Chapter 35 35 Asking for Advice

"May I ask your name?"

It is true that Zhang Haochu is aggressive and lawless, but he is not stupid.

There are no fools among those who study. The stupid ones have been unable to eat for a long time.

Didn't you see that the domineering guy Zeng Yuanshu has also stopped fighting at this moment? This shows that the man in front of him probably has a say in their Zeng family. He is still so young, so naturally he immediately asked in the tone of a scholar, and did not forget to salute.

"I am Zeng Shengwu from Huguang, and I am a relative of Yuanshu.

I already know about the fight between my brother and you. In my opinion, it is better for both sides to stop fighting, so as to avoid the suffering of the servants."

Wei Guangde was dumbfounded when he saw Zeng Shengwu standing in front of him and began to negotiate with Zhang Haochu. Is this okay?

"He is a scholar."

Perhaps seeing Wei Guangde's surprise, Wu Dong came back to his senses and whispered in his ear.

A word awakens the dreamer.

Wu Dong's words also made Wei Guangde react. What Zhang Haochu was worried about was the identity of this scholar.

Scholars had privileges in the Ming Dynasty. Who dared to hit a scholar?

Not to mention hitting him, even scolding him was not allowed.

As soon as he stood there, Zhang Haochu really didn't dare to confront him, because the consequences seemed serious.

Most of the literary works in later generations portrayed scholars as poor scholars. When scholars met soldiers, they couldn't explain their reasons.

Influenced by these works, people in later generations felt that scholars seemed to be poor and weak.

Poor, really poor, but that was for rich people, not ordinary people in the middle and lower classes.

Weak, really weak, powerless, but they had political privileges, but most scholars were lazy because they studied hard.

In fact, whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, scholars still had a lot of say in the local area, and no one dared to bully them.

The smaller the place, the greater the say.

Just kidding, if this hole is opened, how will other scholars feel?

Naturally, scholars will attack him in groups and kill him as a warning to others.

Even if a scholar is really bullied, only people with the same or higher academic titles can do it.

Is Zeng Shengwu's status as a scholar enough?

It is indeed enough. After all, the people upstairs are all young people in their teens and twenties, and his academic title is enough.

Although Zhang Haochu's family is also rich, the Zeng family is not given for nothing.

Zhang Haochu's father is also a scholar, but the Zeng family also has one, and Zeng Yuanshu's grandfather is a juren, but he is too old to walk.

According to the previous practice, it is not a big deal to fight like this.

But if this scholar from another province runs to see the official regardless of anything

Zhang Haochu feels a little uneasy. There are some things that can be done but cannot be said, and they cannot be exposed to the official. Even if it is an unspoken rule, as long as it is not reported to the county government, there is room for everything.

It's easy for ordinary people, but it's a bit difficult for scholars with official titles.

Wei Guangde knew that scholars were awesome, and civil servants were even more awesome. This time he really saw it.

Just a scholar stood there, and the fight that should have started seemed to be eliminated.

. . . . . . .

"Brother Zeng, I wonder if you have any imperial examination papers. I want to learn more."

After the banquet was reopened, everyone's interest in talking was greatly reduced. Wei Guangde also took this opportunity to tell Zeng Yuanshu the purpose of his visit.

"You want to see those papers, yes, there are quite a few, the imperial examination papers of several previous sessions, from the academy examination to the provincial examination, and even the examination papers, as long as Jiujiang Prefecture has them, our family has collected them."

Zeng Yuanshu heard that Wei Guangde wanted to see the imperial examination papers, and he also knew that it was a convention for scholars of this era to look at the previous imperial examination papers, and everyone was trying to figure out some of the techniques.

"Actually, it's a bit early for Guangde to start reading contemporary essays now. He should read the annotations of the Four Books and other classics, understand them thoroughly, and practice and write more one year before the exam."

At this time, Zeng Shengwu suddenly interrupted and said.

Zeng Shengwu didn't have much feeling for this ten-year-old kid, and he didn't talk much at the table.

But when he heard that he was going to read a lot of contemporary essays now, based on his own exam experience, Zeng Shengwu felt that he should remind him that the Four Books and Five Classics are the foundation, and writing skills are just icing on the cake.

Fully reading and understanding the words of the sages is the foundation of life.

"Teaching."

Wei Guangde immediately bowed his hands and said.

Wei Guangde has a plan for his own reading. He plans to finish reading the Five Classics this year, and study the Four Books at the same time. When he is tired of reading, he will write an eight-part essay, which will not only practice his handwriting but also familiarize himself with writing skills. Perfect.

Although I don't know when Master Sun will let him take the county exam, as long as I can write a good essay, I think the master will arrange for him to take the exam soon.

Afterwards, Wei Guangde and Zeng Yuanshu agreed on a time to visit. Of course, the main purpose was to find some contemporary literature to take back. Anyway, his cousin Wu Dong had already found two poor scholars to help him copy books.

Yes, most of these contemporary literature were handwritten collections, and there were also collections of contemporary literature printed by bookstores, but only the papers of the provincial and imperial examinations could be treated this way.

To be honest, Wei Guangde knew that the papers of the provincial and imperial examinations were too high-level, and the papers of the academy examinations were actually the most cost-effective.

However, having his own plans did not mean that Wei Guangde would not humbly seek advice.

Since Zeng Xingwu was willing to give advice on his knowledge, Wei Guangde naturally took the opportunity to continue asking questions and learning.

Through some conversations, Wei Guangde also vaguely realized that it seemed that this young scholar Zeng Xingwu seemed to have more knowledge than his teacher Sun Fuzi.

In this regard, Wei Guangde naturally communicated with him more enthusiastically.

Other people present talked with Zeng Xingwu, and it could be said that they were discussing knowledge, but when it came to him, it became asking for advice.

In fact, most of the problems of the Four Books and Five Classics have been so-called perfect solutions in the annotations of the ancient sages before, but some of the ancient sages may have deviations in their understanding, so it depends on who you believe.

However, the questions raised by Wei Guangde gradually changed a little. At the beginning, his questions were still regular, but later, after discovering that Zeng Xingwu seemed to be very good at thinking and had his own ideas, Wei Guangde's questions began to lean towards his original views on some matters in later generations, and the difference between these and current views gradually increased.

The main reason why Wei Guangde raised these questions here was because Zeng Xingwu was young. Being young means accepting new ideas faster, unlike the old pedants who are not easy to explain.

Of course, he did not expect to promote the views of later generations. It was just a test. This was something he needed to consider when answering policy papers in the future provincial and imperial examinations.

He had to pay attention to this matter. He was not sure whether some things could be written. He took this opportunity to raise them and see what other people thought, not to mention that he was a scholar.