Future library

As usual, the outside of the Liyuan had to be cleared, but after all, it was the format of the rural examination, so the soldiers were not serious and did not expel the pedestrians who were passing by. They only stood in the marked circle and kept the front door empty.

This is a prosperous location within the second gate, and there are inevitably business operators near the surrounding courtyard walls. In the past, they would have to be driven away, but today for some reason, there is no one to manage it. Even the government officials, including the government officials, are happy to take their time.

The desolation of winter seems to have ended in front of the market. Many small merchants and vendors are waiting for students to take exams. The high-intensity mental activities that last for a whole day, as well as the relieved mentality, will greatly stimulate the consumption of young people. desire.

Chen Jie put on a tight-fitting shorts and a blue robe, and strangled his slightly protruding belly. He looked like a serious businessman. He sat at a small tofu stall not far from the ceremony. He ordered a bowl of bean curd and drank it. At the same time, he asked the busy proprietress: "You are here, away from the ceremony." It’s only two or three hundred meters, doesn’t it matter?”

"In the past, white servants came to draw the lines. Today, for some reason, no one came to draw the lines. We usually were at the front, but now people are crowding forward. We can't be allowed to go to the back." The boss's wife He spoke very neatly, hung up the red lantern in a hurry, and said with a smile: "If we get to the back, we will definitely not be able to get Mr.'s business. You are in big business, right? Try our bean cakes." Like? Made from fresh beans, the dipping sauce is famous in the capital."

"Then let's have a piece. Give me another bowl of soy milk." Chen Jie threw a piece of broken silver the size of a fingernail on the table and continued to ask: "You usually do business here, people from other families Do you recognize them all?”

"In the past, we were doing business for Liyuan students, but today is Kaowen Quxing, so there are more people coming to do business." The landlady said while draining the cooked peanuts, putting them on a small plate and serving them to Chen Jie, smiling He said: "Usually on such a big day, you can earn hundreds of dollars a day, but now there are too many people and no one is taking care of it."

The last sentence is something she would definitely not ask for on a normal day. People will only show interest when their interests are related.

"Do you recognize the families setting up stalls in the back?"

The speaker was Amao. He was sitting behind Chen Jie. He was wearing a cotton hat that could cover his ears and a scarf. Because he heard that cotton clothes could block swords, he even wore two of them. His whole body was as bulging as Wear a quilt and go out.

The landlady glanced at him and couldn't help laughing: "I don't even know him. There were three men in the shed selling spring cakes in front of us. They were fierce. Because they were standing where we were, I asked my men to go up and have a look. They were After pushing it back, I thought... peace makes money, as the gentlemen in the alley often say, so I didn't care about it anymore, but I made it clear that I would only give it to them for one day."

As she spoke, she handed the silver coin to her man with quick hands and feet, and said with a smile: "I'm going to make you laugh. We, a small family, don't have a scale. I asked the man to go to the drugstore in front to weigh it. Please ask me." Brother, let’s go and have a look.”

"It's true that harmony brings wealth." Chen Jie smiled and took a few sips of the soy milk, then waved his hand and said, "No need to look for it, it's too troublesome."

The proprietress was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Thank you, I will make you another tofu skin, boil it with dried shrimps, it will be very fresh."

"Okay." Chen Jie smiled, patted Amao again and said, "Go and see if they have found a hotel."

Amao turned back with understanding. They had been here for several hours and were familiar with the place, waiting to confirm their target.

Chen Jie was still well-liked by some people in the dock area, and he spent a lot of money to recruit two groups of over a hundred strong men. These are all coolie gang members who can fight hard and even risk their lives if they get angry.

The dock gangs in this era are not easy to get along with. All the men who want to work on the docks are not enough to just stick together with each other. They also need to join large and small gangs. Not only do they work hard on weekdays, but also when they encounter emergencies The situation is even more bleeding. If you beat someone to death, you still have to elect someone to take the blame. The end is extremely fierce. If you want to say that he is worse than a professional gangster, maybe he just has more conscience.

After reconsidering the plan, Amao stepped forward, identified Chen Jie one by one in a low voice, and said: "Brothers, we have counted, there are more than 100 people in total, and there are a few familiar faces. I I guess they definitely don’t know what they are going to do. Those who really do it are probably still hiding somewhere, but..."

"But what?"

"Maybe not..."

"There are more than 100 people, and they can do whatever they can." Chen Jie remembered that he was tired of talking, so he called over a hundred people. He drank the soy milk in one gulp, said hello to the landlady, and said to the boss. Walking out, he whispered: "Don't be cowardly now. Let me tell you, I think these people are mostly used to delay time and cause chaos. If we really want to take action, we will have to rely on a few desperadoes from the Daogang." , when the time comes, all you have to do is take people with you and hug them in advance, and it will be considered a great achievement."

"What if there are bows and arrows or something?"

"Did you see the two big men next to the stable? They are the young master's own bodyguards, and they are not vegetarians. As long as we can resist a stick of incense, the government will send someone over. When the time comes, you can rush in front. It's good for you. You are indispensable. If you are valued by the young master, you will not have to fight in this life."

Ada took a deep breath, spat on the palm of her hand, rubbed it, and then wiped it on her cotton-padded jacket. She immediately thought that this was the new equipment for today, and her face suddenly became bitter.

Chen Jie had more things to consider. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Did you send someone to the state capital to report the news?"

"Sent. You said you would send someone there when the clock is a quarter of an hour off." Ada was referring to the big clock above the ceremonial hall - it is said to be the only Star Warlock product here.

Chen Jie nodded and said, "It can't be sooner or later. The Cheng family also sent people there, right?"

"The official in charge sent a donkey over. He has studied for a few days and looks like a human being." Ada said and asked in a low voice: "Why didn't you report the news in advance?"

"Your words will stick with me for the rest of my life. If someone asks in the future, it will be us who received the news." Chen Jie snorted but did not answer. Reporting is naturally necessary, but in order to prove one's own value, the time of reporting is somewhat particular. It cannot be too early, so that oneself cannot play a role, nor too late, causing one's own side to suffer too much loss. Whether Daobang and Caobang were fighting with bows and arrows, or fighting with spears and swords, they all relied on surprise. He believed that as long as he blocked them for a few minutes, no matter how big the opponent was, they wouldn't be able to cause trouble.

…

In the seventh year of Lizong's reign, the questions in the provincial examination in the capital were absolutely weird.

But when Cheng Jinzhou looked through the records of the provincial examination that he had transcribed, he unexpectedly discovered that the provincial examination 52 years ago was similar to this year's.

It was also less than 10 years since the new emperor took the throne, and he was also pursuing war in peacetime. Cheng Jinzhou had read the history of Xia. In the last 50 years, the Xia Dynasty had suffered a terrible defeat. There were even four third-level star warlocks killed in the war. For a country, in terms of the number of star warlocks it could control, this was almost half of it.

Casting stones to ask for advice or seeking support? Let Cheng Jinzhou think about it - it is impossible to be meaningless. The formal provincial examination questions are far more important than the college entrance examination in later generations. With real national attention, especially in the capital, the examiner will never be politically slow and distorted in thinking. kind of degree.

If you are asking for advice, you can choose more controversial words. There are many such articles in his ring. If you want to win support, it means that the central government has made a decision. If he chooses to argue, he will definitely be deducted points.

Of course, this is just a provincial examination room, and it will never be as decisive as the national examination. But in this kind of national talent promotion ceremony, it is really difficult to judge what the examiners think.

"Support it." It took Cheng Jinzhou twenty minutes to decide his direction. Considering that the Cheng family was founded on military merit, he simply decided to take the direction of the family.

Anyway, he himself has no clear political ambitions or ideas. In this case, showing consistency with the family will not make the situation worse.

As for the work of selective copying, Cheng Jinzhou is already extremely skilled.

His calligraphy is very weak, and even when he is copying, he is extremely slow. However, if you calculate the time carefully, he is as fast as gentlemen who need to think.

When the final gong sounded, Cheng Jinzhou had read the paper twice. For him, this was still a very important exam.

…

When he remembered the sound of the gong, Chen Jie was also very nervous. He looked at the soldiers outside the ceremony hall and then at the bustling crowd, wondering how the other party would attack.

There were no tall buildings in front of him, and there were more and more people on the street. It was approaching dusk. Chen Jie thought to himself that even a sharpshooter would not be able to shoot Cheng Jinzhou, who was protected under such circumstances. Bar.

Thinking like this, he didn't know whether he should be disappointed or happy.

In this operation, he spent all the money he had saved for many days, and even put in some money from his own life. If it failed, he didn't know how to ask Cheng Jinzhou for money.

"The young master seems to be coming out." Ada pushed him gently.

"You go and take charge of your own affairs." Chen Jie pushed Ada out, and a dozen recruited dock coolies also ran over.

"Squeeze to the front." After Chen Jie gave the order, he took the lead and rushed towards the crowd. He had made up his mind. Regardless of whether Ada's news was true or not, he needed to see Cheng Jinzhou first. If he didn't have a bow and arrow, that would be fine. If he did, the worst he could do would be to use human flesh to block it.

A dozen strong men were in much better shape than the students and vendors. They moved forward so hard that the crowd had to branch out to let them go first. They were almost at the entrance of the ceremony hall. At that moment, more than a dozen torches were lit fiercely. Not only did the fluffy flames outshine the dim lanterns, but all the nearby stalls with curtains were set on fire.

At this moment, Cheng Jinzhou had just stepped out of the hospital.

After several curses, someone shouted, and the crowd suddenly lost control.

Chen Jie, who was struggling to move forward, was like a sailboat riding the wind and waves that suddenly encountered an iceberg, and was blocked by the crazy crowd.

At this time, it is completely useless to understand the opponent's strategy. He glanced at Cheng Jinzhou, who was more than ten meters in front of him, and he felt a burst of strength coming from nowhere, and shouted: "Use the machete to cut your way out."

After saying that, he couldn't help but pull out the Chixu dagger hidden in his trousers and slashed at the strangers around him.

A stream of blood rushed to Chen Jie's face. He didn't wipe it off and continued to roar: "I'm going to see blood today."

The unfamiliar, warm blood sprayed on the face and hands will make the body heat up, as if in a state of passive anger.

The people around were either stunned or trying to squeeze out. The dozen or so dock coolies who followed Chen Jie were aroused by him. They also pulled out iron ruler daggers from their trouser legs and stabbed at them randomly. Others actually gave way, and no one thought of stepping forward to resist.

The seemingly congested street actually made way.

…