Chapter 152 151 Young Master Donglai

Three teams of good news soon walked out of the Jiujiang prefectural government office and headed for their respective destinations.

The prefect did not come out. The people who delivered the good news were led by the envoys, the experience and the six rooms. They played music and set off firecrackers all the way to create a lively and festive atmosphere.

At the same time, a large group of people came out from the Jiujiang Guard Command and rushed to the Jiujiang wharf. The leader was naturally Zhang Qing, the co-magistrate.

Zhang Tongzhi was old and could no longer ride a horse. He could only go there in a carriage. Behind the carriage, Zhang Shigui, Wu Zhankui and others also followed on horseback.

The luxuriously decorated carriage and many military officers quickly left Jiujiang City and arrived at the riverside wharf under the escort of a large number of soldiers. After the carriage arrived at the wharf, Zhang Qing got off the carriage with the help of Zhang Shigui who came up behind him and came to a large ship.

At this time, a well-dressed young man standing at the bow also got off the boat through the step. Zhang Qing led his men to meet him and said, "Greetings, Prince."

"Uncle Zhang, don't say that. I'm not a prince. Just call me by my name."

The young man shook his head and said.

"I dare not, I dare not. Even if you are deceived, you will understand sooner or later."

Zhang Qing did not dare to respond, but replied honestly.

"Uncle Zhang, if you really want to do good for me, don't call me Prince anymore. If it gets back home, I don't know what will happen."

The young man just reminded him in a low voice.

"Then I will call you Prince, Shigui, come up and greet you."

Zhang Qing had already said to his eldest son beside him.

"Greetings, Prince."

"Okay, Brother Shigui, this is not the first time we meet, so don't be so distant."

The young man waved his hand and said.

Zhang Qing stepped aside and winked at his son-in-law.

Wu Zhankui understood, and took Wei Meng two steps forward and bowed.

"Okay, I have heard Brother Fugui mention your names many times, and today I finally meet you."

The young man smiled when he heard Wu and Wei report their names.

"Young master, let's go into the city. The river wind is strong here, and the accommodation has been prepared."

Zhang Qing made a gesture of invitation as he spoke.

Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng also immediately separated on both sides and made way in the middle.

"That's good."

The young man looked back at his boat, and his face, which was full of smiles just now, became slightly bitter. "Wait two days, the fleet will pass Jiujiang, and I will trouble my uncle to take care of it when the time comes."

The young man smiled and walked forward with Zhang Qing, leaving the Jiujiang wharf and walking towards the place where the carriage was parked.

Zhang Qing and Zhang Shigui responded immediately, not daring to be negligent.

Soon, they arrived in front of the carriage. When they were getting on the carriage, a fast horse came galloping from Jiujiang City in the distance.

Although they were far away, Wu Zhankui, who had good eyesight, still saw the person clearly at a glance, and said to Wei Meng, who was about to climb on the horse beside him: "It seems to be from your family."

Upon hearing this, Wei Meng frowned slightly and stopped what he was doing and looked over.

As the horse approached, he also saw that it was indeed a servant from his house.

Zhang Shigui, who had just sent his old father to the carriage, had come over. Seeing the two of them staring at the road, he asked curiously: "What's the matter? It's time to get on the horse and set off."

"The old Wei family servant is here, maybe there is something wrong at home."

Before Wei Meng could answer, Wu Zhankui said to Zhang Shigui.

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shigui followed their gaze and looked over. The horse had already approached them. The knight on the horse pulled the reins to slow down the horse's speed, and at the same time quickly searched among the crowd, and then saw Wei Meng behind the carriage.

When the man was a few steps away from the convoy, he had already dismounted and led the horse around the carriage and ran to Wei Meng.

"Master, the official from the government office has come home to announce the good news. The second young master has passed the provincial examination this time."

When Wei Meng first saw the horse coming to find him, his heart sank, thinking that something had happened at home.

But when the servant came closer, he saw that his face was full of joy, and Wei Meng felt relieved. When the servant reported the news, Wei Meng was instantly stunned by happiness, as if he was soaking in a honey pot.

"Home."

Later, Wei Meng saw the servant's mouth opening and closing, and he couldn't hear what he was saying.

It was not easy to calm down his excited heart, and he felt that his shoulder was heavily patted.

Wei Meng came back to his senses and heard the servant continue to report: "I went to the yamen to look for you just now, and I found out that you came to the dock. I borrowed a horse from the yamen to chase you. The good news from the prefectural yamen was also copied to the garrison. When I came out, they started to set off firecrackers."

"Good, good, good."

Wei Meng didn't want to listen to the servant's nagging at this moment, and only said three good words.

"Congratulations, brother Wei's Qilin son, this year he is a juren, and next year he will be a jinshi."

Zhang Shigui reacted quickly and laughed immediately.

And Wu Zhankui next to him was also very happy. This is his nephew, his own nephew. If he passed the imperial examination at such a young age, his future will naturally be bright.

There is no way for his son to take the imperial examination. It was easy for the boy to try, but after returning from the college examination, Wu Dong said that he could not pass the exam.

If Wu Dong was confident of passing the imperial examination, Wu Zhankui might consider giving it a try and, through his father-in-law's connections, send a message to the Duke of Wei's Mansion in Nanjing and request exemption from citizenship.

According to the "Military Administration Regulations" promulgated by the Ming Dynasty, it is stipulated: "Therefore, under the military household, there is only one person who can serve as a raw member. The Ministry of War will be mobilized and the Hanlin Academy will take the examination. If the results are successful, the army will be opened as usual. If there are no results, the army will be opened. Still sent to the army."

This rule was promulgated in the Hongwu Year. Military households with an only son could petition to be recruited into the army if their son achieved academic success.

At that time, only the title of scholar was required. Nowadays, it is definitely not possible to be a scholar. At least, it is possible to be exempted from the scholarship if you are a scholar.

These days, those who hold the handle of a knife are increasingly inferior to those who hold a pen.

Wu Dong himself felt that a scholar had no chance, so naturally Wu Zhankui would not let him continue studying.

Well, it is a good thing to have a nephew who can study and become an official. At least there is someone to protect him.

"I won't come home until I'm drunk tonight."

After Wu Zhankui came to his senses, he patted Wei Meng on the shoulder and said loudly.

"You won't come home until you're drunk."

Wei Meng nodded hurriedly. It was a great thing for his son to win the imperial examination. He immediately invited Wu Zhankui and Zhang Shigui.

"What's going on? Why don't you leave?"

Zhang Qing, who was on the carriage in front, suddenly opened the sedan curtain and asked.

"Dad, um, Guangde passed the exam."

Zhang Shigui immediately jogged to the carriage and said to the old man in the carriage.

"Win? That's a good thing."

Zhang Tongzhi was also very happy when he heard this.

No matter how far apart the relationship between the Wei family and the Zhang family is, they are still related. It is not bad to have a relative in Juren these days, not to mention that Wei Guangde is still so young.

At the beginning, Zhang Tongzhi prepared for Wei Guangde to pass the exam three or five times before passing the exam. By then, he would be able to take the general exam at least three more times, otherwise the Wei family would not be thinking of all the good things.

Military achievements and abilities are nothing in the eyes of those in power. If you want to suppress them, just suppress them. It's too simple.

"Oh, whose Guangde family are you talking about?"

The noble man in the car also asked curiously at this moment. He understood clearly. It seemed that among the people who came to greet him, someone had a family member.

Juren is a pretty good status these days.

"The name of the Wei family is Wei Guangde, the youngest son of the Fu family in Wei Mengwei Town. He is only sixteen years old this year. When he was thirteen years old, he passed the county examination, the prefecture examination and the hospital examination in succession. He just failed in the provincial examination that year. It’s a pity that I failed.”

Zhang Tongzhi immediately introduced him.

"Oh, Wei Guangde, I seem to have heard of this name somewhere."

The young master smiled, but then his smile froze and he asked, "Is that Wei Guangde only sixteen years old?"

"Yeah, I'm sixteen this year."

Zhang Tongzhi replied immediately.

At this time, Wei Meng and Wu Zhankui had already walked to the carriage.

"Sir, Mr. Zhang, I am very happy to be elected today, and I would like to invite you two adults to come to my humble residence for a cup of wedding wine."

Wei Meng leaned to the window and said, as a Shangguan, you must invite people regardless of whether they come or not, and you must be polite and considerate.

Before Zhang Tongzhi could say anything, the young master smiled and nodded outside and said, "Okay, it's very rare for a sixteen-year-old to be promoted. I can drink this wedding wine."

"Okay, the master has said something. You can ask people to go back and prepare some decent meals later."

Zhang Qing immediately ordered Wei Meng from the side.

"I understand my humble position, so I will send someone home to report the news."

In the evening, after seeing off the guests who came to congratulate him, Wei Meng returned to the bedroom.

"Who is that young master? Seeing that you all compliment him so much, even the commander is looking down upon him."

Mother Wei asked as she stood up to help Father Wei rest.

"He's from Nanjing, Mr. Xu's biological son."

Father Wei said calmly.

"No wonder, it is possible to attack the prince, and he will be the Duke of the country in the future."

When Wei's mother heard that the man was the son of Wei Guogong, she naturally figured it out.

"I can't tell. From what Brother Shigui said, it seems that the Duke of the country doesn't like this son very much and wants to make his younger son the heir apparent."

"How can that be done? I remember that the imperial court has a system. There are direct heirs and no direct heirs. The commander calls him the eldest son. How can it be possible for a younger one to inherit the title?"

Wei Mu said immediately.

In the past, Wei's mother had received some education, and she still knew a lot about the court's system, but she had never met such a noble person.

"Why bother with other people's affairs? There are people in the court who worry about this anyway."

Father Wei shook his head and said.

"The imperial court will never approve his petition."

Wei's mother is a bit stubborn. Today, Mr. Xu left a good impression on her. He is humble and kind, not at all like a young man from an aristocratic family. He is a good talker.

"Hey, you just met him once and you felt sorry for him."

But Father Wei laughed dryly. His level was too high, and it was not possible for a small family like him to get involved.

However, Father Wei is indeed happy tonight.

My son won the imperial examination, and all his colleagues in the yamen are here tonight. No matter whether they are close or far apart on weekdays, tonight they are all kind-hearted and have lost their usual demeanor in the yamen.

So cool.

However, as Madam said, Mr. Xu is too approachable.

While the couple were talking in the bedroom, in a carriage not far from Wei's house, Mr. Xu, whom Wei's mother said was asking Zhang Shigui.

"What do you mean, that guy named Wei Guangde, according to the professor's opinion, the eight-part essay is still lacking in prowess?"

"Yes, sir, my brother went to inquire. According to the professor at the government school, it should take a few years before he can win the exam."

"But now he has won the exam."

"Yeah, that's why I feel very surprised. Maybe he is really a rich and powerful person, hehe."

Having said this, Zhang Shigui laughed dryly and said: "I remember a few years ago, Wei Meng brought his two sons to Jiujiang City and stayed at my house. I didn't see anything at that time.

But my old man told our brothers that this Wei Guangde has an extraordinary appearance. He is probably just a scholar, so he may become rich in the future.

Unexpectedly, the old man's vision was really good, and his prediction came true. He was selected as a candidate at the age of sixteen, and he had a lot of time to become a Jinshi. "

Having said this, Zhang Shigui suddenly looked at Mr. Xu and said: "Sir, in fact, the old man also told our brothers in private that my father had seen you and your brothers when they were young. When he came back, he told us that you are still the eldest son. Like the old Duke, his words and demeanor are exactly the same.

Young Master, please rest assured, no matter what time, our Zhang family will only recognize you, Young Master. "

"Haha, let's borrow Ji's words from Uncle Zhang. I hope he never looks back and makes mistakes."

"How could it be possible? My father looks at people with dissatisfaction."

After hearing Zhang Shigui's words of loyalty, Mr. Xu just smiled.

"What does Wei Guangde look like? Is he the same as his father?"

"Their eldest son looks like Wei Meng. I think Wei Guangde's appearance is more like his mother's."

Although I was wondering why Mr. Xu was so interested in Wei Guangde, he still gave a straight answer.

"By the way, sir, please forgive me for talking too much. At this time, you should actually stay in Nanjing City."

At this time, Zhang Shigui changed the subject.

"I understand what my father has in mind. He asked me to come out. What else can I do but obey him."

The smile on Mr. Xu's face turned bitter, just like when he got off the boat.

"I see, you don't need to be anxious, sir. Ji people have their own destiny. My father has always been very accurate in judging people and will never make mistakes."

Zhang Shigui could only say na na at this time.

"I don't know where the Japanese pirates are? Will they really invade Nanjing?"

Mr. Xu shook his head. He knew very well that the city of Nanjing had high walls and thick walls, and there were a large number of soldiers from the capital camp. It was not something that the Japanese pirates could make plans for.

However, my father forced me to leave Nanjing City at this time, just to pour dirty water on myself. When the time came to announce the appointment of the crown prince, I would have an excuse to pass on the title of crown prince to others, but I didn't have the slightest idea about it. Unable to resist.

Wei Guangde stayed in Nanchang City for two days before returning to Jiujiang Mansion with Lao Kan and Shen Liangdong.

The other scholars who failed have already embarked on their return journey.

The classmates who stayed in Nanchang all planned to study in Yuzhang Academy just like Zeng Yuanshu, to prepare for the provincial examination three years later.