In troubled times, people have their own places to go.

After leaving Bazhong, the advancing caravan emptied most of its cargo and lost dozens of accompanying personnel.

Two of the five scholars also parted ways with Ning Ji and others here. The remaining three, Lu Wenke, who was "promising", Fan Heng, who was "respecting the gods", and Chen Junsheng, the "cold-faced guest" who occasionally expressed his opinions, made an appointment to go together.

After a long journey, they passed through Bazhong and entered Dai Mengwei's territory, and then headed eastward along the Han River. Ning Ji was on the same road with them.

Leaving Bazhong and heading north, the caravan sold all the goods in the next county. Theoretically, their journey ended here. Ning Ji, Lu Wenke and others who would continue on would either find the next caravan to accompany them.

Or just go on the road. However, on the evening of the day they arrived, the boss of the caravan found them in the inn and said that they had taken a good job temporarily and that they would go to Dai Mengwei's territory next, and they could still go with them in the future.

one paragraph.

The two sides had become familiar with each other for the rest of the month, and Lu Wenke and others were happy to accept this, and Ning Ji could do anything. So on the fifth day of June, this team with dozens of horses and more than 90 people came again

He picked up some goods and picked up some fellow travelers, gathering a hundred people and heading east along the winding mountain road.

There were also two scholars among the new passengers, and they soon became acquainted with Lu Wenke and others. The team of "corrupt scholars" who traveled with them had now returned to five people, chattering beside Ning Ji every day. As for Wang Jiang, the monkey performer,

At this time, Wang Xiuniang and her daughter were still following the team, and they became more familiar with each other. During the day, they walked on the mountain road, and at night, when they chatted over a bonfire, the average-looking but physically fit Wang Xiuniang was able to interact with Lu Wenke.

Waiting for someone to say a few more witty words.

There are still many mountains around Bazhong. Going north will eventually reach the edge of the Han River and enter Hanzhong, which is ruled by the Chinese army. It is not easy to travel eastward along the rugged mountain road, but after crossing Micang Mountain, you will enter the reign of Dai Mengwei.

the heart of the district.

The situation in recent times has been special. The number of merchants taking this east-west mountain road has increased several times compared to previous years. However, except for a very small number of locals, most of them are profit-seeking businessmen with their own special purposes and demands, such as Lu Wenke and Fan.

Scholars such as Heng and Chen Junsheng who considered "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles" and therefore planned to visit the backside of Dai Mengwei's territory were only a minority among the minority.

In fact, before they crossed the Han River, passed through Jianmen Pass, and arrived in the southwest, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng and others did not have the consciousness to wander around. Only after staying in the bustling atmosphere of Chengdu for several months,

Only these few scholars are ready to see the whole world in a relatively harsh environment.

Of course, Ning Ji is even less clear about these things in the middle. His current policy is still to endure the humiliation in the name of Long Aotian. But in the past few days, he can vaguely feel the words of several scholars.

Subtle changes in tone when chatting.

When these scholars were in the territory of the Chinese Army, they talked about many major world events, most of them with high spirits and arrogance, and from time to time they pointed out the inappropriateness of this and that in the territory of the Chinese Army. However, after entering Bazhong, they were like those who loudly pointed out the country.

The scenes gradually became less and less frequent. Many times they compared the scene outside with the Chinese army, and most of them reluctantly admitted that the Chinese army was indeed powerful, although it was inevitable to add a few "however..."

, but these "however..." are ultimately much quieter than they were on the Jianmen Pass side.

There was peace and prosperity in the Wu Dynasty, but those dreamlike scenes happened more than ten years ago. The arrival of the Jurchens destroyed the dream of the Central Plains, even though there were several years of peace and tranquility in Jiangnan afterwards.

Prosperous, but that short-lived prosperity could not really cover up the humiliation of the fall of the Central Plains and the fear of the Jurchens. Only ten years of Jianshuo could not create a practical atmosphere of "regarding Hangzhou as Bianzhou".

The Jurchens' fourth march south indeed brought about a catastrophe that caused the entire Wu Dynasty to fall apart. However, in the later stages of this disaster, the Chinese army, which had been on the edge, emerged and defeated the Jurchens' most powerful West Route Army.

It brought too huge impact to them.

These scholars plucked up the courage to go to the southwest and saw the development and prosperity of Chengdu. In fact, this kind of prosperity was not what touched them the most, but what really made them feel at a loss was that the core behind this prosperity had something they could not understand.

, theories and statements that are incompatible with the past prosperous times. These statements make them feel vain and uneasy. In order to fight against this uneasiness, they can only make loud noises and work hard to demonstrate their own value.

However, after truly leaving the land in the southwest, what they had to face was a broken mountain and river after all.

What's the use of continuing to speak loudly?

For Ning Ji, these things could not be truly seen clearly until he recalled them a few years later.

…

"...However, the biggest problem with the Chinese army, in my opinion, is still its inability to win soldiers."

As the caravan passed through the mountains and set up camp on the mountainside to light a fire in the evening, Fan Heng and others continued this discussion. They seemed to realize that they had left the southwest, so they had to review the previous events while their memories were still deep.

After making a summary of what they saw and heard, the discussion over the past two days went deeper into some aspects that they had not elaborated on originally.

"...I have been in the Southwest for several months. All kinds of things are dazzling. The market is full of excitement and all kinds of information on the news are eye-opening. But what concerns you the most? To put it bluntly, it is the Southwest.

The system of selecting scholars. I have been to the so-called civil servant examination once, have you ever been there?"

When a middle-aged Confucian scholar named Fan Heng talked about this, he looked at the people around him. Chen Junsheng smiled enigmatically with a cold face. Lu Wenke shook his head. One of the other two scholars said: "I passed the B-level exam."

Someone said: "It's okay." Fan Heng also laughed.

"On the day I went to take the exam, not long after entering the venue, two candidates tore up the paper and cursed that the paper was nonsense. They had studied the scriptures in their lives and had never seen such a vulgar system for selecting scholars. They were then asked to leave by the examination room staff.

To be honest, although I had prepared before, I never thought that Mr. Na Ning would do it so thoroughly... He took the exam in five subjects, so-called Chinese, mathematics, theory, grid, and Shen. He overturned everything that Confucian students had learned in the past.

No wonder everyone then made a fuss on the newsprint..."

Fan Heng said, shaking his head and sighing. Lu Wenke said: "Chinese and theory, after all, have some relationship with what we have learned."

"Brother Lu, what you said is ridiculous." A scribe next to him also shook his head, "I have been studying for decades. I have been literate since I was a child, and I have interpreted the four books and five classics throughout my life.

It's just the foundation for elementary school literacy. Look at the so-called Chinese test questions... In the first half of the volume, "Xue Er" is translated into vernacular, and correct punctuation is required. "Xue Er" is just the beginning of "The Analects". When I was a child,

You have to memorize everything by heart, it’s written on it, what’s the point of these test questions?”

The man spread his hands and said: "As for the second half of the volume, something happened somewhere, and I want you to write a letter to summarize it... Everyone, with just one volume of Chinese language, what I have learned in more than twenty years has been halved, and I cannot pass the exam.

It is the basis of elementary school. What Mr. Ning wants is just someone who can write and write fluent sentences. This test is 100%, and it is said that we have taken advantage of it. However, as long as you can read, no one can pass the 80% test.

?Later I heard someone secretly say that those with neat and gorgeous handwriting can receive up to five points... five points."

When he talked about those five points, he felt indignant. Everyone naturally nodded.

"This is where we take advantage the most." The man said bitterly, "And alongside Chinese, mathematics also has a 100% score. Who should be selected? They are just shopkeepers and accountants! Of course, Mr. Ning is a high-sounding person.

Among the six arts of a gentleman, we can admit that we cannot compare with those accountants. The basics of physics are private goods of other people, but up to now, it cannot be said to be unreasonable. After all, those who come to the southwest, Mr. Na Ning's "Preliminary Exploration of Physics"

"I have seen them all...but what is the so-called "Thinking about Objects"! On most of the test papers, one of the five patterns is different, and the two are different from the others. Why are they different? Later, it was full of controversy. Mr. Ning talked all about physics and Objects.

, what is the relationship between these test questions and the investigation of things!"

"The five items taken from the scholars, except that the Chinese language has a slight relationship with the past classics, the numbers, objects, and patterns are all private property. As for the last argument mentioned by Brother Lu before, although it can be written in a comprehensive way to discuss the situation of the world, it can be

When talking about the Southwest, we still have to talk about one of his things. The Southwest now has muskets, hot air balloons, rockets, and factories and workshops all over the mountains and plains. If we don’t talk about these, how can we talk about the Southwest? Once you talk about it,

And these, how can you discuss its development without understanding its principles? So in the end, everything here is the private property of Mr. Naning. So these days, how many scholars went to the southwest

It’s not about leaving in anger. Brother Fan hit the nail on the head when he said you can’t win scholars.”

When he said this, everyone nodded. Chen Junsheng, with a stern face on the side, threw a stick of firewood into the fire:

"It's not surprising. There were rumors in the early years that the devil's lifelong ambition was to destroy Confucianism. However, later on, Confucian classics were not banned in the southwest, and even the Four Books annotated by the late Right Prime Minister Qin Siyuan attracted people's desire and followed the natural principles.

Southwest was selling a lot of classics, and everyone in the world thought he was giving up. Unexpectedly, this time Southwest was recruiting scholars, only to see that he was out of ideas. He didn't say anything, but he really didn't do anything.

Be merciful. One volume of Chinese only tested literacy and hyphenation. First, it failed everyone’s decades of hard study, and then several volumes of scheming and calculation methods. If Black Flag really conquers the world, I’m afraid he will become the top one in the future.

Shopkeeper, accountant and the like."

Chen Junsheng didn't speak much along the way, but whenever he spoke, he always had a target in mind. Everyone knew that he was talented and knowledgeable, so they couldn't help but ask: "Brother Chen, could it be that he also failed the exam?"

Chen Junsheng said proudly: "What I place in my heart is not in Southwest China. After seeing it, I will eventually go back."

Everyone admired him greatly. Long Aotian, who was sitting aside, shrank his head. At this moment, he actually felt that the scholar's domineering attitude was exposed. He was a little shorter. He was highly skilled in martial arts and would be the best in the world in the future, but he didn't like reading after all.

He has no chance to be a top scholar, so he is always a little confused about people with profound knowledge. Of course, Chen Junsheng is the only one who can give him this feeling at this time.

"What I have in my heart is not in the southwest. After seeing it, I still have to go back...write it down..." he thought in his heart. When he meets other people in the future, he can also speak like this.

At this time, the sun had set, and stars and night were rising in the dark mountains. Wang Jiang, Wang Xiuniang, his daughter, and two bookboys went to the side and brought food over. Everyone continued to talk while eating.

"The same is true. In the past, everyone was not aware of the theory of destroying Confucianism in the Southwest. By the first half of this year, these things became clear. Several of my friends also went out together because of this, preparing to join Dai Gong.

If Jundao Southwest behaves so rebelliously, something big will happen eventually, and those of us who study and do knowledge will not be able to stay out of it in the future. With the help of the shopkeeper, Southwest's accounting methods certainly defeated the Jurchens for a while, but Confucianism has been passed down for thousands of years.

Could it be that it is really inferior to such a profit-seeking path?"

"It is useless to talk about moral articles. This statement is irrefutable. But if we don't talk about moral articles at all, will it be possible for a long time? I think Dai Gong is right. He is unjust and has few helpers. Sooner or later, he will do bad things. It's just that he did bad things like this.

, and it is possible that the world will be in chaos for another few decades..."

"I think the essence of Southwest lies in the study of things, the way of physics, which is indeed broad and profound, but what is missing is the moral articles. Rule of things can make the world rich and useful, but Confucianism values ​​​​people's hearts. Between the two, what is emphasized is a sublation.

It’s just about sense of proportion.”

"Actually, this time in the southwest, although many people were caught off guard by the five test papers of Geshen in Chinese, Mathematics, and Math, the people with the sharpest minds in the world are still among our generation of scholars. In a few days, those shopkeepers and accountants will

Such people cannot take any advantage. After our generation of literati thoroughly understands the study of objects, we will definitely use them better than the vulgar people in the southwest. Mr. Ning is known as the inner demon, but what he accepts are all kinds of vulgar things, and he will definitely

It was the biggest mistake of his life."

"In my opinion, quick thinking does not depend on what you read. It's just that in the past, in my Confucian world, most of the smart people in childhood were selected in this way. It was those who couldn't read that became shopkeepers and accountants.

Craftsmen... In the past, the world did not understand the benefits of investigating things. This is a huge omission. But even if this omission needs to be made up, it needs to be done by people with quick thinking among the crowd. I think Mr. Nanning's interest in investigating things is not wrong.

What was wrong was that he acted too carelessly. Since in the past, the world's elites all studied Confucianism, today only the Confucian method can be used to filter out the elites, and then use these elites as a basis to slowly change them, and then they can be correct. Today

These shopkeepers, accountants, craftsmen and the like are engaged in lowly businesses because of their mediocre and inferior qualifications. He selects those with average and inferior qualifications and wants to carry out innovation, but how can it be achieved?"

"Brother, great discussion."

"It makes sense, it makes sense..."

Everyone discussed for a while, and then talked about the fact that many Confucian scholars in the southwest went out to choose their future. One of the two new Confucian scholars asked: "Have you ever considered Dai Gong?"

Fan Heng, Lu Wenke, Chen Junsheng and others looked at each other. Fan Heng frowned: "During the journey, I and a few others discussed with each other and we did consider it. However, at this time, I have many doubts in my heart. To be honest, Mr. Dai himself
To be continued...