Chapter 147 Gathering in Bianjing

Following Princess Pingning to the Duke of Qi's mansion, the Duke of Qi was anxiously wandering around in the front hall.

Speaking of which, the Duke of Qi is also a bit miserable. He was a good Duke, but he ended up marrying a powerful wife like Princess Pingning. She had the support of the Marquis of Xiangyang behind her, and she could talk to the current officials, making him such a top-notch wife. He was a noble man, but he didn't even have a room for concubines, and he had very few offspring, with only Qi Heng being the only one.

"I have met Duke Qi." Qin Hao bowed slightly and saluted.

Qi Guogong said quickly: "Brother Hao, there is no need to be polite. It's great that you are here. Go and help us persuade Brother Heng. You are usually the best friends, and only your words can be listened to by him."

Qin Hao couldn't help but feel guilty. Speaking of which, he was the initiator of this incident.

"Okay, I'm going to see Yuan Ruo right now."

Duke Guo of Qi hurriedly brought Qin Hao to Qi Heng's yard: "My dear nephew, please go in. This child has not eaten in three days. I'm really afraid that he won't be able to bear it."

Qin Hao entered the room as soon as he held his hand.

Outside the door, Qi Guogong looked at Princess Pingning with some complaints: "Why do you think this is so troublesome?"

Princess Pingning raised her chin and said arrogantly: "Why bother? Isn't it for the foundation of the Duke of Qi? It's not like you don't know what the situation is now. As a founder of the country, you don't have military power in your hands. You, the salt envoy, are The transshipment envoy has aroused the jealousy of many people, and he may be kicked off one day. My father is old and the official's health is not good. At present, there is a turmoil in the city over the establishment of a heir. Who can the Duke of Qi count on in the future? ?”

"Are you willing to let Brother Heng just choose a commoner girl to be your eldest wife? In the future, you won't let the distinguished people in Bianjing City laugh at us?"

Qi Guogong clasped his hands behind his back and said a little anxiously: "But if you do this, Brother Heng can't think about it for a while."

"No, I know him, he won't do such a thing." Princess Pingning actually felt a little guilty when she said this, otherwise she wouldn't have let Qin Hao come to persuade Qi Heng, but she was strong For the rest of her life, she would never allow anyone in the Duke of Qi's palace to challenge her authority, not even her biological son.

In the room, the valet didn't expect to see Qin Hao coming, and wanted him to help persuade Qi Heng.

As a result, Qin Hao sat down on the dining table and picked up chopsticks.

"Well, this roasted goose is pretty good. It's worthy of being a chef from the Duke of Qi's palace. His cooking skills are much better than ours. It's really delicious."

Not because his face turned dark, he secretly cursed in his heart: Are you really our young master’s friend?

Qi Heng, who was on the bed, actually knew that Qin Hao was coming, and it was most likely that his parents had invited him to persuade him, so he kept lying on his side on the bed with his back on his back, preparing to ignore whatever Qin Hao said. This time he planned to I will defend to the death my right to marry freely.

However, after waiting for a long time, Qin Hao didn't say a word and was still eating and drinking. Qi Heng's mouth was watering.

"Zihan, you."

When Qin Hao turned around, he saw that Qi Heng had sat up from the bed, his face was pale, and he was staring at him with resentful eyes.

"I don't think there are so many delicious things. It's a waste if you leave them alone." Qin Hao said with a smile.

Qi Heng was speechless for a while, then waved to Buwei: "You go down first, Zihan and I have something to say."

After a moment of hesitation, Buwei finally walked out of the room and closed the door.

When Qin Hao saw Qi Heng's appearance as a sick man, he couldn't help but shake his head and said with hatred: "Is this the way you came up with to fight?"

Qi Heng said feebly: "Otherwise, what else can we do?"

"What you do will only make Princess Pingning and Duke Qi even more aware of your child's character. Which adult have you ever seen who would listen to a child?" Qin Hao said without stopping the movements of his hands. He was really a little hungry. .

Qi Heng was startled, walked to the dining table with empty steps, sat down next to Qin Hao, and asked eagerly: "Then what should I do now?"

"Do you know what Princess Pingning is most worried about now?" Qin Hao asked.

Qi Heng shook his head blankly.

Qin Hao spread his hands: "Look, you didn't even understand your opponent's needs, and you're just going on a hunger strike here. How can you fight Princess Pingning with your methods?"

Qi Heng quickly grabbed Qin Hao: "Zihan, you are very resourceful, you must help me."

"Are you hungry?" Qin Hao scratched the table full of food with his chopsticks.

Qi Heng said resentfully: "Are you hungry? I haven't eaten in three days, so I just drank some water."

"No, help your young master prepare two bowls of white porridge."

"Why do you eat so much and I can only drink plain porridge?"

"You haven't eaten for three days. Your stomach can't stand eating such greasy food all at once. Drink some porridge to recuperate."

"."

Outside the room, Duke Guo of Qi was overjoyed when he heard that Qi Heng was about to eat, and quickly asked the kitchen to prepare it.

Princess Pingning also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although she looked indifferent on the surface, after all, she was her biological son, but she was actually very distressed.

Qi Heng finished the two bowls of white porridge quickly. Seeing Qin Hao feasting there, his throat squirmed and he had swallowed several times.

Finally, Qi Heng couldn't help it anymore and held down Qin Hao's hand holding the chopsticks: "Zihan, you have been betrayed. If you have any ideas, please tell me quickly."

Qin Hao put down his chopsticks and said seriously: "What Princess Pingning is most worried about is the future of the Duke of Qi's Palace. Unless you can prove to Princess Pingning that you can shoulder the glory of the Duke of Qi's Palace on your own, she will definitely help." Find a good in-law to pave the way for you."

Qi Heng was stunned when he heard this, but hesitated a little: "But how can I prove it?"

"The only way is to take the imperial examination. You might as well make a bet with Princess Pingning. If you can go to high school next spring, you will be allowed to choose your wife. If not, just accept your fate." Qin Hao said.

Qi Heng asked doubtfully: "What if mother doesn't agree?"

"Then just show off. Just do what my cousin Gu Tingye did before he was twelve years old. Who is not a playboy?" Qin Hao unkindly used Gu Tingye as a negative example.

Qi Heng's eyes lit up: "This is a good method!"

With the mission completed, Qin Hao no longer needs to stay any longer, lest the city gate catches fire and harms the fish, and the remaining problems can be left to Princess Pingning to worry about.

At night, Princess Pingning was not only distressed, she was so angry that she almost demolished the house.

After venting her anger, Princess Pingning yelled at Duke Qi: "Look at your good son! If I don't obey his will, he will be like that libertine Gu Tingye. He doesn't take scientific examinations and sleeps in flowers and willows. He Who is this threatening?"

The corners of Qi Guogong's mouth twitched and he secretly cursed: "You are not the same. If I don't obey you, I will not suffer the consequences."

Princess Pingning sat down on the edge of the bed angrily, and Duke Qi asked cautiously: "Then, why don't we just go along with his wishes?"

"What can we do now? If he is really as promiscuous as that Gu Tingye, which noble girl will still be willing to marry him? This rebellious son really makes me angry to death!"

Two days later, Qi Heng came back to class happily. Apart from his face being slightly pale, he was more energetic than before.

Sheng Changbai thought Qi Heng was really sick, so he asked with concern.

Qi Heng secretly pulled Qin Hao aside and said excitedly: "My mother has promised me that as long as I am on the subject list, I will be allowed to choose among the officials' families."

Qin Hao nodded. This should be the biggest concession Princess Pingning can make. Her daughter-in-law must at least not be a commoner.

"Don't be too happy too early. It's only half a year before Spring Festival. If you don't pass the exam this time," Qin Hao reminded.

Qi Heng's face was a little solemn. Although he was confident in his talent, after all, the examination was an examination where talents from all over the country gathered together. There was no fixed standard for grading papers. It also depended on whether the article he wrote was to the examiner's taste. Who could Are you absolutely sure?

Thinking of this, Qi Heng completely focused on his studies. In order to save time at noon, he didn't even go back home and stayed in Sheng Mansion to eat.

Wang Ruofu is naturally happy. How much is a meal worth? This is a huge favor.

Mo Lan was also very happy, and from time to time he used excuses to provide food for his two brothers, Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng, and got close to Qi Heng.

Speaking of which, Mo Lan was also 12 years old at this time, and would be 13 after the Chinese New Year. She was becoming more and more graceful. Unfortunately, Qi Heng only had scientific examinations in his eyes now, and women would only affect the speed of his drawing the sword. For Mo Lan, Lan's solicitude turned a blind eye.

At this time, Ru Lan would take the opportunity to ridicule Mo Lan, which made Mo Lan very angry. The two of them often quarreled over this. Every time, Mo Lan would pretend to be pitiful to win the sympathy of her father Sheng Hong. Sheng Hong subconsciously felt that It must have been Ru Lan who bullied Mo Lan because of her status as a legitimate daughter, and often sidetracked her.

This also exacerbated the deterioration of the relationship between Mo Lan and Ru Lan.

Minglan was forced to witness the whole process of their struggle, and was often implicated by them. In addition, Minglan changed drastically and became the most beautiful of the three daughters of the Sheng family, which made Mo Lan greatly afraid. The old lady of the Sheng family was looking after her, and Minglan's life was not easy either.

Amid all these disturbances, time soon came to the eleventh month of the lunar calendar.

As the winter solstice approaches, the weather in Bianjing City begins to get colder. On this day, a carriage from the Marquis of Dongchang suddenly arrives at the pier, and the people nearby turn their attention to it.

After almost half an hour, a merchant ship docked, and a tall, handsome young man walked towards the carriage.

This person was naturally Gu Tingye. Qin Hao stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "Cousin, welcome back."

Gu Tingye said with some emotion: "It's been five years, and I'm finally back!"

Gu Tingye was only 16 years old when he left Bianjing, and is now 21 years old.

Fan Lou is the first restaurant in Bianjing. Restaurants in the Song Dynasty generally had the function of hotel accommodation in addition to restaurants. Gu Tingye didn't want to go home yet, so he stayed in Fan Lou and treated Qin Hao to a meal. A big meal.

Qin Hao was not polite. Anyway, Gu Tingye's family was rich. The property left to him by Mr. Bai alone was enough for him to spend his entire life.

"Cousin, why don't you come to Shengjia Book School too? It just so happens that we can attend the Spring Festival together."

Gu Tingye was a little excited. He had just passed the examination and was qualified to take part in the examination. The examination was only held every three years. It was a pity to miss it. Even if he failed in the examination, it would be good to gain experience.

"Would it be too much trouble?" Gu Tingye was actually worried that his previous reputation was too bad.

Qin Hao waved his hand: "Don't worry, Brother Changbai and I will go together and tell Shanda people and Xuexue Zhuang that they will agree."

Gu Tingye did not speak, but directly picked up the wine glass and toasted with a glass of wine.

In the afternoon of the same day, Qin Hao brought Gu Tingye to visit him. Sheng Hong was originally not happy that this famous libertine from Bianjing City came to study at home, but when he heard that Gu Tingye had passed the exam, he was secretly surprised, and then thought of Gu Tingye. As the legitimate son of Ningyuan Houfu, he did not refuse.

“It’s just Zhuang Xuexue’s place”

Qin Hao smiled and said, "I will tell Zhuang Xuexue."

Sheng Hong had no objection. If Zhuang Xuexiu rejected Gu Tingye, it would be Zhuang Xuexiu who did the evil, and it had nothing to do with him.

When I arrived at Zhuang Xuexue's place, I checked Gu Tingye's articles and saw that he had real materials, so I agreed to let him enroll.

Now the Sheng Family School is very lively. In addition to the two young masters of the Sheng Family, there is also a duke's legitimate son and two marquis' legitimate sons, who are the envy of many so-called Qingliu people.

As he was about to enter the preparation stage for the exam, Zhuang Xuexue canceled his morning classical Chinese appreciation course and focused on policy theory.

"Today you will write an article about Qin's unification of the six countries."

Qin Hao and the others were fine, but Minglan and the others were blind. Policy making was like a day to them. Even Mo Lan, the most talented among them, picked up his pen and put it down again, not knowing where to start.

Zhuang Xuexue didn't care about them and just read his book.

Almost half an hour later, Qin Hao handed in his paper, and another incense time passed before Qi Heng handed in his second paper.

An hour later, Sheng Changfeng was the last one to hand in the paper, but looking at his face, you could tell how stumbling the article was.

Zhuang Xuexue just glanced at it and threw Sheng Changfeng's paper aside, but he was not too harsh. After all, Sheng Changfeng had not even passed the examination and was not qualified to participate in the examination.

He picked up Sheng Changbai's article and read it again. Zhuang Xueguo nodded calmly. Sheng Changbai's policy was quite satisfactory and stable. It couldn't be said to be amazing, but it was very solid.

When it was Gu Tingye's turn, Xuexue Zhuang frowned slightly. It was not that Gu Tingye's article was not good. On the contrary, Gu Tingye's article was very distinctive. It mainly analyzed why Qin was able to unify the six countries from the perspective of the Qin army.

It's just that this article is a bit too radical, and the vision is not broad enough. If it is in the joint examination, unless you meet an examiner who has a relatively good understanding of military affairs, you will most likely fail.

After listening to Zhuang Xuexue's comments, Gu Tingye was also convinced, bowed respectfully and sat down.

Afterwards, Xuexue Zhuang began to read Qi Heng's article. After reading for a while, he said to Qi Heng.

"Tell me what you think about writing this article."

Qi Heng stood up and said loudly: "Since Qin Xiaogong, the Qin State has been carrying out reforms, encircling horses and training troops, digging mountains and smelting iron. The strength is directed and the hearts of the people are unified. Therefore, Qin is one, and the other countries are six, which is one The Yi returned, and the Six Yi divided, and then there was what Su Xun said: The six countries bribed Qin, and then Su Che said: The countries did not realize the noble terrain of Korea and Wei, but Qin did."

Xuexue Zhuang nodded slightly. After Qi Heng finished speaking, he picked up Qin Hao's article and said with a smile: "Zihan, please tell me about your article too."

After Qi Heng sat down, Qin Hao stood up slowly and said.

"Yuan Ruo just talked about a lot of Qin's advantages, but he only summarized the reform as one of the factors that led to Qin's unification. But in my opinion, if Qin can unify, the topography and vertical and horizontal alliances are secondary. What truly makes Qin’s national power surpass all other countries is the aspirations of the people.”

"Shang Yang's reform implemented the system of prefectures and counties, private ownership of land, and the system of land conferment for military merit, which strongly linked the local areas with the central government. People in other countries were as afraid of war as tigers, but the people of Qin rushed to join the army because on the battlefield They can improve their class by accumulating military merit. The Qin State has a 20-level military merit system, from the lowest level of first-level public servants to the highest level of Chehou, which can be obtained on the battlefield."

"Qin is the only country among all the countries that has opened up a channel for class advancement. The sand is gathered into a tower and the armpits are gathered into fur, so the trickles are gathered into the river and the sea. In my opinion, Qin's victory is actually the victory of the system."

After what he said, Gu Tingye's eyes lit up, and Sheng Changbai was also thoughtful.

The three girls of the Sheng family, except Minglan, Mo Lan and Ru Lan, all looked confused. They had been raised in the boudoir all day, and their perspective had not reached such a high level.

Qi Heng retorted: "If this is the case, then why did Qin fall after only two generations?"

Qin Hao shook his head and said: "The second generation of the Qin Dynasty died because it still adopted a repressive policy without external pressure. Instead of allowing the people to recuperate and recuperate in time, they carried out large-scale construction projects. The people's hearts were scattered and the Qin Dynasty died. However, the Han generation still adopted many Qin policies. The country’s system, in a sense, Qin was not destroyed.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuexue Zhuang clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Haha, the Qin Kingdom is still alive, that's a good point."

Qi Heng also stood up and saluted Qin Hao: "Every time I listen to Zihan's high opinions, it is refreshing."

Qin Hao lifted him up and said, "If you are so polite again, I will never speak in class again."

"Haha~~~" Everyone laughed.

In the blink of an eye, it is the New Year's Day holiday, but the exams are about to start. The Shengjia Academy has not suspended classes, only the first to fifth days of the first lunar month are on holiday.

Qin Hao could not help but follow Qin Junye to visit various relatives' homes to pay New Year's greetings. Since life in Dongchang Hou Mansion was getting prosperous, and Qin Hao himself was good enough, many relatives were also interested in him.

On this day, Qin Hao followed the Qin Liu family to visit the Liu family for New Year greetings, and encountered something that left him speechless.

The eldest lady of the Liu family actually wanted to marry her legitimate daughter to Qin Hao, saying that it was like a close relationship.

Qin Hao was speechless. That was his cousin! The fifth server hasn’t even been released yet.

What made Qin Hao even more speechless was that Qin Liu seemed to be a little moved.

After coming back, Qin Hao went to find Qin Junye. Qin Junye was not happy immediately. It took a lot of effort for the Qin family to produce such a Qilin. The glory of Dongchang Houfu was tied to him. Naturally, he wanted to find a reliable Yue family and Liu family. Since the death of the old man, he was demoted to a viscount. He has been no longer in the same class as the Dongchang Houfu. He can just play with the autumn wind in daily life. This kind of thing cannot be agreed to.

Immediately, Mrs. Qin Liu was called and scolded. In front of her son and her mother's family, Mrs. Qin Liu still chose her son, so she rejected the proposal of her sister-in-law.

However, this incident reminded Qin Hao that the imperial examination was about to take place. If he passed the exam, more people would definitely have an idea for him, and the candidate for his wife should also be decided, otherwise Qin Liu's family would one day It was enough to make him upset if something like this happened again.

"It's a pity that Hua Lan is already married."