At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 249: Those who are unfilial will not show their talents even if they are talented.

"Next, let's go to Lujiang County."

"As the New Year is approaching, I plan to go to Gongjin's home in Shu County and pay a visit to the elders of the Zhou clan in Lujiang."

Lujiang County can be said to be the place where Zhou Qi made his fortune, and it is also the seat of the Lujiang Zhou family.

Zhou Yu had been away from his hometown for a while and had always followed Zhou Qi to practice. Now that he knew that the general was going to his home, a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face.

After entering Lujiang County, Zhou Qi could clearly feel that the prosperity here was far more prosperous than Jiangxia County, and even comparable to Xiangyang.

You must know that Xiangyang is not only extremely important in terms of geographical location, but it is also now the prefecture of Jingzhou and the location of the General's Mansion.

From this we can also see how developed the business in Lujiang County is.

Coupled with the fact that Du Ji, the king's assistant, was able to govern Lujiang, and Lu Kang had laid the foundation before, the prosperity of Lujiang County simply exceeded all imagination.

Moreover, due to the existence of Lujiang Academy, the people here have a prosperous life, which also promotes the vigorous development of culture and education in Lujiang County.

Not only the aristocratic families in Lujiang County, but also the powerful and common people, let their children study at any cost.

Although it is very difficult for children from ordinary families and powerful families to enter Lujiang Academy, there are still some talented people who can get in by relying on their own abilities.

It's just that such people are very rare, like a rare thing.

After Zhou Qi arrived in Shu County, he summoned Du Ji and Zhang Liao, and then visited the elders of the Zhou clan and the masters of Lujiang Academy.

"Masters teach and educate people, and cultivate many talents for me. They are really hardworking and meritorious."

Facing Zhou Qi, a powerful general, even the usually aloof masters did not dare to put on too much airs.

In fact.

This is also inseparable from the fact that the politics under Zhou Qi's rule were clear and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

The masters were able to live in such a peaceful and stable environment, and they also had a good impression of the general Zhou Qi who created all this.

not to mention.

Zhou Qi gave his masters a high social status and good welfare benefits, allowing them to calm down and study, teach and educate people.

Zhou Qi had a great time chatting with his masters, especially Chen Wen, the former governor of Yangzhou. At this time, he was serving as the dean of Lujiang Academy. He lost his previous utilitarianism and made great progress in learning.

Therefore, Chen Wen is also very grateful to Zhou Qi.

"May I ask Dean Chen, are there any particularly outstanding talents in Lujiang Academy recently?"

Chen Wen pondered for a moment, then showed hesitation behind him.

Zhou Qi's expression moved slightly and asked, "But what's the secret?"

Chen Wen sighed: "There is indeed a man who, although he comes from a poor family, studies hard and is naturally intelligent and quick-thinking. He is quite popular among the estranged masters."

"It's a pity that someone finally reported this person, saying that this person had poor moral character and did not obey filial piety, so he was expelled from Lujiang Academy."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help but become interested and asked: "What is this person's name?"

To be able to receive such a high evaluation from Chen Wen, there must be something extraordinary about him, and he might even be a celebrity in history.

However, Zhou Qi thought about it and couldn't find anyone who fit the bill, so he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Chen Wen: "This person's surname is Wang Minghui. Because he was born in a poor family, no elders took the title when he was crowned."

"Wang Hui?"

Hearing this name, Zhou Qi couldn't help but have a puzzled look on his face.

He could conclude that there should not be such a famous person in the history of the late Han Dynasty.

Fortunately, Zhou Qi didn't get too entangled.

Because of his existence, I don’t know how many people’s destiny has been changed. Maybe Wang Hui died in the war long ago in history, or maybe Wang Hui never had the opportunity to study in history.

What he is curious about now is why Wang Hui, who was rated so highly by Chen Wen, was expelled from Lujiang Academy.

"Dean Chen said that this person has bad moral character and does not obey filial piety, but why?"

Chen Wen sighed and said: "Originally, this person was among the best in all the grades in the academy, and was deeply loved by the gentlemen. They thought that he would be able to do great things after graduation."

"It is precisely for this reason that the teachers in the academy are not stingy and teach them all they have learned in their lives."

"It's a pity that we didn't examine his character before and didn't know that he was an unfilial person!"

Having said this, Chen Wen couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Zhou Qi became suspicious and asked: "I heard what Dean Gu said before that Wang Hui's personal ethics were lacking and he was not filial, so he was reported."

"Could it be that before Wang Hui was reported, all the gentlemen in the academy had been with him for so long and didn't find any fault with his moral character?"

Chen Wen sighed: "It's only because this person is so good at hiding that you gentlemen didn't see through his true nature."

When Zhou Qi said this, he didn't believe it.

A person's personality can be hidden for a while, but as long as we get along day and night for a long time, his true nature will be easily exposed.

If the other party can always hide his true nature, he will be a very scary person.

Zhou Qi said: "Dean Chen, can you elaborate on Wang Hui's so-called defective moral character and lack of filial piety?"

Chen Wen sighed: "When my lord first settled in Lujiang, many refugees came from the north, and Wang Hui was one of them."

"Wang Hui fled with his mother and wife. At that time, the government's policy on refugee resettlement was not as complete as it is now, and Lujiang County was not as wealthy as it is now."

"As a result, many refugees were not properly resettled, and many people did not survive the winter and froze to death or starved to death, as was the case with Wang Hui's family."

Having said this, Chen Wen showed a look of hatred on his face and continued: "I rule the world with filial piety."

"Both the king and his wife had enough food to survive. When the government distributed relief grains the following year, only his mother starved to death."

"Wang Huicai kept concealing these matters until he was about to complete his studies, when he was reported to the academy."

Zhou Qi asked: "Have you ever investigated whether this is indeed the case?"

Chen Wen sighed: "With such a good seedling, the academy is naturally not willing to give up easily, so I went to Wang Hui's home to visit his neighbors and found out that it was indeed true."

"Sit back and watch my mother starve to death, but I and my wife survived. This act of unfilial piety is simply unacceptable. How could Lujiang Academy tolerate him, so they expelled Wang Hui from the academy."

Zhou Qi chatted with Chen Wen for a long time and finally said goodbye to Lujiang Academy.

This time when he came to visit Chen Wen and the teachers in the school, Zhou Qi only brought Xi Zhicai and Dian Wei, but left Zhou Yu at home to serve his mother well.

After a few people came down the mountain, Zhou Qi suddenly asked: "What do you two think about the Wang Hui incident?"

Dian Wei snorted coldly and said: "Fortunately, such rebellious and unfilial people were exposed in advance. Otherwise, wouldn't they be harmful to the people if they really went out to become officials in the future?" In this era, the requirements for officials are higher than moral character. scholarship.

Although Dian Wei was brave and good at fighting and killed countless people, he was also a filial man.

If Dian Wei were in Wang Hui's situation, even if he and his wife starved to death, his mother would still be able to eat.

Therefore, Dian Wei felt so indignant after learning that Wang Hui's mother starved to death.

Zhou Qi did not comment, then looked at Xi Zhicai and asked, "What do the military advisors think?"

Xi Zhicai pondered for a long time before speaking: "Let's not talk about Wang Hui's character, but I think the report is quite fishy."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Heroes really see the same thing."

Wang Hui's unfilial behavior was not reported earlier or later, but it happened that when his studies were about to be completed, he was reported to the academy.

If Zhou Qi said that there was nothing fishy about this kind of thing, he would not believe it even to death.

Today, under Zhou Qi's rule, the inspection and examination system of the Eastern Han Dynasty has generally been continued, but Zhou Qi himself does not stick to this in promoting talents.

But for ordinary scholars in various counties and counties, being recommended to be filial, honest, and talented is still the only way to rise.

According to Wang Hui's performance in the academy, if there are no accidents, after he completes his studies, he will definitely be highly recommended by the academy's masters because of his excellent results.

Although Lujiang Academy has many recommended places, compared with the large number of students, the places are still very scarce.

If Wang Hui comes from a noble family and can get the recommendation quota, others will naturally have nothing to say.

Weird only.

Wang Hui was from a poor background and didn't even have a nickname. Instead, he was favored by his masters because of his talent.

As a result, people will naturally be jealous, and this is how they report Wang Hui's unfilial piety.

Wang Hui was expelled from the academy for being disobedient and unfilial. Not only could he eliminate a thorn in the side of many children from aristocratic families, but he could also free up a recommendation spot. It could be said that he killed two birds with one stone.

With Zhou Qi's political sensitivity, he quickly thought of these.

However, he still had doubts about Wang Hui's disobedience and unfilial piety.

It is very difficult for a person to hide his character and essence for a long time. After such a long time, the masters in the academy all think that the king will be humble, polite, and respect his teachers. These are not necessarily done deliberately. .

"Let's go to Wang Hui's house for a visit."

Zhou Qi dressed in casual clothes, took Xi Zhicai and Dian Wei with him, and asked Zhang Liao to secretly bring a group of soldiers for protection, and headed towards the king's house in the east of the city.

After arriving at Wang Hui's home, Dian Wei went up and knocked on the door, but no one responded.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi couldn't help but secretly thought: "Is there no one in Wang Hui's house?"

"Are you here to visit Wang Hui? The couple went to work in the fields."

At this moment, an old man next door came out after hearing a knock on the door and shouted to Zhou Qi and the others.

Zhou Qi walked up to the uncle with a smile on his face, raised his hands and asked, "May I ask Grandpa, do you usually hang out with Wang Hui's family?"

The uncle shook his head and said: "At first, they came here to escape from other places. Our family was also in difficulty at that time, so we did not help the Wang family and moved around less."

"In the end, Wang Hui's mother starved to death, but Wang Hui and his wife survived. Everyone felt that Wang Hui was unfilial, and they were reluctant to interact with her."

"When Wang Hui studied hard and studied Confucian classics and was admitted to Lujiang Academy, we didn't dare to reach out to such a figure, so we naturally didn't move around much."

Zhou Qi's heart moved slightly and asked: "How can the Grand Duke conclude that it is the king who will starve his mother to death?"

The uncle said with disapproval: "Isn't this an obvious thing?"

"On the day of Wang Hui's mother's funeral, she was so hungry that she was naked. She was definitely starving to death. I have seen this kind of thing much more in the past few years."

"On the other hand, Wang Hui and his wife, although they look green and sallow, must have eaten something, otherwise they would never survive that winter."

Zhou Qi frowned slightly and continued to ask: "What was Wang Hui's attitude toward his mother when she was still alive? Did the two sides ever have any quarrels?"

When the uncle heard this, he scratched his head and said, "Although we don't have much contact with the Wang family, Wang Hui is always humble and polite, and he is also very respectful to his mother."

"As for the quarrel between mother and son or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, I never heard of it. On the contrary, during that winter, we often heard crying from the Wang family."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he became even more doubtful.

He also asked other neighbors about Wang Hui, and he could roughly deduce that Wang Hui's mother had indeed starved to death.

However, Wang Hui and his wife were always humble and polite, and they were quite respectful to his mother when the family had food. There was never any quarrel between the two parties.

Zhou Qi was keenly aware that there must be something behind this matter.

Zhou Qi asked about the location of the fields in Wang Hui's home and took Xi Zhicai and Dian Wei to search there.

Far away, they saw two figures weeding in the field.

Zhou Qi walked closer and asked the 30-year-old man, "Are you Wang Hui, a talented man from Lujiang Academy?"

Wang Hui, who was hunched over and sweating profusely while weeding, heard the words and looked up at Zhou Qi. Seeing that the other three were well-dressed and all wealthy people, he immediately smiled bitterly and said: "I am Wang Hui, but I have been Lujiang Academy has been expelled, and it cannot bear the title of "talented scholar"."

Zhou Qi stepped forward, saluted, and said, "I have heard about your talents for a long time, and I am truly lucky to see you today."

Wang Hui hurriedly returned the greeting and said, "Your honor has given you too much praise."

At this moment, Wang Hui's wife said: "Since there are guests coming to visit, please go back home and wash up to entertain the distinguished guests. I will buy some food and wine."

“Weeds in the fields can be removed another day.”

When Zhou Qi heard this, he said a little embarrassedly: "Wouldn't this delay the two of you from weeding the crops?"

Wang Hui said with a smile: "It's okay, it's not the busy farming season, and my husband and I can't help but come out to weed."

"It won't be a problem to delay for one day."

In this way, the couple invited Zhou Qi and the others to rest at home.

Zhou Qi talked with Wang about everything and found that this man was really talented. Although his views on many things were not yet sophisticated, he was beginning to show his talents.

As long as you practice a little bit, you will definitely become a capable minister in the future.

Wang Hui was also impressed by Zhou Qi's magnanimity, knowledge, and Xi Zhicai's quick thinking, and became even more convinced that the two were not ordinary people.

The more they chatted, the more they became more and more speculative. At the end, Zhou Qi suddenly asked: "Since you have such talent and learning, why don't you serve in the government so that you can use what you have learned in your life to benefit the people?"

When Wang Hui heard this, his smile froze on his face, and he finally sighed: "Maybe I won't be able to be an official in this life."

(End of this chapter)