Regarding the time when Lu Shangshu came and went, Li You really found it interesting. He came to the south of the Yangtze River to visit his relatives during the hottest time in June. When the weather turned cold in August, he wanted to go back to the capital in the north, going in the opposite direction of the wild geese.
Naturally, this time the banquet will not be held in the waterside pavilion, but will be held in the Tuisi Hall of the county mansion. Li You and Xue Juren went in together and found that the people in the hall to see off were very different from the last time they greeted Feng. They were actually in their twenties.
Most of them are young people, but last time they were all officials, gentry, old people and the like.
It turns out that before Lu Shangshu returned to Beijing, he wanted to meet the young talents in his hometown for a while, just to encourage the underachievers. Today, the county magistrate Chen went to the county school to inspect and select candidates. At this time, the students from the dozen or so counties were in groups.
The atmosphere in the hall became lively due to the high-spirited talks.
Li You laughed and said to Xue Juren: "These young scholars..." and suddenly stopped talking.
Xue Juren asked: "What's wrong?"
Li You sighed: "I just thought that I am younger than them."
"Ah, brother, I just remembered that my wise brother seems to be under thirty." Xue Juren realized.
Thirty... obviously less than twenty.
Li You had been hanging out in the county government at a young age, and was among the old people in the government office. As a result, most of the men he usually dealt with were middle-aged uncles in their thirties and forties, like Mr. Huang and Xue Yuanqing. Those who are close to the ink are sometimes evil.
I have almost forgotten that I am only eighteen years old, and others often ignore this.
At this time, he suddenly saw a group of young scholars. Li You subconsciously felt that they were young and energetic, but in fact most of them were several years older than him... It is true that he rarely interacted with the younger generation of scholars in the county. He was thinking here
When he came up to join in the fun, he recognized Yan Xiucai among them and immediately gave up his mind.
Tonight's banquet was very disappointing to Li You. There were no prostitutes to accompany the wine, and there were no songs and dances to add to the fun. Only Lu Shangshu, Chen Zhixian and scholar officials were seen talking about classics, current policies, and examination of articles and allusions.
It is a good scene where the seniors support and the juniors flatter.
For Li You, this was both formal and boring. It was really boring, and he couldn't sit still at the table. He missed the banquet hosted by Zhao Daguan, which was relaxed, casual and happy. He couldn't help but look at the county magistrate with sadness,
Why do you need to call the official to come over in such an occasion?
It's not that he can't speak, he can make some nonsense, but it's not necessary. First, with his current reputation, he doesn't need to seize every opportunity to express himself, not to mention that he already made a big splash at Lu Shangshu's reception banquet last time. Second,
Recently, he has been thinking about the Tiger Hill meeting on August 16th. That is a scene that deserves more attention. Forget it today, he needs to recuperate. Thirdly, everyone is discussing the Eight-Part Partition article. It is not his place as a military attache to interrupt. In his previous life, he
His professional direction is not the imperial examination and eight-legged essay.
So he just kept a low profile tonight. Just when Li You was thinking about some excuse to escape from the banquet, he was already being targeted.
It was none other than Yan Xiucai, an old enemy. I think a few months ago, Yan Xiucai was recognized as the most talented person by the people in the county. Two months ago, everyone started arguing about who was more talented, Li You or Yan Xianggong. Now, basically
Everyone thinks that Li You is better than Xianggong Yan, but he was born in bad luck and could not achieve fame.
In addition, after being slapped in the face several times, even the brothel girls ranked him behind Li You. The proud Yan Xiucai didn't need to mention his resentment towards Li You.
What's even more confusing is why this man named Li showed off his intelligence and wrote some obscene poems, so he became so popular that he was overshadowed by him? It's a shame that he has learned so much through hard study for more than ten years. Is it possible that he is so popular?
Is this world really so arrogant?
Yan Xiucai, who was always paying attention to his old enemy, noticed that someone showed timidity today and remained silent during the dinner, so he secretly laughed in his heart. It can be considered that his true colors were exposed. How can he use tricks for a long time? Taking advantage of the opportunity when no one was talking,
He used words to challenge Li You and said: "Master Li is also famous for his talents. I am familiar with his poems. I wonder if there is any heroic writing that can teach me something?"
Li You cursed a few words in his mind, but when he was about to speak, he heard Xue Juren over there say to him: "Master Li does not seek fame. Although he is talented, there is no need to immerse himself in studying the classics."
Yan Xiucai said: "How can an official not learn the words of a sage?"
At this time, Lu Shangshu said, "It is understandable that Inspector Li is not good at this. There is no need to force it. But it is a pity that he has this talent. How can I sigh for it, otherwise there will be people in our county's examination room in the future."
With Xujiang County's pretty good writing style, it only takes about two or three subjects to produce a Jinshi. Lu Shangshu's words seemed to be praising Li You, but he really felt it was a pity. In the officialdom, the relationship between fellow countrymen was extremely important.
To help, of course the more local people produce Jinshi, the better.
Unexpectedly, Lu Shangshu would come forward to help Li You excuse himself. Even if Yan Xiucai was not convinced, he could not say anything else.
Everyone thought that the matter would be revealed in this way, but Li You suddenly laughed three times, which aroused side glances at the table.
When it comes to talent and reputation, which is regarded as the foundation of a life, how could I let someone get slapped in the face without fighting back? I am a low-key person, but I push too hard, Li You sighed inwardly.
According to the last observation, Mr. Lu is not the kind of fundamentalist person who is extremely religious and serious. There will be no accidents if he occasionally indulges in debauchery in front of him. So...it's time for Li Mingshi's performance again.
Xue Juren asked in a very amused way: "Why is Mr. Li laughing?"
Li You pointed at Yan Xiucai and said: "I just heard Mr. Yan talk about it, and I remembered an eight-legged article I wrote at home yesterday. I thought about it. I just felt that I had similar views, so I laughed."
The most surprising person here is Chen Zhixian. He has passed the examination to determine the level of Li You's writing. Naturally, he knows best. Li You can't write eight-part essays at all. In this regard, Yan Xiucai is recognized as the number one in the county school and has real talent.
It's real, how can Li You compare with it.
Lu Shangshu also came and asked with interest: "Does Inspector Li also write contemporary articles?"
Li You bowed and said: "Master, please listen to my recitation. Although it is short, I would like to use this article to discuss my opinions with Mr. Yan."
Everyone listened quietly, and Li You said loudly: "The article said: It is only like this, so it is like this; since it is like this, why should it be like this; if it is like this, it must be like this; if the saint is like this, then I will be like this! After thinking about it, I will write this eight-legged essay.
The article is really consistent with Yan Xianggong’s intention and complements each other. It’s worth drinking, please!”
This happened eight times in a row, the irony was so deep that there was silence for a while, and everyone didn't know how to react.
However, the old minister helped the case without any scruples and said with a smile: "Inspector Li is really quite talented. In between laughing and scolding, he conveyed the essence of eight-legged essay in just a few sentences. It is a pity that he cannot take the imperial examination. I will do it again."
sigh!"
It is said that the eight-part essay is really only used as a stepping stone for literati to sneak into the officialdom these days. Everyone knows it very well, and it is no longer so sacred. Although these few jokes by Li You are short, they are vividly portrayed. Others want to refute but find that
This seems to be the case, and there is no argument for it.
Besides, it was just a drunken joke during the banquet, and there was no need to be so serious. Inspector Li had no chance of fame in his life due to his family background, so shouldn't he be allowed to complain a little bit?
When the old man laughed, everyone laughed with him. Even Chen Zhixian, the fifth most successful Jinshi in the examination room, gave a rare forced laugh. There were two or three students from the county who were also county students. Maybe they were not the loudest, but they laughed the most.
The happiest, most sincere, and heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Yan for being disgraced again by Mr. Li.
Only Yan Xiucai blushed. Li You compiled such a ridiculous article and echoed him at every point, entertaining him again.
Li You held up the wine cup and said to Yan Xiucai: "It's just a drunken talk at a banquet, and I've offended you a lot. I'm so fair, please come again!"
From then on, Yan Xiucai got the nickname of "Such a Scholar", and some people who didn't deal with him directly called him Yan "Zu". Li You's reputation as a scholar in the county government was wiped out a lot by Li You's understatement, and it was too late to regret it.
Seeing that Li You deliberately humiliated Yan Xiucai, Lao Shangshu reprimanded him: "Don't be so angry and mean at a young age. Even if you are not from a good background and cannot seek fame, you have a good opportunity. If you have an inspection position, you will have enough food and clothing."
. Traveling around the mountains, rivers and countryside, and conveying the truth through poetry is enough to achieve a good reputation. Li and Du's poems have been recited to this day. How many of them still remember what officials they held? I think our county has never produced a famous poet or lyricist since ancient times. I see
You do have this talent, you should cherish it and don’t take it lightly!”
Li You avoided the table and paid homage: "My dear sir, I am kind and compassionate. I, my subordinate, will remember the kindness of my teachings."
When the banquet came to an end, it was time for the scholars to take turns presenting their farewell poems, but the show was quiet...
Inspector Li, who seems to be cynical and ill-intentioned because of his failure to achieve fame, is watching eagerly, grinding his teeth and clawing at anyone who dares to get ahead easily. Poetry is Mr. Li's forte, and anyone who tries to show off his poetry may be ashamed of himself.
It becomes a real show of shame.
In fact, it was the scholars who frightened themselves. If they didn't provoke Li You, he wouldn't have the leisure to make enemies one by one.
Chen Zhixian stared at Li You, "What did you ask me to do?" When it was your turn to step back, why didn't you come out to save the scene? Chen Zhixian knew that he was mediocre in poetry and singing, and he was not a jealous person.
, calling Li Youlai is nothing more than this.
His immediate superiors were furious, so Li You had no choice but to come forward to smooth things over. He once again lamented that I was low-key, but I was forced to do so. The path of plagiarism really went further and further, and I got deeper and deeper. There was no turning back.
In desperation, I didn't have time to carefully select, so I plagiarized and adapted a poem impromptu: "I have a poem to express, and I would like to send you my fellow countrymen back to Beijing."
Everyone listened attentively, and the message was: "The time has passed for those who are willing to live next to each other. The wanderer has no choice but to cross the river to leave. After traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, how long will it take for him to return?"
Hearing that this was Poppy's poem, he didn't have time to read it carefully before he came up with the next line: "The sound of autumn brings the leaves rustling, don't ring the corners of the city! The floating clouds cover the moon and make it unclear, who can pull the Yangtze River to wash away the sky?"
As soon as the last two sentences came out, a clanging sound was heard. As everyone watched, the wine cup of the old minister fell from his hand and rolled on the ground. His originally relaxed face became serious.
What does this mean? Should it be applauded? No one understands.
If anyone were to take a closer look at Chen Zhixian at this time, they would also find that the county magistrate also had a surprised look on his face.
Lu Shangshu ordered the people around him: "Bring me a big cup. I want to toast three glasses to Inspector Li."
Did the protagonist's aura appear... Li You was surprised. Although the level of the poem he copied casually was acceptable, he didn't find anything special about it. How could it satisfy his old man's wishes? It's incredible that a second-grade official could value it so much.