The next day, the brothers came to the county town early in the morning. Zhang Shi went to prepare chickens and ducks, wine and food as gifts, and visited Peng County Lieutenant's home. Zhang Yue, on the other hand, planned to go to the bookstore in front of Xuegong to find some "reference books" and the like.
, and then meet up with Zhang Shi.
Zhang Yue arrived at the Academy first. The Academy is located at the foot of Huanghua Mountain to the north of the county government. As a major imperial examination county, Pucheng has a strong academic style, and the same is true for the county school. Historically, there were more than a thousand students in the Academy during the Daguan Period, and it was highly favored by the Song Dynasty.
Huizong's praise.
The Qipan Street in front of the county school gate, known as Huanghua Pavilion, is home to restaurants, teahouses, and ink studio paper shops. It is no less lively than the cross street in front of the county government office.
Although scholars in the Song Dynasty did not have the same benefits as those in the Ming Dynasty, who were exempted from taxes, labor and even rice, those who could afford to study were from poor families.
For example, Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan, who came from poor families to become high-ranking officials, their stories of studying at a young age are talked about by readers.
However, their backgrounds were not low. Ouyang Xiu's father had served as an official in Mianzhou. Fan Zhongyan's biological father had also been the secretary of the Wuning Army.
The poor family in the Song Dynasty refers to the common people who are a branch of the rich family. For a while, there were no prominent and high-ranking officials in the family. It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that the poor class really achieved a class jump through reading.
Zhang Yue looked at the scholars in green cloth blouses with envy on his face. The bookboys followed him around, and several scholars were talking loudly and pointing out the country as they walked, with high spirits in their brows.
My family used to be a middle-class family, but due to the trouble caused by my second brother, I suddenly fell into the poor class.
The poor people's chances of getting ahead in the Song Dynasty were almost zero. Whether it was studying literature or martial arts, it seemed that the second brother had such a talent for reading, but the family had spent hundreds of dollars on it over the years. Now it was Zhang Yue's turn to come up with the only counterattack
For example, like in the Water Margin, one becomes a bandit and waits to be recruited.
But this is even more unreliable.
Zhang Yue thought for a while and then walked to the bookstore. The bookstore was at the corner of Qipan Street and was just a front-end room.
The bookstore has a zigzag counter along the street. An old man with a scarf on his head and a big smile is sitting behind the counter. The bookshelves on both sides behind the old man are filled with books.
"We have a collection of classics and histories. I wonder which one I want to read, Mr. Xiao? He seems a little unfamiliar!" The old man seemed to be greeting enthusiastically, looking at it with a pair of inquiring eyes.
Zhang Yue sighed in his heart that he really didn't like reading and had never even been to a bookstore.
Anyway, I'm not afraid of embarrassment.
Zhang Yue said: "May I ask the shopkeeper, how many books do you need to read to take the imperial examination?"
The old man chuckled and said, "Young man wants to take the Jinshi examination. He is really ambitious. It is said that thirty years old masters the scriptures and fifty years old Jinshi. However, the Jinshi examination is not easy. It is difficult. It is difficult to say a word."
I like it, what?
Zhang Yue saluted and said, "My father-in-law is right."
The old man saw that Zhang Yue was like this, so he said in an old-fashioned manner: "If you are not completely sure, it is better to put the Ming Jing of various subjects first. Yes, the Three Rites Subject is a way out. Here are the Zhou Rites and the Book of Rites. Xiaolangjun can buy them first.
A detailed guide."
Zhang Yue kept the old man's words in mind, took Zhou Li from the other party, and read a few pages at a glance.
Under the aggressive gaze of the other party, Zhang Yue could not sit on the floor in the bookstore and read all afternoon like he did in his previous life.
He asked: "May I ask the store how much it will cost?"
"Two pieces of money and five hundred wen!"
Zhang Yue took a breath. He remembered that a book of about 600,000 words in the Ming Dynasty cost about two taels of silver, which was almost the income of ordinary people in two months.
Although the Song Dynasty also had woodblock printing, books were more expensive than those in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Yue remembered that in the collection world, books printed in the Song Dynasty were extremely valuable, and they were still highly sought after not only later on, but even in the Ming Dynasty.
For example, the famous Song-style characters were not invented by the Song Dynasty, but by the Ming Dynasty. Song-style characters are square characters specially created for the convenience of engraving. They are called Fukuo characters, which are specialized printed characters.
However, the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty all used regular script to engrave the calligraphy, which was very beautiful. The Jian version, also known as the Jianyang version, is famous all over the world.
For scholars studying in Jianzhou, it may be because local books are sold cheaper than elsewhere, but even so, this book of Mencius with more than 60,000 words is worth more than two thousand dollars.
This week's ritual is the Jianben version, the characters are written in willow script, and the scarf box version is used, which is a pocket book.
Having said that, it seems that the imperial examination books of the Song and Ming dynasties liked to have small characters. In addition to saving costs, I think it must be for the convenience of scholars to carry, rather than for cheating.
"Well, it's not too expensive."
Zhang Yue read a few more pages of the Book of Rites, and then asked: "How much do you dare to ask..."
The old man smiled and said: "I want money for three strings."
Zhang Yue calculated that it would cost more than five guans to buy two books for one Sanli Ke. However, in the Song Dynasty, an ordinary person earned between 75 and 100 qian per day, which was about two to three guan per month.
I don't have enough money to buy even half a book, let alone one.
This expense is like a parent spending 6,000 to 7,000 yuan to buy a computer for a child to learn computer science.
Zhang Yue put down the book and said, "I would like to ask if I can buy two books together, which one is cheaper?"
When the old man heard this, he perked up and said, "Well...seeing that the young man is so popular, let's count him as Eight Guan!"
Zhang Yue nodded: "It's not expensive, it's not expensive, but I don't have that much cash at the moment. If I come back tomorrow, please ask the store to keep it for me!"
The old man's smile faded: "It doesn't matter."
After Zhang Yue left the bookstore, he completely gave up his plan to buy books, and then went to find Zhang Shi in the restaurant.
Zhang Shi was ready at this moment, but he saw that Zhang Shi had prepared two large food boxes, carrying them one behind the other on a load. They were full of sheep wine and snacks, both of which were the best in Pucheng.
Zhang Yue also helped Zhang Shi carry a sack.
It really made Zhang Yue feel a little ridiculous to send gifts to his door like this.
Peng County Lieutenant had been serving as an official in Pucheng for several years, and he was ready to spread his old bones here. He built a mansion in the city, not far from the county government office.
The two knocked on the door and asked to see them, and a military officer came out to greet them.
The military academy informed Captain Peng that he had a guest with him and asked them to wait in the concierge first.
The two of them sat for a while, and then a man came forward and said, "Today there are distinguished guests at the county captain's house. Please follow me to the hall to talk."
Zhang Shi was surprised and said: "How can this be eliminated?"
The gentleman smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Da Lang, I'm just talking to the noble man. This noble man happens to know you, Zhang Erlang. Don't worry, just say whatever you want. That's right, put these gifts aside and report to the county later."
Mr. Wei."
Zhang Shi saw that the water gift he had prepared was not taken seriously and was put aside. After hearing the other party's instructions, he felt uncomfortable disobeying, so he had no choice but to agree.
The two brothers followed the gentleman and came to a hall after several turns.
But I saw a man in his thirties and an old man talking in the hall with Captain Peng Xian.
The two of them first saluted Captain Peng. Captain Peng smiled and said, "Do you still recognize this Mr. Wu Dalang?"
Zhang Shi was shocked when he saw it and said: "Wu Dalangjun! I'm disrespectful and disrespectful."
This man in his thirties stood up from his chair and said with a faint smile: "Zhang Dalang, you are well."
After the two exchanged their greetings, Zhang Shi said to Zhang Yue with a smile on his face: "This is the eldest son of the Wu family in Xiuli. Come and pay your respects. He usually has the best friendship with his second brother."
Zhang Yue saluted while trying to figure out who this person was from his memory.
Finally, Zhang Yue remembered the origin of this person. There are four major families in Pucheng County, namely the Zhang, Wu, Yang, and Huang families. Compared with the four major families of Jinling in Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Shi, Wang Xue, they are not much better at all.
The leader of the four major Jia clans is the Zhang family. Zhang Dexiang, the first prime minister of the later Fujian people in the Song Dynasty, came from the Zhang family in Pucheng. So far, since Taizong of the Song Dynasty started the examination, only fifteen children of the Zhang family in Pucheng have been listed.
Jinbang can be said to be the most prominent family in Pucheng.
By the way, are the Zhang Yue brothers the Pucheng Zhang family?
Yes, but they are a sparse tribe.
How sparse was it? When Prime Minister Zhang Dexiang returned to his hometown, he built a Zhoujin Hall for the Zhang family to study, and invited famous teachers to provide free study for the children of the family.
But neither Zhang Xu nor Zhang Yue had any connection with Zhang clan studies, which shows how alienated they were. There was nothing we could do about it. There were not tens of thousands but thousands of Zhang clan members in Pucheng, and it was not that easy to find relatives.
There is another branch named Yang.
The famous official Yang Yi came from the Yang family in Pucheng. At the same time, he was Zhang Dexiang's father-in-law and the leader in his official career.
Although the Yang family is not as influential as the Zhang family in the government now, it is still a big family in Pucheng. Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue's mother is from the Yang family in Pucheng. At the same time, his aunt is also married to the Zhang family, and her uncle Zhang Yu is a Jinshi. At present,
Bo was appointed as the governor of Wuxian County in Suzhou.
However, Zhang's father's road to the imperial examination was not smooth, and the Yang family gradually looked down on Zhang Yue's family. After Zhang's mother died of illness, the two parties broke off contact. However, when the second brother was the top scholar in the county and was appreciated by Chen Xiang, the Yang family sent someone to
Zhang's father, Zhang Shi, didn't have any objection when he came to the door to recognize this relative, but his second brother kicked him out and humiliated the visitor...
If it hadn't been for this incident, Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue would have approached the Yang family to resolve the matter when they were cornered by Zhao Yasi.
Another branch is the Huang family. Huang's father and son, Huang Guan and Huang Xiaoxian, are both famous ministers and famous literati.
The four major Jia clans marry each other, and the Wu family in Xiuli is also one of the four major Jia clans.
The father and son of the Wu family have five Jinshi. The father, Wu Daiwen, was a minister in the Ministry of Rites, and his four sons were also Jinshi. The eldest son, Wu Yuguan, was a deputy prime minister. He was not a former but the current prime minister.
The fourth son, Wu Chong, was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Jingyou's reign and is currently the judge of Qunmu Division.
The Wu Dalangjun in front of me is named Wu Anshi, and he is the eldest son of Wu Chong. He did not go to Beijing with his father, but studied in his hometown county. He was a classmate with Zhang Yue's second brother. When Zhang's father was still alive, he once celebrated the New Year.
During the festival, Wu Anshi even came to visit me with courtesy.
In this chapter, I couldn't help but sigh again that my second brother has unlimited benefits as a scholar, and he can even make friends with the second generation of real officials.
Zhang Yue greeted him respectfully.
Everyone sat down in rows, with Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue sitting at the bottom. Two platoon soldiers presented tea and fruits to Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue brothers.
When Wu Anshi saw Zhang Yue, he smiled and said: "Erlang is handsome and handsome, and he can be said to be the best man. Today, when I see Sanlang, he looks a lot like his brother. He is indeed a real brother."
Zhang Yue felt comfortable in his heart. Talented people like me like to be praised for our merits besides talents.
The old man on the side did not speak, and Wu Anzhi did not introduce him to the two of them. Zhang Yue thought to himself that the two brothers were not worthy enough to know each other.
Lieutenant Peng County chuckled and said: "Zhang Sanlang is not only that, he and his nephew are also classmates and good friends."
Zhang Shi said quickly: "This time, Lieutenant Peng helped me for Saburo's sake. Our whole family is very grateful."
Lieutenant Peng Xian smiled and said: "It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."
Just then, a man came into the hall and whispered a few words to Peng Xianwei.
Lieutenant Peng County stood up and said, "I have some business to do. I'll come back as soon as I go. I won't accompany you."
Everyone stood up to see each other off, but the old man sat down and nodded.
Zhang Yue and Zhang Shi didn't know who the old man was, so they were secretly surprised when they saw him being so supportive.
There were only four people left in the hall. Wu Anshi smiled and said: "The young master and I just happened to be chatting about your brother. Erlang and I have been classmates for three years, and our friendship is like that of close brothers. I still remember that when Erlang first entered the county school, even though he was the youngest, he talked about poetry.
All of the articles and classic meanings impressed me and my classmates!"
Zhang Shi said with a smile: "Dalangjun is so complimentary, but my brother-in-law often said that he was looked after by Wu Dalangjun when he was studying in the county school. Our whole family is very grateful."
Wu Anshi smiled and said: "It's all a matter between classmates whether to look after someone or not. Although this is the first time we meet Zhang Sanlang, from my point of view, he has a bright future. I think he must be more talented than his brother."
Bar!"
After Wu Anshi finished speaking, the old man on the side also turned his gaze to Zhang Yue and looked at him.
