"A person from Zhongzhou?" Shen Cha frowned slightly after hearing Jin Jing's words, "Brother Xiaojing, are you sure he is from Zhongzhou?"
"Of course, it is clearly stated in the resume that the household registration is also from Zhongzhou. How could this be false?" Jin Jing looked at Shen Cha's expression, "What are you suspecting?"
"It's hard to say." Shen Cha thought for a moment and spoke with some caution, "I haven't met this old man a few times. I only met him at several palace banquets in Xijing City when Brother Xiaojue ascended the throne. However, originally, the honorable nobles and civil servants like them had nothing to say. We met a few times and just exchanged a few words on the scene, but I felt at that time that this old man was a bit interesting."
"Somewhat interesting means..."
"Although they are both scholars, they also have differences and factions among themselves." Shen Cha looked at Jin Jing, "Brother Xiaojing is half a scholar, so naturally he knows the twists and turns here better than us, right? "
"If you ask this, I have a lot to say." Jin Jing nodded, "How should I put it, scholars are also very jealous among themselves. As the saying goes, scholars despise each other. Although they all look down on martial people, They are noble, but they also don’t have a good attitude towards each other. People like us may still cherish each other, but they have absolutely no sense of brotherhood.”
"It can be seen." Hongye sneered, "They are not easy on nobles and clans, but they are even more ruthless on their own people. In the internal fights in the court, the civil servants are the ones who fight the hardest every time. I wish I could tear the other party to pieces, trample the other party's family under my feet, and never be able to stand up again."
"That's indeed the case." Jin Jing nodded, "There are basically two factions among scholars. One faction is headed by the famous families in Jiangnan, and the other is students from poor families. Students from poor families will divide For example, there are several factions, such as those who want to stand out on their own merits, and those who are very good at maneuvering and want to rely on the big clan. They all look down on each other. If one party becomes developed, they will step on the other hard. It’s like someone threw their child into a well.”
"So ruthless?" Jin Miaomiao looked disgusted, "A scholar's pen, a murderer's knife, it really deserves its reputation."
"The fights between students from poor families are not serious. After all, since ancient times, few scholars from poor families have been able to achieve high positions. Before Ning Laofu appeared, the cabinet was controlled by nobles and clans. Later, the late emperor wanted to select talents in an eclectic way, so he made an exception and promoted some students from poor families, including old man Ning."
At this point, Jin Jing paused, looked at Shen Haolin, then at Xue Ruitian, picked up her bowl, and started drinking the soup one mouthful at a time.
"Did you tell half of what you said and leave the other half?"
"No." Jin Jing shook her head, "I don't know him very well. I would like to ask Haolin and Xiaotian, when you were in Beijing, did you notice what kind of people Ning old man was dating? They have close contact with each other, are they the children from a poor family like him, or are they the children of some clans?"
Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian were stunned by Jin Jing's question. They thought for a while, and finally Xue Ruitian remembered.
"They are the children of the clan. The ones they interact with more are indeed the children of the clan."
"Wait a minute, I thought of something. Did you check the roster when you ransacked your house?" Shen Haolin looked at Xue Ruitian and then at Shen Cha, "I have a little impression that his first wife The wife, his step-law, his three concubines, his four daughters-in-law, his two sons-in-law, and his eldest grandson who is discussing marriage, all come from well-known families."
"It's not just that." Xue Ruitian served himself a bowl of hot soup, "If I remember correctly, the old man has served as the examiner for ten imperial examinations. It can be said that his disciples are all over the Great Xia, and there are real talents all over the world. but……"
"None of his disciples come from poor families. Those who were recruited by him are all from the common people. Those who can be passed down by him personally, in addition to nobles and clans, are also the children of the common people." Shen Haolin said to Shen Haolin. He put a few pieces of hot fish in the tea bowl and motioned for her to eat quickly, "Is this something he, a poor student from Zhongzhou, can do? Also, why is he still being criticized by poor students when he suppresses them? Sought after? Isn’t that weird?”
"It's indeed very strange, so I doubt his origin." Shen Cha nodded and ate a piece of fish, "Is there anything else that can support my suspicion?"
"Think about it, when I was studying this old man's resume, I once heard a rumor. When I heard it at the time, I really thought it was a bit ridiculous. After hearing it, I threw it aside and didn't care at all. Now let's analyze it like this , I just remembered that rumor, and I’m not sure what this rumor said might actually be true.”
"What rumors?"
"It is said that the reason why Mr. Ning rose to great heights was because he was connected with the Ning family of Chaozhou, and the Ning family of Chaozhou helped him pave the way. Therefore, Mr. Ning was able to have a prosperous official career. I thought this was impossible at the time. The Ning family of Chaozhou What kind of foundation and background is it? Even if Mr. Ning is indeed surnamed Ning, people may not think highly of him. There is an insurmountable gap between students from famous families and students from poor families. No matter how talented you are, those students from famous families Noble families may not take you seriously. Thinking about it now, maybe it’s because he really conquered the Chaozhou Ning clan, or maybe the Zhongzhou Ning clan itself is a branch of the Chaozhou Ning clan, but it took a long time to move out. , no one puts these two together, after all, in terms of reputation and strength, they are completely incomparable, right?"
"Lian Zong is not impossible, but judging from what you just said, it doesn't look like Lian Zong. If it were just Lian Zong, the Chaozhou Ning family would not have spent such a large sum of money on Ningchang Kingdom. His in-laws , it is impossible for his network to be established so quickly. Those literati in Jiangnan have their own set of rules and standards, and they will not allow their family to have a relationship with a branch from a humble background, right?" She looked at it To Shen Haolin, "Do you know the origins of his wives?"
"The legitimate daughters of everyone in Jiangnan, and even the side wives, were all talented and well-known women before they got married." Shen Haolin thought for a while and looked at Shen Cha, "You are doubting the identity of Mr. Ning. Fake?"
"Yeah!" Shen Cha nodded, "After the founding of the Xia Dynasty, in order to curb the development of the clan and no longer want to be hindered by the clan's rules, a series of restrictive measures were issued for the imperial examination of the clan's children. If Ning, the old man, comes from a big family Yes, when he is about to take the scientific examination, he belongs to the restricted group of people, so it is possible that in order to take the scientific examination and pursue an official career, the family will do something."
"Are you sure this is what happened?" Jin Jing was stunned, then looked at Shen Haolin, then at Xue Ruitian, and then at Jin Miaomiao, who was holding a meatball in her mouth with a surprised look on her face, "Xiao Cha, these are not nonsense. Yes, this is no ordinary manipulation, it is about changing household registration, there are a lot of things to do, and there are many people involved, this is no joke." He took a sip of the soup and continued, "If your guess is correct, he is not from Zhongzhou, but a descendant of a certain Ning clan in the south of the Yangtze River. For his own purposes, he did something he shouldn't have done by any means, then his life is completely false. Life, do you know how big a deal this is?”
"I understand, but I do have suspicions. He is not from a peasant family, nor does he come from a poor family." Shen Cha looked at the people who were looking at him, and his tone softened slightly, "I am not just making random suspicions, because I don't understand Him, so what arouses my suspicion, apart from the interpersonal problems I just mentioned, is his accent."
"Accent?" Jin Jing shook her head, "This shouldn't be a problem, right? Accents will change. If you live in a certain place for a long time, you will start to speak like the people in that place before you know it. This cannot be counted as evidence.”
"It can prove my suspicion." Shen Cha ate all the fish in the bowl, put down the bowl in his hand, took a sip of tea, and continued, "Zhongzhou is located in the Central Plains, and the climate is relatively dry. The folk customs are more robust, and the people there don't mince words or mince words when doing things. They speak directly when they have something to say. In terms of personality, they are completely different from those in Ningchang. In addition, people in Zhongzhou speak Mandarin and speak Mandarin to us. There is still a difference. And the way we pronounce words is different from ours. Even if it’s the local dialect in Zhongzhou, we basically can’t understand it, right?”
"Although we don't have many contacts, there are merchants from Zhongzhou at our border. It is true that the tone of speech and other things are different from us. They are also far from Jiangnan and Beijing." Hongye touched his chin and put down his hand. He took a stewed egg from the bowl and took a small bite, "As Xiaocha said, if the Zhongzhou people don't know Mandarin and speak their dialect, we basically can't understand it and can only rely on gestures." , even guessing. Moreover, I agree with what Xiaocha said, the Mandarin spoken by people in Zhongzhou who can speak Mandarin has a different flavor from us."
"Yes!" Jin Miaomiao finally came to his senses, holding a meatball in his mouth and whimpering, "I remembered that when I was wandering around Beijing, I also met some merchants from Zhongzhou, and some of them are waiting for next year. For the students taking the college entrance examination, their Mandarin does sound a bit dry and stubborn. If you don't know it well, you will suspect that they are deliberately trying to quarrel with others. On the contrary, over in Jiangnan, both the dialect and the Mandarin are very different. It has a soft, gentle and soothing taste, and it sounds so comfortable and pleasant to the ears. But if you are a native of the capital, it will be like the Duke and the Marquis, more regular and elegant."
"Then what does the old man of Ningchang look like when he talks about it? The jade type of a small family in the south of the Yangtze River?" Jin Jing has never seen Ningchang and doesn't understand him at all. She looks at Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian, "You two grew up in the capital, so you should follow He’s had some dealings, hasn’t he?”
"Ning Changguo, as the emperor's teacher, once taught in the East Palace, giving lectures to His Majesty and the clan's children. When we were studying in the East Palace, we did meet him and listened to a few of his classes. His accent..." Xue Ruitian thought for a long time. , looked at Shen Haolin, "It does have the unique gentleness of Jiangnan people, doesn't it? We were young at the time and didn't pay much attention to it, because when the old man was young, he served as a general manager in Jiangnan for ten years. Regarding academic affairs, the tone and tone are more Jiangnan style, and I don’t think there is much of a problem. Speaking of which, I remembered something."
"what's up?"
"I was very naughty when I was a child. Like Xiao Jue, I liked to walk around the city. I would look at every mansion and listen to what they said. Once, I saw something at the gate of Ning Mansion. At that time, It happened to be the second time that old man Ning served as the examiner. There were quite a lot of scholars who came to the palace to give gifts and establish relationships. It was impossible for the old man to meet them all. Every day was random and it just depended on who was lucky. "
"I have also encountered some scholars who are very happy, and some who have not entered the palace and are dejected."
"Yes!" Xue Ruitian nodded, "But that's not what I want to say. I saw with my own eyes a group of Zhongzhou scholars running to the back door of Ning's mansion and saying that there was a family letter for Mr. Ning. It was from Mr. Ning in Zhongzhou. His parents brought it to him. The servants of the Ning Mansion welcomed him in, but their attitude was not very good. I listened vaguely, and the servant said, that couple was so shameless, and they were just doing a favor. , How dare you call yourself the master and his wife?"
"Did you hear that correctly?"
"No, I was too far away, so I couldn't hear clearly, but the meaning should be similar, right?" Xue Ruitian looked at everyone, "When it came to Ning's parents, I thought I heard it wrong, so I didn't care at that time. , looking back now, there is really a big problem.”
"This old guy is not simple!" Shen Haolin sneered, "The reason why he has become famous and become a model for scholars, and has a very high status in the hearts of scholars, is because everyone recognizes his humble status and thinks he is Relying on his own talent and subsequent hard work, he became a first-class man and became a veteran of three dynasties. This is the height that many students from poor families most hope to achieve. Therefore, almost all students from poor families hope to imitate him and become the second him. Although he later lost his reputation, But there are still many people who support him. If these people know that his identity may be forged, what will they think?"
After listening to everyone's discussion, Jin Jing became energetic in an instant, put down the bowls and chopsticks in her hands, and sat up straight.
"What's wrong?" Xue Ruitian looked at Jin Jing, "Did you think of something else?"
"I think that since we all suspect that he has a problem, it's useless for us to just sit here and guess, right?" Jin Jing blinked, looked outside the tent, smiled evilly, and said, "Let's The person who has the most dealings with him here is Second Master Jiang, isn't he? He was the one who framed Second Master back then, so that Second Master had to change his name and come to this bitter cold border. You said, we are going to inquire with Second Master, Will the second master know? If the second master knows, will he tell us? "
