To the south of Chang'an City, Pei Xuanji traveled for half a month, reaching Jiangling and then heading south to Jingzhou.
He sat on a small boat and looked at the lake and mountains in front of him. The boatman was a very young man who had just finished attending classes at the official school.
"The imperial government established an official school and laid the foundation for the imperial examination. However, some people think that the official school is just a casual act of the emperor and will not be able to continue in three to five years."
The boatman said with a smile.
This boatman is not very old, only fifteen or sixteen years old, and he is studying while working as a boatman.
The boatman added: "When you are twenty years old, you will join the army and receive a few years' salary to go back to your hometown and marry a wife."
Pei Xuanji sat on the bow of the boat and handed him a wine bag, "This is the wine Lishan brought. Please try it."
The boatman smiled and took a sip of the drink, but he choked and coughed as soon as he swallowed the drink.
Pei Xuanji sighed: "Drinking is like drinking water. It seems that you are also a man."
The boatman choked for a long time, and the smell of alcohol came out of his nostrils. It took him a while to catch his breath, "It was the first time in my life that I drank. I laughed."
"It's rare for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy to have never had a drink." Pei Xuanji smiled as soon as he recovered his senses: "After the sixth year of Wude, the court strictly ordered not to gather in groups to drink. Judging from your age, you have never had a drink.
So should."
The boatman smiled naively, "Chang'an City must be very prosperous."
Pei Xuanji nodded and said, "Well, it's very prosperous."
As he spoke, the boatman noticed that his expression was not very good, and asked again: "You don't like Chang'an?"
Halfway through his words, he added: "Well, I have been studying recently, and I always feel that my speech is different. It is different after studying."
After saying this, the boatman smiled heartily again.
Pei Xuanji sat comfortably, "Since the Han Dynasty, Jingzhou has been a battleground for military strategists. The water and soil here have created wealth. Qi, Liang, Houliang, and Xiaoxian all made Jingzhou their capital. Later, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty made this place the capital.
It was renamed Nanjun, and now it’s really enviable when you see it.”
Pei Xuanji took another sip of wine and said, "No matter how prosperous Chang'an City is, it will only feel noisy if you see it too much. Once you come here, you won't want to go back to Chang'an."
The boatman shook his head and sighed, "Whether it's a war or a new capital, whether Han or Wei, the wealth here has never been used for the people."
The sun shines on the lake, and the entire lake is sparkling. It is a wide lake with high mountains on both sides.
I have been with this boatman for five days. This man is worth cultivating. Pei Xuanji was in a good mood, "Now that your Majesty has launched the imperial examination and official education, there will be more and more opportunities in the future."
"For ordinary people." He added.
The boatman sighed and pointed into the distance, "All the rich fields in Jingzhou are in the hands of the powerful. There are also bookstores built by the powerful here. Their masters are from the gentry, and there are connections between the gentry. Even now that official schools are established
, they also have huge connections, how can we poor students compare with them."
The young boatman was right. They both studied in the same official school, and the other party's wife came from a noble family and had more connections.
Pei Xuanji nodded and whispered: "You don't have to worry about this. The imperial examination system is fair. Everyone has to go to Chang'an to take the imperial examination. Local recommendation for officialdom should have been abolished long ago. I was born in the Pei family in Hedong. I have no knowledge to participate in the imperial examination. Secondly,
Without making contributions to the country, it is not easy to become an official."
The boat had reached the other side, and the boatman asked curiously: "Aren't you sent by Taifu Temple to inquire about this year's crop cultivation? Why do you keep talking about official career?"
Pei Xuanji bowed and saluted, "There are many people in this world who care about the country. Although I may speak softly, I have been able to find like-minded people recently. This little brother might as well get drunk with me and the wine shop in front of me. I also have a book for you."
superior."
The boatman tied the boat to the shore, then stood up and said: "Okay, you must eat our Jingzhou lake crabs, they are the best in the world, but the lake crabs in this season are not plump, and they are best after June."
.”
The two of them were eating plump crabs and drinking wine at the restaurant. Pei Xuanji took out a book from his baggage and said, "This is the strange book that shocked the world at first, Diary of a Madman."
The boatman took the book and flipped through a few pages, then curiously said: "I have heard of this book but I have never read it."
Pei Xuanji added: "I have some friendship with Lishan, and I have also met the county marquis of Lishan."
The boatman then patted his head and said, "I remembered, this book was written by the Marquis of Lishan County."
"It is rumored that as soon as this book came out, the Marquis of Lishan County explained that he did not write the book, and he just helped pass it on to the world. Now that you and I are like-minded, we will give this book to you."
Upon hearing this, the boatman bowed and saluted, "Thank you very much."
After chatting with him about his life aspirations, Pei Xuanji left here and found a place to stay in Jingzhou. He wrote a letter and asked people from Guanyi to send it to Lishan to inform Zhang Yang of his current situation.
progress.
According to what the county marquis told him at the beginning, he made friends with people with lofty ideals along the way on the pretext of interrogating him about farming matters.
Now Pei Xuanji wants to give those people with lofty ideals a diary of a madman so that they can resist when faced with injustice and exploitation by powerful people.
This is your plan and you need to stick to it.
Every time after resting, he would copy the Madman's Diary, and after finishing each volume, he would put it in his own baggage. Now he had prepared five volumes, so he would send this volume into their hands.
At the beginning, I also thought about the purpose of the county prince wanting to do this. Rather than saying that it was unrealistic to raise an army, it would be regarded as a riot.
You can't raise an army, you can only cultivate people with lofty ideals, and when the time comes, you can overthrow the family with a single call.
Pei Xuanji put down his pen again. He still couldn't figure out where the opportunity was and how he could achieve what the County Marquis said.
There were all kinds of questions in his mind. Pei Xuanji had never thought about being a person who would go down in history, nor did he want to live like his biological father Pei Ju.
People should live the way they want, give it a try, and at least be doing one thing.
As for the bad things happening in the aristocratic family, he was tired of it and would no longer trust Li Zhengzao. Whenever he thought about what happened back then, he couldn't help but feel very tired.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! But when I gave up on the disciple whom I had been thinking about and talked with the boatman, I felt better than ever before. This was the happiest time in my life.
Talk freely.
When I no longer think about my origins and trivial matters, I can be happier than ever before.
It took Pei Xuanji's letter half a month from Jingzhou to reach Chang'an City.
It's February in Chang'an City, and it's the busy farming season. Lantian County has begun building chicken and duck pens.
It’s already February this year, and it’s snowing heavily again in Guanzhong.
Zhang Yang looked at the letters in his hand. In addition to letters from Jingzhou, there were also letters from the Hexi Corridor and Liaodong.
Today, the environment in both Hexi and Longyou is not as bad as in later generations. The four counties in Hexi are rich in water and grass, and can raise cattle, sheep, and horses.
The weather had not yet completely warmed up. A sudden heavy snowfall froze many cattle and sheep to death. The cold first reached Hexi and then Guanzhong.
And this cold air has weakened a lot by the time it reaches Chang'an City.
Li Zhi sat by the Huaqing Pool and looked at the ground. He didn't care about the snowflakes falling on him. He was just waiting for the snow to form on the ground so that he could have a snowball fight.
A cold wind blew by, bringing another piece of snow.
Princess Dongyang came over with the answer sheet, "Zhinu, Sister Xu and Sister Wu have reviewed our papers, and you are still the worst."
Li Zhi took his paper and looked at it for a moment, "Well, I got a lot of questions wrong."
Thirteen-year-old Dongyang put his hands on his hips and looked unhappy, "It's all your fault. Sister Huang asked me to teach you how to correct all these wrong questions until you get them right."
Li Zhi scratched the back of his head, "I know I was wrong."
Princess Dongyang actually wants to play rope skipping with the imperial sister and the others, but now she can only give guidance to the young slave, "You are so stupid, you can even do the simplest multiplication and division of integers wrong."
Zhang Yang glanced at his younger brothers and sisters at home. The children were always noisy and he was used to it.
The snow disaster in the Hexi Corridor is not a big deal. Let the Central Government arrange for the Turks and Uighurs to send some cattle and sheep there.
Looking back at the letters from Liaodong, Da'an wrote back after receiving the appointment from the court. In the reply, he was willing to accept the appointment as Minister of Rites and continue to stay in Liaodong as the long history of Youzhou in order to cope with the changes in Goguryeo.
Now Yeon Gaesumun has recruited many important ministers around the King of Goguryeo, and he is not far away from launching a mutiny.
Da'an also received tribesmen sent by Mr. Wen Yanbo, a total of 3,000 people. These are the disciples that Mr. Wen Yanbo left behind.
Now the old gentleman will pass away at any time and can only recuperate in Lishan. What he said when he was awake were his last words.
What the old man wanted in his life was to recover Goguryeo and restore the four counties of Liaodong.
Those 3,000 men are now in Da'an's hands. According to Da'an's reply, he already has 7,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, has planted more than a hundred spies in Goguryeo, and is even training Hai Dongqing.
Haidongqing is a kind of eagle unique to the Yan region. This kind of eagle can be used for communication. As early as the Warring States Period, the indigenous people would train this kind of eagle to find prey.
Daan accidentally discovered that this kind of eagle could be used to deliver letters, and he got along well with the indigenous people of Yandi north of Liaodong.
And I am learning this method of sending messages using Haidongqing. With Haidongqing, I don’t need to cross the river to send messages. It only takes a few hours to send messages back and forth.
In this way, the news can be delivered faster. Once there are changes in Goguryeo, his Liaodong troops can enter Goguryeo at any time.
"Dad, this car broke down again."
My daughter came dragging a Twist car.
Zhang Yang lowered his body, turned the car over and looked carefully. It turned out that the wheel at the bottom of the steering wheel was stuck.
He picked up the wrench on the side, loosened the copper screw slightly, replaced the bent iron shaft, and fixed it again.
"Try it now."
After hearing this, she sat back on the car and started to shake the steering wheel. The car moved forward slowly, and the girl laughed happily.
This car has become her treasure.
She usually likes to sit on the big bear's back. After her daughter diverted her attention, she no longer tortured the bear at home, and the little bear also had time to plow the fields.
The Twister Car moved forward slowly, with five little milk bears clumsily following behind her.
Princess Gao Yang and Princess Qinghe came running through the snow. The two girls averted their eyes guiltily. Seeing this, Zhang Yang frowned slightly.
Aunt Yang came back and said: "Old Master Kong Yingda came to Lishan with Minister Cen to check the output of Lishan Winery. However, as soon as the old Master arrived at Lishan, he was teased by Princess Gaoyang and Princess Qinghe, and his hair was burned."
Zhang Yang was stunned for a long time.
Li Yue also remained silent, indicating that her husband could handle it on his own.
Aunt Yang added: "Although it's not a big deal, Master Kong Yingda is very unhappy."
Zhang Yang stood up after hearing this and just glared. Qinghe and Gao Yang lowered their heads and said nothing, "You two will follow me to apologize to Mr. Kong Yingda."
"Yeah." Qinghe and Gao Yang responded aggrievedly.
Zhang Yang led the two of them down the mountain. The younger brother and sister were at their most naughty, and there might be more things like this to take care of in the future. As he walked along, he said again: "Fortunately, this matter is in Lishan Mountain.
If this happens in the palace, it depends on how your father punishes you."
Qinghe was so aggrieved that he wanted to cry, and whispered: "Brother-in-law, don't tell father, I know I was wrong."
Gao Yang also pursed his lips and said nothing.
Master Kong Yingda is now sitting outside the village talking to Ouyang Xun.
When the old man saw that it was Zhang Yang who came with the two princesses, he knew what was going on, and said loudly: "The county prince has lived in Lishan for a long time, and he thought that the princess would be better off if she was educated in Lishan, but she is still so naughty."
When Gao Yang heard the old man scolding his brother-in-law, Gao Yang was about to retaliate. When he noticed that his brother-in-law glared at him again, he stopped and lowered his head.
Zhang Yang smiled at each other and said, "My younger brothers and sisters are not sensible and have frightened the old master, so I'm here to apologize."
After finishing speaking, he bowed and saluted, and the two little girls behind him also saluted.
Kong Yingda stroked his beard and said: "Some people know their mistakes, some people know their mistakes but don't correct them, and some people know their mistakes but don't admit them. What kind of people are the two princesses?"
The old master's words carry some profound meaning.
Princess Qinghe and Princess Gaoyang are only ten years old. How can they understand this?
Zhang Yang replied: "In this way, I will teach my younger brothers and sisters to become children who know their mistakes and can correct them, and who know their mistakes and can admit them."
Old Master Kong Yingda was already quite old. He nodded and said, "It's okay for children to be stupid. There are few people in the world who can admit their mistakes and even fewer who know their mistakes and correct them. You should keep this in mind."
"The old gentleman is right."
Zhang Yang's attitude was sincere, and Kong Yingda said again: "In this case, forget it, I don't care about it."
After saluting again, Zhang Yang left with the two girls.
Gao Yang followed with unconvinced eyes, "How dare I scold my brother-in-law..."
"Shut up!" Before she could finish her words, Zhang Yang said sternly, "You two go back and write down what I said about recognizing your mistakes and admitting your mistakes, correcting your mistakes and punishing them sixty times."
Gao Yanggang was a little angry but was suppressed by his brother-in-law.
Qinghe didn't care.
What happened in Lishan, even if Kong Yingda didn't tell it, he couldn't hide it from His Majesty's eyes.
The heavy snowfall in Guanzhong came suddenly. I heard from Yuan Tiangang that the heavy snow will fall for at least ten days, and he was worried that it would affect the farming in Guanzhong.
Just after listening to Fang Xuanling and others' discussion, Wang Gonggong told His Majesty the matter.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Did Zhang Yang really take them to admit his mistake to the old master?"