Quanzhou, the city of light, the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. It is an immeasurable trading city, where the lights are lit up at night, where the port is open all night, where the streets are full of miscellaneous goods, and where the rivers flow not water but gold.

This year is the seventh year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, 1084 AD. China still firmly occupies the first position in the world, and this is the best of times, with prosperous scenery, a thriving economy, and a leisurely and confident subject. In the north of the Great Song Dynasty, the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji, who was not confused in his years, became more and more mediocre, printed Buddhist scriptures and built temples and towers, labored the people and lost money, and made the Liao State turn from strong to declining. Farther north, a tribe called the Jurchens is rising to take its place. It was only 42 years after the defeat of Bianjing and the destruction of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Great Song Dynasty still knew nothing about this, and this was the worst era. This era is a flower blooming on a blade, gorgeous and fragile.

On the third day of the first month of August, Bao Wei led ten flat-bottomed sand boats and two two-masted schooners to Quanzhou, and Murong Fu, who had been sailing for nearly two years, returned as promised. Twelve large and small ships blocked the three wharves outside Quanzhou City. The helpers on the dock were slightly dissatisfied when they saw that the bags were different and did not do business, so everyone discussed them and quickly elected a leader to look for different bags and inquire about the news. Hearing that it had been half a year since Bao Wei got the message, the helper who took the lead suddenly couldn't cry or laugh, and only said: "Mr. Haojiao knows that the situation on this sea is not as good as on land. If there is a gust of wind, the return date will be a few days late. "If it's windy, it's common that you never come back. - But he didn't mention it.

Bao Wei really didn't understand the matter of navigation, and after listening to the mercenary boss's persuasion, he only shook his head and said: "My father-in-law has always been true to his word, he said that he will come back today, and he will definitely come back today!" "Seeing that the boss had to persuade again, Bao was different and hurriedly added." You persuaded me just for the sake of wages. How much you can earn here every day, I'll give you double! ”

There is a different sentence, and everyone is immediately satisfied, and there is no other word. All the servants had nothing to do with their wages in vain, and when they saw that they were not talking about it, they all stayed at the dock to see if the prince really returned as promised. The wait was until late at night, and when the lights were lit, everyone was bored. There is no direction on the sea, and it is not easy to sail at night, and it seems that this prince will definitely not be able to come back. Bao Wei was also playing a drum in his heart, if it weren't for the vast sea, he would have to go and hear the news in person.

But at this moment, the mercenary's cry suddenly sounded outside the cabin: "Look! Boat! A ship is coming! What a big ship! ”

Bao Wei hurriedly jumped to the top of the cabin, and looked into the distance, only to see two loach boats about three or four zhang high and about ten zhang long coming from the end of heaven and earth all the way through the wind and waves. Looking at the guiding wind lantern under the eaves of the boat that kept shaking in the night, Bao Wei couldn't help but burst into tears, and said in a loud voice: "I'm back!" It's finally back! He was so excited that he turned two somersaults on the roof of the cabin and shouted. Ha ha! Childe is back! This sound implied his internal strength, which only shocked the ears of the mercenaries and made them dizzy.

After a while, two loach boats came closer. Under the hazy moonlight, everyone saw a young man in white standing alone on the head of the boat, with a long body and a cold expression, as if the ice soul and snow spirit had turned into a shape, not like a mortal. Only Bao Wei has good martial arts and good eyesight, and can vaguely distinguish a trace of joy in his little starlight. Without waiting for Bao Wei to meet him, he saw that the young man suddenly rose up, his toes lightly touched the bow of the boat, and the whole person suddenly fell in front of Bao Wei like a feather. Although the helpers on the dock were accustomed to seeing all kinds of red and green hair from the foreign domain, it was rare to see such a brilliant young man in white as this young man at this time.

The young man in white was Murong Fu, he had been gone for two years, and he was very close to Bao Wei at this time, and said with a smile: "Third Brother Bao, don't come unharmed after a long time!" "As soon as he stretched out his hand, he held up the different arms of the bag." Brother Bao, no need to be polite. ”

Bao Wei has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and he has been obsessed with Murong Fu for more than ten years, and he doesn't want to be held out by Murong Fu so lightly now, he can't bow down to this courtesy. Realizing that his son-in-law had not given up his martial arts in the past two years, his internal strength had become more sophisticated, and he was even more happy and said: "My son-in-law is good at kung fu!" It's good to be back! It's good to be back! ”

Murong Fu smiled slightly, and said as he walked: "You immediately arrange for someone to unload the cargo, and how to dispose of the cargo on the ship is all up to Mai Ge'er's arrangement." Fourth Brother Feng will not return until the end of the year, and you will prepare fifteen more boats to meet you by then. You sort out the business at home, if there are any problems, I will deal with them after I finish the state exam. When I contacted Mr. Fan from Minzhou, he said that I would visit on the first day of September to talk about future shipbuilding sales. In addition, send a message to the third brother Qin in Taihu Lake, telling him that there are two choices, one is to serve me as the master in the future, the other should be bought and sold, and I will be eight and two; Second, according to the original agreement, I will share the profits with him equally, and they will have nothing to do with each other in the future. ”

Bao Wei responded all the way, until he heard Murong Fu mention it, and then the two looked up and said, "Son, do you want to wait for this batch of goods to be sold before meeting Mr. Fan?" And that Qin Laosan......"

Without waiting for Bao to finish speaking, Murong Fu already shook his head and said, "Third Brother Bao, don't lose a big one because of a small one." It doesn't matter how much the Fan family can make from me, what matters is how much profit I can bring from my overseas business routes. As for Third Brother Qin, if he is a smart person, he will know how to choose, if not, ......"

If not, the prince would not be able to tolerate him. Bao is different, and his heart jumps suddenly. The prince is a saint lord who was born to know, and he has his own pure arrogance, how can he tolerate a fool?

"The sextant on the ship, you watch it closely. Although it is a good thing, it is not the time to promote it, so it can only be blocked by technology first. Murong Fu finally said. A sextant is an optical instrument used to measure the angle between two distant targets and is widely used in shipping. Even after the forties of the twentieth century, various radiolocation methods appeared, and navigation was indispensable. Originally, its official appearance would have been in the XVIII century. It's just that Murong Fu was born in a shipping family in his last life, and it was easy to "invent" such a gadget.

Bao He listened to Murong Fu's solemn words, and he didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly bowed his head and said yes. But he secretly said in his heart: I don't know what kind of new thing this "sextant" is? The previous two-masted schooner had never said that it would be a "technical blockade", thinking of this, Bao Wei bowed back again: "Childe, the two-masted schooner has been made, and my subordinates have brought two of them over according to Childe's orders." This boat is flexible and can go against the wind, and Qin Laosan has come to ask for the price. ”

Murong Fu couldn't help but smile again when he heard this, these two-masted schooners were originally the favorite of pirates, and Qin Laosan was the leader of the bandits on Taihu Lake, so he could be regarded as a specialist in the art industry. "Leave one ship for Mai Ge'er, and leave all the people you brought with you for Mai Ge'er, and we'll leave at once. As for Third Brother Qin's side, if you pass the news on, he will naturally understand what I mean. "As soon as I turned the corner, I met Su Mai, who had just come down from Class A." Brother Mai, I'm going back to Gusu. On the teacher's birthday, I will go to Ruzhou to meet the teacher, and by the way, I will do the crown ceremony. Do you want to ......?"

This time, without waiting for Murong Fu to finish speaking, Su Mai had already unceremoniously interrupted him: "The big thing has not been accomplished, I am tens of thousands of times a day, how can I have time to take the test or solution?" Obviously, they had discussed the topic of persuading Su Mai to take the state exam more than once or twice, so much so that Su Mai was so annoyed that his ears were calloused.

Murong Fu was choked back by Su Mai, but he was not annoyed, and only said cautiously: "Brother Mai has been gone for two years, why don't you go back and accompany the teacher to Poyang Lake this time?" I'll pay for it! ”

"I said you're endless, right?" Su Mai couldn't help but roar, "Return Poyang Lake? There's a lot going on here, do I have time to go? Don't you go to take the solution test, give me a hand! "Su Mai was an honest man, but the sea is the most experienced place. In addition, Murong Fu's so-called "opening up the trade road" is not blindly gentle, but full of blood and fire. Su Mai has followed Murong Fu for two years, the wind comes and goes, and the honest head has also become a killing decision, where is he still impatient with Murong Fu to entangle that little matter of the imperial examination?

Murong Fu was yelled back like a quail by Su Mai, and said timidly: "That...... Then, I'll go first...... "In the original history, Su Mai should have taken the state exam this year to win the lift. Su Shi passed through Poyang Lake on the way to send him to Dexing County, Raozhou, and wrote "The Story of Shizhong Mountain". It's just that Murong Fu couldn't bear to see Su Maicai being eight buckets, but because of his father's involvement, he spent his whole life on the officials, so he counted him as a part when he went to sea. In the past two years, Su Mai has gained a lot of knowledge overseas, and he is addicted to the way of economics and has no interest in the imperial examination. Murong Fu persuaded him several times to take the exam, but he flatly refused. This "The Story of Shi Zhong Mountain" should not be withdrawn from primary and secondary school textbooks, right?

Su Mai saw his father, a closed disciple, walking one step at a time and turning around, after all, his heart relented, and he sighed and said, "Reinstate, take the exam well!" I'm going to fight for the first time! ”

Hearing Su Mai's expectations, Murong Fu hadn't said anything yet, but the bag had quietly changed color, pinched his cuffs with a little weakness, and lowered his head to chase Murong Fu out.

Sure enough, Murong Dufang jumped onto the newly-made two-masted schooner and ordered the ship to start, and he couldn't wait to ask Bao Wei: "Can you get the exam questions?" ”

Seeing that Murong Fu asked so naturally, Bao Wei had a fever on his face, pinched his cuffs hard, and said with a smile: "The prince has never forgotten, and the state test is not easy to catch, so why ......"

Murong Fu sighed softly and asked, "Let me ask you, when is the state test?" ”

"On the tenth day of August, it can't be too late!" Bao is different when Murong Fu still wants to postpone it, and the sweat is about to come down. In order to catch up with the state exam, he did not hesitate to buy a notice to the state and burn down the warehouse where the exam papers were stored to postpone the exam date. "The news from Lord Zhang's side has been postponed twice, and it won't be able to catch up with next year's provincial test if it's too late."

Murong Fu looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, "That's the exam in seven days." Third Brother Bao thinks, is it too late for me to read and review now? ”

"There are ...... next year" Bao said differently. The state test is not the same as the provincial test, and it is not held every three years, but every year.

"Next year, of course, there will be next year." Murong Fu said categorically. He knew that Song Shenzong's lifespan was only until next year. As soon as Shenzong died, Empress Dowager Gao took power and fully supported the restoration of the old system by the old party headed by Sima Guang. In case the imperial examination is also restored, the old system of examining poetry and endowment is not examined, then ...... In the past three years and three years, time waits for no one! Thinking of this, Murong Fu took out the exam question from his different sleeves, and said while looking down at it, "Third Brother Bao, the imperial examination is just a stepping stone. It's a big deal, so why should you care how I got in? ”

Having said that, it's just that who swore that the imperial examination was easy to capture back then? Now it's down to cheating...... Bao Wei couldn't help but be speechless, and after a while, he chased in and said: "Son, the old bag of this provincial exam is really powerless!" What's more, there is also the temple test......"

Murong Fu couldn't help but look up at him with a half-sideways face when he heard this, and saw that Bao Wei's expression was distorted, as if he couldn't swallow or spit out poison/medicine, he couldn't help but sigh slightly, and casually comforted: "Third brother, don't worry, now that there are still a few months before the provincial exam, I will be more attentive and not embarrassed the teacher." ”

Bao Weiyuan was the most impatient to listen to Murong Fu mention Su Shi, but when he mentioned it again at this time, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and secretly glad that Gongzi Ye at least remembered to give the teacher a long face. If he was born in modern times, he must sigh loudly: When he meets people, he doesn't mean that Lao Bao's festival falls so quickly!

However, before he could respond, Murong Fu had already commanded without shame: "However, there is no need to let the teacher know about this matter." ”

Needless to say! Bao Wei held back for a long time, and replied sullenly: "Yes!" ”

"The teacher is still the deputy envoy of the Ruzhou regiment training?" Murong Fu asked again.

"Exactly!" Hearing Murong Fu mention the affairs of the court, Bao Wei immediately cheered up again. "Xu Xi's legacy has been in trouble for a long time, and there are still many discussions, presumably the emperor can't spare his hands to pay attention to the bachelor, who has not moved to Ruzhou last year as the deputy envoy of the regimental training."

"It's been two years, and I'm still messing around!" Although the matter was his own handiwork, Murong Fu couldn't help but sigh when he heard the news from Bao Wei. What can a dead man's nonsense matter? Noisy all day long, who should do the right thing? He shook his head and asked again, "Is there any news from Brother Deng and Second Brother Gongye?" How are Yu Yan, Ah Zhu, and Ah Bi's homework? ”

The son of the prince first and then privately, it is really the atmosphere of the son of heaven. It's just that why are you so unparticular about things sometimes? Bao Wei stood on the bow of the boat in a daze, and the cool sea breeze could not blow the sighs and melancholy in his heart.

On the tenth day of August in the seventh year of Yuanfeng, Murong Fu, who had just returned from Quanzhou, walked into the examination hall of Pingjiang Mansion in a single clothes and carried a basket like many candidates, and struggled to survive the closed examination for three days and three nights. After the exam, Murong Fu only slept in Yanziwu for one night, got up and packed up and rushed to Mingzhou.

"Isn't the prince waiting for the list to be released?" Seeing that Murong Fu was leaving, Bao Wei hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his robe.

Murong Fu blinked blankly, how could he not understand why a "traitorous minister" who was destined to usurp the throne and revive Dayan should care about the results of the imperial examination of the previous dynasty? Seeing that Bao was not looking anxious, he sighed and said, "Just bother Third Brother Bao to go and see the list for me." Oh, if you don't win, I'll send the news to the teacher in Ruzhou, and I'll go to see the teacher a year ago. Murong Fu's voice fell, and he rode away with Sister-in-law Deng.

Missed? Hearing Murong Fu say these two words lightly, Bao Wei's heart twitched, and he couldn't help but secretly shout: Son, aren't you sure that you will pass the exam after taking the exam questions? What has become of your homework in the past few years?

Bao Wei waited in Yanziwu for two months and finally waited for the list to be released, Murong Fu was naturally not the head of the case, and he didn't even squeeze into the top 100. His ranking was outside 200, and this year, there were only about 300 people in Pingjiang Prefecture. After reading the list, Bao Wei touched his lips and whiskers, and let out a long breath. In any case, I finally settled a matter of my heart, and it was not in vain that my son ran back from overseas.