Zhou Jun, who came out of Duan Xiushi's home and sat in the carriage, began to think about the situation in Shazhou.
According to the doctor's instructions, Duan Xiushi was seriously injured and might not be able to return to the army within a year.
The Doulu Army and the Yumen Army were almost completely destroyed, and the Moli Army also lost more than half.
Most of the large and small prefectures and counties around Dunhuang City suffered varying degrees of losses due to the intrusion of the Tibetan army.
Although the Daqi trade road from Anxi to the Central Plains is now open again, many locations have been damaged due to heavy rains and fighting. It is currently being repaired urgently. The defense work has to be borne by the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army. It will also be a trouble in the future.
.
In the absence of Duan Xiu, who will manage Dunhuang City and who will serve as the commander-in-chief of Doulu Army and Yumen Army is indeed a question.
While walking on the long street in Liangzhou City, Zhou Jun heard the roar of people outside the carriage, stopped the carriage, and asked Wang Hong: "What's going on outside?"
Wang Hong: "Prime Minister, he is a candidate for the Qiu Wei Examination, and he is holding a literary club banquet in Huamen Tower."
Zhou Jun then remembered that in a few days it would be Autumn, and Liangzhou City was already filled with literati who came to take the exam.
After taking off his court robe and putting on a set of ordinary clothes in the carriage, Zhou Jun got out of the carriage, took Wang Hong and several personal guards, and walked all the way to Huamen Tower.
The wine shops and theaters in Huamenlou Long Street jointly held a literary banquet in order to welcome the literati from other places who came to Liangcheng to attend the Autumn Festival.
At the banquet, several literary figures from Liangcheng were responsible for supporting the scene.
Some of the popular musicians in the theater perform their skills behind a curtain.
The whole long street is full of joy and bustle.
Zhou Jun led his soldiers and watched the people at the banquet while moving forward among the crowd.
"Every grain is as good as gold, but I don't know the Duke or the minister. I can't wait for ten years, but I haven't achieved anything in three years..."
Inadvertently, Zhou Jun, who heard this poem, suddenly stopped and cast his eyes towards the back seat of the wine shop.
I saw a young man with an upright face and slender figure sitting at the table, drinking and sighing.
Zhou Jun moved his feet, entered the wine shop, came to the table, and asked the young man: "Autumn is coming, why do you despise yourself?"
The young man saw Zhou Junsheng's majesty and extraordinary demeanor, and he was surrounded by military guards. He guessed that Zhou Junsheng was a prominent person, so he quickly stood up and asked: "I am Lu Lun, I am named Yunyan. I wonder what I call you?"
Lu Lun?
Zhou Jun was stunned for a moment, then said: "A certain passer-by, if you are willing, please call me Zhou Erlang."
Lu Lun looked at Zhou Jun and called Zhou Jun.
Zhou Jun first asked the store to serve some good wine and food, and then sat alone with Lu Lun.
Looking at Lu Lun in front of him, who was called "the first of the ten talented men in Dali" in history books, Zhou Jun asked: "Yunyan, where did you come to Liangcheng from?"
Lu Lun: "Poyang."
Zhou Jun said in his heart that it was true, and then asked: "Poyang is thousands of miles away from Liangcheng. I heard that there are imperial examinations in Jiangnan and Luoyang. Why does Yunyan choose the distance instead of the near?"
Lu Lun looked a little embarrassed and replied: "I'm not afraid of Zhou Lang's jokes. I think the Liangcheng imperial examination is more fair compared to Luoyang and Jiangnan, so I came here."
Zhou Jun was a little surprised when he heard this answer.
Originally, he thought that Lu Lun would answer that the Tang Dynasty in Liangcheng was orthodox, while Luoyang and Jiangnan were just pseudo dynasties.
Zhou Jun then asked: "What do you mean by this?"
Lu Lun: "From the seventh year of Tianbao, Lun went to Chang'an for the imperial examination several times, but failed repeatedly. Later, after some inquiring, I found out that the selection of talents in the imperial court was all ordered by the powerful. There was Li Linfu before him, and Li Linfu after him.
With Yang Guozhong, the two controlled the government and recruited close associates, making the imperial examination popular and unfair. A certain person was disheartened, so he went to Poyang to live in seclusion, only drinking and talking with his friends. "
Zhou Jun: "Then why did you come to Liangcheng to take part in the imperial examination?"
Lu Lun: "Because of a poem."
Zhou Jun: "A poem?"
Lu Lun opened his mouth and chanted: "It's sad that Jiuzhou is angry and relies on wind and thunder, and thousands of horses are silent. I urge God to cheer up and send talents of any kind."
Zhou Jun: "This poem... seems to be..."
Lu Lun: "This poem was written by the prime minister of the dynasty. It was about correcting the misconduct in the imperial examinations and recruiting talents for the Tang Dynasty."
Hearing this, Zhou Jun didn't know what to say, so he just said yes.
When Lu Lun saw this, he thought Zhou Jun didn't believe it, and then said: "Liangcheng issued an order to promote talents, and carried out "four changes and three abolitions" to the previous imperial examination system. This move was beneficial to scholars all over the world. This was the first step since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.
, a rare example of good governance. That’s why I said that Liangcheng’s imperial examination should be more fair.”
Zhou Jun looked at Lu Lun and asked: "Luoyang is occupied by rebels, and the south of the Yangtze River is the land of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty. Will scholars in the world go to these two places to serve as officials?"
Lu Lun: "I'm afraid Zhou Lang has lived in Liangcheng for a long time and doesn't know the major events in the world."
"In the minds of scholars, Chang'an and Luoyang are the capitals of the Tang Dynasty. Many scholars only care about their reputation and do not care about their country's title, so there are still many people who go to Luoyang every year to take the exam."
"As for the Jiangnan Imperial Examination, it was not well-known at first. However, in the past two years, many famous people from well-known families have come to settle in Jiangnan. Gradually, the reputation of the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Center has gradually increased, driven by literary societies and official schools.
Rise up.”
"On the contrary, the Liangcheng Imperial Examination, although it is orthodox in the Tang Dynasty, has not been established for a long time. It has the lowest reputation among the literati in the world. Moreover, most of the southern literary circles and high-ranking families despise the northerners and think that the north is decadent.
, so very few southern literati are willing to come to the north to take the exam."
Zhou Jun heard this and said, "That's it."
After chatting with Lu Lun for a while, Zhou Jun left the wine shop and planned to return to Shangshu Province.
While walking on the road, Zhou Jun couldn't help but start to recall Lu Lun's past.
Lu Lun's great-grandfather was Yongning Ling, his grandfather was Jeju Sima, his father was Linhuang County Lieutenant, and most of his relatives were county magistrates, county captains and other minor officials.
This social status, that is, the social status between the high-ranking official class and the civilian class, enabled him to rely on high-ranking officials and make progress through poetry, but also to understand social reality and create some excellent works.
Lu Lun failed in Tianbao's reign, and applied for the exam several times, but failed. Later, he went to Poyang and socialized with Ji Zhongfu, Sikong Shu, Miao Fa, Cui Dong, Geng Wei, Li Rui and others. These people
They are collectively known as the Ten Talents of the Dali Dynasty, and Lu Lun is the first of the ten.
During the subsequent Tang Suzong and Tang Daizong periods, Lu Lun took part in the imperial examinations several times, but still failed.
As a good friend, Yuan Zai couldn't stand it anymore, so he recommended Lu Lun to the emperor in the name of his outstanding literary talent.
Only then was Lu Lun able to start serving as an official.
During the mid-Tang Dynasty, Lu Lun's reputation could be said to be as great as that of Han Yu and Wang Wei.
Ask why.
First of all, he has good literary talent, and 25 volumes of poems, songs, and verses have survived in the world, and each of them is of high quality, which is extremely rare among poets of the Tang Dynasty.
Secondly, he is popular. Lu Lun has a gentle personality, does not fight with others, and does not make friends based on his family background, so he has friends all over the world.
Many dignitaries in the mid-Tang Dynasty, including the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, such as Yuan Zai, Wang Jin, Chang Gun, Li Mian, Qi Ying, Lu Zan, Jia Dan, Pei Jun, etc. were all close friends with Lu Lun.
Being able to make good friends with nearly ten prime ministers as a junior official shows Lu Lun's communication skills.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jun asked Wang Hong outside the car: "Who will take the imperial examination in Liangcheng this year?"
Wang Hong replied: "Doctor Gao is the main examiner, and Minister Du is the deputy examiner."
Zhou Jun: "Go tell Gao Shi and Du Fu that before the results are released this autumn, remember to bring me the list of qualified candidates and the papers."