After advising Zhou Bobao, Ma Zhou kept silent. If he talked too much, he would be asking for help, which would be unsightly.
Then he looked at Zhang Junzheng.
But before he could speak, Zhang Junzheng held up his hand and said: "Since Jijiu invites you sincerely, it's better to be respectful than to obey. But I don't know what the academy is like, so I hope Jijiu will give me some advice."
This time, it was Ma Zhou's turn to be shocked. He didn't even call out to his good brother and directly changed it to offering wine. This showed that he had made up his mind, but it was too fast, wasn't it?
The words were stuck in his mouth, feeling a little uncomfortable. After a moment of pause, Ma Zhou said in surprise: "It's a matter of the future. Brother Zhang, don't you need to think about it carefully?"
Zhang Junzheng smiled bitterly and said: "What I just said about the wine sacrifice is reasonable. The Chang Mansion is not a place where I can stay for a long time. It is better to leave early and find another job.
I didn’t hide the sacrifice, I was serving in the Chang Mansion, and I had been waiting for the general to return to the capital, so that I could ask for a letter of recommendation from him. I thought that based on my friendship with the general, and the fact that the imperial court was hiring people, it would not be difficult for me to re-enter the official position.
Too difficult.
But the general has been away all the time, and it is extremely inconvenient to exchange letters. Now that the imperial examination is about to take place, if it drags on..."
At this point, Zhang Junzheng sighed and shook his head: "Once the imperial edict is announced to the world for a big move, even if I get the recommendation of a general, I am afraid I will have to serve in the army. In that case... it is not what I want."
Moreover, considering my age and talent, even if I become an official, my future is quite slim. Now that Jiujiu has called me, and I don’t want to abandon the monarchy because of my meager political talents, what else can I say? I will accompany Jijiu on this journey.
What could happen?
These are Zhang’s words from the bottom of his heart. If I offend you, I hope you won’t be offended by the wine sacrifice.”
This is really...his mother's heartfelt words, no matter how you hear them, they are a bit unpleasant to listen to. I can't seem to find anywhere else, so I came here to you. It's strange that these words are so pleasant to my ears.
But since he had spoken his mind, he would definitely not be angry anymore. Ma Zhou could only chuckle twice and said: "Brother Zhang, please don't be humble. Who in the Chang family would not respect Brother Zhang?"
Brother Zhang wants to go the same way with me now, and I will never let Brother Zhang regret today's decision."
Ma Zhou made a small promise, but it was not appropriate to give Zhang Junzheng too many peace-of-mind pills, because the Chang'an Maritime Academy will start construction next spring, and there is still no trace of it yet.
No matter what King Wu said, he was not sure about the strength of the court's support. We will have to wait until next spring to find out. If the court pays attention to it, it will be built very quickly like Chang'an Academy, within two or three months.
Once it is completed, some manpower will be allocated, which will save a lot of trouble.
On the contrary, if you procrastinate and do things perfunctorily, there is no need to talk about the future.
Once it was settled here, Zhou Bobao had nothing to hesitate about. Just now it was just one person persuading him, but now it became two people. Zhou Bobao was obviously soft-hearted, so he immediately changed his mind and agreed to the matter.
Next, the three of them sat on a boat, and the conversation became much easier. This time the master became the real master, and everything revolved around Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou was not polite, and then said: "If there are two people who are friends with both ability and political integrity, you can introduce them to me. The position in the academy is like the son of the country. I can't guarantee anything else.
Doctorate, professor and other positions can all be decided by me, and I should not be able to live up to the expectations of others.
As for the two of them, I will go back and discuss with King Wu to see what kind of positions are more suitable.
Also, Bo Baohao said that if possible, he would move into King Wu's mansion and live with me. Brother Zhang, he also wants to resign from Chang's Mansion as soon as possible and help me plan the affairs of the academy this winter. Do you think it's okay?"
There is nothing wrong with the two of them. Now that they have boarded the ship, even if they are still wary of King Wu, they cannot refuse. It is just that they are worried about it. This is considered to have handed over their wealth and life to them. They should really worry about it.
.
It's just that being able to recommend people here is not without benefits for them. Power is the same thing for everyone. If you get it, you will get it. The elders will definitely have various conveniences. This is Ma Zhou.
I promised them some benefits first, and I can kill more people to gain some favors.
Of course, whether you will help others in the future or deceive them is another matter.
………………………
By this time, the three of them no longer had the heart to listen to songs or watch dances.
Zhang Junzheng asked, "I don't know the details of the academy. Can you tell us about the wine ceremony?"
The two of them only agreed verbally, and Ma Zhou naturally would not tell them the details in detail, but just said: "Well, it doesn't hurt to tell you two.
Not long after King Wu came to Chang'an, he was impressed when he visited Chang'an Academy and decided to imitate it.
When King Wu was in Jiangzuo, he went to sea many times by boat. When he saw the king, he was very concerned about it and asked him to build an academy to teach students about maritime affairs.
I didn't have much expectations at first, but the Supreme Being summoned the King of Wu to the palace for a talk, and then ordered the King of Wu to build an academy to complete the project. I started planning in the autumn, and now I'm almost ready.
The imperial edict has been issued to the Sixth Department. The Supreme Being has personally named Chang'an Maritime Academy. Construction will begin next spring. King Wu has full authority to preside over its affairs. I will serve as a sacrificial wine. If the matter has not been settled, I will not invite you to come and gather together. If there is
Won’t repeated words harm others and yourself?”
After hearing what he said, the two of them felt a little at ease.
They all knew something about the officialdom, and the imperial court issued six decrees, indicating that basically nothing had been changed, and it was indeed a foregone conclusion.
Chang'an Maritime Academy, the two of them smacked the smell, and the strangeness made their hearts skip a beat. Was it really the name given by the emperor himself? It sounded very much like Du Fuwei's handwriting.
If such a name had been thrown out at the beginning of the meeting, the two of them might have just focused on eating and drinking, treating this gathering as a gathering of friends.
But now, after Ma Zhou's preparation and promises, they had no choice but to accept the odder name.
Zhou Bobao spoke quickly, "Maritime affairs? I have never been to the sea. I have only heard people talk about what the sea looks like. How can I teach others?"
Ma Zhou smiled and said: "You two, don't be fooled by the name of the academy. There are dedicated people to teach you about the sea. King Wu has transferred people from Jiangzuo, so we don't need to worry about it.
After the academy was built, it recruited some children. They needed to study and understand first, and the rest had to wait. The academy could not educate only boatmen and sailors, just like the students of Chang'an Academy could not be just some students once they dropped out of school.
Official, or staff?"
The three of them were all aides, and as soon as these words came out, several people looked at each other and laughed bitterly.
Zhang Junzheng nodded and said: "The idea of sacrificing wine is reasonable. Whether it is an academy or a college, if the students cannot study and understand the principles first, they will be of no use in the future. Alas, we have wasted so far, but we don't want to be able to be a master who nurtures talents.
, the unpredictable nature of things in this world is really hard to describe in words.”
After laughing, Zhou Bobao transformed into a hundred thousand whys, and then asked, "Since the court attaches great importance to it, why not send people from Chang'an Academy to go there? We are all unknown people, and we have no writings handed down to the world... I am not talking about anything else.
, just afraid of being ridiculed by others later..."
There was no need for Ma Zhou to answer this time. Zhang Junzheng smiled bitterly and said: "It's just teaching some children to read and read. Why do you need great talent? You still need a lot of knowledge to teach overseas affairs?"
As soon as these words came out, the faces of the three of them were a little hot, and they were speechless for a while.
The truth is not easy to hear, but it has a striking effect. In fact, just by hearing the name, you know that it is of two different natures from Chang'an Academy. Chang'an Academy may not be able to produce high-ranking officials in the future, but Chang'an Maritime Academy... I don't know.
Not to mention Zhang Junzheng and Zhou Bobao, they were confused. Even Ma Zhou, who had been preparing for a long time, was unsure.
The actual situation is also the same. If others are not interested, where will it be for people like them to take advantage of it?
The atmosphere was a bit bad, and Zhang Junzheng and Zhang Junzheng probably regretted it to some extent. At this time, Zhang Junzheng asked tentatively: "How is His Royal Highness King Wu? There are many rumors in the market, and it seems that they are not accurate. When we go to meet, will it happen?
Would it be too abrupt?"
If it were later, the interviewer Ma Zhou must belong to a start-up company hiding in a warehouse or basement. During the interview, you are not testing others, but facing a swarm of various questions. There is really not much sense of accomplishment.
Ma Zhou took a sip of wine and continued to cheer up: "Don't worry, you two, King Wu has a broad mind, a straightforward nature, and is easy to get close to..."
It's not easy to get close to him. I have taken him to visit many brothels. Now there is no brothel in Caiyufang that Ma Zhou doesn't know about. The ones he doesn't know are not good places.
Ma Zhou had never dared to think about the scenery he had seen in the past six months. If he told these two people, they would definitely be drooling.
But in that case, Ma Zhou's image in the minds of the two people would definitely take a turn for the worse. Words like "gentle scum" when used about him are probably euphemistic and nice-sounding.
It would be better for them to wait until they enter Prince Wu's Mansion and let them experience it for themselves. With Prince Wu's temperament, he will definitely entertain the newcomers, and it will be good to see how they perform by then.
Now he is really trying his best to lure people into the water, and many of his past persistences have been thrown away under Lao Du's subtle influence.
However, many scholars have this kind of virtue, so there is no need to be surprised.
He also said, "There is no basis for what I say. Then I will introduce you two, and you two will know that what I said is true. Moreover, the King of Wu had a very happy conversation with the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being also paid a night visit."
Prince Wu's residence, and later personally granted marriage to the lady in the mansion..."
As soon as the gossip came out, he was very invincible. Zhou Bobao's eyes lit up and he immediately asked, "Oh? Is there such a thing? Which family does Xu belong to?"
Zhang Junzheng gritted his teeth. He really wanted to go up and kick this guy and talk about business, you know? But he was really curious, and the names of many powerful people in Beijing flashed through his mind...
Ma Zhou smiled and said: "The person promised is Du Zhenglun, a foreign minister from the Ministry of War. They will get married in the twelfth lunar month. If you two hurry up, you can also have a wedding drink..."