Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 4 The way of a scholar
The Ming Dynasty divided the counties in the country into three levels: upper, middle and lower based on the population and tax revenue of a county.Counties at these three levels have different allocations of scientific examination places for children.But even in Shangxian County, there are only twenty scholar quotas every year.This means that in the Ming Dynasty, if you wanted to be a scholar, your college entrance examination scores had to be among the top twenty in your county.

If you are in the top [-] in the county in college entrance examination scores, a proven academic, and ranked among the top [-] universities in the country, you will not even consider applying to a university.

There is such a group of top academics, and law is a compulsory subject in their exams. Of course, they are familiar with all kinds of legal provisions.So they naturally also know that if they fight with someone during the provincial examination because of something as small as talking loudly while eating, and the matter goes to the government, they will be punished.

So after understanding that the impact of this matter must be controlled and not publicized, both parties, who had been arguing and enjoying each other just now, suddenly stopped talking and stood there together without talking.

The scholars and students were all wilted, and the innkeeper smiled. He knew that today's incident was the same as before.As long as these scholars and students know that once this matter comes up, their provincial examination will be over, and they will have to go home and study hard, and come back in three years.Then they will be honest, and the next thing will be easier for everyone to talk about.

So when he saw that it was time to come up with a solution, the manager of the store smiled and smoothed things over: "Young gentlemen, you all have no grievances. It's just because of a few casual quarrels. It's not a big deal. Little old man I'm just trying to be a man for you, let me see it this way! For those of you tables who took action, you have to pay for your own food and drinks. As for the four tables that were affected because of you, you have to pay their bills. Let’s share the situation equally, everyone takes a step back, big things will be reduced to small things, and small things will be reduced to nothing. Do you think this will work?”

The shopkeeper's solution is commonly known as harmony. Don't dwell on right or wrong, just settle the matter.After Wang Daoqiu heard this, he secretly admired the cleverness of the shopkeeper and lamented that the shopkeeper was such a national-level diplomatic talent for future generations!The so-called diplomacy of later generations means that all parties talk tough and adhere to principles when speaking externally, but when they actually negotiate to solve problems in private, the plenum has selective amnesia, forgets those so-called principles, and only talks about actual interests?
The store manager bypassed the impossible compromise between the two parties, and only talked about the sharing of losses.This can be said to fully respect the faces of the scholars on both sides, and is a practical and effective way to solve the problem. It is simple and unprincipled, but it can solve the problem.

To be honest, Wang Daoqiu was very supportive of the store manager's solution.But Wang Daoqiu thinks it's good, but that doesn't mean Fatty thinks it's good too!
So the fat man Jiang Zhijian, I don’t know if he was subtly influenced by his father, a landowner, rich man and profiteer.Anyway, as soon as he heard the shopkeeper's solution, he blurted out something that was very flattering to his landlord, Lao Cai. He said: "Since everyone has taken action, then we will bear our own losses, which is no problem. But under the influence of The accounts of the four tables involved should be divided according to the head of the person in charge, not the two parties."

Damn it, the fat man is really the child of a wealthy landlord. His genetics are very strong. This is a good thing!There are more than a dozen people on the other side and two people on my side.If the accounts of the four tables affected were calculated by both sides, Fatty and Wang Daoqiu would have to be responsible for half of it. If it was calculated by head, then Fatty and Wang Daoqiu would only be responsible for about [-]% of the accounts of the four tables.

When Fatty settled the score like this, Wang Daoqiu sighed with emotion: Fatty, it is such a pity that your father is not here now when you are so proud of your family!

The fat man's account was based on his family's calculations as a landlord, and it was very consistent with his status.But he had settled the accounts with the wrong person, that is, the person he was settling accounts with was not an honest and submissive farmer.But they are a group of scholars who are not afraid of anything except losing face.

So as soon as Fatty came up with his algorithm, the scholars heard that Fatty was not simply asking for money, but that he was treating them as fools.

Therefore, as soon as the fat man finished speaking, what he got was not the submissiveness of the farmers, but more than a dozen people from the other side began to curse and roll up their sleeves, ready to teach the fat man how to behave.As for the fat man Jiang Zhijian, facing the public outrage, he still stood there desperately, explaining the rationality of his account to the dozen or so scholars and students with confidence and plausibility.

The fat man's words seemed reasonable to him, but to the ears of the dozen or so scholars, the fat man was treating them as fools.It hurts the self-esteem of scholars and students.So when the scholars and students got angry, they rushed forward to beat the fat man to vent their anger, and suddenly the scene was chaotic again.The store manager and several store clerks also hurriedly stepped forward and blocked Wang Daoqiu and Fatty to prevent the situation from escalating.At the same time, the store manager also deliberately shouted loudly, reminding the scholars and students to focus on the exam. If you endure it, you may be able to save three years of hard work!
The shopkeeper has good intentions, but it's all wrong.Anyway, the dozen scholars and students who feel insulted by the fat man now have one belief in their minds.Mud, even if you are punished and disqualified from taking the exam, you should give this damn fat guy a good beating first.

The dozen or so scholars and students became more and more excited and rushed forward with all their strength. They were about to break through the human wall built by the shopkeeper and shop assistants.

Looking at the situation, Wang Daoqiu didn't want to be beaten to the ground twice in one place.So he faced a bunch of hungry scholars and students who wanted to rush over and beat him and the fat man.Wang Daoqiu raised his hands, raised his arms and shouted: "Everyone, everyone, be quiet, please listen to me."

"What do you want to say, boy? Let me remind you, if you don't want to lie on the ground anymore today, just get out of here."

When Wang Daoqiu raised his arms and shouted that he had something to say, the hot-tempered scholar who was the first to slam the table and scold the fat man first spoke up to calm down the people on his side, and then warned Wang Daoqiu.

The other party was very fierce, his eyes were burning, showing his determination to beat the fat man today, but Wang Daoqiu was not afraid.After Wang Daoqiu waited for the other party to warn him, he said calmly: "A dozen of you, beating two of us, is not a victory, right? And we are all scholars who have studied the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, not vulgar and reckless people. Since We are scholars, so should we use the scholar's method to resolve the dispute between you and me?" "The scholar's method? Do you want to compare articles and poems with us?"

"Writing is not the first, martial arts is not the second. Who can absolutely judge whether articles and poems are better or worse? Then it won't be a quarrel?"

“If it’s not better than articles and poems, then what is the way of a scholar?”

"In this way, you and I are both students who participated in the provincial examination this time, and we will compare the results of this provincial examination. Whichever side of you and I has the highest ranking after the results are released, that is whoever wins, and the loser will be the winner. We have to pay for the food and drinks for all nine tables today. What do you think?"

There were many scholars in the Ming Dynasty who were arrogant. As for arrogance, almost everyone had it.There were more than a dozen people on the other side, and there were only two on his side. Wang Daoqiu was not afraid that the other side could withstand the humiliation and not accept the challenge.So after finishing speaking, Wang Daoqiu stood there, smiling and waiting for the other party's reply.

And the other party's reaction was the same as Wang Daoqiu thought. After hearing Wang Daoqiu's crazy bet, the dozen or so scholars were all blown up.Their urge to beat Wang Daoqiu now directly overwhelmed their desire to beat Fatty.After all, what the fat man insulted was their inability to settle accounts, and the purpose was to make a small profit.But what did Wang Daoqiu insult them, and what do scholars care most about?The core bottom line!
So as soon as Wang Daoqiu made the bet, the dozens of scholars and students on the other side immediately waved their arms, yelling at Wang Daoqiu and shouting that they should accept the bet.However, no one mentioned the fight anymore, or Wang Daoqiu had already figured out the way of fighting in a literary way, and they no longer had the shame to fight with force.

The crowd was furious, and the scene became a mess again. At this time, the hot scholar who was the first to hate the fat man stood up again.I saw that he still yelled loudly first to make everyone on his side quiet down.Then he said to Wang Daoqiu: "Are you too crazy? There are more than a dozen people here, but there are only two of you and that damn fat man over there. And this damn fat man is covered in fat, and he doesn't look like the same person." Work hard. You should think about it, our generation of scholars is as good as one promise."

"There's nothing to think about. I, Wang Daoqiu, courtesy name Liangzhen, am a student in Changxing County, Huzhou Prefecture. In last year's county examination, government examination, and hospital examination, I ranked first in three cases, with a minor of Sanyuan. This time in the township examination, I tell the truth. You guys, I'm just rushing to understand Yuan. Let me tell you this, if I don't understand Yuan, Yayuan, Jingkui, and Yakui this time, then I feel that my provincial examination this time is Failure."

The name of Huzhou Prefecture Xiao Sanyuan is a bit deceptive. After all, there are three prefectures in Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou in the north of Zhejiang, as well as Shaoxing Prefecture and Ningbo Prefecture on the coast of Hangzhou Bay. These five prefectures have been high-producing areas for literati and academic masters since ancient times, and they are famous all over the country. is very famous.It’s not like Taizhou or Wenzhou, where poor people come out of poor places and their test scores are a mess.

So in a place like Huzhou Prefecture where there are many literati and literary culture is common, and you can defeat all the heroes and win three yuan in a row, this level is absolutely awesome!

Knowing that the young scholar in front of me was Xiao Sanyuan from Huzhou Prefecture last year, to be honest, these dozen scholars and students felt guilty at the moment, feeling as if they could not pass the exam!

But again, the literati are arrogant and may feel guilty in their hearts, but on the outside they must be fearless.So after Wang Daoqiu revealed his identity as Xiao Sanyuan, these dozen scholars and students, feeling guilty in their hearts but still looking like they would rather die than surrender, muttered that they wanted to bet with Wang Daoqiu.

In this way, both parties agreed to bet, and then registered their identity information with the shopkeeper, and asked the shopkeeper to put the money for the nine tables of food and drinks on the account first, and whoever should pay after the results of the provincial examination are released.

The manager of the store is also happy that the matter can be resolved peacefully and make money.As for paying bills, nine tables of wine and food, which one is worth more than a scholar's fame?Therefore, the shopkeeper is not afraid that these famous scholars will renege on their debts, so let's pay for it!

So the matter was settled, the store clerk cleaned up the mess on the scene, set up the tables and stools, and informed the kitchen to prepare another nine tables of good dishes and send them over.In this way, the original nine-table business has now suddenly become eighteen tables. The shopkeeper is really happy.

(End of this chapter)