The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Brother Chen, Brother Pan, Brother Li Xian, Brother Lin, hahaha, you are all here, Yuan Shu is polite here."

Approaching the small circle of Jiujiang Prefecture, Zeng Yuanshu immediately greeted him and couldn't help but bow his hands.

"Brother Pan, Brother Lin, haha, you guys are already here."

Some of them whom Wu Dong knew were also saluting with a haha.

There were two people I didn’t know, and they were quickly introduced by someone who was traveling with them.

He pointed at Zeng Yuanshu and said with a smile: "This is Zeng Yuanshu, from Pengze."

After saying that, he pointed at Wu Dong and said with a smile: "This majestic general is Wu Dong, and he is also from Peng Ze. He and we both came to participate in the college examination last period, so he is not an outsider."

"Brother Wu is a member of the military?"

When the person who introduced him called Wu Dong a general, what did he immediately guess?

"He is also a child, just like you and me."

The man emphasized immediately, and then asked Wu Dong with a smile: "Brother Wu, are you planning to take the college examination for this subject?"

Also, regardless of whether a person has military or civilian status, or even a craftsman status, in fact, everyone is the same, they are all born in childhood.

"You already know about my family's situation last time I had a drink. I'd better forget it. This time I just come with you to take a look."

Wu Dong replied with a smile.

"Who are these two? I've been staying in Nanchang this year, and I really don't know many young talents from my hometown."

The man didn't know Wei Guangde and Zeng Yuanrui, but he didn't think they were followers. He didn't see that Wu Dong and Zeng Yuanshu were still carrying food in their hands, but the two children were empty-handed.

"Let me introduce to you, this person."

As he spoke, Zeng Yuanshu pointed at Wei Guangde and said: "Wei Guangde, like me, is from Pengze. Wu Dong's cousin, this year's Tongsheng, is also here to take the college examination."

After that, he pointed to his brother and said: "My third brother Zeng Yuanrui failed to pass the imperial examination this year. I will bring him here to get to know our talented people in Jiujiang."

After the greetings, Zeng Yuanshu asked with a smile: "You go ahead and say what you are talking about. I think it's very lively."

"I'm talking about "Collected Commentary on Chapters and Sentences of the Four Books"."

Soon, the scholars from Jiujiang Prefecture went on to talk.

Well, actually a bunch of people are sitting together discussing the Four Books, asking for advice on some sentences that they don’t quite understand, or after reading the books, they have slightly different ideas from Zhu Zi on some of them, so that everyone can see whether they are right or wrong. .

Although most of the urbanites in the Ming Dynasty respected Zhu Xi's teachings, they did not rest on their laurels. Academic discussions were still held frequently. This was one of the purposes of holding literary conferences. Of course, there were also those who simply composed poems and lyrics.

However, in the Ming Dynasty, poetry was not very outstanding, and literature was turning to popular culture, so the literary society was actually more about asking each other for knowledge. Of course, if they had new poems, they would also show them to others for appreciation.

As for now, the time is just before the college examination. Naturally, everyone will not go drinking and singing when they get together, but will seize the time to ask for advice.

Wei Guangde did not have the ability to compose on the spot. He relied on copying other people's eight-legged essays and greatly modified and pieced them together. Naturally, he didn't know much about learning. He relied on his superior memory to memorize the annotations of the Four Books. Of course, he was very good at these. The candidates were not very interested in the discussion.

Although he was sitting here, his attention inevitably shifted to the two groups over there who seemed to be arguing.

Wu Dong no longer cares about fame. He originally came here to enjoy the cool air and rest for a while. Since he met his friends and sat there for a while, he was not very interested in the knowledge they were discussing. Wei Guangde's reaction was all his. In eyes.

"Are you interested there?"

Taking the time, Wu Dong asked in a low voice.

"Where are the two groups over there from?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"Maybe it's from Nanchang Prefecture and Ji'an Prefecture. They are the only ones who can tear it apart. Other prefectures have to bow their heads in front of them."

Wu Dong replied with a smile.

Their conversation also attracted Zeng Yuanshu's attention. When they heard that they were sitting close to each other, the two groups who seemed to be arguing laughed and said, "Be confident, they are from Nanchang and Ji'an."

"What are they fighting about?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, "Were they also discussing knowledge?"

"No, they won't discuss this here."

Zeng Yuanshu shook his head and said: "It should still be about the number of scholars. We were competing for it last year."

"The quota for scholars? That's determined by the imperial court. Why are they competing for it?"

Wei Guangde was puzzled.

After listening to Zeng Yuanshu's words, Wu Dong felt enlightened.

Seeing that Wu Dong didn't say anything, Zeng Yuanshu continued: "Have you ever heard of the saying "Hanlin has many good waters, and court officials are half of Jiangxi"?"

Seeing Wei Guangde shaking his head, Zeng Yuanshucai continued: "We in Jiangxi are really blessed with abundant resources and outstanding people. Scholars born in Jiangxi are both a blessing and a curse.

Fortunately, Jiangxi is indeed a land of plenty, with rich products and a prosperous cultural heritage, which is conducive for scholars like you and me to study and learn with peace of mind.

As for the disaster, it is naturally that a lot of talented people come together, and there are only so many places for students. "

Having said this, Zeng Yuanshu not only turned his head and glanced at the two groups who were still arguing over there, but also said: "It is said that the world's Jinshi is half Jiangxi, but Nanchang and Ji'an are half Jiangxi. You can figure it out for yourself."

"They compete fiercely, and because their level is higher than other prefectures, they are naturally dissatisfied with the number of students set by the court? Do you want to increase the number of students in Ji'an?"

Wei Guangde asked tentatively.

"Of course I have this idea, but the affairs of the imperial court should be discussed by children like them, who are not even scholars.

Regardless of how fierce the competition is now, once you cross that threshold, that person will immediately shut up. That is, only students have this quota limit. When it comes to recruiting people, who cares which prefecture and county you are from.

It's been a while since I was worried because I wanted to cross over but couldn't, so I was just looking for a place to vent my emotions. "

Wei Guangde understood a little and then shook his head.

"That is to say, there are too many local officials in Ji'an. Many of the candidates come from official families. No one from other prefectures dares to argue with them. Only those from Nanchang Prefecture and Yuanzhou Fenyi dare to argue with them. Challenge."

Zeng Yuanshu continued.

"Yuanzhou Fenyi?"

Wei Guangde asked questions.

"Yes, that is the hometown of the current Chaoge elder. Who knows if he is related to that person."

Zeng Yuanshu smiled.

"Mr. Ge? Which one?"

"Of course it's because Yan Song, the chief minister of the dynasty, is old."

Hearing Yan Song's name coming out of Zeng Yuanshu's mouth, Wei Guangde was shocked at first, and then relieved.

He knew this name, but he didn't know that he was actually the current chief minister, and that he had the same status as himself, both from Jiangxi.

"The term "half Jiangxi" is actually a bit exaggerated. The Southern Zhili and Zhejiang imperial examinations are really good, but that's just in terms of quantity. In terms of quality, we in Jiangxi still have a slight advantage, because most of the students stay in Beijing because of their good rankings."

Wu Dong quietly interjected at this moment: "The saying that the whole dynasty was civilized and military was half Jiangxi was actually said by Mr. Yan Ge."

After saying this, Wu Dong stared at Wei Guangde and Zeng Yuanshu for a while before continuing: "If you can be named on the gold list, you will definitely be supported by the chief minister in your official career."