Bachelor

Chapter 448
Sun Dan really understood the thoughts of those two merchants very well. Although he is now a well-known number one scholar and editor of the Imperial Academy, he has been smooth sailing since he took the imperial examination, winning three grades in a row.What you can rely on is the powerful database in your mind.

Looking back, if there is no such cheating method, with the little ink in his stomach, even after 30 years of hard study, there is no way to kill a bloody path in this imperial examination room full of corpses.

The imperial examination has always been a matter of high input and low output.

If there was no such database, Sun Dan would probably have embarked on the road of being a businessman at the beginning. No business is not rich. What could be more life-changing than doing business?
Although Huai'an is located in northern Jiangsu, it is considered an economically underdeveloped area compared to southern Jiangsu in modern times.But that was in the era of large-scale industrial production. In the farming society of the Ming Dynasty, relying on the shipping of the Grand Canal, Huai'an was also a well-known commercial port in the country, second only to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangchang and Nanjing in terms of wealth.

Since the time of Emperor Wuzong, the Ming Dynasty had reached its peak period of national power, and the commodity economy in the south of the Yangtze River was extremely developed. Studying and becoming an official was no longer the only way out for the social elite.In fact, in this era, the buds of capitalism have quietly sprouted in the south of the Yangtze River, and social values ​​are also showing a trend of diversified development.The road to study and become an official is too long, and the success rate is too low. In many places, reading and literacy is just a means for ordinary people to improve their own quality.Some people even think that it is better to be able to read and write, and to be able to work as a bookkeeper in a firm in the future, rather than working as a coolie outside.

Sun Dan also has some understanding of this trend of thought, so naturally he doesn't find it strange.

From the looks of it, the two guys surnamed Tan and Ma have made some achievements in business in the past few years, and they live a good life. Naturally, they lack interest in imperial examinations, and they can't stand the hardship of studying.

They were unwilling to take the exam, but that didn't mean Sun Dan gave up.

Sun Dan waited for two days and finally waited for two scholars from Suining, so naturally he refused to let them go.Otherwise, if the examination room is empty, there is no way to explain to everyone where I put my face.

Anyway, in any case, no matter what method is used, whether it is coercion or lure, it is necessary to drag those two people into the Xuedao Yamen.

Thinking of this, Sun Dan didn't care about changing his official uniform, stood up, and shouted: "Han Yue, let's go, let's go and have a look." He took the lead and walked out the door.

After walking two streets, I came to the street mentioned by the yamen clerk. I saw a small river in the distance, and an elegant restaurant stood by the water. Character.The writing is very spiritual, and it should be written by a famous artist.

This restaurant is not big, with two floors above and below. The house is well decorated, but there are not many people. It is probably a quiet tasting route, and ordinary people in the market can't afford it.

In addition, this street is a little quiet, so before I reached the end of the road, I heard three people with Suining accents arguing loudly. Looking over, there were three scholars sitting by the window facing the water. Pointing fingers.

Sun Dan was stunned: Didn't it mean that there were two Suining scholars, why did three people appear all of a sudden?If so, we will catch them all later.

The voices of the three of them were very loud, and one of them was full of energy, as if he was arguing with others: "Brother Fang, the poem "Laoshan Song" you mentioned was really written by Sun Dan, it was a mistake Right? I bought all of Sun Jingyuan’s collections, and searched through the lines, but I couldn’t find a word for Lao.”

Another soft voice sounded: "Yes, what brother Ma said is very true. Regardless of Sun Jingyuan's articles, as far as his poems are concerned, most of them follow the path of gracefulness, otherwise they would just write "Luohong is a ruthless thing, and flowers are made of flowers." Sentences like "Spring mud protects flowers" even if it is "Kyushu is angry and relies on wind and thunder, ten thousand horses can be mourned" is also gloomy and depressing. This is Sun Dan's style, just like the sentence that Brother Fang read just now "Laoshan The ground is nine thousand feet high, and Cui Wei's momentum is in the east. Looking down at the sea, the sun and the moon rise, and looking up at the vitality enveloping Hongmeng.' Shen Xiong is broad and big, but he has the legacy of Dongpo, not Sun Jingyuan's taste."

The man with the loud voice nodded again and again: "Brother Tan is right. I guess this poem should be written by a person in Tang Dynasty, but the original author cannot be verified. It is also possible that it was pretended to be Sun Dan's work."

Sun Dan was amused when he heard them talking about his poems.Listening to what they said just now, the one with the loud voice should be Ma Sheng, while the one who speaks softly and thoughtfully is because of Tan Sheng.

"I've said it all, it was really written by Sun Jingyuan. This poem was written when he went south to Huai'an and passed by Shandong." A soft voice sounded: "Sun Jingyuan's poetry styles are varied, whether it is majestic or magnificent, or graceful and beautiful. It is very well done. You say that he can't write Shen Xiong's broad poems, which is unreasonable. Think back to the poem "Look at Wanshan Red, and the forests are all dyed" that was written by Master Sun Dashi in the examination room of the academy. Don’t you also have the artistic conception of Dongpo’s great river going east?”

Sun Dan heard the voice very familiar, looked intently, but it wasn't the Suining scholar whom he met on the road earlier.

Beside him, Han Yue called out in surprise: "My lord, isn't that guy the same guy from before? He said he didn't know a single word, but now he started talking about poetry and morals with two scholars. Damn it, even us They're all lying. No, I have to show him how powerful he is."

Sun Dan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Forget it, he doesn't admit that he is a scholar, so he probably has something to hide. But that's good, it's also a good thing to find another candidate from Suining. Let's go in quietly and listen to what they say something."

When he reached the entrance of the restaurant, a waiter came up to meet him and sang loudly: "Guests, please, what do you want to use? We have rice wine that has been brewed for ten years, and big carp from the Grand Canal."

Han Yue stuffed a piece of silver into his hand, and said in a low voice: "Don't say anything, let's take a look, don't want anything, don't bother my master."

Xiao Er stuck out her tongue, and retreated obediently.

Sun Dan walked into the lobby on the first floor, and the three of them started talking again.

It was the scholar surnamed Ma with a loud voice who spoke.There was a screen in front of the three people's seats, because Sun Dan and Han Yue didn't disturb them when they came in.

"Brother Fang is wrong. Sun Jingyuan just came to Huainan and didn't enter the sky. How do you know the poems he wrote when he was in Shandong? Hehe, don't be a lie, right?"

"Yes, yes, it must be so." The scholar surnamed Tan laughed: "Brother Fang, you can't have got some fragmented copy from the Tang Dynasty, and you know that we like Sun Jingyuan's poems, so you can use it to deceive us."

"You you you..." The scholar surnamed Fang was too angry to speak.

Through the screen, Sun Dan saw that the scholar surnamed Fang was so angry that he bent over and coughed, his exquisite face was frighteningly red, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

Seeing that he was coughing badly, Tan Sheng and Ma Sheng stopped and asked with concern, "Brother Fang, are you alright?"

After a long time, the scholar surnamed Fang stopped coughing, his face returned to normal, and said: "It's okay, there was a flood a few days ago, and I kept cool in the water."

"Hey, we are also from Suining, and our hometown has suffered a disaster, and we are not feeling well." Both Tan Sheng and Ma Sheng sighed at the same time.

Ma Sheng's loud voice rang again: "Forget it, forget it, don't talk about such unhappy things. Drink, drink. Although we all moved to Huai'an City and escaped by luck, we have been unlucky recently. Water transport The yamen has not issued a boat guide for a long time, it seems that the road to the water transport is broken, and this year's business is also over." After speaking, he picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

Tan Sheng also had a sad face on his face: "Don't talk about these unhappy things, let's continue to sing poems and compose Fu to force our faces to laugh. By the way, none of you have ever seen Sun Dan, and you don't know the name of this emperor, who is the number one scholar in the dynasty?" appearance?"

Fang Scholar immediately answered, "The one who can be the No. [-] Scholar must naturally be a handsome and refined young man."

Ma Sheng said with a smile: "No, I heard people say that Sun Jingyuan looks ordinary, and looks like an ordinary person."

Fang Shusheng said angrily: "You are just hearsay, how could Sun Jingyuan look like an ordinary person."

Ma Sheng laughed and said: "Could it be that he has horns on his head? Sun Dan is not an actor. What do you want to be so handsome, as long as the writing is good." He turned to look at Fang Shusheng: "Brother Fang, It seems that you also like Sun Jingyuan's poems and articles very much, I heard that he is in Huainan now, why don't you come to visit?"

Fang Shusheng, that is, Fang Wei who disguised himself as a man, replied: "I have no fame. Now Mr. Sun is a close minister of the emperor. How can I meet him?"

Ma Sheng laughed loudly: "Now there is an opportunity. It is not difficult for you to meet Sun Jingyuan. Isn't Suining's county examination held in Huai'an this year? Then Sun Jingyuan is the chief examiner. Brother Fang has no fame yet, so you might as well sign up for the examination. I'll see you then."

"Really!" Fang Wei stood up suddenly, her chest heaved violently, and began to cough again: "But, but...cough cough...but all my classmates and family members were killed in this flood, so where can I find it?" guarantor!"

Hearing that Fang Wei intends to take the imperial examination, Sun Dan was delighted, and said in his heart: If you are sleepy and you meet a pillow, as long as you come to take the exam, it will be fine. If you want a guarantor, I will give you the green light.

However, he was still puzzled, why did Fang Sheng refuse to admit that he was a scholar?But it's a little strange.

Sun Dan was about to go out to greet those three people when he heard Tan Sheng sneer and say: "Guarantor, it's easy for me. Brother Ma and I are innocent, so we can be your guarantors. However, Brother Fang, you are not a real person. The song just now Lao Shange was clearly not written by Sun Dan, and the time was not right. Brother Ma and I have been honest with you, but you come to trick us, which makes people look down on you."

Fang Wei said anxiously: "That poem was really written by Sun Dan!"

Tan Sheng continued to sneer: "Who would believe it!"

Ma Sheng laughed: "Brother Tan, don't embarrass little brother Fang, it doesn't matter who wrote this poem."

Tan Sheng snorted: "Brother Ma's words are wrong. The imperial examination is a national event, and the examinee's wealth must be clean. You and I are the guarantors of others, but we have to bear the responsibility. If Brother Fang is an actor, you I'm going to die. Humph, in life, virtue is the most important thing. Brother Fang can't speak clearly, how can I be this guarantor?"

Fang Wei was so anxious that he wanted to cry: "Brother Tan, that poem was really written by Sun Dan, how could I lie to you. Please, be my guarantor!"

Sun Dan couldn't stand it any longer, let out a long laugh, and chanted: "Mount Lao is nine thousand feet above the ground, and Cui Wei's momentum is even to the east. Looking down at the sea, the sun and the moon emerge, and looking up, the vitality envelops Hongmeng."

Ma, Tan, and Fang Wei all turned their heads, only to see an ordinary-looking young scholar coming out from behind the screen.

(End of this chapter)