Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 24: Knowledge is gained through diligence

"I'm going to take the ten-day test when I get back. Mo Yi still has some questions. I wonder if Brother Lu could help me clear them up?"

Lu Beigu took out some of the doubts he had written down and showed them to him.

Looking at Lu Beigu's sincere and genuine eyes, Lu Guangyu hesitated for a moment and said, "It's just that I'm not very knowledgeable and I'm afraid I don't understand."

"No problem, let's discuss it together."

Lu Beigu pointed to a passage and asked, "Here, 'Duke Zheng conquered Duan at Yan,' the note says, 'It's difficult to reach him. Even weeds can't be removed, let alone your favored brother!' But the notes also quote the Guliang Zhuan, 'Why was Duke Zheng so devastated? He was so deliberate that he ended up killing him.' I don't have the Spring and Autumn Annals with me, so I wonder which approach will be used as the standard for this exam?"

Lu Guangyu thought for a moment and explained, "Brother Lu, this is a very accurate question. In fact, this annotation is from the perspective of etiquette and law, while the Guliang is from the perspective of mind and technique."

He took a piece of paper and began to write: "Look here."

The sun's shadow outside the window gradually moves, and the birds' singing is sometimes far away and sometimes near.

Lu Beigu sometimes frowned in thought, and sometimes suddenly realized. The questions came one after another. They were not tricky. They were just assumptions based on possible test questions, but they often hit the nail on the head.

Lu Guangyu was able to respond calmly at first, but gradually sweat began to seep out of his forehead and he had to take out more books and notes to verify.

"Brother Lu, take a break."

Seeing that he looked tired, Lu Beigu took the initiative to suggest, "It's noon."

Only then did Lu Guangyu realize that his mouth was dry and his clothes on the back were soaked with sweat.

He smiled wryly and shook his head, "Discussing academic matters with my classmates has never been so exhausting. Brother Lu, these questions really require serious study."

Lu Guangyu's family members had gone out to visit relatives, so there was not much to eat. In addition, cooking was not allowed on the Cold Food Festival, so the two of them put two bowls of Cold Food porridge in the pot and added some pickles to barely fill their stomachs.

After finishing the simple porridge and pickles, Lu Beigu took the initiative to clean up the dishes.

When I returned to the study, I saw Lu Guangyu tidying up the scattered papers, but his movements were a little slow, and he was obviously tired.

As the sun sets, the study gradually becomes dim because of the backlight.

Lu Guangyu lit the oil lamp, and under the dim light, the shadows of the two young men were cast on the wall.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Guangyu rubbed his sore eyes and found that Lu Beigu was still studying hard. He had only eaten a few pieces of candied apricots to supplement the sugar needed for his high-speed brain.

From the time he entered the door until now, Lu Beigu has been writing for four hours straight.

Lu Guangyu really couldn't sit still, he quietly leaned over to take a look, and saw that the paper was densely packed with reading notes about "The Commentary on Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn Annals" and "The Compilation of the Collection of Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals". The handwriting was as neat as an engraving, and there was not a single correction.

As he watched, Lu Guangyu was stunned.

He clearly remembered that in the morning Lu Beigu's understanding of the Spring and Autumn Annals was still a bit stagnant, and he even couldn't figure out many basic questions, but now he could actually discover the subtle differences between different annotations.

——This speed of progress is simply unbelievable.

"Brother Lu."

His voice was a little hoarse: "How much have you memorized today?"

Lu Beigu was startled to find that there was a thick pile of papers filled with writing around him. He had used up all the paper he brought with him, and had also used a lot of Lu Guangyu's paper.

Lu Beigu was a little embarrassed: "I was so engrossed that I used up a lot of Brother Lu's paper."

Lu Guangyu suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Beigu. "As the ancients said, 'Those who know are not as good as those who like it, and those who like it are not as good as those who enjoy it.' Brother Lu's diligence and focus are beyond my reach."

Lu Beigu quickly returned the greeting: "Brother Lu, please accept my kindness. If you hadn't taught me everything you knew, how could I have learned anything?" Seeing that the sun was setting, the two finally packed up their books and papers.

Lu Guangyu insisted on sending Lu Beigu to the ferry, and on the way he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Lu, will you come tomorrow?"

"If Brother Lu doesn't mind bothering me"

"I can't ask for it!"

Lu Guangyu blurted out, then smiled sheepishly: "I've benefited a lot from studying with Brother Lu. Besides, if I were alone, I'd inevitably let my mind wander and indulge myself in playing."

The wind blew by, carrying with it the smell of wine.

"I didn't feel it before, but now it smells a bit pungent."

"Yes, the villagers often store their wine in natural caves in the mountains. When the wind blows, you can smell it."

Lu Beigu looked around. Because of the high mountains on both sides of Erlangtan, the temperature was not high all year round and the air was a bit humid. It seemed very suitable for storing wine.

There weren't many empty ferries here, so after some bargaining, Lu Beigu and the boatman agreed on a price of 5 copper coins to take him to Gulin Town alone. If they wanted to share a boat, 2-3 copper coins would actually be enough.

The boat slowly left the shore, the lantern on the bow swaying in the darkness.

Lu Beigu stepped onto the deck and looked back to see Lu Guangyu still standing on the shore, his figure looking a little thin in the moonlight.

"Brother Lu, see you tomorrow!" he waved and shouted.

"See you tomorrow!" Lu Guangyu's voice came with the river wind.

He placed the bag in front of him and sat down. Looking at the words written on the paper inside, Lu Beigu felt much more at ease than when he came.

Knowledge comes from diligence, and poetry and books will not let you down!
Talent is of course the most important thing, but if you only have talent but don’t work hard, you will end up like Fang Zhongyong, wasting your talent in vain.

What's more, don't others have talent?

You have to know that this era has brought together a group of geniuses who can be called shining stars in the thousands of years of Chinese history!
Who is not the “chosen one” in his or her own story?
He was already far behind. If he didn't work hard, how could he stand on the stage and compete with these geniuses?

Of course, the Dragon and Tiger List is still too far away. The most important thing right now is to pass the county exam.

If you can’t pass the county exam, you won’t even be eligible to take the state exam!
Even in the small Hejiang County School, Lu Beigu is now at the bottom of the class except for policy essays.

Lu Beigu closed his eyes and thought silently in his heart.

Among the three subjects, poetry, calligraphy, and calligraphy interpretation, the most difficult one is calligraphy interpretation, and calligraphy interpretation is tested on two parts, "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites", and "Spring and Autumn Annals" is the most complicated and profound.

"Today I went through a section of the notes version of 'Spring and Autumn Zuo Zhuan Zhengyi'. If I keep doing this every day, by the end of the Cold Food Festival holiday, I think I'll have a basic understanding of the Spring and Autumn section of Mo Yi. I might still not be able to handle the most difficult questions, but I won't make mistakes on the relatively basic ones."

As long as he could get a general idea of ​​the "Spring and Autumn Annals" during the Cold Food Festival holiday, he could return to the county school and continue working hard for a few days.

By the time of the ten-day test, Mo Yi's results had improved dramatically from the level of C-low to the level of B-low!
The reason for this understanding is that Lu Guangyu often takes the B-level test, so Lu Beigu has a general understanding of what the B-level is and the gap between him and the B-level now.

As for Grade B, it is already considered to be at an upper-level level in Hejiang County School.

Of course, just being at the level of Grade B in the county school is definitely not enough!

If you want to be safe, you must have a level of B or even above B to ensure that you can pass the county exam!

Lu Beigu is very confident that he can reach this level. With his talent, he can definitely do it in a short period of time, but the prerequisite is that he is willing to be diligent and self-disciplined.

(End of this chapter)