Chapter 539: South Is Strong and North Is Weak

"It turns out that Duke An Guo requested to resume the imperial examination."

On the second floor of the restaurant, Lin Zhong listened to what the storyteller said and then listened to the discussion and analysis of the people around him. He obviously believed what the storyteller said.

Not only Lin Zhong believed it, but almost everyone in the restaurant believed it.

Chen Mo has a high prestige in the four states and is deeply loved by the people. After listening to this analysis, he naturally felt that this was what Chen Mo would do.

The storyteller said, took a sip of tea, and immediately said: "Gong Anguo served the country and the people, and he was actually the Optimus Prime of our Song Dynasty. Some time ago, the barbarians from the north went south to seize our land, harm my people, and steal our country's wealth. The imperial court ordered the princes of the world to go north to fight the enemy, but the Gonggun princes turned a blind eye and refused to send troops.

In this critical moment, only An Guogong led the troops north to fight against foreign enemies, killing nearly 80,000 enemies, regaining his homeland, promoting the reputation of our Song Dynasty, and strengthening the integrity of our Zhongzhou nation. In order to solve the problem of the Jinnan barbarians who captured the people of the Song Dynasty, Duke An Guo led his troops to attack Haiyan Pass brazenly and said those words that inspired his ambition - If the enemy can go, I can go too."

As a storyteller, his greatest skill is to integrate the emotions of the audience into the plot of the story he tells, so that their emotions can be infected.

And now the storyteller's words undoubtedly made the audience excited and applauded.

"Dong An Guo is the hero of the world."

"Yes, I am from Qingzhou. If it weren't for An Guogong, my whole family would have starved to death in the cold winter of the seventh year of Xuanhe. It was An Guogong who helped us and gave our family of five food to eat. , and gave us a place to live.”

"Not only that, Duke An Guo also exempted us from taxes and gave us fields, which made me feel the dignity of being a human being for the first time."

"."

While talking, Ma Fu also finished ordering and called the waiter, who brought a bottle of wine.

Guo Ning poured himself a glass, and after taking a sip, he looked at the storyteller below with a look of longing on his face: "We, the scholars, should follow the footsteps of An Guogong, save the country from danger, and save the people from danger. "In water and fire."

Hearing Guo Ning's words, Lin Zhong sighed with some shame and said: "When I heard the name of An Guogong before, I thought that this man was a wolf and looked down upon others. He had an unruly temperament, was greedy for money and lustful, and was definitely not a good person. Now I know that. At that time, I was short-sighted, but An Guogong was a great person in the world."

"Brother Lin's words are very agreeable to my heart. It seems that Brother Lin and I can become a pair of confidants." Guo Ning poured a glass of wine for Lin Zhong, and then the two of them drank.

Afterwards, after the waiter finished serving the dishes and taught the two how to eat hot pot, Guo Ning said with emotion: "Dong An Guo is really a strange person. Not only is he a master in martial arts and martial arts, he is also a master in eating. In this August provincial examination, Guo Ning I must go to high school and be among the best, and see what a hero that Duke An is."

Guo Ning's words were full of confidence.

Scholars should naturally have a sense of madness.

Later, Lin Zhong and Guo Ning had a pleasant conversation. Lin Zhong realized that Guo Ning was far more talented and knowledgeable than himself, so he talked about some deeper issues.

It was learned that Guo Ning was born as a child when he was twelve years old, and became a scholar at the age of fifteen. He was also an eighth-level warrior himself.

Lin Zhong showed a wry smile and said, "Brother Guo said before that he had something to ask me, but he just didn't want to embarrass me."

The smile on Guo Ning's face faltered slightly, then he laughed and said, "Brother Lin, don't think too much, absolutely not."

"Then what does Brother Guo want to ask me?"

"Didn't Brother Lin already answer the question in the conversation just now?" Guo Ning said with a smile.

Brother Lin paused for a moment, then drank a glass of wine and said, "I'm really lucky to know Brother Guo."

Later, while the two were eating hot pot, they made friends with another person.

This man called himself Dai Tu, who was also from Yanzhou and was the same age as Lin Zhong. He said that he heard Lin Zhong and Guo Ning's eloquent talks at the dinner table and felt that they were like-minded and came here to make friends.

Lin Zhong and Guo Ning saw that Dai Tu was also a scholar, and that he had a handsome face and extraordinary conversation, so they acquiesced in their friendship.

After that, the three of them and Ma Fu accompanied them to Huaizhou City Yamen.

When Dai Tu saw that Guo Ning was going to take the examination at the Yamen in Huaizhou City, he said, "Brother Guo, no."

Guo Ning was stunned: "Why not?"

Dai Tu pulled Guo Ning and said slowly: "Brother Guo doesn't know that there are a lot of places for the provincial examinations in these four states. Scholars from Jiangnan all come to Huaizhou to take the examination, and in the past thousand years, all the scholars from Jiangnan have The holy land of literati has a strong atmosphere of calligraphy and ink, and Jiangnan has not been affected by war. The scholars in Jiangnan are all knowledgeable. If Brother Guo takes the examination in Huaizhou City, the provincial examination will be in the same examination room as them. How can this be compared.

Therefore, in my opinion, you should go to Qingzhou to apply for the exam. In recent years, wars have often occurred in Qingzhou. The scholars in Qingzhou have no intention of studying at all. They have neglected their studies for more than five years. They are definitely no match for us. And based on what the notice says, I guess those who go to Qingzhou to take the exam are all princes from the north, which is not enough. For fear. If we go to Qingzhou to take the exam, we will definitely come out on top. "

After listening to what Dai Tu said, Lin Zhong and Ma Fu's expressions changed slightly.

Guo Ning was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly and said: "Then I should take the exam in Huaizhou. It would be so exciting to be in the same exam room with the scholars from Jiangnan and compete with each other."

As he spoke, Guo Ning put one arm around Lin Zhong's neck and the other around Dai Tu's neck, and said, "Besides, Brother Lin has already passed the examination in Yi County, Huaizhou. As friends, we naturally have to accompany Brother Lin. "

Dai Tu said: "Then we should go to Qingzhou, so that there will be two less people to compete with Brother Lin."

Brother Lin sneered and said, "I'm fine."

In the end, despite Dai Tu's persuasion, Guo Ning still took the exam in Huaizhou City.

Lin Zhong also confirmed that it was true that he took the exam in Yi County, and the government office in Huaizhou City had evidence.

Dai Tu said goodbye to the two and went to Qingzhou.

…

At the end of February.

Linzhou, Xiangyang City.

Geng Songfu had already rushed to Xiangyang from Huaizhou, and Chen Mo met him in person.

At the banquet, Geng Songfu told Chen Mo about several issues related to the imperial examinations, and said, "Duke Anguo, the imperial examinations are now spreading all over the world, but I have never heard of any regional restrictions on the provincial examinations in the four states."

"Oh?"

Chen Mo was stunned. During this period, he had not been concerned about the imperial examinations, but had given full authority to Chen Xiu. Now, after hearing this, he wondered, "What does Mr. Geng mean?"

"In recent years, the south, especially Jiangnan and Jiangdong, has not experienced wars, while the north has been in constant wars and has few days of peace. The scholars in the north are certainly not as good as those in the south. Therefore, Duke Anguo must prevent the scholars in the south from running to the north to take the exams." Geng Songfu said.

Hearing this, Chen Mo was shocked. This reminded him of the North-South List Case in the Ming Dynasty, and he immediately said, "Mr. Geng's words make sense. I will explain it later. Since regional restrictions are set, the examination papers in the north and south should also be different."