Chapter 37: His governance is simple and easy-going; his people are unsophisticated and honest.

  "What makes you say that?" Zhang Lei felt very strange and asked.

  The old boss rubbed his hands and smiled: "My ancestors have been dealing with horses for generations, and it is said that the highest in the previous dynasty was still a horse official. Therefore, this has been passed down, these two horses are not 100% accurate, but the possibility of misjudging them is small."

  "Then I'll listen carefully, boss. Tell me, what's so special about these two horses?" Zhang Lei asked with interest. One of the horses looked like it hadn't eaten meat in a long time and was still skinny, while the other was cheap and unwanted, considered an ill omen by people. How did they become precious horses in the eyes of this boss?

  "Look at this horse." He pointed to the horse led by Zhang Chen and said, "Although it's very thin, its eyes are very clear. Just like observing a person, observing a horse can also start from its eyes. Generally, horses will become dull-eyed after being saddled. People are the same, once they lose their freedom, they will become dispirited. But this horse, from beginning to end, its eyes have maintained a spirited and heroic spirit. From this point on, it is absolutely extraordinary. I suggest you take good care of it, and I believe that in no time, it will be able to show off its proud appearance."

  Zhang Chen nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I was also attracted by its unusual eyes when I bought it. Now take a look at my brother's horse."

  The boss continued: "This horse has a spirited and vigorous gait, it's clear that it's an exceptional fine horse, and you can feel that its owner has been taking good care of it. I think even the legendary 'thousand-li divine steed' wouldn't be much better than this."

  "Oh? If it's really as good as you praised, then that's lucky. But look here, there's a red spot, they say it's an inauspicious sign." Zhang Lei raised an eyebrow and pointed to something on the horse's neck.

  "What? It's actually the legendary Blood Throat Horse!" The shop owner looked at the red spot and was extremely surprised.

  "Blood Throat Horse?" Zhang Lei and Zhang Chen both heard this term for the first time.

  "Yes, it's the legendary Blood Throat Horse. This breed is even rarer than the Sweat Blood Horse."

  "Could it be better than a horse with sweat and blood?" Zhang Chen asked.

  "It's not that it's inherently inferior, but rather because people consider the Blood Throat Horse to be an ill omen, so once one appears, most will choose to kill it. Very few are able to survive, and even fewer can grow to this size. Additionally, it wasn't necessarily worse than the Sweat Blood Horse to begin with, which is why I say it's a remarkable horse."

  Zhang Lei and Zhang Chen were both very excited when they heard this. They immediately chose the best horse equipment to equip their precious horses.

  After returning home, Zhang Chen went to feed his own horse, while Zhang Lei rushed into the room to write his own plan book.

  Today's exam is on the eight-legged essay and the poem. The so-called eight-legged essay, also known as "current writing", "regulated verse", "regulated meaning", "eight-part essay" or "four-book essay", takes its topics from the Four Books and Five Classics. It begins by revealing the topic, called "breaking the topic". Then it continues to elaborate on the previous text, called "continuing the topic". After that, it starts discussing, called "starting the discussion". Next comes the "entry point", which is the starting point of the discussion. Below this, it is divided into four sections: "starting section", "middle section", "later section" and "concluding section". Each section has two pairs of parallel couplets, making a total of eight legs, hence the name "eight-legged essay".

  The poem is also called "Fu De Ti", named after the two words "Fu De" are often prefixed to the title. Originated in the Tang Dynasty, it is mostly five-character six-rhyme or eight-rhyme meter, produced under the influence of Tie Jing and Shi Tie. The county and provincial exams use five-character eight-rhyme, while the children's exam uses five-character six-rhyme. Only official rhymes are used, all in the "ze" tone pattern. Except for the first and last couplets which do not require antithesis, all other couplets must have "lian ti xiang cheng" antithesis. In terms of rhyme usage, it is necessary to strictly follow the "eight taboos", namely, chu yun, dao yun, zhong yun, cou yun, pi yun, ya yun, tong yi yun and yi yi yun are all not allowed.

  It's also fortunate that Zhang Lei didn't know what Zhang Chen was being tested on, otherwise he would have definitely unleashed a torrent of scathing and blasphemous remarks.

  Next, Zhang Chen still needs to take the imperial examination of Jinglun and Lüfu, and then the Tongsheng trial will be truly over. The so-called Jinglun refers to extracting a famous sentence or paragraph from Confucian classics, and then the examinee expands his thoughts based on Zhu Xi's "Sishu Jizhu" and makes his own exposition, which is actually a dictation. And "Lv" refers to the tonal pattern, that is, the antithesis and phonetic rhyme restrictions that must be followed when writing an essay. In addition to following the requirements of antithesis and phonetic rhyme, it also limits the rhyming words that express the meaning, generally four characters in two sentences with eight characters, that is, limited to eight rhymes.

  Actually, the first day's exam and the second day's exam are almost the same in form, they just have different focuses.

  The next morning, Zhang Lei and Zhang Chen set off again. With the BMW, their speed was much faster, and they didn't have to rush early in the morning. Everything went smoothly.

  As soon as Zhang Chen entered the examination hall, Zhang Lei headed towards Xu Guangqi's residence. Since he had met them yesterday, the two men guarding the gate did not give him any trouble today.

  "Hey, you're here, so early." Zhang Lei had just walked into the yard when he ran into Xu Min practicing sword fighting in the empty space. Seeing him arrive, Xu Min stopped his movements and smiled.

  Xu Min's face is fair and clean, paired with that energetic smile, has a special charm, completely different from Xiaolian's coquetry, she seems more like the feeling of a neighbor's little sister.

  "Indeed, she's come, and Miss Xu can still dance with such great swordsmanship, I'm afraid even Madame Gongsun would have to yield a bit." Zhang Lei exclaimed.

  "Haha, you're really good at flattering people! Alright, alright, go find my uncle now, he's in the study room. Let me tell you, since your conversation with him yesterday, he often mentions you and it's clear that he has a high opinion of you, so you'd better work hard!"

  Zhang Lei made a bow and then went to Xu Guangqi's study.

  "Is that Zhang Lei? Come in, I've been waiting for a long time." Xu Guangqi said before Zhang Lei could even knock on the door.

  Zhang Lei suddenly felt a sense of being favored, he gently pushed open the door, saw Xu Guangqi still sitting as yesterday, and handed over the thick business plan in his hand.

  "This is the plan I have made, please let Lord Xu review it." Zhang Lei said.

  Xu Guangqi nodded and opened it. Seeing that there were several lines on it, like a contract, he said: "Then you sit and wait, I'll take a look."

  What's written above isn't that serious, Zhang Lei really wants to expand the scale immediately, but he knows it's impossible. Economy and politics are the same, blindly expanding power will only make you a thorn in the side of those in power and the vested interests, if your background isn't strong enough, being taken down is just a matter of minutes.

  Article 1: Hopes to obtain the imperial court's authorization, permitting Zhangshi Technology to become a high-tech production and export institution under government support. In return, Zhang Lei also promised that in the first year, he would increase taxes for the imperial court by 10,000 taels, and every subsequent year, he would increase it by another 10,000 taels.

  This is an extremely adventurous move, if it doesn't achieve its goal and gets caught by people with ulterior motives, that would be a crime of deceiving the king.

  "Ten thousand taels, and he still doesn't speak with a small tone." Xu Guangqi lightly tapped the table and said.

  Zhang Lei bowed his head and said, "Lord Xu, I also know that one million two is a lot. I've thought about it for a long time, but in the end, I decided to take a risk. No matter what, if you want to get something, you have to pay a price. Sometimes it's an equal trade, but most of the time it's not balanced, and that can't be avoided."

  "You're right, if you want to gain something, you have to pay the price. Nowadays, too many people just think about gaining, but where in the world is there such a good thing? 10,000 and 2, I remembered it, you must work hard."

  After saying a few words, Xu Guangqi continued reading on.

  After a while, he raised his head and said: "You have quite a nerve."

  "What does Lord Xu mean by this?" Zhang Lei suddenly stood up.

  Xu Guangqi said: "Unexpectedly wanting to print books and publications."

  "What's wrong with that? Lord Xu, your works, don't you want to let the world see them? They all think it's a clever trick, but you and I are clear, only these clever tricks can make the people get rid of ignorance and make this country rich and strong." Zhang Lei was somewhat excited.

  In his view, the most severe laws and the most ignorant governance are to lock up people's thoughts and restrict their freedom of speech. When politics is obscure, the people are simple; when politics is strict, the people are lacking. The nature of all the people follows the reaction of the government. But now the imperial court has turned things upside down.

  Xu Guangqi said calmly, "What you said is not wrong, I also support your idea, but do you know why I haven't taken action until now? To be honest, the reason I wrote those things was to make people understand more. You can bring this up which means we both think alike. But I won't agree with what you're doing."

  "Why?" Zhang Lei asked in confusion: "Why do you know it's right to do this, but don't want me to do it?"

  Xu Guangqi calmly said: "It's simple, because you are now just a villager in Xujiayuan, and even if you put it nicely, you're just a young man with ideas. But controlling thought and guiding the trend has always been an important means for the imperial court to govern the world. So think about it, you as a commoner, going against the imperial court, what consequences will there be? It's no different from an egg hitting a rock. Therefore, I advise you not to get involved in this matter."

  Zhang Lei also knew that Xu Guangqi was telling the truth and it was for his own good, so he didn't argue anymore and reluctantly replied: "Okay."

  After reading Zhang Lei's petition, Xu Guangqi was generally satisfied and said: "What you have described, I also think that some places are feasible, but you are still too young, and some places are inevitably too radical." He took out a token from his pocket and said: "This is the emperor's gift to me, now give it to you. Later, I will write another letter, and in the future, you can also do things more conveniently. The only thing I can help you with is this much, hoping that you will not disappoint my expectations of you."

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