Chapter 8 Academic

  To the person who said I plagiarized: Please find out the specific book title for me, I'd like to take a look, okay?

  Seeing the awkward situation, Gao Gang hurriedly patted his thigh and took advantage of Liang Zhongshu's words to step down: "After listening to Uncle Liang's words, I suddenly realized that as a minor rich man, he is busy every day, pursuing small profits, and his heart has been tainted with the smell of copper. Even if he wants to learn martial arts, how can he understand the true meaning of guns and sticks? It must be like the generals of our Great Song Dynasty, who have received the emperor's grace and always cherish the ambition to serve the country, in order to grasp the true meaning of this martial art."

  This remark was music to their ears, and all the generals were overjoyed. They thought that this high-ranking official truly lived up to his reputation as a descendant of a great general's family, deeply understanding that they had risked their lives on the battlefield and honed their skills in blood and sweat, unlike those who only knew how to wield power for personal gain. Upon hearing the official's words, they felt their own image elevated to an unprecedented height, filled with righteous indignation towards the enemy and loyalty to their country. The title "Number One Martial Artist of Hebei" was nothing but a fleeting cloud in the sky; it would be beneath them to compete with some local tyrant for such empty fame, which would only tarnish their own honor. This official truly understood the hearts of warriors like themselves!

  At that time, a harmonious atmosphere prevailed. Liang Zhongshu was overjoyed at the sight and, as it happened to be late in the day, ordered the camp to set out a banquet. Gao Qiang thanked him hastily, saying "I dare not decline the elder's gift". Liang Zhongshu was even more delighted and immediately invited Gao Qiang and his party to stay at his residence. Since the elder had given an order, Gao Qiang naturally did not dare refuse.

  When the wine table is opened, all kinds of dishes are naturally arranged in a messy way. Even the bowls, plates, cups and spoons are all sets of Dehua porcelain, which are worth hundreds of millions of dollars in later generations. Holding these valuable things to eat and drink, it feels like every move is worth tens of millions of dollars, more exciting than watching stock market indexes.

  Liáng Zhōngshū personally held the wine jug to toast, as most of the guests and hosts were martial men. After a few cups of wine, they all let loose and started drinking freely, with each other raising their glasses in respect. Suǒ Chāo even brought out his military-style drinking posture, competing with Yáng Zhì in a drinking contest.

  They talked about military affairs and enjoyed themselves until the moon was high in the sky, almost two o'clock. Liang Zhongshu led Gao Qiang and his group to the residence of the governor to rest, assigning a small courtyard for them to live in, and also assigned some maidservants to serve them.

  After washing his face and changing into daytime clothes, a maid came to invite Gao Qiang, saying that Liang Zhongshu was waiting for him in the study.

  Gao Jian followed the maid to the study, where he saw Liang Zhongshu reading at his desk. He hastily stepped forward and paid his respects, and Liang Zhongshu helped him up with both hands, then invited him to take a seat and ordered tea to be served.

  After the maid who served tea withdrew, both of them picked up their teacups and took a sip. Gao Qiang then asked: "Uncle Liang, I wonder why you called me here today?"

  Li Chongshu smiled and said: "Xianzhong, do you know why I came to the prison camp today?"

  Gao Qiu's heart was already suspicious of this matter, according to Xu Guanzhong, the soldiers stationed in the city belonged to the Xiang Army system within the Song Dynasty military system. They were basically only responsible for local labor services and didn't even have regular inspections. As a high-ranking official, Liang Zhongshu wouldn't normally care about these things, but today he suddenly came to inspect and only dealt with Yang Zhi's case before retreating to the back hall. This was clearly aimed at him, but what was the reason?

  But on the surface, he couldn't say so directly. Gao Gong smiled and said: "Shi Shu governs Beijing's Daming Prefecture, diligently handling government affairs, personally attending to matters, truly a first-rate minister of our dynasty; I, your junior, deeply respect him."

  Li Zhongshu stroked his small mustache and burst out laughing: "My virtuous nephew is indeed interesting. As the imperial envoy, if I had to review every trivial matter, even Zhuge Liang would be exhausted to death. To be honest, recently my wife's family sent a letter from Tokyo, saying that you wanted to personally escort a friend to Beijing to join the army, and the friendship was very deep. They asked me to take care of him, and today when your noble friend Yang Zhi arrived, the prison camp immediately reported it to me."

  Gao's expression changed, and he thanked him hastily, but in his heart, he thought: This Cai Jing even wants to intervene in such a small matter, it must be aimed at himself. If it was to form an alliance with his father Gao Kui, they could have discussed it in Tokyo, why did he come all the way to this mansion to take action?

  Liáng Zhōngshū smiled and responded, casually asking: "Which great Confucian scholar was your honorable nephew's teacher?"

  It was almost as if Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen were about to say that the great Confucian scholars, upon hearing the two words "great scholar", would recall that during the Song Dynasty, literature was valued over martial arts. Like the children's primer "Divine Poems" which says "The Son of Heaven values heroes, teaches you literary elegance, all other pursuits are inferior, only reading is superior". Folk sayings also go "Don't be a soldier if you can help it, don't make needles if you can help it", practicing martial arts is a minor path, while reading books is the royal road. Asking questions like Liang Zhongshu's would naturally be to test his literary knowledge, not his martial arts lineage.

  Gao said respectfully: "Uncle Shi, I was mischievous and cunning since childhood, only fond of wandering around. Many famous scholars of our time were driven away by me. My father repeatedly taught me in vain, so he had to invite Lin Jiaozhu and Lu Dashi to teach me martial arts, at least I have some skills to serve the court."

  Li the Secretary frowned and said, "My virtuous nephew, in our dynasty's True Ancestor Emperor's poem encouraging learning, it says that a man should fulfill his lifelong ambitions, diligently reading the Six Classics by the window. Although your esteemed father is a mighty minister of the world, you are from a family with profound scholarly traditions. Nevertheless, diligent study of the classics and passing the imperial examinations are still the proper path."

  Such nagging, Gao Gang naturally responded in unison, anyway, let this "Shibo" get over his mouth addiction, if he really wanted to dig through the old books himself, that would be declined with thanks.

  Liáng Zhōngshū lectured for a while, and his mouth was a bit dry. He picked up the tea to take a sip. Gāo Qiáng was puzzled, wondering if this Northern Song Dynasty was following the Qing Dynasty's "serving tea to send off guests" etiquette, and whether he should know when to leave?

  Just as he was hesitating, Liang Zhongshu put down his tea cup and spoke again: "Young Master, you once advised Ye Shaoyan on how to resolve the crisis of the imperial court, I wonder whose plan it was?"

  Gao Kuo suddenly realized: after making a fuss for half a day, Cai Jing was actually teaching Liang Zhongshu to test his own bottom line! This old guy is really cunning, knowing that with Gao Kuo's status and favor in front of the emperor, plus his own words showing strategic thinking, if he could really enter officialdom, he would either be a strong helper or a powerful enemy.

  It seems that today's meeting is of great importance, and it can be said that it has determined the direction of his relationship with Cai Jing's party in the future. However, Gao Qiang had long been prepared for this, and for a period of time in the future, he would have to cling to Cai Jing's thigh and mix with him. At this moment, although he is pretending to be unlearned and unsophisticated, he also has to force himself to show off his political capital:

  "Li Shu, this time it is the humble nephew's own thoughts. According to the nephew's thinking, the current emperor intends to continue the legacy of Shen and Zhe, and Enxiang should be greatly used. This time, exempting Enxiang from office is just a temporary setback due to unfavorable timing. However, looking at Zhao Xianggong's actions after entering the government, he only knows how to oppose Enxiang's methods, but does not know the subtleties of selection and rejection. His understanding of governance is unclear, and he only flatters the emperor, which matches his nickname 'Yi Xiang' (Moving Village). He is far inferior to Enxiang, and will surely fail in the end. The nephew is speaking based on this."

  Li Chongshu was taken aback, this remark was indeed simple and easy to understand, without citing any classics or canons, but the reasoning was very clear. It seemed that this young eunuch really had some innate political sensitivity, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Worthy nephew, you are so clear-headed about state affairs, it's evident that you have a deep understanding in your heart. Why don't you focus on studying and seek to make a name for yourself?" He was moved by the desire to nurture talent.

  Gao's heart secretly laughed, thinking to himself that he only remembered the reason for Zhao Ting's resignation, what kind of gap was there in his chest? However, at this moment, his image had already been established, and he had to continue acting: "Shi Shu taught that after returning home, I should focus on studying hard and reading books diligently. But I once heard someone say that if one doesn't read books until now, it's already too late, fearing that I was born with a foolish nature, disappointing Shi Shu's expectations."

  Li said with a sneer, "Is that the words of Su Dongpo? Ha! If he was truly talented and extraordinary, how could he have ended up in such a desolate situation?" He paused for a moment before continuing:

  "My worthy nephew, I see that Yang Zhi is a loyal and prudent man, a talented individual. Since you get along with him, why not have him work as a clerk on my side? We can assign him to the East Capital Temple Front Office for use. From now on, he can be of assistance to you - what do you think?"

  Gao was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly, not expecting that this would directly lead to his safe return. After some small talk, Liang Zhongshu told Gao to go back and rest.

  After Gao Kao left, Liang Zhongshu took up his brush and wrote a letter to Cai Jing, reporting the results of this test. The evaluation was: "No learning, but clever techniques".

  That night nothing was said, the next morning, Suo Chao came to fetch them, wanting Lin Chong and others to go to the military camp for a martial arts competition. Lin Chong originally wanted to decline, but Suo Chao's persistent persuasion left him no choice but to agree. Lu Zhishen saw an opportunity and happily pulled along to go together, while Lu Jian was also dragged away just because he wore the uniform of the Imperial Guard.

  Chai Jin said he wanted to go sightseeing in the mansion of the Grand Master, but refused to go. Suo Chao didn't expect much from this spoiled child anyway, so he took the three of them and left. Yang Zhi already knew that Chai Jin had asked Liang Zhongshu to take him back to Dongjing, and his determination to accompany him on a tour of the Grand Master's mansion grew even stronger, but Suo Chao was at a loss for what to do with him.

  After finishing breakfast, Gao Qiang put on a Confucian robe and held a paper fan in his hand, swaying back and forth as he went out onto the street. Following behind him were Xu Guanzhong and Yang Zhi, with Xu Guanzhong being a local who could serve as their guide.

  This Beijing Damingfu is the first famous city in Hebei, and its prosperity is no less than that of Tokyo Bianliang. However, there are only a few people who know "Hua Hua Tai Sui" High Yan Nei, but many unmarried Yunying saw High Qiang's handsome face and secretly threw flirtatious glances. This time, Yan Nei strolled through the streets with an exceptionally pleasant mood, feeling that the sky was blue everywhere.

  All the way, Gao Gang stuffed his belly with local snacks and held a handful of fried dough fritters, blowing air into them. Behind him, Yang Zhi carried a pile of miscellaneous trinkets, who knows what they would remember buying when they got back to the government office.

  Suddenly, a high-rise building stood before my eyes, with flying eaves and glazed tiles, intricate carvings and majestic appearance. The three-story building was extremely luxurious, comparable to the first-class wine house in Tokyo, Japan, and not inferior to it at all. In front of the door, there were bustling scenes of cars and horses coming and going, and many high-ranking officials' vehicles stopped here.

  He raised his head and looked up, only to see a plaque hanging on the outer wall of the second floor, with three large characters "Cui Yun Lou" written on it. The signature was written in a bold and powerful style, and after half a day's effort, he finally made out that the first character was Cai, and couldn't help but exclaim: "This is actually a treasure from Minister Cai!"

  But then he heard Xu Guanzhong say, "The official inside the yamen indeed has a good eye for this. This is actually a handwritten letter by former Grand Councilor Left Censor Little Cai, and it's not at all inferior to the calligraphy of the great Grand Councilor Big Cai of our dynasty."

  It was a strong and intense moment of embarrassment, only to find out that the character behind was actually "卞", which indeed resembles "京" (the character for Beijing).

  Since there is such a famous restaurant, I naturally want to go and have a look. Who knew that this store would cheat customers? The little waiter at the door rolled his eyes and said there were no empty seats.

  With a surge of anger in his heart and just about to erupt, he suddenly heard someone behind him call out: "Is that Brother Xu up ahead?"