country

Han Mozhuang patted Xue Poye's shoulder lightly, and said, "Go in."

"Is the teacher presiding over this exam?" Xue Poye asked with a smile.

Han Mozhuang shook his head, with a trace of exhaustion on his face, and said calmly: "My child, I am an old man now, and I am tired after doing something. There are so many Hongru scholars in Hangzhou, and I am a lot less. The old man came here just because The old man came out of this Baili Academy when he was young, and he recalled the plum blossoms in the courtyard in winter, so he came to have a look." Sighing, he said with emotion: "The plum blossoms are still there, but people are old. Life is a hundred years old. It's like a shooting star, so there's really no need to worry too much." After speaking, he waved his hands lightly, put his hands behind his back, bent his old body, and walked away slowly, and disappeared under the plum blossom tree after a while.

Xue Poye watched Han Mozhuang go away with a respectful gaze, and a feeling rose in his heart. Even if a person is in a situation, but when he reaches his age, he is just an old man. Those who are with them are just a long lonely night .

Putting on a full set of clothes, he led the little stone to the front of the big bookstore. The big bookstore covers a huge area, is huge in scale, and has an extremely large capacity inside. As the largest school in Hangzhou, Baili Academy has cultivated many talents. Contributed a lot of pillars to the imperial court, such as Han Mozhuang, the Baili Academy trained a lot of academicians.

It is precisely because of this profound historical background and achievements that Baili Academy has always been a benchmark project in Hangzhou. Over the years, it has been repaired several times, expanded to repair the academy, and has many students.

Mr. Chen Yin, Xiao Moting, also came from Baili Academy, and eventually became a generation of writers. He has always been a figure that Baili Academy is proud of, and is also a role model for many underachievers.

This time, Mr. Chen Yin’s choice of disciples was immediately considered a major event in the Hangzhou literary world. Not only did dozens of highly respected literary scholars come out to handle the matter, but they even set up the examination room in this holy place, which showed Mr. Chen Yin’s full potential. prestige.

That piece of bamboo grove drifted with the cold wind, exuding a rare fragrance in winter, which made people feel shocked when they smelled it.

Xue Poye raised his head to look at the plaque on the big bookstore, and there was the word "Jingshe" written on it. Although the handwriting was not flamboyant, it had a taste of elegance and refinement. The person who left his mark obviously thought he was a master of calligraphy.

Entering the quiet house, one can see a row of tables in front of the book house, and a dozen or so scholars are sitting on it upright, all of whom seem to be well-educated.

Under the hall, there was a large group of people standing quietly below. Even if a few people whispered in private, they immediately shut up when they saw the strange eyes projected from the side.

Xue Poye walked into the crowd slowly, raised his eyes to look at the table, wanted to see if Xiao Moting was present, but he didn't see Xiao Moting's figure when he scanned from the beginning to the end.

Xue Poye is well aware of Xiao Moting's original intention of choosing an apprentice this time.

What Xiao Moting meant was naturally that he did not want Xiao Suzhen to marry into the Liu family. Although he admired Liu Tuo as a disciple, but in terms of choosing a son-in-law, he was very dissatisfied with Liu Tuo's family background.

This kind of dissatisfaction, of course, is not because Liu Tuo's family background is not good, but because Liu Tuo's family background is too prominent.

Liu Tuo is the only son of the Liu family, one of the three great royal families in the Great Chu.

However, as the royal family of the imperial court, the Liu family has complicated roots, and every step of the way, if one is not good, it is likely to cause some unexpected major turmoil. For Xiao Moting, who is familiar with historical allusions, the decline and fall of the wealthy and famous family is in the historical track. But it is not uncommon that a nobleman who is still prominent today may face the crime of exterminating his family tomorrow. As long as he is in the court, no one can guarantee when this kind of thing will happen.

As the three founding royal families of the country, the Liu family is extremely dignified. After many years of prestige, it has long formed a climate with deep roots. It is just like this, but it has become the guard and hatred of the lord of a country. As the lord of the country, no one will I hope that under my rule, there are still some deep-rooted powerful families, so that the policy actions of the lord who are so constrained will definitely be thorns in the flesh of the lord, and they will be pulled out quickly.

From certain actions of His Majesty the current emperor, Xiao Moting has keenly grasped the crisis of the existence of the three royal families. In the hands of the current emperor, the three royal families who have been controlling the three major garrison troops in Kyoto have gradually been reduced in military power. Although the entanglement between the two cannot be completely resolved for a while, the meaning of the Holy One is very clear, that is, the three royal families must be abolished.

Today's Holy Majesty, Wenzhiwugong has not been displayed in a big way among the emperors of all dynasties. There has been no war for so many years, so the Holy Majesty has not made much achievement in martial arts, but in terms of Wenzhi, no one dares to ignore the great contribution made by the current Holy Majesty.

The literati stand up and are respected everywhere. Now the country is peaceful. In a peaceful world, literature is emphasized, and in troubled times, military affairs are emphasized. It is because His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to literati, which allows the state machine to move forward smoothly with rules and regulations.Even if it led to a slack in armaments, the country's cultural governance is sufficient to stabilize the huge Chu State, and His Majesty the Emperor has become the holy king in the hearts of all literati, and has won the support of literati. In China, His Majesty the Emperor obviously has a very high political foundation and popular opinion.

Just imagine, during the turmoil between the two princes fighting and interfering with each other, the important departments of the court dismissed countless officials, but because His Majesty the Emperor had prepared a candidate for a long time ago, in the silent replacement, those worries did not arise. In the midst of the great turmoil, a group of outstanding new officials continued to maintain the machine of His Majesty the Emperor.

Xiao Moting obviously understands a truth, if his daughter marries into the Liu family, then the life and death of the Liu family will be determined by the ups and downs of the Liu family. Of course he can't bear to marry his daughter into such a dangerous place, let alone let his daughter fall into such a dangerous place. In the incomparably vicious family disputes of the big family.

So in order to escape this marriage that was destined not to be happy, he resolutely used the method of restraining the qi of the five elements to deceive Liu Tuo first, and extended the time limit for one year, but when the time limit came, the Liu family would definitely not give up. At that time, if Mr. Liu Guogong really came to ask for marriage, if he refused, he might really offend Xi Jinping and affect the future of other disciples.

By nature, Xiao Moting doesn't like to involve others, so he can only choose one way, that is, within this year, Xiao Suzhen must be married off, in this way, he can get rid of the entanglement of the Liu family, and even tell Xiao Suzhen's sudden illness He has more reasons to deal with the Liu family, so that he will not offend the Liu family directly.

Of course, Xiao Moting would not be so stupid as to really wantonly seek a son-in-law, this would be a matter of face, and another one would give the Liu family a loophole.

After much deliberation, in the name of selecting disciples, to select a first-class talent from among them as a son-in-law, and to marry Xiao Suzhen off, this is Mr. Chen Yin's final plan.

Xue Poye was thinking, but heard a figure beside him say: "Master Xue, please stand in line!"

Xue Poye came back to his senses, and saw nearly [-] candidates in the lobby, but they were all standing in a team, divided into fourteen teams, each team had a dozen people, and in front of each team was facing a His name is Hongru.

This is really like queuing up to buy tickets at the train station in my previous life.

The person who spoke was a bodyguard who obviously knew Xue Poye, and he was polite to Xue Poye. Xue Poye hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He casually stepped into the line on the left .

After a lot of tossing around, when nearly 200 people had lined up, a thick security guard flashed out from the side and said loudly: "Everyone, Mr. Chen Yin's choice of disciples is a matter of great importance. It is a big event for the Great Chu Kingdom, all the talented and young talents came here to apply for the election, and even passed a test, I will take the Hangzhou literary world to thank you for coming, and congratulate everyone for passing a test, congratulations!"

There was a lot of courtesy from below, even a reckless and brave man showed a gentle attitude at this time. After all, he wanted to be Mr. Chen Yin's disciple, and no one wanted to be regarded as a reckless man who didn't understand world affairs.

"Okay, okay!" The head of the escort looked back at the group of Hongru who were sitting upright, and continued: "However, although this pass is passed, it is only the beginning. Today is the second pass, and the second pass, according to Chen What Mr. Yin means is that there are two problems."

"Oh, isn't it just two questions? Quickly ask, I'll tell you one." A brash man couldn't help it, his nature was revealed, and he rolled his eyes. I also feel that in the quiet house, I should maintain a gentle appearance, and I always cast contemptuous glances at this brother, this brother was embarrassed for a while, and lowered his head, feeling ashamed.

The head of the security guard chuckled before continuing: "Only those who can pass this question can answer the second question."

"Isn't this two levels?" Someone still couldn't help muttering secretly.

The head of the bodyguard turned his head and cupped his hands at the fourteen great Confucians on the stage before turning around and saying, "Everyone, these fourteen are masters in the literary circles of Hangzhou, they are the leaders of our Hangzhou literati and even the great Chu literati, and they are highly respected. Honest and clear, this question is for each gentleman to ask the young talent in front of him. If he can match, he will pass the test. If he can’t match, he will be out of the game with regret. Thank you for your admiration for Mr. Chen Yin, we will take out two taels of silver as travel expenses. After this round, all gentlemen will jointly take out the iron box that Mr. Chen Yin locked!" After finishing speaking, the escort pointed at everyone Behind Hongru, the crowd discovered that there was a small table behind Hongru, and suddenly there was an iron box on the table. The box was not big, and it looked like a decoration, but it was locked by a big lock. stand up.

Although everyone was puzzled, fortunately they knew that this place was a clean place, so they didn't discuss it.

With a faint smile on the corner of Xue Poye's mouth, he touched his nose, looking refreshed.

"Inside this box is a question given by Mr. Chen Yin, so after you finish answering Mr.'s question, those who pass the test will be able to accept Mr. Chen Yin's question." , I heard the head of the bodyguard announce loudly: "All young talents, please come forward and answer the questions in order."

After finishing speaking, all the Confucian scholars sat up straight, with a dignified appearance, waiting for the candidate to go up.

Xiao Shitou stood in the corner, looking at the rows of candidates, quite interesting, but sat in the corner watching, and no one noticed him, and they all threw themselves into the vigorous question-answering exercise.

The quiet house has a huge capacity. Although there are more than 200 people, it is still very empty. This is a place like a lecture hall in Baili Academy. The two hundred people keep quiet. Although Xue Poye is the last one, it is still far from the front. There was some distance, but due to the scene in the quiet house, the previous topic was clearly conveyed to the ears.

Those questions, as expected, are all literary questions.

""The Mean"

Chapter 14 has two sentences: "If you are rich and honored, you will be rich and honored; if you are poor and humble, you will act in poverty and humbleness." 'And ask how to continue after this? "

"The national style and quiet wind section of "Book of Songs", there is a chapter of Dongshan, can you memorize it?"

"The Song of Zhou in the "Book of Songs". What is the Qing Temple, there is a section of 'Shimai' in it, and there is a section of 'Zai Ji fighting, Zai Bow lost', what is the explanation for this?"

……

My ears are full of simple questions about the Four Books and Five Classics, but it is not difficult. If it is an ordinary scholar, I am afraid that seven out of ten can answer them. But at this time, there are many strong men and warriors in the quiet house, but only a few of them are both civil and military. , This question immediately made many candidates who passed the test by brute force dumbfounded, speechless, thinking blankly, and in the end they talked nonsense, and they were all rejected by the bodyguard. They sent them down and took two taels of silver to go out.

These reckless men are naturally a little unconvinced. After they go out, they have to talk about it, saying that they are deliberately making things difficult for others.

This defeated person was naturally full of dissatisfaction, he had to talk about it after he went out, saying that he deliberately made things difficult for others, and asked the warriors to answer the Four Books and Five Classics, which is too absurd.

Immediately, someone nearby said that Mr. Chen Yin's selection of apprentices and supplementary examination of Wen Dao is a strange thing. If this level is unfair to warriors, how can the level of Yishishi be fair to weak scholars?Those frail scholars who have not passed the first test have no fart, and the warriors who have not passed the second test can get two taels of silver, so they should be content.

After saying this, it was only a little bit of understanding for everyone, knowing that this statement was justified. Mr. Chen Yin is a big man in the literary world, so it is really strange that he does not study literary skills.

Of course, there must be someone who said: "If the first pass is money, then as long as you sign up, you will be given money. Wouldn't everyone in the world come?"

There was a lot of uproar, but the outside of Baili Academy was very lively, and the saliva and arguments were flying all over the sky, but inside the quiet house was still peaceful. Those who passed the test were taken to the side by the bodyguards to rest, and those who lost quickly left the house. The prep work is superb.

Xue Poye felt a little uneasy in his heart. In fact, he only had a half-knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, and he couldn't answer most of the questions he heard. He was always full of confidence, but now he really didn't have much confidence.

Finally it was his turn. There were more than ten people in this row, but only one person passed the test, and the rest were eliminated.

Xue Poye cupped his hands, saluted, and then looked up at Mr., he has a good memory, and when he saw this Mr.'s face, he felt familiar. After thinking about it for a while, he suddenly thought of the time when Xiao Moting was released from the prison , I invited myself to a banquet at the West Lake, and I saw Liu Tuo for the first time that day, and this gentleman seemed to be among them. I suddenly remembered that this gentleman seemed to be called "Mr. Qingyi", and he was also one of the most famous figures in Hangzhou literary circles , and Mr. Chen Yin had contacts.

"Xue Poye!" Mr. Qing Yi gave Xue Poye a slight look and recognized him.

Xue Poye smiled lightly and said, "How is Mr. Qingyi?"

Mr. Qingyi snorted coldly, and did not answer, but looked Xue Poye up and down a few times, and said indifferently: "I really can't see it, the shopkeeper Xue is not only excellent in debate, but also has great strength. You moved."

"It's not moving, it's being lifted." Xue Poye said with a smile.

On the West Lake that day, Xu Poye was very flirtatious when he fought with the Confucian scholars, and he was even more chic when he walked away. If he didn't pay attention to such a clean person, he would have offended this group of people long ago.

Among the people that day, Xue Poye and this Mr. Qingyi had the deepest quantum, so when Mr. Qingyi saw Xue Poye, he became angry.

"Hey, shouldn't the old man praise you?" Mr. Qing Yi sneered.

Xue Poye said indifferently: "Mr., please come up with a question!" He knew that this old guy was bound to come up with an extremely difficult question.

Mr. Qing Yi pondered for a while, and finally said: "Well, if this old man makes a pair, if you match, I will count you as a pass." Mr. Qing Yi knew that this Xue Poye had studied under Han Mo Zhuang's school, if he asked again Asking questions from the Four Books and Five Classics, the other party would definitely answer them easily, but he didn't know that this was exactly Xue Poye's weakness. If he really found out extremely difficult questions from the Four Books and Five Classics, Xue Poye would really be able to answer them [-]% of the time. not come up.

It was also he who identified Xue Poye as following Han Mozhuang, and Han Mozhuang was an ancestor who was proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, and only wanted to find difficult answers to make Xue Poye stump.

After all, it is not difficult for scholars to study the Four Books and Five Classics, and it is not difficult to master the Four Books and Five Classics as long as they spend some effort.

"Three points Wei Shu Wu!"

After thinking for a while, Mr. Qingyi finally came up with a pair. He had known about this pair for a long time, and he had been right a lot, but after much deliberation, he still couldn't find a good answer. Asking at this time was a deliberate move. It's time to make things difficult for Xue Poye.

The two gentlemen next to them also finished asking questions, and saw that there was something wonderful about this pair, so they also came closer, wanting to know how Xue Poye would answer.

"Amitabha!" Xue Poye sighed.

"What?" Mr. Qingyi wondered: "Amitabha? What is this, your lower gate?"

Xue Poye immediately showed a weird smile, and said with a chuckle: "Of course this is not the second couplet, I just thank the Bodhisattva for blessing. If Mr. Qingyi makes other pairs, Xue may not be able to match them, but this one Yes, I can give it a try.”

"Young man, don't talk big. Although there is no best choice for this match, it is very rare to find a match with full meaning." Mr. Qing Yi said slowly, although he had a grudge against Xue Poye, but if Xue Poye He was really happy that Poye could really come up with a good lower question. After all, he is still a literati at heart, and he has a deep love for poetry. There has never been a good answer to this upper question, so he really hopes to have one When the good answer came out, it also relieved his regret.

"I'm right...!" Xue Poye pondered for a while, and finally said word by word: "Wan Su, greed, hatred and ignorance!"