Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 51
Silent all night.

From the morning of the next day, the door of Shen's residence was opened, and the guests began to be entertained.

There is no strict time limit for this kind of banquet to celebrate promotion and title. Guests can come and sit at the banquet at any time.The diet provided is also similar to that of the cold dinner party in later generations. Guests can specify food and beverages at will. Only when they can meet the taste needs of all guests can it be called success and it is also a manifestation of financial resources.

As for the entertainment items of the banquet, the most important thing is to appreciate the performances of song and dance actors, and the host or the guests will play music and dance in person.Proficiency in a musical instrument is also an important skill of elegance, and the level of musical literacy is also one of the important manifestations of a person's cultural quality.

In this era, there were many gentry families who personally trained singing and dancing actors.Shen Zhezi's father, Shen Chong, is one of the best, known as Wu Yin's leader, and the Shen family's Qianxi Bieye has even developed into a very prosperous cultural industry because of this.

The price of a skilled actor can be as high as tens of thousands or even millions of dollars, which shows that the scholars in Wudi are pursuing him.At the same time, the price of servants in the prime of life was only around ten thousand yuan and several dendrobiums of grain. Even those who possessed craftsmanship were far less valued than those who entertained people with sex.

In addition to courting prostitutes and drinking, there are also plays such as throwing pots and scorpions, which are all fun games that can arouse the atmosphere.Of course, this is a slightly vulgar entertainment, and more elegant ones are talking and playing chess, or talking and debating, and even gossip about current events, tasting contemporary people, reciting poems and prose, and gathering crowds to persuade them to disperse.

Since the banquet was named after Shen Zhezi being knighted, Shen Zhezi was naturally responsible for receiving the guests.Although he is not very old, his weight is very substantial.Ji Zhan is the superstar of heaven in Wudi nowadays, as his close disciple who taught scriptures, Shen Zhezi naturally has an extraordinary bearing in the eyes of others.

While dealing with people, Shen Zhezi also knew that he was no longer an unknown person nowadays, and already had two popular titles: Wu Zhongqiongbao, who was personally praised by Ji Zhan, and the one with Gu Bi. The Dexiang Shen Lang who was spread when the mouths were bombarded.

This kind of nickname is much more beneficial to Shen Zhezi than the title of Marquis of Guannei.The longer he immerses himself in the current world, the more Shen Zhezi feels the effect of fame.Perhaps fame cannot be directly converted into material income, but having fame means having a certain right to speak.The higher the reputation, the greater the influence of words and deeds on the people of the time.

Personal fame can control the discourse power of public opinion, and the classics and family studies inherited by the family are equivalent to the right to interpret the classical scriptures. These are powerful weapons with high compulsion and ideological struggle.Although Shen Zhezi can't use it right now, but in the future he wants to reform the current malpractice and correct the world's morals. These are important bargaining chips that can come in handy.

Based on this cognition, although Shen Zhezi does not deliberately pursue fame, he does not deny it and avoids it like a snake.The so-called fame and position, in essence, there is no difference between good and bad, only the question of whether it can be used properly.

When receiving guests, Shen Zhezi also summed up the characteristics of the families Wu Xing and the Shen family associate with. Most of them are families from the same county, or families with similar circumstances and status, and those who are truly respected and prosperous are rare.This is not to look at people with a snobbish eye, but through this social circle, one can more clearly understand the current status of the Shen family.

What surprised Shen Zhezi was that someone from the Yixing Zhou family also attended the banquet.After hearing the introduction of his identity by the clansman, Shen Zhezi couldn't help being taken aback, really afraid that the other party would draw out his sword and stab him.But looking at the other party's calm and ordinary demeanor, there is no anger of deep hatred for each other.

As a result, Shen Zhezi has a deeper understanding of the current state of entanglement and alliance among various families.Father Shen Chong copied the Yixing Zhou family's house, but only Zhou Zha was killed by the whole family, and the other houses were left untouched.

Therefore, the current Yixing Zhou clan and Wu Xing Shen clan don't have any enmity that cannot be resolved, at most they have a cold relationship with each other, and it is only limited to the Shen clan's Dongzong.Some of the house branches of the Yixing Zhou Clan have a very good relationship with the Shen Clan's Xizong, and there are many in-laws. In some respects, the relationship between them is even much closer than that of the Shen Clan's internal Eastern and Western Clans.

The aristocratic family is densely packed with cobwebs, and the situation is complicated.Later Shen Zhezi understood this period of history, but did not understand the behavior of many characters.Now that I am in the present, I am gradually accepting it.One is the distant relatives of the same clan who are estranged, and the other is the close relatives of your own son-in-law, who would you choose?

The complexity of these interpersonal relationships can be expressed through Shen Zhezi's own communication.

In the afternoon, the Yu clan, Yu Yi and Yu Tiao brothers came together, and Shen Zhezi received them personally and had a long chat.For the brothers of the Yu family, Yu Liang forced Shen Zhezi to go to Taicheng to meet the emperor. Although there was no danger, his intention to kill himself was obvious. Shen Zhezi would never let him go!
But Yu Yi and his father Shen Chong still have room to support each other in their official careers, and Yu Tiao is the number one salesman that Shen Zhezi focuses on training.Shen Zhezi's bad impression of Yu Liang did not affect his communication with the two brothers.In the future, the Yu family will prosper, and these two people are also the main way for the Shen family to take advantage of it.

Compared with the history of the Shen family's family, Shen Zhezi's personal connections seem to be higher, and most of them are from Ji Zhan.Although Gu Lu's family from Wu County in Gaomen of Jiangdong, Danyang's Ji family and Zhang's family may not be the main face clansmen, they are enough to show their importance to Shen Zhezi.

In addition, there are a group of overseas Chinese children recruited by Yu Tiao, these are the backbone of the business to promote the Yinjue's salary in the future.Although it feels a little strange to be friends with a young man with long hair, but because of Yu Tiao's admiration for Shen Zhezi, he dare not show his usual contempt for southerners.

When these guests arrive, they don't want to sit with the original guests.And with their presence, the original guests also became restrained and uncomfortable.The Shen family simply set up another table and arranged receptions separately.

Scholars and commoners are of different streams, and people of different family backgrounds have no contact with each other, which has been implemented and reflected in all aspects.Today's situation, going back up, can even be said to have sprouted in the late Western Han Dynasty, and it has grown through the entire Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms. As for now, it is deeply rooted and cannot be reversed overnight.

Shen Zhezi thought he was not as heroic as Hou Jing, the general of the universe, so he raised his butcher knife and killed the so-called Wang Xie Gaomen.Under such a worldly situation, if you want to succeed, you will inevitably drag your feet.

The congratulatory banquet lasted for more than two days before it finally came to an end.It was because of the joy of another noble family's marriage that the guests moved their positions, and Shen Zhezi was left clean.

Even if Shen Zhezi was dissatisfied with the banquets and gatherings held by members of the noble family with official status, it was not easy to denounce them face-to-face.In this era, official Xiu Mu generally followed the Han system, but the implementation was not rigorous.Especially with the rotation system, it is not uncommon for people with high family status and prosperous family background to stay in the official office every day, or even not go to work for ten days.

For example, Sengda, the king of Langya in the later Southern Dynasties, was fond of hunting and was not in the official office for more than half of the year. Office was just a pastime after hunting.But when he lost his power, he stood on the bridge of Jiankang City after asking for leave and watched people fighting ducks in the river, so he was impeached by Chanzuo.

What's more, an official in the Southern Dynasties indulged in the joy of mountains and rivers, and was repeatedly moved without seeing his person. In the end, he didn't even know where his official office was.Unofficial historical records may not be credible, but the current trend of officials who don't do their own thing is evident.

After the congratulatory banquet, Shen Zhezi returned to Ji's mansion, and while Ji Zhan was still in good spirits, he told him about the details of the emperor's response.

Ji Zhan could hear the emperor's words showing favor and wooing the Shen family, which was a good sign for Wu Shi, so he felt a little happy, and told Shen Zhezi: "Loyalty is the foundation of one's life. Keep it in your heart and discipline yourself.”

Shen Zhezi agreed, but couldn't bear to hit Ji Zhan.The emperor's intention to win over the southern scholars to check and balance the overseas Chinese was obvious, but unfortunately his life was not long, and at the end of his life, he issued an edict to the court to appoint the wise ones among the southern scholars, but how could it be implemented.At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the political structure was always emphasizing overseas Chinese and ignoring southern scholars.

Perhaps it was a return to light, in the next few days, Ji Zhan's spirit improved a lot, and he was able to barely entertain guests.A group of old and old relatives came to visit one after another, which can be regarded as farewell.Whenever receiving guests, Ji Zhan asked Shen Zhezi to stand by his side.

Shen Zhezi understands that the old man is using the last bit of glory in his life to support himself, and transfer the connections, prestige and political legacy accumulated in his life to his own hands.As for how much Shen Zhezi can inherit in the end, it depends on his own efforts.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ji Zhan, who was over seventy years old, finally ran out of fuel and died at home.

The Ji family was full of grief, especially Ji You, a young man who was not a weak crown but had no close relatives, wept bitterly and almost fainted.Shen Zhezi was also very sad in his heart. This old man has been lingering in the sick bed for many years, and the last time of his life is not peaceful. It is a great kindness to escort the Shen family and tide over the difficulties.

Especially for Shen Zhezi personally, this old man who bears the name of a national scholar has shared with himself the most precious accumulation of his life. This appreciation and kindness is so heavy that he cannot repay it.

Going through the old Wu, spanning the two Jins, experiencing the chaos of the Eight Kings Jiehu, and watching the sorrow of crossing the south, the life trajectory of this old man can be described as ups and downs.Perhaps limited by the limitations of the times, I did not see the context of historical advancement with a vision beyond the pattern, but I have no regrets in my life of self-discipline, meritorious deeds, and living up to the name of "scholar".

As Ji Zhan's disciple, Shen Zhezi obeyed the ceremony of Qi Shuai, second only to the beheading of his closest relatives, which was also Ji Zhan's final confession.Although he is not a blood relative in Wufu, he has the kindness of preaching.

The torch is never extinguished and passed on from generation to generation.

(End of this chapter)