Chapter 9 Xue Fucheng, a second-lost scholar, wrote a book on governing the two rivers with thousands of words

After three and nine days of hard work, and a month of intensive copying, review, and evaluation by the chief examiner, fellow examiners, and deacons such as Mifeng and Transcriber, the Jiazike Jiangnan Township Examination is about to be announced.Liu Kun, Ping Buqing, Li Hongzhang, and Qiao Songnian all respectfully invited Zeng Guofan to write the list.Writing a list for the township examination has always been a kind of noble courtesy, and one must be of high esteem and have a background in the Imperial Academy.The person who wrote the list in the Jinke Township Examination is naturally Zeng Guofan.All the Chinese-style juren also feel great honor to be written by this first Han Chinese after the San Francisco Rebellion who was built by a literati and built a very martial arts in his own name.Although it was a hard job, Zeng Guofan was willing to do it.

The day of writing the list is the most lively and festive day in the Year of the Big Competition.Early in the morning, the outside of the Gong Yuan was crowded with people who were inquiring about the news and watching the fun.Scholars who take the exam generally do not go in person, but send servants to listen.The servants and fellows will report back after they have received the letter.On the one hand, of course, I want to put on the airs of a scholar, but more importantly, I am afraid that I will not be able to withstand the huge stimulation of sudden joy or sudden sadness, and make a fool of myself in the public.There is a team of musicians at the gate of the Gongyuan, equipped with gongs, drums and suona.In the hall of Zhigongtang, every time the writer wrote a name, someone immediately handed it out one after another, and the musicians immediately beat the gongs, drums and suona to express their congratulations.When the name was announced outside, the crowd immediately burst into applause and cheers, and the servants or clerks galloped to the hotel to announce the reward, and the name of the new candidate had already spread without posting the list the next day.

Today, the hall of the Supreme Court is newly decorated, with a large and shiny desk in the middle, and beside the desk is a grand master's chair covered with tiger skin.On the five gold-sprinkled red papers, some deacons have drawn with fine ink the positions occupied by each of the 273 candidates on the main list and the forty-seven tributes on the sub-list. Fill it in. Zeng Guofan was able to write very elegant regular script when he was young and middle-aged, but because he hadn't written for many years, and his eyesight was dim and his energy was weak, it is quite difficult to write regular script today.The names on the list cannot be wrongly written. Every time he writes ten names, he stops writing, rubs his eyes, shakes his hands, and takes a rest.So I kept writing and writing, and I hadn't written half of it by noon.After eating lunch and sleeping for half an hour, he picked up his pen again.The sky was getting darker, the red candles were burning brightly in the hall, and the laughter was loud, but the people around were getting more and more excited.

It turns out that the township examination is the same as the general examination, and the names on the list are written from the last one.The later it is written, the higher the ranking of the Chinese style, so the interest of those who write the list and the onlookers is also greater.The same is true outside the Gongyuan.Although it was dark and cold, the number of people watching the excitement not only did not decrease, but more and more.Ten lantern chains made up of fifteen lanterns were hung outside the gate, illuminating the Daping outside the Gongyuan as if it were daytime.Vendors selling all kinds of food also flock here from all directions, watching the excitement and making some money at the same time.

When the gong, drum and suona sounded 221 times, Zeng Guofan was pleasantly surprised by a name.This person is Lu Yuan, the youngest scholar in this department!Wan Qichen yelled: "Master Juexiang is really a star in the sky, and his words can be used to prove everything. Do you remember? The Lu Yu'an who was talking about in the reception hall that day, this is not true!" Li Hongzhang and the others all clapped their hands and laughed loudly, saying, "Sure enough, this Lu Yu'an will definitely have great promise in the future!" Zeng Guofan was extremely proud, his fatigue completely disappeared, and he continued to write without rubbing his eyes and shaking his hands to rest.It was midnight, and the main list had reached 268. Liu Kun came over to remind him quietly, and Zeng Guofan hurriedly stopped writing.

The hall became busy again. The guards brought out more than a dozen pairs of big red candles and lit them all;The musicians withdrew from the gate of the Gongyuan to the outside of the hall, and five ugly people walked out of the wing of the Zhigong Hall.They were disguised into weird shapes with big heads, protruding foreheads, deep eyes and long chins. Their faces were all covered with cinnabar, they had beards full of lipstick, black gauze hats on their heads, and purple robes.This is Kuixing's costume on stage.The liveliest and best-looking Nao Wu Kui is about to begin. This is an old habit that has been going on for hundreds of years.The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were divided into five classics to select scholars, and the first place in each classic was named Jingkui, and the first to fifth places in each subject must be the Jingkui of one classic.

Later, the system of selecting scholars by the Five Classics was abolished, but it is still customary to refer to the top five titles as the five chiefs in the rural examination.Starting from the fifth place, the last place is the top of the Jinke Township Examination, that is, Jieyuan.After Xie Yuan's name appeared, firecrackers blared, drums and music blared, and Wu Kui rolled and jumped in the hall.This is the trouble with the five chiefs.Amidst the joy of the five chiefs, the gold list was solemnly posted outside the gate of the Gongyuan.The undergraduate township examination ended here in the most lively form.

When everything was ready, Zeng Guofan revived his spirit and wrote the names of the five leaders.Among the Ding Jia in the general examination in the Qing Dynasty, six out of ten must be among the top five in the Jiangnan provincial examination, so it is particularly eye-catching. "Liu Wenhu!" People raised their throats and shouted the name of the fifth place.The sound immediately spread out of the gate, and thunderous applause resounded from the crowd watching. "Zhou Zusheng", "Wang Duo", "Xu Dianming", and the announcement of the next three names caused another roar.Who is Jinke Jieyuan?Hundreds of pairs of eyes in the hall were staring at the pen in Zeng Guofan's hand, and thousands of pairs of ears outside the gate were all pricked up to listen to the famous name.

"Jiang Bi!" All the people shouted Jiazi Ke Jieyuan's name with great excitement, even though this name had absolutely nothing to do with them.This is a precious emotion of human beings; the respect and admiration for outstanding figures from the heart! The firecrackers sounded, the drums played, the Wukui danced, and the gold list was posted. Although there was a little unhappiness on the day of the name, the Jiazike Jiangnan Rural Examination, after all, came to a successful conclusion.People in the hall were congratulating each other and celebrating the success of the Shouke Township Examination after the restoration of Jinling.Zeng Guofan poured two glasses of wine, walked up to Liu Kun and Ping Buqing with a smile, and expressed his deep gratitude to the two chief examiners on behalf of the elders of Liangjiang, 20,000 candidates, especially the new Chinese examiners.Liu Kun and Ping Buqing took the wine glass calmly, said a few polite words and drank it down in one gulp.

"Your Excellency, this is a note for you that the soldiers picked up from the room where the name was set up when the soldiers were cleaning the number room." After drinking, Liu Kun took out a tightly sealed letter from his cuff.On the cover, it is written squarely: "From Mr. Zeng, Governor of Liangjiang." "Okay, I'll take it back to the office to have a look." Zeng Guofan took the letter and walked towards the same examiner with a smile on his face. I haven't had such a sweet and peaceful sleep for a long time.After returning to the office near the ugly time, Zeng Guofan fell into bed and fell asleep. He didn't wake up until the beginning of the night, and the lively scenes of the five leaders still appeared in front of him from time to time.He remembered eleven years ago that he had sent troops to Hengzhou under the banner of defending Taoism. Now, he invited the Jiangnan provincial examination to be resumed in Jinling.Thinking of this, a sense of pride that his ambition has been paid rose in his heart, and he felt that the significance of this matter was greater than the significance of regaining Jinling City.From this, he realized that he should focus on fulfilling the duties of the governor. In the past, he had repeatedly fantasized about the careers of Kui, Gao, and Zhou Gong.

Liangjiang has always occupied an extremely important position in the country. If the Liangjiang is well managed, it will set a model for the whole country and cultivate a batch of good official seeds. The appearance is tidy. So, wouldn't the country be rejuvenated?Isn't he the current Kui, Gao, and Duke of Zhou? Zeng Guofan felt as if he was ten years younger, and the blood of making contributions was flowing again all over his body.He suddenly remembered the letter Liu Kun handed him last night, quickly found it, opened it and read it. The first line reads: "Xue Fucheng, a scholar from Wuxi, Jiangsu".Zeng Guofan recalled that the names of the candidates on the list written last night did not include the word "Xue Fucheng" in both the main list and the sub-list. "It's a failed scholar." He thought to himself.The second line reads: "Respectfully present the eight rules for the governance of the two rivers under the Zhongtang Festival of Yuanhou, the old master."Just as he was thinking about governing a new Liangjiang, someone offered his own strategy. Zeng Guofan was delighted and read it carefully. Xue Fucheng, after praising Zeng Guofan's pacification of Changmao and regaining the two rivers in a few simple sentences, immediately put forward eight suggestions: cultivating talents, reclaiming fields, promoting government affairs, curbing bandits, cleaning up officials, improving people's livelihood, raising coastal defense, and saving time. .There are specific implementation measures in each proposal, which are not general empty talk of scholars, and Zeng Guofan's plan to rectify the two rivers has not considered the two strategies of revitalizing the government and preparing for coastal defense.The whole article was presented in a well-organized, clear and clear way, with more than ten thousand words eloquently, and the last few lines especially made Zeng Guofan applaud: However, if the world is going to be ruled, there must be adults who will come out and warp and latitude.For more than ten years, under the festival, the honor of clarifying the southeast and quieting the world, the world is open, and the people who talk about it all over the country, how can they recite what happened?Late students thought that the work of fighting chaos during the festival had already surpassed King Fenyang of the Tang Dynasty and Uncle Xinjian of the Ming Dynasty. Today, at the beginning of the governance of Liangjiang, we have seen the great strategies of three generations of virtuous officials.The situation under the festival, the emperor follows it, believes in it at home, proposes a suggestion, implements a government, and the whole world will regard it as a transfer. Under the festival, it will also be the hope of the world.The rejuvenation of the Qing Dynasty is something that is eagerly awaited. "It's a pity that such a talent has no Chinese style!" He decided to meet this Xue Fucheng.