Qin Official

It was the first day of February in the thirty-first year of the First Emperor of Qin.

The Confucian scholars Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng, with their hair disheveled and no longer proud as before, left the dark and damp prison with heavy wooden shackles in their hands. Their eyes hurt from the bright spring light outside, and they looked at the closed door behind them. At the prison gate, they touched the tattoo on their faces again, feeling lingering fear in their hearts.

Half a month has passed since they were arrested for playing drums in their hometown school. During this half month, more than ten Confucian students were sent away one after another after paying a fine of 1,000 yuan. Several of the families were really poor, Fuqiu Uncle took out a little money that he had saved for many years to help them eliminate the disaster.

Only two people, Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng, were judged by the prison officials as not only guilty of gathering a crowd to discuss, but also guilty of spreading rumors and slandering the government, and were sentenced as "Tainting Sikou"...

Tattooing is to tattoo words on the face and then use ink as a symbol of crime, which can never be wiped off in the future.

For ordinary people, this is already a great humiliation, let alone Confucian scholars who believe that "the body's hair and skin are given by parents, and they dare not harm them"?

What's even more ironic is that when the two of them were imprisoned for resisting the same text, the vicious county guard Heifu, as a joke, had Qin seals carved on their faces!

Now, the two seal characters "Sikou" on their faces have become a nightmare that they will never be able to erase!

Before this was over, and the labor pain on his face had not dissipated, Er Sheng was taken out of prison by a small village chief named Liu Ji, who spoke Huaisi dialect, and was about to take them to the place where they would serve: the "Jiaodong Mountain" located in the easternmost part of Jiaodong. into mountains”.

Chengshan, also called Chengshanjiao, is the easternmost part of the world known to the people of the Central Plains, the end of the world in this era. The sea is boundless, the wind and sun are blowing, and you can imagine how miserable it would be to work as a "scourge" there.

Lu Musheng did not expect that the price would be so heavy, and he already regretted it, but Shen Sheng cheered him up and said:

"Even Confucius had a time when he was trapped between Chen and Cai. He didn't eat for seven days, but he could still sing on the strings, drums and harp without ever losing his voice. When the weather was cold and the frost and snow fell, this is how you know the luxuriant pines and cypresses! Even if you are tortured, don’t be discouraged!”

Shen Sheng did not give in, he was still angry and resentful in his heart. Although Qi is dead, the people of Qi still retain the memory of that beautiful and peaceful era. However, if these memories are not passed down to the next generation through words and language, they will fade away sooner or later.

In his opinion, Qin's words are hard to pronounce and hard to listen to, but they are not as beautiful as Qi's words. Qin's words are clumsy, but they are not as elegant and ancient as Qi's words. They must be kept in mind and never forgotten.

People who have lost their country and become slaves and concubines, as long as they remember their language firmly, it is like holding a key to open the prison door!

During the half month in prison, he encouraged himself in this way to persevere.

Shen Sheng said to Lu Musheng sincerely: "The destruction or immortality of Qi and Lu is no longer decided in the court or on the battlefield, but depends on how long we can record Qi's words, writings, and history!"

"Even if we reach Chengshan, we can't forget it! Let's just be Boyi and Shuqi who don't eat Zhousu!"

Before Lu Musheng could nod, the two of them were whipped!

"What nonsense are you talking about? If it weren't for you, Mr. Nai wouldn't have been assigned such an errand by the county guard to go to that ghost place where there is only bird droppings."

After Liu Ji and Cao Shen finished handing over the Talisman Festival, they came over and slapped the two of them several times, venting their grievances on the two Confucian scholars and urging them to leave quickly.

"Nai Gong rides in the car and you walk. If it's too slow, I'll tie you to a rope and drag you along!"

Just like this, he staggered out of Qin City and entered Jimo City. People were coming and going outside. When he saw Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng, they all glanced at the tattoos on their faces.

Shen Sheng held his chest high, regarded the tattoo on his face as his medal, and smiled with his head held high.

Lu Musheng was used to being decent and felt uncomfortable all over. He wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. Now that the matter was over, he just wanted to leave Jimo as soon as possible.

But contrary to expectations, Liu Ji did not take them directly to the east gate. Instead, he walked south for a while. When he arrived near the busiest rural school, he heard several drums!

"Boom!"

Hearing the sound of the drum, Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng were shocked. They had been locked up for too long and did not know what was going on outside. They thought that there were friends playing drums at the rural school to gather people to fight injustice for themselves?

But before the two of them had time to be moved, Liu Ji sneered and said, "Don't think too much. This is the county guard and the wine priest playing drums. Today the results of the first public school exam will be released!"

…

It turned out that although the rural school had reopened, it had become a place where the government announced matters. Where the scholars originally discussed politics, a stone wall was built, more than one foot wide and eight or nine feet high. Whenever there is a new government decree, it will be hung up and posted here, and two Jiaodong scribes will be guarding it to read and explain it to the illiterate people. There will not be too many people watching.

But today, the rural school was surrounded by water. On the stone wall, there was a piece of paper painted with red paint. It was very eye-catching and could be seen from a long distance. There were several columns of names written on it!

The Public School is divided into Li Xue and Primary School. Among them, the disciples of Li Xue study Qin Yan, Qin characters, and laws. They have been enrolled in the school for more than half a month now. After the first test, among the dozens of students, the top three in the two subjects of "Reading, Writing" and "Listening and Listening" can be on the red list, and will be displayed in the rural school until the next test.

It is said that the first place will be rewarded with fifty gold!

Liu Ji stopped urging them. He sat in a wine shop opposite the rural school and started drinking. It was obvious that he had been ordered to deliberately let Ersheng stay here.

Shen Sheng and Lu Musheng looked at the unrecognizable rural school with complicated expressions. When they heard the officials starting to sing, their expressions changed even more!

Why? Just because the person who got the first place in reading and writing was actually Fuqiupo's disciple, a classmate named "Laisheng"!

"Shu Zi!"

Shen Sheng almost broke his steel teeth while Laisheng was from a poor family and could barely afford Shu Xiu. But as early as half a year ago, it was discovered that he was secretly learning Qin characters, probably because he wanted to become an official and make a living. At that time, he was scolded by Shen Sheng and others, and Laisheng had to admit his mistake.

But that day, when they gathered everyone to play drums at the township school, Laisheng excused himself because of abdominal pain and disappeared. It turned out that he had changed his family so quickly, entered a public school, and became a government dog!

The top three people in reading and writing have finished reading, followed by listening and speaking. The best person in listening and speaking is Yan Hua, a descendant of the Yan family in Gaomi County. And then the two of them turned out to be disciples who attended Fuqiubo's lectures!

Shen was so angry that he screamed: "They are not from the same generation! We can beat the drum and attack them!"

But Shen Sheng's anger was quickly extinguished by Lu Musheng's low words.

"In order to save our lives, the master had no choice but to become the third elder of the county. Since the master has surrendered, why should the disciples not just follow the strong and obey?" Lu Musheng's face was full of regret.

Bai Sheng and others from better families locked themselves up at home after being released from prison. For disciples from poor families who need to rely on knowledge for food, what can they do except seek refuge with the government, work part-time as an official, or prepare to legally teach privately in the future?

Shen Sheng was speechless.

That's right, although Jiaodong is big, it can no longer accommodate a free writing desk!

…

At this time, more and more people in the city gathered together and talked one after another. Whenever someone's name was called out, they shouted a few times in agreement.

The sounds were sporadic at first. After all, in the eyes of Jiaodong people, speaking Qin words and writing Qin characters is not an honorable thing.

But later, when the county guard Heifu and the wine-offering Xiao He appeared, followed by two scribes holding wooden trays, everyone suddenly became excited, and the cheers became louder and louder!

Ordinary people actually don't care who comes first. They care more about whether the government will fulfill its promise half a month ago and give fifty taels of gold to the two people who come first!

"That's fifty gold. If converted into rice, it would be enough to feed a family of eight for a year! Can you really get it so easily if Qin speaks well and writes well?"

Everyone is suspicious, and people from outside the country cannot be trusted. This is the consensus of Jiaodong people.

But the government did not disappoint them. After the roll call, County Sheriff Heifu personally stepped out and announced loudly that the government had promised half a month ago that the two people who ranked first in the exam would receive the reward immediately and would never break their promise!

After that, he turned around and uncovered the wooden plate held by the scribe. Under the red cloth, there was a row of gold cakes, shining brightly in the sun!

"Tsk, it's really gold!"

"Maybe it's copper..."

Some people murmured in a low voice that in their opinion, the Qin officials were harsh and vicious. They only knew how to collect rents and taxes every year, forcing them to leave their homes and do all kinds of hard labor, building roads, digging canals and building walls. When would the Jiaodong people take over? Is it so cheap?

"You two don't believe it? Who is willing to come forward and try it? To see if it is real gold and whether it is heavy enough?"

The Jiaodong people looked at each other in confusion, and no one came forward for a long time. Finally, a bold merchant stood up, weighed it with the "scale" prepared by the government, picked up a piece of gold cake, and bit it, his eyes lit up. , announced to everyone:

"It's really fine gold, a full amount of fifty taels, no more, no less!"

This merchant was also a famous cloth merchant in Jimo. He had experienced countless amounts of gold. What he said was definitely correct. Everyone was in an uproar, and then they believed it to be true.

Heifu no longer explained, but personally handed the wooden plate to Laisheng and Yan Hua, who won the first place, and patted them to show encouragement.

After the second son took it, Yan Hua's family was wealthy. He felt that although the gold in his hand was indeed fifty taels, it was only light in weight, so he just said a few words of insincere gratitude.

The situation was different for Laisheng, who came from a more difficult family. He only felt that his hands were heavy, and he choked with sobs. He raised the gold cake and shouted to the spectators:

"Laisheng's family was poor, and his parents lived frugally, just so that I could study and learn some skills so that I could become a doctor's retainer and staff member to support the family. But after several years, although I could recite a few lines of poetry, I still accomplished nothing. I’m not good at farming and gardening, so my father was seriously ill, which really drove me to death.”

"Fortunately, the government has opened a public school, and the first batch of enrollees are exempted from schooling. The county magistrate keeps his word and rewards those who excel in their studies. With this money, I can hire a doctor to treat my old father!"

After saying this, he fell at the feet of the black man and looked at him endlessly!

Laisheng's words moved everyone in the audience. Many people forgot that they were calling him "a man who forgets his ancestors" just now, and actually cheered for Laisheng:

"A good young man must be filial!"

"Reward for learning, treat father's illness, no shame!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was heated up by Lai Sheng's performance, Xiao He, the wine minister, took the opportunity to come out and announce: From now on, public school disciples will have to attend two semesters of classes every year. In addition to this exam, there will be two midterm and final exams in each semester from now on. As usual, the top three will be on the roll call, and the first place will get fifty taels of gold!

What’s even more eye-catching is that public school students are exempted from military service during their school days!

"From today on, the government's words must be true. One is one, two is two, and it will never be changed!"

The government spoke categorically and vigorously promoted the virtues of attending a public school, learning Qin characters, and speaking the Qin dialect. This was the envy of ordinary people.

The benefits of going to a public school are obvious to the naked eye. As a result, the private schools offered by Confucian scholars in counties and townships are no longer attractive. Many people from wealthy families have begun to consider whether to send their children to school in six months. Entered public school...

…

Watching this scene from a distance, Lu Musheng felt even more regretful, while Shen Sheng showed a helpless wry smile.

"When the weather is cold and the frost and snow fall, you can tell how lush the pines and cypresses are..."

Thinking of his words, Shen Sheng felt extremely ironic. In his imagination, his teachers, teachers and friends were all decent people, but the reality was that after all, Song and Bai were in the minority, and most of them were just outsiders!

The gentleman who sticks to the bottom line becomes a prisoner, tattooed and exiled.

The villain who gave up his dignity was rewarded with gold, and thousands of people cheered...

What's going on in this world? Is this what the Master said, a world in which pure and turbid rites are reversed and music is ruined?

"That's right, just like what the Master said about Qu Yuan, the whole world is turbid and I am alone pure, everyone is drunk and I am alone sober, so I see freedom!"

Shen Sheng closed his eyes in pain and shed two lines of tears. At this moment, he just wanted to sing and cry!

"Have you seen enough?"

At this time, Liu Ji, the head of the village, interrupted his emotion without understanding.

Liu Ji had eaten and drank enough, picked his teeth and came over. Seeing Shen Sheng's miserable expression, he suddenly became happy:

"Let's go when you've seen enough! The road to Chengshan is still long. Don't drip horse urine in front of Nai Gong! In the next few hundred miles, there will be many opportunities to make you cry!"