Ming Dynasty Strategy Notes [Transmigration Book]

Zuixianlou is located in the south of the center of Nanjing City. It is a famous restaurant in the city.Rich officials, gentlemen and merchants often gather here, and Peng Qi and the others are so rich that they can have a banquet here, which shows that Shaolin Temple is full of incense and disciples are full of money.

But even though they chose such a high-end restaurant, as Peng Qi and the others, they couldn't book a private room, so everyone sat down in the corner of the lobby on the second floor.

In addition to Xia Ziling and Peng Qi, there are seven or eight young monks of similar age, all from Shaolin Temple.Most of them became monks because of family difficulties, and Shaolin has never neglected the cultural education of its disciples. After learning poetry and books, they are naturally unwilling to keep the green light at a young age. It just so happens that the imperial court has such an edict this year, and it is a good opportunity not to be missed. .

"Haha, brother, you handed in the paper too early, I was worried that I couldn't write it, so I dragged over here after a while," Peng Qi said, and pulled Xia Ziling out, "This is brother Bo Jia, who was here just now. In the compartment, lend me a writing brush."

The two just met by chance, and after Peng Qi asked his name, he called him up. Xia Ziling was also very helpless when it came to acquaintances.He had no choice but to make a bow and said, "You are all polite."

"Since you are my brother's friend, please sit down quickly." The oldest monk among the crowd said.

Everyone sat down and chatted while drinking. The topics ranged from today's test questions to each person's experience.Most of the monks here are from poor peasant families. Even though the officials of the Ming Dynasty were poorly paid, the concept of "scholar, farmer, businessman" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people since ancient times, so the opportunity to become an official is naturally very happy.Xia Ziling seldom interjected, and basically buried himself in eating hard. Although they basically ordered vegetarian dishes at this table, the ancient dishes were all ecological dishes. In addition, Zuixianlou's craftsmanship is really good. If you don't seize the opportunity to feast on I'm so sorry for my stomach.

However, everyone obviously wouldn't let him be alone.After chatting for a while, Zhang Guanli, the oldest, asked, "Bo Jia, I see that you speak and behave well. I wonder which famous monastery your teacher came from?"

"My master is just an unknown wandering monk." Speaking of this, Xia Ziling was still a little speechless. Can he say that he was forced to become a monk, and he only became a monk for a day?

"I don't believe that to be able to teach a student like you, your master must be an expert." Peng Qi laughed and said, "Bojia is dishonest and punished with a glass of wine."

Everyone laughed and asked Xia Ziling to drink.Can this be a reason to drink?However, in order to avoid revealing their faults if they pursued it any further, Xia Ziling quickly picked up the cup and said, "Okay, let me toast to everyone. I hope everyone can be on the list, and we will retaliate in the court together in the future."

"Okay, that's a good point!" Everyone echoed, raising their glasses one after another.

Everyone was a little excited after drinking for a while, and their voices became louder, but they didn't want to make the people in the private room next door a little unhappy.

"Damn, the Zuixian Tower is becoming more and more tasteless, even the monks come here to eat and drink!" In the pavilion, separated from the lobby by a curtain, four or five young princes sat around and had a banquet. The young master with a short beard and a scarlet satin shirt had a flushed complexion, probably because he had drunk a lot of wine.

"Brother Kunzhu is coming here with all the foul words, come here, have a drink to calm down, these monks must have taken the examination of the Ministry of Rites today." The young man in Tsing Yi patted him on the back and held up his cup to persuade him.

Young Master Feiyi pushed the wine glass away, still yelling loudly: "Don't drink, I can't get rid of my anger, mother, there are monks everywhere in the city, we have been in a cold window for more than ten years, and there are many levels of examinations in the courtyard, township, and society. Screening, why do these vulgar monks who don't know a lot of characters have the opportunity to be officials in the same dynasty as us!"

"Kunzhu, be cautious in your words and deeds," a young man in white sitting on the seat said calmly, "This is the emperor's grace, and it's not something you and I can comment on at will."

Although all the people in the room were well-dressed and looked good, the young man in white who spoke just now was the most important.This person looked young but weak, with red lips, white teeth, blue silk like daisy, and a pair of peach blossom eyes that flirtatiously. Although a bit feminine, he was so beautiful that even men couldn't help but be moved.

"Ziyu, you should be the one who can't stand this matter the most," the man called Kunzhu said angrily, "Isn't your father the chief examiner for the selection of monks by the Ministry of Rites this time? Master Zhou’s prestige of learning is worthy of being the chief examiner of the imperial examinations today, to select those monks, it would be meaningless to become a teacher in the future.”

Wang Kunzhu's name is Wang Xun, and his father is a doctor of the Ministry of Punishment. He is a fifth-rank official.And the young man in white was named Zhou Ting, his surname was Zi Yu, his father was Zhou Xing, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, and he was a third-rank official. He was the most prominent family background among the young men in their circle.

In the current two consecutive major examinations of the Ministry of Rites, Zhou Xing is the chief examiner for the selection of monks, but Zhang Weiguang, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, is the chief examiner for the imperial examination not long after.In all major imperial examinations, those admitted later will respect the chief examiner as a teacher, and will usually be assigned to the faction of the teacher in the future.Therefore, being the examiner is a great thing.

It is said that in ancient times, the left was the most respected. Although the left and right servants had the same official position, the left servant was half a head taller.The situation in the Ministry of Rites is slightly different today. Zhou Xing was retained by officials from the former dynasty. Officials pushed him aside; and Zhang Weiguang was the confidant of Zhao Mao, Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Zhao Mao was from Huaixi.

Therefore, the determination of the examiners of the two major exams, which one is better and which one is worse, and the reasons are obvious.

Zhou Ting frowned, and replied: "There are also learned men among monks, so don't underestimate them." If this matter is brought up on the bright side, it will easily cause trouble for his father, Zhou Ting doesn't want to say too much.

"Ziyu, you're flattering them too much," Wang Xun didn't understand Zhou Ting's meaning, and smiled indifferently, "Since you said that when you just won the Juren, there is a wave here, it seems that I have to Go meet them."

Zhou Ting was about to stop him, but Wang Xun, who was drinking heavily, had already lifted the curtain and left the private room without hesitation.

"Brothers are very interested, but the learned... monk who went to Beijing to take the exam this time?" Wang Xun said loudly as soon as he came out.

The few people who were drinking happily heard the voice and raised their heads. They were all taken aback when they saw the person's attire.This person should be the son of the family, right?Or the son of a rich family who came to Beijing to rush for the exam.Such people are usually not on the same path as them.

"Exactly, is your Excellency?" Zhang Guanli heard the irony of Wang Xun's last words, and asked without being stupid.

"Xiaosheng's name is not worth mentioning. I just saw a few people who seem to be profound and knowledgeable, and I am willing to ask for advice."

How do you know whether you are profound or not?Hearing this sentence, everyone already had a feeling that this person was probably looking for trouble.

However, as a big brother, Zhang Guanli still said patiently: "I don't know what you want to ask?"

Wang Xun was not polite, seeing that there was an empty seat next to him, he sat down with his front flap up. "Although I'm a poor student, it's rare for me to hit it off with all the monks and friends. It's better to drink together to fight against each other. If you match up, today's banquet will be all recorded in my name."

Wang Xun's words not only clearly separated the identities of the two parties, but also made it clear that the bullying monks are not ignorant of elegance, which is really hateful, but their attitude is polite, which makes people feel uncomfortable.

The straight-tempered Peng Qi was already a little angry. Although they had read some poems and books, their level was not very high. This time, the imperial court selected monks from among the monks. .The arty pair made by scholars, usually everyone is full and has nothing to do, how can they have time to do it, even if they can be right, it is inevitable that their level is limited.

Peng Qi was about to throw someone out, but Xia Ziling patted his arm as a sign to be calm.

"Since Xiongtai has such an elegant intention, I will be disrespectful, let's try it." Several Shaolin brothers invited him to a delicious meal, and he was worried that there would be no chance to reciprocate. Since someone came to provoke him, he simply stood for them for a while , he wants to see how high the standard of this mustache is.

☆、Chapter 9 A Knife in the Back

"That's good." Wang Xun bowed lightly, glanced out of the window and said, "The grass in the distant mountains is thick."

Xia Ziling raised the cup in front of him and took a sip, "The green bamboo leaves in the cup."

Wang Xun said again: "The autumn wind is bleak and the shadow of the lake is drunk."

Xia Ziling smiled, and put a crystal dumpling in his mouth, "The dumpling is exquisite and has a thin skin."

"..." Wang Xun squinted his eyes unhappily, is this person reincarnated from a starving ghost?They are all facing each other with food, but they all match up. It seems that there are still two brushes.

Wang Xun gritted his teeth, ready to be cruel. "Qing poetry has been written for thousands of years, and one line is especially read to ascend to the court."

One party is a monk from the Tang Dynasty, whose real name is Zhang Sui. He became a monk in order to avoid Wu Zetian's coercion, but he was in the temple and his heart was attached to the court. After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, he sent someone to invite him, and then returned to Chang'an as an official.The Shaolin monks present here did not know this person extensively, but Xia Ziling did.Wang Xun's comparison with one line at this time is obviously ironic.

This man is full of knowledge, but narrow-minded, probably because of the fall of the imperial examination, so he vented his anger on the monk who was favored by Emperor Hongwu.

Xia Ziling sneered coldly, and said, "Abalone, ginseng, wings and belly go with good wine, and a dude misses his family and country."

This pair was a bit aggressive, but it was Wang Xun who provoked first, and he had already matched, so he couldn't say anything.Wang Xun's face turned red and white for a while, and he was silent. Every time he made a pair, the opponent only had to pause for a moment to match, and every sentence was inseparable from the ingredients. His level should be higher than his own. Zhou Ting said that "there are also learned men among monks, and they should not be underestimated", but he couldn't swallow this breath just to admit defeat.

"Year, month, day and hour, every second counts, and the size of the feet is the smallest." At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and Zhou Ting, dressed in white, came out.

"Brother, great talent, can you use the same ingredients to match my pair." Wang Xun rushed out just now, and naturally the few people in the room couldn't sit still, and they all listened through a curtain.Now Wang Xun was devastated, Zhou Ting had no choice but to come out to save the situation, even though he had disapproved of him asking for trouble before.The first reason is that the famous students are not as good as the monks in terms of pairing, so it is inevitable that they will be generous when they say it; the second is that the monk is so talented, which also aroused his interest.

Xia Ziling frowned. The first couplets are all four-character sentences, and they are interlocking. It is not difficult to match them, but it is quite difficult to match them with ingredients without losing order.This young man in white was a little difficult, so he fell silent for a while.

Just now Xia Ziling and Wang Xun came and went, and in the last scene, seeing Xia Ziling's expression was not good, Peng Qi also guessed that the other party must be making fun of others, and now seeing Xia Ziling silent for a long time, I'm afraid it's okay Coming out, anger mixed with impatience, he immediately took a step forward and shouted: "Hey, who is this son, the skin can be blown with fingers, he doesn't look like a man, but like a little girl."

As soon as Peng Qi's words came out, Xia Ziling groaned inwardly. Sure enough, the young man in white had a stern expression on his face, and his peach blossom eyes were filled with three feet of ice, which was so cold to the bone.

Xia Ziling hurriedly squeezed in front of Peng Qi, and said, "Rice noodles and steamed buns are enough to satisfy your hunger, and melons, beans and cabbage are suitable for you."

"My lord, this pair is too difficult, and the match is vulgar, so I'm the loser." It's all because of Peng Qiqiang's superiority, and he even attacked him personally.

Xia Ziling's pair are not very neat, and they can't be on the stage of elegance, but in a short period of time, they have to face each other with ingredients, which is not bad.However, Zhou Ting's mind is not on matching pairs now.

This monk said he was a girl!This is the biggest taboo of Zhou Ting.

"Get out of the way!" Zhou Ting spit out two words coldly, his face showing no signs of contortion.Seeing Xia Ziling standing still in front of him, he even raised his hand to push him away.

Xia Ziling pinched Zhou Ting's raised wrist with his backhand, exerting three points of internal strength, and a tingling sensation suddenly hit, making Zhou Ting's beautiful eyebrows knit together.

Xia Ziling said calmly: "Today's time is short, this couple might as well let it go, and if there is a fate some other day, I will invite you to a banquet."

Xia Ziling said this because he hoped to make things happen. The capital city is deep and the water is deep. These people don't know what their background is, and they don't want to cause trouble.The moment he pinched the opponent's hand was also a warning that the people behind him were not easy to mess with. It could be regarded as saving him in disguise. After all, these young masters looked weak and weak. If they really wanted to fight, how could they be Shaolin monks? opponent.

Zhou Ting is a delicate and transparent person, and immediately understood that these people are all Lianjiazi, but he was young and vigorous, but he couldn't swallow this breath.

"What's your name?"

The other party gritted their teeth and asked such a question. Naturally, the smart way is to make up Zhang Sanli and Siwang pockmarks to perfunctory, but Xia Ziling was about to speak, but Peng Qi stepped forward and said: "My name is Peng Qi, and his name is Xia Ziling. We live in the same room. Fu Inn, why, do you still want to find someone to beat us up?"

"..." Xia Ziling was speechless for a moment. Sure enough, he was not afraid of opponents like gods, but teammates like pigs.

"Hmph, there will be a time later." Zhou Ting shook off Xia Ziling's restraint, snorted coldly, turned his head and left.Seeing this, the rest of the aristocratic children naturally also left.

After a good meal, there was a conflict at the end, the Shaolin brothers also lost interest, took a few more mouthfuls, and then dispersed.

When he walked to the gate of Zhou Mansion, Zhou Ting's face still hadn't recovered.

"Zi Yu, are you still angry?" Wang Xun asked a little cautiously, looking for trouble on his own, but in the end the other party took his anger out on Zhou Ting. Now that he thinks about it, he also feels a little embarrassed.Zhou Ting hates people commenting on his appearance the most, and they all know it well when they play together since childhood.

"No," Zhou Ting didn't even bother to look at him, paused before raising his foot to enter the door, and said, "Don't look for me these three months, I don't want to see you!"

"..." So, it really is still angry.Wang Xun hurriedly followed after hearing this, and said with a dog-legged look, "Good brother, please don't, if I don't see you, I won't be able to eat well, and I won't be able to sleep at night."

"Go to hell, I'm not your girlfriend." Although Zhou Ting was still angry, he was amused by Wang Xun's dog-legged words.

Seeing the coldness on Zhou Ting's face recede slightly, Wang Xun knew that he had forgiven himself.Zhou Ting has never been a narrow-minded person.

"I wish you were my good friend. You are so beautiful that people have to love and pity you." With the advantage, Wang Xun began to restore his foolish appearance.

"Wang Kunzhu, stop!" Zhou Ting yelled and wanted to explode, but Wang Xun had already fled away with a grin.

Three days later, when Zhou Xing came back from reviewing the papers, Zhou's mother cooked a table of dishes, and the family enjoyed dinner happily.

"Father, you seem to be in good spirits, but did you gain something from this monk selection?"

Zhou Xing attached great importance to this only son, and now that he has made a name for himself, matters in the court are often brought up for discussion between the father and son.Regarding the matter of serving as the chief examiner of the monks, he was suffocated at the beginning, but now his thoughts have changed.

"Ting'er, my father underestimated these monks before, but I didn't expect that the level of the test paper was not bad."

Although the world is stable, the remnant Yuan forces in the north have not been eliminated, and the southwestern Yunnan region has not yet been pacified (1). Emperor Hongwu has been recuperating and working hard for more than ten years, and the country has seen some improvement. However, after the high-pressure policy of the Yuan Dynasty and years of wars, the economy is still depressed. At this time, the academy had not yet risen. Except for the scholarly families and wealthy families, ordinary people lived a good life, and did not have much energy to train their children to study.But the monks in the temple are different. Even in times of war, the temple is peaceful, and the more difficult the ancient people lived, the more they believed in the blessing of the Bodhisattva, the more incense in the temple. Read with great concentration.

Zhou Xing continued: "Among the reference monks this time, more than a dozen people gave good answers, especially the No. 1 selected for my father. Although Wenzao is not gorgeous, he has a unique vision. The system pinpoints the disadvantages of the current situation, and the policies and theories proposed are also practical. What is rare is that this person has a good grasp of the scale, and the proposal is not radical. Even if this volume is put in the spring examination, it will definitely be the best."

Zhou Ting was a little surprised. His father had always had a very high opinion, but he thought so highly of this person. For some reason, Xia Ziling's calm and indifferent face naturally appeared in his mind.

"This man...what's his name?" Zhou Ting tried to ask.Although the marking is to paste the name, but the ranking has been determined, and my father praised this person very much, maybe he has already seen the name.

"Xia Ziling."

It really was him!Fate is really a wonderful thing.

Zhou Ting made a sly smile and said, "Father, if this person is really as you said, his level must be much higher than No.2."

Zhou Xing had no doubt about him, nodded and said, "Exactly."

"To tell you the truth, I happened to have a relationship with this person three days ago in Zuixian Tower."

"Oh?" Zhou Xing became interested.

"This person played a few pairs with me, and he didn't lose the wind. But I was a little worried. At that time, everyone was drinking too much and there was a small conflict, so I learned that he is a practicing family boy."

"That's really the case?" Zhou Xing's eyes showed a look of surprise.

"That's right," Zhou Ting paused, "Isn't he too good at learning and possessing martial arts like ordinary monks?"

Both father and son are smart people. When Zhou Xing heard this, he also felt that this person was suspicious.Among the monks, there are many people with mixed eyes, and this exam is not like the imperial examination. The household registration survey is very strict. According to Emperor Wu's principles, he should not be skinned and used as grass, and then barbarian tribes or something.

Thinking of the seriousness of this matter, Zhou Xing couldn't sit still any longer. He said "I'll go to the Ministry of Rites" and left in a hurry.Fortunately, the admission list has not yet been announced, and it is not too late to revise it.

Seeing his father leave, the corners of Zhou Ting's lips raised slightly, revealing a somewhat mischievous smile.

Xia Ziling, I'm doing this for your own good.You are so talented, if you are admitted this time, it will be just a idle job in the five monasteries or the monk recording department, wouldn't you bury your talents.People like you shouldn't take such shortcuts, but should take the imperial examinations well, and then we will be at the top of the court, so that we can compete with each other.