Sui Dynasty: I, Yang Guang, am both scrupulous and stable

Chapter 278 Alchemist
"I wonder what you think of the prophecy that the foreign scholar said that the one who first made Mount Tai the Lord of the Central Plains?"

Facing Kong Sheng's question, Yang Guang thought for a while and said: "It's hard to tell the truth from the falsehood of an alchemist, and it's hard to tell the truth from a falsehood in the words of an alchemist. If you just blindly believe it, you may be deceived."

Kong Sheng shook his head: "Your Highness, I don't know why the ministers are so shocked about this, because Alchemist Weichen and others recognized that Taoist Master Zhiyuan of Jingyun Temple in Nantuo Mountain has always been known as the divine fortune teller in the world. He once calculated Weichen himself. Regarding key things, I also calculated that Confucianism was in the ascendant, so I often went to Qufu and made good friends with my ministers. I calculated the calculations three times a month and there was almost no deviation in the calculations."

Yang Guang understood the reason why Kong Sheng and others were so sure of the alchemist. It turned out that he knew the alchemist himself and believed in his ability.

"Mr. Kong, his calculation is accurate, but why would he tell you this? This is a matter of beheading."

"Taoist Master Zhiyuan likes to drink. He often speaks the truth after drinking. Although his casual remarks are not as accurate as divination, he still has something close to him. The ministers often find him to drink. His drinking capacity is also average. So nothing about him can be hidden.”

Yang Guang was a little stunned. This old guy was quite shady. He knew that other people were not good at drinking, so he kept looking for him to drink and get predictions from him.

Moreover, Yang Guang couldn't believe that what he said after being drunk could be as accurate as divination. You must know that most alchemists who want to divination have to fast and bathe, and then a very complicated process. This Taoist Priest Zhiyuan It's okay to say casually when you're drunk, but that means you're being careless about what you say. This is too scary.

Yang Guang glanced at Wang Long. Wang Long couldn't say anything about this because he was not familiar with Taoist Zhiyuan.

After thinking for a while, he said: "So Mr. Kong thinks that the prophecy of the Taoist Zhiyuan is true, that the one who first made Mount Tai the Lord of the Central Plains?"

"Weichen...Weichen doesn't make any assertions, but Taoist Priest Zhiyuan's words are always accurate."

"Can I, the king, meet this Taoist Priest Zhiyuan?"

"Taoist Master Xianyun Yehe usually only appears in his Taoist temple and Qufu. If His Highness wants to meet, I can convey it to you next time I see the Taoist Master."

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Kong first. I naturally want to meet such a magical Taoist Master Zhiyuan."

Kong Sheng continued: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, Your Majesty wants to grant Zen to Mount Tai, but His Highness the Crown Prince oversteps his bounds. This behavior is a courtesy for a monarch and his ministers, and a courtesy for a father and son."

"But Mr. Kong just said that the one who first made Mount Tai the Lord of the Central Plains. Since the emperor has already gone to Mount Tai, the matter has become a foregone conclusion. The words of Taoist Zhiyuan are so accurate, I am afraid that I will not be able to change it. .”

Kong Sheng immediately said: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, please don't think so. Although His Highness the Prince has already climbed Mount Tai, it is not so simple to enshrine Mount Tai. According to the words of Taoist Priest Zhiyuan, His Highness the Crown Prince wants to be honored by His Majesty. Stealing the destiny of the country when Taishan was enshrined in Zen has not yet been accomplished."

Yang Guang frowned tightly now.

Kong Sheng, Kong Bo and others now took advantage of the opportunity to salute Yang Guang and said in unison: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, the ministers and others cannot just sit back and watch His Highness the Crown Prince cause chaos in the court, and are willing to do their best to assist His Highness the King of Jin to bring order to the chaos!"

Looking at the grief-stricken people, Yang Guang understood clearly that they wanted to use this matter to serve him and show their ambitions.

He has important matters concerning the political opponents of King Jin, and he does have the capital to surrender. It is impossible for Yang Guang to refuse the surrender of this group of people. What if he rejects the opponent and runs to Yang Yong?These people are not just traffickers, they are all well-known people.

Yang Guang first stretched out his hand to grab everyone who was saluting: "What are you doing? You are elders and people of high moral character and respect. How dare I accept such salutes to me, Yang Guang?"

Kong Sheng said: "As long as His Highness the King of Jin does not dislike it, we are willing to support His Highness the King of Jin."

Kong Sheng and others, who originally came to negotiate with the King of Jin about the prince's affairs, completely exposed their trump cards. They were still using airs before, but now they have no airs at all.

Kong Sheng had already noticed that Yang Guang was just playing a game with them when he said he didn't care about Mount Tai's enshrinement.

But he was not angry but happy. Such a young His Highness, Prince Jin, actually had such keen insight and mature thinking ability. Isn't this the kind of wise king he wants to follow?If he is a mediocre little highness, can he really lead people like himself to aspire to the ninth position?Can Confucianism really be promoted?

Now that we have already revealed our trump cards, it would be better to just reveal them more thoroughly.

Kong Sheng continued: "Your Highness, you conquered the Turks, opened canals, and established trade. Although you only held the position of vassal king in name, the things you have done among the emperors in the past and present for thousands of years are very few that can be compared with you. Wei Chen and others admire His Highness the King of Jin, so they can't help but serve His Highness."

Yang Guang was a little moved when he said this. He didn't think about the rebels in history who were boasted by his subordinates before. After talking about it today, Yang Guang finally understood that if these people under his command really If you brag and praise yourself like this every day, it is not impossible that you will be really satisfied and convinced one day.

"I, Yang Guang, feel the sincerity of the gentlemen. If you gentlemen can trust me, I will do my best to let students all over the world read the book. Naturally, you will all be remembered for generations. As for the matter of conferring Zen on Mount Tai, I have not yet Dare to make a decision, after all, the stakes are too high, if the prince really wants to steal the fortune of the country when his father, Emperor Taishan, is enthroned, then the truth will definitely be exposed, and you have to catch the thief by his dirty tricks."

Yang Guang's statement made everyone a little disappointed. Obviously they did not gain Yang Guang's absolute trust, otherwise Yang Guang would not let such an opportunity to attack the prince go unused, but fortunately, according to the wishes of His Highness King Jin, he is willing to support everyone. .

Yang Guang then held Kong Sheng's hand and said: "Mr. Kong is the 22nd generation grandson of the sage Kong. This is a great event for the imperial examination in the Sui Dynasty. I will go to the palace tonight to report to my father that two examiners will be appointed. One of them will be natural." It’s Mrs. Wang Long, the other one, if Mr. Kong is willing, I will recommend him.”

Kong Sheng immediately said: "You should be willing to serve your country."

"Okay! It is best for all students in the world to be examined by two examiners with outstanding knowledge. And I will tell all students that no matter how big an official they become in the future, don't forget the two [sitting teachers] today."

"Sitting Master, what is sitting Master?"

"The person who takes charge of the exams for the world's candidates is the teacher of the world's candidates and the master of the world's literary circles."

Hearing this, Kong Sheng's old eyes shone brightly. What people like them care about most is reputation. Not to mention anything else, being the teacher of the world's candidates and the master of the world's literary world, these two titles are enough for them to do their best.

After Yang Guang sent these people away, he went to Yuan Tiantian with a melancholy look and said, "Have you ever heard of Taoist Priest Yuan of Jingyun Temple in Nantuo Mountain?"

"When I was a child, I heard my father say that he had a good relationship with his father."

"Does he also have the same abilities as your father?"

"My father has never mentioned this to him, so I don't know."

Although he didn't get a definite answer, Yuan Tiantian at least heard from his father that this Taoist Priest Zhiyuan should have some strength, but he didn't know the extent of his strength. "The one who first sealed Mount Tai is the Lord of the Central Plains. Is this statement true or false?"

Seeing Yang Guang's distress, Yuan Tiantian said: "Your Highness, why should you worry? My father once said that we have two criteria for divination and fortune-telling. One is to rather believe that something is there than to believe that it is not; the other is to believe it." Half disbelief and half disbelief.”

"These two principles seem to be contradictory sentences."

“It’s better to believe someone’s ability than to believe it’s not, because no one among the alchemists can tell whether the other person is really capable or just pretending, because sometimes those who are really capable look more like they are pretending than pretending, and divination and fortune-telling rely on God’s will. , God won’t give it to me, no matter how many people there are, there’s nothing I can do.”

"I believe it half or half, because even if I have calculated something, sometimes I only have a very vague concept, and even reverse it. For example, His Highness's famous sentence is that the one who first seals Mount Tai will be the Lord of the Central Plains."

Yang Guang asked doubtfully: "I still don't understand."

"For example, if I get this prophecy in divination, but all I know is actually this sentence. I don't know the whole picture. The one who first enshrines Mount Tai will be the Lord of the Central Plains. It can be said that the person who enshrines Mount Tai first will become the Lord of the Central Plains. However, it is also possible that the person who consecrated Mount Tai first was the Lord of the Central Plains. It just means that the Lord of the Central Plains consecrated Mount Tai before others. There is no guarantee that the person who becomes the Lord of the Central Plains will consecrate Mount Tai or that the person who conferred the title of Mount Tai will become the Central Plains. Lord."

Yang Guang frowned even more: "So we can only analyze the whole situation based on this prophecy."

"Yes, it's like my brother has calculated something, but it doesn't point directly to His Highness, but to the man next to the princess. This person may be a friend, brother, husband, or father. Different alchemists have different solutions. My brother thought he was the princess’s husband, so he asked me to wait until His Highness arrived.”

"Then what do you think?"

"I think it's you too, Your Majesty."

"When we first met, you told me to save your family, but you haven't told me how to save it or anything."

Yuan Tiantian said apologetically: "Your Highness, only my younger brother knows the prophecy of this hexagram. Even my father doesn't know it, so I can't do anything about it, but I believe he will come to see you."

Yang Guang rubbed his eyebrows. Such mysterious and mysterious things gave him a deep headache. He waved his hand and asked Yuan Tiantian to go down first.

Thinking carefully about today's events, Yang Guang couldn't act rashly even if he had conclusive evidence from Kong Sheng and others regarding the Fengchan Taishan matter. He didn't know why, but it seemed to be a biological instinct. He felt that this matter was too dangerous. , is a danger that people dare not approach.

……

The day of the imperial examination has arrived. Under the crowd's watch, the students, like courtiers rushing to attend the morning meeting, filed in after the palace door opened.

The courtiers on the side laughed at themselves: "Normally when I enter the palace for pilgrimage, I have to lower my head. Are these young people ignorant or fearless? They hold their heads high and look around. If His Majesty hadn't asked them to enter the palace, it would have been like this for us. , the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs had already driven him out."

"These are the "upstarts" of the school. When they come up, we old guys may have no place to stand."

"You're worrying too much. They are all young descendants. Those with elders in the family can stand up without taking the imperial examination. Those without elders will not be able to pass the imperial examination even after passing the imperial examination. My son is among the crowd, so I have to take care of him when the time comes. ."

"That's natural. How can your young master be comparable to others?"

The students slowly arrived at the Golden Palace in the center of the crowd, and in front of them was the current Emperor.

Facing many students, Yang Jian smiled with satisfaction: "This is the first imperial examination. You students are elite talents selected from the school. I feel young when I get along with young people like you." How old are you, so refreshed.”

"Long live my emperor."

"I hope you all can get good grades in the exam. This time I will review the memorial in the main hall for an hour, which can be regarded as invigilating the exam for an hour. After that, Wang Long and the 22nd generation grandson of Confucius will serve as the examiners."

As the voice fell, the eunuchs brought pens, inks, paper and inkstones to the candidates. Each person's desk was at least 1.5 meters away from the front, back, left, and right. You would definitely not be able to see other people's answer sheets while sitting.

Soon the students in the main hall began to write furiously. The emperor reviewed the memorials in front of the main hall, which was also a sense of ceremony. It was as if they were writing furiously with the emperor, and a bright future was waving to them.

After an hour, the emperor left his position and the two examiners took over the duties of invigilation.

The emperor came to his study immediately, and Yang Guang and Queen Dugu were already waiting here.

The emperor smiled with great satisfaction: "Amo, this format is well done. I am very satisfied. I hope this batch of students can produce a few good talents to clear the way for the future imperial examination system."

"Father, although more than [-]% of this group of people are civilians, this is still a huge improvement. Although they may not be able to be on the list, what I mean is that even if there are people in this group who are not in high school, they will be able to return to the list. They should also be used as backup for officials when they go to the local area, and there will be opportunities to reuse them in the future.”

Yang Jian nodded: "Well, there are more and more things in the court now. It is the time to hire people. It is a good thing to recruit some in advance and train them later."

Seeing how happy both father and son were, Queen Dugu said: "We need to pay attention to the imperial examination, but the princess may give birth in two days. Amo, you have to tell Mr. Sun in advance."

"My mother, Mr. Sun, is a doctor. Although he knows about childbirth, Mr. Sun cannot be allowed to deliver the baby because the princess has a rich body."

Empress Dugu said angrily: "You child, why are you not smart now? The birth is naturally the midwife's business, but you asked Mr. Sun to wait outside the house. I just don't feel at ease when Mr. Sun is not here."

"Mother, you seem to be somewhat superstitious about Mr. Sun's medical skills."

"It's good to be lucky. Mr. Sun can cut people's bodies open with a knife and sew them back. It's really amazing."

"Mother, what you said is too exaggerated. It was only used on my fifth brother. It's still far too early to use it on other diseases."

(End of this chapter)