It was the first day of February in the thirty-first year of the First Emperor of Qin.
The Confucian scholar Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng, with their hair disheveled and no longer as proud as before, left the dark and damp prison with heavy wooden shackles in their hands. The two of them saw that their eyes hurt from the bright spring light outside, and they looked at the closed door behind them.
At the prison gate, they touched the tattoo on their faces again, feeling lingering fear in their hearts.
Half a month has passed since they were arrested for playing drums in their hometown school. During this half month, more than ten Confucian students were sent away one after another after paying a fine of one thousand yuan. Several of the families were really poor, Fuqiu
The uncle took out a little money that he had saved for many years to help them eliminate the disaster.
Only Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng were judged by the prison officials as not only guilty of gathering a crowd to discuss, but also guilty of spreading rumors and slandering the government, and were sentenced as "Tainting Si Kou"...
Tattooing is to tattoo words on the face and then use ink as a symbol of crime, which can never be wiped off in the future.
For ordinary people, this is already a great humiliation, let alone the Confucian scholars who believe that "the hair and skin of the body are given by parents and do not dare to harm"?
What's even more ironic is that when the two of them were imprisoned for resisting the same text, the vicious county guard Heifu, as a joke, had Qin seals carved on their faces!
Now, the two seal characters "Sikou" on their faces have become a nightmare that they will never be able to erase!
Before this was over, and the labor pain on his face had not dissipated, Er Sheng was taken out of prison by a small village chief named Liu Ji, who spoke Huaisi dialect, and was about to take them to the place where they would serve: the "Jiaodong Mountain" located in the easternmost part of Jiaodong.
"Mountain".
Chengshan, also known as Chengshanjiao, is the easternmost point in the world known to the people of the Central Plains. It is the end of the world in this era. The sea is boundless and the wind and sun are blowing. You can imagine how miserable it would be to work there as a "scourge".
Lu Musheng did not expect that the price would be so heavy, and he already regretted it, but Shen Sheng cheered him up and said:
"Even Confucius had a time when he was trapped between Chen and Cai. He would not eat for seven days, but he could still sing on the strings, drums, and harps without ever losing his voice. When the weather was cold and the frost and snow fell, this is how you know how luxuriant the pines and cypresses are! I
Even if you are tortured, don’t be discouraged!”
Shen Sheng did not give in, he was still angry and unsatisfied in his heart. Although Qi died, the people of Qi still preserved the memory of that beautiful and peaceful era. However, if these memories are not passed down to the next generation through writing and language, sooner or later, they will
It will fade away and disappear.
In his opinion, Qin's words are hard to pronounce, but they are not as beautiful as Qi's words. Qin's characters are clumsy, but they are not as elegant as Qi's characters, and their ancient meanings last forever. He must keep them in mind and never forget them.
People who have lost their country and become slaves and concubines, as long as they remember their language firmly, it is like holding a key to open the prison door!
During the half month in prison, he encouraged himself in this way to persevere.
Shen Sheng said to Lu Musheng earnestly and thoughtfully: "The destruction or immortality of Qi and Lu is no longer decided in the court or on the battlefield, but depends on how long we can keep the words, writings and history of Qi!"
"Even if we reach Chengshan, we can't forget it! Let's just be Boyi and Shuqi who don't eat Zhou millet!"
Before Lu Musheng could nod, the two of them were whipped!
"What nonsense are you talking about? If it weren't for you, Mr. Nai wouldn't have been sent on such an errand by the county guard to go to that ghost place where there is only bird droppings."
After Liu Ji and Cao Shen finished handing over the Talisman Festival, they came over and slapped them several times, venting their grievances on the two Confucian scholars and urging them to leave quickly.
"Nai Gong is riding in the car and you are walking. If it is too slow, I will tie you to a rope and drag you along!"
Just like this, I stumbled out of Qin City and entered Jimo City. People were coming and going outside. When I saw Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng, I glanced at the tattoos on their faces.
Shen Sheng held his chest high, regarded the tattoo on his face as his medal, and smiled with his head held high.
Lu Musheng was used to being dignified and felt uncomfortable all over. He wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. Now that the matter was over, he just wanted to leave Jimo as soon as possible.
But contrary to expectations, Liu Ji did not take them directly to the east gate. Instead, he walked south for a while. When he arrived near the busiest rural school, he heard several drums!
"Boom!"
Hearing the sound of the drums, Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng were shocked. They had been locked up for too long and did not know what was going on outside. They thought there were friends playing drums at the rural school to gather people to fight against injustice for themselves?
But before the two of them had time to be moved, Liu Ji sneered and said: "Stop thinking about it, this is the county guard, the wine is being played and the drums are being played. Today the results of the first public school exam will be released!"
…
It turns out that although the rural school has been reopened, it has become a place where the government announces things. Where the scholars originally discussed politics, a stone wall was built, more than one foot wide and eight or nine feet high. Whenever there is a new government decree, a stone wall will be built here.
It was hung up and posted, and two Jiaodong scribes were guarding it, specifically reciting and explaining it to the illiterate people. There were not too many people watching.
But today, the rural school was surrounded by water. On the stone wall, there was a piece of paper painted with red paint. It was very eye-catching and could be seen from a long distance, with several columns of names written on it!
Among them, the disciples of the Public School of Officials and Primary Schools learn Qin Yan, Qin characters, and laws. They have been enrolled for more than half a month. After the first test, among dozens of students, "reading and writing" and "listening"
Said: The top three students in two subjects can be on the red list, and they will be displayed in the township school until the next exam to change the list.
It is said that the first place will be rewarded with fifty gold!
Liu Ji stopped urging them. He sat in a wine shop opposite the rural school and started drinking. Apparently he had been ordered to deliberately let the second student stay here.
Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng looked at the unrecognizable rural school with complicated expressions. When they heard the officials starting to sing, their expressions changed even more!
Why? Just because the person who got the first place in reading and writing was actually a disciple of Fuqiupo, a classmate named "Laisheng"!
"Shu Zi!"
Shen Sheng almost broke his steel teeth. Laisheng's family was poor and he could barely afford Shu Xiu. But as early as half a year ago, he was discovered to be secretly learning the Chinese character Qin, probably because he wanted to become an official and get married.
When I was eating, I was scolded by Shen Sheng and others, so Lai Sheng had to admit his mistake.
But that day, when they gathered everyone to play drums at the township school, Laisheng excused himself because of abdominal pain and disappeared. It turned out that he had changed his family so quickly, entered a public school, and became a government dog!
The top three people in reading and writing finished reading, followed by listening and speaking. The person with the best listening and speaking was Yan Hua, a descendant of the Yan family in Gaomi County. And the next two people were actually disciples who attended Fu Qiubo's lectures!
Shen was so angry that he screamed: "Those people are not from Qi! We can attack them with the sound of drums!"
But Shen Sheng's anger was quickly extinguished by Lu Musheng's low words.
"In order to save our lives, Master had no choice but to become the third elder of the county. Since Master also surrendered, why should the disciples not just rely on force?" Lu Musheng's face was full of regret.
Bai Sheng and others from better-off families locked themselves up at home after being released from prison. Disciples who came from poor families and needed to rely on knowledge in exchange for food could not only join the government, work part-time as an official, or prepare to teach privately legally in the future.
What can be done?
Shen Sheng was speechless.
That's right, although Jiaodong is big, it can no longer accommodate a free writing desk!
…
At this time, more and more people in the city gathered together, talking one after another. Whenever someone's name was called out, they would shout a few times in agreement.
The sounds were sporadic at first. After all, in the eyes of Jiaodong people, saying Qin words and writing Qin characters is not an honorable thing.
But later, when the county guard Heifu and the offering wine Xiao He appeared, followed by two scribes holding wooden trays, everyone suddenly became excited, and the cheers became louder and louder!
Ordinary people actually don't care who comes first. They care more about whether the government will fulfill its promise half a month ago and give fifty taels of gold to the two people who come first!
"That's fifty gold. If converted into rice, it would be enough to feed a mouth of eight for a year! Can the Qin State speak well and write well? Can it really be obtained so easily?"
Everyone is suspicious, and people from outside the country cannot be trusted. This is the consensus of Jiaodong people.
But the government did not disappoint them. After the roll call, the county governor Heifu personally stepped out and announced loudly that the government had promised half a month ago that the two people who ranked first in the exam would receive the reward immediately and would never break their promise!
After that, he turned around and uncovered the wooden plate held by the scribe. Under the red cloth, there was a row of gold cakes, shining brightly in the sun!
"Tsk, it's really gold!"
"Maybe it's copper..."
Some people whispered that in their opinion, the Qin officials were harsh and vicious. They only wanted to collect rents and taxes every year, forcing them to leave their homes and do all kinds of hard labor, building roads, digging canals and building walls. When would they be allowed to be occupied by Jiaodong people?
Is it so cheap?
"You two don't believe it? Who is willing to come forward and try it? See if it is real gold and whether it is heavy enough?"
The Jiaodong people looked at each other in confusion, and no one came forward for a long time. Finally, a bold merchant stood up, weighed it with the "scale" prepared by the government, and picked up a piece of gold cake and bit it, his eyes lit up.
, announced to everyone:
"It's really fine gold, a full amount of fifty taels, no more, no less!"
This merchant was also a famous cloth merchant in Jimo. He had dealt with countless amounts of gold. What he said was definitely correct. Everyone was in an uproar, and then they believed it to be true.
Heifu no longer explained, but personally handed the wooden plate to Laisheng and Yan Hua, who won the first place, and patted them to show encouragement.
After the second son took it, Yan Hua's family was well off. He felt that although the gold in his hand was indeed fifty taels, it was only light in weight, so he just said a few words of insincere gratitude.
Laisheng, who came from a more difficult family, was different. He felt his hands were heavy and choked with sobs. He raised the gold cake and shouted to the spectators:
"Laisheng's family was poor, and his parents lived frugally, just so that I could study and learn some skills so that I could become a doctor's retainer and staff member to support the family. But after several years, although I could recite a few lines of poetry, I still accomplished nothing.
I'm not good at farming and gardening, so my father was seriously ill, which really drove me to death."
"Fortunately, the government has opened a public school, and the first batch of enrollees are exempted from schooling. The county governor keeps his word, and if you learn well, you will be rewarded. With this money, I can hire a doctor to treat my old father!"
After saying this, he fell at the feet of the black man and looked at him endlessly!
Laisheng's words moved everyone in the audience. Many people forgot that they were calling him "a man who forgets his ancestors" just now, and actually cheered for Laisheng:
"A good young man must be filial!"
"Earn rewards for your studies and treat your father's illness without any shame!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was heated up by Laisheng's performance, Xiao He took the opportunity to come out and announce: From now on, public school students will have to attend two semesters of classes every year. In addition to this exam, there will be midterms in each semester from now on.
In the two final exams, as usual, the top three will be on the roll call, and the first place will get fifty taels of gold!
What’s even more eye-catching is that all public school students are exempted from regular service during their school days!
"From today on, the government's words must be true. One is one, two is two, and it will never be changed!"
The government spoke categorically and vigorously promoted the virtues of attending a public school, learning Qin characters, and speaking the Qin dialect. This was the envy of ordinary people.
The benefits of going to a public school are obvious to the naked eye. As a result, the private schools set up by Confucian scholars in counties and townships are no longer attractive. Many people from wealthy families have begun to consider whether to send their children to school in six months.
Entered public school...
…
Watching this scene from a distance, Lu Musheng felt even more regretful, while Shen Sheng showed a helpless wry smile.
"When the weather is cold and the frost and snow fall, you can tell how lush the pines and cypresses are..."
Thinking of his words, Shen Sheng felt extremely ironic. In his imagination, his teachers and friends were all decent people, but the reality was that after all, Song and Bai were in the minority, and most of them were just outsiders!
The gentleman who sticks to the bottom line becomes a prisoner, tattooed and exiled.
The villain who gave up his dignity was rewarded with gold, and thousands of people cheered for him...
What's going on in this world? Is this what the Master said, a world in which pure and turbid rituals are reversed, rites are broken, and music is ruined?
"That's right, just like what the Master said about Qu Yuan, the whole world is turbid and I am alone pure, everyone is drunk and I am alone awake, so I see freedom!"
Shen Sheng closed his eyes in pain and shed two lines of tears. At this moment, he just wanted to sing and cry!
"Have you seen enough?"
At this time, Liu Ji, the head of the village, interrupted his emotion without understanding.
Liu Ji had eaten and drank enough, picked his teeth and came over. Seeing Shen Sheng's expression of pain and grief, he immediately became happy:
"Let's go when you've seen enough! The road to Chengshan is still long. Don't drip horse urine in front of Nai Gong! In the next few hundred miles, there will be many opportunities to make you cry!"
