Mingde Academy is the best academy in Nujiang County, and it is a place that countless people yearn for. Over the past few hundred years, many talented and famous officials have come from here. For many people in the territory, being able to study here is a great opportunity.
Learning skills is an honor, and once you enter the school, it represents countless resources.
Scholars have their own circle, and those who can afford to read are not ordinary people. If you can get into the circle of scholars at Mingde Academy and have all kinds of connections, as long as you are not stupid and have a little specialization, it is not difficult to rise to the top.
So, I don’t know how many people are trying to get in.
Of course, Mingde Academy only ranks first in Nujiang County. Looking at Jiangzhou, it is just like that, let alone compared with the four great palaces of the Dali Dynasty.
This school is located in the southeast corner of Nujiang County, covering an area of 800 acres.
The dynasty attaches great importance to the inheritance of knowledge, and is not stingy in allocating funds. In addition, the scholars who came out of this place have made achievements and returned to their alma mater, and there are also donations from wealthy people. With many resources, this school has been built beautifully.
After all, it is a place where knowledge is passed down. Although the scenery here is beautiful and every aspect is unique, it is not luxurious at all, but simple and elegant. In fact, this is more difficult than making it look like a nouveau riche, and it tests the skills of the craftsmen.
Passed down for hundreds of years, this school has a rich history and a strong learning atmosphere, as if the fragrance of poetry and calligraphy is wafting in the air.
The Mingde Academy on this day was undoubtedly very lively, with countless people flocking in to witness who could stand out and represent Nujiang County in the state capital to continue competing for the reputation of the Four Great Talents.
If anyone can stand out in one state, he can already be called one of the four great talents.
Those who are qualified to set foot in the academy to witness this prosperous age with their own eyes must at least belong to the circle of scholars. Ordinary people are not even qualified to enter, and can only join in the fun on the outside at most.
Even so, thousands of people still came to the academy on this day, making the academy with only a few hundred people extremely lively. Fortunately, everyone was well-educated and did not make the place a mess.
As for the streets outside the academy, there were huge crowds of people. It can be said that everyone participated. This was convenient for some smart vendors, making a lot of money and smiling broadly.
Then, the sunshine is warm in spring, and there are many beautiful young ladies dressed up in all kinds of ways, which makes countless old perverts unable to get enough of them. There are many guys on the street who are looking at young ladies openly, and occasionally look at each other to confirm.
Look in your eyes, it turns out you are also an old pervert, hehe...
More than fifty young talents have been selected from various places in the county. The oldest ones are no more than thirty years old, and the ones with the lowest reputations are all scholars. They are about to usher in their county-level intellectual display competition. If they can be seen by everyone,
It may not be possible to stand out and become a successful person all of a sudden, but it is almost enough. Some rich people invest and marry their daughters at the expense of others, which is normal.
Spend some money, give a daughter, and recruit a promising scholar. Why not do it? The investment will be small and the return will be big. Anyone with some sense will do the math.
Therefore, this is no longer just a competition between cultural figures. When extended, it can be said to involve all aspects. This is the real significance of the competition between the four great talents.
Of course, individuals have their own ideas. Rich people want to go further. They want to invest in a young man, while some young girls want to find a satisfactory husband at this time. The government
What they want is political achievements, what small traders want is to make more money, what scholars want is reputation, each gets what he needs...
As the largest local official, the county magistrate saw that the grand event was about to begin. As the main supervisor, he felt very upset and was not in a good mood at all.
It's strange that he is in a good mood. His house was robbed last night.
Being stolen is actually not a big problem. I just lost some money and treasures. But that's not the case. As a parent official of a county, my home was stolen silently. In other words, if the thief was more ruthless,
, wouldn’t it be possible to easily pick off his head?
This is what the Sheriff is most concerned about. When he himself is threatened, it is no longer a simple theft case and must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.
However, although the stolen items were found, there was no news from the thief. This matter is not over yet!
The Lord Sheriff has strictly ordered the people below to track down the thief, and has also notified Yingtang to cooperate and be sure to catch him. Yingtang monitors the world of martial arts, and there are many strange people in it. It is not a big problem to catch the thief.
The Sheriff did not bring these emotions to the upcoming grand event. He just interacted with the important people around him as if nothing had happened. With his temperament alone, it would be better to say that he is a high official, happy and angry.
It is basic to be invisible.
The competition between the Four Great Talents is about knowledge, but not entirely knowledge. After all, it is not an imperial examination. It can be broken down into five words: piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, and martial arts. The martial arts ranking is last, and the other four items are in no particular order.
Talented people, of course, are competing for their talents and learning. Only when they have reached a certain level of knowledge can they integrate what they have learned into playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. For example, if the skill of the piano reaches a certain level, the sound of great music can cleanse the soul and make people feel better.
Resonance, a song has been sung for thousands of years, and people all over the world and future generations share the same encouragement. How high is the realm of communication across time and space? For example, if poetry is outstanding, a poem will be famous throughout the ages, and it will leave a name in history. If you have beautiful calligraphy, then
Talent is worth a fortune. For example, if your painting skills are unparalleled and recognized by others, you can get rich just by painting. Another example is your chess skills. If you can master them, you can take the military route in the future. What you need when marching and fighting is to have a strategic mind and hold thousands of troops.
, how majestic it is?
As for martial arts, this thing is just like that in the face of knowledge. If you are not knowledgeable enough and your will is not strong, your thoughts will not be clear, and it will be difficult to achieve true artistic conception in the future, so it ranks at the bottom.
Therefore, a scholar’s four arts of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are not just arty, but can also change his destiny to a certain extent. Of course, the four arts of most people are just arty.
It is said that literature is not the first. It is difficult to convince the public about scholars' affairs, so how to compare? It is not a big problem. Over the years, we have worked out a set of procedures to allow scholars to display their talents. Many important people can be
When the referee makes a review, it only needs to be approved by the majority of people. It is impossible to get everyone to agree.
In this way, everyone knows everything about the shady story.
The shady story is limited to small places. If it reaches the state level or the general competition in the capital, it is not impossible for the shady story to exist, but it will almost never happen. After all, at that level, what people want is reputation. Once the shady story is spread, it will be
Shocking joke.
"Inquiry about nature, inheriting from the sages, studying everywhere, asking about all kinds of professions, learning with sincerity, and using it to express virtue..."
When the sun was high in the sky, as the scholars chanted a poem about learning from the sages, and then paid homage to the sages and kings, after the ceremony, the competition for students in Nujiang County officially began.
The first competition is chess skills, which is the most straightforward. If you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. There is no need to discuss comparisons like other projects...
"It's boring. I thought it would be so much fun, but this is what happened? Playing chess one after another made me sleepy. It's not like us people in the world, we just do it." On a big tree with dense leaves, You
Xiao Xiao carried a wine gourd and yawned and muttered.
This guy stole something last night, paid off the 'debt' he owed, and didn't care about the follow-up. Even if the government launched a high-profile investigation, he didn't take it to heart. He thought that he would not be caught at all because of his clever methods.
Little did they know that because of him, so many people had bad luck and were imprisoned.
The people in the inn where Song Yan was staying were not the only ones who were imprisoned. Usually those guys who were named by the government for petty theft were unjustly accused. No matter if they are you or not, they should be taken back for questioning first.
There was no other way, the governor gave the order, it was a severe crackdown, and countless people were unlucky in one fell swoop.
I don’t care about all the fun. People in the world come and go and cause trouble. As long as the unlucky one is not me, it’s none of my business. I can even enjoy watching the show.
After watching in boredom for an hour, the chess competition was over, and a 26-year-old man-jutsu player overwhelmed the audience, eliciting a burst of cheers.
You Xiao doesn't understand why people are so happy at all. That guy doesn't look very good, he just plays chess, and he's so great? Especially those little ladies, do you want to sit on the ground and ovulate to give birth to children for others?
"Bah, scholars, you are so fancy," You Xiao said with a curl of his lips.
With the reputation of being a scholar, a bunch of young ladies will support you when you get some limelight. But when I go to a brothel and spend a lot of money, I have to look at the faces of the young ladies. If you don't have it, they just happen to have a stomachache and they won't accompany you at all. This
damn it.
You Xiao didn't admit that he was feeling sour.
What's wrong with people in the world, not more handsome than you? Humph, they're just scholars. They seem to be beautiful, but they are constrained by rules and regulations at all times. How can we be as carefree as we are?
"I heard that there was a martial arts competition at the end, and the most powerful one was selected as a substitute. Gee, these scholars don't like to see people practicing martial arts so much? The person with the most powerful martial arts skills is the most unpopular one. What's wrong with him?
Who can argue with me, I want to see what you scholars are capable of. If it wasn’t for this, I would have left long ago." He took another sip of wine and cursed in his heart.
Whoever has the best martial arts skills among the people in the world is the most famous and awesome. However, the things that people in the world care about the most are the things that scholars dislike the most. Such a gap makes people like You Xiao feel very satisfied.
Not the taste.
But there is no way. Who makes this country have scholars in power? Don't you see that those strong men in the military have to be polite when facing civilian officials who are one level below themselves?
It will be different.
Bored Youxiao was not interested in the next few items, and instead began to patrol the crowd, trying to find a few fat sheep.
People in the world also need to eat. There is no income. Naturally, those who do business without capital must use other people’s money to live a high-quality life...
In the yamen, Song Yan slept soundly. He had no choice but to do so. The case was not over yet and he was still under suspicion. Although he received good treatment, he could not leave.
In fact, if Yunjing comes to guarantee, he can leave at any time. After all, Yunjing's background is there, and he must give face. But who wants Yunjing to disappear once he leaves? Song Yan can only
Stay here.
After waking up, Song Yan, who was bored, began to practice martial arts to pass the time. This was limited to the small area in the room, and there were government officials guarding the outside.
Before he could finish practicing a set of boxing techniques, a middle-aged man in mysterious clothes knocked on the door.
The person who knocked on the door had a long knife hanging on his waist and a black robe with a pattern of an eagle spreading its wings embroidered on the chest. The person who came was a member of the Eagle Hall of the Dali Dynasty.
This person knew Song Yan's identity before he came here. Although he was just a book boy, his attitude was still friendly and he was just here for routine business.
After a simple courtesy, the middle-aged man smiled and said: "Brother Song, don't think too much. I'm just here to ask you a few questions as a matter of routine. You just need to answer truthfully. If nothing happens, you will be free to leave soon."
"You can ask whatever you want, sir. It's our duty to cooperate with the government." Song Yan nodded and said. He didn't take the courtesy seriously. He knew his identity very well, so he followed his young master to take advantage of it.
That's all. In fact, he is just a little slave, and he doesn't even have personal freedom.
The Eagle Hall of the Dali Dynasty did not belong to the military system, let alone a civil service organization, and it was incomparable to a mysterious organization like Yilou. In short, the Eagle Hall's status was very embarrassing.
Although he has the authority to supervise the martial arts world, he actually does only dirty work, and sometimes his status is not as good as that of a formally established police officer.
However, the people in Yingtang are better than the yamen, the police, and the like. In many cases, they can go directly to Tianting. Anyway, they are the kind of people who are at the bottom, but have a little bit of privileges.
The structure of Yingtang is very complicated and it is a self-contained system. Its members are a mixed bag of people from all three religions and nine schools. Many of them even work as undercover agents in various powerful sects. After all, they have to keep abreast of the happenings in the world at all times.
The person who came to see Song Yan was just a squadron leader from the Yingtang of Nujiang County. He had acquired a mid-level cultivation level and might not be as skilled as Song Yan. However, this person was not known for his skill, and he had a good way of investigating people in the world.
Facing Song Yan, he smiled and said: "Brother Song, can you describe to me in detail where you were and who you came into contact with last night? This is very important to the current case."
"I was at the inn last night... I came to Nujiang County with my young master yesterday. My young master was on his way to the state capital to take the exam. Since he had enough time, he wanted to browse around the scenery, so after settling down at the inn,
I followed my young master’s instructions and went around to find out where there were places with nice scenery. I returned to the inn at noon and never went out since then. The innkeeper and the waiter can both testify to this, because I had to wait for my young master to come back and there was nowhere to go.
I went there and didn’t come into contact with anyone. I stayed in the room until people from the Yamen brought me here this morning.” Song Yan replied, even answering more clearly than what the other party asked, and he was extremely cooperative.
The person from Yingtang nodded and said: "Well, I understand. Thank you, Brother Song, for your cooperation. We will go back to verify. Then, is it inconvenient for me to ask you a question?"
"Brother, please ask," Song Yan said with a smile.
The middle-aged man said: "Exactly, I would like to ask, after your young master came to Nujiang County, he did not return to the inn. Can I ask where he went?"
"Brother, you also know that I am just a servant. I am not qualified to control the whereabouts of the young master. I don't know where my young master has gone..." Song Yan said, frowning as he spoke.
He frowned and said, "Are you doubting my young master?"
The middle-aged man hurriedly said: "Brother Song, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean anything like that, it was just a routine inquiry."
"I hope so. Big brother, although I am a soft-spoken person, I have to say something. My young master has a well-off family and is famous. Please don't make random suspicions, otherwise it will be detrimental to my young master's reputation." Song Yan nodded and said
, he didn’t move out of the backstage of Yunjing or anything like that, that would be a bit of a bully, just click on it.
The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Brother Song is serious. We can't afford to be accused of slandering scholars. We just want to make a simple inquiry. In that case, let's do it. I'll go check it out. It's almost the same as what you said. It won't take long.
You can leave now and say goodbye first.”
After the man left, Song Yan was silent, feeling that something was going on, but he had already carefully thought about his words...
On the other side, the members of Yingtang frowned after going out, then sighed and rubbed their brows, things were getting difficult.
"That Song Yan didn't tell the truth. He must have some 'understanding' about the theft, especially the ink ingot that was stolen from the Sheriff's house. It has a special fragrance that remains after being touched for a short period of time. And I was with him
He smelled of ink ingots on his body, but the problem was that he was a book boy named Yun Jing, and Yun Jing was Master Li's apprentice, and he is still the only disciple at present. Master Li is in the fourth grade of Zhou Mu... so the problem
Come on, why does Song Yan smell like ink ingots? Where has his young master Yun Jing gone? Could it be..., what's the matter? A bad person will cause big trouble, Mr. Li's apprentice
, can he be easily offended? It should be noted that Mr. Li is now a popular person in the eyes of the emperor. Everyone knows that serving as a state pastor is just a temporary status, and his promotion is just around the corner. How can his apprentice steal something? Forget it, this
This kind of thing is not a headache for me, please report it truthfully."
The members of Yingtang's thoughts flickered and they left quickly.
Soon after, there was a brief discussion with the superiors. It was decided that when it comes to a person like Yun Jing, the matter should not be made public. It should be kept low-key. At present, we should try to find Yun Jing first, and then deal with it slowly. It would be better if it has nothing to do with Yun Jing. If it is really related,
If you don't handle it well, you'll have a lot of fun.
No matter what era, people with backgrounds are always 'different'. It would be fine if people with backgrounds were upright, but if people with backgrounds act recklessly, it would be very uncomfortable.
Ever since, in Nujiang City, there were obviously many people who were secretly inquiring about Yunjing's whereabouts despite the fact that they were supposed to be investigating.
There are still many capable people in the government, such as that member of the Eagle Hall, who discovered the clues after a brief contact with Song Yan.
Although Song Yan immediately threw away the stolen goods that came from nowhere in the morning, he didn't have time to clean them up, and the smell of the precious ink ingots remained on his body, which caused trouble.
In fact, it's not Song Yan's fault. He didn't steal the things. He was just a person who had not experienced many things. How could he have thought of these details?
But others didn't think so. The smell of ink sticks left on his body suddenly made him the biggest suspect, and even Yun Jing was implicated.
You Xiao had done a "good deed", and that guy had killed him without burying him, so he was "debt-free", but he had brought trouble to others.
The reality is this, if you don’t look for trouble, trouble will find you out of nowhere.
Otherwise, many times people in the world would be so unpopular and do all kinds of fucking things...
The vast Li River, whose source is unknown, is dozens of miles wide, and almost spans the entire Dali Dynasty.
Because the Li River is so vast, different sections of the river have different names. This section of Nujiang County, which lasts hundreds of miles, has fast and fierce water flow that makes it difficult for birds to fly, so it is named Nujiang.
Water transportation on the Li River is well developed. Obviously, this section of the Nu River is inconvenient for ships to travel. Even large ships that are 100 meters long can't do it. The only consequence of sailing into this section of the river is that the ship will be destroyed and people will die. Therefore, in this section of the Nujiang County, the river is
There were no ships, but water transport still had to be done, so this section of the Nu River was bypassed by a canal to ensure the normal operation of the Li River water transport.
At noon, on the upper reaches of the Li River, there were actually people riding on the waves on the fast-flowing river!
This section of the Lijiang River is extremely dangerous, with many waves tens of meters high and countless undercurrents and whirlpools. Let alone people, even if you drop an iron ox, it will disappear in the blink of an eye.
But there is someone who rides on the waves. There is no doubt that he is very skilled.
I saw an embarrassed young man in black riding the waves with a sword. Every step was a hundred meters away. His body was as graceful as a giant. His toes were using the force of the turbulent water, and he was in danger of overturning at any time.
To be able to perform Qinggong on the river like this, you must at least be at the innate realm.
Behind this man, three swordsmen in green were chasing after him. They were driving on the river as if they were walking on flat ground. During this period, they drew their long swords from time to time, causing water to shoot out and attack the fleeing young man in front.
"Yang Feng, let's see where you can escape. Steal my precious medicine and kill my brothers. Even if you escape to the end of the world, we will hunt you down!"
Among the three people chasing him, the one at the front roared loudly, and his voice even drowned out the roar of the roaring river.
Yang Ang, who was hundreds of meters ahead, gritted his teeth and ran away, without being distracted in answering. Firstly, he had to be careful where he stepped, and secondly, he had to avoid the means from behind, so how could he dare to be distracted.
He was extremely angry in his heart, but you are quite good at beating him up. It was obviously me who found the treasure first, and I killed you when you failed to snatch it. However, I turned out to be the evil person you say kills people and seizes treasures. Do you still want to be shameless?
Yang Feng has experienced this kind of thing a lot and has become accustomed to it. After all, over the years, he has either been hunted down or on the road to being hunted down. In short, he has never lived a peaceful life.
Yunjing, who came to Wangtao Pavilion with Bai Zhi, saw this scene as soon as he came here.
He had no interest in watching the Nujiang County scholars competing for the limelight, and he didn't realize that he was getting into a little trouble. After discussing with Bai Zhi in the morning, the two of them came here leisurely.
Seeing the pursuit on the river, Yun Jing immediately twitched the corner of his mouth and said speechlessly: "That man, what kind of evil has he done? He never stopped after several encounters. He was either chopped down or on the way to be chopped down. How could he
It is simply a miracle that he is alive to this day. The key is that the more he goes through these things, the stronger he becomes. He can always turn danger into a comeback. Who can I ask to reason with him?"
"Does the official recognize that person?" Bai Zhi couldn't help but curiously asked after hearing Yun Jing's muttering.
Shaking his head, Yunjing said: "I've met him a few times, but I'm not familiar with him."
Bai Zhi immediately stopped paying attention. Vendettas between rivers and lakes are too normal. She was still worried. If Yunjing knew the other party and had a good relationship with him, and saw this scene and wanted to help, he might get into trouble. Fortunately, Yunjing and the other party
If you're not familiar with it, then it's okay.
Bai Zhi has no interest in fighting and killing. She cherishes the time she spends with Yun Jing again. Even just talking, it is great.
Looking at the people chasing and escaping on the river, Yun Jing said: "Xiao Bai, you won't believe it, but that man can always turn danger into safety. I have seen his experiences that are ten times more dangerous than this, but he survived in the end."
It's him, I really don't know whether I should say he is lucky or unlucky."
"There are actually such unlucky people?" Bai Zhi said in astonishment.
Nodding, Yunjing said: "That's the fact. I don't know how he will make a comeback this time."
…
This chapter has been completed!