Chapter 126: Zhili Jieyuan, Jiangzuo Xu Lang

Chapter 126: Zhili Jieyuan, Jiangzuo Xu Lang

Chapter 126: Zhili Jieyuan, Jiangzuo Xu Lang (Subscription Request)
The body of the bronze mirror was emitting a faint green ripple-like light. This faint light gradually filled the blank space in the mirror body that was originally left by the column that contained the fortune evaluation text.

The green light gathered like flowing water.

Subtle changes continue to occur.

Gradually, a small twisted snake appeared.

The snake's eyes were cold and deep, and there was a faint, barely noticeable bulge on its forehead.

At the same time, wisps of black air wrapped around the snake's body, intertwining with its scales and fangs.

Xu Qing immersed his mind in it and got the information from the little snake.

"The luck has transformed into a snake, vaguely resembling a dragon."

"However, the black energy has also increased a lot."

Xu Qing observed that the black air on the luck snake was much more than before, but his current luck was far from what it used to be, so the containment of the black air was still quite obvious.

Xu Qing knew that with the change in his status and position, the goodwill and malice from those around him would increase exponentially.

To bear the blame and misfortune of the country are, in fact, necessary responsibilities and risks that one must bear after one's status is elevated.

With great power comes great responsibility and, in fact, great risk.

The challenges we face will be more severe than ever before.

"My luck has now transformed into a snake, a bit like a wild dragon. A hero starts from a local level, and is a snake or python. When he sweeps across the world, he can transform into a dragon."

"It seems that I have passed the provincial examination. My luck has changed so much that I don't know whether I will be the champion of the Five Classics or the top scholar. In addition, my passing of the provincial examination this time is fundamentally different from other candidates who passed the provincial examination. I am a local tyrant who has taken root in the local area for a long time and has my own base, so I am relatively independent, which is why my luck has undergone such a 'snake' change."

Ordinary juren had to pass the imperial examination and then get help from other local gentry and powerful people to establish their own family business; or they were trained by their family at an early age, so after becoming a juren, they still could not get rid of their family, but their status was higher.

Xu Qing was different. He first built his own family foundation before becoming a juren.

To use the term "conquering the world" means he gained the country in a righteous way.

Belongs to the true founding generation.

Both their right to speak and their independence are incomparable to those of ordinary juren and jinshi.

If we really have to say, the biggest external force is the bronze mirror.

But the bronze mirror had long been indistinguishable from him.

As for Prefect He, Master Wu, Feng Xifeng and the others, in the final analysis, they were all mutually beneficial. Xu Qing was taking advantage of the situation, not receiving direct favors from others.

Xu Qing had been dependent on their influence before, and they also solved the problems they encountered through Xu Qing's planning.

Those who follow the will of heaven are at ease, while those who go against the will of heaven are exhausted.

It is indeed much easier to go with the flow.

But the road of life is always tortuous and complicated.

Sometimes, you really just have to go against the trend.

Then it’s a test of your own strength.

In the underworld, many heroes, when they were powerful, were guests of honor in the Governor's Mansion. But once they lost their power, they would scatter like monkeys when the tree fell, and could be controlled by the clerks.

This is where the problem lies at the root of the business.

Success depends on people, and failure depends on people.

"The canal transport system is the basis for the livelihood and clothing of millions of canal workers."

This simple sentence reveals how to make the court fearful and stabilize oneself.

"We still have to continue to accumulate our own momentum."

Xu Qing knew very well that obtaining the title of Juren meant essentially becoming an official.

To revoke his status, the Ministry of Rites must review it again and again.

When it comes to government affairs, as long as the process is long and strict, it is no small matter.

For example, the case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai in the previous life caused such a big stir. In addition to various reasons, there was another reason, that is, Yang Naiwu was a juren.

Just depriving Yang Naiwu of his title of juren took a lot of effort, and gave things time to ferment.

If it were an ordinary person, he would get things done in a few days and would not give you any chance to turn the situation around or delay.

After Xu Qing examined the transformation of his own luck, he chanted:
"The road is hard, the road is hard, there are so many forks in the road, where are you now?

There will always be a time to ride the wind and waves, and set sail to cross the vast ocean! "

The poems of the Immortal Poet are always fresh to read and touch people's hearts.

Xu Qing sighed faintly.

Although the change in luck did not increase his lifespan, his courage in facing unknown storms certainly increased.

He knew that he would not live long based on the bronze mirror's evaluation.

It's not a problem with your body.

But a terrible disaster will eventually befall him, judge his fate and end his future.

Perhaps it was the calamity of this body, or perhaps it was the calamity of the "foreign demon" in his bronze mirror eyes.

Whatever it was, he would face it.

"No one can judge me." Xu Qing clenched his fists tightly.

He never gave in.

Because after going through so many things, he could no longer accept that he would succumb to any judgment of fate. He could only accept that his destiny was in his own hands and make all efforts and fight for it until his death.

What makes people strong is experience, the past, and the heavy blows in life.

"Worry and hard work can make a country prosperous, but leisure and pleasure can destroy a person."

"Born in sorrow, died in happiness."

When he was young, Xu Qing didn't agree much with Mencius, but now he agrees with many of Mencius's ideas.

Confucius said it was Cheng Ren, and Mencius said it was Qi Yi.

Sages have their own historical limitations, and no one is perfect. Future generations can criticize and comment on them, but they should also respect the brilliant things they left behind in the long river of history.

Xu Qing came to the small courtyard, under the sycamore tree, and continuously performed the Bagua Youshen Palm.

As he practiced, he felt an indelible sense of "righteousness".

The righteous are unyielding; the righteous are unyielding.

Gradually, his steps became more and more mysterious.

In the soul, the Jiao and Kang constellations of the Blue Dragon's Seven Stars light up, and combined with one's own martial arts energy and blood, under the wonderful principle of "righteousness", there is a trend of "unity of law and martial arts".

"The heart and mind are united, the mind and qi are united, and the qi and spirit are united!" A flash of enlightenment passed through Xu Qing's mind.

He finally understood the key to combining law and martial arts.

He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Xu Qing was seen flying up and down around the phoenix tree like a dragon.

"I see!"

After a long time, Xu Qing stood on the thick branches of the old sycamore tree with a look of surprise.

"The key to the unity of martial arts and law is to cultivate the 'mind and intention', the unity of form and intention. The bond that combines the soul and qi and blood is the 'intention'. Whether it is the fist intention of martial arts or the 'law intention' of Taoism, in the final analysis, they are all the cultivation of the 'mind and intention'."

The Confucian approach of self-cultivation is precisely the authentic practice of cultivating the mind.

In the bronze mirror, the text of Bagua Youshen Palm changed to "Bagua Youlong Palm (incomplete)".

This is a unique skill that combines magic and martial arts that Xu Qing figured out on his own. No matter its completeness or power, it cannot compare to the Dragon Elephant Seal.

But it was sublimated and transformed by Xu Qing himself, and because it is incomplete, it has great potential to be tapped.

"The next step is to complete the 'Seven Constellations of Azure Dragon Hidden Veins'. In this way, not only can I complete the Eight Trigrams Wandering Dragon Palm, but I can also practice the Purple Emperor Dragon Armor to protect my soul."

After practicing boxing, Xu Qing's blood circulation improved.

Then he called Xu Fu and asked him to invite Master Li back to the city.

According to the change of luck, the results of the provincial examination have been announced. So the good news will come within these two days.

As for my aunt, since she is pregnant, it is a good idea for her not to join in the fun and we will not bring her back for the time being.

In addition, Xu Qing also planned to send Xu Fu to study under Danxi Weng.

He saw that Xu Fu had a talent for alchemy, so he planned to relieve Xu Fu of his other tasks and make good use of his own talent.

Industry specializing in surgery.

Once people find their talents and strengths, the potential they can unleash is unimaginable.

I was born to be useful.

One important reason why many people fail to achieve success is that they have not found opportunities to develop their talents.

...

...

Mr. Li returned to the Li residence from outside the city.

He also knew that the results of the provincial examination would be announced in the next few days.

As a master who had not taken the exam, he was much more nervous than his nephew. Firstly, this matter concerned his life and property, and secondly, he was a juren.

Our Master Li, although he is a captain, but in the eyes of civil officials, what is a mere captain?
They are all officials, but their backgrounds are completely different.

Xu Qing saw that Mr. Li was nervous, so he invited Guards Wang and Ma to his house to play cards early the next morning.

They are all brothers who made their fortune together. Although Xu Qing’s status is getting higher and higher now, he still has a say.

However, Guards Wang and Ma knew clearly that although they were brothers on a daily basis, when something happened, they had to distinguish the priorities and maintain a good sense of propriety.

They were not ordinary people from the world either. They had gained some knowledge by following Magistrate He.

After the great men in history became successful, the old people were still as ignorant as before, and their endings were not good.

Of course, Xu Qing would not treat Guards Wang and Ma like slaves.

Even from a utilitarian point of view, the nostalgia of those in power is considered an excellent quality in the eyes of those below them.

Before accomplishing anything great, he became mean and ungrateful. Even Taizu of the Dayu Dynasty could not do that.

Because Xu Qing was as easy-going as before, the four men, young and old, quickly got into the game after playing cards.

As human beings, when gambling or playing cards, we have to put God aside and not think so much.

However, Li Gongyu was still somewhat concerned, so he lost some money absentmindedly.

Xu Qing did not cheat, he played the cards based entirely on his feelings.

There isn't much winning or losing.

Guard Wang would choose a small win when he could win big, and would choose not to win when he could win a small win.

Guard Ma looked at his senior brother like this and could only say “I’ll do the same.”

But he was still a bit greedy, so he won a few big prizes.

Time slowly passed and it was noon.

Mr. Li wasn't even hungry.

It was just about time for dinner, and he was wondering if he should eat something.

Since his family's condition improved, Mr. Li has been eating three meals a day.

In this world, ordinary families mainly have two meals a day.

In the city, poorer families only eat two meals a day if they work. If they don’t work, they just lie at home to save energy.

However, farmers and tenants in the countryside have to work hard even if they are poor.

There is no land in the world, and the farmer still starves to death.

This kind of thing happens a lot in this era.

Even if Xu Qing could be the boss of Qingshui County Government, he could not change the bad habits of the clerks in collecting taxes. However, he did lend his own money and grain to farmers at very low interest rates.

In addition, Jinguang Temple also did these things under Xu Qing's instructions.

Therefore, Xu Qing's reputation among the local gentry and powerful people in Jiangning Prefecture was particularly bad.

Everyone thinks he is the reincarnation of a devil who doesn't follow any rules at all.

The powerful gentry often lend money not just for money, but because they are interested in the land held by ordinary farmers. Only when the interest rate is high, they can take advantage of the opportunity to annex the land when they cannot pay it back in years of disaster, and then turn the land into their own tenants. The more ruthless ones will directly make the land into hidden households.

Many tenants even preferred to remain in hiding so that they could avoid taxes from the government.

The suffering of being at the bottom of society is the suffering of having almost no hope.

Therefore, Xu Qing appeared in Jiangning Prefecture and treated them a little better.

The reputation of Timely Rain is even louder and more popular among the lower classes than among ordinary scholars.

Now, many low-income farmers sincerely hope that Xu Qing will pass the imperial examination so that they can donate their land to Mr. Xu.

However, some of them actually did not know that the land and population that the Juren could use to exempt taxes were limited.

But it doesn't matter, they are looking forward to it.

It is now the third autumn season. After the harvest, there are still some things to do, so there are many farmers busy working in the fields on both sides of the official road.

Suddenly they heard the sound of gongs and trumpets.

The villagers are very sensitive to this kind of sound.

Because this often means that someone with official status is coming.

Come once, suffer once.

Just like the popular folk song goes, "The soldiers are worried when they hear this, and the civilians are afraid when they hear this... I can see that the wind has overturned this family and hurt that family, and when the water is gone, the geese will fly away!"

But soon, some villagers saw many people they knew following the team enthusiastically.

I couldn't help but be curious and approached boldly.

After asking around, I found out that this was the good news from Xu Gongming, the timely rain, on the provincial examination.

The officer was from the Inspectorate Censorate. I heard that the Inspector Censor was Xu Sanyuan, oh no, Mr. Xu's future father-in-law, there would definitely be no mistake!

"It's the first place."

Some villagers didn't know what Jieyuan meant, so someone explained, "The top scorer in the provincial examination is called Jieyuan..."

In fact, the correct way of saying it is that the first place in the provincial examination is called Jieyuan.

But if you use the number one scholar as a metaphor, even the most ignorant villagers will understand...

Many villagers followed suit and shared the honor.

Jie Yuanlang is from their Jiangning Prefecture.

A villager from Qingshui County held his head high and said, "What Jiangning people? The champion is from Qingshui County. You people from Wuzhong County next door, don't even think about coming here to take advantage of the good fortune..."

Soon, some sophisticated old scholars said that the Xu family of Jiangning was originally from such and such a village...

Alas, there are indeed many different opinions about Jie Yuanlang’s ancestral home, and no one can say for sure.

As a result, disputes were inevitable among the long team of people announcing the good news.

Everyone was wondering which town and village the top scholar was from.

However, once people from the neighboring county joined in the fun, the people of Qingshui County suddenly became united in their hatred of the enemy.

There’s no share for you anyway!

...

...

"I won." Master Li finally won and was ready to call Qing Ge'er to eat. Just make do with it and eat something.

At this time, there were sounds of gongs and drums, as well as suona, outside, which was very noisy.

"What's that sound?" Mr. Li asked casually.

As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, a doorman came in.

"Yes, sir..." Menzi spoke incoherently.

"What did I win? I won." Mr. Li didn't react.

"Master... Young Master Gongming has been... solved..." Menzi was so excited that he almost couldn't breathe.

"I got it right." Mr. Li was stunned at first, then he reacted.

The hand holding the cards was shaking a little, and he asked, "What did you win..."

At this time, someone outside shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Good news, good news! Your master Xu Huiqing won the first place in the Nanzhili provincial examination. He was also listed in the Beijing newspaper."

"Jieyuan." Li Gongyu stood up.

Guards Wang and Ma also stood up.

"Qing'er, let's get out quickly..." Li Gongyu said in a trembling voice.

Xu Qing said slowly, "Uncle, don't be anxious."

He adjusted his clothes slowly and thought to himself, "I am indeed the top scorer in the imperial examination. I have finally achieved my goal."

Then, Xu Qing slowly stood up.

"Let's go."

When Xu Qing stepped over the threshold, he was a little absent-minded. He didn't control his strength well and with a click, the threshold broke.

Guards Wang and Ma smiled at each other and followed.

When they walked out of the gate of Li's house, maids such as Qiuxiang came running over with baskets of copper coins.

It turned out that before Zhou left, she asked Qiuxiang and others to take care of the housework and prepared the copper coins early.

Qiuxiang and others remembered the old lady's instructions and had already prepared the copper coins for the good news in the past few days, waiting for the good news to come.

So he rushed over with the copper coins.

It is specially strung with a red string, which is very festive.

Xu Qing went out and met the messenger who came to report the good news.

These officers all knew that Xu Qing was the future son-in-law of the Inspector General, and that he was the top scorer in the Nanzhili provincial examination. After seeing him in person, they felt that the top scorer was like a star who had descended to earth and could not be looked at directly.

It was only when the villagers around started to make a fuss and ask for wedding money that the party became lively again.

Qiuxiang and others distributed wedding money one by one, and then Guo Zhuang and other government officials came to maintain order.

Xu Qing had already sent people to instruct the restaurants in the city to prepare a buffet.

As soon as the good news came, they all started to rush to work.

The crowds inside and outside filled the alley inside and out.

The neighbors around didn't feel disturbed, but came over to share in the joy.

From now on, the alley of Li’s house will be renamed Jieyuan Lane.

Jiangning Prefecture has produced many Jinshi, but this is the first time in a hundred years that one has been awarded the title of Jie Yuanlang.

That was the top scorer in Nanzhili.

Soon, Zheng Zhixian, the magistrate of Qingshui County, came to celebrate.

Although there were conflicts before, the relationship between County Magistrate Zheng and Xu Qing has now been greatly eased.

There is no way to slow down the situation, as Xu Qing has raided their old nest.

For a time, celebrities from all walks of life came to congratulate in the city and outside, and the city was so lively that it was almost as lively as the Chinese New Year.

Regardless of whether he was sincere or not, once the title of champion in the provincial examination was added, even many local gentry and powerful people who were resentful of Xu Qing became polite at this time.

After all, Xu Qingzhong knew Li Yuan, and he would definitely marry the daughter of the Southern Zhili Inspector General soon. There was absolutely no chance that there would be any setbacks in this marriage!
At this time, many scholars in the prefecture were deeply moved.

"The cultural atmosphere of Jiangning Prefecture has been flourishing for a hundred years, and it is now flourishing."

"In the past two hundred years, the country has supported more than a million scholars. The only 15-year-old who won the first place in the Zhili Provincial Examination was Xu Lang from Jiangzuo."

When Magistrate He heard this, he was even more delighted.

Xu Qing is on a rapid rise, and he will have a good helper in the future, but it's a pity that he is not his son-in-law.

Why is it that Feng Xifeng always gets there first when he meets good things and good people in this life?

While Magistrate He was happy, he also had many regrets.

That night the feast was endless.

In later generations, there was a famous scholar in Yingtian Prefecture, Xie Quan, who ranked sixth in the provincial examination, and recorded in his handwritten notes:

"That night, the trees were full of fireworks and the scenery was magnificent!"

(End of this chapter)