Faced with Wu Dalangjun's invitation, Zhang Yue finally refused and left humbly.
Wu Anshi was not surprised. He had already understood this son's character and was always so cautious.
In fact, Wu Anshi really wanted to get to know the two brothers.
Zhang Dun's incident caused a great sensation in Beijing.
There is no need to mention this subject in the second year of Jiayou. Even Wei Guogong Han Qi said, "With Ersu here, how come so many candidates dare to take the exam?"
However, Ersu's ranking in the scientific examination this time was not very high.
There are four exams for the Jinshi subject, and they are eliminated one by one. The first exam is poetry, the second exam is theory, the third exam is strategy, and the fourth exam is classics.
It was Mei Yaochen who showed Ouyang Xiu a piece of Su Shi's "On the Most Honesty in Punishments and Rewards". Ouyang Xiu liked it very much, and then he looked at his poems and found that he had been eliminated by other examiners. So Ouyang Xiu ranked Su Shi's argument second, and then pulled Su Shi back.
In the end, Su Shi finished in the top four. His younger brother ranked fifth in the selection.
Zhang Dun ranked very high in the provincial examination, but in the palace examination his ranking was not as good as his nephew's.
This is about the story of the brothers Song Qi and Song Xiang in the "Big and Little Song Dynasties". The brothers Song Qi and Song Xiang took the scientific examination in the same year. During the palace examination, the emperor originally planned to select his younger brother Song Qi as the first and his elder brother Song Xiang as the third. However, the Queen Mother believed that the younger brother was superior to his elder brother, which was against the rules, so he asked his elder brother Song Xiang to replace his younger brother. , became the number one scholar, Song Qi not only lost the number one prize, but was placed in tenth place.
But when it comes to this subject, why is Zhang Dun inferior to his nephew despite being an uncle? Although this nephew is nearly ten years older than me, in terms of seniority, why should he say that?
Some people think that this is nothing arrogant, but some people appreciate it somewhat. Scholars should regard fame as dirt, and Wu Anshi belongs to the latter.
As for Sanlang's understanding of Zhang Yue, it originated from Chen Shengzhi's regard for him.
So Wu Anshi suddenly became interested, and he also sent someone to inquire about Zhang Yue's results in the economics department.
Unexpectedly, Wu Anshi was very surprised when he asked, so today he made an exception to treat Zhang Yue to a banquet just to build a good relationship with his two brothers in the future.
On the contrary, Zhang Yue completely believed that Wu Anshi fell in love with Wu Jiwu so much because of his brother. Anyway, Zhang Yue has become accustomed to such a name for Zhang Erlang's brother in the past six months.
Whenever he achieves something slightly, or when others praise him, he thinks it is because of his second brother, not him. In short, it turned into a mental illness. The problem is that Zhang Yue himself hasn't noticed it yet.
Over the past six months, I have become accustomed to being called Mo's younger brother. There are always people who want to compare the two of them. If I operate normally, others will say it is nothing more than that. If I perform extraordinarily, others will say so-and-so's brother should be like this.
It's so incomprehensible that he seems to be praising himself so much.
However, Zhang Yue didn't really refuse. If he didn't finish borrowing the books and return them, it would be logical for him to get close to Mr. Zhang Dalang.
When Zhang Yue went back, the snow had stopped.
Wu Dalangjun returned to the hall after he was drunk and his ears were hot. At this moment, he was so drunk that he couldn't help but sit there to rest, and then ordered someone to pinch his forehead.
At this moment, the Seventeenth Mother and the woman in a green shirt were walking towards the hall.
But seeing that this hall is surrounded by pavilions, black floor-to-ceiling pillars stand in front of the door, and there are several towering trees in front of the hall that are hugged by several people. In summer, the branches and leaves are like a canopy, but now in winter, the leaves have fallen out, and there are many trees. snow.
When you walk into the hall, you can see that the utensils and scenery are all exuding an aura of wealth and honor. This kind of aura took more than ten years to achieve. Only the Wu family, with three generations of officials, could have it.
"I've met Mr. Wu Dalang (brother)."
"No need to be polite." Wu Anshi is the ninth in the family, but he is the eldest son of Wu Chong at home, and he likes to be called Da Langjun.
Seeing her brother in such a drunken state, Seventeenth Mother turned around and asked, "Has Mama Xu's hangover soup been ready?"
A woman following Seventeenth Mother leaned forward and said, "Keep it warm as instructed."
"Then serve my brother and drink."
Wu Anshi drank the hangover soup and looked a little soberer.
After the screen retreated, Qi Niang said: "Brother, you should drink less. Drinking too much will harm your health, and your sister-in-law will blame you for being drunk and not knowing poetry."
Wu Anshi said: "What can I do if I don't drink? I'm not going well in the exams today, so I have to look at the favor of the court. My sister from the Zhang family is half a member of my own family. When I say this, I'm not afraid of your jokes." "
Seeing the sullen look on the Seventeenth Mother's side, the woman in a lake-green shirt smiled and said: "Da Langjun has a beautiful belly and a huge chest. He just doesn't like studying like me. It's just right to abandon this science and study this way. There is no need to waste time on it." In the pile of old papers.”
Wu Anshi laughed loudly when he heard this and said: "It's the sister of the Zhang family who can talk. Unlike the Seventeenth Mother who spends all her time urging me to study and improve, this sister is all responsible for her brother, and there are no rules at all."
The seventeenth mother said: "How dare I interfere with my brother? It's just that the court has a system, and those who are not Jinshi can't be promoted to official positions. In my Wu family, from my grandfather to my father, my father and son have five Jinshi, and now I have reached my elder brother's generation. There is not even a single Jinshi, so is it possible to just rely on kindness?"
Wu Anshi said: "Sister Seventeen, can you not be like your sister-in-law? I should speak more appropriately to my brother on weekdays. My brother has treated you well in the past, right?"
Seventeenth Mother turned sideways and said angrily: "Brother treats me very well, I know it in my heart. It's just that my sister-in-law is so sincere and has plans for you. How could you say it like this? If it spreads out, wouldn't it be a disservice to my sister-in-law? A piece of heart.”
Wu Anshi said helplessly: "Sister Zhang, look at my seventeenth sister. She helps her sister-in-law talk all day long."
The woman in the lake green shirt pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Da Langjun, how dare I speak against her? I even lost a box of palace powder to her today. But the Seventeenth Mother is right. It seems that neither of the Han and Lu families has been a scholar for generations." . There is a saying today that all the people in the world come from Lu if they don’t come from Han!”
Wu Anshi said: "So what? Won't the Han and Lu families be in-laws of my Wu family sooner or later? I don't know what you are worried about. But when it comes to recruiting talents, the Han and Lu families do have their strengths. Sister Zhang's sister , how do you think they recruit talents?"
The woman in the lake green shirt smiled and said: "How much talent does it depend on? A talent of a hundred miles and a talent of a thousand miles, the choice of the world is different."
"Like a benevolent and righteous person, don't be tempted to take advantage of goods; a warrior should be light-hearted and don't be afraid of trouble; a wise person is good at numbers and understands reason; he can't be bullied by dishonesty, and he can be punished if he is the opposite!"
Wu Anshi admired her: "I would say that although Zhang's sister does not study, she has lived in Beijing for many years with Duke Xun (Zhang Dexiang), and she is a hundred times more knowledgeable than ordinary men."
The girl from the Zhang family smiled and showed her pride. She maintained that she was from an aristocratic family and had learned ten times more than the children of other families since she was a child. Not to mention that her grandfather was the prime minister of the dynasty and he was raised on his lap. Everything he saw and heard It's different.
"Does this mean that Mr. Da Lang wants to recruit talents?"
"It's not that much of a talent. At first, it was because of his elder brother, but now I value his talent." Wu Anshi immediately handed a piece of poetry to the woman in a green shirt and said, "What do you think of this poem?"
The two girls read it together.
'There are several plum trees in the corner, and Ling Han is blooming alone. I know it's not snow from a distance, because there is a faint fragrance coming. '
"What a poem!"
Both women praised it.
"Did this person write it?" The Zhang family woman continued to ask.
Wu Anshi smiled and said: "Indeed. He is still from your family, but it's a pity that he is just a businessman, but for some reason he writes good poems."
Hearing this, Zhang's daughter and Qi Niang couldn't help but look at each other, and both thought of the young man borrowing books in the library.
"Having said that, Mr. Chen from Kaoting also valued him very much. He originally recruited him to accompany his nephew in reading, but he refused. If not for this, I would have recruited him a long time ago. The eldest uncle is the prime minister, and he is the prime minister. There is a shortage of talents, so I always keep an eye out for young people from poor families in this county who can help me.”
The Zhang woman said: "Then who is this person? Since he is a descendant of my Zhang family, if he is famous, there is absolutely nothing wrong with me."
The other party thought to himself, since he is a son of the Zhang family, it is not your Wu family's turn to recruit him. This Wu Dalangjun is really drunk and talking nonsense.
Wu Anshi was about to speak when she saw Seventeenth Mother saying, "Brother, you haven't sobered up yet. I'll order the cook to bring you a bowl of soup."
Interrupted by this, Wu Anshi couldn't help but look up to the sky and let out a haha. He was not a fool. He understood it after thinking about it and immediately changed his mind.
The Zhang woman looked at Qi Niang and thought to herself, this is really a petty thing.
By this time the snow had stopped, but the weather was getting colder.
A carriage stopped in front of the gate of Wu Mansion, and Zhang's daughter had already gone out, while Seventeenth Mother saw her off.
"Seventeenth Mother, it will take a few years for me to see you again in a few years when I return to Beijing. I may be married by then." The Zhang woman sighed leisurely.
Seventeenth Mother said: "Sister, take care. I will go to the capital with my brother to see you in a while. By then, the embroidered robe I made for you will also be finished."
"Thank you so much, sister," the Zhang girl said with some feeling, "Yes, your brother is not a material for studying. It's not that he is not smart, he is just too greedy for comfort, and he is unwilling to study because he has the opportunity to be an official. You also Don't try to persuade me anymore, he is the eldest brother after all, and it will damage the relationship between brother and sister."
The seventeenth mother said: "I persuade my brother to study, so that he will not be too ridiculous outside, and to avoid quarreling with my sister-in-law every day. Although he blames me, after all, it will not matter because he cares about the relationship between brother and sister, but my sister-in-law is already It's hard enough. Fortunately, my brother still cares about this family in his heart, and he also wants to recruit useful talents for dad."
"But having said that, no matter how glorious our ancestors are, if their descendants don't get the Jinshi title, they will not be able to maintain their wealth. I envy your Zhang family for this. Not to mention every generation, there are almost no Jinshis."
The Zhang woman pursed her lips and said with a smile: "That's also a side branch! My brothers are just like your brothers, unwilling to study hard. But sister, you do love reading. It would be better if you were a man, and you would definitely be better than you. My brother is much stronger."
The seventeenth mother said: "My family is proud of poetry and books. I originally studied to please my grandfather and father."
The Zhang family woman sighed: "It's not easy for my sister."
