking to several craftsmen and calligraphers. One of the calligraphers looked very excited and was talking non-stop.

"If you do what the Number One Scholar said, you should be given more monthly salary, right?"

"Uncle Yin Twelve, this is the truth." Xue Bai said, "I have to make this request to Supervisor Chen first."

From a distance, Chen Xilie stopped when he heard this and asked his entourage to summon Xue Bai over.

"The number one scholar came early. At your age, you should have the same enthusiasm for starting a family."

"I'm worried about you, Supervisor Chen, and we're already making arrangements," Xue Bai said.

"Really?" Chen Xilie was quite surprised. He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I have to be worthy of such a handsome man like you, so I won't be disappointed."

"It's worthy of me. In fact, it's me who has climbed higher."

"Okay, okay, young people should listen more to the advice of the elderly." Chen Xilie sighed, "You, after entering the secretarial department, you should take some time to relax. As soon as the wind is over, many things will pass. The so-called 'can't bear it,' You can't do everything for the benefit of the world. Come, I will lead the way for you."

The word "lead the way" not only leads Xue Bai's official way to take charge of affairs, but also the way he intends to lead Xue Bai's officialdom.

Xue Bai was also very sensible and did not propose to increase monthly salary for craftsmen and regular calligraphers at this time.

Today I went directly to the bookstore.

The Book Pavilion is located in the center of the entire Secretariat Department, just behind the atrium lobby, separated by a fruit forest.

"This is the Secretary's Book Pavilion, which is divided into four parts, the 'Classics and History Collection'. There are twelve study rooms, each with sixteen rows of shelves. Currently, there are 81,789 volumes of books."

Xue Bai listened to Chen Xilie's talk and looked around. He saw a portrait of Confucius posted on the main door. Immediately, a clerk came forward, saluted Confucius, and slowly opened the door of the bookshelf.

There are fine dust floating in the morning light, and at the same time, the scent of books comes to my face.

The volumes of books are lying quietly on the shelf, without saying a word, but they seem to be silently telling the wisdom of the ancestors over a long time.

Chen Xilie didn't rush in. When the dust cleared, he stood there and started talking about his achievements again.

"Today, I lead the Secretariat Province with the honor of the Left Prime Minister, and I have restored Lantai's reputation. But do you know who brought the Secretary Province back to life before me?"

"Supervisor He?"

"What about earlier?"

"I don't know."

Chen Xilie raised his hand, pointed to the courtyard to the west, and said: "That's the Bachelor's College over there. In the fifth year of Kaiyuan, the book envoy Ma Huaisu submitted a letter to reorganize the book catalogue, and the Guozi doctors Wei Zhizhang, Wang Xun, Yin Jianyou, Wei Shu, and Yu Qin More than 20 famous Confucian scholars such as Guan Yu and others checked it."

Among these famous scholars, Xue Bai only knew Wei Shu.

Chen Xilie said: "Ma Huaisu took the lead in cataloging and compiled it into 200 volumes of "Qunshu Sibulu". Unfortunately, Ma Huaisu died of illness before it was completed. Later, Yuan Xingchong took over to complete it. Unfortunately, the catalog and the books no longer match, so no Xuan once said, 'There are always lingering regrets, and secret thoughts are chasing the snow'."

Xue Bai looked around and saw that the west courtyard was empty, and there were not a few famous scholars compiling books. He couldn't help but ask: "Why doesn't Supervisor Chen continue this matter?"

Chen Xilie waved his hands lightly, not wanting to answer the young man's innocent question, he put his hands behind his back and led Xue Bai into the library.

"For all four books, there must be three copies, the original, the copy, and the storage copy. The original is for the saints to read; the copy is for rewards and for borrowing by ministers and officials; the storage copy does not need to be said much, just save the copy..."

After roughly introducing it, Chen Xilie took two volumes of books and handed them to Xue Bai's hands. Both volumes were "Huang Ting Jing".

"Look, which one is the original and which one is the copy?"

Xue Bai has been watching his movements very seriously and said: "The original and the copy are both made of purple wood as the axis. The original book has a small seal stamped on the seam, and the copy has a bookmark? The storage version uses white wood as the axis?"

"Not bad." Chen Xilie stroked his beard and looked up at the shelf. Only then did he realize that many copies were missing.

Xue Bai also noticed it and asked: "Is the editor going to copy these missing copies?"

"No need, I have my own regular script handwriting."

"Then what should I do?"

Chen Xilie yawned and murmured after a while: "Let's find Ke Dou."

At this time, the two of them had been shopping for two minutes and returned to the bachelor's hall of the West Academy. Chen Xilie pointed to the two volumes of "Huang Ting Sutra" in Xue Bai's hand and said, "You can just proofread this sutra."

"I wonder when it needs to be completed?"

"When?" Chen Xilie seemed sleepy and rarely answered. He just said casually: "It's not urgent, it's not urgent."

With that said, he yawned again and turned back to his mansion to rest.

Xue Bai sat down behind the writing desk, spread out the two volumes of "Huang Ting Jing", glanced at them, and couldn't help but be surprised. It's not because of the content, which is nothing more than self-cultivation, but because the handwriting on these two volumes of scripture is so extraordinary.

Liu Taizhen was holding a book and reading it. In fact, she was secretly observing Xue Bai's reaction and smiled at this time.

It turns out that the original version of "Huang Ting Jing" is Wang Xizhi's regular script that Chu Sui imitated.

Looking at the copy again, although it was handwritten in regular script by the Secretary of the Ministry of Education, there are a few words that were crossed out and rewritten by Yan Zhenqing, the school secretary twelve years ago. This is "looking for Ke Dou", that is, finding and correcting typos.

"Why hasn't this copy been given out yet?"

"Because there was also Jixian Yuan, and the secretarial department was located in the imperial city, it was inconvenient for saints to read books. So Jixian Yuan was established in the Daming Palace to share the responsibility of collecting books."

"I see."

Xue Bai still compared and proofread the two volumes of books in his hand, while the officials in the West Academy were making tea, reading books, painting, playing chess, or copying books, all of them were at ease.

~~

Chen Xilie also prepared a soft couch in the official residence of the Secretariat. After sleeping for more than half an hour, he felt more energetic when he woke up.

After rearranging his clothes, he summoned the clerk and said, "I will have dinner early today. I also got the memorial to be approved by the political hall before returning to the house."

"Well, let's arrange a dinner party."

Another attendant helped Chen Xilie up and said, "My husband has to keep an eye on a ninth-grade official for the past two days. It's really hard."

"Just don't cause trouble. Now that he's in this quiet yamen, he should live in peace for a while."

Thinking that the secretariat department would disperse after today's dinner, Chen Xilie went all the way to the middle hall and saw Xue Bai talking with a group of officials.

Jiang Jiangming, Xiao Yingshi and others were all stroking their beards and thinking deeply, but Chao Heng looked very excited. Of course, he was like this no matter what happened.

Chen Xilie stepped forward and said with a smile: "What are you talking about? Let's eat."

"Supervisor Chen, Zhuangyuan Lang said that he wants to write a letter to the saint, increase the number of secretaries and ministers, and revive the reputation of Lantai!"

"There's no rush." ​​Before Chen Xilie could react, a paper manuscript had been handed into his hand.

Xue Bai stood in front of him and said: "I have a few ideas, please check with Supervisor Chen. For one thing, the Secretariat Department can compile a comprehensive collection of classics and historical records based on the "Quanshu Sibulu". The books on astronomy, geography, medicine, and craftsmanship are all compiled into one book; secondly, instead of being borrowed by various ministers and officials, the copies of the books of the Secretary's Department are better open to the students of the Imperial Academy and the emperors of all states, and even the world is eager to learn. Scholars must make the best use of everything; thirdly, I once presented the "movable type printing" to the saint, but it may be useless elsewhere. The secretary can save a set of printing templates. In addition to printing ancient books, he can also print the saint's edicts below. People, promote the prosperity of Tang Dynasty's articles..."

Although Chen Xilie didn't quite understand it yet, he was keenly aware that each of these three things was unacceptable.

He still had some self-restraint. Although he was denying it in his heart, there was still a kind smile on his face, and he said: "We will talk about it in a few days after I take a closer look. We will eat first."

Xue Bai was well versed in these sects and refused to give him a chance to shirk the blame. He said: "We have been talking for a while and we all think it is feasible. How about asking Supervisor Chen to write a letter to the saint?"

"No way." Chen Xilie had to say: "None of the three are trivial matters. Let's talk about compiling the book first. More than 20 scholars have been checking and proofreading it for many years, and they haven't even been able to compile the bibliography. To compile a Dacheng-like book, you need to have some skills. How many people? How many years will it take? It’s a must.”

Xue Bai didn't know whether he was naive or ignorant, and responded: "Since the Tang Dynasty was in its prime, how can it be impossible? If there are not enough scholars, we can recruit scholars from all over the world. We all just thought that Wei Gong, the great scholar of the Imperial Academy and Jixian Hall, He can take on the important task of presiding over this matter.”

Chen Xilie shook his head, not listening to this at all, and continued: "As for opening the Secretariat for ordinary students to access books, it is even more impossible. What if the books in the Secret Palace are damaged? It is not advisable, absolutely not advisable."

"Just take out the copies, and at the same time recruit more officials to manage it. If Prime Minister Zuo wants to revive Lantai's reputation, shouldn't there be more scholars and officials? Since these Japanese students can copy books, Tang Dynasty students can't borrow them. ? Otherwise, if a hundred thousand years later, the books here decay and no one cares about them, will we still have to go to Japan to find the books they copied?"

"That's nonsense, that's nonsense. Recruiting scholars and officials? How can you get so much money for you to squander?"

Xue Bai said: "When articles are passed down from generation to generation, paper is dead but people are alive. Before our ancestors had paper and pen, they passed it on orally so that the inheritance would not be lost. Now we have pen, ink, paper and inkstone, printing technology, and the heritage of this prosperous age. , Why are 80,000 volumes of books shelved in a high cabinet? Why are well-educated people unable to show their talents? Why are they squandering money like sand and unwilling to devote a small part to inherit the unique knowledge of the sages?"

Jiang Jiangming, Xiao Yingshi and others were deep in thought, but at this time they were finally moved. They walked out slowly and stood beside Xue Bai. Although they did not say a word, they already expressed their support for this matter.

Although Chen Xilie didn't understand what "movable type printing" was, he knew that it must be just talk on paper and flashy. He shook his head repeatedly, stopped refuting each other, and began to beat Xue Bai.

"Young people inevitably have high aspirations when doing things. When you first enter the official career, you must not be tainted by such rhetoric. You should be down-to-earth and study hard."

Xue Bai had just entered the official position and had a lot of free time, so he planned to influence Chen Xilie with the spring wind and rain, saying: "I am not talented, so I thought these three things can all be used to embellish the prosperous Tang Dynasty and highlight the saint's eternal achievements. The left prime minister is still the saint who wrote the letter, everything is up to him. The Holy Judgment is appropriate."

"Yes! Supervisor Chen."

A short old man rushed forward, it was Chao Heng again.

When Chao Heng spoke, he nodded his head up and down, danced, and said in a high and steady tone: "If the saint can agree, it will be a grand event! We are lucky enough to participate in such a grand event, and our life will not be in vain!"

"It's unreasonable." Chen Xilie snorted, waved his hand and said: "This is absolutely impossible, don't mention it any more, and know how to eat."

Everyone was immediately disappointed and lamented.

Xue Bai just smiled and knew how to eat honestly.

Seeing the confident look on his face, Chen Xilie felt uneasy. After dinner, he privately summoned him to the veranda to give him instructions.

"Don't get into trouble again. We know that the aftermath of your turmoil in the Ministry of Etiquette is not over yet, so how can you still dare to stir up trouble?"

"Why should the Left Prime Minister feel like he is facing a formidable enemy? He is just writing a letter to make some small suggestions concerning Qingshui Yamen."

Chen Xilie was choked by this understatement. He was so angry that he almost threw away his sleeves, but he felt that his self-restraint was gradually not enough.

Glancing at Xue Bai again, he felt more and more anxious and had to remind: "Today is different from the past. If you dare to bypass the truth and directly submit a letter to the saint, you will be committing a taboo in official circles."

Xue Bai nodded calmly and was about to answer.

Chen Xilie added: "If you ask your uncle to submit a letter, he will be exceeding his authority."

The dignified Prime Minister of the Left seemed weak even in giving warnings.

"My uncle's interference in the general affairs of the Secretary's Department is an act beyond his authority. However, if my uncle leads the Secretary's Department and raises this matter again, it will not be an act beyond his authority."

After hearing this sentence, Chen Xilie's eyelids twitched. No matter how restrained he was, he finally lost his composure and threatened him severely.

"Can you still tolerate this when you become the Right Prime Minister?!"

Seeing that he was anxious, Xue Bai stopped pressing and slowed down his speech, saying: "In fact, if the saint can approve, all three of them will be the political achievements of the left prime minister. By then, Lantai's reputation will be greatly enhanced, and students all over the world will regard the left prime minister as their mentor. , he also guides the public opinion in the market and is the mouthpiece of the emperor. If the left prime minister is unwilling to take such credit, how can he stop others from reaching out to take it?"

"Don't use sweet words." Chen Xilie said sternly: "I am not such a power-hungry person."

He turned his back and looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, but there was a look of contemplation in his old eyes.

Xue Bai spoke sincerely and analyzed: "These three were indeed difficult to achieve in the past, but with the emergence of cheap and easy-to-obtain bamboo paper, sooner or later it will have an impact on books and scholarship, and changes are inevitable. The left prime minister chose to wait and see. Should we wait for others to take the lead, or should we proactively cater to the Holy Will and show our loyalty as a minister and our responsibility as a ruler to the people of the world?"

"Don't try to persuade me again."

Chen Xilie accidentally pulled off two beards.

Before, he was calm and calm when he kept teaching Xue Bai various principles, but at this moment, his mood was confused.

If you think about it carefully, according to the saint's nature of great success, if you submit a letter, you will definitely be satisfied with the saint. The question is, how do the Prime Minister and the world view this matter?

According to what Xue Bai said at the end, the Right Prime Minister can actually tell the truth.

"Don't be impatient. Wait for the true situation before you think about it, and make a decision before taking action."

"I'm not in a hurry," Xue Bai said, "but Prime Minister Zuo also knows that people like Yang Zhao, Yuan Zai and others are hyenas in the officialdom. They will pounce on meat when they see it."

Chen Xilie didn't mention how he felt. The decision-making power was not in his hands. After all, he couldn't agree to it, so he had to say sternly: "I've said it all, please don't act rashly. The truth has its own opinions."

~~

Chen Xilie was still calm and carefree when he went out in the early morning, but when he returned home that day, he was full of worries, twitching his beard and thinking endlessly.

"Why is Aweng unhappy? But Bima Wen has not surrendered and is going to make a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace?"

"This is not Bima Wen." Chen Xilie murmured: "On the contrary, I will be forced to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures."

Now that he said this, he was already slightly inclined to write to the saint and snatch this holy family member first.

No sleep for one night.

Chen Xilie has always paid attention to health preservation and has not been tossing and turning like this for many years.

After thinking about it all night, he finally did not dare to take the credit alone without telling Li Linfu. He got up early the next morning and hurried to the Prime Minister's Mansion. At the same time, because he was worried about Xue Bai, he sent an entourage to the Secretary's Department to keep an eye on him.

Sure enough, when Li Linfu saw Xue Bai's memorial, his face immediately darkened.

"I don't want to live in peace for a day!"

"Yes, he was supposed to go to the Secretariat Department next month, but this happened even though he didn't even wear official uniform." Chen Xilie rubbed his forehead.

Li Linfu's eyes showed displeasure, he flicked the manuscript in his hand, and then he changed the topic and murmured: "I accept the Holy Will. Since you and I can't object, we might as well go with the flow."

Chen Xilie reminded carefully: "I'm afraid someone will be dissatisfied."

"Don't be fooled. Do you really think this guy is stupid? He has a good sense of proportion and always gives up when he sees fit." Li Linfu said slowly: "Although these measures will eventually benefit poor students, the first ones to benefit are But he is a descendant of a branch of the aristocratic family."

"So I'm on the watch?"

Chen Xilie looked around and saw that Li Linfu was still deep in thought.

Although he could go along with the situation, Li Linfu had to first consider how to make the whole matter under his control instead of in the hands of Party Yang.

At this moment, Cang Bi came in a hurry and said, "Alang, the people around Zuo Xiang have come to see you."

"What's the matter?"

"Yes, Xue Bai went to see someone after going to the office yesterday..."

"Who?!"

"The grandson of Emperor Gaozong and the son of King Xu, Wei Weiqing, Secretary Supervisor, Li Guan and Li Gong."

"Secretary Supervisor?!"

Chen Xilie stood up quickly.

He then remembered that he was only the secretary to the young supervisor and the secretary to the provincial librarian. As for the secretary-supervisor, he was appointed by the nobles of the clan, but no matter what, Li Guan was the secretary-supervisor.

"How did you know?"

"I learned about it because Supervisor Li came to the Secretary's Department today to inspect the matter."

After hearing this, Li Linfu's face darkened and he seemed even more unhappy.

Chen Xilie was panicked and said uneasily: "Right Prime Minister, that Zhuzi is too cunning! But... we shouldn't let Li Guan write a letter and take the credit!"

There is no time for Li Linfu to consider how to control this matter.

He then waved his hand with a cold face and waved away Chen Xilie, the incompetent waste, and cursed secretly in his heart.

"Trash, not a single one worth using."

　The second chapter is probably very late today. I will post it tomorrow morning to save everyone the wait. Let’s read it tomorrow morning~~ Please give me a monthly vote, please give me a monthly vote~~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)