Previous
Fiction Page
Next
Font Size:
Chapter 142: Strategies 3/4
Some wealthy people in the capital who heard about it hired boats straight to Chongcheng County and had already seen the lantern festival.
In addition to the stalls set up by ordinary people on the new pier, there were also various shops selling excellent items. Moreover, most of the wealthy people from the capital didn’t reject food like maqiu balls, unlike Mrs. Gou… Those who came from the capital to Chongcheng County had a great time.
Eventually, even some less wealthy people from the capital chartered boats to Chongcheng County for sightseeing.
“I heard that the magistrate of Chongcheng County is a rare good official,” Chief Zhou Shan said.
“Yes,” Governor Zhang smiled.
Magistrate Gou was indeed good, but with so much activity in Chongcheng County and so many things happening, it should be related to Li Qingzhi.
Although Li Qingzhi wasn’t even a scholar, he was really good at managing the people.
He would take up his post in the provincial capital tomorrow and would pass through Chongcheng County on the way… Governor Zhang planned to spend a day in Chongcheng County, chat with Li Qingzhi, and take another look at the lantern festival.
At this point, Chief Zhou Shan mentioned Li Qingzhi: “Governor Zhang, whenever Chongcheng County is mentioned, I think of someone.”
“Who?” Governor Zhang asked.
“It’s Li Qingzhi, the top scorer in this year’s provincial examination!” Chief Zhou Shan said. “This person’s talent is really outstanding, and his essays are very substantive…”
Chief Zhou Shan praised Li Qingzhi for a long time, and finally said, “Governor Zhang, you missed the opportunity to meet him after presiding over the provincial examination, which is a pity.”
Governor Zhang chuckled at this and said, “I’ve met him before, even before the provincial examination.”
“What does Governor Zhang think of him?” Chief Zhou Shan asked.
Governor Zhang replied, “He is a gifted individual.”
Chief Zhou Shan didn’t expect Governor Zhang to have such a high opinion of Li Qingzhi, which was somewhat surprising.
Governor Zhang then asked, “You praised his essays… Have you read them?”
“Not long ago, he wrote two essays and asked me for guidance,” Chief Zhou Shan said, instructing someone to fetch the essays Li Qingzhi had written for him when he last visited.
Governor Zhang had conversed with Li Qingzhi, read the books he had written, and even reviewed the essays Li Qingzhi wrote during the provincial examination.
But his interaction with Li Qingzhi was not extensive, so he didn’t have much understanding of Li Qingzhi’s scholarship.
Now, Chief Zhou Shan handed over the two essays Li Qingzhi wrote, and after carefully studying them, Governor Zhang realized that Li Qingzhi’s essays were truly excellent.
He felt that such essays could even be submitted for the township examination without any issue.
“I’ll take these two essays,” Governor Zhang said.
“These were given to me by him. Governor, you can’t just take them away!” Chief Zhou Shan said. “His handwriting is really beautiful, and I want to admire it every day!”
“In that case, I’ll copy them before I leave,” Governor Zhang said.
“You should have told me earlier… I’ve already had several copies made, so I’ll give you one,” Chief Zhou Shan immediately ordered someone to fetch the copied articles and asked Governor Zhang, “What do you plan to do with these articles?”
Governor Zhang replied, “The Anjiang Academy in the provincial capital publishes a monthly collection called ‘Anjiang Collection,’ which includes the latest poems, songs, various articles, and Li Qingzhi’s essays can be included in the ‘Anjiang Collection.'”
Upon hearing Governor Zhang’s words, Chief Zhou Shan was stunned.
His Chongwen Academy was the best academy in Hexing Prefecture, but it couldn’t compare to the Anjiang Academy.
The Anjiang Academy was the best academy in the entire Jiang’an Province, and the current head of the academy was a top scholar who had achieved the top score in the imperial examination and resigned from office to return to his hometown, dedicating decades to teaching and educating people!
The “Anjiang Collection” was even more remarkable. Although it was named after the Anjiang Academy, it didn’t only include works by Anjiang Academy students.
The “Anjiang Collection” would include excellent articles and poems from the entire Jiang’an Province, and even works by writers from other regions would be included.
Because of this, it was extremely difficult for writers to have their works published in the “Anjiang Collection.” If a young person’s work were to appear in the “Anjiang Collection”… it would undoubtedly make them famous.
After all, most of the articles published in the “Anjiang Collection” were written by well-known scholars who had already passed the imperial examination and obtained the title of juren or jinshi.
Chief Zhou Shan’s works had appeared in the “Anjiang Collection” several times.
Although Chief Zhou Shan thought Li Qingzhi’s essays were good, he didn’t expect Governor Zhang’s evaluation to be so high, deeming Li Qingzhi’s essays worthy of inclusion in the “Anjiang Collection.”
He wished Li Qingzhi could come to Chongwen Academy to study tomorrow, but unfortunately, Li Qingzhi said he had matters to attend to at home and hadn’t come over.
After chatting with Governor Zhang, Chief Zhou Shan saw him off, and then Peng Jingliang arrived to ask for leave.
Chief Zhou Shan frowned, “You’re fine, why do you need to take leave again? You’ll be participating in the township examination next year.” He intended to have Peng Jingliang participate in the township examination next year and had been detaining Peng Jingliang during this period to focus on studying.
Peng Jingliang said, “Chief Zhou, I’ll just take one day off, plus my rest day… I want to go to Chongcheng County to see the lantern festival and visit Brother Li.”
Chief Zhou Shan said, “Alright.”
Peng Jingliang was overjoyed to see his teacher’s agreement, but then Chief Zhou Shan added, “I’ll go with you.”
Peng Jingliang was dumbfounded.
He mainly wanted to go to the lantern festival for fun, but if his teacher also went… how could he enjoy himself?
“Since Zhu Xunmiao is from Chongcheng County, let’s invite him too,” Chief Zhou Shan added.
While Li Qingzhi hadn’t come to study, Zhu Xunmiao had.
Zhu Xunmiao’s academic abilities were average, but he had a good personality and was good at making friends, so he was doing well at Chongwen Academy.
Chief Zhou Shan planned to take him along.
Chief Zhou Shan had a favorable impression of Zhu Xunmiao, but not everyone at Chongwen Academy liked him.
At this moment, one student had a conflict with Zhu Xunmiao, deliberately knocking his books to the ground.
This student had a younger brother who wanted to study at Chongwen Academy but hadn’t obtained a spot, while Zhu Xunmiao had easily gotten in.
Just because Zhu Xunmiao was wealthy!
This person looked disdainfully at Zhu Xunmiao’s books. “Just because you’re a merchant’s son, you think you’re someone now that you’re at the academy?”
Zhu Xunmiao was somewhat angry and was about to argue with this person when Peng Jingliang arrived.
The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated, and both of them looked at Peng Jingliang.
Peng Jingliang, oblivious to any issue, smiled at Zhu Xunmiao. “Brother Zhu, the teacher asked me to tell you to come with us to Chongcheng County the day after tomorrow.”
After saying this, Peng Jingliang left.
Zhu Xunmiao looked at the classmate who had always looked down on him. “I am indeed just a merchant’s son, but Chief Zhou values me, so there’s nothing I can do.”
That classmate of Zhu Xunmiao’s was furious!
Zhu Xunmiao, however, was quite pleased. The day after tomorrow, he could go home and see his family!
During this time at Chongwen Academy, he had indeed learned a lot, but he had also encountered some troubles… He was starting to miss home a little.
He also wanted to see the lantern festival in Chongcheng County.
The next morning, Governor Zhang left Hexing Prefecture’s capital city by boat for Chongcheng County.
When he had previously gone to Chongcheng County, he had taken a small boat, but this time was different — he was already a governor, so the prefectural government arranged a large boat for him and several guards for protection.
After boarding the ship, Governor Zhang sat at a table and took out Li Qingzhi’s essays to make some revisions.
Li Qingzhi’s essays were indeed very good, but they might not necessarily make it into the “Anjiang Collection,” as the requirements for the collection were quite high.
However, after he made some modifications, it wouldn’t be difficult to get them accepted.
When Governor Zhang was younger, his writings had appeared in the “Anjiang Collection.” In recent years, no new works had been published because he was busy with official duties and didn’t have the energy to write.
Governor Zhang’s ship arrived in Chongcheng County around noon.
Instead of immediately seeking out Li Qingzhi, he had someone escort him to the new dock — he wanted to take a look.
It was noon, and the weather was scorching hot, so there weren’t many people at the new dock.
But even so, everything here was well planned and organized, and there was no dirt on the ground.
Previous
Fiction Page
Next