Chapter 50 Helping people

"Mr. Shi came to visit at night. I don't know what's important. Didn't he take office in Yangzhou? How did he get to Nanjing? How did he know that I was here?" Mao Xiang thought suspiciously.At this time, he had already welcomed the guests into the hall of the river room, saluted, and divided the guests and the host to sit down. "My brother has been in Nandu for water affairs, and it has been seven or eight days. Tomorrow morning, I will go back to Yangzhou. Just now, I was at Xiongtan's old mansion, and I learned that my brother has arrived in Nanjing, so I came here to pay a visit!" The guest seemed to guess. After clearing the doubts in his mind, as soon as he sat down, he explained with a smile.

"Ah!" Mao Xiang quickly stood up, arched his hands and said, "My old man's words are serious, how can Wansheng bear it!" "Hey, sit down, sit down! Between you and me, there is no need to be polite!" Shi Kefa waved his hand.However, after Maoxiang sat down again, he put down the teacup in his hand and stood up by himself. Seen under the light, this shrewd and capable current governor of water transportation and governor of Fengyang, Huai'an and Yangzhou is a short man.He had a swarthy complexion, sharp manners, and bright eyes.It is said that he can work without sleep for ten and a half months. When he is really tired, he puts the pen in his hand against the center of his eyebrows, closes his eyes and rests for a while.Perhaps because of this reason, he is only in his early forties this year, but the hair on his forehead is almost falling out, and his temples are already graying.Now, he is wearing a black gauze hat, a third-grade scarlet round-neck robe with a peacock pattern on the back of the robe to show his taste, a golden flower belt, and powder-soled soap boots on his feet.

Shi Kefa paced back and forth in the hall and did not speak for a while.Mao Xiang's eyes followed him, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a little uneasy. "Well, is he going to blame me for my father's transfer?" he thought.Then he recalled that last winter, once, he went to Yangzhou to see Shi Kefa, and wanted to ask him to help him clear the way, but he got stuck.Now that this matter is finally done, what will he think, will he be unhappy?Thinking of this, Mao Xiang became nervous, and his back began to sweat slightly. Sure enough, Shi Kefa stopped pacing and turned around.

"I heard that your lord has been transferred to Baoqing, isn't that true?" He asked with a stern tone. Mao Xiang blushed suddenly, "Yes." He replied softly, avoiding the other party's provocative gaze. "So, I finally let you do it!" Shi Kefa said, seeming to be sneering or sighing.Then, he paced up and down again. Mao Xiang became more and more uneasy.He was certain that Uncle Shi Shi came here tonight with bad intentions, and he would inevitably scold him, and if not, he would even scold him.When he thought of himself as one of the "Four Young Masters of Fushe", but now he was scolded by others and seemed to be unable to explain, his self-esteem trembled with pain. "Hmph, you can scold if you want! Anyway, that's how I am! Fame, status, and those things, I'm tired of it!" He thought to himself, then raised his head as if challenging, and stared at him without saying a word. with the guests.

At this moment, Shi Kefa sat back on the chair.He tapped lightly on the armrest with two fingers, and finally spoke. "To this day, there is no need to talk about this matter again!" He said slowly, "Although the students have not dared to agree, but they are both loyal and filial, which has been embarrassing since ancient times, but they are not to be deeply blamed. What I look forward to now is After fulfilling my filial piety, dear brother, I have devoted myself to displaying my talents, loyal to the country, working hard for the royal family, saving the people from fire and water, and living up to the meaning of a man born between heaven and earth!"

Mao Xiang was stunned.Originally, he was holding his breath, waiting to be blamed by the other party. Unexpectedly, Shi Kefa let the matter go with a single word, and he still seemed to have high expectations for himself.He couldn't help feeling hot in his heart, and blurted out: "It's exactly the same when I was late for selfishness!" As soon as the words came out, he felt that he was not modest enough, so he kept silent. Shi Kefa didn't seem to mind. "It's so good!" He nodded and said, paused, looked at Maoxiang again, and smiled slightly: "Brother came here in a hurry tonight, because I want to discuss something with my brother—" As he said, he never He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over.

Maoxiang took it quickly, but saw that there was nothing written on the cover, and he didn't keep his mouth shut.He took out the letter paper in doubt, opened it, and it turned out that it was a letter written by Shi Kefa to He Ruizheng, the chief examiner of the Nanjing provincial examination. My friend is very happy to try Nandu this time, and he will be able to talk about the wine again.Then, in the letter, he strongly recommended Mao Xiang to the other party, praising him as young and handsome, rich and talented, and he is a rare pillar. The country is in dire straits and the people's livelihood is in distress. It is necessary to select talents like Mao Xiang to serve him Sheji, together help the crisis situation.In the end, Shi Kefa hoped that the master examiner would pay attention to Maoxiang's papers when he was marking the papers, and if there is something available, he would try his best to support it.

While reading the letter, Mao Xiang's heart was pounding, and the blood in his body was also flowing rapidly.By the time he finished reading the letter, he was too excited to speak.He naturally understood how precious this letter was; and how difficult it was for Shi Kefa, who was always known for his fortitude and integrity, to take the initiative to write such a letter for him!It would be impossible for him to do this if he hadn't really appreciated himself very much, and his expectations were very high.At this moment, in Maoxiang's heart, the lingering resentment of being rejected half a year ago because he asked the other party to entrust his father to him, suddenly dissipated, replaced by a feeling of gratitude.He felt his heart tremble, and tears welled up in his eyes, but he bit his lip hard to hold it back.

"With my brother's excellence and talent, I can go to high school today, so there is no need for me to do anything extra." Shi Kefa retracted the letter and said, "It's just that I am eager to seek talents for the court, and I am afraid that the examiners will not check the papers carefully, so that I will bury my brother. The article delays the opportunity for my brother to serve the country by another three years. Therefore, I am not presumptuous, and I am afraid that my brother will laugh when I make such a bad plan. Today, I am here to offer business. If my dear brother thinks it is possible, this letter will be popular soon. Send it out, how?"

Mao Xiang was already very moved, but after hearing these humble and polite words, he couldn't bear it any longer.He stood up suddenly, staggered a few steps forward, fell to the ground, choked up and said: "Late-born Mongolian ancestors bowed down and planted, never forgetting!" Shi Kefa quickly helped him up. "Brother, why is this so! Brother, I dare not take it!" He said, "Since my dear brother agrees, the paper will be issued tomorrow." After a pause, he sighed and said, "The state affairs have come to an end! The court often sighs They are old and withered, and have no talents to use, but they let many handsome talents bury the wild grass, instead of trying to recruit them quickly. They still rely on three-year competitions, stereotyped selection of scholars, calmly walking, and do not know that disaster is coming! How many years can the situation last? How many hard-working talents can this stereotyped article produce? Oh, God, God! You have blessed me for three hundred years, what are you going to do now!"

Mao Xiang originally planned to say a few more words of thanks, but when he saw Shi Kefa's voice was stern and his emotions became extremely agitated, he looked up at the dark night sky outside the hall with grief and indignation, with crystal tears in his eyes - obviously it was not polite At that time, Maoxiang had to hold his breath and keep silent.Moreover, gradually his emotions were infected by the other party. "That's right, the country's affairs have deteriorated to such an extent that I'm afraid it's beyond the power of a few people to save them. So, even if I pass the exam this time, how long can I be proud? What's the point of all this if the country dies unfortunately? When thinking about it like this, Mao Xiang couldn't help being stunned, although later he comforted himself: "Well, I'm afraid it doesn't end there, there is still a glimmer of hope..." However, the excitement just now disappeared. At this moment, Shi Kefa has regained control of his emotions. "Aha!" He turned his face towards Maoxiang, and smiled slightly, "It's getting late, so this matter will be done like this. May you take good care of yourself, brother!" Then he stood up. "Ah, old grandpa is leaving now?" Shi Kefa nodded: "After my division was defeated in Xiashan Mountain, the thieves had the intention of looking into the south of the Yangtze River. Right now, defense along the river is urgent. Governor Gao Gong of Fengyang and Governor Zheng Gong of Anqing have been dismissed by the imperial court. The post of Fengdu, Ma Yaocao will take over. The imperial edict arrived yesterday, and brother Shicai has read the mansion newspaper." "What? Ma Yao started to use it?" Mao Xiang was taken aback. Shi Kefa looked at Mao Xiang, as if he was surprised by his reaction. "Although Ma Yaocao has a very close personal relationship with Ruan Yuanhai," Shi Kefa said after a moment of silence, "but this person is not an eunuch, his mind is upright, and he is known as a soldier. This time the imperial court appointed him, From my brother's point of view, it can be said to win people." Mao Xiang wanted to remind Shi Kefa that he had to be careful with Ma Shiying.But judging from what Shi Kefa said, it seems that Ma Shiying is quite respected.He couldn't figure out what the relationship between Shi and Ma was like, and felt it was inconvenient to speak rashly, so he had no choice but to clasp his hands, and Wei Wei agreed without saying anything else.