Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 320 Sanctimonious
The carriage arrived at the governor's office.

The wind was blowing so hard that no one could be seen on the road.

As soon as the carriage stopped, several people got off one after another.

Lou Ziyan got out of the car and looked at the carriage where Wang Lin was. His face was full of helplessness. Zu Ting was really rude.

Wang Lin didn't even invite him to get in the car, but he got in on his own.

Wang Lin is a steady, polite, and elegant person who keeps a distance.

I'm afraid Zu Ting will find it difficult to achieve his goal if he does this.

Just as he was sighing, Wang Lin took Zu Ting's hand and got off the carriage with a smile.

Seeing this scene, Lou Ziyan’s eyes almost popped out.

Wang Lin took Zu Ting's hand affectionately and invited him into the inner room.

After the two men entered the house, Wang Lin asked him to sit next to him and sent someone to call his family out to meet Zu Ting.

Lou Ziyan was sitting behind the two of them, still feeling a little dizzy at the moment.

What happened? ?
Wang Lin hosted a sumptuous banquet to entertain Zu Ting.

Wang Lin found a lot of food, all of which were specialties from the south that were not available in the north, and there was also a lot of fine wine. Servants came in and out, and there was more and more food in front of everyone.

Zu Ting had no intention of stopping the other party. He smiled and said, "Come on more! Come on more!"

Lou Ziyan reached out and gently pulled his sleeve.

Zu Ting looked at him and said with a smile: "You don't know that you enjoy delicacies from land and sea every day here, but we in the north can't do that."

"My king hates extravagance the most. No one dares to eat and drink lavishly, not to mention that we have a prohibition on alcohol over there!"

"My Lord, we won't be able to drink wine when we get there. Come, let's get drunk today!"

When Wang Lin heard Zu Ting's words, he could not help but sigh: "The general is truly a heroic leader! It is easy to say that we should abstain from alcohol and eat frugally, but it is so difficult to implement it completely!"

"Okay, today, my grandfather and I will get drunk together!"

Lou Ziyan's eyes became more and more shocked. What? ?

Just now in the carriage, Zu Ting had already convinced the other party?
So fast?
Lou Ziyan didn't quite understand, but Wang Zu and the other two didn't care and started eating and drinking.

Zu Ting chatted and laughed with Wang Lin while eating. The two of them seemed like old friends and had a lively conversation. Although Zu Ting was a strange person, his range of knowledge was indeed somewhat frightening.

It was as if there was nothing he didn't know.

From eating, drinking and having fun, to music, chess, calligraphy and painting, to astronomy, geography, military affairs and internal affairs, as long as Wang Lin dared to open his mouth, Zu Ting would dare to continue talking.

Even the officers around him put away their contempt for this weirdo.

Can a person really be this knowledgeable?
How many books has this guy read?

When Zu Ting was clacking his chopsticks for fun and singing with his head raised, the atmosphere of the entire banquet was brought to its highest point.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside.

The atmosphere came to an abrupt end.

Everyone looked outside the door.

After a while, a soldier walked up to Wang Lin and whispered something.

Wang Lin's face turned extremely ugly.

"Grandfather, please sit down, I will be back soon"

"No problem!"

Zu Ting grabbed him and asked with a smile, "But is Lu Qian here?"

Wang Lin nodded.

Zu Ting smiled and asked him to sit down, then said to the soldier: "Such a wonderful banquet, how can there be no musicians to entertain? Let him in!"

The soldier looked at Wang Lin, and Wang Lin nodded slightly.

Soon, a man strode in, surrounded by a crowd of people.

The man was tall and handsome, but his face didn't look very good. He just barged in, looked around, and then looked at the wine in their hands.

There was a small bureau in Yangzhou, and Lu Qian was the head of this small bureau.

That's why he was able to suppress Wang Lin, the governor of Yangzhou.

Lu Qian sneered, "Well, the emperor has passed away, and all places have issued orders to begin mourning. As a minister, you do not abide by the laws of the temple and are drinking and having fun here."

"Lu Qian, long time no see."

Before Lu Qian could finish his words, he was interrupted by someone. Lu Qian then looked over and noticed Zu Ting sitting in the upper seat.

He was stunned, "Zu Ting?"

"why you?"

"it is me."

"Why, you asked the southerners for so much money without telling them, and you were beaten with a hundred military sticks, and your hair and beard were almost cut off. You were so miserable at that time, how come you look like a decent person now?"

When Lu Qian was told about the past, his face changed drastically and he said angrily, "How good are you? Wasn't it you who stole Emperor Wenxuan's things and was chased out by him as a thief?"

Zu Ting laughed loudly, "It was me. Were you the one who asked for a bribe without telling me and was beaten with a hundred sticks?"

Lu Qian ignored him and looked at Wang Lin. "Wang Lin, you dare to collude with Zu Ting. Are you planning to cause trouble?"

Zu Ting sneered, "If he wanted to rebel, would you still dare to speak so arrogantly here?"

"Others don't know your background and say you are some kind of wise shepherd of Lianghuai, but I know what you are!"

"Lu Qian! You are a hypocritical villain. You have submitted memorials for governing the Huai River region one after another, and your reputation is growing day by day. Since you govern so well, why are the people in the Huai River region becoming increasingly poor? Why are the people here unable to make a living? Why are there more and more temples here, but fewer and fewer people?"

"Wherever you go, there will be more monks from the south. I see that you have been accumulating wealth here for more than ten years. You are almost like a rat in Lianghuai!"

Lu Qian's face turned red and his teeth began to chatter.

"Someone come, someone come"

Zu Ting stood up, walked in front of Lu Qian, and looked at him with a smile.

"How dare you?"

"I am the chief secretary of the General's Mansion."

"If you have the ability, can you give me a knife and try it?"

"Your entire clan, young and old, is under the rule of the general. Not long ago, I passed by your house and it was in a state of decline. Many people were arrested and the most famous tree in your family was cut down to make coffins."

"If anything happens to me in Yangzhou today, I will make you the general and kill your entire clan. I will make you a lonely man and your clan disappear from now on without a trace!"

Lu Qian looked at Zu Ting's annoying face in front of him, took a deep breath, and looked at Wang Lin again.

Finally, he didn't dare to say anything more and turned away.

Zu Ting pointed in the direction he left and burst into laughter.

Wang Lin immediately stood up and toasted Zu Ting, and the two drank again.

It was not until midnight that Xu and Cheng helped Zu Ting to rest.

Zu Ting's alcohol tolerance was indeed quite good. He drank so much without any problem and was still able to chat and laugh with the two of them.

The two brought some hangover soup and asked him to eat some.

Xu Li couldn't help but ask, "Grandfather, is Lu Qian really that unbearable?"

Zu Ting shook his head. "No, he is quite talented and can be ranked among the top officials."

"Then why did you humiliate him like that just now?"

"He has no grudge against the general. His relatives are still serving as officials in the North Road."

Zu Ting laughed, his eyes particularly bright, "He is not as important as Wang Lin."

"There's no need to be so humiliating."

"Remember, there are gains and losses. You can't always want everything. You have to make a choice. Wang Lin and Lu Qian are not on good terms. I can only choose one of them. Then I will choose Wang Lin. It's that simple."

Zu Ting fell asleep while talking to the two young men.

The two walked out of the house, and Xu Li couldn't help but sighed: "Our ancestor is really a remarkable man." "Not only a remarkable man, but also a capable man. General Wang was persuaded by him to go to the border. He brought a few of us with him, and when he comes back, he will bring back General Wang's entire navy!!"

The two of them talked in low voices, and Xu Li's eyes were full of envy.

"I really don't know when we will be able to have such a skill."

"If the lord knew about these things, I wonder how much reward he would give me!"

Pingcheng.

The city was covered with snow, but pedestrians still passed by on the road from time to time.

The ground was covered with traces of trampling.

A carriage braved the wind and snow and slowly stopped in front of a mansion.

The carriage stopped and Wei Shou, wrapped in thick clothes, got off the carriage with a smile. He was about to ask someone to knock on the door when he saw another carriage in the distance.

Wei Shou narrowed his eyes and smiled even more happily.

After the carriage stopped, Feng Shu walked out and the two met.

Wei Shou let out a breath and looked at the mansion in front of him with a smile.

"How about it?"

"I told you at the beginning, without us, how can he accomplish this imperial examination alone?"

"It's not that I look down on Lu Qubing, but considering his attainments, asking him to set the questions is really a bit difficult for him. As for the scholar, it's ok for him to set the questions, but when it comes to the state examination, don't we have to step in?"

Feng Shu frowned, looked around, and whispered, "I heard that there was a big problem with this county exam."

"The general was not happy about this and fined Lu Qubing's salary. Is this true?"

Wei Shou nodded slightly.

"That's what I heard."

"Or maybe it's because he's young. How can this assessment be so simple? The reason why the South was able to succeed was because of their own situation. If he wants to copy the South, how can he succeed?"

Wei Shou said no more, asked someone to knock on the door, and then walked into the courtyard with Feng Shu.

This courtyard is exactly the residence of Lu Qubing.

The two men walked into the mansion and, led by several clerks, came to the innermost lobby.

Lu Qubing came out to greet him.

The two men hurriedly bowed to greet each other. Wei Shou, who had just been disparaging Lu Qubing, now had the most gentle smile on his face, "Oh, why do you have to trouble Lu Gong to greet you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"How dare you address me as Lord in front of Lord Wei? Just call me by my courtesy name."

"How dare I, how dare I, although Mr. Lu is young, he has extraordinary talents and moral character, which are admired by people all over the world. Although I am older, I always feel guilty when standing in front of Mr. Lu, and feel that I still have a lot to improve."

Compared to Lao Wei's undisguised flattery, Lao Feng is much more restrained and still has a little bit of the backbone of a scholar.

Lu Qubing invited the two men to walk into the lobby, where many ministers had already been waiting for them.

These people were all Wei Shou's good friends, such as Yang Xiuzhi, Lu Sidao and others, who were all famous ministers.

However, these people were relatively reserved in front of Lu Qubing and did not dare to show off.

After all, Lu Qubing was different from Zu Ting. Lu Qubing dared to call peaches in front of many ministers and even made some jokes about peaches. The usually cold lord was not angry and sometimes even agreed with him.

Lu Qubing once hid a few peaches in his sleeves and joked to Cui Gang that they were "three masters in the sleeves".

When Liu Taozi heard about this, he said to his attendants: "I was stepped on three times a day."

It was just because Liu Taozi was busy on weekdays, and had to go out at least three times a day and walk on the road three times.

After this incident spread, everyone respected Lu Qubing even more. He even dared to make jokes about his lord and was not held accountable by his lord. If it were someone else, I'm afraid something serious would have happened.

Lu Qubing invited Wei Shou to sit at the top seat, but Wei Shou refused and declined again and again. Finally, Lu Qubing had to sit at the top seat.

Lu Qubing looked at everyone and said calmly, "Since everyone is here, I will speak frankly."

"This time, I summoned you all here for the state examination in the spring."

Everyone lowered their heads, and although they didn't say anything, one could feel their joy.

Lu Qubing sighed and said, "Perhaps you have all heard of the previous county exam."

"I thought if we followed the Southern Dynasty's method, there wouldn't be any problems."

"I didn't expect that such a county exam would be so chaotic just because of poor supervision that there were so many things like early leaking of test papers, collective cheating, impersonation, and hiring others to write books. It was really very lively."

Wei Shou sighed and said, "Lord Lu, I wanted to help you originally, not because of any other intentions, but because this matter is too difficult to handle, so I wanted to help you. However, some people in the court think that we are unreliable, so this happened. Please don't be angry, these..."

"No problem."

Lu Qubing interrupted Wei Shou and his attitude suddenly became strong.

"It's all my fault that something like this happened."

"I have reported this to my lord, asking him to punish me, strip me of my title, fine me, and punish me with twenty strokes of the cane."

Lu Qubing looked at his back and said, "I was just punished a few days ago, so I just called you all together today."

The smile on Wei Shou's face gradually froze. He was beaten with twenty sticks?
Lu Qubing said seriously: "Of course, I am not the only one being punished. Those found to have committed crimes in various counties will also be arrested and interrogated."

"As of today, 396 people have been arrested, and it is estimated that more people will be found later."

"The Lord has issued an order: The chief official who leaked the imperial examination questions and condoned cheating is guilty of a heinous crime and shall be sentenced to death."

"The implicated candidates will be convicted according to the degree of their cheating and adultery. The lighter ones will be banned from participating for life, the heavier ones will be sentenced to prison, and the most serious ones will be sentenced to death."

"Of course, the local assessment will also have to be abandoned."

"As a punishment for the local atmosphere!"

After Lu Qubing said this, everyone's faces became more and more ugly, and Wei Shou suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.

Gotta go!

This is not a good job, you will lose your head!!
Lu Qubing looked at everyone again and said with a smile: "This state exam is more important than the previous one. I have learned many lessons and improved many regulations on supervision and setting questions."

"However, the questions in this state exam, especially the classics section, are really not what I am good at."

"So I asked you all to come here because I want you to help me solve the problem."

"In addition, in order to prevent leaks, you gentlemen are not allowed to leave my mansion from today onwards."

When this statement came out, everyone was lost.

Yang Xiuzhi asked unhappily, "Mr. Lu, do you suspect that we will leak the test questions? How ridiculous!!"

Lu Qubing shook his head gently, "Of course not."

"I believe in your character, but the previous county exam exposed many problems. You all have your subordinates and confidants, and these people may take great risks to steal the questions and deceive you. Therefore, I have made such a rule. If you need anything, you can tell me now and I will send someone to bring it back. From today on, you can leave the house until the end of the state exam."

"The same is true for my people in the palace. I have contacted the general, and the general will send the Hengzhou Army to protect us."

"The test papers will be escorted by a battalion of mandrills!"

Wei Shou was stunned.

As for that? ?

Is that what the Mandrill Camp is for?
Lu Qubing said seriously: "Gentlemen, the general attaches great importance to this matter. Such mistakes must not be made again. I hope everyone can help me complete it and help me find out the shortcomings and fill in the gaps."

He touched his back gently and said, "The general only gave me twenty strokes of the cane this time, considering that I did not intentionally neglect my duty."

"If this kind of problem occurs again in this state exam, I, and all the participants, will be blamed. Anyway, I cannot face the general again, and I must die to atone for my crime!"

Lu Qubing stood up and bowed to everyone.

"I'll have to trouble you all!"

Everyone was talking about it, but they couldn't object. When Liu Taozi handed the matter over to Lu Qubing, he gave Lu Qubing the power to dispatch.

He could mobilize officials at will to help him accomplish this task, so if anything went wrong with the imperial examination, of course everyone would share the responsibility.

Wei Shou looked at Feng Shu standing aside again. There was no joy on his face anymore and his brows twitched.

What should we do now?
Feng Shu closed his eyes and shook his head gently.

There's no other choice, just do it.

Lu Qubing sat in the upper seat, looking at the expressions of the crowd, frowning. He learned a lesson from his failures. Now that he was fully prepared, he did not believe that he could not accomplish this task! !
(End of this chapter)