Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 539: Strong South, Weak North
"It turns out that the imperial examination was restored at the request of Duke Anguo."

On the second floor of the restaurant, Lin Zhong listened to what the storyteller said and then listened to the discussions and analysis of the people around him. It was obvious that he believed what the storyteller said.

Not only Lin Zhong believed it, almost everyone in the restaurant believed it.

Chen Mo has a very high prestige in the four states and is deeply loved by the people. After listening to everyone's analysis, they naturally think that this is what Chen Mo would do.

The storyteller took a sip of tea and said, "Duke Anguo has served his country and his people, and is truly the pillar of our Song Dynasty. Some time ago, the northern barbarians came south, seized our territory, harmed our people, and robbed our country of our wealth. The court issued an order, ordering the princes of the world to go north to fight the enemy, but the dukes turned a blind eye and refused to send troops.

In this critical moment, only Duke Anguo led his troops northward to fight against the foreign enemies, killing nearly 80,000 enemies, recovering the homeland, spreading the prestige of our Song Dynasty, and strengthening the integrity of our Zhongzhou nation. In order to solve the problem of the Jinnan barbarians capturing the people of the Song Dynasty, Duke Anguo brazenly led his troops to attack Haiyan Pass and said the inspiring words - "If the enemy can go, I can go too."

As a storyteller, his greatest skill is to bring the audience's emotions into the story he is telling and infect them with his emotions.

Now the storyteller's words undoubtedly made the audience excited and applauded.

"Duke Anguo is a hero of our time."

"Yes, I am from Qingzhou. If it weren't for Duke Anguo, my family would have starved to death in the cold winter of the seventh year of Xuanhe. It was Duke Anguo who helped us and gave us five people food and a place to live."

"Not only that, but the Duke of Anguo also exempted us from taxes and distributed land to us. This made me feel the dignity of being a human being for the first time."

"."

As he was talking, Ma Fu finished ordering the dishes and called the waiter, who brought up a pot of wine.

Guo Ning poured himself a cup, took a sip, and looked at the storyteller below with a longing look on his face: "As scholars, we should follow the footsteps of Duke Anguo, save the country from danger, and save the people from dire straits."

Hearing Guo Ning's words, Lin Zhong sighed with some shame and said, "When I heard of the great name of Duke Anguo before, I thought he was a hawk-like man with a wild temper, greedy for money and lustful, and definitely not a good person. Now I realize that I was short-sighted at that time. Duke Anguo is a great man of the time."

"Brother Lin's words are very much in line with my thoughts. It seems that Brother Lin and I can become a pair of close friends." Guo Ning poured a glass of wine for Lin Zhong, and then the two of them drank it all.

Afterwards, after the waiter had served the dishes and taught the two how to eat hotpot, Guo Ning said with emotion: "Duke Anguo is truly a remarkable man. Not only is he an expert in both civil and military affairs, he is also a master in eating. This August, I will definitely pass the provincial examination and rank among the top, so that I can see what a hero Duke Anguo is."

Guo Ning's words were full of confidence.

A scholar should naturally have a sense of wildness.

Afterwards, Lin Zhong and Guo Ning had a very pleasant conversation. Lin Zhong saw that Guo Ning's talent and knowledge were outstanding, far superior to his own, so he talked about some deeper issues.

It was learned that Guo Ning was a student at the age of twelve, obtained the title of scholar at the age of fifteen, and was also an eighth-rank warrior.

Lin Zhong smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Guo said before that he had something to ask me, but he didn't want to embarrass me."

The smile on Guo Ning's face froze for a moment, then he laughed loudly, "Brother Lin, don't think too much, it's absolutely not true."

"What does Brother Guo want to ask me?"

"Didn't Brother Lin already answer this question in our conversation just now?" Guo Ning said with a smile.

Brother Lin paused for a moment, then drank his glass and said, "It is my honor to meet Brother Guo."

Later, while eating hot pot, the two met another person. This person called himself Dai Tu, who was also from Yanzhou and the same age as Lin Zhong. He said that he heard the high-sounding talk between Lin Zhong and Guo Ning and felt that they shared the same ideals, so he came to make friends with them.

Seeing that Dai Tu was also a scholar, with a handsome face and excellent conversation, Lin Zhong and Guo Ning tacitly agreed to make friends with him.

Afterwards, the three of them, accompanied by Ma Fu, went to the government office in Huaizhou City.

When Dai Tu saw Guo Ning was going to take the exam at the government office in Huaizhou City, he said, "Brother Guo, you can't do that."

Guo Ning was stunned: "Why not?"

Dai Tu held Guo Ning and said slowly: "Brother Guo, you don't know that the number of places for the provincial examinations in these four states is limited. The scholars from Jiangnan all come to Huaizhou to take the exam. Jiangnan has been a holy land for literati for nearly a thousand years, with a strong atmosphere of books and ink. Moreover, Jiangnan has never been ravaged by war, and the scholars from Jiangnan are all well-educated. If Brother Guo takes the exam in Huaizhou City, he will have to take the provincial examination in the same examination room as them. How can he compete with them?

Therefore, in my opinion, we should go to Qingzhou to apply for the exam. In recent years, Qingzhou has been in constant war, and the scholars in Qingzhou have no interest in studying. They have neglected their studies for more than five years, so they are definitely not our opponents. And according to what is said in the notice, I guess those who go to Qingzhou to apply for the exam are all princes from the north, so they are not to be feared at all. If we go to Qingzhou to apply for the exam, we will definitely win the first place. "

After listening to what Dai Tu said, Lin Zhong and Ma Fu's expressions changed slightly.

Guo Ning was stunned at first, then laughed and said, "Then I should apply for the exam in Huaizhou. It would be so exciting to be in the same examination room with the scholars from Jiangnan and compete with each other."

As he spoke, Guo Ning put one arm around Lin Zhong's neck and the other around Dai Tu's neck, and said, "Besides, Brother Lin has already taken the exam in Yi County, Huaizhou. As friends, we two naturally have to accompany Brother Lin."

Dai Tu said: "Then we should go to Qingzhou, so that there will be two less people to compete with Brother Lin."

Brother Lin smiled and said, "I'm fine."

In the end, despite Dai Tu's persuasion, Guo Ning still took the exam in Huaizhou City.

Lin Zhong also confirmed that it was true that he had taken the exam in Yi County, and there was evidence of this in the government office in Huaizhou City.

Dai Tu bid farewell to the two and went to Qingzhou.

……

end of February.

Linzhou, Xiangyang City.

Geng Songfu had already rushed to Xiangyang from Huaizhou, and Chen Mo met him in person.

At the banquet, Geng Songfu talked to Chen Mo about several issues concerning the imperial examinations, and said, "Duke Anguo, the news about the imperial examinations has spread all over the world, but I have never heard of any geographical restrictions on the provincial examinations in the four states."

"Oh?"

Chen Mo was stunned. During this period, he had not been concerned about the imperial examination, but had given full authority to Chen Xiu. Hearing this, he asked in confusion, "What does Mr. Geng mean?"

"In recent years, the south, especially Jiangnan and Jiangdong, has not been hit by wars, while the north has been plagued by wars and has few peaceful days. The scholars in the north are certainly not as good as those in the south. Therefore, Duke Anguo must prevent the scholars in the south from running to the north to take the exams." Geng Songfu said.

Chen Mo was shocked when he heard this. This reminded him of the North-South list case in the Ming Dynasty. He immediately said, "Mr. Geng, this makes sense. I will explain it later. Since there are regional restrictions, the exam papers for the north and south should also be different."

(End of this chapter)