Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

Wei Chen smiled and asked Sheng Changbai to sit down and pulled out a jar of wine from the corner of the room.

Sheng Changbai frowned slightly and politely advised: "Brother Xian, you are still young and drinking alcohol will harm your health!"

"Brother, this is fruit wine. It's not very alcoholic. It won't hurt if you drink a few glasses."

As Wei Chen spoke, he opened the seal on the wine jar. In an instant, the entire attic was filled with the sweet aroma of wine.

Sheng Changbai smelled the aroma of wine and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sweet but not greasy, full of mellow aroma, this is amber wine!"

Chapter 36 Good brother, a quilt!

"Exactly the amber wine."

Wei Chen smiled slightly, took two exquisite white porcelain wine cups, slowly poured the amber wine in the jar, kept one cup for himself, and pushed the other cup in front of Sheng Changbai.

Sheng Changbai's Adam's apple twitched unconsciously, he carefully picked up the wine cup, took a shallow sip, closed his eyes, let the wine swirl in his mouth, and savored it carefully.

"What a great wine!"

Then, Sheng Changbai said with some regret: "This wine is warm in nature, sweet and refreshing, and is most suitable for literati. However, the output is too small, and it has always been expensive but not marketable. It is rare for me to taste it!"

Wei Chen asked curiously: "My uncle's family owns an amber wine shop. Why can't he drink it?"

Sheng Changbai sighed and said: "My uncle would send twenty jars of amber wine every month. However, this amber wine is precious, and the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River regarded drinking this wine as an elegant thing. My father himself was reluctant to drink it, and most of them were given as gifts. It’s a favor.”

"Then brother came to the right place, little brother. I don't have anything else, but this amber wine is enough!"

Wei Chen asked: "Brother, do you know why this amber wine is different from ordinary fruit wine?"

Sheng Changbai replied: "I heard from my uncle that there is an extremely rare auxiliary ingredient called glycerin. With this ingredient, the fruit wine can be reborn and become worth a hundred times."

"That's right." Wei Chen laughed and said, "Brother, do you know that this glycerin is made by my little brother?"

"what?!"

Seeing the surprised look on Sheng Changbai's face, Wei Chen smiled and told him everything about how he used the secret recipe of glycerin to invest in a business partnership with Sheng Wei.

"I see."

After hearing this, Sheng Changbai suddenly understood, clapped his hands and applauded: "I admire you, my wise brother is clever, and my foolish brother is ashamed of himself."

admire me?

Wei Chen was a little confused.

In his impression, the scholars in Dazhou had always looked down upon merchants, which was why Wei Chen had to go to great lengths to find an agent like Sheng Wei.

So when he heard a scholar say that he admired himself, and it was Sheng Changbai who said this, Wei Chen's first reaction was surprise.

"What is there to admire about me?"

"Why should I belittle myself, my good brother?"

Sheng Changbai patted Wei Weichen on the shoulder and said with excitement: "Isn't it the reason why we wait for scholars to become officials in the court to benefit one party? Now you haven't even become an official, but you have already truly benefited everyone in Youyang County. Thousands of fruit farmers have allowed them to live a good life, this is the way of benevolence mentioned by the saints!"

"Uh..., it seems to make some sense."

Wei Chen is so sweaty, why does he feel like a fan in his previous life chasing after stars? This is not the same.

However, after this conversation with Sheng Changbai, Wei Chen finally understood what kind of person Sheng Changbai was.

He is upright but not rigid. He has lofty ambitions but also knows how to be down-to-earth. He is countless times better than those rotten Confucians who only talk empty talk and harm the country.

This kind of person should be appointed as the prime minister and rule the world!

Not long after the two sat in the attic chatting, Wei Ruyi came to call them to eat.

Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai went down to the attic and sat around a table with the Zhang family of three.

Sheng Changbai's upbringing was very strict and he would not eat with his female family members since he was ten years old, but it was normal for them to see Wei Chen.

Apparently, he didn't hesitate and sat directly next to Wei Chen, just treating himself as a guest and doing as he pleased.

Wei Ruyi was a good cook. She went to the market to buy meat and fish and carefully prepared a large table of food. Wei Chen almost swallowed his tongue.

Although Sheng Changbai didn't say much while eating, judging from his appetite, he was quite satisfied with the meal.

After dinner, Wei Ruyi packed up the dishes and took Zhang Xu to rest with Zhang Ming.

It was cold and there was freezing rain outside. Wei Chen took Sheng Changbai back to his attic and lit a charcoal fire in the corner of the room. The room suddenly felt as warm as spring.

"Brother, I specially asked my aunt to warm a jar of amber wine. You and I can drink it tonight!"

Wei Chen raised a glass to invite him, and Sheng Changbai happily accepted the offer. He and Wei Chen drank happily together. Over the wine, the two chatted about ancient and modern times.

The clouds outside are scattered and the moon is rising, the shadows of the trees are swaying, and the candlelight inside is bright and warm.

Not only Wei Chen, but Sheng Changbai was also slightly tipsy. He suddenly started clapping the table and said with righteous indignation: "My dear brother, do you know what's the problem with my great Zhou confidant?"

Wei Chen was stunned and asked, "Brother, are you talking about the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun?"

"Exactly, if we don't take back the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, our dynasty will be in endless trouble!"

Sheng Changbai said excitedly: "In my opinion, the imperial court should mobilize all its troops to expedition to the north of Khitan and restore our border areas. If we want to send troops to the northern expedition, I, Sheng Changbai, am willing to join the army and be a pawn in the vanguard!"

"..."

Wei Chen remained silent.

Sheng Changbai looked at him strangely: "Don't you, my dear brother, hope that I, Da Zhou, will recover my lost territory and restore Jin Ou?"

"Of course I also want to destroy the Khitan tomorrow."

Wei Chen shook his head and analyzed calmly: "But I don't think this is a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition."

Sheng Changbai asked in confusion: "Why did my dear brother say this?"

"Ten years ago, the imperial court failed to implement the New Deal. Instead of solving the imperial court's financial and armament problems, they worsened. This is one of them."

Wei Chen said clearly: "Now that the emperor is old and sick, and has no heir, the government and the public just want to ask the emperor to establish a throne as soon as possible. I am afraid that they will not be able to think about the Northern Expedition. This is the second reason.

As for the third one, the imperial court only put down the rebellion of the Southern Barbarians last year, and the troops were exhausted. There were still party members in the northwest who were eyeing them... It was no longer the beginning of the country, and the imperial court did not dare to do so when there were strong enemies outside and internal troubles were not settled. Those who want to start a national war. "

Although he was deeply frustrated, Sheng Changbai had to admit that Wei Chen was right. He took a sip of the sweet amber wine, but his mouth was full of bitterness.

"Is this life hopeless?"

"of course not!"

Wei Chen shook his head and said with firm eyes: "The government is incompetent and the country is regretful. This is when our generation learns its shame and becomes brave and strives for strength.

One day, I will let Dazhou raise millions of troops to regain Yanyun, level the Hetao, and break through the Helan Mountain gap! "

"well said!"

Sheng Changbai was in the prime of his youth, and Wei Chen's words were in line with his temperament. He looked at Wei Chen with eyes full of admiration and appreciation.

He immediately stood up, raised the wine cup with both hands, and paid respect to Wei Chen: "My dear brother, you have lofty ambitions and great courage. You are worthy of being my great Zhou man! I can have my dear brother as my friend, and I will have no regrets in this life!"

Wei Chen laughed and drank with him boldly. He put down the wine cup and the two looked at each other and smiled.

Although the fruit wine was light, it was still intoxicating. A burst of heroic spirit burst out from Sheng Changbai's chest, and he felt that the young man he met tonight was truly a hero of the world.

He drank until the wine was gone. That night, Sheng Changbai did not go back to the Sheng family's old house, but stayed at Wei Chen's house and slept with Wei Chen.

The two of them talked freely, unaware that the stars were changing outside the building, until the rooster sang three times and the east became white.

Chapter 37 The First Step of the Long March

February fifteenth.

clear.

It is advisable to take the exam.

Wei Ruyi knew about Wei Chen's county exam. A few days before the exam, she made a special trip to consult an old scholar who lived in the alley. Based on the experience of the old scholar, she prepared a test basket for Wei Chen in advance.

For example, there are roll bags for examination papers, bamboo boxes containing the four treasures of the study room, small items such as armrests, paperweights, copper character grids, and a small bench that can be folded in half to facilitate sitting and waiting outside the examination room.

The night before the exam, except for Wei Chen who slept peacefully, the three members of the Zhang family stayed awake all night.

Wei Ruyi got up in the middle of the night and steamed steamed cakes and cakes, along with steamed sausages and prunes cut into small pieces, and put them in a food box.

Zhang Xu stopped staying in bed and climbed out of bed when he heard Bangzi. He went upstairs to shake Wei Chen awake and urged him to get up and wash up.

Zhang Ming spent a lot of money to hire a bullock cart and personally drove Wei Chen to the county school to ensure that Wei Chen could enter the school before midnight.

After Wei Chen washed up and had breakfast, he carried the examination basket and boarded Zhang Ming's bullock cart.

The car bumped all the way, turned around the alley, and headed towards the county school.

Wei Chen opened the curtain of the car and saw that there were already cars and horses on the street. Each car had a lantern in front of it. The orange-red lights were dotted on the street, winding like a long dragon.

When we arrived at the gate of the county school, many people were already gathered in the square at the gate.

Wei Chen jumped off the bullock cart and looked around at the hustle and bustle in front of the examination shed. Most of them were teenagers of fourteen or fifteen years old, and there were also childish children like Wei Chen.

Wei Chen even saw an old man with gray hair on his temples standing tremblingly in the cold wind waiting, and he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart.

The four soap officials were arranged on both sides like door gods, with scrutiny and indifference in their eyes.

For them, county examinations are already commonplace. There is a county examination every year, and nearly a hundred students will be on the list each time. There is really nothing to make a fuss about.

There are not many three-legged toads in Youyang County, but there are two-legged scholars everywhere.

Regardless of the nearly a thousand students today who are all very ambitious and high-spirited, how many of them can pass three county examinations in a row and obtain the title of scholar?

As for the promotion of people and Jinshi?

Not to mention that.

These officials, who were accustomed to seeing big scenes, scanned the huge crowd without any fluctuation in their eyes, and had no intention of letting them enter the examination room in advance.

Wei Chen groped around in the square for a while and finally found Sheng Changbai and Chen Jun who had come here early to wait.

Seeing that both of them had serious expressions, Wei Chen was also quite emotional. He met with the two of them and said with a faint smile: "Brother Sheng, Brother Chen, you are really early."

Chen Jun smiled bitterly and said: "I've been preparing for this for so long, it's just for this one show. If I wait for the show earlier, I will feel more confident."

He is the least educated among the three. If he fails to pass the county examination, everything will be lost.

Wei Chen patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Chen, don't be too nervous. You have a solid foundation and it should be no problem to cope with the county examination."