Beilu Academy is located in Yunzhong Mountain, Futian Township, Taiyuan Prefecture.
The gate of the academy is at the foot of the mountain. It is said to be a gate, but in fact it is just a strange stone with a height of three people. On it are written the characters of Beilu Academy.
The right back of the big stone is the bluestone steps one by one, winding up along this road, it is said that the academy is at the end.
Xue Tingxiang had walked for almost half an hour, and it was not over yet. Fortunately, the scenery on both sides of this road is beautiful, and you won't be bored if you walk all the way.
He remembered some things that happened when he left from Yuqing Village before—
In fact, he had told Zhao'er about this before, so the two of them had a little awkwardness. According to Xue Tingxiang's wish, he wanted Zhao'er to go to Taiyuan with him, but Zhao'er was unwilling.
Without him, firstly, he could not let go of his family's business, and secondly, he would be worried about the second sister.
Zhao Di is now pregnant, and her body is just a little bit better. According to Zhao'er's thoughts, it is natural to see the birth of his little nephew, and then he feels at ease. Under the intertwining of various reasons, she naturally did not want to go to Taiyuan with Xue Tingxiang.
However, Zhao'er never fought with Xue Tingxiang, but understood it.
She listed her various difficulties, and said that Xue Tingxiang went to Beilu Academy this time to prepare for the August township exam. There were only so many months to gather together, and it was too late for him to work hard. How could she disturb him.
Besides, what did she do? Xue Tingxiang was studying. Could it be that she kept watching him reading, not to mention that a woman in the academy would never let her in.
In fact, what Zhao'er said was not unreasonable, but Xue Tingxiang was emotionally unacceptable. She would not be reluctant to give up on herself, but thanks to his exhausted efforts, she is still so heartless to this day.
Xue Tingxiang felt that he must have done too much in his dreams to cause this to happen. He didn't speak to Zhao'er for a whole afternoon, and he was obviously unhappy.
In this regard, Zhao'er felt very helpless and a little guilty, so he made a table of delicious food in the evening and planned to bribe him.
It is a pity that Xue Tingxiang is not a child now, nor can Sangua Liangzao buy it, and the effect is very small.
After dinner, Zhao'er checked Xue Tingxiang's luggage. This trip is different from others. It only takes a few months to go, and it will not work without everything.
This side is busy, and the other side's face is dark. In the end, Zhao'er can't hold on anymore, so she can only come to him.
"Are you still angry? You are a scholar, why are you so stingy?"
He is a scholar, can't you be stingy
"Stingy man, be ashamed, there's a fleshy tug on your face." Zhao'er looked at him and shyly embarrassed him.
Hei Zi also crouched under the kang and looked at him with a pair of big black dogs.
Looking at this person and dog, he made Xue Tingxiang speechless. He hated it so much that he grabbed Zhao'er and put it in his arms, biting and pinching.
"You little heartless!"
Zhao'er cleared her throat: "I'm not young, I'm older than you, I should be the one who has no conscience." She smiled and seemed to be teasing.
Xue Tingxiang bit her mouth bitterly: "It doesn't matter whether you have a big conscience or a small one, in short, you have no conscience!"
Zhao'er stretched out his hand and pushed him: "You can do it, you are not a Heizi, why do you always like to bite people."
When Heizi heard it called, he stretched out his head and pressed his nose against Xue Tingxiang's leg.
"I just like to bite you, bite you into pieces, eat them and take them away." As Xue Tingxiang said, he pushed Heizi's dog face away.
Zhao'er took a sip: "It's too scary to say."
Xue Tingxiang ignored her, bit and kissed her.
After a long while, Zhao'er pushed him away.
She propped up her arms and propped herself up: "Okay, is this okay? When you start the test, I will go to Taiyuan to find you."
Xue Tingxiang sneered at her: "You are coaxing me again, the second sister just happened to be born in August, can you come to Taiyuan?"
Zhao'er's face was embarrassed, she hadn't thought about it yet. But he must not be short of breath, so he said confidently: "You will start the test on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, and you will take three exams in a row, each for three days. When the last one comes out, you will be eighteen. I will definitely be able to go by then."
"real?"
"of course it's true!"
Xue Tingxiang snorted, even if it wasn't true, he would have nothing to do with her at that time, and he would never be able to come back and arrest her. In fact, he didn't think about it, he was just uncomfortable, and he had to coax her to accompany Xiaoyi to be comfortable.
"I always said that you coaxed me, let me see that I coaxed you. I coaxed you since I was a child, and you have been coaxed to be a husband, and I have to coax you."
These words made Xue Tingxiang blushed.
However, after he has always been shameless, others can't see it. After finally looking at Zhao'er, he is guilty of guilt at the moment, and naturally wants to seek some benefits for himself.
"Then you don't have to go, but you have to promise me something."
"What's the matter?"
"Whatever I ask you to do tonight, you have to do it."
Zhao'er subconsciously didn't think about the good, but when he thought that he was going to leave tomorrow, it would be a few months, and he didn't know whether he would eat enough or not to wear warm clothes, and his heart softened immediately. .
"That's fine, but if you go too far, I can't promise you."
After that, Xue Tingxiang really went too far, but at this time, it was too late for Zhao'er to regret it. He insisted on pulling her, and tried the things that Ke Zhaoer was unwilling to try before, and tried them again and again.
For this reason, when he woke up the next morning, Zhao'er ignored him. They were about to leave soon, and the two of them said a few words.
From Xia County to Taiyuan, the road is actually not difficult to walk, first take a car to Jiangzhou, and then take a boat from the ferry in Jiangzhou, all the way down the Fen River to Taiyuan.
Xue Tingxiang had walked this road before, and it was easy to be familiar with it, that is, he went out alone, and safety on the road needed to be considered, so he had to follow the convoy or hire a bodyguard to escort him.
This time, Xue Tingxiang followed a caravan that was going to Taiyuan. The caravan had been found in advance, and he knew the bottom line. Unexpectedly, the caravan's motorcade was stopped as soon as they left Xia County.
It's from the Shen family.
Shen Fu still planned to send someone to find Xue Tingxiang, knowing that he would leave Xia County today, so he deliberately waited outside the city gate.
Everyone in the Shen family in Xia County and even in the entire Pingyang Mansion is known to everyone. The carriage that was blocking the road had the emblem of the Shen family on it, so the convoy naturally did not dare to move forward lightly.
"Master Xue, this is Cheng Yi specially prepared for you by my son. I wish you a smooth journey and fame."
A man dressed as a servant brought up a brocade box. Xue Tingxiang didn't refuse either, and took it over: "Help me thank your son."
The servant saluted again, and was about to get in the car and leave. As soon as he got in the car, he was suddenly stopped by Xue Tingxiang and got out of the car immediately.
"What else do you have to order, sir?"
Xue Tingxiang didn't speak, he took out a rolled up note from his sleeve and handed it to the servant.
"Give it to you three sons."
This servant is also a shrewd person, and immediately nodded and saluted before leaving.
Xue Tingxiang shook his head, and then he looked at the people who were traveling with cars and horses: "Why don't you leave?"
The people in the caravan did not dare to be sloppy, and were busy whistling to make the convoy move.
Before this young scholar came to Taiyuan to go to Taiyuan together, the carriage and horse dealers often used this kind of business. Now it seems that it is a real person who does not show his face, but the people of the Shen family are respected, and at first glance, it is not an ordinary person.
With such a thought in mind, Xue Tingxiang eats and eats well all the way, so there is no need to elaborate here.
…
At the other end, Shen Fu got the note that Xue Tingxiang gave him.
When I spread it out, there were two big characters written on it, Haiban.
These two words are written like a dragon and a phoenix, which is unusual, but the meaning of these words made Shen Fu ponder and ponder.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and then went out again.
If what Xue Tingxiang said is correct, the word "sea ban" has no deep meaning, just a literal meaning.
As a Shen family member, Shen Fu naturally knows some things that ordinary people don't know. As early as the time of Taizu, the pirates who had disappeared in the previous dynasty revived again. The imperial court has sent troops many times to suppress them, but they have not been able to see much effect. . It is also true that this group of pirates is too cunning, and the court pays attention to it, and immediately disappears.
Of course, this is on the bright side, but in fact, anyone who can have some power in the court will know that this is just a means for the rich merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to fight each other.
Since the founding of the dynasty, Dachang has implemented a policy of prohibiting the sea, and we will not go into details for the time being. But it is forbidden on the surface, but private smuggling by sea merchants is repeatedly banned.
This smuggling is a shady business, and it can still be done well under the prohibition of the Ming Dynasty, which shows that there must be people with high power behind it. Maritime trade has always been lucrative, and all merchants along the coast are aware of it. The court forbids it. If you don't do it, then you don't have to do it. But you are banned, but others make a lot of money, and naturally some people will be jealous.
So these so-called pirates are just some tactics used by some merchants to collude with the barbarians in order to force the court to open the sea. Of course, it was also to cover for himself. At the same time as the pirates plundered, a large amount of goods flowed into Dachang and flowed out from Dachang.
The Taizu was probably well aware of these things, and although Jinren was driven out of the pass, he never gave up on entering the pass. The border area was constantly fighting, but the court had no money, so Taizu always had the idea of opening the sea ban, but it was always blocked by the courtiers.
You must know that when Taizu succeeded, he was originally a combination of multiple forces, and most of them were the wealthy businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River. In the Jiangnan area, the literary style was prosperous. From the previous dynasty, there were more officials in the south than in the north, occupying almost half of the imperial court.
This situation has been carried over to Dachang, and it is even worse.
If it really opened up maritime trade, it would have ruined the jobs of many people. And there are countless intertwined forces behind the wealthy businessmen, even if the status is as high as the monarch of a country, they dare not act rashly.
After Taizu died, Emperor Jiacheng ascended the throne. This emperor, who inherited his father's resolute and rough appearance, but had a deep mind, showed a different approach to things from the moment he ascended the throne. The courtiers suppressed them obediently.
Of course, this is still on the surface. In fact, the situation that the emperor cannot be the master of the house has not changed.
Emperor Jiacheng has only been on the throne for six years. So far, he has always trusted Wu Ge, and has never mentioned the issue of the sea ban again. Could it be that the sage also has this idea
If it is true, he must always be on the opposite side of Wu Ge.
You must know that with the rise of Wu Ge Lao, the situation in the Jiangnan area has long been rewritten. It is impossible for the Wu family not to mix and smuggle, so that means that Wu Ge will be on the opposite side of Emperor Jiacheng sooner or later, and in order to suppress Wu Ge, a powerful old official, he must establish another one to succeed.
Naturally, this object could not be an official from the South. It should be from the North or the West. In a word, it could be either. It could never be an official from the South. The Shen family belonged to Shanxi, and they even had some personal grudges with the Wu family.
So who is the Shen family
That is to say, if what Xue Tingxiang said is true, in fact, the Shen family doesn't have to do anything but wait for An An to enter the cabinet. No matter how powerful Wu Ge is, it is not impossible for the dignified emperor to arrange for a minister to enter the cabinet.
For a time, Shen Fu was sweating coldly, and the hand holding the note actually trembled. The heart also kept falling, and there was no limit.
He thought to himself that this Xue Tingxiang was just a country boy, how could he possibly understand the essence and come to such a conclusion after seeing the whole situation.
Even he was able to analyze these things because he had been trained by the Shen family as the next generation since he was a child, so he knew many things that the rest of the Shen family didn't know.
How did he know that he was just a country boy, and he might have never been to Shanxi in his life!
But no matter how much he denied it in his heart, Shen Fu still had a panic in his heart, and a faint voice kept telling him that what Xue Tingxiang said was true.
Even if it is true, it is a little late, Su Lan has already disposed of, and the marriage of Wu and Chen's family has also been put on the agenda. Even if the marriage was called off at this time, if Emperor Jiacheng really had that thought, he might have been paying close attention to it, which means that the thought of bowing his head from the Shen family had actually been crossed out from the list in Emperor Jiacheng's mind.
At this point, Shen Fu even regretted why he sent someone to deliver the Cheng Yi.
This was just a matter of his personal curiosity, wondering what Xue Tingxiang's words were.
In fact, no matter what Xue Tingxiang said, he could not obstruct anything. What should have been done had already been done. He was just curious, and it was also a means of solicitation. He showed the other party that the incident would not affect the Shen family's preference for Xue Tingxiang himself. Who would have expected such a result.
Shen Fu was even thinking about whether this matter should be handed over to the capital. If the uncle knew about it, what would be the reaction, or if the rest of the Shen family knew, what should I do...
He also wondered if Xue Tingxiang did it on purpose. If he didn't say it at the beginning, he had to ask the Shen family to come to the door to make this happen...
But what he thinks is his own business, and has nothing to do with Xue Tingxiang.
…
Just watching the scenery all the way and thinking about his thoughts all the way, Xue Tingxiang finally reached the middle of the mountain.
He was a little tired, and his body was still too weak, but after climbing the mountain for a while, he was so tired that he was out of breath.
There is a building in front of me, no matter from the gate or the whole, it seems to be no different from the ordinary academy. The only difference is probably that this academy is built on the hillside and is larger than the ordinary academy.
The black tung oil gate has a plaque hanging on it, with a few big characters written on it - Beilu Academy.
Finally got to the place.
He slowly exhaled, tidied up his clothes again, and stepped forward.
At this moment, the corner door on the side opened, and a few people came out.
"Ha, Ting Yan, you are finally here." It was Mao Badou three people.