It is said that Lin Hai discussed with more than a dozen adults living with him for several days, and finally decided to return to the capital first, so he wrote on a note and told General Liu. The next day they received the last note from General Liu.
It read: "I am about to be entrusted by someone to send you all to a far away place. For some reason, I was unable to make the trip. I was blocked in a small garden. I'm sorry." Everyone then guessed who asked them to send them and where they were originally intended to go.
Why didn't the trip happen? Only Lin Hai and Su Zheng knew that the people who asked General Liu must be Jia Cong and others, so he guessed that the "far away place" might be Taiwan Prefecture.
In fact, Liu Xianglian suddenly remembered that Jia Cong had said before leaving that he had casually coaxed Qin Sangu to say that he had sent Lin Hai and others to Lingnan; in order to fulfill his lie, she had to say these two sentences.
He is pure and kind in nature and has no doubts.
The thirteen bachelors of Hengwuyuan were discussing, and one by one they fell down and fell asleep. Lin Hai was angry in his heart: What he told Jia Huan a few days ago was in vain!
When they woke up, they found themselves lying in a thatched shed. The old men dusted off the straw on their bodies and looked around. There was also a large bag of steamed buns and four large water bags in the shed, which were obviously prepared for them.
. Everyone was already hungry, so they didn't care about eating or drinking. After eating, they came out to look around, and stretched their necks for a long time before they saw a farmer coming over. They asked him where they were and how far they were from the capital.
The man pointed out: "There is a small road leading out from the field ridge here. There is a main road only half a mile west of the small road. When you get to the main road, you will know when you ask. The city gate is very close."
The gentlemen were both surprised and happy. They all rushed forward without caring about their manners. No one saw the farmer casually pulling off his fake beard. They followed the instructions and walked to the main road. There happened to be a tea vendor at the intersection, so they gathered around and asked.
After asking, the vendor pointed out: "Well, isn't that the city gate?"
The adults followed his fingers and saw that the tall one in the distance was really the city gate of the capital! They screamed with joy and even ran and jumped over. Naturally, they didn't know that the hawker was closing his stall as soon as they left.
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This incident immediately shocked both the government and the public.
Thirteen old men were kidnapped from the imperial edict and returned to the capital under strange circumstances. The adults knew nothing about them except that the leading general was named Liu! The courtyard called Hengwuyuan was also immediately searched around.
No one can find out.
Situ Pan knew that even if he could hide his intention from others, he would definitely not be able to hide it from Lin Hai. For the moment, he had no idea how to meet him and only discussed with a few confidants to guess the origins of this group of people.
Because Qin Sangu promised Jia Cong not to tell Situ Pan, she also knew that he had coaxed Situ Pan that day. If she told Jia Cong, she would arouse suspicion for him, so she pretended not to tell him. When she heard "quite far away", she naturally thought it was
Guangzhou, but she thought about it for a long time "for some reason the trip was not possible". Jia Cong had borrowed the person who coaxed her into escaping the prison from Wang Ziteng, and she really couldn't think of a reason why Wang Ziteng's people could not make the trip back to Lingnan.
Feng Ziying, on the other hand, suspected that the person entrusted to him was Jia Cong. Situ Pan said: "I have also suspected him. It's just that Jia Cong takes his two gentlemen very seriously, and their family also has a lot of property in the suburbs of Beijing.
He would never borrow someone else's yard, he wouldn't worry about it."
Feng Ziying said: "How do you know that the yard does not belong to their home?"
Situ Pan said: "You can still be beautiful when you sing it into cardamom, and the tea is fragrant when you sleep enough. These two sentences are not in line with the literary styles of the Jia family. Look at the couplets Jia Cong made at the last literary meeting: ten
The blue blood of the year turns the sea, and a loyal heart shines on the flag. The ambitions of the two couplet writers are completely different." Situ Pan has not read Jia Baoyu's poems.
When Feng Ziying heard that she was right, she gave up.
Qin Sangu said hurriedly: "Then General Liu said that the trip could not be made for some reason. What could be the reason?"
Situ Pan said: "It's hard to guess. The capital has been quiet in recent months. They only have five hundred men and horses, and they have to bring a dozen old Confucian scholars; the other soldiers have tens of thousands."
Upon hearing this, Sangu Qin also dropped the matter, and Jia Cong got through this by some strange combination of circumstances.
One of the staff members suddenly slapped his head: "Your Majesty, could we have made a mistake? That General Liu did not go to save people, he went to rob them."
Situ Pan hurriedly asked: "How do you say this?"
The staff member said: "Although these thirteen adults are the confidants of the Supreme Emperor, they are also great scholars in the world, pillars of the country, and talented people! Fortunately, they were not sent away; if they were sent away, even if Xu Shu from Cao Ying didn't say a word,
Anyway, there is no need for others. Your Majesty, if these adults cannot be returned to the imperial court, they cannot be released from the capital. I am afraid that the students will go to Prince Chen."
Situ Pan immediately frowned and said, "Prince Chen may not be able to use them in the place he proposed." Having said that, he still ordered people to secretly guard the mansion of these old men and report them immediately if they did anything.
Lin Hai waited for seven days after returning to Beijing, and finally waited until Situ Pan came to his door. However, he claimed to be ill and had not seen him before, so he only ordered a child to come out and ask Situ Pan a question. "My lord said that the imperial court recruits scholars from all over the world. Now.
The world is divided into pieces, what should happen to the imperial examination next year?"
Situ Pan couldn't help but smile bitterly. Apart from taxes, the most troublesome thing about enfeoffment in the world was this matter. He really had no suitable solution. He had to go back and discuss it with his staff.
Someone said: "The majesty of the heavenly family is still there, and the imperial examination is still the same."
Another said: "I just don't know if the transfer of officials will still be useful."
Another said: "Even if the enfeoffment is enfeoffed, only local taxes will be enfeoffed, and the appointment and dismissal of officials will still be in the capital."
The one in front smiled and said, "Who will pay for the salary?"
That one choked.
Situ Pan also had a headache. If prefects and county magistrates were to be assigned to various places, regardless of whether his brothers and nephews accepted them or not, who would provide the salary? Furthermore, the things under the control of the six ministries belonged to the whole country. For example, the affairs of the Ministry of Punishment,
It cannot be left to the control of the kings; the household department is even less likely to be in chaos. If these are all controlled by the court, apart from salaries, what is more important is large sums of money, disaster relief and river control, etc.
Suddenly he looked up and saw Feng Ziying and Qin Sangu talking together, and asked, "What are you two talking about?"
Feng Ziying said: "I just said that Cong'er has the weirdest idea, and there is an unusual gentleman. Although he has gone to the south, it would be great if his husband is still in Beijing."
Situ Pan frowned and said: "Speaking of which, in the early years we always thought that his husband was a woman. Later I learned that the woman was just one of them, and the rest were all men."
Qin Sangu asked quickly: "Does the prince know who he is?"
Situ Pan said: "The name sounds like people from the green forest. Among them are scholars, businessmen and thieves. They are collectively called the Seven Strangers of Jiangnan."
Qin Sangu asked curiously: "I have been in contact with the Green Forest people for more than ten years, but how come I have never heard of it? Where did the prince get the information?"
Situ Pan said: "Listen to Mr. Gong from Yihongyuan."
Feng Ziying nodded and said: "What he said is probably true. Mr. Gong Kun's name is accountant, but he actually means a bit of a staff member. Since Jia She has never done much, he has never shown it. In my opinion, that is
Jia She kept it for Cong'er."
Situ Pan snorted: "That's not all! Because Cong'er often runs to you, you rarely go to Rongguo Mansion, and you have never entered Cong'er's Lixiang Courtyard. The information I heard from Rongguo Mansion has revealed that since that year, Jia She will be the leader of all the people.
The son of a soldier was sent to accompany Jia Cong to study and practice martial arts. Gong Kun often lived in Lixiangyuan to teach the children to study. It was not until Jia Cong later invited Mr. Western to play with bottles and jars that he returned to Yihongyuan.
.”
Feng Ziying said: "That's why he is tighter than ordinary staff."
Qin Sangu sighed: "If Cong'er is here, you can really ask him. Although his idea is weird, it will probably work."
Feng Ziying said: "Why don't you ask Huan'er?"
Qin Sangu said: "Huan'er is no longer honest now, but he doesn't have the wild ideas like Cong'er."
Situ Pan said: "I can't think of anything right now. I just ask him casually. Even if I don't have a good idea, I'm sure we can come up with a good idea. Besides, he is a disciple of Ru Hai and Su Zheng, so he will inevitably
Go and discuss with the two of them."
Feng Ziying responded.
That day he went to Rongguo Mansion and asked Jia Huan if he had any ideas. Jia Huan puffed his face and said, "Can I have any ideas for such a big thing?"
Feng Ziying said: "I don't expect you to make up your mind. You just want to think about it. What if you come up with something? You can also discuss it with Mr. Lin."
Jia Huan pouted and said, "Actually, you just want me to ask Uncle Lin."
Feng Ziying chuckled.
Jia Huan went to Lin Mansion and Su Mansion every day these days, and he didn't mind making one more trip, so he asked someone to pull the horse out. When he arrived at Lin Mansion, he saw Lin Hai pruning flowers and trees in the garden with scissors, and said: "Sir, you
It’s really free!”
Lin Hai kept holding his hands and said: "I don't have much official work to do. The imperial court is finding it difficult to hold imperial examinations. It's useless for you to write articles. It's better to take care of some flowers and trees."
Jia Huan hurriedly came up and told what Feng Ziying said, and said: "The wise king has a headache and doesn't know what to do."
Lin Hai snorted: "What does it have to do with me."
Jia Huan asked, "Sir, do you have any ideas? This matter has been raised to the top of the world."
Lin Hai shook his head and said: "What ideas can I have? If the world cannot be unified, hundreds of schools of thought will contend, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I just pity those scholars who study hard in poverty." After saying this, he sighed dejectedly, put down the scissors and felt sad.
Jia Huan couldn't persuade him. He held his cheek and thought for a long time, then asked: "Uncle, do you think this is the case? Since the vassal king is the vassal king, he must pay annual tribute. Let them pay annual tribute every year.
Author of three provinces and six departments."
Lin Hai hummed: "Are they willing to give it?"
Jia Huan said: "Otherwise, there is no other way. It's just that the court must write letters to the princes to discuss the matter. There is also the imperial examination, which I think must still be done."
Lin Haidao said: "For a virtuous king, the imperial examination is naturally the best thing. The imperial court will carry out the imperial examination as usual, and both face and dignity can be preserved. But I don't know if the princes are willing to use it." He waved his hand and didn't mention it anymore.
Two days later, Feng Ziying came to Rongguo Mansion again and asked Jia Huan if he had gone to see Lin Hai. Jia Huan told him exactly. Feng Ziying said disappointedly: "Master Lin doesn't have any ideas either."
Jia Huan said: "It's just that last night I suddenly remembered what Cong'er said many years ago, and it seemed to make some sense." Feng Ziying hurriedly asked what he said, and he said, "Actually, court officials are similar to ordinary shopkeepers. Officials represent the court.
When they work, the court will give them a salary. If they do well, they will be promoted and their salary will increase. If they don't do well, they will be fired. Those who are corrupt and bend the law are just like the shopkeepers who line their own pockets. If you look at it this way, the imperial examination is just an exam. If you pass it, you will be successful.
This person can be a shopkeeper. He can be a shopkeeper anywhere. As long as all the princes can see him in this way, he must be willing to have officials sent by the imperial court."
Feng Ziying laughed when she heard this: "Since many years ago, Cong'er was getting smaller and smaller. It is obvious that this was not said by a child, and was it said by one of the seven Jiangnan monsters?"
Jia Huan said in surprise: "Huh? Do you also know about the Seven Monsters of Jiangnan?"
Feng Ziying couldn't help but burst into laughter. Jia Huan knew that he must have misunderstood, but he refused to explain clearly, so he just stood by and giggled a few times. Feng Ziying remembered that Situ Pan said that one of the seven strange people in Jiangnan was a businessman.
He became more and more confident. Then he asked again: "Is it just a salary?"
Jia Huan said: "Salary is naturally paid to whoever works for it. The princes who have done well are willing to increase their salary. If the ruler is too poor and cannot afford the salary, don't blame others for not being willing to become an official for him.
.”
Feng Ziying said: "It is really troublesome to run an imperial examination. If you are just selecting candidates for others, why bother to waste such effort."
Jia Huan laughed and said: "Brother Feng's statement is ridiculous! Although he is selecting candidates for others, the court has the final say on who is selected. Even if the person is selected, even if he works under the King of Liao, doesn't he remember himself in his heart?
Who is your mentor? Furthermore, I, Mr. Lin, also said that for the wise king, the imperial examination is still a good thing. In fact, the wise king is not much different from other people. It is very unusual to have the right to select scholars for the kings.
That’s it. He doesn’t want it, but someone is sure to want it. There are a lot of things this year, so I’ll just use this as an excuse not to take the imperial examination tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen in four years, do you believe that some prince will jump in and do it soon? If so
If they join forces to do it, the wise king will make a big profit from this loss."
Feng Ziying nodded repeatedly when she heard this: "That's what you said."
He then went back and reported the matter to Situ Pan one by one. On the other hand, Jia Huan also wrote an urgent letter and headed south.
Two days later, Jia Mu asked Jia Huan something because she remembered something, so she sent someone to find him. Aunt Zhao replied that she was "going to Mr. Su's house." Jia Mu immediately remembered that Su Zheng had returned to Beijing, and the busy people were here.
Jia Huan was guarding the door and called to see him as soon as he came back.
When Jia Huan returned to his house, he saw Amber at the door. He immediately sighed, jumped down and asked, "What's the matter with our ancestors?"
Hu Hue said: "The old lady only ordered the servant to wait here. As soon as the third master comes back, please go see her."
Jia Huan had no choice but to go straight to Jia's mother's courtyard without changing her clothes.
As soon as Jia Mu heard that he was coming, her face turned into a smile and she waved to him: "My son, come here quickly."
Jia Huan suddenly felt that something bad had happened and hurriedly gave her a big gift. Jia's mother said angrily: "What are you doing in a family with so many rules?"
Jia Huan hurriedly said: "Etiquette cannot be wasted. Mr. Caisu also said that I have been fooling around with Cong'er these years, and the honesty in my early years has been lost a lot. He also told me to remember the word 'property'. My grandson must be careful."
Are you following your master’s orders?”
Jia Mu smiled and said, "Mr. Su, you are a good gentleman! Huan'er, now that Cong'er has gone south, are you the only disciple beside Mr. Su?"
Jia Huan said: "Isn't that right? There is no one to help me pour the tea and grind the ink."
Jia Mu said hurriedly: "Your second brother doesn't go to the academy to study now. Since Mr. Su has fewer disciples, why don't you go ask him tomorrow and accept your second brother as your apprentice. You two brothers can study together."
It will be a good story if it gets spread in the future, and you don’t have to worry about having no one to help you pour tea and grind ink."
Jia Huan trembled after hearing this: "Old ancestor, I have no control over this matter. I have to ask my husband. It's just that he has been under house arrest for the past few months and is not in a good mood."
Jia Mu smiled and said: "Your second brother is smart, polite and filial, and he has a good background. He will be in a good mood once he sees it."
Jia Huan's heart was like dark clouds covering the sun, but she had no way to refuse her at this moment, so she had to agree, not daring to show her displeasure, and hurriedly left. When she got outside, she gritted her teeth and said secretly: "How come it's been so many years?