Chapter 474: Aftermath of the Imperial Examination (Part 2)
In Nanjing City, at the pier outside Jiangdong Gate, Mr. Gu Lin, the current Huguang Chief Minister, disembarked from the boat and landed ashore. A large group of people came forward to greet him.
After a year away from Nanjing, Gu Lin and Gu Dongqiao still have a calm demeanor, and they still walk with a high attitude.
The people who came to greet him took a closer look and felt that after Mr. Gu became an official, he seemed to be in much better spirits than before.
At this moment, Mr. Gu quickly scanned the oncoming crowd, not caring about anyone else for the moment. He only had eyes for his old friend Xu Long.
He was very pleased and said to Xu Long: "Among the dozens of nephews and sons, only Shicheng is the most talented. As expected, today he soared into the sky and became famous! We are so honored!"
Shicheng is Xu Gu's nickname. It turns out that Gu Dongqiao's words of "the most talented" were all about his former disciple Wang Fengyuan. Today, he changed his target without any hesitation.
Xu Long said humbly: "Dongqiao is overrated! It's just good luck."
Mr. Gu added: "I heard that the palace examination has been postponed this year, otherwise the results of the palace examination should have been received by now, and we can celebrate together.
In my opinion, as a Huiyuan, Shicheng’s ranking in the palace examination will definitely not be low, and there is no problem in being selected as a Shujishi. This is the most worthy of congratulations."
There is nothing wrong with this. The Imperial Academy selects shuji scholars to study in the Hanlin Academy and is regarded as the prime minister. This is the best way out for ordinary Jinshi besides Sandingjia. It is much more beneficial than a Huiyuan with a false reputation.
Xu Long responded quickly: "Thanks to Dongqiao's good words, I hope this can be the case!"
Mr. Gu, you finally sighed: "It's a pity that our seniors are incompetent and can't help the court. Otherwise, Shicheng will have no problem getting another Three-Tripod Armor!"
Anyone who knows anything knows that the inside story of the imperial examination is the most tricky, and it will be difficult for a Nanjing scholar without top-level connections to win the Three Tripods.
As for the No. 1 pick, it is even more of a dream. No one present is stupid enough to think that Nanjing City can still produce the No. 1 pick, right?
But Xu Long was already very satisfied. He waved his hands and said, "What are you talking about, Mr. Dongqiao? How dare our Xu family go to Longwang to Shu!"
After exchanging greetings on the shore, Gu Lin and Xu Long rode in the same car and headed towards the city together.
On the way, Gu Lin asked: "Where can we hold a gathering to celebrate Huiyuan? Can anyone fund it?"
Xu Long was worried and proud and said: "Both Xu Wei Gong and Xu Jinyi want to host one, one in Fanglin Garden and the other in Dongyuan. The two sides can't decide."
Wei Guogong Xu Pengju and his uncle Xu Tianci were both well-known patrons of cultural activities in Nanjing. However, they still refused to deal with each other and often compared themselves with each other.
In the more than 100 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there has been such a Huiyuan in Nanjing. The two arty men both wanted to gain some glory, and it was really embarrassing to argue with each other.
Gu Dongqiao, who has extensive experience in organizing activities, smiled softly: "What's so difficult about this? The reason why I rushed back is because I was afraid that you wouldn't know how to deal with this kind of thing, so leave it to me."
Xu Long said quickly: "Thank you, Brother Dongqiao!"
As a famous hermit, Mr. Xu Long has always been mainly engaged in profligate activities, but he has never taken the lead.
So this time it's a bit out of my depth. If my old friend Gu Dongqiao is willing to take over, that would be great.
That night, several old friends gathered together in a small group to help Gu Lin.
After drinking for three rounds, Mr. Gu said: "I have something to say about the gathering.
First, we should be more generous as human beings. We should not just celebrate the death of our nephew, but we should also celebrate it with the other two Chinese people in Nanjing!"
Some people secretly thought, could this be using Qin Dewei as a foil?
Gu Dongqiao added: "Second, this is a happy event for the whole of Nanjing. You don't have to spend your own money! Find Yuanfenghao Bank to sponsor!
In recent years, they have always liked to provide money to support the literary world. Now that the Nanjing literary world encounters such a happy event, they are too embarrassed not to contribute money? Are they being cautious when others take Huiyuan? "
Everyone was speechless. Yuanfeng Bank is the property of Qin Dewei. This is obviously disgusting, right?
Then Gu Dongqiao put forward the last point of view: "Thirdly, as for where to hold it, it depends on the sincerity of Xu Wei Gong and Xu Jinyi! Let them compete, whoever is more sincere will hold it there!
"
Someone asked in confusion: "How can we compare the sincerity of the two of them?"
None of them are outsiders. Gu Dongqiao explained with a smile: "This time is to celebrate the Huiyuan Festival that occurs once in a century in Nanjing. This is the highest symbol of imperial examination achievements in Nanjing and it can become a symbol of Nanjing's humanities!
So if these two people don’t show some sincerity, how can they show that they value it? For example, is Huiyuan worthy of being inscribed on the stone in the town garden? Is Huiyuan not qualified enough to inscribe poems on the wall?”
The rest of the people thought about it for a while and figured out the deeper meaning.
The East Garden owned by Xu Jinyi, the seven rhymes carved on the stone in the town garden were written by Qin Dewei and written by Wang Lianqing. They were also the first poems published publicly by the poet Qin Dewei.
The name of Fanglin Garden built by Xu Wei Gong comes from Qin Dewei's poems. Moreover, on the screen wall of Fangshu Tower inside, there are long poems written by Qin Dewei and written by Wang Lianqing.
So what Mr. Gu means is that whoever is willing to erase the traces of Qin Dewei and replace it with Xinke Xu Huiyuan's things will leave the celebration gathering to him!
Everyone couldn't help but look at each other, not expecting that Gu Dongqiao was still the same Gu Dongqiao.
Even after traveling thousands of miles to come back, you still have to deal with Qin Dewei. Does this mean that your thoughts are still blocked?
As for what the two Xu family members will choose, it's hard to say.
Originally, Qin Dewei's poem was very prestigious, but a Huiyuan is so valuable in Nanjing that it is currently a unique and super rare symbol.
Moreover, Huiyuan's future is also broader. At least it is guaranteed that the hall will select Shujishi to enter the Imperial Academy.
Under this comparison, cleaning up Qin Dewei's content and replacing it with Xinke Huiyuan's content is not a bad choice in terms of appearance and long-term benefits.
Someone else asked: "If both sides make the same choice, and if they are both willing to cooperate, where should we choose to host it?"
Gu Dongqiao said confidently: "If both parties are willing to agree, then we will hold one before and after the other.
The first time was to celebrate passing the Huiyuan exam. It happened just recently, so everyone in the city could see it.
The second time is when we are waiting for the Xinkehui leader to return to his hometown and visit relatives in the province! By then, there will inevitably be a lot of fun.
In this case, both sides gain something and neither suffers a loss, it’s the best of both worlds!”
The thinking has been so thorough, what else can anyone say?
Taking Qin Dewei's money to carry out activities to secretly disparage Qin Dewei, and also clearing out the poems Qin Dewei had left, is really too damaging.
However, Gu Dongqiao, who has suffered many defeats, might really succeed if he takes action this time.
After all, Gu Dongqiao has seized an irreplaceable and scarce resource this time, so it is not impossible to use his Huiyuan fame to suppress his talent.
Moreover, Qin Dewei was far away in the capital and not in Nanjing, so he couldn't prevent it at all.