Zhang Shu lived back to Shang Guanli. Unlike his old friend Chen Zun who was busy after becoming Jingzhao Yin, Zhang Bosong was relatively leisurely.

At the end of February, his disciple Du Lin came to pay a visit.

"On the first day of March, I have the honor of being one of the examiners."

"You can afford it." Zhang Shu and Du Lin were both nephews and uncles, and also masters and apprentices. They said: "You are well-informed and well-known, and you were known as a great scholar at the time. Because of the recommendation of your fellow villager Geng Bozhao, you entered the Wei King's official office early and became a junior teacher, especially proficient in elementary schools. This time, the Wei King's Shooting Ceremony, and the Department of Classics and Arts were the main tests in elementary schools, aren't they the Analects of Confucius and Filial Piety?"

Zhang Xu encouraged his disciples: "I heard from Chen Zun that the King of Wei attaches great importance to this matter and specially ordered Jingzhao Yin to assist in the publicity. He issued an edict in all counties. At that time, thousands of people may gather in Chang'an. You should assist the Grand Tutor Zhang Zhan, and follow the Chang Wang Long to do it well, so that you can have a great career."

As the first scholar of Wuling to surrender to the fifth reunion, Du Lin was named a young master, but if he wanted to stabilize his position, he could not do nothing.

Speaking of this, Zhang Shuxiao asked with interest: "Since he is called the chief examiner, is there a deputy position?"

"Yes, although the king did not allow the doctoral degree in the Imperial Academy to give questions, he ordered him to elect two of them as deputy examiners, and only assisted in reviewing scriptures and discussing two subjects."

Zhang Xun was so happy: "Two peaches killed three soldiers, it's amazing. The doctors didn't care about resenting the King of Wei and neglecting the Imperial Academy. Instead, they wanted to fight for this quota to be bloody."

Du Lin also said: "If anyone can compare with the master's in his articles, he should also be selected."

"I have a bad reputation and can't afford it." Zhang Shu waved his hand and asked again: "What is the attitude of the private school elders in Wuling about this shooting strategy?"

The fifth reunion has two types of people for this civil servant examination. One is the Tai students in the Wang Mang era, and the other is the hundreds or thousands of Confucian scholars in the Wuling private school circle.

Although there is an Imperial College as an official school, not everyone deserves a doctorate, and not everyone has the opportunity to go to the Imperial College. Therefore, private schools among the people are also quite prosperous. With a family of poetry and calligraphy as the center, local scholars spontaneously went to visit and study. Some just wanted to make a living in the local area after learning poetry and books, and those who were more ambitious would be a step to take the exam for Imperial College and be filial and honest.

In addition to Chang'an, the style of Guanzhong is the most prosperous in Wuling. Some Confucian private school masters have led as few as dozens, hundreds of students, and most of them thousands of students. Some are both officials and teachers, and their reputation is higher than that of doctors in the Imperial Academy.

Similarly, these scholastic scholars in the wild have a backbone than the Imperial Academy doctors who had to please those in power for the future of the school.

Du Lin sighed, "I followed the edict of the King of Wei to publicize it in Wuling, and called on all the scholars of private schools to let their disciples refer to it, but there was little reaction."

"Maoling Shentu Gang did not allow his disciples to refer to it."

Zhang Xun said: "Shen Tu is rigid and straight, and he often admires Ji An as a person. At that time, he opposed Wang Mang's strong advice on behalf of the Han Dynasty and was released into the fields. He has always looked down on us and other flattering people. Although he does not expect the Green Han Dynasty, he still misses the former Han Dynasty?"

Du Lin said: "More than that, the king's shooting strategy is indeed very different from the past. Some people think that the saint's classics, mathematics and common sense of crops should not be ranked side by side, so it is quite resistant."

"Some people think that letting everyone refer to it is a violation of the rules of selecting students and advising students in the past."

"It was Fu Zhan, a great scholar in Hanoi who learned about this, regardless of the long journey, gave the travel expenses to hundreds of disciples and asked them to come to take the exam."

"Fu Zhan is a smart person." Zhang Xu said: "I think the number of private school teachers in this world is still the most people of Fu Zhan, while Shen Tu Gang is less. This time, King Wei Ding gained a lot."

"Especially for the Han family, it is a rare opportunity!"

...

Although private schools in Guanzhong are prosperous, their treatment is vastly different. Some people can study hard in the clean and spacious manor beside Wuling City, but some people have to worry about their livelihood and only come to listen to a class in their spare time.

This is not only related to the family background of the disciple, but also depends on whether the teacher is rich or poor.

If we want to select the poorest teaching master in Guanzhong, Chenggong, a native of Langya, dares to be the first, and no one can be the second.

The cloth covering him was covered with patches, all sewn by his wife by himself. It was not easy in troubled times, and it would be good if he was evaded from the cold.

The house was a simple thatched cottage, or was built by the disciples and locals. The house was barely covered with walls and there was not even decent furniture, because if there was any extra money, the Chenggong exchanged for bamboo slips and ink.

His lecture venue was even more dissatisfied, just sitting on the ground under the shade of a big locust tree outside the house. Chenggong was very optimistic and often compared it to Confucius' apricot altar. However, his disciples were bitten by mosquitoes when they were listening to lectures in midsummer, and they were also wearing single clothes and trembling in their twelfth month of winter. When they listened to his lectures, Chenggong still couldn't help feeling sad.

Today, when Chenggong opened his eyes from his sleep, he found that his wife, who was dressed in cloth, had silently taken care of everything. He got up early and was busy packing up his luggage, and even put it at the door.

Chenggong looked at his wife's sweating in the early morning and couldn't help but feel ashamed: "Let Xijun suffer."

The wife didn't say anything and continued to add fire. After the Chenggong bowl of porridge was eaten, the disciples arrived one after another before dawn.

Their clothes were similar to those of Chenggong, either carrying umbrellas or hats, or even carrying pottery cauldrons, dressed in a long journey.

"The road is long, and it's time to get dark, who hasn't eaten food yet?"

Chenggong asked a few questions, and someone answered slowly, so Chenggong asked them to make a bowl of porridge and make their stomachs.

Seeing that the agreed time was approaching, Chenggong had a count of people. In the past, there were a lot of people coming to school. Unlike Tai students, they were from low births. Many of them also had other livelihoods, either farming at home, working as food officials in newly established government offices, or even copying abbreviated letters to others to make a living. Some people, if they had not met Chenggong, a foreign master who spoke a slutty and elegant language, would probably not even know the words.

Time has arrived, but there are still a few disciples who have agreed to come. Chenggong is not in a hurry. However, they sat under the big locust tree where they usually teach and said, "Before going to Chang'an, let's talk about my affairs with you first."

Chenggong slowly told his own story.

"I am from Gumu, Langya County, Xuzhou. When I was young, I went to elementary school and learned a few words. When I encountered a major epidemic, my parents died and my family was poor. I was only eight years old at that time, so I could only raise pigs for the rich to make a living."

The rich think that the pigs that eat human arrows are too dirty, so they don't keep them in captivity, and do not ask them to grow fast or fat, so they let them find food in the mountains all day long. Muer followed them and beat pig grass.

There is also a scar on Chenggong's calf that was gnawed by a pig's mouth, and he still walks a little lame.

"My hometown is a famous scholar Xu Gong, who teaches hundreds of students with the "Spring and Autumn Classic". Every time I drive a herd of pigs, I will watch from afar. Seeing that the students can study under the hut, I feel envious."

"So I always stop and eavesdrop on Mr. Xu's lectures, but Mr. Xu doesn't drive me away. Instead, I feel guilty and pick up the money for the students. After a while, Mr. Xu pity me and stays at his subordinates."

"I have been so obsessed with it for more than ten years. I have been studying hard and the classics are clear, so I will go home to teach it."

"If I had not met Mr. Xu and had not learned the classics, I would have only been selling pigherds."

Although he is not rich now, he has more hope than before. Chenggong also determined to be like Mr. Xu, who has no distinction.

Chenggong sighed and said, "I originally wanted to live a peaceful life in Langya, but I encountered troubled times and had a red eyebrows..."

Chimei hated the rich and even hated scholars. Chenggong felt that Dongfang would not calm down in the short term, so he sold the property saved by the hard-working professor, changed the travel expenses, and rushed to Guanzhong with his wife in front of the chaos in the east.

In addition to taking refuge, Chenggong, who tasted the sweetness of learning, also wanted to study as a famous teacher and enter the Imperial Academy. However, after arriving in Chang'an, he found that it had no connection or enough family property. Not to mention the Imperial Academy, famous teachers could not even enter the private school.

The money was over, so Chenggong went to Youfufeng to teach some simple knowledge of primary schools in the countryside. Because he was a foreigner, he could only lower the standards for training and was mostly poor and middle-aged children, and he was quite tolerant of poor children who wanted to study. He just needed to replace training with a bag of rice.

At its peak, Chenggong also had dozens of disciples and became famous in the village, but as Guanzhong also fell into chaos, the disciples went their separate ways. It was not bad to know a few words in the world, but what's the use of in chaos?

But now, Chenggong finally had the confidence to say: "It's useful!"

The edict of the King of Wei was already hung by the city gates of each county and on the walls of the mansion. Even if it clearly stated that it would attract talents, anyone who thought he was qualified to be qualified for the examination could rush to the capital to refer to it, regardless of whether he was a family member, his teacher, or even his age!

This way of lowering the threshold made the doctors of the Imperial Academy feel that they were greatly offended, and the great scholars of Wuling also sneered.

But for Chenggong and his disciples, the words in the edict were simply the sound of nature!

"The exam was the Analects of Confucius in elementary school and the Book of Filial Piety. We are definitely not inferior to those of the Taishi students in the capital." This is the most exciting thing about Chenggong. He has limited knowledge. Except for a few of his senior disciples who also studied "Spring and Autumn" from him, the other professors only taught the Analects of Filial Piety, but they all learned very solidly.

"In terms of mathematics, we are usually in the army. We have rich families to help settle the accounts and can do it with ease!"

"As for the common sense of farming, who is more familiar with us?" Chenggong spread his palms and the disciples followed him. It was not only the traces left by holding the pen, but also the calluses caused by doing farm work!

Their spirit travels to the sky with Confucius and other saints, but due to their background and class, their feet are firmly trampled in the soil. They wish that this common sense subject would account for a larger proportion.

"Planning theory is to write an article, and do your best."

Chenggong cheered his disciples and said, "We have always been kowtowed and asked acquaintances to help us, but we are just going to be a minor official in fighting food. But if we can pass the shooting test, fifty people in the A department will be a foreigner, hundred people in the B department will be a servant, and two hundred people in the C department will be a supplementary officer in the C department will be a hundred stone officials!"

Even if they only get into the C subject and are given a position in the county, it is a rare future for them.

The disciples were all motivated, and at this time, the last few people arrived panting, and some didn't even carry their luggage because they stole it from their home.

Because the family members did not believe that such good things were happening, the war had only been quelled for a few months, and there were scattered bandits on the road. Other officials did not get it, but their wealth was gone!

Chenggong not only asked his disciples to take the exam, but he also wanted to refer to it. His wife stuffed some food into his bag, carried the bag on her husband's shoulders, and then took her children and watched them leave behind the fence.

There were no carriages and horses for transportation, only two donkeys carrying cauldrons and corn bags. They had to cook their own food along the way. Walking on the Lilu Road by the Wei River, there were idle men in the village who were squatting here to bask in the sun. Seeing Chenggong and his disciples passing by, they couldn't help but ridicule them.

"Master Cheng, do you want to go to the capital to be a high-ranking official?"

The official credibility of the King of Wei was good, but there were still few people who believed in this matter. Chenggong actively brought his disciples to the official, and in the end he only received the sponsorship of the two donkeys from the Wugong County Magistrate, and the villagers regarded them as jokes.

In governing the world, the villagers respected the noble scholars and scholars who were superior, but they looked at the poor scholars who were in the soil and entered another class, and they were ridiculed more than praised.

The disciples all lowered their heads because they only knew elementary school, so they didn't even dare to claim to be scholars. They were used to being inferior and had no idea.

However, Chenggong raised his head and responded happily: "That's right, we'll go to the capital to examine the examiner!"

"Seriously, then wait for you to return home with your waist and seals and ribbons to invite us to have a drink."

Amid the laughter of the idle men, Chenggong looked back and said to his disciples: "Gongsun Hong in the Wu Dynasty of Han Dynasty, when he was young, he placed the pig on the beach and let the pig go. Later, Gongsun Hong entered school as a commoner. Later, he went to the capital and became the first in the way of heaven and man, so he became the prime minister."

"I let the pig go, and I am also a common man with a little knowledge in my stomach. Now, the King of Wei, like Hanwu, has given us a chance."

The threshold for this opportunity is even lower, giving many people a chance.

Chenggong looked at his beloved disciples. In his eyes, they were all as smart as Yan Hui, as brave as Zilu, and as Zigong, and as Hulian's weapon!

Although he was nearly 40 years old, he still achieved nothing, but like the Master and Confucius, he did it without any distinction!

"You guys, it doesn't matter if you are poor and humble when you are young. Just remember that if you are good at studying, you will be an official!"

"If you study well, you will be an official!" The disciples mustered up the courage again and shouted together, following the Master eastward and walking along the Weishui Avenue.

But in a word, Chenggong Tibetan did not say in his heart: "Even if I can't achieve success and fame like Gongsun Hong, who can be sure that among my disciples, I will not be able to give birth to the three ministers and the nine ministers in the future!"
Chapter completed!