Cross the Sea in the Red Chamber

"Do you know where the safety is? I'll take you there tomorrow morning." Jiang Yuan asked.This person has a special status, he is obviously not much older than himself, and he has attracted corrupt officials to send many people to chase him. He must not be taken back to the academy, otherwise he is afraid of causing trouble to the teachers and the others, so he should be sent away Well done.

Situ Sheng thought for a while, "Is there a Wenshu Temple nearby?"

"Are you going to Wenshu Temple? No wonder the place where you fell off the cliff is not far from Wenshu Temple. Cheng, I will take you to Wenshu Temple tomorrow morning."

Seeing that the young man knew where Wenshu Temple was, Situ Sheng heaved a sigh of relief. He was a pursuer on the official road and had no choice but to abandon his horse and try to escape to Wenshu Temple, which was conferred by the royal family. As a result, all five accompanying guards were killed by the enemy. But he panicked and fell off the cliff.If you can go to Wenshu Monastery, there are enough monks and soldiers practicing martial arts all the year round, so there is no need to be afraid of the dozen or so chasing soldiers.

Jiang Yuan put Situ Sheng down, let him sit on a branch leaning against the trunk, and sat beside him himself. "I can't sleep tonight. It's too cold, and we can't light a fire. If I fall asleep, I'm afraid I'll freeze to death."

"Then let's talk? It's not easy to fall asleep like this." The first time Situ Sheng said the word "we", he found it very interesting. Normally, the people around him either respected him or despised him and wanted to harm him. No one like this Just as casual as a teenager who knew his identity.

"That's fine." Jiang Yuan didn't care. He had no intention of inquiring about the identity of the young man, and he would definitely be careful not to reveal his identity. It would be best for them to meet by chance and forget about each other in the rivers and lakes.

At first, Situ Sheng planned to inquire about the identity of the young man, but Jiang Yuan led him away while he was talking. The more he listened, the more he felt that the young man in front of him was superior and outstanding.Even if a normal person has a family at this age, he can only read a few sage books and write a few crooked articles, but this young man knows astronomy and geography, and has unique opinions and judgments on the government and military. He has a deep knowledge of everything, not playing piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, poetry, and even appreciating antiques, seal cutting, firing porcelain, making pots, carving inkstones and other study things. Why has he never heard of such people?

Jiang Yuan had a great time chatting. Astronomy and geography was a monopoly subject for the ancients. For special forces, they couldn't even memorize maps, and couldn't understand the weather. How could they carry out special tasks?I think when he was an angry youth, he often talked about Dashan as a god in forums, and it was common to comment on government affairs and military affairs.He has participated in river engineering work to fight floods and rescue disasters. Although he doesn't know much about building cities, he does know a lot about how to prevent the enemy, let alone farming. Before he entered the city, he worked in the fields all year round.As for those cultural and antique things, they were brought in by friends after doing business. If you see a lot of real things, you will know which ones are real and which ones are fake.He didn't know that what he said almost made him a genius like Wu Yazi Huang Yaoshi, even if he knew it, he wouldn't care.

They chatted until the sky turned pale, and the two had a good time. Situ Sheng's resentment of being chased all the way dissipated, and he couldn't help but smile refreshingly. happy.

"I don't have anything to eat here. Rabbits and pheasants are all raw, and only these two buns are left." Jiang Yuan took out a paper bag from his arms, which contained two hard buns with rough noodles, which were frozen and dried. , I'm afraid it's not much softer than a stone.Handing one to the young man, Jiang Yuan gnawed on the snow on the leaves by himself, but Situ Cheng almost didn't spit it out after taking a bite, staring at the bun wondering whether he should take a second bite.He listened to the young man's conversation and behavior and thought he was the son of a rich family, but now seeing him eating cold buns, he hesitated again. Which son can eat this kind of food?He was neglected and bullied in the palace, and at most he could only eat cold rice and cold soup. Such crude things could not be found in the whole palace, even rough envoys and eunuchs would not eat them.

"What? I can't eat anymore?" Jiang Yuan finished his steamed bun in two or three bites. Seeing the young man wanting to eat or not, he automatically activated the taunting skill. He saw such a guy a lot when he was a soldier. The words "used" and "not hungry", for such a guy, you have to remember the bitterness and think sweetly.

"Although this steamed bun is not exquisite, it is also made of white flour. Only [-]% of the people in Dajing can eat this kind of steamed bun every year. Among the [-]% of the people, only a small half can eat it every meal. Such a thing It takes one penny to buy in the shop, but not everyone can afford this penny.” Jiang Yuan said: “Mountain people collect firewood every day and send it to the market to sell it. There are only [-] yuan left for the strict stool, and only [-] yuan left for vegetables and vegetables. If you can feed a family of five, you only need [-] yuan per person, but how can three steamed buns of this size be enough for one person a day? What's more, he has to save money for emergency use, and he may not be able to eat a few of these buns after a year of hard work." He pointed to the clothes on the young man, "Do you know how much your clothes are worth?"

Situ Cheng was stunned, "About 20 taels." He never knew the price of such things, but if you asked him about the price of rice, he would know a little bit about it. The so-called cheap grain hurts farmers, he had learned it since he was a child. But this piece of cloth and fur...he really doesn't know.

Jiang Yuan is very clear, he is in good health, he often goes to the market with Aunt Zhang, and from time to time sells the wild game and skins he has hunted, and the prices of the items are naturally familiar. "The outside is made of high-quality Jiangnan silk, with dark embroidery techniques on it, and the inside is sable fur. The color is the same and the fur is long and dense. It is not easy to touch such a piece of skin. It is even more difficult to get the whole robe together. It is even more difficult, and I am afraid that it will have to catch up to ten times the price of ordinary robes. Such a leather coat looks ordinary from a distance, but it is made of high-quality materials. How can you buy it for 20 taels? It costs 50 taels anyway. The officials in my court are divided into nine ranks, and the annual salary of the seventh rank county magistrate is only 70 taels, which is not enough to buy two such clothes."

Situ Sheng looked at the young man, and then at the bun in his hand. No one had ever told him such things. The books always said that the people were suffering. Although he was frugal and restrained, how did he know that the people's life was so difficult... …He took the hard bun and put it into his mouth, biting and swallowing it, no matter how hard the bun was, and no matter how hard the bun was, and no matter how painful the rough food scratched his throat, he just felt that he had been sublimated after eating the hard bun Same.The palace is too far away from the market place, and his understanding of the people is mostly based on his imagination, but what he thinks is just what the officials around him and the eunuchs and maids who serve him say, how much of it is true?

Seeing the young man who was re-educated by himself eat up the hard buns, Jiang Yuan said casually, "My father used to dig mines to make a living, and he had to drink porridge made of rice bran every day. I took the money and bought two for him, but he was too sick to swallow..."

Hearing these words, Situ Sheng felt sour in his heart. He always thought that his life was already very difficult, but compared with the boy's words, he was actually very rich... Although he was hunted down once, he felt that it was not in vain , Knowing the hardships of the people, and getting to know such an extraordinary young man, I finally gained something.

After a night's rest, Situ Sheng's leg injury healed a lot, but the young man was still worried that he could walk by himself, so he carried him to the bear cave first, and as expected, he saw several mutilated corpses that had been bitten , Then I went to Wenshu Temple with confidence.

This time no one was chasing him. Jiang Yuan took the mountain road around the mountain gorge and walked a little longer before arriving at Wenshu Temple.The little monk who was familiar with him saw him coming again and just wanted to have a chat, when the young man on his back took out a jade token and handed it over.

Situ Sheng said to the novice: "Take this jade card and go to Master Zhiyuan, the abbot, and he will meet me."

When the monk saw that someone wanted to see the abbot, he didn't dare to hesitate, took the jade card and just nodded with Jiang Yuan before entering the temple.Not long after, the abbot and the old monk walked out quickly with the jade plaque in hand. When he saw the young people, he hurriedly let them into the meditation room in the backyard.

Seeing that the young man had met the reliable abbot and monk, Jiang Yuan offered to leave, but Situ Sheng couldn't stop him, so he had to let the young man go.He knew very well that the young man didn't want to know his identity, and forcing him to stay was not an option, it was better to let the other party leave to leave a good impression.Jiang Yuan strode out of the temple, regardless of how the monks around him saw the pheasant and the hare on his back and thought about their sins...

Seeing the young man leave, the old abbot hastily closed the door, and made a Buddhist salute to Situ Sheng, "Amitabha, Your Highness, why did you come to Wenshu Temple and get hurt like this again?"

Situ Sheng told how he was hunted down, and hoped that monk Zhiyuan could help him contact the palace.The old abbot couldn't resist, so he hurriedly called the little novice just now and asked him to call some monks.Unexpectedly, Situ Sheng stopped the little monk, "Little master, do you know the boy who sent me here just now?"

The novice monk didn't know Situ Sheng's identity, but the monks didn't lie, and answered honestly: "That benefactor often goes to the mountain to burn incense, so I know him."

"Oh, then do you know his name?" Situ Sheng had already figured out a way to let the boy go so easily. The novice obviously knew him, so he didn't believe he couldn't ask anything.

"The benefactor's name is Jiang Yuan, so I don't know where he lives." The novice frowned and thought for a while, "Oh, the apse is dedicated to his parents' coffins, and he often goes there to burn incense and paper."

That's enough.Situ Sheng smiled, "Jiang Yuan, like the source of river water, is endless, non-stop, flowing for thousands of miles, straight into the East China Sea, what a good name!"

Jiang Yuan didn't know that Situ Sheng checked his household registration book behind his back. When he returned to the academy, he was reprimanded by Mrs. Zhang, the old man, because he didn't return at night, and it passed.

After reading for several months, spring has arrived.Wearing a few layers of unlined clothing and carrying a test basket into the Gongyuan, and locked into a small cell, this test that determines the fate of countless people began.

The Chunwei at this time was not the same as the nine days and three games in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At this time, the Chunwei had six consecutive exams, one session for three days, one volume for each session, and no room was allowed during the six days.You must know that the Ming and Qing chunwei was set on the ninth day of February, and it would not be surprising if it snowed at that time. How many people froze to death in the examination room.The spring of the Jing Dynasty was set on April 26, for six consecutive days, and the gate of the Tribute Academy was opened on April [-] to let candidates out, which was much warmer.Although there is no intermission to take two consecutive exams, it is considered kind.

Unlike the township examination, which only examines policy theory, the first part of the general examination is poetry and poetry. There are a total of three questions, which must be completed according to the questions.The second test is about policy theory, mostly about governance matters, and the answers must be well-founded.In this dynasty, the texts are used to convey the truth, and the truth must be explained without paying attention to empty talk. If you can explain the truth, you can pile up words to make the examiner like it. .

In the first round of poetry and poetry, Jiang Yuan couldn't pass the test at all. His teacher Shen Anwen once said that he was quick-witted and far superior to other people. This kind of test is difficult for others, but it is easy for him.This is not an exaggeration. Jiang Yuan usually likes to compose poems by himself, but he naturally doesn't mind using some tricks for such a fate-determining exam. In this life, there is no Wei Jin, no Tang and Song Dynasties, and there are no poems written by many literati in the world. It doesn't matter if he can answer it well, and it doesn't matter if he can't answer it well. With so many masters escorting him behind him, is he afraid that he can't plagiarize a few songs?Since ancient times, a lot of articles have been copied, and let him pass the exam.Fortunately, this Jingchao test is not a test post poem. If it is really that kind of thing, so many great poets in the Tang Dynasty would not be able to pass the test, so don't make it difficult for him...

The second round of policy theory was about Ma Zheng, which was even more difficult for Jiang Yuan.He has always liked history, and he has also studied the horse policy used by the Western Han Dynasty to finally defeat the Huns, and modified it slightly to make it more suitable for the current dynasty. Coupled with some analysis from later generations, he wrote a brilliant policy theory.

The two exams were completed in one go, and the six days passed in a flash, and the general exam was over.