big song poppi

Chapter 646 [Great Etiquette]

"Hurry up, Mr. Guishan and Mr. Guci are discussing Taoism today. If you go too late, there will be no seats left."

"Don't hurry me, let me finish this bowl of soup noodles."

At a soup noodle stall in Wenguxiang, Dongcheng District, two young men in Confucian robes were sitting in front of the stall.

One of them was tall and thin, with an anxious and somewhat helpless look on his face, and he would occasionally look outside the alley.

The other man was fat and had a simple and honest look. He was holding a big bowl of seafood soup noodles and eating with relish, his enjoyment evident in his expression.

Seeing that there was not much left in his bowl, the tall and thin scholar advised: "Okay, hurry up and leave."

"Not urgent."

The honest young man said calmly, "Brother Songhe, you should know that every meal is not easy to come by; every piece of silk is not easy to produce."

Hearing this, the tall and thin scholar smiled bitterly.

Now that things have come to this, what else can he say? He can only suppress his anxiety and continue to wait for his friend to finish eating.

After finishing the last mouthful of soup, the honest young man let out a long sigh and exclaimed: "It's worthy of being Bianjing. The food in a small alley is so delicious."

After receiving the compliment, the soup noodle vendor boasted: "I'm not exaggerating, but my soup noodles are just as good as those sold in the 72 regular stores."

"Haha."

The honest young man laughed and asked, "How much?"

The vendor said with a smile, "Twenty-seven cents."

"Tsk!"

The honest young man smacked his lips and sighed inwardly at the high prices in Bianjing.

This bowl of soup noodles would cost at most fifteen cents in his hometown of Chengdu.

This is nothing. Accommodation is the biggest expense. A shabby homestay in a small courtyard in an outer city alley costs 800 wen a day. What's even more outrageous is that there is still a shortage of supply.

Seeing this, the vendor hurriedly explained: "Don't think it's too expensive, sir. You can ask around in the capital. If you can find seafood soup noodles for less than 27 cents, come back and smash my stall."

"Hey, you..."

The honest young man thought the vendor was quite interesting and was about to say something to him, but a tall and thin scholar beside him took the lead and slapped a handful of copper coins on the table: "Twenty-seven coins, shopkeeper, you count them."

After saying that, he pulled his friend out of the alley.

After leaving the alley, the two walked along the street straight to the Imperial College.

The venue for this grand ceremony was chosen to be Biyong, next to the Imperial College.

Logically speaking, the grand ceremony should be held in the Imperial College, but the reason it was chosen in Biyong was because Biyong was big enough.

Biyong was built in the second year of Chongning by Zhao Ji himself, who ordered the Junior Supervisor of Works to build it. Given Zhao Ji's ambitious and extravagant personality, the Biyong, which he personally ordered to be built, was far superior to the two old and dilapidated buildings, the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, in terms of scale and sophistication.

In addition to a huge square that can be used for lectures and discussions, there are also thousands of dormitories that can be used to accommodate the great scholars and wise men who are invited to discuss the doctrines.

The invited great scholars and wise men will have their food, lodging and travel expenses free of charge. Apart from that, there will be no restriction on spectators during the grand ceremony. Scholars from all prefectures and counties may also attend if they wish, but they will have to pay for their own travel expenses, food and lodging.

The two young men, one fat and one thin, were scholars who had come from Sichuan and paid for the course at their own expense.

Along the way, there were many scholars like them, young and old, all walking in a hurry, with anxiety mixed with excitement and anticipation.

For them, the grand ceremony is an event that only happens once in a century. If they miss it, they will regret it for the rest of their lives.

For this reason, many scholars from all over Qi State paid out of their own pockets to see the grand event.

Moreover, among the great scholars and sages from various schools invited by the court this time, some were already old and had long since retired to the countryside and no longer lectured or discussed philosophy.

As you hear the news, you can die in the evening.

If I could listen to the lectures of great scholars, it would be worth the trip to Beijing.

In this era, the law is not easily passed on, and knowledge is priceless. Although the printing technology in the Song Dynasty improved, which led to the flourishing of literature and a surge in the number of scholars, the real top knowledge was still in the hands of a few aristocratic families.

However, such knowledge is the foundation for the aristocratic families to survive and thrive, so how could they be easily taught?

But now in the grand ceremonies held by the court, each school and faction has brought out all their best skills.

As the saying goes, if you learn literature and martial arts, your goods will be with the emperor's family.

Tokyo City was too big. It was several miles from the East Outer City to the Imperial College, but the two of them did not choose to take a carriage.

After the traffic jams of the previous few days, these scholars going to Beijing have learned their lesson. They would rather walk than take a bus. If the traffic jam happened, it would take at least half an hour, and by the time they arrived at the Imperial College, the discussion was over.

After hurrying for a long time, the two finally arrived at the Imperial College before 1:00 am. The honest young man was already exhausted and out of breath. After all, he was obese, and he had just eaten a big bowl of soup noodles, so he almost vomited.

"Hurry, there's still room inside."

Seeing that the gate of the Imperial College was still open, the tall and thin young man showed joy and rushed in with his friend.

There was no way. There were too many people listening. If we didn't hurry, there wouldn't be a place to sit.

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The square was carefully arranged, with a high platform built in the middle. It was round outside and square inside, more than ten meters long and wide, and covered with carpets and brocade mats. It was a place for discussing philosophy.

There are three rows of seats on the four sides of the platform, with a total of more than 200 seats, for court officials and invited scholars to attend the lectures.

As for the seats further out, they were empty. Readers who came to listen either sat on the floor or brought their own cushioned stools.

By the time the two of them squeezed into the square, it was already packed with people. The area within fifty steps of the platform was packed with people, and there was no room left.

The two of them didn't care about being disgusted and quickly found an open space to sit down.

This place is more than fifty steps away from the platform, so it is impossible to hear clearly.

After sitting down, the tall and thin young man scolded: "I asked you to come earlier, but you insisted on satisfying your appetite and delayed your work."

"Brother Songhe, what you said is wrong."

The honest young man stretched out his chubby finger, pointed at the crowd in front of him, and said with a wry smile: "We live in the outer city. Even if we set out at dawn, we can't be as fast as those who live in the inner city."

Hearing this, the tall and thin young man couldn't help but look bitter.

They both came from wealthy families, otherwise they would not have been able to afford to come to Bian Jing. But after arriving in Dongjing, they found that they could not even afford to rent a homestay in the inner city.

Fortunately, Chang Yukun had made preparations in advance. Every day's grand etiquette and discussion would be recorded by historians and published in the "Qingzhou Wen Bao" the next day so that scholars from all over the country who could not make it in time could watch and learn.

As the two were talking, waves of scholars continued to pour into Biyong.

Soon, the huge square was packed.

Those scholars who arrived late were filled with regret and could only stand under the eaves of the school building at the edge of the square and look at the platform from afar.

When~
At this moment, a clear and melodious bronze bell sounded.

It's time to start!

Everyone looked stern, sat upright and kept silent.

Under the gaze of thousands of people, an octogenarian, supported by a young man, slowly walked towards the platform.

This person is Mr. Guishan, Yang Shi.

As the protagonist of the story of Cheng Men Li Xue, after the deaths of the two Cheng brothers, he became the undisputed leader of Luo School.

Mr. Guishan's name is not only known in China. In Western Xia, Dali and even Annan, there are large numbers of scholars who respect him as a great sage.

In the fifth year of Xuanhe, when Lu Yundi, the Imperial Secretary, and Fu Moqing, the Imperial Secretary, were on a diplomatic mission to Goryeo, Wang Kai specifically asked, "Is Mr. Guishan still alive?"

This shows how famous Yang Shi was.

(End of this chapter)