Chapter 180 Loneliness on the journey (please vote for me!)
There is a saying circulating in Suzhou City, "It is up to Lin to decide whether Suzhou City will be in chaos or not."
But at the cusp of this storm, Lin Zuiguan abandoned the mess and left at once, heading for Nanjing.
Under the premise that the examination system is the fundamental way to select talents for the country, no power can stop a candidate from taking the exam, not even officials!
Lin Tailai took the Zhang family brothers who were protecting the law and four assistants, took the Shenwei Lieshui, and headed north along the canal.
The Zhang brothers asked in confusion: "September is the time for the Wuxiang Examination. Isn't it a bit early to go now?"
The main reason is that candidates for the Provincial Examination for Martial Arts do not have much social needs, unlike candidates for the Provincial Examination for Liberal Arts, who often regard the Provincial Examination as a time for socializing, so they often arrive several months in advance, and then gather for various gatherings with friends.
Lin Daguan replied: "Now that Suzhou City has become a place of right and wrong, it is really not good to stay for a long time. If the balance is not good, you will fall off the cliff and be shattered."
If you can come back with martial arts merit, it will be somewhat protective, and at least your status will be higher."
Lin Tailai's first stop on his way north from Suzhou City was at Xushuguan.
Then he went ashore to visit the King's Capital, and handed over several prisoners to the Tax Envoy King's Capital.
"I'm going to Nanjing, but there are no regular prison cells in Mudu Port, so I'm worried that some of the prisoners I have will be kidnapped.
The customs office has high walls and strong prisons, so I would like to ask the prince to help guard it for two months."
Wang Zhidu agreed: "These are all easy to talk about!"
After that, the jailer was asked to detain several prisoners, including Xi Siwei, Xi Sicheng, Fan Yunlin, and Shen Xin.
At the same time, he said to Lin Tai: "Actually, I was just looking for you. There was a letter from my second brother recently."
Lin Daguan subconsciously said: "What relationship can Wang Situ have with me? It's not my sister's family letter."
Wang Zhidu resisted the urge to hit, and quickly got down to business: "The letter mentioned that Zhang Jiayin, the highest-ranking official among the seven sons of the retro sect, has returned to the court to serve as Minister of War."
Lin Tailai murmured incomprehensibly: "Why is it that in every generation of the Seven Renovationists, there is someone who has reached the rank of Minister of the Ministry of War?"
Among the first seven sons of the retro school, there is Wang Tingxiang, and among the last seven sons, there is Zhang Jiayin. They are all the highest-ranking among the seven sons of this generation. The history is too coincidental.
Wang Zhidu ignored Lin Daguan's boring complaints and continued: "So what the second brother means is that I should not offend the retro faction in Jiangnan, especially the leader of the retro faction, Wang Shizhen, is in Jiangnan."
Lin Tailai stood up and saluted: "I never thought that a humble person could be so caring to Wang Situ. I am extremely grateful in my heart!"
Capital of Kings: "???"
What does Lin Tailai mean, and why can't you understand it?
Lin Daguan said: "Wang Situ must be worried that if he goes to Beijing to take the martial arts examination next year, he will fall into the hands of Zhang Jiayin, the Minister of the Recruitment Department, and his trip will be in vain."
The martial arts examination is different from the liberal arts examination. It is administered by the Minister of War.
The king was speechless. It’s okay for you, Lin Tailai, to always be affectionate towards your younger sister. Why did you start to be affectionate towards your second brother?
Lin Tailai asked doubtfully: "Isn't it?"
The king couldn't bear it and explained: "My second nephew Xiang Qian may go to Xuanfu to serve as an official, and Xuanfu is the territory of the Ministry of War!"
Lin Tailai said "Oh", Wang Xiangqian, one of the big bosses of Bianzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, was about to open his official career in Bianzhen.
Finally, Wang Zhidu concluded: "Second brother is afraid of offending the retro sect too much, which will affect Xiang Qian's future!
So in the future, I may not be able to help you with the issue of retroism."
Lin Tailai sighed, this is what officialdom is like, the network of relationships is intricate and intricate, and a single move can affect the whole body.
If you don’t help your own implication, are you still trying to win over the retro group?
Even saying that it is possible to sell yourself to please the retroists? Are all politicians so ruthless?
"After I finish speaking, what do you think?" Wang Zhedou asked.
Lin Tailai said dissatisfiedly: "I have analyzed the decline of the retro school for the prince many times!
On this issue, don’t be so short-sighted and care about temporary gains and losses.”
Wang Zhidu said helplessly: "My second brother is now very old and is trying his best to support Xianggan's nephew. He doesn't mind taking any risks."
So Lin Daguan responded: "You can reply to Wang Situ. Even though the retro-style Minister of War is powerful, our leader of the Update Society, Shen Jizi, is not bad at all!"
Capital of Kings: "."
Retro school? Update agency? You, Lin Tailai, really have never lost when you talk about it.
Then the king's tax envoy didn't say anything more and waved his hand: "Now that the business is over, let's go! I won't waste your time on your way!"
But Mr. Lin, the official, was holding the tea cup and drinking slowly without saying goodbye.
Wang Zhidou asked in surprise: "Do you have anything else?"
The voice of Lin Daguan, who never loses to others, suddenly became a little softer: "Well, please ask the prince to borrow some money to sponsor me to go to Nanjing to take the exam."
Wang Zhidu was really shocked: "You have no money? How come you have no money?"
Isn’t it a joke that the most powerful evil force in the richest city in the world has no money?
Lin Daguan quickly complained: "The prince does not know, the war is too expensive, the society has been fighting for months and there is not much money left.
Moreover, during this war, the Hengtang Town Fish Market and Tangkou were attacked by thugs and burned to the ground, and all the money in savings was gone!
The key is that we won the battle in the end, so most of the other savings will be used to reward the three armies, so there will not be much left.
To make matters worse, the war reparations have not been received and the project has not been completed, so I have to rush to Nanjing again."
Wang Zhidu shouted: "I have money from the national treasury, how can I lend it to you at will?"
Lin Tailai immediately said: "Those criminals, some are worth two or three thousand, and some are worth five or six thousand, all of them are placed with the prince as collateral!"
As long as they are here, they don't have to worry about getting money in exchange, so what else does the prince have to worry about?"
Capital of Kings: "."
Could this be the truth behind why you, Lin Tailai, threw the criminals into the customs office?
Let the customs office look after people for you and borrow money as collateral at the same time. You really kill two birds with one stone!
"I can lend you money, but don't provoke Old Leader Wang anymore." Wang Shishi took the opportunity to threaten, "Everyone knows that you are my subordinate, so don't drag me down!"
A penny stumped the heroic man. Lin Daguan said helplessly: "I can't provoke him! I'm just going to take the exam, how can I think of anything else!"
Finally, Wang Shishi took out two hundred taels from his spare silver and gave it to Lin Daguan.
After borrowing the money, Lin Tailai got on the boat and left, continuing northward along the Grand Canal.
From Xushuguan to the northwest, walk about twenty miles and enter Wuxi County, which is about the same distance from Xushuguan to Suzhou City.
Lin Daguan sat on the boat and thought wildly. No wonder Suzhou and Wuxi would share the same airport hundreds of years later. It was too close.
To be honest, taking a boat like this is a bit boring, maybe I should take Sun Lian Lian with me.
It was already late at night when we arrived at Xishan Station located outside the south gate of Wuxi County.
In such a bustling place, you don't have to worry about eating or drinking even in the middle of the night.
After staying in the inn, Mr. Lin was wondering whether he should find a serious place to eat and drink, or an informal place to eat and drink.
But what if you always look for shady places, spend too much money too quickly, and end up in the bustling city of Nanjing?
After all, the old Qinhuai courtyard is famous all over the world. If you don’t see it, wouldn’t your trip to Nanjing be in vain?
Besides, if you are unfamiliar with the place in Wuxi County, you don’t know anyone, and you don’t know where to go.
So Mr. Lin stood at the door of the inn, caught in a dilemma.
The innkeeper who was standing at the counter next to him suddenly smiled and came closer to Mr. Lin.
Then the innkeeper asked Mr. Lin, "You are probably a scholar. May I ask your surname?"
This is called judging a person by his appearance. When he saw Lin Daguan wearing a green shirt with wide robes and long sleeves, he thought he was a big scholar.
Lin Daguan replied vaguely: "My surname is Lin, I am from Suzhou, and I am on my way to Nanjing to take the exam."
The shopkeeper said: "What a coincidence! I can introduce a good place to my friend Lin!"
Lin Daguan, who was lonely on the journey, suddenly felt warm in his heart.
The locals are more familiar with the local situation. I hope the shopkeeper has some morals and won't be as cheating as the taxi drivers will be a few hundred years from now.
So Lin Daguan urged with great expectation: "Say it quickly!"
Then I heard the shopkeeper introduce him: "There is a true Confucian in this county who teaches at the county school three times a month!
Tomorrow happens to be the day of the lecture, and there is also a prodigy who is praised as a future world corpsman as an assistant lecturer!
This lecture has been a major event in this county in the past two years. It seems that my friend Lin is also an enthusiastic reader. If you are interested, you may want to go and listen."
Lin Tailai: "."
That's it? That's it? You use this to test scholars? Which scholar can't stand this test?
Suddenly, his mood waned and he lost all interest! Lin Daguan yawned lonely and already wanted to go back to the house to sleep.
But before leaving, he said casually: "I didn't expect that you Wuxi people can play better than us Suzhou people.
Who are these people, who are the true Confucians and the scholars of the future? Do you really dare to say?"
The shopkeeper smiled and replied: "This true Confucian is Gu Xiancheng and Gu Jingyang. Friends Lin must have heard of it, right?"
The future scholar in the world is Gao Panlong, a famous child prodigy in this county, who passed the provincial examination three years ago at the age of 21!"
Lin Tailai: "."
Damn it! As long as Gu Xiancheng and the Donglin Party who appeared later have a little knowledge of the politics of the late Ming Dynasty, how could they not have heard of it?
As for Gao Panlong, he was a close comrade-in-arms of Gu Xiancheng, and was also known as the Gao-Gu combination! His achievements in officialdom were even higher, and he became the censor of Zuodu during the reign of Tianqi!
The political history of the late Ming Dynasty is actually also a history of party struggles to a large extent.
The party struggle originated in Jiajing, and then was buried with the Ming Dynasty in history.
However, the decades of party struggle in Jiajing were still largely "regular army" party struggles.
It's like two armies confronting each other. Each one relies on his own ability to make strategies and calculations. He can also rely on government affairs to discuss matters, which is a bit of political beauty.
Lin Tailai did not look down on the party style of the Wanli Dynasty. It was purely a chaotic brawl in the mud pond, or a gangster brawl style in the village and alley.
It's just that several gangs are opposing each other for the sake of opposition, constantly fighting each other, or they will kill whoever is on stage!
There is no strategic calculation, it all depends on the loudness of the voice, and sometimes the strength of the fist, and there is no sense of political beauty at all.
But then again, Lin Daguan asked himself, he personally still prefers the Wanli Dynasty's party fighting style.
If you don't accept it, you'll do it, if you don't agree, you'll get beaten. It's so satisfying!
The originators of this dog-eat-dog party style were probably Li Zhi, Jiang Dongzhi, and Yang Keli, the three anti-Zhang Juzheng demons.
These three people are also the three celebrities in the imperial court who are in the heart of the emperor today. In the eyes of orthodox officials, their status is somewhat similar to the Internet celebrities of later generations, and they are the three major political Internet celebrities.
But it was Gu Xiancheng and the Donglin Party he founded that truly carried forward the dog-eat-dog party style.
At first, everyone thought they were just ordinary clear streams. Such clear streams have existed in all dynasties. It is not surprising and will not cause much harm.
But no one expected that the Ming Dynasty would collapse even faster after the Donglin Party's two "public righteousness" campaigns in history.
If the Ming Dynasty actually fell in Wanli, Emperor Wanli, who had suppressed the Donglin Party for twenty years, really didn't want to take the blame.
Putting aside the messy thoughts caused by the name "Gu Xiancheng", Lin Tailai carefully recalled the historical information in his mind.
Gu Xiancheng, the future leader of the Donglin Party, should have only been in officialdom for a few years at this time, and had not yet become a big figure, and the reconstruction of Donglin Academy was out of the question.
It seems that this person took a three-year leave to go home last year, and then continued to give lectures at the county school.
Lin Daguanren concluded that this should be an "experiment" for Gu Xiancheng's new political approach.
So the question is, why is the innkeeper so proactive and enthusiastic in promoting and teaching, and helping Gu Xiancheng to pimp him?
Those taxi drivers who pimp out foreigners are not so active!
There are also propaganda slogans about "righteousness and true Confucianism" and "future world scholars".
At this time, Gu Xiancheng did not have the same momentum as it did ten or twenty years later in history, and it was not yet a "local attraction".
Official Lin looked at the innkeeper and asked suddenly, "How much did they give you?"
The innkeeper subconsciously replied: "I didn't give you any more money, it's nothing!"
Lin Tailai couldn't help but laugh "haha" a few times. Is this a pyramid scheme or a missionary? Or is it attracting traffic to increase popularity?
He wasn't interested at all at first, but now he suddenly became interested again. Since he's already here, he might as well go and have a look tomorrow.
After all, Gu Xiancheng's lectures can be regarded as a famous scene in the late Ming Dynasty, although they are not yet in Donglin Academy.
So Mr. Lin stopped looking for shady places at night, and went to bed after having a serious meal.
By the next day, we were ready to enter the city.
When the Grand Canal reaches Wuxi County, it divides into three rivers, with the middle one passing through the city, the east and west two passing around the city, and then rejoining.
Generally, the middle river channel is used for small government ships and civilian ships entering the city, the east river channel is used for watercraft, and the west channel is used for merchant ships.
It was too painful to enter and leave the city through the crowded river, so Lin Daguan was too lazy to take a boat and walked directly into Wuxi County from the Wanghu Gate in the south.
Then he turned west and walked for less than a quarter of an hour before arriving at Wuxi County School.
While walking on the road, Lin Daguan thought in a funny way, if he bought the abandoned Donglin Academy site in advance, what would the Donglin Party be called in the future?
The next chapter will definitely be difficult to write. Please continue to ask for monthly votes for help! The Donglin Party is too controversial. What do you think of the Donglin Party? Let me look at the mainstream views of book friends. We can’t go against the book friends, right?
