In the blink of an eye, it is already late April, and wheat and rice seedlings have sprouted in the fields. Farmers are holding cows and hoeing, and walking in the fields with their trouser legs rolled up.
Zhao Cheng stood at the intersection from Yulin Mansion to Shangjing, saying goodbye to An Dongjun.
"I wish Brother An a safe journey."
An Dongjun smiled and said: "With the talents of you and me, we should each leave a poem on the pillar of this pavilion. The title of the poem you gave to me is called 'Send An Dongjun to Beijing', and the one I gave to you was The title is 'Send Zhao Chengzhi Qinghe', maybe many years later, your and my names will be spread along with the poem."
Zhao Cheng smiled and shook his head: "Don't call it a name. When future generations see these two poems, they will probably say that these are nonsense poems!"
An Dongjun laughed.
During this period of time, Zhao Cheng and An Dongjun got along quite well.
An Dongjun is a very down-to-earth person. Although he was born in Goryeo, his Chinese language, writing, daily routine and customs are no different from ordinary Han people.
Another thing is that An Dongjun came from a military family, and the two of them created a sandbox simulation game. The internal affairs gameplay that Zhao Cheng added made An Dongjun hooked. And An Dongjun explained the method of transporting troops and forming formations, which also attracted Zhao Cheng. Cheng has benefited a lot.
This time, the two of them luckily passed the Yunzhou Prefectural Examination and finally obtained the status of Gongsheng. The provincial examination happens to be in September this year, which means that if the two of them can work together and pass the provincial examination, they will be equal to Passed the imperial examination in the shortest time.
Because the provincial examination was held in Shangjing, An Dongjun no longer had to live temporarily with his mother's family in Qinghe County, so the two said goodbye from Yulin Mansion. An Dongjun returned to Shangjing, while Zhao Cheng returned to Qinghe County.
An Dongjun sighed and said: "It's a pity that I didn't bring a bow and arrow. Otherwise, I would have shot a pheasant and given it to Brother Zhao."
Pheasants are pheasants, because this animal has a characteristic that it is difficult to raise domestically. It will not eat what it comes from, so it will starve to death soon after being caught.
Scholars often choose pheasants when giving gifts to each other. "Scholars regard pheasants as their favorites. They should not be tempted to eat them. They should not be used to frighten them. They will surely die. They cannot breed animals. Scholars act in a presumptuous and upright manner, and they should not be transferred." .”
The ancients believed that this characteristic of the pheasant is like the character of a noble scholar, so it was given a symbol of the scholar's spirit.
In addition, roosters are aggressive, and warriors often wear pheasant feather hats to show their courage.
Although Zhao Cheng didn't know this, he was already prepared for this. He found a blacksmith shop in Yulin Mansion and built a sandbox. In it, there were not only dolls representing cavalry and infantry, trees, cities, and people who issued decrees. Small wooden cards, an hourglass for timing, and dice for throwing.
"This is... a sandbox?" An Dongjun opened it and couldn't help being attracted by the sandbox.
"Brother Zhao still understands me!" An Dongjun couldn't put it down and liked this sandbox very much.
"Brother Zhao, this gift is really what I like. I feel so ashamed."
With that said, An Dongjun took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Zhao Cheng: "Brother Zhao, although this jade pendant is old, it is a heirloom of my family. Please accept it, brother Zhao."
How dare Zhao Cheng accept it? He quickly refused.
Unexpectedly, An Dongjun blushed with some shame and asked, "Brother Zhao doesn't accept it, is it because he dislikes the younger brother's Korean identity?"
Having said this, Zhao Cheng could no longer refuse and had to accept: "What I gave you is just a game item, and this jade pendant is your family heirloom. It is really too precious."
"Brother Zhao, although you and I have not been together for a long time, we have the same mind and love as brothers. I hope that you and I can be lifelong friends like Li Bai and Meng Haoran in the Tang Dynasty."
"Okay, let's be friends for life!" Zhao Cheng solemnly handed over his hand.
"I wonder what brother Zhao has planned next?" An Dongjun knew that Zhao Cheng would also go to Beijing to take the exam in September, just like him.
And Yulin Mansion is a thousand miles away from Shangjing. If you travel dozens of miles a day, it will take more than a month to reach it.
In this case, you need to leave for Shangjing at least before August so that you can make enough time.
Zhao Chengdao: "I plan to go back to Qinghe County first to visit the teacher. There are still three months until August, so I have to work hard again."
It can be said that Zheng Yucheng made great contributions to passing the county examination and the prefecture examination, because Zheng Yucheng himself was once a Yunzhou Confucian scholar. He has presided over the county examination and prefecture examination for more than ten years and has extremely rich experience. In terms of answering questions, especially precise.
Although Zhao Cheng has a good memory, some things cannot be simply recited. They also need to be understood and comprehended.
Without Zheng Yucheng's guidance, Zhao Cheng felt that it would be difficult for him to pass the government examination, let alone the provincial examination four months later.
If he wants not to be bullied by people like Hong Baotou, Master He, and Prince Bai from Shangjing, he can only enter the official career and hold power. This is Zhao Cheng's first step in planning for his future.
In this dynasty, if there is no power to protect oneself, what will happen even if Dashunzhai is strong? The same fate would result from being easily crushed.
No matter what Zhao Cheng thinks or what kind of life he wants to live, power must be something he holds in his hands first.
Your own destiny can only be controlled by yourself.
So even though he didn't like Confucianism, he could only turn himself into a Confucian scholar first, and then talk about other things.
After bidding farewell to An Dongjun, Zhao Cheng also embarked on the road back home.
Participating in the imperial examination in Yulin Mansion can be regarded as a trip to a far distance. You have to bring something back with you, especially Zheng Xiaoyue'er, who will definitely need many gifts before she can give up.
Zhao Cheng found a ready-made clothing store and sewed a huge stuffed rabbit and a stuffed bear using fur and obsidian.
Zhang Dashun likes wine, so Zhao Cheng went to the blacksmith shop to buy two large iron barrels and several long iron pipe elbows, and brought them back to Zhang Dashun for him to use for distillation.
As for the gifts for Zheng Yucheng, Zhao Cheng personally made a fishing rod, an iron fishing box, and a fishing net.
Due to the inconvenience of carrying them, Zhao Cheng simply hired a carriage and asked the driver to deliver these items directly to Zheng Yucheng's home and Dashunzhai Restaurant in Qinghe County.
Zhao Cheng himself walked leisurely.
When we came here, we took the official road, but because of the Qingshui River, it was a long way around.
So he chose to take a small road on his way back. It was only over a hundred miles anyway, so he went back after enjoying the mountains and rivers.
In order to facilitate climbing, Zhao Cheng also specially prepared a hiking pole. In addition to two coats to keep out the cold, there were also three pairs of cloth shoes in the backpack.
Because there are no rubber soles, cloth-soled shoes will quickly wear out, and wooden soles are too hard and uncomfortable, so you need to prepare a few extra pairs of shoes when walking long distances.
In addition, there are some scattered silver taels, about seven or eight taels, and some scattered copper coins.
