Xiangye

Chapter 91

"Ha, it's better to come back sooner than later." After walking around the city twice, he measured every inch of land in Zhuanglang County with his footsteps. Guessing that it was almost time, Gao Wen returned to the inn.

As soon as we walked in, it was time for dinner.

He was also not polite, and directly asked Xiaoer to serve wine and food.The weather is so cold that I can't bear it without eating more.

After eating, I drank a small pot of rice wine, and my body became hot.When Gao Wen thought of the county examination at Maoshi tomorrow, he couldn't help but feel his blood boil: It's finally started!Daming, I'm coming too!
Yes, until now, I have finally broken away from the status of a lowly servant, and I am standing on the same starting line as the time traveler in the novel.That is to say, from this moment on, my time-traveling career can be said to officially begin.

I couldn't help but chanted: "I am born to be useful, and I will come back after all the money is gone. Xiaoer, waiter of pen and ink!"

Xiao Er glanced at the freshly painted whitewashed wall next to Gao Wen, and was shocked.He wailed: "Sir, you can't write on this wall! If the shopkeeper knows that he needs to eat and beat him, maybe the monthly money for this month will also be deducted. I'm just waiting to be fed, so please pity me!"

That's right, once this book-scholar is happy after drinking and eating, not only will he recite a few lines of poems, but he also likes to scribble on the walls with a pen.

The problem is that the readers in Zhuanglang County don't write well, and they even stained a wall.

Later, the shopkeeper issued a strict order that no one was allowed to write on it.It’s okay to write ugly, the key is to be afraid of writing discordant content, such as “It’s like a tiger lying on a barren hill, lurking in the minions and enduring it.” Jiamu, the swordsman and the waterworker."

You wrote it neatly and left with a slap on your ass. The government came to find it, but the small shop inevitably wanted to use money to eliminate the disaster.

"Who said you're going to write on this wall?"

"Not anywhere else."

Gao Wen laughed: "I'm not the kind of person who has no public morals and puts up small advertisements everywhere. That's right, I'm going to the yamen to do some business tomorrow morning, and I want to borrow pens and inks from your shop."

"So that's it, sir, just wait." Xiaoer stuck out his tongue, and thought to himself: This Mr. Gao is really a character, and he knows people in the yamen, but it is not easy to offend.

When Xiao Er brought a box of inkstone, an ingot of ink, and a tube of brushes, Gao Wen thanked him, put them away, and said, "Little Brother, I have one more thing to trouble you."

"Don't dare, sir, I have something to tell."

Gao Wen: "I'm used to going to bed late, and I can't get out of bed until three o'clock in the morning. I would like to ask you to call me early before tomorrow morning, so as not to delay the affairs in the yamen."

Xiao Er: "Don't dare to ask, sir, don't worry, there will be no delay."

After dinner, he went back to his room. He had no clothes on and was so cold that Gao Wen had no choice but to hide under the quilt.After lying down, I fell into a dream in a short while, and woke up early the next day.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the sky outside was very dark, and the people in the inn had already woken up.

Gao Wen washed his face with cold water, his jaw was shaking from the cold, it was really miserable.However, the sleepy bug didn't know where he went, and he became refreshed.

At the moment, I was too embarrassed to ask the shopkeeper for a free breakfast, so I borrowed a basket, loaded it with the Four Treasures of the Study, and trotted all the way to the county government office.

This time, the examination room of Zhuanglang County County Examination is located in the lobby of the county government office, and tables, chairs and benches have already been placed inside.After looking at it, there are about thirty or forty seats, obviously there are many candidates.Pingliang Prefecture is backward in culture and education, and it is not bad to have thirty or forty candidates.It is said that in the big counties like Xianyang, Xingping, and Chang'an in Xi'an Prefecture, every county examination, because there are too many candidates, there is no room in the lobby.There is no way, many candidates are arranged in the outer corridor or even in the open space.In February, when the spring is cold, the cold wind blows, and the taste is really refreshing.

The whole yamen has already turned on the lights, and the lobby is brightly lit.It's a pity that there seemed to be no one there, only a few yamen servants were wiping the tables and stools with rags.

Seeing how quiet the place is, Gao Wen suddenly felt a little uneasy, maybe I misremembered the day or time.At this time, it happened that Mr. Su from the ceremony room came out with a stack of printed papers.

Seeing an acquaintance, Gao Wen hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects, and asked cautiously: "Dare to ask, is my county taking the county test today?"

Master Su: "That's right, so it's you, the exam is about to take place, wait a minute, what are you in a hurry for?"

Yesterday he and Gao Wen were a little unhappy, but today he looks very unhappy.

Gao Wen didn't want to say anything, so he stood outside the lobby.I also murmured in my heart: It's almost Mao's time, it's strange why I haven't seen a few people yet.

After standing outside for a long time, almost stiff from the cold, only then did candidates come in in twos and threes with their test baskets, and lined up behind him, waiting for the roll call to enter.

After waiting for a while, there were about [-] examinees behind them, all carrying test baskets, shrinking their heads in the cold wind.

In addition, on the other side of this group of candidates, there were a few people who looked like scholars, presumably they were students from the county school who were protecting them.It is good to be a scholar with a reputation. Although he is just a small granary student, he can still get some gift money every year just by acting as a guarantee for others.

There was only a sound of footsteps, and someone shouted: "The county magistrate is here, be quiet!"

Gao Wen straightened his neck and looked over, and saw a middle-aged man in his early forties wearing a bright red official robe coming out.

This person is very thin, with two mustaches on his lips, mung bean eyes, single eyelids, black face, and a mess of wretchedness.

Gao Wen was taken aback: Could this be the new magistrate of Zhuanglang County? By the way, his surname seems to be Diao, and his name is Diao Hualong. He just parachuted from the capital.What is it called Hualong? In my opinion, it is more appropriate to call it Deyi.

"I have seen the county elder, all the candidates for the children's examination in Zhuanglang County this year should be 21, and they actually got 21." Master Su stepped forward and reported.

"Ah!" Now, not only Gao Wen, but even the county magistrate in front couldn't help crying out.

This person is too little, right?
Gao Wen couldn't help but look back, only to see the twenty scholars behind him, old and young.The youngest was a boy about ten years old, with a childish face, and the old one had white hair and beard.As for the others, most of them were about fourteen or fifteen years old.

It's understandable for children to take the county test. Isn't it just a child's test?But this old man is so old, he didn't know how many exams he had taken before, and he hasn't even passed the county exam yet, it's really incredible.

"This, this, this, why are there so many candidates?" Diao Zhixian's face was livid, and he couldn't help scolding Master Su loudly.He was originally from the south of the Yangtze River, and he spoke Wu Yu's soft language, which was hard to understand.

Master Su hurriedly said: "Honorable County, our county is really poor, and few people can afford to study. But any scholar who has some family background and can still study has already passed the exam in previous years, so, therefore..." said At the back, he stuttered a little.

"Shut up, just this little person, how can you still take the imperial examination? If it is passed on, it won't be a joke. In that case, why didn't you come and report it earlier?" Diao Zhixian was so angry that his chest heaved, and he scolded: "What are you doing? ? I don’t think you need to do this classic history.”

Seeing that his hat was about to be taken off by the new county magistrate, Master Su's face became pale, sweat dripped from his forehead, and he wailed in a low voice, "Master, please forgive me. Really, really, you just came to our county. It took only two days to take office. Once I arrived at the Yamen, everything was busy, and villains dared to bother me. Moreover, in previous years, there were only so few candidates in our county."

"Bastard, since the situation in previous years has been like this, why didn't you think of a way to find more candidates in advance." Diao Hualong, like Du Shenghui, the magistrate of Hancheng County, was also a Zhengyin official sent by the Ministry of Officials to parachute to Shaanxi to gain political achievements.In the year of Jingtai, the emperor changed in Beijing, and there was a big earthquake in the officialdom, and the officials in various provinces changed a lot.I finally got the real job, and I was about to gear up to do a big job in the local area, but I didn't want to be hit in the head just two days after I arrived in Zhuanglang.

Master Su: "Master County, everyone in Hancheng who can read a few words has been admitted by the former magistrate. In order to join the 21 candidates, I even broke my leg a few days ago. I can't find many people!" At this point, he was so wronged that his eyes filled with tears.

"It turns out to be like this." Only then did Diao Zhixian understand that in order to make political achievements, the former magistrate had already wiped out all the scholars in the county, leaving only a few or two crooked melons for himself.

This year's county examination is only 21 days, and even the round list is not enough.If it got out, it would be a big joke in the officialdom, and I would lose all my face.

I blame myself for my negligence. When I first came to Zhuanglang the day before yesterday, I looked at the county examinations in previous years. At any rate, the county could gather fifty or sixty candidates for each session. I felt that this year was probably the same, so I didn't take it to heart.

But he didn't want to, the former magistrate exhausted his resources for political achievements, leaving no resources for himself at all.

The old man was stuck here this time, Diao Hualong thought that he just wanted to reach out and slap himself hard.

He wanted to grab Master Su's collar again and spit on his face.

But in front of so many people, it is unseemly to do so. Besides, the county examination is important: the important affairs of the country are only sacrifices and imperial examinations.

He pointed to Master Su: "You wait for me, I will talk about it after today, call the roll!"

Master Su: "Yes, yes, yes."

Let the book office roll the names, and then hand out the papers.

After a while, "Bitter River Village, Gao Wen."

When Gao Wen was clicked, he was shivering from the cold, wishing he could go into the lobby to escape the wind.I was overjoyed at the moment, and hurried up to see the ceremony.

Seeing Gao Wen, Diao Zhixian's eyes widened, and he couldn't help admiring: "Long body, long-sleeved lun scarf, elegant demeanor, this is a serious scholar!"
It turned out that the few people he ordered before were either old or young, standing there trembling, not humanoid.At first glance, it seems that he can barely read a few words, and was temporarily pulled to make up for the number.

And Gao Wen was tall, with long arms, a well-proportioned figure, good facial features, and a heroic face, exuding a vague aura of having seen a big scene.Standing among this group of people, he really stood out from the crowd.

Moreover, the clothes on his body are exquisitely made and well-cut, and at first glance, he is a person with a story.

What makes Diao Hualong most happy is that Gaowen is dressed thinly in such a cold weather, with the calm and leisurely temperament of ancient Wei and Jin people who walked out of the east gate for a walk.

(End of this chapter)