The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

"This..." After listening to Wang Wenlong's words, Ye Xianggao said hesitantly: "If the oracle bones are to be sent to the imperial court for protection, they must be huge, but if so, the impact will definitely be huge. ”

Wang Wenlong understands Ye Xianggao's concerns. In ancient times, there was no concept of cultural relic protection. The laws of the Ming Dynasty stipulated protection methods for antiquities. They only prohibited stealing and digging graves. However, there was no prohibition on the sale of antiquities, including tomb robbing. Commonly seen.

The former residences and relics of some sages, eminent monks and celebrities will also be protected, but this is not required by law and is often the personal behavior of believers or admirers.

At this time, the ancient heritage that can be protected by all dynasties needs to be influenced by the concept of reverence for sages. For example, the tomb of Confucius after the death of Confucius and the hall where Confucius lived will be protected by the courts of all dynasties.

If the imperial court were to protect the oracle bones, then Ye Xianggao would probably hold the oracle bones to the same status as Confucius' relics, which would definitely cause controversy.

What's more, the "Da Ming Code" not only has no provisions related to the protection of cultural relics, but also has a "thief: tomb". Although most of the oracle bones in the Yin Ruins are not in tombs, some of them were unearthed from ancient tombs.

According to regulations, "Anyone who finds a coffin in a tomb with a hundred sticks will be transported for three thousand miles." "Anyone who finds a corpse in a tomb will be hanged." In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, people were still concerned about food and clothing, and the sale of cultural relics was rare, and even more so. Few people know the value of cultural relics, so the Ming Dynasty Laws formulated more than two hundred years ago did not take into account any epigraphic research or archaeological excavations.

This means that the current government is very lenient and will not arrest anyone. Otherwise, Dong Qichang and the others would dig up oracle bones for research in Zhangde Mansion. As long as they dug up a merchant's tomb, they would be imprisoned every minute.

"This is easy," Wang Wenlong said, "Zhao Pingguo and several people are here to attend the Donglin Conference. There are also many gentlemen in Donglin Academy who are very interested in the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions. I can ask him to contact some celebrities to jointly create publicity. Then you will have support when you go to Shang Shu."

Ye Xianggao felt a little troubled. He didn't understand why Wang Wenlong cared so much about archeology, so he casually said: "Jianyang, let me think about it for a few days."

"I must facilitate this matter," Wang Wenlong said, pretending to be angry: "If Shilang Ye is unwilling to go to me, I will ask Governor Li. If he is also unwilling to help, I will close the Suzhou Xunbao and the Suzhou Silver Coin Factory. , resign and return to Fujian!"

Ye Xianggao had a look of astonishment on his face. Li Sancai must have had a grudge against him to make things like this happen. He didn't understand why Wang Wenlong was so persistent in protecting the oracle bones, but anyway, he wouldn't lose much by writing an article. He finally said: " That’s all, I’ll contact my colleagues in the next few days to discuss it, and I’ll try to write an excerpt and submit it.”

"Thank you for your help, sir!" Wang Wenlong immediately became happy.

That afternoon he went to find Zhao Kan. When he arrived in Guangyi, Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu were discussing some oracle bone rubbings in the house.

Seeing Wang Wenlong come in, both of them stood up. Zhao Kan introduced Wang Wenlong: "This is Feng Zhonghao, Zhonghao, this gentleman is Wang Jianyang."

Wang Wenlong hurriedly saluted: "I have heard about Guanxi Master's name for a long time, and I am lucky enough to meet him today."

Feng Congwu also looked at Wang Wenlong up and down, and said happily: "I like to read Jianyang's "Treatment of Diseases" the most. Jianyang's description of the world and people's hearts in this book has reached a state, and "Shangshu Ancient Wen Shuzheng" is even more impressive. Surprised, I just thought that Jianyang must be very old, I didn’t expect to see him today and he is still a handsome young man."

Wang Wenlong smiled and turned to Zhao Kan and said: "Mr. Pingshan, Minister Ye of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites agreed to Shangshu's request to protect the oracle bones of Zhangde Mansion."

"Is this true? That's great!" Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu were both quite happy. Of course, they still didn't know how big the archaeological discoveries would be in the oracle bone pit.

Although Wang Wenlong and Feng Congwu met for the first time, their relationship was not far apart. First of all, Feng Congwu's master Xu Fuyuan was the governor of Fujian before Jin Xuezeng. Xu Fuyuan had paid attention to Wang Wenlong as early as when Wang Wenlong assisted Xu Xueju in Fujian. Xu Fuyuan was one of the first literati to discover the benefits of "Shu Zheng". Ding Yuanjian, who brought "Shang Shu Gu Wen Shu Zheng" to the capital, was Xu Fuyuan's disciple. In his letters with Feng Congwu, master and disciple often mentioned Discuss Wang Wenlong.

In addition, Wang Zheng, a famous scholar whom Wang Wenlong hired in Jiangnan Physics Society, was also from Shaanxi. Wang Zheng's uncle Zhang Jian was also a famous scholar in Guanzhong Neo-Confucianism. Zhang Jian and Feng Congwu had a pretty good relationship. It was because of this relationship that Feng Congwu and Wang Wenlong The two are naturally close. In this era, famous people from all over the world were often famous for each other, but there were not many opportunities to meet. Finally, they met in Nanjing. After saying a few words, Wang Wenlong took the two of them out.

Finding a restaurant by the Qinhuai River, Zhao Kan sat down and asked the shopkeeper: "What kind of wine do you have here?"

"Sir, the new one is Yinping Shanyin wine, which is the best among Shaoxing wines."

Zhao Kan asked: "Is it Lu Jiu?"

The shopkeeper quickly replied with a smile: "Although Shaoxing, Nanjing is not far away, home wine cannot be reached. Naturally, all the people who come here are road wine. It doesn't matter what we businessmen say, the master will know it is good after eating it." Miles."

Zhao Kan said: "You will know after you taste it."

The shopkeeper responded and left.

Wang Wenlong himself doesn't drink often, and every time he goes out, drinks are always prepared. He rarely has the experience of ordering drinks by himself in a tavern. When he saw the shopkeeper leaving, he asked curiously: " Ping Guo has never been to Jiangnan, so how can he be so familiar with Nanjing's wine shop? What is this wine?"

Feng Congwu smiled when he heard this and said to Wang Wenlong: "Brother Pingguo is a veteran in the wine industry, and others are indeed inferior to him in this regard."

"Brother Feng, don't make fun of me," Zhao Kan said with a smile: "Shaoxing dialect, Shaoxing master, and Shaoxing wine are all called the 'Three Accessories of Shaoxing'. Although I am in Guanzhong, how could I not know? In fact, I thought that Shaoxing dialect was not good enough for Shaoxing. People's accents can be learned from Shaoxing masters if they are willing. Only Shaoxing wine is brewed from the water between Shanyin and Kuaiji. It is really hard to learn from other places. As for Shaoxing people's own wine, they brew it in the state. Drinking wine, road wine is wine sold outside, and road wine is often better than home wine.”

This time, Feng Congwu was curious. He asked: "People say, 'Save the benefits to eat at home'. How come according to what Pingguo said, Shaoxing's local wine is not as good as road wine?"

Zhao Kan explained: "Wine will easily deteriorate when traveling far away, and may become sour or bitter. If it is not of the best quality, it cannot be sold far away. Therefore, the wine sold on the road must be of the best quality. Therefore, Shaoxing wine from Ganlong and Guilin is extremely beautiful. , I heard that if you go outside the customs, it will be like fairy dew and nectar, but the Shaoxing wine I drank in the past few days in Nanjing is always a little tasteless. For example, the Shaoxing wine I drank yesterday would be almost unpalatable if it had not been stored in the cellar for several years."

Wang Wenlong was also quite curious when he heard this. Thinking about it, this is true. Although rice wine is more stable than water, transportation is inconvenient in this era. It would take more than half a year to transport Shaoxing wine to Guanzhong. The quality of wine that can survive being exposed to sun, rain, boating, and traveling without deterioration is certainly not bad. Unlike later generations, when a spoonful of preservatives are added, there is no worry about good or bad wine going bad.

While the three of them were talking, the shopkeeper brought the wine. It turned out to be a beautiful silver vase, with the sign "Sanyin Wu's Laofang Fine Wine" engraved on the hairpin.

After opening the mud seal, the fragrance overflowed. Not only Zhao Kan's eyes lit up instantly, but even Wang Wenlong swallowed unconsciously.

Zhao Kan quickly drank a glass, then nodded repeatedly and said, "This is the best drink I've had since arriving in Nanjing. What do you want me to do?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "This is Wu's daughter's wine. It has been stored in the cellar for sixteen years. The jar of wine has shrunk to only 70%. It is specially divided into silver bottles to contain it. It is a first-class Shaoxing wine!"

This was because he saw that Zhao Kan really knew how to drink, so he brought out the good wine. If only Wang Wenlong and Feng Congwu came, they would probably not see this daughter's face.

(End of this chapter)