This tower is located near the river outside Songyang Gate. From a distance, it is dozens of meters high. Pang Yu has never seen such a tall building since he came to the Ming Dynasty.
In the past, when Pang Yu came to Anqing twice, he always walked through the north gate and went back to Tongcheng after doing business at the government office, so he never saw him.
"One of the ten scenic spots in Huaining is the tower shadow across the river. This tower is called Yingjiang Temple Tower (Note: Zhenfeng Tower).
Some good people say that before this dynasty, Anqing had never produced a number one scholar. It was because the river flow was strong and the style of writing was not stable, so a tower was built to stabilize it. So this tower was built in the early second year of Longqing. It was illuminated at night and could also be used as a guide on the river.
, I don’t know how many boatmen have been saved. This is Buddhist compassion, but the number one scholar has never been seen.
In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, many of the pagodas were damaged, so my Congzu and Wu Yingzhong raised funds to rebuild it. Sure enough, in the first year of Chongzhen, Huaining became the number one scholar."
Ruan Dacheng laughed a few times and said with a smile on his face, "Pang Xiaoyou, tell me, does this number one scholar have the merit of my ancestor?"
Pang Yu was still looking at the lighthouse. He was used to seeing bungalows these days. When he saw such a tall man-made building, he was quite shocked, especially with the brilliant lights.
However, the shadow of the tower in the river cannot be seen from the perspective of the Zhongjiang Tower, so the shadow of the tower across the river is somewhat less interesting.
After hearing Ruan Dacheng's words, he couldn't help but be surprised and said, "There is such a miraculous thing. I wonder where the number one scholar is now?"
"This man's name is Liu Ruozai. After he won the first prize, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy. Later he became a daily lecturer and an official. Now he is a bachelor of ministers and often stays with the emperor."
Ruan Dacheng stroked his big beard and said mysteriously to Pang Yu, "Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the dynasty, was also an official at that time. Although the official position was not big, it was important to be close to the emperor. The emperor probably had some difficulties.
I won't ask Mr. Ge, because Mr. Ge is very scheming and has a lot of interests at stake. He has some things to say behind the scenes. I would rather ask more of these lecturers and readers who I meet every day.
It is said that there are so many officials in the capital, but there are very few who can speak in front of the emperor, and these scholars who serve as lecturers are the close ministers."
Pang Yu's eyes lit up. He felt like he was the emperor's secretary or academic advisor.
I had heard before that Sun Lin's brother was in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The gentry in Tongcheng all looked at Sun Lin with admiration. Compared with Liu Ruozai, he seemed to be a little inferior.
This name sounded related to Liu Ruogu, but Pang Yu immediately gave up the idea after thinking about it. If Liu Ruogu and the secretary were real relatives, there would be no need for Liu Ruozai to say hello. There would already be a lot of people in the place fawning over Liu Ruogu.
You still need to work for Wu Yingqi there.
Pang Yu flattered, "I didn't expect Huaining to produce so many talents."
Ruan Dacheng smiled and said, "It just so happens that I have something to do with Liu Ruozai."
Pang Yu quickly picked up the glass of wine to toast Ruan Dacheng. He found that Ruan Dacheng's defenses were greatly reduced after drinking. The last time he talked about military training in Tongcheng, he only suggested that Pang Yu find He Ru Chong. Sun Lin never mentioned this Liu Ruozai, and today Pang Yu
I said it without asking.
"Liu Ruozai is my Congzu's son-in-law."
After Ruan Dacheng finished speaking, he felt a little happy. He pointed to the brightly lit Yingjiang Temple Pagoda, "It was Congzu who rebuilt this pagoda. It was so clever. People said that Congzu built this pagoda for his own family.
The cultivator has sent his blessings to the number one scholar, hahaha."
Pang Yu calculated that Liu Ruozai was equivalent to Ruan Dacheng's uncle.
After interacting with Ruan Dacheng, Ruan Dacheng would always mention several big families in Huaining, such as Liu and Wu, who were heirs of poetry and calligraphy to high-ranking families. People without fame could not enter this place.
circle.
In the past, we only knew that feudal society relied on imperial examinations to select talents, but at this time, Pang Yu realized firsthand the importance of imperial examinations, which not only determined the development space of the officialdom, but also determined the level of social level.
Even though Ruan Dacheng was good to Pang Yu, he would not bring people from other families to the party when he was married, because Pang Yu's status was not yet within this circle.
Although Ruan Dacheng offended the Donglin Party for taking sides, he still had a place in Shilin, which is inseparable from a circle like his. This social status and connections often take two or three generations to form. For Pang Yu now, it is still
Too far away.
Pang Yu made a toast with a glass of wine, put down the glass and said, "The two tall buildings in Anqing are related to my ancestors. Being able to drink in this building today is also a tribute to my ancestors."
The noble ancestor is already so great. Just now Mr. Cai said that his uncle and nephew were both Jinshi, so that nephew is Mr. Ruan's uncle, and he should be a great person."
"My nephew, who was a Jinshi in the same school as my ancestor, is my father.
At that time, my father had no children, so I was adopted and my biological father was my father’s biological brother.”
Ruan Dacheng's eyes were a little confused, "My father kept tabs on Ding. In our Ruan family, my great-grandfather was also a Jinshi, and he was an official to the governor. My grandfather failed in the imperial examination. Compared with other brothers, his family background is also ordinary, so my father is diligent in studying, and my father is diligent in studying."
Wen is a well-read man, and he and his second ancestor won the Jinshi together, which earned his grandfather a lot of face. Since then, my father has been working as an official abroad.
I grew up with my grandfather, who urged me to study hard just like he did to my father, so that I could become an official in the future and pass down my poems and books to the family to shine on my family..." When he said this, he didn't say anything more. Pang Yu said oh, but he didn't expect it.
The Ruan family has been rich for three generations.
Listening to Ruan Dacheng's short words, Pang Yu could guess that since the Ruan family's great-grandfather was a Jinshi and became a high official, he naturally valued his son who was well-educated. Ruan Dacheng's grandfather must have been despised at home and treated his son and grandson
The requirements are all to get ahead in studies.
What's more, Ruan Dacheng is adopted and has the status of an heir. Pang Yu even guessed that Ruan Dacheng's biological father might not be very good at studying, so his grandfather adopted the smart Ruan Dacheng to the son of a middle school scholar. This special status may have an impact on Ruan Dacheng's values.
has a great influence on its formation.
Thinking about it this way, it is reasonable for Ruan Dacheng to develop his official addiction due to his childhood circumstances.
Pang Yu toasted again. Ruan Dacheng's face was a little red, but he was obviously in good condition. He should be feeling a little elated and not feeling any physical discomfort. This was the state most enjoyed by many drinkers.
Today he was about to leave his hometown and drank too much, so he even told Pang Yu a lot about his life experience.
Ruan Dacheng put down his wine glass and continued, "I have been studying diligently since I was a child. I won the imperial examination at the age of seventeen and the Jinshi at the age of twenty-nine. I did not embarrass my father.
That year, Fang Kongzheng and Fang Datong of the Fang family were both Jinshi in the same year. Fang Kongzheng and I got along the best. Just a few years ago, Fang Yizhi came to Huaining specifically to listen to his ancestor's lecture on "Li Sao".
I have been connected with the Fang family for several generations.
At that time, Fang Kongzheng did the best in the exam and entered the second and third grades. I was ranked tenth. Behind me was Hou Xun, then Li Chunye, and then Wei Dazhong, Wei Dazhong..." When Ruan Dacheng started talking about Jinshi, his eyes lit up.
He flashed, and finally said Wei Dazhong several times, his expression became complicated, he didn't continue talking, he picked up the wine and drank a glass of wine.
From the time he mentioned that his ancestor Ruan Zihua had never had a bite of food, he just kept drinking.
Pang Yu only knew that the Fang family was distant from Ruan Dacheng, that Fang Kongzheng was okay on the surface, but that Fang Yizhi kept him at arm's length. As for Wei Dazhong, he only heard Ruan Dacheng mention it, but Pang Yu didn't ask in detail about it.
Ruan Dacheng was in a low mood, probably thinking of some past events.
Pang Yu advised, "Mr. Ruan is full of knowledge. He went to Nanjing to gather people and his influence was far greater than Anqing. There will always be a time when Mr. Ruan will make a comeback."
Ruan Dacheng shook his head and said, "Today's Bandang, the emperor values the border talents most. Since the slaves joined the invaders in the capital, the emperor has alienated Donglin and hired lone ministers. Donglin has been weak since then. Zhang Pu, who has returned to society, has even been treated as a slave in the capital.
Unable to stop, Wen Tiren could only escape back to the south of the Yangtze River in the name of Ding You. Without the emperor's acquiescence, Wen Tiren could not have done this.
It can be seen from this that the so-called humanities are more popular in times of peace and management, but in today's times, they are more favored for planning and war."
"Sir, you have the ability to talk about war and swords. This time..." Pang Yu said halfway, but felt it was inappropriate, so he stopped talking.
After Ruan Dacheng returned to Tongcheng this time, he still wanted to share his military achievements. Pang Yu worked hard from the county government, but Yang Erming was still noncommittal.
However, due to Pang Yu's publicity, Ruan Dacheng gained some good reputation among the people in Tongcheng, but no actual benefits were obtained.
Later, Mr. Ma came over, and Ruan Dacheng hurriedly went to see him, but when the post was handed in, Mr. Ma didn't even see him.
Mr. Ma was just an aide to the governor, and his status in the imperial examinations was very different from that of Ruan Dacheng. Even Zhang Guowei was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. Ruan Dacheng had already reached the official position at that time and became a general in Donglin.
A mistake in taking sides, and now even Zhang Guowei's secret comrades can reject him, Ruan Dacheng is naturally a little disappointed.
Sure enough, Ruan Dacheng shook his head and said, "Pang Xiaoyou has tried his best, but I am worried about serving the country. I can't blame others."
After hearing this, Pang Yu felt a little embarrassed. He had collected thousands of taels of silver from Ruan Dacheng, but he could not add Ruan Dacheng's name to the merit report. When he returned it to Ruan Dacheng, he did not accept it.
Ruan Dacheng raised his eyes and looked at Pang Yu and said, "Pang Xiaoyou asked me about the civil and military officials before. After listening to my past story today, you should know that the road to the imperial examination is not easy. Today and now, you need to cultivate both civil and military skills to enter the Sacred Heart. Pang Xiaoyou is a civil servant and has already entered the imperial examination.
Da Sheng heard that this time you defeated the bandits with great martial arts skills. If you really join the military service, you may have a bright future in the future. Therefore, I agree with your idea of donating the prison students to receive the military service."
Pang Yu looked at the table and said, "Sir, what you said makes sense, but we haven't decided yet.
I have also inquired, and there is only a garrison near Anqing, which has always been to defend the river. Now that garrison is occupied by Pan Keda. This is the last time he took credit for quelling the Tongcheng civil uprising. This garrison does not seem to be important."
"The garrison is a bit small. I have been in Huaining for many years and know this military position quite well. The Anqing garrison is under the control of the Anchi Military Preparation Road. It has a base camp of 500 warships and mainly guards against Jiang Tu from Anqing to Jiujiang.
, a miner, and a salt dealer, so he also had two guard stations in Anqing and Jiujiang, so let’s not mention the guard stations.
Even the five hundred water camps, soldiers and ships were mostly used for water transportation, and smugglers were involved along the way. Nowadays, Jiang Gang and Salt Gang are wreaking havoc, not without reason."
Pang Yu was a little drunk and his eyes were a little unfocused. He suddenly raised his head and asked, "Sir, did you just say that the Anqing garrison still has the Jiujiang Guard Station?"
"Indeed, Jiujiang and Anqing are both important rivers. During the Ningwang Rebellion, Jiujiang collapsed at the first touch, while Anqing was impregnable. After that, Anqing garrison was specially set up to control Anqing and Jiujiang garrison. It is because Anqing and Jiujiang are connected by the river, so both war and defense are
It is only appropriate to be integrated.
But that is only in name. Now that all the Anqing Guards have fled, the remnants of the Guards are used for canal work, and the Jiujiang Guards are also about the same, so it is really not worth fighting for."
Pang Yu frowned and looked at the table. Anqing's defense was not something he considered originally, because he had experienced how weak Anqing's military preparedness was during the last civil unrest.
If he takes the military attache route, his plan is to secure another battalion in Tongcheng. He has not carefully inquired about the Anqing garrison. The people in Tongcheng do not know much about the Anqing garrison. Only today did he hear Ruan Dacheng say it so clearly. This is the circle.
different.
Pang Yu's eyes changed and after thinking for a long time, he raised his head and said to Ruan Dacheng, "I have something to ask Mr. Ruan. If this step can be successful, I will be able to help you in the future, and I won't be as helpless as I am now."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Dacheng quickly cheered up and said, "Little friend Pang, please speak."
"Please sir, please join hands with the Huaining squires to submit a joint letter to the government office and the governor's office to impeach Anqing garrison Pan Ke.