The two met in the same year and had constant topics of conversation. Looks very affectionate. If others didn't know what was going on, they would think they were old friends reunited for many years.
In fact, Liu Dalin and Chen Zizhuang are not familiar with each other, let alone have any personal relationship. They can only be regarded as "acquaintances." But they have the most powerful and "iron" social relationship in the Ming Dynasty: "the same year."
The fate of scholars in the Ming Dynasty was all determined by the rank in the imperial examination. Before passing the imperial examination and gaining an official position, they usually could only study the Four Books and the "Classics" of their own choice, and figure out the eight-legged grammar. Only after becoming a Jinshi can one be able to see the majesty of Kyoto and the world's famous attractions. Only then can one have the relationship of the same year, teachers and students, and superiors and subordinates, and be awarded "the best in the world".
The imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty was very difficult. The vast majority of scholars could not cross the threshold from scholar to candidate. But once you cross it, you will "change your destiny against the will of heaven" and step into the threshold of "gentlemanship"; if you continue to be successful in the cabin and win the Jinshi, you will become a man above the clouds.
It is precisely because the scholars of the Ming Dynasty regarded the imperial examination as their lifeblood, especially since most of them were from civilian backgrounds and lacked strong support when they first entered the officialdom. They had to rely on the relationships established in the examination room with their disciples, students, and Jinshi in the same year to spread the word. A complex web of interests. Chinese people respect the examiner as their teacher and call themselves their disciples. Once they are a teacher, they will always be a father. Those who are on the same list all become the same year, "subjects thousands of miles away, sea and sky, and brothers born under the same family". People who are strangers to each other become brothers when they are in the same year, and they depend on each other for good and fortune. If there is friendship from the same hometown on top of the relationship of the same age, the relationship will be even stronger.
For students who are interested in official careers, this kind of relationship is not only a kind of friendship but also political capital, so they attach great importance to it. They are often as close as father and son and brothers, and use this as a bond to form political factions, in which individuals can gain both benefits and benefits. Benefit from these relationships, you may also suffer from these relationships. But generally speaking, those who benefited from their connections in the same year were more numerous. Even if they were defeated in the court politics, as long as they could escape unharmed and return to their hometowns, they could still live a good life with the help of the court and local network built by their classmates. The life of a majestic gentleman.
As long as there is no conflict of interest, people of the same age are willing to communicate with each other. The main means to strengthen the relationship between the same age is to hold the same age meeting, which is said to have begun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the first annual meeting was the most lively, mainly because all the newly promoted Jinshi gathered in the capital. At the end of the same year meeting, in order to keep in touch with each other, it was customary to compile a list in order of age, called the same year record. Since it was compiled privately by the Jinshi, Also called private recording. The official registration records are arranged by ranking and are called public records. Since the position of Jinshi changed from time to time in the same year, the record in the same year "must be reprinted for several years, and it is a record of the record."
A banquet has been set up in the pavilion by the lake, and handsome boys and pretty maids are waiting around.
As the host, Chen Zilu was greeting the guests attending the banquet. Except for Chen Zilu, everyone else is Chen Zizhuang's best friend.
In the 47th year of Wanli's reign, Jiweike is full of talents. Historical celebrities such as Chen Zizhuang, He Wuzou, Yuan Chonghuan, Ma Shiying and Sun Chuanting are all Jinshi on this list. Among them, Chen Zizhuang, He Wuzu, Yuan Chonghuan, Liu Dalin, Yao Di, Zhao Xunru, Zhu Zuochang, Huang Yingxiu, Guan Jiyi, etc. are all Lingnan scholars. Chen Zizhuang and He Wuzu were old neighbors. Huang Yingxiu and Chen Zizhuang's cousin Zhu Shilian formed a poetry club in Zhengjue Temple, Jiujiang. Yao Dian, Zhu Zuochang and Yuan Chonghuan were fellow residents of Dongguan. These people had very close contacts. Only Liu Dalin was not only from remote Hainan Island, but also unable to join the officialdom due to physical reasons. Apart from a few occasional letters, he gradually faded out of the social circles of the same year.
Everyone saw Liu Dalin from a distance. They saw him wearing an improved cotton Hanfu, a long exquisite pipe in his hand, and a rosy complexion. They thought he was living a pretty good life under the nourishment of the Australians, so they all came to greet him.
He Wuzou said hello: "Meng Liang, I haven't seen you for many years. Your complexion is getting better and better."
"Brother Long You (He Wuzou), Brother Hou Sheng (Zhao Xunru), Brother Shengjin (Yao Tian), and Brother Shunhu (Chen Zilu) are all well!" For more than ten years, due to paralysis in bed, This was the first time Liu Dalin saw so many people of the same age. He couldn't help but feel excited and wanted to stand up tremblingly.
Although they are all Jinshi in the same ranking, He Wuzhi, Zhao Xunru, and Yao Tian are older than Chen Zizhuang and Liu Dalin. They are all already gray-haired people in their fifties and sixties. He Wuzou was dismissed from office by Chongzhen and returned home due to a party dispute with Wen Tiren. Zhao Xunru had long been begging for leave and returned home to stay in Dumen to recover from his illness. Yao Tian also retired and returned to his hometown in the seventh year of Tianqi. Later, he was shocked when he heard that Yuan Chonghuan died unjustly and tragically. From then on, he lived in seclusion in the countryside and did not care about worldly affairs.
Seeing that Liu Dalin was still struggling to get up, He Wuzu strode forward, supported him together with Chen Zizhuang, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that when we were young, we were galloping together to hold court, but when we are old, we still have to rely on these old bones." Support each other, hahaha..."
"As the saying goes, those who have cultivated for hundreds of lives can cross in the same boat. This is a great fate. It just so happens that Brother Shunhu has prepared a colorful boat a long time ago, haha..."
"Qiaai, Youzai, Yushang, Nongbi, Fujia, even the names of the boats are so elegant, today will definitely be left behind for generations to come."
Since ancient times, literati have gathered together for nothing more than dancing and writing, drinking and writing poems, talking about mountains and rivers, and discussing current affairs. It was a refreshing day today, and after everyone exchanged pleasantries, they took off in small boats and swam in the Vegetable Leaf Lake. The lake is sparkling with blue waves, the birds are singing in the garden and the flowers are fragrant. The sound of bells, fish and chanting slowly comes from Changchun Temple, which makes people feel like they are in a painting.
There was a poem from that time that said:
The garden is built like Penglai, and the cinnamon, cinnamon, and pepper are planted one after another.
Watch the swords and the dragons reunite at night, and the guests from the sun are still coming.
The branches are warm in spring and the orioles are clever, and the sea breeze and mirages are blooming.
There is no need to use the virtue star to predict Taishi, Zongheng's colorful pen has been revealed.
After taking a dip in the boat, everyone climbed up to the Shuxiao Tower in the middle of the lake. Chen Zilu has already arranged the Four Treasures of the Study here for guests to leave calligraphy treasures by swiping brushstrokes.
Seeing that everyone was enjoying themselves, Chen Zizhuang felt that the time was ripe and said to Liu Dalin: "Meng Liang, I haven't recited poems and sang harmoniously so happily for a long time. I really enjoyed myself today. It's a pity..."
Liu Dalin saw that he had not finished what he said and seemed to have other intentions, so he asked: "Ji Sheng was about to speak but stopped, is there anything he can't say?"
"It's a pity that I haven't heard the sound of nature..." Chen Zizhuang said with a little regret.
"What's so difficult about this? Ji Sheng, you are proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. If you are willing to play a piece of music, we will be happy to ask for it." Liu Dalin said.
Chen Zizhuang said: "I know that there are two famous qins in the city. One is called Green Qitai, which was made in the early Tang Dynasty and was once used as the royal qin by Wuzong of our dynasty; the other is called Nanfeng, which was an old thing of Emperor Lizong of Song Dynasty. If you can play these two qins, it will also It’s worth getting together today.”
"Oh? Does Qiu Tao want me to wait until I find these two famous pianos before I can perform my skills?" Yao Tian asked jokingly.
"No, no!" Chen Zizhuang said, "These two harps originally belonged to my friend Yi Wangnian. On weekdays, I would borrow them. But the owner of the harps is now behind bars, and I feel restless..."
Liu Dalin understood at this moment, and after going around in a circle, it seemed that he had something to ask for, so he asked: "I don't know your name, what did you do?"
Chen Zizhuang said: "Kuang Lu, named Zhanruo, studied with Master Hanshan since he was a child. His brother followed Governor Yuan and died in the battlefield of Liaodong. He is a loyal family. Zhanruo had offended Huang Xiyin, the magistrate of Nanhai County, in the past. I have been away from home for many years and just returned to my hometown not long ago. I met Huang Xiyin by chance at the Nanhai Academy the day before yesterday. Huang Xiyin insulted his brother and got angry and beat him, so he was detained by the Australian police."
"That's it. Don't be anxious when you are together. What you committed is not a serious crime. It should be no serious problem." Liu Dalin has been in Lingao for many years and is fairly familiar with the legal system of the Senate. Huang Xiyin has no official status and is not a cadre. According to the laws of the Senate, if beating others does not cause serious injury, he will be subject to some security penalties, detained for a few days and fined, which is not a big problem.
Chen Zizhuang said: "Meng Liang didn't know something. Zhanruo and Huang Xiyin had a quarrel. Although Huang Xiyin is not an Australian official now, I heard that he voluntarily surrendered to the Australians. He became the counselor of the Nanhai County Magistrate. Nanhai's new Zhang County Zun Nai is a real... real Australian, and Huang Xiyin sees him every day. I am worried that Huang Xiyin may take personal revenge and something may happen to my little friend."
Liu Dalin thought for a moment and said, "Is there any other secret?"
"This..." Chen Zizhuang paused for a moment and said, "Meng Liang is very thoughtful and can't hide anything from you. It is indeed his fault. On that day, Zhanruo was writing a sentimental poem on the wall of Zunjing Pavilion, but his words were not very appropriate for the time. .”
Now Liu Dalin was a little unsure. Although the Senate did not engage in any literary inquisition when they were in Qiongzhou, and they had never bothered to discuss scriptures with Ming Dynasty scholars, after taking control of Guangzhou, they also brought many gentry prisoners. The reason for the surgery was justifiable. Tax evasion, harvesting and harvesting were intolerable to the Australian temperament. As for "anti-poetry", if we insist on punishing the dishonest remnants of the previous dynasty, it is not impossible. To put it bluntly, it depends on the political situation within the Senate.
However, in order to calm Chen Zizhuang's heart, Liu Dalin still consoled him: "Don't worry about gathering students. Based on my understanding of the Senate, the Senate has always governed the country in accordance with the law and will not be guilty of any words."
"Then there's Lao Mengliang." Chen Zizhuang cupped his hands and said.
"Ji Sheng's words are serious, I should try my best." Liu Dalin said.
He suddenly remembered what Zhang Xiao said to him on the "Enemy Nemesis", and felt that it was necessary to mention it, and said: "I have something to say, I don't know whether to say it or not."
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, but He Wuzou was still tactful and said: "We are all Sangzi brothers. Meng Liang naturally thinks about me if he has something to say, so you might as well speak frankly."
Liu Dalin said: "Everyone present here is a person who has received the favor of the previous emperor. It is the right thing for all brothers to still wholeheartedly support the Ming Dynasty. There is nothing wrong with it. But in my opinion, the Ming Dynasty is now declining and has exhausted its vitality. Although my brothers remember the kindness of the previous dynasty and do not want to serve the Senate, I only hope that my brothers will not be enemies with them. This is the good fortune of the people and the blessing of the common people."
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