Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

It was useless to guard the tiger's mouth. Seeing that the officers and soldiers did not attack directly, Yang Ying ordered the bandits to take turns to defend. In the evening, he called several big leaders to discuss matters.

Among the nine chairs, Yang Ying sat in the middle, with four chairs on both sides.

The son of the former village leader Yang Jun is nineteen years old this year and sits in the third place. He was taciturn and kept silent, filled with fear. He was afraid of both officers and soldiers and his own uncle.

"Why is Shahukou called this name?"

Yang Ying looked confident: "Even if the tiger comes, he will die there. This time the officers and soldiers are better at fighting than before. But when it comes to fighting again, will a tiger be so powerful? Can it grow wings and fly over?"

"Father is right, if you guard the tiger's mouth, there is nothing the officers and soldiers can do!" Only his son, the second in charge of the family, cheered.

Yang Ying continued: "The food has been moved up the mountain, and we can afford it. The officers and soldiers can't afford it, and the officials are reluctant to part with the food and grass. If they drag them for a few months, the magistrate will definitely urge the troops. How can the officers and soldiers be urged by the magistrate? Don't you risk your life to attack? As long as they attack, they will definitely die miserably. When the time comes, we will take advantage of the situation to fight back, and no officers or soldiers will be able to escape!"

"What a great plan, Dad!" The son continued to cheer.

"Brother, what a plan!"

The leaders followed suit, and at least they were not left completely alone.

Yang Ying talked nonsense again, saying that the bandits must win and the officers and soldiers must be defeated.

The leaders dispersed, half to defend the tiger's mouth, and the other half to go home to rest and prepare for the battle.

The fourth master wandered around and quietly went to find the fifth master in the middle of the night. Both of them were old people and had already made plans to abolish the establishment.

In the darkness, the Fourth Master whispered: "Do you believe in the government?"

"Only a fool would believe it," the fifth master said disdainfully, "We have done a lot of beheadings, and if we are caught, we will be beheaded. Keeping the property, and getting a big reward for killing Yang Ying are all tricks used by those officers and soldiers! "

The fourth master asked: "What if it is true?"

The fifth master remained silent.

The fourth master added: "The officers and soldiers who came back this time are different from the past. I'm afraid they can fight very hard. We must still defend, and it's best if we can defend. I mean just in case, if we can't defend, we can't accompany you." Then Yang Ying goes to die."

"If we really can't defend it, I will lead the troops to kill Yang Ying. Maybe I can save my life through meritorious service." The fifth master said.

The fourth master said: "I do have a way."

The fifth master hurriedly asked: "What method?"

The fourth master said: "Let's discuss it with Yang Ying first. I will send people to pretend to surrender and make it look like a riot in the stronghold. The officers and soldiers will definitely take the opportunity to attack the stronghold and then cover up and kill them. The two of us will not fight with the officers and soldiers first, but let Yang Ying's men take action. If the officers and soldiers are defeated, we will attack the officers and soldiers together and find another opportunity to deal with Yang Ying. If Yang Ying is defeated, we will kill Yang Ying and seek refuge with the government."

When the fifth master heard this plan, he was so impressed that he exclaimed: "How can you be so smart? I'm really convinced."

"You have to pretend to be more realistic and deceive both the government and Yang Ying," the fourth master added. "You have to pretend to be fighting at night so they can't see clearly. Maybe you can kill the officers and soldiers again and take advantage of the chaos. Kill Yang Ying."

"I listen to my brother!" the fifth leader said with sincere admiration.

The next day, Zhu Ming stood still and waited for Zhang Guangdao to sneak around and attack.

The fourth master went to Yang Ying and explained his plan to surrender.

Yang Ying thought about it and felt that it was feasible. He was also afraid that the fourth master would really surrender, so he arranged for his confidants to set up an ambush and leave the fourth master behind. At the same time, the fourth master was allowed to follow him alone and could not directly command his subordinates.

It was then agreed that that night someone would be sent with ropes attached to the cliff to find officers and soldiers to feign surrender.

When several groups of officers and soldiers passed through the tiger's killing mouth, they immediately dropped rocks to block the officers and soldiers from the front and back, and then the whole army killed him by surprise.

…

Yangzhou City.

A few days ago a high-ranking official came, and even Li Tongpan, who was busy collecting taxes, went with Zhizhou to keep him company.

This official's surname was Lu Mingrong, and he was the chief official of the Lizhou Lu Tiju Academic Affairs Department, referred to as Lu Tixue.

If placed in the Ming Dynasty, the post of academic envoy would usually be held by the deputy envoy of the Imperial Guard. However, the Tixue Department in the Song Dynasty was an independent organization and directly took orders from the Ministry of Rites.

Not only did the promotion of education bring greater power, but even the teachers of state education in each state were more valuable than those in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Teachers of state studies in the Song Dynasty must be Jinshi. In the Ming Dynasty, all state education teachers were Juren or Gongsheng.

Especially during the Huizong Dynasty, Cai Jing presided over educational reforms and had higher requirements for state teachers.

If you want to be a professor (principal) of state studies, it will be even stricter. He must be a first-class Jinshi, or be among the top ten in the national examination, or be among the top five in the state examination and be a Jinshi, or be an outstanding graduate of Taixue - with this kind of background, one can enter the Hanlin Academy in the Ming Dynasty.

Let's put it this way, if you take any of the state education teachers in Yangzhou, they can beat the county magistrate on academic qualifications. If they become local officials, they will at least start as county magistrates, or serve as bookkeepers near the capital, and their promotion speed is super fast.

And this Lu Tixue specializes in supervising state teachers!

From April to August every year, it is the time for the Tixue envoys to visit various states. Lu Tixue first went to Xingyuan Mansion, and then took a boat down the river to Yangzhou.

In the first three days, I had been traveling around the mountains and rivers, and the magistrate, Tongpan and the professor were accompanying me throughout the whole process.

Entertainment expenses are reimbursed by the government. Yangzhou's annual public money (entertainment expenses) is fixed at 4,000 guan, and it can also be used for loan sharking. The trade laws of Wang Anshi and Cai Jing were also used by local officials to lend money, forcing merchants to borrow money from the government.

On the fourth day, Zhizhou arranged an opera.

Lu Tixue was watching the play, eating wine, and asking about the situation of the scholars in Yangzhou.

Professor Gong (principal) took the opportunity and said: "Since Mr. Lu asked about it, I would like to recommend a scholar of the Eighth Line. This person's surname is Zhu, his courtesy name is Chenggong. He is only fifteen years old, but he has already mastered the three classics."

"Is there such a thing?" Lu Tixue was quite surprised.

There were many child prodigies in the Song Dynasty. They were either good at studying "The Analects of Confucius" or "Mencius", or they were talented in poetry at a young age. But if you understand the Three Classics, you can't talk nonsense. That person is no longer a prodigy, he can be called a famous Confucian.

Li Tongpan said with a smile: "Quinzi was a guest at a classmate's house a few days ago and discovered the child prodigy in the countryside."

Lu Tixue asked curiously: "How do you know he has mastered the Three Classics?"

Professor Gong said: "Not only did he understand the three classics, but he also had a new interpretation of the scriptures. Take the sentence 'A gentleman cherishes virtue, and a villain cherishes soil. A gentleman cherishes punishment, and a villain cherishes benefits'. Zhu Chenggong interpreted it as The word 'public and private'."

Lu Tixue tasted it and praised: "Excellent explanation."

Li Tongpan also said: "The sage uses his enlightenment to make others enlighten; now he uses his faintness to make others enlighten. Does Lu Xueguan know how Zhu Chenggong interpreted it?"

"Is there any new explanation for this?" Lu Tixue asked.

Li Tongpan smiled and said: "This person's interpretation is: the way of a university is to show one's own virtue and apply it to the world. There are only a few people who are disobedient."

Lu Tixue was able to teach students all the way, but his knowledge was not comparable to that of Xiang Zhixian. He was awakened by this solution, and instantly connected the three classics. He clapped his hands and praised: "What a genius! Even among the famous Confucian scholars in the world, there are probably not many who can explain the three classics in one sentence like this."

Li Tongpan continued: "This son is not only profound in Confucianism, but also rare in both civil and military affairs. There were bandits plundering the countryside, and he single-handedly killed dozens of bandits. Fortunately, Quanzi survived."

"Is there such a thing?" Yang Zhizhou was surprised. He only knew that there was a thief in Xixiang County, and that the county magistrate had Zhu Zhu arrested and killed.

Li Tongpuan sighed: "Quinzi also fought hard against the thieves. He was injured in many places on his body and almost died there."

Lu Tixue asked: "Have the thieves been eliminated?"

Li Tongpan said: "But he is the chief secretary of Xixiang County. He originally wanted to recruit rebels, but now he surrendered and rebelled again. He has been captured by the magistrate of Xixiang County."

"Just hold it, these rebels deserve to be killed!" Lu Tixue said bitterly.

Li Tongpan said: "This boy is both civilized and military. He should be a scholar of the Eighth Lines. I would like to ask Lu Tixue to recommend one or two."

Li Tongpan was also impatient with his son's pestering. After Li Hanzhang returned to Yangzhou, he said good things about Ju Ming every day, which was the only one in the world.

Today I'm having dinner with the Ti student, so I just said it in passing.

Lu Tixue knew what he meant, and asked him to recommend Ju Ming to study at Imperial College. If he only recommends studying in state studies, Li Tongpian can make the decision himself, but if he wants to study in imperial studies, he must study and test his teachings.

"Since there is such a genius, I will definitely give it a try myself." Lu Tixue immediately agreed.

Anyway, he was just recommending it, so why not give Li Tongpuan some face? Taixue has the final say whether to approve it or not.

Moreover, Lu Tixue's performance evaluation also has a lot to do with this.

The more scholars in his jurisdiction are admitted to the imperial examination and the more scholars go to study at Imperial College, the better the examination results will be, which will be more conducive to future promotions.

In the afternoon of that day, Lu Tixue, drunk, inspected Yangzhou Prefecture.

The next day, he actually took a boat to Xixiang County in person.

In name, I was going to inspect the county school and inspect the Eighth Route Army scholars, but in fact I was going to visit the mountains and rivers.

Lu Tixue was tired of playing in the several state capital cities on Lizhou Road, and he had never been to a rural place like Xixiang County. The countryside is a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, which makes it very interesting to visit.

At this moment, Ju Ming is still suppressing bandits.

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