Yang Shen's eyes sparkled, and he continued to recall the events of the year, as if he remembered it vividly: "But this is also a matter of time, because we are completely unreasonable, at that time, it is impossible to admit our mistakes and surrender to Emperor Jiajing in turn, and Zhang Xuan gave us a miserable enough in the past few years, he was already a second assistant at that time, and it is clear that he is the next first assistant, he hates us very much, and he will definitely counterattack us completely, if you want to ensure the chance of a comeback, you can only leave your own people, and then overthrow Zhang Xuan in the future, and then find a way to return to the dynasty as an official." ”

Li Cangxing smiled: "So you, the one who stayed, is Yan Song?" ”

Yang Shen nodded: "There is also Xia Yan, who is also one of my father's protégés, but he is not as famous as Yan Song." I know very well that Xia Yan is upright, and that Yan Song is a complete treacherous villain, but his son Yan Shifan is a peerless hero, these two people will definitely easily deal with Zhang Zhang, and then they will have conflicts with each other, and at this time, it is time for them to turn to our father and son for support, and it is also the time when our father and son can return to the mountain as officials. ”

A trace of doubt flashed in Li Cangxing's eyes: "I don't believe it, your father and son are one Zhishi, the other is exiled thousands of miles away, and the same party in the court and the central government have also been wiped out, if these two people gain power and overthrow Zhang Xuan, they will definitely have their own team, so why go back and look for your support?" ”

Yang Shen smiled slightly: "It seems that you still don't understand the mystery of this officialdom, do you think that the real officialdom connections and allies are established after reaching the court and passing the imperial examination?" Wrong! Real relationships. It was during the study stage that the relationship between teachers and students was established through various academies. As for going to Beijing to catch the exam. Agreeing on a protégé is just a matter of taking a shape. The advance and retreat of officialdom will always change with the change of divine will and the current situation. But as long as his own power and influence are there, even if he retreats to the mountains and forests, he can still influence the general trend of the world. ”

It was the first time Li Cangxing had heard such a statement, and his brows furrowed: "I don't believe it, you retired officials, even people like you who have filled the army. has no power and no power, how can it affect today's court? ”

Yang Shen laughed: "Heavenly wolf, tell me about it, those who go to Beijing to take the exam, and who pass the imperial examination every three years to become an official, they want to ask for learning, they want to be literate, they can read, where does the money come from." Where do you want to go to school? ”

Li Cangxing frowned: "When I was young, I went to private school, and when I was older, I traveled around to study, or I studied hard at home, which is the same as our martial arts entering the sect to practice martial arts." Isn't it the same thing? ”

Yang Shen nodded, and said, "It's true, but think about it." How can a farmer's child have the money to study in a private school like this? You grew up in Wudang. There are sectarian offerings for food and clothing, and I don't know too much about the suffering of the people. I don't know how difficult it is for the children of peasant families in the countryside to provide for their children to go to school. Now less than half of the cultivators in the world have their own land, and if the parents themselves have to work for the landlord's family to support their families, then how can they have spare money to provide for their children to go to school? ”

Li Cangxing sighed: "I also know some of these things, we have a lot of children from poor families in Wudang, and the family really can't support them, so they can only be sent to the mountains, most of these people don't have any talent for martial arts, and can only do some miscellaneous work, according to Mr. Yang, this reading and learning words, going to school and taking exams, can only be the rights and interests of the rich and landlords?" ”

Yang Shen smiled slightly: "Not to mention that all the scholars in the world have money in their families, at least eight or nine out of ten must at least have no worries about food and clothing, this is still no problem, at least, the family must be a small landlord or rich peasant, which can afford you to go to private school, and the children of poor families can only help the family do farm work as soon as possible, or go to the city to be a small worker, as for learning words and reading, don't count on it." Even your Wudang faction, how many of you who can really learn martial arts are not at home who can afford to pay for incense? ”

Li Cangxing was silent, he hadn't thought about these things before, and when he heard Yang Shen mention it today, he realized the difficulty of the world and the difficulty of survival, he sighed: "In this way, those who can afford to read in the world must be above the rich peasants, right?" ”

Yang Shen nodded: "To be precise, if you want to be able to read, maybe a few very smart peasant children can also read with the financial support of the rich people of the same clan, but if you want to study, take the exam to become an official, show off talents, raise people, and even enter Beijing to take the exam, and enter the court as a scholar, then it must be the scholar family!" ”

Li Cangxing said strangely: "What does this mean? Aren't there talented and intelligent children of poor families who also have the help and subsidies of their own clan? Can't they just go to the exam? ”

Yang Shen smiled: "Sky wolf, do you think that the exam is a test of whether you can read, write, and make articles?" You know, many times in the exam, you need to quote scriptures, look at the amount of your knowledge, these huge knowledge reserves, far from the books you read in the private school, the words you recognize can be dealt with, just like you, you have also read some books, and you can write, but if you want to participate in the imperial examination, can you be a showman? ”

Li Cangxing sneered: "If I participate in the martial arts, it will be no problem to win the champion." ”

Yang Shen said categorically: "No, I can be sure that if you go to participate in the martial arts as the leader of this Black Dragon now, it will definitely be impossible to win the champion." ”

Li Cangxing's eyes flashed: "What, is there still a young generation of masters whose martial arts are stronger than me?" ”

Yang Shen smiled and shook his head: "Your martial arts are indeed rare opponents in the rivers and lakes, but the imperial examinations and examinations have never been completely a reflection of real strength, just like me, although it is recognized in the world that my talent is the first in the world, but if I don't have a father who is the first assistant of the cabinet, I am not from an official family, but just a poor boy in the countryside, I think I will be at most a jinshi in my life, and I will never enter the top three." ”

Li Cangxing said strangely: "What does this mean? Could it be that the imperial examination is also boring? ”

Yang Shen nodded: "Yes, first of all, if you want to be able to quote scriptures." To learn to be rich and rich, you have to read a lot of books. These large collections of books are not found in ordinary private schools, and you have to visit teachers and friends. Joining those world-famous academies, just like your top sect like the Wudang Sect, you can have excellent martial arts cheats, otherwise if you just stay in a small sect, such as the Iron Boss, the Flying Eagle Gang, etc., at most you will learn the kung fu of the three-legged cat, even if the talent is strong, it is impossible to become a generation of masters. Therefore, there are many people in your martial arts who lead teachers to learn arts. ”

Li Cangxing smiled: "Yes, my master is the Wudang who brought Yijin, and so is my junior sister's father." He suddenly thought that Mu Jie, the master of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, just wanted to learn some swordsmanship in the Diancang Sect, so that he could bring his art to blend into the various sects in the future, this plan had obviously succeeded, and he still didn't know his identity, so he couldn't laugh at once.

Yang Shen didn't pay much attention to the change in Li Cangxing's expression, and said with a smile: "Yes, for literati. These collections, especially some ancient books, fragments, and solitary books that are already difficult to find. It's those martial arts cheats of your martial artists. It is impossible for these books to be handed down in private schools, either from the families of some official eunuchs and literati for generations, or they can only be found in the academies opened by some literary leaders. And these academies of the famous scholars. It was done by an important minister like my father after he retired, even if it was not done by himself. It is often done by some of my friends, teachers and students. If there is no such relationship. How can those future officials who have passed the township and provincial examinations, and who have passed the provincial examination, and who have been promoted to the people, and who can enter Beijing to take the Jinshi examination, worship under the door of the important ministers of the court? ”

Li Cangxing completely understood at this time, this is equivalent to the disciples of the Wudang faction, if they do not enter the Tao and stay in the sect after leaving the school, they will often go to their hometown to spread out and build a museum to teach apprentices, and if there are some people with excellent talents among these disciples, they will be sent to Wudang Mountain to become the official disciples of the sect.

On top of the officialdom, retired officials can establish a relationship with themselves in advance by setting up academies and opening up their book collections, so that the next generation of students can establish a relationship with themselves in advance, and then rely on this relationship to establish a protégé system with the incumbent officials of their own side in power, forming their own party, the future strength of this faction, in exchange for interests, these officials in the court should ensure the economic interests of retired officials in their hometowns, whether it is whether they attach their family's fields to the name of the prince of the clan for tax exemption, or the expenses for opening academies. There are people in the DPRK who are easy to do, so that this group of scholars can legally and from generation to generation control the government and even the future.

Li Cangxing sighed: "This is really a hundred-legged insect, dead but not stiff, the emperor can wipe out your power in the court, but he can't level your influence among the people and scholars, no wonder Yan Song and Xia Yan are still inseparable from you." ”

Yang Shen said proudly: "Of course, although they came to power because my father was defeated, after all, they were only middle-level in our group before, and they couldn't reach the top level, and their foundation was still shallow, so if they want to control the government, they still need my father's support in secret, because their own butts are not clean, Xia Yan has a straightforward personality, offends too many people, and does not please the emperor, while Yan Song's father and son are engaged in corruption, filling their own pockets, and wanting to instruct some officials to write books, It was too easy to oust them in the first years of the emperor's accession to the throne. Even out of self-preservation, they can't completely stiffen their relationship with our father and son. ”

Li Cangxing gritted his teeth: "But since you have such great ability, why do you stay here all the time?" Since even Yan Song and Xia Yan have to obey your orders, how can you stay in Kangba for almost forty years and not be able to return to the court? Don't tell me you don't want to be an official, you don't have a nostalgia for power! It's impossible for a careerist like you to be without desires! ”

Yang Shen nodded: "You're right, of course I can't have no desires, in the first few years here, I dreamed of returning to the court, but as time went on, I found that it was not a good thing to return to the court, Emperor Jiajing was dedicated to cultivating, in order to control the government and split the ministers, on the one hand, let Lu Bing spy on the ministers, on the other hand, deliberately provoked the struggle between the Qing faction headed by Xia Yan and the Yan party headed by Yan Song, so that they could not form a joint force, and they had to pursue the emperor's arbitration in every detail, In this way, he doesn't have to worry that these ministers will gang up and become a puppet emperor like Emperor Zhengde. ”

Li Cangxing sneered: "Since you see this clearly, why don't you let Xia Yan and Yan Song shake hands and make peace, or simply let your father, or you go back to take charge of the government?" Yan Shifan can control the government for decades as a small pavilion elder, and your Mr. Yang will not be worse than him. ”

Yang Shen hooked the corners of his mouth disdainfully: "If it is Mingjun, or even if it is an ordinary emperor, it is just a matter of working for him, but what kind of thing is Jiajing, he will take revenge, and he is just a self-righteous poor worm, how can he be worthy of our father and son to serve him?" Look at Xia Yan and Yan Song as playthings, they fought for the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, and even lost their lives, although Xia Yan is dead, but how good can Yan Song be? On the one hand, I have to arrange the expenses and corrupt income of his huge bureaucracy, and on the other hand, I have to fill the deficit for the Ming Dynasty, which is already riddled with holes, and I have to beware of the retaliation of a righteous person like you. ”

Li Cangxing's sword eyebrows raised: "How can you control the court?" Now it has been almost forty years since your father and son were dismissed, and those old relationships back then have long ceased to exist, and the whole world is now full of officials from the strict party or the Qing school, and they can still listen to you? ”

Yang Shen laughed: "I have my own way to let them listen to me, the way is to have a text and a martial arts, if you say it, it is the academy I told you earlier, my Yang family has been an official for generations, rich and rich, the family has thousands of acres of fertile land, thousands of servants, and hundreds of thousands of books, as long as it is the academy funded by my Yang family, such as Yuelu Academy, Songyang Academy, Yingtian Academy, etc., all bring together more than half of the world's scholars who can be promoted in the future." If Yan Song's father and son don't cooperate with me, then I only need to let these academies refuse to open to their Yan Party scholars, that is, ten years, three imperial examinations, which is enough for the Qing School to completely overwhelm the Yan Party, and then they have no successors, how can they continue to stand on their feet? ”

Li Cangxing sneered: "Doesn't Yan Shifan know this? He's not going to find a way to shut down your academies? (To be continued......)