Chapter 4: Tai Xue (Part 1)

  Three people came out of the Zhuque Gate, passing by the Shuangyuan Building, Xinxin Wa She, and all along the way were brothels. At this moment, it was already past noon, and various prostitutes were busy soliciting customers. As a well-known figure in Bianjing's pleasure quarters like Gao Nei, he naturally had many connections and acquaintances among the "familiar women". A group of them came up to pull him away. Gao Qiang was indeed tempted, but unfortunately, there was urgent business that couldn't be neglected, so he could only politely decline one by one while making numerous empty promises. Later on, even these empty promises didn't work, and he had no choice but to flee in disarray, running wildly from the narrow alley of Kill Pig Lane all the way to the head of Longjin Bridge before stopping.

  After crossing the Longjin Bridge to the south, it is the location of the Taixue and Guozijian of the Great Song Dynasty. This Taixue was initially built during the time of the founding emperor, and was originally used as a resting place for tribute students from all over the country. Later, it was gradually expanded and renovated year by year, and soon became the most vibrant place in the thought of the Great Song Dynasty. The sound of reading and the affairs of the world are the strongest melody here.

  When Cai Jing entered the prime minister in the first year of Chongning, the first thing was to establish a provincial lecture discussion agency, using the precedent of setting up three agencies during the Shen Zong period. The second thing is to rebuild the Imperial Academy, and build 1,172 houses outside the original Imperial Academy, with a circular shape and a square shape, named "Pi Yong", specifically for collecting tribute students from other places to wait for the test, and set a quota of three thousand people, making this place prosperous at that time.

  It's just that Gao Gang was so entangled, but in his heart, he had another idea: with the increase of young scholars, the brothels and courtyans around also flourished, can this be considered as "the fragrance of books flowing"? What a sin, what a shame to literature...

  It was the eve of the imperial examination, and scholars from all over the country had arrived early to take up residence. Everywhere could be seen students with a book in one hand and the other hand behind their back, shaking their heads as they read. As for those who gathered in groups of three or five to engage in lofty discussions, they were even more eye-catching.

  There were so many people that it made his eyes dizzy, and for a moment, Shi Xiu couldn't tell things apart. He stretched his neck to look for the girl's figure in the crowd, but all he saw were scholars and students from various places wearing long gowns and book bags on their heads, not a single yellow-robed woman in sight.

  Just then, the three men passed by a group of scholars gathered together discussing something, and suddenly one of them spoke out in a loud voice: "Since it has already been decided at court to return all the city forts taken from Xia Guo since Chong Ning, this is already a settled policy. Gentlemen, what are you discussing here? What benefit will it bring to the country?"

  Gao heard this and stopped in his tracks to listen, when another person spoke out loudly: "Since the current emperor ascended to the throne, he has been vigorously advancing and opening up new territories. He has recovered Qingtang and Huichuan, repeatedly defeated the Qiang people, and severed the right arm of the Western Xia kingdom. This can be called a great achievement not seen since the time of Emperor Shen. In recent years, there have been frequent reports of victories from the western frontiers. The great generals Liu Yanqing and Xin Shouxian have won battle after battle, and the king of Western Xia is exhausted and at his wit's end. This is the moment to capture him and complete the victory. Why should we abandon it halfway?"

  As soon as this remark was made, it sparked a lot of agreement. The young scholars were all passionate and had a lot to say, especially when discussing such important military matters. Just as one person finished speaking, another loud voice emerged: "Brother's words have deeply resonated with me! Think about the Xixia dynasty's arrogance, from the time of Emperor Taizong, Li Jiqian's rebellion against our great Song dynasty has been a major threat to the western frontier, and Lingzhou and Xiazhou were lost to the enemy. When Yuanhao emerged, we fought several battles at Sanchuan Pass, Dingchuan Fortress, and Haoshui River, and the blood of our loyal and brave soldiers flowed like rivers. The country exhausted its strength in the west but was unable to control it, resulting in an annual tribute of 130,000 taels of silver, 50,000 bolts of silk, and 30,000 catties of tea, which is a great shame for our heavenly dynasty! Now that our wise and brave emperor is on the throne, his military prowess rivals that of Taizu and Taizong. This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to avenge the humiliation of the past hundred years. How can we give up now and return the recovered territory to the Xixia bandits?"

  "Well said!"

  "A pang of sorrow in my heart!"

  ……

  Gao Jian was listening to the conversation outside the circle, but saw that these students were getting more and more excited as they spoke. Someone had already asked who would be willing to surrender to the enemy, and public opinion was surging. Suddenly, someone shouted: "You are just a frog at the bottom of a well, you don't know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is, what kind of nonsense are you spouting here?!"

  This voice sounds quite familiar, Gao Fang looked around and thought to himself that it's indeed a small world, isn't this the current ruler's son Zhao Mingcheng? After their encounter at Yihong Tower, they hadn't met again. Today, he has come to his territory - but who knows if he can meet Li Qingzhao, the talented lady of the Prime Minister's household? It seems unlikely, as this is not a place where the Prime Minister's daughter-in-law would be. Alas, that day at Yihong Tower, if only he had mustered up the courage to rush into the adjacent private room, wouldn't he have been able to catch a glimpse of the legendary beauty of Li Qingzhao? What a pity, his luck is so thin, and they missed each other by a hair's breadth...

  On this side, the official was indulging in wild fancies, while on that side, Zhao Mingcheng's words had stirred up a thousand waves with one stone. The students were all agitated and demanded that he make it clear what he meant by "a frog at the bottom of a well, rashly making judgments?" The loud-mouthed tribute student was the most indignant, his finger almost poking into Zhao Gongzi's face.

  Zhao Mingcheng, however, did not lose the demeanor of a prime minister's son. With a flick of his fan, he closed it with a snap and drew a circle in front of him, blocking out all the tribute students. He sneered coldly, "The sage said: 'Not being in office, one does not discuss its politics.' How could you shallow people possibly guess at the strategies of the imperial court? Last year in March, the State of Xia, having suffered repeated defeats at our hands, was forced to seek aid from the State of Liao. The king of Xia, Li Qian Shun, considered himself inferior and married the Princess of Chang'an of Liao as his wife, making the two states one entity. Last year in April, on the day of Xin Wei, the envoy of Liao, the Secretariat's Direct Academician Gao Duanli, came to persuade Xia to surrender. Although his words were humble, his attitude was implicitly threatening. However, if Liao and Xia were to join forces and attack, the imperial army would be in the northwest, and the people of Hebei would not be able to avoid...

  "The disaster of war, the emperor's benevolence and generosity, with the people's livelihood in mind, this is why he agreed to make peace with Xia Guo. Isn't it clear?"

  Zhao Gongzi's words suppressed the entire audience, and the scholars who had been reading books all day couldn't refute him. The loud-mouthed scholar reacted quickly, immediately countering: "Brother Zhao's words are incorrect, the imperial army is stationed in the five capitals and four auxiliary capitals, and the garrison at Bianjing alone has over 200,000 troops. Even if the Liao State invades, we may still have the strength to fight one battle. Why should we easily surrender?"

  Zhao Ming was taken aback, he had no great talent for politics, and all these were just hearsay from Zhao Ting's remarks when he was serving as the Minister of the Department of State Affairs, but he had not carefully distinguished them. Now being refuted by someone, he did not know how to respond for a moment, and suddenly discovered Gao Qiang standing outside the circle watching the commotion, immediately slapped his fan in his hand and laughed: "This matter of the Imperial Guard, we will have to ask High Commissioner Gao to answer."

  As he spoke, he folded his fan and pointed with one finger. The crowd heard the three words "Gao Yan Nei" and their eyes turned to Gao Qiang and his two companions. Those who had not heard of it before asked softly to those around them, while those who knew looked at each other with disdain and whispered to others about Gao Qiang's origin. For a moment, the buzzing sound was endless, and the words "Hua Hua Tai Sui" could be heard from time to time.

  Gao Jian saw the situation and knew it was not good. His father, Gao Yun, was in charge of the Imperial Guards, and now they had caught the main culprit. However, the previous head of the Imperial Guards was an ignorant and incompetent person, and the current one was a young man who didn't even know which direction the gate of the Imperial Guards' camp faced. How could he possibly handle such important military matters? The Song Dynasty's history books didn't mention the training or combat strength of the Imperial Guards during the Chongning era, but with his father Gao Yun being in power, it was unlikely to be good. Wouldn't it be humiliating for these young hot-bloods to take orders from him?

  At this time, he strongly despised the former official who had run away to the 21st century again in his heart. However, when things came to a head, he couldn't shrink back, so he stiffened his scalp and bowed his hands: "Gentlemen, I am Gao Gang, and I have come to pay my respects."

  He thought that being humble would earn him some impression points, but instead he was met with a slap in the face: "May I ask when did High Official Gao start school, who was his doctoral advisor, and why does he call himself 'young scholar'?"

  "Ah?!" Gao Jiang's face turned red, it seemed that this self-proclaimed "young master" wasn't someone anyone could call out to, and there were so many nuances to consider. If he hadn't vaguely remembered that "entering the school" meant going to school, he wouldn't have even understood the sarcasm in front of him...

  The crowd burst into laughter, but the loud voice was indeed serious. With a solemn face, he clasped his hands together in respect and said: "Elder Gao has a heart that yearns for learning. The sage says 'learn and then know what is insufficient', which is the proper path of a gentleman. I dare ask Elder Gao, how do you plan to handle this matter of the Imperial Guard?"

  Gao Jian's words were met with a burst of laughter from the people around him, and phrases like "Flower Age" and "Holy Man's Righteous Path" floated away on the wind. He was so embarrassed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He thought to himself, "It seems that this honest old man is even more vicious with his words than the most sharp-toothed and sharp-tongued madman. You can't even retort back, what if he's actually being kind?"

  Seeing Gao Gang being surrounded and despised, Xu Guanzhong burst out laughing, drawing everyone's attention to himself. He said: "You scholars are worried about the country's affairs and have extensively studied poetry and books. In the future, when you pass the imperial examination, you will certainly become pillars of the state. However, this Zhao Gongzi just now also said that one should not discuss politics when not in office. Although your discussions here may be lofty, ultimately they are useless, and it's better to diligently read the classics. What do you think?"

  This group of tribute students were all stunned, as Xu Guanzhong's demeanor was elegant and his appearance refined, looking like one of their own kind. Although he was speaking on behalf of High Commissioner Li, his words were also reasonable, and for the time being, no one refuted him. After a while, that loud-mouthed tribute student spoke again: "Brother Xu's words are reasonable, but just now, Zhao Gongzi also revealed the discussions between the prime ministers, and all of you fellow students have benefited greatly from it. Why doesn't Brother Gao speak his mind?"

  He was taken aback by the other's tone, wondering why it was always him who spoke up and in such a loud voice, were others mute? He immediately asked: "May I ask your honorable surname and given name, how should I address you?"

  That man smiled and exaggeratedly said: "My younger brother Zhang Suizheng, alias Yizhong, is a native of Jincheng. My father's name is taboo and I dare not mention it casually. Thanks to the imperial grace, he currently holds the positions of Deputy Envoy of Rituals, Director of the Office of Interpreters, and Military Governor of Ansu."

  Gao Jian smiled and said: "Since your respected father is in charge of the military affairs of An Su, he should know the key to military strategy. How can it be revealed to others so easily? Although you are all future talents, the imperial court has its own laws and regulations. As a humble person who follows the teachings of my ancestors, although I am not talented or learned, I still understand this basic rule." After racking his brains for half a day, he finally came up with these few sentences. Seeing that all the tribute students were silent, even Zhang Suizheng, who was known for his loud voice, didn't say a word, Gao Jian felt triumphant in his heart and finally let out a breath of relief.

  Zhao Tingzhi felt unhappy in his heart after being outdone by Gao Qiang. On that day, he was corrected on a sentence at the Yihong Building, and after his wife returned home, she couldn't help but sigh about it for several days, always mentioning the four words "green fat red thin". As the husband of a talented woman, this was already a great pressure, yet he had been surpassed by a licentious person in terms of literary talent. Although people generally said that Gao Qiang's attendants were responsible for his writings, this still left a big lump in Zhao Tingzhi's heart.

  At this moment, seeing the strong and powerful words, I couldn't help but sneer. Just as I was about to speak sarcastically, a woman's voice said: "A group of scholars, unaware of the four seasons of agriculture, yet here they are discussing military and national affairs, how ridiculous!"

  Overjoyed and surprised, I looked around following the sound, but it wasn't that yellow-robed girl from yesterday, who was it?