Chaos in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Chapter 7 The Little Fox and the Old Fox

Li Chengkang is a short and fat little chubby man. At this moment, his fat head and big face tilted, he squinted at Guan Ziyang and said, "You are a commoner, what right do you have to bet with us? Are you worthy?"

Chang Rong and Li Chengkang are just the opposite, tall and thin, with a bamboo pole figure and a big face.

He clasped his hands on his chest and said dismissively: "That's right, besides, the bet between Li Chengkang and I is one or two gold, can you afford it?"

Li Chengkang said with a sneer: "If you, Guan Ziyang, can afford so much money, we might as well lower our status and make a bet with you!"

At this time, one tael of gold is equal to 100 taels of silver, one tael of silver is equal to 100 guan coins with round square holes, and one liang of gold is equal to [-] guan coins!
Although the Guan family is a rich family, they have no other industries except planting.

Guan Ziyang calculated in his mind.

The Guan family has 40 mu of land, and the yield per mu is about 1 shi, which is about 40 shi a year, and the value of 1 shi is about 1000 guan.

In other words, excluding the expenses and taxes of the Guan family, they can earn 4 yuan a year.

4 guan is 4 taels of gold, and these two brats get one tael of gold every time they open their mouths!
Guan Ziyang gasped, and almost blurted out a 'national curse', the gap between the rich and the poor is too big!

But he said calmly, "Since it's a bet, you should let me know what to bet first, and then see if I bet or not."

"If I can't make a bet, I'm poor. If I can make a bet but dare not bet, I'm a coward. You two think, don't you?"

After hearing this, Li Chengkang felt that it seemed reasonable, so he said: "The two brothers of the Wei family said that although your Guan family is a common family, the "Leng Yan Saw" handed down by your ancestor Guan Yu is a masterpiece, even for people without awakened blood. Very powerful."

"It just so happens that Li Chengkang and I haven't awakened our blood yet, so let's bet on who can defeat you with fewer moves! However, you want to bet, so how should you bet?"

Chang Rong also nodded and said: "That's right, we are betting on who will beat you with the fewest moves, so don't you want to lose how many moves you want to lose? Whoever uses fewer moves, me or Li Chengkang, is in your hands." Are you on it? No, no, this is not possible!"

Guan Ziyang was secretly delighted, these two boys don't seem very smart...

The two brothers of the Wei family wanted to teach Guan Ziyang a lesson, but Guan Ziyang was also a guest of their Wei family, so it was inconvenient for the two of them to take action directly.

So he instigated these two stupid boys to beat up Guan Ziyang, but Guan Ziyang stabilized the situation first with a few words, and even made a plan for several people.

At this time, Guan Ziyang secretly laughed in his heart: "Little fox wants to punish me? Let's see how I teach you..."

Guan Ziyang pretended to be surprised and said: "Oh, that's not possible. Don't you two know? Although the common people have martial arts from their families, who would learn it? There will be no day in life."

"Our common people all study literature! The two big brothers of the Wei family have been working as common people for so many years. Didn't you tell Brother Chang and Brother Li the truth?"

Chang Rong and Li Chengkang looked sideways at Wei Pu and Wei Jiu suspiciously at the same time.

Wei Pu hastily explained: "Ah, don't get me wrong, my lords. There are also martial arts learners in the common people. This Guan Ziyang's third uncle, Guan Zhengdao, is the training envoy of our county corps in Fuling County. His martial arts are very good! Maybe it's just this Guan Ziyang." Too stupid, don't learn martial arts..."

Guan Ziyang nodded and said: "That's right, I'm stupid, I'm the most stupid person in our Guan family, but the brothers of the Wei family are smart people, wouldn't it be better for you to fight against the brothers of the Wei family separately?"

Chang Rong and Li Chengkang looked at each other, as if they were thinking about the feasibility of Guan Ziyang's solution.

Wei Pu hurriedly stepped forward, waved his hands, and said with a smile: "No, you two, we are here to see the Guan family's "Leng Yan Saw", we can't do it!"

Guan Ziyang raised his arms and said, "The ancestor of the Wei family, Changping Hou Wei Qing, relied on "Thirty-six Fingers of the Wei family" to fight on the battlefield, attacking the Xiongnu in the north, and was invincible. It's not for nothing!"

Li Chengkang seemed to be dissatisfied after hearing this, and shouted to Wei Pu: "What 36 fingers! It's better than the fingering in my family's "Li Shifu Point Hand"? I want to learn from it."

"Li Shi's Acupuncture Hand" and "Wei's 36 Fingers" both belong to acupoint acupuncture. Li Chengkang, who was young, heard Guan Ziyang's praise of other people's acupoint acupuncture, which naturally aroused his competitive spirit.

Wei Pu complained psychologically. Both Chang Rong and Li Chengkang were descendants of noble families. They practiced martial arts since they were young.

The two brothers haven't even read "The 36 Fingers of the Wei Family" completely, so it can be said that they are powerless. If this is really a competition, they will not be beaten all over the floor!
When the Wei family brothers were at a loss, a fat man in a green robe walked in and shouted at Li Chengkang: "Young bear, don't be rude!"

This person is Li Chengkang's father, Li Fengnian, and Zhixiong is Li Chengkang's nickname. Generally, adults in the family often call their children by nicknames, just like Guan Zhengqian often called Guan Ziyang a barbarian.

Li Chengkang immediately put away the arrogant and domineering look just now, and said submissively: "Yes, father."

At this time, another person came out from behind Li Fengnian, because Li Fengnian was too fat, and this person was surprisingly thin, Li Fengnian completely blocked him, so that Guan Ziyang didn't see him.

It can be seen from his figure that this man must be Chang Rong's father, named Chang Zhen.

Chang Zhen gave Chang Rong a hard look, and slightly bowed his hands to the two brothers of the Wei family: "My son is young, please be considerate of the little brothers of the Wei family."

Wei Puwei hurriedly bent down to return the salute: "It's nothing! It's nothing!"

Guan Ziyang wondered, Li and Chang are both old gentry families in Shu, even if the Wei family was promoted to the gentry family, they would be far behind them, why these two old foxes are so polite to the Wei family brothers?

There were two adults present, and the four juniors naturally did not dare to make a mistake. After asking what happened, Li Fengnian looked at Guan Ziyang with great interest, and said to Li Chengkang indifferently: "I heard that the Guan family boy is a member of the Wei family. My daughter's fiancé-in-law is naturally capable, so don't underestimate him."

Li Chengkang nodded in agreement.

Li Fengnian went on to say: "However, the Guan family is a rich family in Fuling, and the heirs of poetry and etiquette. I heard that the Guan family boy was intelligent since childhood. It will be of great benefit to you to ask for advice.”

Guan Ziyang cursed inwardly: "This old man, arguing in the fox's den, talking nonsense! I was reborn on this 'fool', why didn't I know that I was proficient in everything!"

Chang Zhen squinted his eyes and watched Li Fengnian speak, as if he had read his mind.

So he also said to his son: "Rong'er, although the old man often teaches you that the way of martial arts is the right way, but now the nine ranks are the right ones, and both civil and martial arts must be determined."

"As the saying goes, 'Scholars learn martial arts, ordinary people learn literature, and cultural relics double-cultivate to be an official'. The four great tastes are also particularly valued by Zhongzheng officials. Usually, you can get in touch with not many children of the common clan. Take advantage of the Guan family's free time today. You should also learn from him."

"Hey, I'm just wondering, why do you have to ask me for advice?"

"Isn't it okay for me to finish reading my letter of resignation at the ceremony quietly, and then pat my ass and leave in peace?" Guan Ziyang thought depressingly.

Li Fengnian touched his big belly, pretending to be thinking, and said: "Well... but 'Wen Wu is the first, and Wu Wu is the second.' Since there is a competition of elegance, there must be a referee. Brother Chang Zhen and I both Not good at this, I wonder if there is someone in the Wei family who can be a referee?"

Wei Jiu immediately shouted: "My third sister is knowledgeable and talented, the famous "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" Ruan Zhongrong once taught my third sister the rhythm for half a year."

Guan Ziyang was shocked after hearing this: "Isn't Ruan Zhongrong the same as Ruan Xian? The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are still alive now? This is the Yonghe period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. How can there be people from the Wei Dynasty?"

At this time Li Fengnian patted his stomach and said with a smile: "Hey, Shan! It would be great to have Miss Yiqing, the third miss of the Wei family, as the referee!"

Chang Zhen also said with a smile: "The disciple of Ruan Zhongrong, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, must be very good. It is also a rare opportunity for a few children to get her comment!"

Hearing this, Guan Ziyang suddenly realized...

He secretly laughed in his heart: "The little fox deceived other people's sons, and the old fox came to deceive the little fox again..."

"Hey, it's interesting, interesting... So it's for Wei Yi Qing..."

Guan Ziyang originally didn't want to compare the four great tastes with this big fat man and the thin bamboo pole, but then he thought about it.

"wrong!"

"The nine-rank Zhongzheng system in the Eastern Jin Dynasty is still an investigation system in the final analysis. Fame is a major item inspected by Zhongzheng officials. If I win this competition, my reputation will be greatly improved!"

So Guan Ziyang said: "I am honored by the elders Li and Chang, and I am flattered by the guidance of the two young masters Li and Chang! I will show my shame..."

Then Wei Pu went to report to the elders in the family, and arranged for the competition venue, equipment, etc., and Wei Jiu went to inform Wei Yiqing to come forward.

After a while, Wei Xuan, the Patriarch of the Wei Family, arrived in person, bringing with him dozens of guests who had participated in the grand ceremony.

After a while, the cases in the study were lined up. Wei Xuan arranged for several elders to sit down, and then invited Li Fengnian and Chang Zhen to sit down. the highest of them all.

Wei Xuan said in a loud voice: "Today is the promotion ceremony of my Wei family. Thanks to Li Xiaowei and Chang Xiaowei who came to congratulate me in person. The Wei family is flourishing. It is a great honor...

"The two adults are elegant, and sent the two young masters of the family to show their elegance. My Wei family was also a family of poetry and rituals. The descendants of the Wei family should seize this opportunity to pay respects to the style of the "four surnames in central Shu" Li and Chang!"

"Although the boy from the Guan family belongs to the common clan, this competition is more elegant. The elegant taste has always been the head of the common clan, so it is not considered bullying you. You can perform normally, and I will reward you."

The grand ceremony was scheduled to start at noon, and this time the competition was scheduled at Si time an hour earlier, which could be considered as the promotion ceremony, to cheer up the atmosphere of the audience in advance.

(End of this chapter)