Although the people from the Qingliu force had left, sweeper Lin Tailai did not leave. He was still cleaning unhurriedly on the platform in front of the palace gate, and was watched and discussed by some scholars for a while.
Lin Tailai's action of blocking the palace gate and cleaning made it very inconvenient for the new scholars who came to offer incense. They had to ask those who came first what was going on.
Therefore, it had the effect of being passed down from one person to ten, and the legendary story about the sweeper and the scholar debating scriptures gradually spread.
After hearing the stories of those who came first, those who came later could immediately see the brilliance of the sweeper.
Lin Tailai had been diligently cleaning the area inside and outside the palace gate until the afternoon, causing great obstruction to the scholars who came to offer incense.
It was not until evening that the sweeper surnamed Lin collected his broom and returned to the room assigned by the Imperial College to rest.
The No. 1 dormitory is a single-room dormitory. There are thousands of No. 1 dormitories in use in the Imperial College. It is a trivial matter to give one to the sweepers.
In the evening, Lin Tailai had dinner with Zhao Zhigao, Zuo Yude's minister and Imperial College Secretary.
"I heard that you debated scriptures with Gu Jingyang today?" Zhao Zhigao asked.
Lin Tailai sighed: "It's a pity that I tried my best but couldn't win. I was lucky enough to draw, and even lost a little bit."
Zhao Zhigao: "."
Then Gu Jingyang is one of the top three scholars in the Jiangnan area, and the Spring and Autumn Classics are the two classics he is best at. What else do you want?
Then Zhao Zhigao said: "I originally thought that Gu Jingyang was going to criticize Wang Xue, but I didn't expect that he was talking about Spring and Autumn Period."
Wang Xue is Wang Yangming's Xinxue, the most fashionable academic school in the late Ming Dynasty.
When Lin Tailai heard this, he quickly asked: "Is this Mr. Gu opposed to Wang Xue?"
Zhao Zhigao asked in confusion: "You don't even know these academic contexts, how dare you join the academic circle and find someone to debate the scriptures?"
Lin Tailai explained: "I have been fond of studying literature all my life, and I have focused all my energy on poetry."
Zhao Zhigao then continued: "Otherwise, where do you think Gu Jingyang's four words "righteousness and true Confucianism" came from?
These four words are aimed at Wang Xue. In Gu Jingyang's view, Wang Xue is not the right way, nor is it true Confucianism.
Among today’s scholars, the one who criticizes Wang Xue the most is Gu Jingyang.”
Lin Tailai was thoughtful and said casually: "Then it seems that I have to review Wang Xue. If I have a chance to meet Gu Jingyang, I can debate the classics again."
"It seems that you also admire Wang Xue." Zhao Zhigao said. He was not surprised by this, after all, Wang Xue is so popular now.
Lin Tailai denied it and said: "No, no, I don't advocate Xin Xue, I admire Qi Xue more."
Zhao Zhigao couldn't understand, "Then why are you reviewing Wang Xue?"
Lin Daguan replied frankly: "I just want to find a reason to debate the scriptures with Gu Jingyang again!"
Zhao Zhigao: "."
How many lifetimes of virtue has Gu Xiancheng accumulated before meeting a person like you?
After that, Zhao Zhigao didn't want to talk about Gu Xian anymore. The more he talked about it, the more sympathetic he became, and he started talking about other things:
"On August 15th, something will not really happen, right? Officials like Hai Gangfeng are rare in ancient and modern times. It would be a pity if anything happens."
Zhao Zhigao knew very well why Lin Tailai was fired by Hai Rui. The main reason was that he had differences on whether to continue high pressure.
Others may not know it yet, but Zhao Zhigao has already learned from Lin Tailai how tough Hai Rui's attitude is and that he is even ready to sacrifice himself.
August 15th, the end of the third round of the provincial examination, will definitely be a breaking point.
Even outsiders like Zhao Zhigao, who knew the inside story, were worried about the situation.
Lin Tailai also sighed and replied: "I'll try to find a way to fish out Hai Qingtian then."
Zhao Zhigao praised: "You are also a responsible person."
Today's heated debate on the Spring and Autumn Classics outside Dacheng Hall soon reached the ears of Wang Shizhen, the leader of the literary world.
"Jingyang is incompetent." Wang Shizhen sighed helplessly.
It created a face-to-face opportunity for you, Gu Xiancheng, and in the field of Spring and Autumn Classics that you are best at, you can't even give Lin Tailai a heavy blow?
Fortunately, the intention of letting the Qingliu forces attract Lin Tailai's attention was achieved, and Lin Tailai was indeed staring at Gu Xiancheng.
Then the leader of the alliance, Mr. Wang, told his left-hand man Hu Yinglin: "Take my post and visit Gu Jingyang and make an appointment to get together.
I have to carefully comfort and encourage him to prevent him from leaving Nanjing in despair, and to make him persist until the end of the literary conference."
Then the old leader Wang asked his right arm Feng Shike: "Let's not talk about the Donglin sect, how is our preparation for the Mid-Autumn Festival Night gathering on August 15th?"
There will be three gatherings at the literary conference, and this one on Mid-Autumn Festival is expected to be the first.
Feng Shike replied: "Following the instructions of our seniors, we have borrowed a large three-story building ship!
At that time, we can stop along the river and move randomly, and we will definitely be able to isolate Lin Tailai from the outside!"
Wang Shizhen nodded, "Very good! Now it seems that the building boat is indeed the safest way.
No matter what building, restaurant or garden, Lin Tailai could sneak in. Only the building is the most independent space.
Even if Lin Tailai finds a place, he can only stand on the shore and sigh!"
"Thank you, senior!" Feng Shike couldn't help but ask, "Where will we stop then?"
Originally this was a secret, and Wang Shizhen didn't want to tell it easily, but if it was kept secret from Feng Shike, it would be too chilling.
Therefore, leader Wang still replied: "The first choice is next to Wuding Bridge. There will be a huge flow of people there that night, which can add to the atmosphere of the gathering."
Wuding Bridge and its surrounding areas are the only way for people from most places in Nanjing to enter the Qinhuai Old Hospital area. You can imagine the traffic that night.
Experienced old alliance leaders must also know how crazy the candidates will be when the exam ends on August 15th.
On this special night, it would be better if there was some fun on the shore. Are you worried that the gathering will not be lively?
After that, the literary world in Nanjing suddenly calmed down because the much-anticipated Yingtianfu Provincial Examination officially began.
In the face of an exam of this level, even Lin Daguan's brilliance is not enough.
This provincial examination had nothing to do with Lin Tailai. His Wuxiang examination was in September, and in August Lin Tailai could only act as a spectator.
The most important of the three provincial examinations is the first one, and the selection of candidates basically depends on the first one.
The importance of the second and third games is much different, so the candidates' tolerance is getting lower and lower.
By the time of the third session on August 15th, many candidates couldn't wait until the end, so they handed in their papers early in the afternoon, and then roared out of the examination room feeling relaxed.
Some people went back to their residences to rest for a while, while others went straight to the old Qinhuai courtyard.
Basically no one went alone, most of them gathered in groups with friends, looking for a place to vent the pressure caused by exams.
Unknowingly, hundreds of people had gathered at the intersection of Jiuchaoku Street under the Wuding Bridge leading to the Old Qinhuai Courtyard, and the number of people continued to increase.
The reason why everyone gathered here and did not move forward was because there were two lines of sergeants lined up at the street entrance, blocking the way forward.
If only the sergeants were to intercept here, hundreds of soldiers would definitely dare to charge in.
But behind the sergeant, there was a senior official of the second rank who was over seventy years old. Everyone knew him, it was Hai Rui Hai Qingtian, the censor of Youdu.
At this time, Haizhong Cheng, fully dressed in robes and robes, stood behind the sergeant with a meticulous expression on his face.
More and more people gathered under the Wuding Bridge, and the number spread from hundreds to thousands. Most of them were scholars who had just finished the examination.
They were in a desperate need to relax, but they were stuck here, unable to move forward or retreat, and their mood gradually became unstable and irritable.
I don’t know who took the lead, but everyone kept shouting: “Let it go! Let it go! Let it go!”
Hundreds of people shouted together, and the sound was heard for ten miles and shocked both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Anyway, the exam has been completed at this time, so everyone is not afraid of being banned from taking the exam, and there are no restrictions.
Pushing each other, the crowd moved forward slowly, gradually approaching the sergeant blocking the street.
The atmosphere was very grim, and a fierce conflict seemed about to break out.
But Hai Rui still didn't move and stood firmly behind the sergeant, as if he was the second line of defense.
But once a conflict breaks out, there is no way to avoid it at the narrow intersection of the river bank and Qiaotou.
If an old man in his seventies is involved in a chaotic crowd, he will not end well. If not, he will fall to the ground and be trampled to death by the crowd.
But Hai Rui remained unmoved. He didn't seem to care about sacrificing himself, let alone what others thought of him.
Even if he cannot reverse this degenerate trend in the end, he is willing to die as a martyr for it, as long as he thinks that what he is doing is right.
On a building boat half a mile downstream of the river, the old leader Wang, who plans to hold a gathering on Mid-Autumn Festival tonight, and his disciples and old friends are standing by the railing on the top deck.
To be continued...