Chapter 268 Let’s Go to the Good World Together (Big Chapter!!!)

"What did you say?" Zhen Xi stood on the corridor, his eyes slightly narrowed, and he couldn't help but look sideways at the steward behind him, who bowed his hands.

He really laughed out loud, a small matter of buying land and converting it into mulberry trees. Let a useless slave achieve this evil behavior. Zhen Xi simply asked again: "Are you telling me that a county magistrate ruined our family's business? Now he has invited a group of businessmen to cause trouble in Songjiang Prefecture?"

"Ha." Zhen Xi chuckled disdainfully, removed his left hand from the stove, tapped the accuser in front of him, and asked, "Which big boss are you following?"

Don't look at Manager Zhen showing off his power in front of Zhen Zijing, among the hundreds of slaves in the Zhen Mansion, there are dozens, if not dozens, of people like him. And above them, there are the four chief stewards of the mansion, who are specially following Zhen Xi, the eldest son of Zhen.

Seeing that Zhen Xi was about to turn his anger on him, Manager Zhen knelt down on the ground with a plop and said tremblingly: "I'm sorry, sir, I'm sorry. It's the villain's fault. It's all the villain's fault. The villain didn't expect that. The number one county magistrate named Chen could directly ask his father-in-law in the capital for help, but he would never have found so many helpers if Zuo Du Yushi had not come forward. "

"Get up." Seeing the useless look on his servant's face, Zhen Xi felt angry and said impatiently, "Don't dirty my land."

After hearing this, Manager Zhen quickly got up from the ground, only daring to bend her body tightly. The upturned eyes slightly looked at the master's expression, fearing that the other party would suddenly kick him in. But no matter how hard he tried to peek, he could only see Zhen Xi's hand stove.

This is the "Zhang Furnace" from Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. It is a first-class precious and exquisite thing. The hand stove is in the shape of a turtle, and the lid of the stove is decorated with a pattern of five butterflies holding longevity, which complements the good luck, wealth, longevity and happiness on the stove body.

Asking Steward Zhen to briefly describe the merchant's name, Zhen Xi glanced at the chief steward behind him. He didn't bother to find out whose follower this fool was. He just looked at the four capable servants and asked, "You guys haven't received any news at all?"

The four people looked at each other, and then looked at the steward on the far right. Brother, this little steward is yours. It's better to let us wipe your butt for the trouble you caused yourself.

This person is also an upright person. He knows that his subordinates make mistakes, and he himself is also to blame. He hurriedly moved a step forward, bent towards the uncle of the Zhen family, and said, "Uncle, the whole house is busy with the old lady's birthday gifts these days. It was because of a momentary oversight that I forgot to take care of the important matter of buying a field to plant mulberry trees."

Zhen Xi glanced at him gloomily, indicating that this person had been following him for the longest time. Otherwise, we really have to catch him and give him a good beating. After thinking for a moment, Zhen Xi raised his hand and lifted the cloak on his shoulders, "Tell me, how do you want to solve this matter."

The big steward rolled his eyes and realized that he was onto something, and immediately advised: "Right now, the capital is still secretly investigating the corruption of nobles. Sir, our family's top priority is to fill the gap in the Jinling Mansion before the imperial envoy is sent. Yamen's accounts.

We have already said hello to the weaving bureaus in Suzhou and Hangzhou. We just have to wait until next spring to get our mulberry silk at a high price. Since it is difficult to continue in Huating County, we might as well buy land in Lou County, Jinshan, and Fengxian first. After this, we will slowly deal with a seventh-grade county magistrate. "

Zhen Xi took a deep breath and knew that the situation in front of the Zhen family could not be delayed easily. He said harshly: "If this thing goes wrong again, I will twist off your heads and use them as chamber pots."

After saying that, Zhen Xi didn't bother to look at the idiot one more time. He looked directly at the steward in charge of the birthday banquet and asked: "In the name of the master of the mansion, go and send a message to Zhang Shangde, asking him to spare time to visit the mansion these days."

"yes."

"Is there any reply from the Jia family? Does anyone know who to send next year?"

"Uncle, both young masters from Rongguo Mansion will come to celebrate their birthday." Upon hearing Uncle Zhenzhong's question, the steward quickly replied.

Will Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu both come? Zhen Xi nodded, showing some joy. At such a turbulent time, the two legitimate sons of the Jia family were able to come to Jinling in person, which was enough to calm the people who were in turmoil at home and abroad.

The Jia and Zhen families share the same love. A few generations back, there was even more in-law relationships. In this way, the friendship between you and me, and you among me, is the confidence for the two families to run rampant.

"When the time comes, we will clean up two courtyards in the house and let them live directly at home. Any request must be made without any shortcomings." Zhen Xi's mood improved, and he didn't care about the two people who continued to bend over. Taking the remaining servants with him, he ordered as he walked, "Second brother Lian likes girls. You recently went to Suzhou to buy some girls from good families and provide him with entertainment. Let the two of them stay in the house as long as possible. The better.”

The chief steward who had answered earlier was attentive. Hearing this, he hurriedly replied: "Sir, the second son of the Jia family has just got married. I heard that he will bring his wife as a guest this time. If they see it then, will it be reported back? Not so good?”

"Then you won't separate their yards further?" Zhen Xi cursed angrily. Then he thought that Jia Baoyu married Xue Baochai, and the Xue family was also an old friend of the Zhen family in Jinling for many years, so he said, "We will prepare two more shops and give them to the Xue family girls when the time comes. Will that boy Xue Pan come back?"

"The letter didn't mention anything about Mr. Xue's family."

"Remember first, if he comes back, put him in Brother Lian's room. The two of them can live together for a long time." When Zhen Xi finished speaking, he was walking around a corner. Suddenly I heard a faint cry coming from a distance, and my sullen spirit, which was already on fire, immediately got angry and said, "What an unlucky thing, go find out which maid in the house is the maid who is ignorant. Beat her to death and throw her out." ”

The end of the year is approaching, and the old lady's birthday party is coming up. On such a festive day, you still dare to cry, you are really a cheap thing who doesn't know how to live or die.

"Master, it's the second master's room." Someone immediately answered, cautiously, "Young Master Ma sent a girl to the second master's room a few days ago..."

Zhen Xi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard it. It turned out to be his brother Baoyu... Whatever, whatever.

"This woman keeps crying, I'm afraid she misses my brother. Go and call a few maids to send her over to play with my second brother." Zhen Xi sneered, he wished Zhen Baoyu would just eat, drink and have fun all day long, and live in a daze every day.

If he didn't raise this brother into a waste, how could such a big Zhen family fall into his hands for nothing.

"Yes."

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Outside, Zhen Baoyu was sitting in the brothel's wing room listening to music with Ma Yin and other friends. Today's banquet was arranged by Ma Yin. The girls who received guests in the house were carefully selected. A pot of warm wine, lyrics and music, it was a rare place to have fun in this winter.

The people who accompanied him were all famous young men in Jinling. Everyone surrounded Zhen Baoyu in brocade clothes, drinking and laughing with each other, and secretly praised Zhen Baoyu. When the crying girl was sent away, frivolous laughter rang out in the house again.

Zhen Baoyu didn't expect this woman to come. After listening to the accompanying nanny's explanation of the cause and effect. He took the beautiful woman with pear blossoms in the rain into his arms.

"I miss you so much after not seeing you for a while?" Zhen Baoyu's hand gently wandered around his opponent's waist.

Although Zhen Baoyu's words and deeds are really vulgar, his appearance is really first-class, no less than Jia Baoyu's. The girl was held in his arms, and she was shocked and frightened in her heart. She didn't care about answering for a while, and she could only tremble. But Zhen Baoyu loved her just like this, and he got even more excited.

Ma Yin knew her origins better, and amid the laughter of the audience, he poured a glass of wine for Zhen Baoyu. He said to the beautiful woman in a sinister tone: "You have become a phoenix, you can't still miss the old man in your family, right?"

Someone was interested when he heard this, and asked: "Brother Ma, from what you said, this girl is married?"

"When did Second Brother Zhen like this?"

Ma Yin and Zhen Baoyu smiled at each other, and the former immediately told the whole story as a joke. The husband of this girl, who came from afar, was originally a small vendor in Jinling City. They usually sell sesame cakes in the streets. But this man didn't know what kind of luck he had, and married a beautiful woman who was as beautiful as a flower, which was also a good thing among the neighbors.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, because of the busy business, the vendor asked his wife to come out to help. This was a common thing, but that night, Zhen Baoyu happened to take Ma Yin out for a walk under the moonlight. Seeing the beautiful woman under the lantern, she also had a certain charm, and he was stunned immediately.

Ma Yin was bold and saw Zhen Baoyu's heartbeat. After a few days, he caught the woman and sent her to Zhen's house. Counting the days, it has been a few months now.

After the story was told, everyone laughed and said that Brother Ma was a talent. Coincidentally, the hawking downstairs suddenly spread to the wing room on the second floor. Ma Yin has been practicing martial arts for many years and has very sharp ears. Hearing that the hawking sounded familiar, he showed a wicked smile. He walked directly to the window and opened the window to make the hawking sound clearer.

"Selling sesame cakes--selling sesame cakes--"

Such a familiar hawking sound, how could the beautiful woman not recognize it as the tone of her former husband when she heard it. Seeing her expression turn into an indescribable sadness, Zhen Baoyu became more interested and whispered in the beautiful woman's ear: "Baby, tell me. Now let you choose, are you willing to go back to find him?"

"Hahaha." Ma Yin laughed and catered to Zhen Baoyu's meaning, saying, "What's the point of asking this question by the second brother Zhen? Why don't we call her husband up and ask again, wouldn't it be better and more interesting?"

After saying that, he ignored the panic and fear on the beautiful woman's face. Amid the noise of the crowd, a servant of the Zhen family came up with an honest man. Everyone looked around and saw that the man looked quite old, and there were still bruises on his face.

When the couple first met, they both lost half of their minds. They looked at each other without saying a word, each with tears in their eyes, which made others look very interesting. Ma Yin asked again: "Today I will be merciful and ask for mercy from Brother Zhen Er on your behalf. You, woman, speak in front of all of us. As long as you say you want to continue to sell cakes on the street with him, we will never make things difficult for you and your wife."

Zhen Baoyu was extremely excited when he heard this. While hugging the beautiful woman tightly, he kept asking: "Baby, tell me, tell me quickly. Do you want to go with him or with me?"

Seeing that the other party's hand around her waist was getting tighter and tighter, the beautiful woman didn't know what to say, so she had to bury her face in Zhen Baoyu's shoulder and sobbed softly. Did she have a choice? She had no choice. If she dared to go back today, she might be caught tomorrow. If she fell into the hands of these young masters, it would be easy to die.

The man with a bruised face also lowered his head. Looking at his pitiful and timid appearance, he didn't know what he had experienced before. Ma Yin looked around proudly, and seeing that everyone was in high spirits, he threw fifty taels of silver to the other party, "Take your sesame cakes and get out of here. Take this money to buy some things for your children, and let your family have a good year."

The honest man didn't say a word, just picked up the silver on the ground and left in a hurry. He left so embarrassed that he didn't even dare to look at the woman behind him.

The laughter in the hall became even louder.

This is not the first time they have done such a thing. Every time I see it, I still find it very interesting and fascinating.

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In the Huating County government office, Chen Heng was still buried in front of the desk. He was writing a secret memorial to Li Zhi. The most important thing was to explain the amount of donations from merchants. Then he listed the uses of the money.

The stones for expanding the port and building bridges and roads are different. Some can be directly excavated locally, and some need to be purchased and transported from Zhejiang. It would be best to recruit old craftsmen from the shipyard now. We also have to buy a batch of winter clothes from Qiupu Street in Yangzhou and distribute them to the people who participate in corvée to avoid the cold.

The current situation is urgent, although the people have to work hard. If they can live a better life, try to live a better life. Chen Heng wrote on the paper and stopped, and wrote his plan for Songjiang Prefecture on the memorial. Because it is a secret memorial, it does not need to be reviewed by the cabinet first. Chen Heng's wording was also very straightforward, trying to make Li Zhi understand at a glance.

He was busy here, but Xiao Ping, who had just left, walked into the study again with joy and said to his own county magistrate: "Sir, good news, really good news."

Chen Heng raised his head from the table, saw the other party's joy, and couldn't help asking curiously: "What good news did Xiao Zhubu hear?"

Xiao Ping, who was invited to sit down, quickly replied: "The headmaster of the prefectural school sent a message, and wanted to invite you to go to the prefectural school to give a lecture tomorrow."

What good news is this? Chen Heng smiled. After pouring each other a cup of tea, he said with a little distress: "How can I spare the time now? I have so many things to do and I can't get away from them all."

"Sir, this is the merit of culture and education." Seeing that Chen Heng was about to refuse, Xiao Ping tried his best to persuade him, "Sir, didn't you say a few days ago that you would recruit more people to help your subordinates share the work at hand? The scholars in the prefectural school are the best candidates. What's more, the county exam will be held in March next year. It is reasonable for you to meet with the scholars in the county."

That's right. Chen Heng understood Xiao Ping's painstaking efforts. Culture and education are important matters for the county magistrate to be promoted. He nodded immediately and replied directly: "Okay, then I'll go. Seeing you like this, I'm afraid you still have something to hide, so just say it all at once."

"My Lord, please see me." Xiao Ping didn't even bother to drink tea, and still said excitedly, "The newspaper shop in the prefecture sent a message today. I want to ask if I can meet you and talk about the many things in Huating County recently."

This time, before Chen Heng could speak, Xiao Ping continued to persuade: "My Lord, this matter is like Teng Zijing asking Fan Gong to write an article. It is really a good way to open up the people in the county. If it is done well, there may be more people who will be called up for corvée. I beg you not to refuse and meet them."

Isn't this the interview of Dayong version. Chen Heng shook his head and laughed. There are indeed many smart people in this world who know how to use him to open up the sales of newspapers. As for the matter of Teng Zijing mentioned by Xiao Ping, he also knew it.

This story is about the Northern Song Dynasty, when Teng Zijing was exiled to Baling County and renovated Yueyang Tower while in office. At that time, Yueyang Tower had just been renovated, and Teng Zijing invited the literary masters of the time to write a preface for Yueyang Tower, asking Ouyang Xiu and others to promote it.

Don't underestimate the influence of these literary masters. As long as they say a few words or write a few words, they can attract literati from all over the world to come to Yueyang Tower to stop and play, benefiting the local people.

Everyone is familiar with the following things. A year later, Fan Zhongyan sent a manuscript with the first sentence "holding the distant mountains, swallowing the Yangtze River, vast and boundless, morning sun and evening shade, with a myriad of atmospheres". In just twenty words, the magnificence and momentum of Yueyang Tower were written.

Every word and sentence of the subsequent article is worth reading repeatedly by people in later generations. Especially the sentence "Be the first to worry about the world, and the last to enjoy the world", no matter when you read it, it makes people feel excited.

"I know." Chen Heng smiled and nodded. He knew that the stage of Songjiang Prefecture had just been set up, and it needed a qualified publicity to thoroughly establish its reputation. "In addition to the local newspaper shops, let's also find newspaper shops in Yangzhou."

These are our own folks. With them, we should be able to avoid people with ulterior motives from making flattering remarks and replacing pillars with fake ones.

Seeing that the adults did not resist, Xiao Ping immediately suggested: "Why not find more people?"

Chen Heng thought about it and gave up the idea. Too much is as bad as too little. If he were a fourth-rank prefect, he could call more people. At present, he is still a county magistrate, and these two are enough. What's more, so many merchants have been invited to participate this time, and these merchants may not have a few newspaper shops. When there is a draft model, these people's newspapers can be copied directly.

Chen Heng said what he meant, and Xiao Ping nodded in agreement. It was still his own county magistrate who considered the long-term.

After reporting the two things, Xiao Ping was unwilling to stay for long, and got up and left directly. Such a hurried appearance wasted a cup of tea. Chen Heng laughed and simply lowered his head to continue busying himself.

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Songjiang Prefecture School is located in the south of the city and is under the jurisdiction of Huating County. It is located between the Confucian Temple and the Three Sages Temple. Needless to say, the bustle of this place.

When Chen Heng walked out of the sedan chair, the door of the prefectural school was open. The then headmaster of Zhengmeng Academy led the scholars to wait at the door, and had already been waiting for the arrival of the champion.

The headmaster of the academy was an old scholar, older than Xu Jinhou. Seeing Chen Heng, the three-time winner, he was also a little excited. This is a living signboard in the imperial examination of this dynasty, and today I can see the real person.

When Chen Heng, who was wearing regular clothes, walked up to him, the old mountain leader raised his hand to salute. The former stepped forward quickly and took the old mountain leader's hands. He said directly: "Teacher is my respect, nothing else matters today. Only the younger students from Yangzhou come to visit Zhengmeng Academy. The mountain leader does not need to be polite. The person who should be polite is me, a junior."

After saying that, Chen Heng didn't wait for the old gentleman's reaction and directly raised his hands to bow. When Chen Heng stood up straight, the mountain leader's face was already filled with a smile. He said in a gentle tone: "I am so virtuous and capable, how dare I accept the gift of the number one scholar of this dynasty."

Chen Heng smiled modestly, continued to hold the old man's hand, and said comfortingly: "The mountain leader has been educating people in the academy for more than thirty years. He has students all over the world and is known as a virtuous person in the state capital. This is the virtue of the mountain leader." The students of Zhengmeng Academy will benefit the people when they enter the court, but they will worry about the world when they are in the countryside. "

After what he said, the old mountain leader excitedly hugged Chen Heng. Being able to get this evaluation from the other party is enough to comfort him for his hard life. Immediately he stretched out his hand in front of him and said, "Please move forward and take a look at the hospital."

Chen Heng smiled and nodded, and accompanied by the other party and the scholars, he slowly visited various places in Zhengmeng Academy. From the school to the dormitory, when the guide introduced each place, Chen Heng also took out interesting stories from his own study and shared them with others around him.

Under the warm winter sun, amid the colorful forestry, bursts of laughter can occasionally be heard. After everyone walked around, the old mountain chief and the master in the courtyard invited Chen Heng to the lobby that had been prepared in advance.

There are one hundred and eighty-six scholars in Zhengmeng Academy, and there are quite a few of them today, filling the seats inside and outside the academy. Chen Heng stood in front of these people and looked at the energetic faces. Some of them are older than me, and some are students about the same age as me.

Facing everyone's expectant gazes, Chen Heng bowed briefly before stopping his sleeves and saying: "Today there is no distinction between top and bottom, only front and back. I will say something later. If you want to ask questions, just raise your hands. Each other. Between us, I am only called my senior fellow student, what do you think?"

Seeing that Duke Zhuangyuan was so approachable, the students all chuckled and said, "I accept Duke Zhuangyuan's good wishes, and I dare not disobey him."

After receiving the reply, Chen Heng chuckled and said, "I wonder what you want to hear today? What do you want to ask?"

There was some noisy discussion among the crowd, but a consensus was quickly reached. This time I was able to invite the leader of the article, so naturally I wanted to ask about the art of writing policy articles. In the hearts of all the students, who doesn’t have a sweet dream of being named on the gold medal list?

Chen Heng nodded directly after hearing their words. He was not surprised that the other party would ask such a question. Just to give a clear answer, I need to think about it a little bit. Fortunately, he himself had learned a lot about others, and he settled on his thoughts in just a moment.

"Today's topic, I will leave it to you, and the two and three sons will listen to it." Although Chen Heng was wearing regular clothes today, he did not change his free and easy scholarly spirit.

The scholar, who is full of confidence in poetry and books, is walking with his hands behind his back, as if he is leisurely sitting in a mountain of books, and his style is outstanding. The loud voice echoed in everyone's ears, "I personally think that there should be three meanings in formulating essays."

Everyone listened attentively, and in the quiet hall, Chen Heng was walking and talking with his hands behind his back.

"When I was young, I studied with Master Meng for several years. Master Wang once pointed out the confusion of the original meaning. I thought: stick to it, cut the branches from the thick stem, and make knots with heavy weight. I am very pleased with it and deeply agree with it."

Chen Heng then cited several examples to demonstrate the key to grasping the main point of the article and not overshadowing it. Over the years, he has kept reading and has made reading a daily habit. Repeating the previous steps, the words he spoke clearly made the important points clear, so that people did not feel that they were trying to be mysterious or obscured by clouds and mountains.

"This is the original meaning of the article. The key is to grasp the center of the article. A tree cannot stand without roots, and an article cannot be completed without intention. This is the intention of the article. Once you understand this point and start writing, a good article will become its own. The difficulty lies in writing more and practicing more. The most important thing is perseverance." After Chen Heng finished speaking, the students below were already writing quickly, fearing that they would miss every word of the Number One Scholar.

"Now that we have a literary heart, there should be a distinction between a virtual heart and a real heart. This is what I realized when I was taught by the mountain leader when I was studying in Yangzhou Prefecture." Thinking of Pei Huaizhen's day and night teachings, Chen Heng sighed, "What is the virtual heart?" , What is reality? It is hard to tell whether it is empty talk or whether it is true."

A student raised his hand and asked: "Brother, apart from this method, is there anything else..." This person probably wanted to ask about cleverness, but he was afraid that after saying this, he would have a bad impression of the No. 1 Scholar. After all, cleverness itself, listen. It's a bit derogatory.

Chen Heng chuckled and said, "Yes." He stretched out his hand to motion for the other person to sit down. "At that time, the mountain chief once told me to go wandering in the city and countryside more often in my free time. I would write down what I saw and heard every day. At first, I didn't understand it. meaning……"

Chen Heng took a long breath and said without any secret: "Now think about it, if you want to write a meaningful article, it is really difficult to write it behind closed doors. You can only keep everything in the world in your heart and think clearly about how they come and why they go. . Only by being familiar with the reasons and connections can you calm down your mind and turn the imaginary into the real. ”

He then asked with a smile: "Do you think that a person who does not know the sufferings of the people can really write articles to help the world? It is one thing to be talented, but it is another thing to write articles to help the world."

There was a slight pause, waiting for everyone to write down these words. Chen Hengcai continued: "These are the two meanings of an article: to speak with substance and to move away from fiction and toward reality. If you achieve this level, your article should have the spirit of a dragon and a tiger, and it should be enough to be published all over the world."

"As for the three righteousnesses." Chen Heng took the tea from a nearby student, took a sip, and then replied in a deep voice, "In recent years, I have had a lot of feelings about these righteousnesses, and I often have new ideas to add to my preface. What I say today is what I think. I don’t know for sure. If you ask me again next year, I won’t know if I will change my words.”

Chen Heng didn't care when he heard chuckles coming from the hall. After the laughter faded away, he said softly: "After passing the first two passes, it is like a person traveling on a river in a boat, passing through three mountains and five lakes. It is wonderful that a light boat has passed ten thousand mountains. At this time, you should stand... "

Chen Heng tapped the ground with his feet, pointing to the special terrain of Songjiang Mansion, "The mouth of the river where the river flows into the sea. Beyond that, there is the vast sea. There is no place to go before and no way back. In the vast sky and earth, there are only sand gulls and sea clouds. Companion. This is the most dangerous place. If you are not careful, the article will fall into the wrong place, just because the undercurrent is turbulent and material desires are rampant."

His expression condensed, and he looked slightly far away, as if through the wall, he could see the waves of water pouring into the sea from the river mouth. "At this point, it is time to be a boat with a literary heart and a sail with ambition. Cross the sea and climb the fairy mountain. Only by not giving up the original intention can the article improve day by day. The meaning of Hengqu's four sentences should be exactly here. "

"Do you still remember the four lines of Hengqu? Come and recite them to me."

Everyone seemed to have realized something. First, a small group of people started to recite: "Establish a heart for the heaven and earth, and establish a destiny for the people." Then more and more people joined in the recitation. By the end, it was overwhelming.

"To carry forward the unique knowledge of the past saints and create peace for all generations."

"Of course." Chen Heng laughed while stroking his hands, "The first meaning is skill, the second meaning is law, and the third meaning is integration. Ambition is the sail, and it is also the destination. Those who are ambitious should take fame lightly rather than honor and disgrace. When their ambition is fulfilled, they should See the colorful fallen flowers and the sudden enlightenment.”

Everyone present stood up, bowed to the senior students in the hall, and said in unison: "I would like to be taught. Thank you, sir."

It’s done, it’s done, today is also 7,000 words. Asking for votes, asking for monthly votes, and asking for recommendation votes. Brothers, vote quickly.